Guest Post- Bidi Van Drongelen Top 20 Heavy Albums of 2015


bidi bookings

As we dash towards the holidays and the end of the year Ghost Cult is feeling good about this season of giving. So we are giving our fans a chance to get to know our partners, peers, and friends from bands in the world of music. They will chime in with some guest blogs, end of year lists, and whatever else is on their minds as we pull the plug on 2015. Today we have Bidi van Drongelen, Dutch booker and manager who has worked with the likes of The Devil’s Blood, Saint Vitus, Ghost, In Solitude and many more. Every year a multitude of his bands get booked at the excellent Roadburn festival, and we have asked him what he feels were the best releases of 2015.

 

1. KloneHere Comes The Sun

klone album cover

Great songwriting, amazing vocals, and a crystal clear though heavy production blending prog and post metal.

 

2. Ghost – Meliora

Ghost has it all to become one of the leading melodic heavy rock bands in the world

 

3. BliksemGruesome Masterpiece

Bliksem-Gruesome-Masterpiece

If you like Metallica’s Master of Puppets of Death Angel’s ACT III….with the a raw female voice like Doro.

 

4. Royal ThunderCrooked Doors

royalthunder

Great atmospheric rock album with the amazing voice of Mlny Parsonsz

 

5. TribulationChildren of the Night

tribulation

Melodies of occult rock like The Devil’s Blood drenched with a satanic black voice which reminds of Satyricon.

 

6. Chelsea WolfeAbyss

Chelsea wolfe abyss album cover

Refreshing approach of doom & drone. ART with capital A!

7. Paradise LostThe Plague Within

8. Steak Number EightKosmokoma

9. MelecheshEnki

10. EnslavedIn Times

11. ClutchPsychic Warfare

12. Thy CatafalqueSgurr

13. AmorphisUnder The Red Cloud

14. RAMSvbversvm

15. BRING ME THE HORIZONThat’s The Spirit

16. MgłaExcercises In Futility

17. BaronessPurple

18. LeprousThe Congregation

19. Graveyard Innocence & Decadence

20. Hangman’s ChairThis Is Not Supposed To Be Positive

 

Bidi Bookings online

 


Graveyard- Innocence And Decadence


graveyard innocence and decadence album cover

Over the course of a few albums (this one being the latest and fourth), Sweden’s Graveyard have both bypassed and embraced the “retro” tagline they have been lumped with from day one. Never proving nor looking to be a musically revolutionary band, they wear their influences firmly on their sleeves with their brand of familiar and instantaneous blues-rock. At the same time they are more than just a nostalgia act as Innocence And Decadence (Nuclear Blast) shows, they have some individuality of their own.

On the face of it this may prove straight- forward blues-rock which sticks to a recognisable formula (in a positive sense), but scratch deeper this proves a moodier and darker effort than in previous. Innocence And Decadence sees further exploration of their psychedelic and stoner influences alongside moments of pure melancholy next to some upbeat moments. Album opener ‘Magnetic Shunk’ begins with a slow, stoner crawl which proves the album’s only lapse before half way it picks up in to a more confident and catchy strut. The likes of ‘Exit 97’ and ‘Too Much Is Not Enough’ are slower numbers which encapsulate the bleaker side of blues, whilst ‘Hard-Headed’ begins with a brief, but destabilising fuzz of feedback which invokes some of their heavier peers.

All the while this sounds instantly recognisable as their own and is very catchy and immediate throughout. A significant improvement on the previous Lights Out (Nuclear Blast). It feels much more confident in exploring their further influences whilst not deviating too far from their sound, and most importantly it never falters in quality throughout (bar from the slight misstep at the off). As much as they are proud of their classic influences, the want to seek new styles sees them as so much more than a retro band.

