Two years after their critically acclaimed acoustic/folk album, The Hallowing of Heirdom, British Black Metal pioneers WINTERFYLLETH are poised to return on May 8th 2020 with the release of their visceral new album, The Reckoning Dawn via Candlelight Records/Spinefarm Records. 

Preorders are now available: https://winterfylleth.lnk.to/TheReckoningDawn

Ahead of the release the band have released title single 'The Reckoning Dawn' which can be heard here: https://winterfylleth.lnk.to/TheReckoningDawn

The first full length metal album since 2014’s The Divination of Antiquity, The Reckoning Dawn finds the band returning at the absolute top of their game, across an expansive journey of an album. Eight brand new songs of blistering, atmospheric and emotive black metal adorn the records near 60 minute running length and serves to highlight the strength and depth of material in the WINTERFYLLETH canon, resulting in one of the darkest and most powerful records of 2020.

Guitarist/vocalist Chris Naughton commented: "Having spent the last 2 years in a very different creative space, touring our acoustic album, and bringing those shows to evocative, atmospheric and unique venues all over the UK and Europe, we are now pleased to announce our return to the realms of Black Metal with our new album, The Reckoning Dawn. The culmination of almost two years of writing and collective hard work, what we are presenting here is a visceral & emotive new Winterfylleth album that we are all truly proud to put forth into the world.

"We've taken the time over the last few years to craft and grow our sound into different musical areas, really wanting to contrast that on this album; taking what we had learned from those other experiences and distilling that into what we have created here. To me it feels like a mighty, passionate and essential album of songs that push the boundaries of what a Winterfylleth metal album can be, but that also harkens back to our more traditional Black Metal sound in a more immediate way. Today we share the title track with you, but in the coming weeks and months look forward to sharing more with you, on record and on tour with our friends in Mork. We hope to see you on the road."

Recorded and produced once again by the legendary Chris Fielding (Primordial, Napalm Death, Conan, Electric Wizard, Fen) at Foel Studios in Wales, The Reckoning Dawn shows the band at their strongest, and serves as a reminder to all that WINTERFYLLETH are as relevant now as they have ever been.

The band recently announced their headline tour, 'The Reckoning of Europe' which will take place in May with support from Mork.

WINTERFYLLETH will also be appearing at numerous 2020 festivals including Bloodstock, Brutal Assault, Ragnarök Festival and more.

The Reckoning Dawn will be released via Candlelight Records/Spinefarm Records on May 8th. Preorder now: https://winterfylleth.lnk.to/TheReckoningDawn

Catch the band live: 

April
18th - Ragnarök Festival, Stadthalle Lichtenfels, DE
19th – Café De Meister, Geleen, NL
24th – Dudefest “The Black Edition”, Karlsruhe DE

May
'The Reckoning Of Europe' with Special Guests Mork
14th - Club Volta, Cologne, DE
15th - Vienna Metal Meeting Pre-party, AU
16th - Into The Abyss Fest, Wrocław, PL
17th - Durer Kert, Budapest, HU
18th - Backstage, Münich, DE
19th – Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, DE
20th - Backstage, Paris, FR
21st – DBs, Utrecht, NL
22nd - Boston Music Room, London, UK
23rd - Rebellion, Manchester, UK

July
4th - Legions ov Darkness Fest, Cumbria, UK

August
6th - Brutal Assault, CZ
8th - Bloodstock Open Air, UK

December
11th – De Mortem Et Diabolum, Berlin, DE

WINTERFYLLETH online:

Facebook | Bandcamp | Candlelight

The critically acclaimed Norwegian group BLOOD COMMAND are back with new single 'Saturday City', having signed to British label Hassle Records.

Stream: https://smarturl.it/BloodCommand

In the words of the band: "The song is about the beauty of searching forever for the things in life you most likely never will find."

The self-described 'deathpop' band are a one-of-a-kind proposition. Hardcore meets metal meets pop meets punk, the band have previously been called 'one of the world's best kept secrets' by Rock Sound, achieved one of the Albums of the Year in Kerrang!, and applauded by Metal Hammer, among others.

