Alt-rockers PHOENIX CALLING have revealed their new band line-up, which welcomes the addition of vocalist Callum Von Wolfe Waterfield and lead guitarist Luke Reid. Founding member Jason Howard (bass) grew up playing in bands with Reid around the Cambridge circuit, and Von Wolfe joins PHOENIX CALLING after spending time fronting Jessie's Ghost, a five-way harmony acoustic outfit. Touring drummer Luke Green will also step up as a full time member. 

With a new line-up comes a change in PHOENIX CALLING's sound, moving from softer rock to a grittier take on the genre, maintaining the sing-along qualities whilst including elements of post-hardcore. 

To celebrate the band are streaming their new single 'Fight', check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/phoenix-calling/fight

Second founding member Dominic Greenwood (guitars/vocals) comments:

"It's great to be back in the studio, playing live with some awesome musicians and making new noise - there's exciting times to come. 'Fight' is the way forward for us and we cant wait to get an album out next year!"

PHOENIX CALLING will perform as the new line-up for the first time on Saturday 26th May as special guests to Brigade and Slaves To Gravity at London's O2 Islington Academy. 

With three new songs written, plans to tour at the end of the year and a full-length record due in Spring 2019, this is just the beginning for PHOENIX CALLING. Keep your eyes peeled for further announcements. 

For more information:
https://www.phoenixcalling.com/
https://www.facebook.com/phoenixcalling
https://twitter.com/phoenix_calling

UK metal newcomers CUT SHORT have released a video for 'Psychosomatic', the second single from their debut EP Impersonal - due for release on 15th June 2018. Produced by Timfy James of Hacktivist at Old School Studios, Impersonal is a concisely crushing introduction to a violently hungry band, who are set to make big waves in 2018.

"It is about coming to terms with emotional trauma, no longer knowing who you are as a person. Actress Lucy Fallen represents the conflicting emotions of a somebody suffering with mental health issues," the band explain of the new single. "The filming process was long, as we were still doing takes late into the night; however overall we are very happy with the outcome, and feel the video depicts the narrative in a way we wanted."

Watch the video for 'Psychosomatic' here: https://youtu.be/e0IYSXX5S1k

From the darkest depths of the North, CUT SHORT are exploding onto the scene with a sound like no other metal presence around. Their unique blend of raw emotion and ferocious hooks have left music fans with a firm stomp between the eyes, yet mesmerised by their entrancing atmospherics. Comparisons could be made to the likes of Heart of a Coward and Northlane, but they also possess flair and energy that's distinctly their own. 

Vocalist Harry Benyon explains: "This release is heavy, melodic and ambient. I have always believed in having melodies to compliment brutal riffs so that neither is too isolated. Each track has a slightly different vibe, so there should be something for everyone. This release also has a strong message/story behind it which is based on personal experience; hopefully this comes across to the listeners as I have put my heart and soul into it."

Formed in January 2018, CUT SHORT are rapidly building a name as one of the UK's most exciting live acts: their first two shows saw them garner a huge reception supporting Traitors, followed by a tour with Remenitions. Soon the four-piece will embark on a UK tour to support the debut release - dates to be announced in due course.

For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/CutShortUK/
https://www.instagram.com/cutshortuk/
https://twitter.com/cutshortuk

British Psychedelic Power Trio CHUBBY THUNDEROUS BAD KUSH MASTERS Announce Debut Album Details; Stream New Single

Come & Chutney to be released via Riff Rock Records 13th July

British psychedelic power trio CHUBBY THUNDEROUS BAD KUSH MASTERS have announced their debut album Come & Chutney will be released via Riff Rock Records on July 13th 2018. 

Pre-orders are now available via Riff Rock Records here.

Ahead of the album release the band are streaming their single 'Cojones Feos', listen here: https://chubbythunderousbadkushmasters.bandcamp.com/track/cojones-feos

Come & Chutney is a sublime pilgrimage through 8 tracks of cosmos drenching, riff slinking, indignantly delirious, fuzzed out Chubbiosity. And a song about Donald Trump.

The album features several guest appearances including guest vocals from Chantal Brown of Vodun, guest guitar solo from Gary Harkin of Ten Foot Wizard, and guest keyboards by Thom Carter of Riddles on closing track ‘Psychedelic Hallucinogenic Vagrancy’.