7.0/10

CHRIS TIPPELL


Video: Graveyard Release Animated Trailer For New Album


graveyard innocence and decadence album cover

 

Retro rockers Graveyard have released an official trailer for their upcoming album, Innocence & Decadence via Nuclear Blast on September 25th. You can watch the trailer at this link or below:


Innocence & Decadence track listing:
1. Magnetic Shunk
2. The Apple And The Tree
3. Exit 97
4. Never Theirs To Sell
5. Can’t Walk Out
6. Too Much Is Not Enough
7. From A Hole In The Wall
8. Cause & Defect
9. Hard-Headed
10. Far Too Close
11. Stay For A Song
12. The Hatch (Limited edition digipack bonus track)


Graveyard Unveil Tracklisting For Innocence And Decadence Album


graveyard innocence and decadence album cover

Hot off the heels of their acclaimed US tour with and Clutch and Mastodon, Graveyard has revealed their track listing for their upcoming album Innocence & Decadence, due out on September 25th via Nuclear Blast. Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden at Atlantis Studios with Janne Hansson (Abba, The Hives, Opeth) and Johan Lindström (Tonbruket) the album promises to build on the bands previous stoner rock and psychedelic style.

Graveyard released a statement about their new album:

“Got a new album coming your way in September called Innocence & Decadence. It’s gonna be an album filled to the rim with a little bit of this – and for all of those who might wonder or worry – there will be quite a lot of that on it as well. We’ve had a great time recording the album at the “gemytliga” Atlantis Studios in Stockholm together with Janne Hansson and Johan Lindström. And after kinda being away from our daily routine as a touring band and the thrill of a new album on its way ….. we wanna leave you with…
Good to be gone, great to be back and let there be September!“ Axel, Joakim, Jonathan & Truls aka Graveyard

Graveyard, by Evil Robb Photography

Graveyard, by Evil Robb Photography

Innocence & Decadence – formats and track listing: (vinyl look digipak, digital download, black/clear/splatter/orange/green/bi-coloured vinyl as well as a T-Shirt/CD bundle)

Limited edition DIGI:
1. Magnetic Shunk
2. The Apple And The Tree
3. Exit 97
4. Never Theirs To Sell
5. Can’t Walk Out
6. Too Much Is Not Enough
7. From A Hole In The Wall
8. Cause & Defect
9. Hard-Headed
10. Far Too Close
11. Stay For A Song
12. The Hatch (bonus track)

VINYL:
Side A:
1. Magnetic Shunk
2. The Apple And The Tree
3. Exit 97
4. Never Theirs To Sell
5. Can’t Walk Out
6. Too Much Is Not Enough
Side B:
1. From A Hole In The Wall
2. Cause & Defect
3. Hard-Headed
4. Far Too Close
5. Stay For A Song

CD / DIGITAL / STREAMING:
1. Magnetic Shunk
2. The Apple And The Tree
3. Exit 97
4. Never Theirs To Sell
5. Can’t Walk Out
6. Too Much Is Not Enough
7. From A Hole In The Wall
8. Cause & Defect
9. Hard-Headed
10. Far Too Close
11. Stay For A Song

Swedish grandmasters of classic rock, GRAVEYARD, have revealed the tracklist of their fourth full-length album, Innocence & Decadence out on September 25, 2015 worldwide via Nuclear Blast.

Innocence & Decadence will be released in various formats (vinyl look digipak, digital download, black/clear/splatter/orange/green/bi-coloured vinyl as well as a T-Shirt/CD bundle)

Limited edition DIGI:
1. Magnetic Shunk
2. The Apple And The Tree
3. Exit 97
4. Never Theirs To Sell
5. Can’t Walk Out
6. Too Much Is Not Enough
7. From A Hole In The Wall
8. Cause & Defect
9. Hard-Headed
10. Far Too Close
11. Stay For A Song
12. The Hatch (bonus track)

VINYL:
Side A:
1. Magnetic Shunk
2. The Apple And The Tree
3. Exit 97
4. Never Theirs To Sell
5. Can’t Walk Out
6. Too Much Is Not Enough
Side B:
1. From A Hole In The Wall
2. Cause & Defect
3. Hard-Headed
4. Far Too Close
5. Stay For A Song

CD / DIGITAL / STREAMING:
1. Magnetic Shunk
2. The Apple And The Tree
3. Exit 97
4. Never Theirs To Sell
5. Can’t Walk Out
6. Too Much Is Not Enough
7. From A Hole In The Wall
8. Cause & Defect
9. Hard-Headed
10. Far Too Close
11. Stay For A Song