BLOOD COMMAND have recently toured with Rolo Tomassi and Skindred, following the release of their acclaimed EP Return of the Arsonist, the conceptual successor to 2011's Hand Us The Alphamale EP. The band have also shared the stage with Refused, Tragedy, Comeback Kid, and Gallows, and have played The Great Escape, 2000trees and Roskilde festivals, among others. 

For 10 years and running BLOOD COMMAND have given a voice to outcasts worldwide through their mixture of knife-sharp rock and kamikaze pop hooks. The group have formed an unbreakable alliance with their audience that wins over new loyal members each and every day.

BLOOD COMMAND begin their tour with Kvelertak today. Dates are as follows:

Dates are:

February

Fri 21st – STAVANGER, NO – Folken  SOLD OUT 
Sat 22nd – STAVANGER, NO – Folken
Wed 26th – COPENHAGEN, DK – Amager Bio
Thu 27th – BREMEN, DE – Schlachthof
Fri 28th – HAMBURG, DE – Gruenspan
Sat 29th – COLOGNE, DE – Essigfabrik

March 

Sun 1st – LUXEMBOURG, LU – Rockhal Club
Tue 3rd – PARIS, FR – Le Trabendo
Wed 4th – KARLSRUHE, DE – Substage
Fri 6th – LEIPZIG, DE – Conne Island
Sat 7th – BERLIN, DE – SO36
Sun 8th – KRAKOW, PL – Kwadrat
Tue 10th – BUDAPEST, HU – Durer Kert (Main Hall)
Wed 11th – VIENNA, AT – Szene
Fri 13th – PRAGUE, CZ – Meet Factory
Sat 14th – MUNICH, DE – Backstage Werk
Mon 16th – PRATTELN, CH – Z7
Tue 17th – WIESBADEN, DE – Schlachthof
Wed 18th – HAARLEM, NL – Patronaat
Fri 20th – MANCHESTER, UK – Academy 2
Sat 21st – BRISTOL, UK – SWX
Sun 22nd – LONDON, UK – Electric Brixton
Wed 25th – OSLO, NO – Rockefeller  SOLD OUT 
Thu 26th – BERGEN, NO – USF Verftet
Fri 27th – ALESUND, NO – Terminalen
Sat 28th – TRONDHEIM, NO – Samfundet  SOLD OUT 
Mon 30th – HELSINKI, FI – Tavastia
Tue 31st – TAMPERE, FI – Pakkahuone

April

Thu 2nd – STOCKHOLM, SE – Debaser
Fri 3rd – MALMO, SE – KB
Sat 4th – GOTHENBURG, SE – Pustervik

For more info:

https://www.facebook.com/Bloodcommand/
https://bloodcommand.bandcamp.com/
https://www.hasslerecords.com/

THE CONTORTIONIST have released a music video for their cover song of The Smashing Pumpkins' 1995 hit '1979'. 

Premiered via Consequence Of Sound, watch it here: https://youtu.be/Hk_S6plOlOg

Directed by vocalist Michael Lessard, this is the second music video we see from the band's Our Bones EP released last year. Lessard also directed the music video for the title track 'Our Bones'.

Lessard comments: We’re very excited to release a video for our cover of The Smashing Pumpkins' timeless song '1979.' It’s a song that we all grew up with and hold dear to our hearts. It felt only fitting to use footage from the growing years of the band for this one.

THE CONTORTIONIST will head back out on the road later this week to support Devin Townsend on his North America 2020 tour. 

Lessard continues, "We couldn’t be happier to finally be sharing the stage with a Devin Townsend and Haken. We’ve been working on some new things to bring to our live show, so we’re excited this is the tour we get to do that!"
 
'1979' is taken from THE CONTORTIONIST's Our Bones EP, released on 9th August 2019 via Entertainment One / Good Fight Music. Crafted in the compound owned by producer/engineer John Douglass (Coheed & Cambria, Bad Wolves, Carnifex), where the guys were able to live and work, Our Bones began with some ideas Robby Baca would regularly run through at the band’s soundchecks. 
 