The band comments: "Expect the same heavy dose of excessive wah, cheap pedals, throat hocks & greasy döner all in the usual Bad Kush way. These songs were written in between numerous tours about everything  from the best kebab to totalitarian demons. Recorded and hot boxed in September 2017 then mixed and mastered March 2018.“ 

Defying normal conventions, Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters exist solely to leave the listener with one thought, “that was some weird shit.” 

The London band (which includes former Dopefight frontman Owen Carty) have been turning heads on the UK’s burgeoning underground scene not least because of their combination of tie-dye and corpsepaint, but with a staggeringly heavy live show that has everyone who sees them agreeing that they’re about to become huge. Probably. 

Their debut EP “Earth Hog” fused sludgy, blues riffs with stoner rock overtones and was recorded and produced by Sam Thredder of Slabdragger. They followed this with the Split EP "Special" with Ten Foot Wizard in 2017.

The band’s tongue-in-cheek approach belies their dedication to all things heavy and riff-shaped. A jaw-droppingly powerful live band, Bad Kush have already completed two European tours with Bongzilla, Boss Keloid and Ten Foot Wizard, headlined the Black Heart on the final day of Desertfest London 2017 playing alongside such legends as Sleep, Slo Burn and Turbo Negro and repeated circuits of the UK’s underground scene since their inception in late 2014. Having supported the likes of Slabdragger, Dopethrone and Honky, audience members have picked up on the band’s vibe and now blow bubbles in appreciation of the band’s heaviest riffs.

Come & Chutney will be released via Riff Rock Records on 13th July. Pre-orders are now available here. 

Catch them live: 

May 24th - Music City, Antwerp - Belgium
May 25th - Do It Yourself Cafe, Lille - France
June 16 - Breakfast at Riffany's, Manchester - UK
July 7th - Return of the End of the World Festival, Plymouth - UK
Aug 25th - Riff Fest, Bolton - UK
+ more to be announced. 

Find out more about the band:

FACEBOOK ||  BANDCAMP || INSTAGRAM || SPOTIFY

Come & Chutney Tracklisting

1. Doggy Bag Of Slurry
2. Krones Of The Kiln
3. Cojones Feos
4. Glue Ear
5. Gutlads
6. Gawdless
7. Döner Trump
8. Psychedelic Hallucinogenic Vagrancy

London rockers BLACK ORCHID EMPIRE have released a video for 'My Favourite Stranger', the second single taken from their forthcoming album Yugen - out 25th May 2018 via Long Branch Records. 

"The video for My Favourite Stranger is a different feel for us - we really wanted a clean, colourful approach rather than the darker, grittier look of most of our other videos," says Paul Visser, singer and guitarist in BLACK ORCHID EMPIRE."We found a really cool new studio in Brixton under a railway arch and Canty from Dark North did an awesome job once again. We had a great time jumping around to our own song while he worked his magic! This song is about a friend of mine going through relationship hell. It's about two people that are talking their situation over, but too much ground has opened up between them to even understand each other any more. They know each other inside and out, but have ended up total strangers. Musically it's super fun to play – Dave's bass riff is just ridiculous." 

Check out the video for 'My Favourite Stranger' here: https://youtu.be/oZNciHVaxOY

Pre-order Yugen here: https://blackorchidempire.lnk.to/yugen

BLACK ORCHID EMPIRE have just completed a UK tour with INME, and are set to embark on a ten-date run throughout Germany and the UK with Black Map later this month before they appear at Download Festival.  

Full live dates: 

23.05.2018 DE, München - Feierwerk (Orangehouse) /w Black Map
24.05.2018 DE, Leipzig - Naumanns /w Black Map
25.05.2018 DE, Hamburg - Headcrash /w Black Map
26.05.2018 DE, Berlin - Badehaus /w Black Map
27.05.2018 DE, Köln - MTC /w Black Map
28.05.2018 DE, Wiesbaden - Schlachthof (Kesselhaus) /w Black Map
30.05.2018 UK, Huddersfield - Parish /w Black Map
31.05.2018 UK, Milton Keynes - Craufurd Arms /w Black Map
02.06.2018 UK, London - Camden Rocks Festival
03.06.2018 UK, Glasgow - Broadcast /w Black Map
04.06.2018 UK, Manchester - Gulliver's /w Black Map
07.06.2018 UK, Donington - Download Festival
22.06.2018 UK, York - Pile Up Festival

BLACK ORCHID EMPIRE create dense, powerful rock music that combines fearless complexity, aggressive heaviness and beautiful, hook-laden melody.  

