Nuclear Blast Records have had a storming year, and they continue their hot streak with the release of Hell Is Where The Heart Is by Oceans. The four piece whose members hail from Berlin and Vienna released their debut EP Into The Void in 2019 followed by Cover Me In Darkness, a second EP in the same year featuring their interpretations of tracks from the likes of Alice In Chains, Deftones and Radiohead, before dropping their debut LP The Sun And The Cold in 2020.
After a brief hiatus from the overarching conceptual narrative that their previous catalogue followed, 2018’s Vaxis- Act 1: Unheavenly Creatures saw Coheed & Cambria make a welcome return to The Armory Wars saga, commencing a new tale within the narrative, one to be told across a five-album span. A span that follows the titular and, currently, little-known character Vaxis, who at the point of Act 1 is unborn but an almost guiding hand to his parents Nia (Sister Spider) and Nostrand (Creature) in their escape. A welcome return with glorious results which means anticipation is rife again for the follow-up as the narrative continues on Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind (Roadrunner). Where Act 1 largely comprised of deceptively sprawling songs and hit a near eighty-minute mark, Vaxis II’s repertoire is generally more succinct with songs around the three-to-four-minute mark. Arguably a more commercial-friendly effort, that thought belies the still present depth within even shorter songs and the areas of innovation throughout which still feels unmistakably in character for the band, despite clear differences to its predecessor.
We recently caught up with Punk Rock Icon John Doe of X recently, to discuss his new solo album, Fables in a Foreign Land (Fat Possum Records), which was released on May 20th, 2022. John discussed his new album, the conceptual story behind the record and the tracks, how he chooses his collaborators and writes for guests, being a published author and poet, his acting career, politics, touring and working harder than ever, and reflections on 40-plus years of X.Continue reading
Something isn’t quite right here.
A Rammstein record a mere three years after the last one and preceded by no rumbling stories of friction between bandmates or nebulous warnings of permanent disbandment? The last time the Neue Deutsche Härte/industrial act had such a swift turnaround was when Reise Reise was followed by fun leftovers album Rosenrot a year later, so could this quick release (by their standards anyway) mean Rammstein are actually happy or could it be hinting at something more ominous?
The season of the witch is upon us!!!! With Halloween just days away, it seemed more than fitting to check out some new Black Metal. Why not listen to some truly “scary movie” music with my favorite holiday just at hand. With that being said, the new cut from Ghost Bath Is a musical force to be reckoned with.
There is a powerful being that has arrived with one goal in mind: wreak havoc over everyone and everything until existence itself is all but wiped out. But it’s not a pandemic, it’s Praenuntius. The South-African six-piece Vulvodynia is responsible for this entity, and they’ve told its story via Praenuntius Infiniti (Unique Leader Records) in the form of crushing Deathcore and downright nightmarish lyrics.
No matter how much you write about a record, you can never quite fully encapsulate the feelings invoked by the music. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Leila Abdul-Rauf’s (Vastum, Ionophore, Cardinal Wyrm, Fyrhtu) words about her new album, Phantasiai, go some way to explaining why this might be. She writes, by way of explanation of the record’s concept:
Ghost Cult is proud to partner up with progressive metal artist Tom De Witt a.k.a TDW for the full album stream of his new release The Days the Clocks Stopped, (Layered Reality Productions). Not only is this album a multifaceted masterpiece, but the album also features a who’s who of great guest stars (full list and credits below). Fans of any stripe of progressive music will adore this killer album, so stream it now! Continue reading
Maryland Metal power trio Dialogia has returned with a new single, premiering at Ghost Cult! “Strata their second single, following the recent new track “Metalurgia”. Their debut full-length Nostrum releases this fall, and pre-orders can be found at their Bandcamp at the link below! Jam it out right now!
Anna Von Hausswolff is a singer-songwriter who has always embraced a progressive attitude to creativity. Never unafraid to straddle genres as diverse as metal, Krautrock, and dark pop, and always remaining elusively undefinable, she has made waves over the past decade with her four previous albums and numerous illustrious collaborations. As well as following her own unique musical path, Von Hausswolff (to name just a few of her achievements and endeavours): runs a record label, has guested with Wolves in the Throne Room and Swans, has supported Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and has hosted visual art exhibitions.Continue reading