“Once I was finally able to get Robby to record that riff we started piecing together the song in the back of the van, while on tour in Europe,” Lessard recalls. The result was lead single 'Early Grave,' an expression of gratitude to the fans who’ve shared their stories of heartbreak, loneliness, and depression, and found new strength in the music of THE CONTORTIONIST.

The band’s blistering new EP sees THE CONTORTIONIST step outside the atmospheric storytelling of their critically-lauded conceptual masterpiece Clairvoyant (2017) to indulge an aggressive shadow side. More an anthology of standalone bursts of intensity, Our Bones isn’t a mere stopover between albums, it’s both a definitive look back and an ambitious leap forward.
 
“We try to do something different with everything we create,” explains Lessard. “With our albums, we tend to work with overarching interconnected themes. 'Our Bones' is a departure. It offered an opportunity to dive into some things we haven’t had a chance to explore, and the shorter EP format allowed us to be hyper-focused on each song.”
 
Our Bones was mixed and mastered by longtime collaborator Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, Through The Eyes Of The Dead), who worked on Language and Clairvoyant. 
 
While THE CONTORTIONIST ultimately have proven themselves masters of psychedelic-enhanced experimentation and trippy melodicism, endearing them to fans of later period Enslaved and Sigur Ros alike, they have never entirely forsaken the urgent impact of tech-leaning extremity. 
 
“From The Beatles to Pink Floyd to Mastodon, all the great rock bands in history have clear, non-linear musical trajectories,” Metal Sucks observed. “It’s great to see a band taking chances and moving forward. The result is a fully formed band, four albums in, to which no other bands compare. Literally: no one else sounds like The Contortionist even a little.” 

More information:

https://www.facebook.com/thecontortionist/

Sweden's SOLENCE have released a lyric video for their brand new single 'Animal In Me'. Not ones to slow down, 'Animal In Me' is a brand new song, following on from the release of the band's debut album Brothers in November 2019. 

Check out the lyric video for 'Animal In Me' here: https://youtu.be/hwy0636eYsA

Stream/purchase 'Animal In Me' here: https://cmg.ffm.to/solenceanimalinme

Since releasing their debut album Brothers, the band have gone from 315,000 to 423,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and from 73,500 to 77,400 subscribers on YouTube, all the more impressive for a band who have a strong DIY ethic and write, produce, mix and release all of their music independently.

SOLENCE's previous singles, which feature on Brothers, have seen huge success. The band have been championed as the cover of both Spotify's 'New Core' playlist (370,000 followers) and more recently 'Top Of The Core' playlist (33,000 followers) with 'Heaven', which has had almost 2.7 million Spotify streams, as well as 377,000 YouTube views to date. Following singles 'Empire Of The Sun' and 'Death Do Us Part' were also featured in official Spotify playlists, where they reached over 500,000 followers.

The debut album title Brothers felt natural to SOLENCE, who have spent eight years growing up together, learning not only how to make music as a unit but also how to respect and treat each other, and despite facing many trials and errors along the way the quartet have developed a solid bond. 

Ahead of their debut album, SOLENCE spent two years releasing cover songs, including 'Warriors' by Imagine Dragons and Ed Sheeran hit 'Shape Of You', which built their strong fan base and set the foundations for a series of original singles their debut album. The momentum built from the single releases saw the band embark on a month-long European tour throughout Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Italy. 

Stream/purchase Brothers here: https://orcd.co/brothers

See SOLENCE live:

22.05.2020 - Denmark, Prime Fest (w/ Issues, Agent Fresco, Sleep Token)
03-04.07.2020 - Sweden, High 5ive Summer Fest (w/ Silverstein, The Devil Wears Prada, Knocked Loose)

For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/SolenceOfficial
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA43Fu3hI9H3FHwoPIwYC7w
https://www.instagram.com/solenceofficial/

Greece's largest rock band of the last decade, 1000mods, have announced their new LP, Youth of Dissent, to be released on 1st May. Produced by Matt Bayles (Isis, Mastodon, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Botch and many more), and recorded at Litho Studio (owned by Stone Gossard, founding member of Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog) and London Bridge Studio (where Pearl Jam’s Ten was recorded), Youth of Dissent is 1000mods' most mature record to date.