With a gargantuan sound and energetic live performance, the three-piece hailing from London have been unleashing their ferociously tight show across Europe, including a UK tour with HED p.e, several headline runs and much-lauded appearances at Standon Calling, Planet Rockstock, Camden Rocks Festival, German Taubertal Festival and more. Their critically-acclaimed debut album Archetype garnered widespread media attention, with single 'God Is Awake' being selected as Kerrang! Radio's track of the week. 

Having played alongside heavyweights such as Biffy Clyro, Editors and Skunk Anansieand with a dedicated, growing fanbase, BLACK ORCHID EMPIRE demand your attention.
 

German progressive metallers UNPROCESSED have unveiled a new live video for the track 'Malleable', taken from their new album Covenant, released April 13th via Long Branch Records. 

Check out the live video for 'Malleable' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gublr182MXE

To coincide with the news, UNPROCESSED will stream the whole show from which the live video is taken, on Sunday 13th May at 7:30PM CEST, via their Facebook page. The footage was recorded in December 2017, in front of their friends and families. It includes live performances of the 10 tracks from the album. 

Unprocessed hit the UK this summer with label mates Valis Ablaze, check them out on one of the following dates:

30.06 - The Maze, Nottingham
01.07 - Exchange, Bristol
02.07 - Subside, Birmingham
03.07 - Black Heart, London (with Nexilva and The Dali Thundering Concept)
05.07 - UK Tech-Fest, Newark

UNPROCESSED are a progressive metal band hailing from Hessia's central city Wiesbaden in Germany.

Founded in 2014, UNPROCESSED have shared the stage with Monuments, Betraying the Martyrs, Being as an Ocean, Napoleon and As they Burn, completed a full EU tour and played numerous shows in and around Germany, promoting their first releases In Concretion (2014) and Perception (2016).

UNPROCESSED's sound features insanely fast palm muted, chugged guitar-riffs and shredding solos that meet soundscapes from another dimension, guttural vocals that are contrasted by lucid and melodic clean singing. A sharp bass tone and groovy, yet detail oriented drum-lines form a massive rhythm section and complete the bands overall sound. This mixture shows that this young band is ready to conquer the scene.

Line up:

Manuel Gardner Fernandes - Vocals, Guitars
Christoph Schultz - Guitars
Christopher Talosi - Guitars
David Levy - Bass
Leon Pfeifer - Drums

For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/Unprocessedofficial/
http://www.spv.de/portfolio/long-branch-records/

Indian/American progressive metal band SKYHARBOR have announced the release of their long-awaited new album, Sunshine Dust, set for 7 September via Entertainment One / Good Fight Music.

To coincide the band have released new single 'Dim', check it out here: https://youtu.be/xe_UkvXG0O4

'Dim' is available on all digital streaming services and is available as an iTunes instant gratification track, meaning fans who pre-order Sunshine Dust on iTunes will receive the song as an immediate download. 

About Sunshine Dust, SKYHARBOR guitarist Keshav Dhar commented, "It’s taken almost four years and it’s been a real labor of love, but we’re thrilled to finally get this record out there to our fans. We’re incredibly stoked on these songs and have really dug in deep to explore and represent what we truly feel is the Skyharbor sound."

SKYHARBOR are currently on the road in the USA supporting Babymetal, full dates below.

Tour Dates
*with Babymetal
5/11 – House of Blues Dallas – Dallas, TX*
5/13 – Revention Music Center – Houston, TX*
5/15 – Tabernacle Atlanta – Atlanta, GA*
5/17 – The Fillmore Charlotte – Charlotte, NC*
5/18 – Marathon Music Works – Nashville, TN*
5/19 – Lafayette Theater – Lafayette, IN (with I Prevail only)

From a file on a computer sitting in New Delhi, to a full-fledged touring band with members from around the world formed over the internet – SKYHARBOR has defied convention every step of the way. The debut album Blinding White Noise (Basick Records) was released worldwide in 2012 to critical acclaim and earned the band a dedicated fan following across the globe. Since then, SKYHARBOR have been performing regularly around the world and making waves with their distinctive brand of sweeping, ethereal prog-rock. They released their highly regarded sophomore album Guiding Lights in 2014 after a wildly successful crowdfunding campaign.

