ALBUM REVIEW: Bjørkø – Heartrot


Tomi Koivusaari is known for being one of the founding members of the masterful metal act, Amorphis. He has been a champion in one of Finland’s most acclaimed bands for over thirty years and he is now getting ready to release an album from his debut solo project: Bjørkø.Continue reading


Hellfest 2024 Books Metallica, Foo Fighters, Avenged Sevenfold, Machine Head, Body Count, Biohazard, Mr. Bungle and More


Hellfest, held every year just outside of Paris, in Clisson, France, continues to up the ante every year with forever growing and impressive lineups! Taking place from June 27 to June 30, 2024, Hellfest will once again be four days long and over 200 bands appearing on six stages. For 2024, the headliners for each night will be Avenged Sevenfold, Machine Head, Metallica, and Foo Fighters. The full daily lineups, including one more major band tba, and the ticket link are coming soon!

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Doro, Jean Beauvoir, and Visions Of Atlantis Booked for Time To Rock Festival


 

Approaching an almost full 2024 lineup, “Sweden’s coziest rock festival”, Time To Rock, have just added Doro, Visions Of Atlantis, and Jean Beauvoir (Plasmatics) to their bill. With Amorphis and Amaranthe, Uriah Heep and Unleash The Archers, plus many others already announced, the event takes place next July 05th – 08th, at Knislinge, South Sweden. Read below for more.

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NEW MUSIC FRIDAY – New Rock and Metal Releases 10-13-23


What new Rock & Metal records are you looking forward to this week!?

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PREVIEW: New Music Friday – New Rock and Metal Releases 10-13-23


What new Rock & Metal records are you looking forward to this week!?

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ALBUM REVIEW: Phlebotomized – Clouds Of Confusion


 

With a career that has spanned 30-plus years to date (factoring in a 16-year departure), Dutch Death Metaller’s Phlebotomized are a band with a legacy and a cult following even amongst extreme music. Attributed as being one of the first such bands to use additional instrumentation including synths, theirs was a sound that was considered by many unique and pioneering at the time and in part a clear influence on many bands since then and in the current day. With this in mind, how does the new Phlebotomized hold up in the current day? On the evidence of Clouds Of Confusion (Hammerheart), pretty well.

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PREVIEW: 70000 Tons Of Metal 2023 Announces Running Order, Sets Sail Today


The 2023 edition of 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise is here! Setting sail today with 61 other world-class metal bands and 3000 fans on board the Freedom of the Seas, sailing from January 30 – February 3, 2023, from Miami, Florida to Bimini, Bahamas, and back. Ghost Cult will be there! For a last-minute addition to the cruise, Hypocrisy has joined up. The cruise has announced its running order, singing schedule, and more. If you missed the boat (sorry ?) this year, stay tuned to Ghost Cult for our review of the cruise, and how you can go next year!

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Keep Of Kalessin Have Been Booked For 70000tons Of Metal 2023, with Two Exclusive Sets Including a Full New Album Performance


 

Keep Of Kalessin was previously announced as one of the bands on the upcoming 2023 edition of 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise. For one of its two sets on the cruise, the band will perform its entire new album Katharsis in its entirety for one of their sets. They will also perform a special 25th Anniversary Anthology show for their second. They will join 59 other world-class metal bands and 3000 fans on board the Freedom of the Seas, sailing from January 30 – February 3, 2023 from Miami, Florida to Bimini, Bahamas, and back. Have you secured your cabin yet? Only a limited amount of select cabins remain, so book your cabin now at the link below.

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STAFF PICKS: Ghost Cult Senior Editor Steve Tovey’s Top Albums of 2022


Less waffle, more riffs. Favourite, not “best”. Here’s my Top 25 for you all (ranking is fairly nominal, and often based on gut at the point of submission). Lorna Shore ripped my head off, too, but I’ve only listened to it twice as I didn’t get to it at the point of release. That’s my one main omission (I think).Continue reading


Ghost Cult’s Albums of the Year 2022 Part 3 (20 – 1)


Press on, intrepid reader, to find out our top albums of 2022, as voted for by the cast, crew and hangers-on of the good ship Ghost Cult. Over 275 albums were nominated (including one stray and errant vote for Stryper… we’ve had words), some people lauded albums as the greatest of all time that no one else noticed, other albums picked up a steady stream of votes across the board without tickling the top of anyone’s charts, but through it all, we’ve been able to compile our team list of the best 75 albums of the year. And there are some absolute corkers, here. 75 of them, to be exact…

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