The band will be undertaking a European and UK tour in support of the record. Watch them at this year's Desertfest, where they're second support to Graveyard, with Pissed Jeans.

Dates:

01.05.20 - Berlin, Desertfest
02.05.20 - Nijmegen, Sonic Whip Nijmegen
03.05.20 - London, Desertfest
04.05.20 - Amsterdam, Melkweg
05.05.20 - Strasbourg, La Laiterie
06.05.20 - Pratteln, Z7
07.05.20 - Brussels, Les Nuits Botanique
08.05.20 - Cologne, Live Music Hall
09.05.20 - Paris, La Machine
11.05.20 - Stuttgart, Universum
12.05.20 - Leipzig, Werk 2
13.05.20 - Hamburg, Markthalle
14.05.20 - Copenhagen, Vega
15.05.20 - Oslo, Youngs
16.05.20 - Göteborg, Valand
17.05.20 - Rostock, Mau Club
19.05.20 - Vienna, Arena
20.05.20 - Salzburg, Rockhouse
21.05.20 - Graz, PPC
22.05.20 - Budapest, A38
23.05.20 - Zagreb, Mochvara

Youth of Dissent is available to preorder on special edition vinyl, standard vinyl, and CD here: https://1000mods.bandcamp.com

Having risen from smoky basements to packed arenas, 1000mods can be considered no less than the most successful Greek rock band of the past decade.

Deriving equally from the glorious 90's and the 70's (not only songwriting-wise but also due to their love for vintage equipment and analogue sound), 1000mods have never hesitated to blend all their influences. Retro-rock and doom rock, hard and space rock melded with grunge and alternative create a recipe of explosive heavy music that’s impossible to imitate.

1000mods offer inspired, powerful and uniquely fresh heavy tunes, satisfying everyone from stoners to metalheads, for over a decade. Their debut Super Van Vacation (2011) is now considered a classic in European heavy rock, as well as a game-changer for Greek rock music, selling tens of thousands of copies.

Praised by fans and press throughout the globe, the band's previous release Repeated exposure to... (2016) affirmed their place within European heavy rock and roll. The band went on to tour the US in February-March 2018, following that with a sold-out tour of Australia. 

Boasting millions of streams and fans worldwide, 1000mods are stepping up with Youth of Dissent, a fearsome blend of taut songwriting, hard-hitting riffs, haunting melodies and hefty psychedelia.

For more information:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1000mods
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1000mods
• Website: https://1000mods.com

Norwegian punk quintet LÜT have released their new single, 'Mersmak', the first taste of new material in over two years, after the release of their critically acclaimed debut Pandion (2017). The band are also excited to announce their signing to famed Norwegian label Indie Recordings.

'Mersmak' is the title-track of their forthcoming LP, due later this year. Roughly translated as 'Taste for more / Wanting more' it's a fitting title for this infectiously raucous group. Elements of Turbonegro, Blood Command, Kvelertak and more combine to exhilarating effect.

Stream 'Mersmak' here: https://lut.lnk.to/MERSMAK

The band comment: "For a long time, we’ve always been sure of one thing; a record label having our backs is the right step next. With Indie’s passion for LÜT, we’re 100% sure we’re working with the right people!"

Indie Recordings' Erlend Gjerde states: "We are thrilled to welcome the amazing LÜT to Indie Recordings. Having been fans since their humble beginnings, we cannot wait to help spread the contagious feel-good music these youngsters bring to the scene."

On 'Mersmak' guitarist Ørjan Nyborg Myrland says: "We are very pleased with the new line-up. During this writing process, we’ve worked closer as a group than before, something we feel is working very well for us. We’re proud to present 'Mersmak' as our first single and hope that the people like what they hear”.
 