After a brief patch of turbulence that saw new frontman Eric Emery and drummer Aditya Ashok solidify the band's lineup, SKYHARBOR embarked on a series of tours around the world, covering North America, Europe, UK, and India. The future is especially promising in 2018 as a new album with Emery approaches its release and the band looks set to hit even bigger stages as they march into the future.

Northern Irish metalcore troupe DREAM AWAKE are proud to present their new single/video, 'Dispersion'.

First premiered on Impericon, you can watch 'Dispersion' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y--xWf3ZW0k

The video comes ahead of the band's support of Northlane in Northern Ireland and Eire. Dates:

22 – DUBLIN, Voodoo Lounge
23 – LIMERICK, Dolan’s
24 – BELFAST, Limelight

Formed in 2014 and hailing from Belfast, DREAM AWAKE have quickly made a name for themselves in the UK metalcore scene. Dropping their debut single, 'Burdens', at the end of 2014, the band soon released their first EP, Pathfinder, which propelled DREAM AWAKE to festival appearances at Download and Sunflowerfest, as well as shows with Napoleon and Greywind. 

Following 2017's EP Don't Hold Your Breath, DREAM AWAKE have kept up their impressive momentum with two standalone singles, 'Symphony', and now 'Dispersion'. 

Full dates:

MAY

w/ Northlane
22 – DUBLIN, Voodoo Lounge
23 – LIMERICK, Dolan’s
24 – BELFAST, Limelight

JUNE

w/ Oceans Ate Alaska
24 – SHEFFIELD, The Mulberry

UK rock trio IN DYNAMICS are proud to present their new single/video for 'Happy & Honest'. 

Streaming today, the video was premiered on Kerrang!; the single receiving its first play on Dan Carter's BBC Radio 1 Rock Show.

Watch: 
http://smarturl.it/happyandhonestvideo

Itunes:
http://smarturl.it/happyandhonest

Spotify:
http://smarturl.it/happyandhoneststream

The new single is a step forward for the acclaimed three-piece, already championed by Rock Sound, Kerrang!, BBC Radio 1, and shortlisted as part of the Heavy Music Awards Best Album of 2016. IN DYNAMICS finished 2017 on a high, invited to play Lenmania alongside Palm Reader, Fizzy Blood, and Jamie Lenman. Since then the band have been busy writing, and 'Happy & Honest' a highly promising glimpse into their future.

IN DYNAMICS are playing two single release shows, at:

11.05 Fuel, Cardiff
12.05 Black Heart, London

Alt/pop/rock trio MERGE are proud to reveal their new EP Touch | Part 2, released digitally today. To coincide with the news, the band have also streamed their new video for 'Monsters'.

Watch 'Monsters' here: https://youtu.be/ow1EAHKdvj4

Purchase Touch | Part 2 here: https://fanlink.to/TouchP2

Founded in 2012 and launching immediately with their debut EP Transmission, UK/French trio Mergehave an already impressive backstory. Playing with La Dispute, Funeral For A Friend, and more, the band hit the stage at 2013's Groezrock Festival, signing to Red Cord Records by the end of the year.

Merge's first full-length release - Elysion - was released February 18th 2014, leading to supports with Limp Bizkit, Enter Shikari, Architects and more, as well as a European tour with Don Broco in October 2016. Following second album Ineffable (November 2016), Merge sold out their release show in Paris, playing to a crowd of 550.

Touch | Part 2 is the second of a 3-part release. Part 1 was released October 27 2017, with Mergesupporting PVRIS in Paris soon after and subsequently celebrating over 1 million streams on Spotify and YouTube.

Merge are also touring the UK; dates are:

12.05 Bridgend Hobos
13.05 London Thousand Island
14.05 Manchester Rebellion
15.05 Nottingham Red Room
16.05 Glasgow Garage Attic
17.05 Edinburgh Opium
18.05 Leicester The Vault
19.05 Bridgwater Cobblestones

For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/thisismerge/