Ever since their foundation, LÜT has been a band that have captivated rock audiences, making a name for themselves in Norway. With their debut album, LÜT was nominated for 'New Band of the Year' in both the Norwegian Grammys Spellemannprisen and the Norwegian Radio award show P3 Gull. They have also found a fan in Lars Ulrich, who praised them on his podcast 'It’s Electric'. The band have also recently played at Summer Breeze Open Air, Reeperbahn, Øya and Tons Of Rock, as well as several other Norwegian festivals.
 
"We went through highs and lows writing this album, and it was definitely a learning process which made the band stronger as a whole. As such; making this album has been a type of contemplation. We’re excited to have finished the ‘difficult second album’ and couldn’t have hoped for a better result. It’s great to finally be able to show the world what we’ve been working on,” says vocalist Markus Danjord.
 
The band has made some changes to the line-up in the last year, as guitarist Mads Ystmark (Heave Blood and Die) has replaced former members Hans Marius Mikkelsen and Viljar Ratama Dunderovic. Following this change, LÜT spent their past months in Norway and abroad, finishing their second album.

Mersmak was mixed by Mike Schuppan (Paramore, M83, Jimmy Eat World), mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Converge, Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein Stranger Things Soundtracks), and recorded in Giske and Tromsø, Norway, and Bronson Island in Los Angeles, USA.
 
From February to June, LÜT will release a new single every month before the album hits in September. The band is eager to show the world what they have been working on in these last two years.

For more:

https://www.lutband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bandlut/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0883sihqyDtxTAYgF0fVJb

Dubai-based multinational metal band SVENGALI have released new single 'Quicksand', taken from their stunning new album Sayonara, set for release on 20th March 2020.

Premiered via Metal Injection, check out 'Quicksand' here: https://youtu.be/oD45lx1GzLA

SVENGALI have been announced at main support to Lacuna Coil at Boracay Club in Dubai on 13th March, more info here.

Pre-order Sayonara here: http://bit.ly/SayonaraPreorder

Featuring members from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and India, the quartet bring together diverse and unique influences – both in music and in life – to create one of the most ferocious and emotively entrancing metal albums of 2020.

The band comment on new album Sayonara: "This album is a representation of the last five years of our lives - which spans from being homeless and living in a car in one of the most expensive cities in the world, to building our own studio and recording the album independently."

With one EP and one full-length under their belts, and having played countless shows in the Middle East, SVENGALI have grown into one of the hottest prospects from the region. Their debut album ‘Theory Of Mind’ reached number #2 in the UAE Virgin Megastore Charts and they are the only metal band who have been nominated in the huge Dubaian Ahlan Awards ‘Best Live Act’ category. Shows with the likes Sepultura, Jinjer, Kreator, Arch Enemy and Septic Flesh across Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, UAE and Dubai have proven that they can compete with the best in the business, and they’re now ready to take their sound to the global stage with new album Sayonara.

Featuring nine tracks of crushing riffs and headbanging grooves, Sayonara wastes no time in pummelling the listener, but it’s also not short on dynamism and melody. From the instant violence of opener ‘Alcatraz’ through to the heartfelt ‘Labyrinth’, SVENGALI’s wide range of influences are clearly apparent, but come together in a unified sound that is distinctly their own.

Inspired by a story of control with a sinister intent, their name SVENGALI is an indication of their lyrical topics of interest and they go deep on Sayonara. Exploring the state of mind during an addiction relapse, uniting and fighting against oppression, losing identity, overcoming obstacles and more, SVENGALI’s thoughts have huge relevance in today’s world, and their multinational Middle Eastern take makes it all the more fascinating.

Recorded and produced in-house, Sayonara paints a stark picture of SVENGALI’s journey and a band and individuals up until now, and promises to pave their way to becoming one of the most important global metal bands in 2020.

SVENGALI online:
https://www.facebook.com/SvengaliMusic/

Greek hard rock, stoner, sludge quartet PUTA VOLCANO have revealed their new single 'Black Box', the second glimpse of their forthcoming LP Amma, due 13th March.

Listen here: https://orcd.co/putavolcano_blackbox

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/Ye-4slpAHVk

Pre-order on limited Gold/Black Vinyl, CD and limited T-shirt bundles: https://putavolcano.bandcamp.com/
Pre-save on Spotify and all digital platforms: https://orcd.co/putavolcano_amma

Lyrically 'Black Box' challenges the constant struggle to become something more, against all odds and against adversity. The song’s video provides a visualisation of this struggle.

“The concept of the ‘Black Box’ music video is a metaphorical depiction of the struggles a contemporary individual, and more specifically a woman, goes through,” the band explains. “A literal battlefield of symbolism and stereotypes thrown against us daily, formed by societal norms and fixed gender roles. We all have encountered these as we run closer to our own finishing lines, minute by minute.”

Musically, 'Black Box' is a heavy, bound-to-the-ground track, with a new flair for the band in the form of dimensional layers of backing vocals. The slow, Tool-style backbone of the song continues to build right up to the epic finish, complete with tempo change and second vocalist in bassist, Bookies.

PUTA VOLCANO are building up their legacy and fanbase, one gig, one album, one song at the time. An already-acknowledged cog in the Greek heavy rock scene, the band formed in 2012, releasing their debut EP Represent Victory Below Eye. PUTA VOLCANO’s debut full-length The Sun (2015) was recognised as a fresh and inspiring offering, and soon after the band started gigging regularly, including 2015’s Rockwave Festival in Athens, alongside The Black Keys and 1000mods.

In 2017 PUTA VOLCANO released their celebrated Harmony Of Spheres LP, a heady mixture of Seattle grunge, stoner and Southern rock, all with a South-Eastern European twist. The year that the quartet truly kicked on, Harmony Of Spheres was toured across the EU, at Desertfest Athens, and led to PUTA VOLCANO supporting Alice In Chains and Fu Manchu at Release Athens Fest last year.

Now we look to 2020, with the forthcoming Amma LP – a highly enterprising and unusual release, full of heft and verve. Elements of Alice In Chains, Melvins, Hole, even A Perfect Circle, Kylesa and Baroness combine to create a tantalising listen, showcasing a young band really hitting their stride.

PUTA VOLCANO are: 
Anna (Lead Singer)
Alex Pi (Guitar)
Steven Stefanidis (Drums)
Bookies (Bass, Backing Vocals)

Alt-rock quartet NEWMEDS are pleased to release their new single and video, 'Psycho', streaming today, 14th February, via Man Demolish Records.

Premiered via Reckless Music, you can now watch the video for 'Psycho' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL5BF443mQs

Listen: 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5fgoQaiDT95kqpKdUfJKOn
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/psycho-single/1493379436
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/music/album?id=Bkgkrxlljchhryanaqdm7lg3mhq

NEWMEDS are fiercely energetic newcomers, influenced variously by punk, metal, hardcore, and skater. An underground supergroup of sorts, NEWMEDS are comprised of four bandmembers from surprisingly disparate scenes, making the group intriguingly hard to pinpoint musically.

Mark Wood (Guitarist) has won Metal Hammer Golden Gods and endorsement deals with Orange Amps with his time in British black metal icons Winterfylleth. Sam Rudderforth (Bass & Vox), in his previous band The Colour Line, toured with bands such as Marmozets and performed at Tech Fest, among other events. Joe Brodie (Drums) performed at Coachella and toured America with Drowners, while frontman Nick Cobley (Vocals) has performed at Reading and V Fest with pop-punk-metal outfit Outspoken Silence.

All members were raised in the UK's famed City Of Culture Hull, forming in mid-2018. The band's live performance is a non-stop whirlwind of energy, ferociously passionate and energetic. The band write with raw passion about real life experiences and society, primarily focusing on mental health, a viewpoint supported by BBC Introducing. NEWMEDS recently completed tour dates with the band LIFE who took a shine to NEWMEDS and asked them to join them on their Scotland and Wales dates.

Watch the band live:

21st Feb - Dive - Hull
19th March - Tiny Rebels Birthdays - Sheffield
26th March - The Gryphon - Bristol
27th March - Suburbia - Southampton
28th March The Exchange -  Keighly 
29th March Underground Stoke
18th April - Adelphi - Hull (Ulltrafest)

More info: https://www.facebook.com/NEWMEDS-155477115147651/