Extreme metallers Psycroptic have announced a new album, As The Kingdom Drowns, due on November 9th from their label Prosthetic Records. You can hear the first single, ‘We Were The Keepers’ below.Continue reading
Tag Archives: Psycroptic
Aborted, Psycroptic, Ingested, Disentomb, Arkaik, Venom Prison Tour Dates
The 2018 Devastation on the Nation lineup was revealed last week, and it’s unbelievably heavy. Aborted, Psycroptic, Ingested, Disentomb, Arkaik, and Venom Prison will be taking part in this year’s trek, with Signs of the Swarm and Vale of Pnath performing at select dates as well. Continue reading
Damnation Festival 2017 – Live At Leeds University Union
Over the course of its 12 incarnations, Leeds based Damnation Festival has grown into surely the most important yearly event for underground music lovers the UK has to offer. Far from merely an Extreme Metal festival, Damnation is the closest the UK has to the all-encompassing nature of Roadburn in its celebration of a wide spectrum of sub-genres. This year’s edition seemed to be especially diverse with a rich amount of Extreme Metal sitting alongside expansive entities and experimental Prog outfits. With four stages within the single complex of the Leeds University Union, and a sell-out capacity crowd (admittedly reduced to counter crowding issues from previous editions), the layout does appear labyrinthian at first, but is pretty intuitive and easy to follow pretty quickly; which with a stacked lineup from top to bottom, makes the continuous rushing from stage to stage a little more bearable at least.Continue reading
Damnation Brings The Heaviest And Grimmest One-Dayer To Leeds Today
The time is nigh! Damnation Festival, the UK’s top one-day underground metal festival is back today at Leeds University Union. The fest is totally sold out again and headlined by Bloodbath, Sodom, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Paradise Lost, Dying Fetus, Dragged Into Sunlight, Nails and many more. Continue reading
Vallenfyre, Grave Pleasures, And Leng Tch’e All Added to Damnation 2017
Three more top-notch bands added to the ranks of Damnation Festival 2017 as Vallenfyre, Grave Pleasures, And Leng Tch’e are added to the bill. Tickets are running out for the UK’s top festival event of the late year.Continue reading
Psychedelic Witchcraft, Wiegdood and Mutation Added To Damnation Festival
Damnation 2017 continues to build on its strong early lineup with three more bands: Psychedelic Witchcraft, Wiegdood and Ginger Wildheart’s Mutation have been added to the ranks. Continue reading
Damnation Festival 2017 Adds Four More Bands, Tickets On Sale Now
Damnation Festival 2017 continue to grow a monster bill with the addition of four new bands. New bands will be added continually all summer and into the fall, while tickets are on sale now. Details below.Continue reading
Festival Preview: Inferno Metal Festival 2016
Raise the horns! Inferno Festival hits Norway this week and for year 16 there is no sign of slowing down. A total of 42 bands, 25 from outside of Norway! From traditional black metal, to thrash, to tech death and more, many a fans music tastes will be delighted by Inferno! Headliners like Mayhem, Marduk, Mysticum, Exodus, Sodom Suffocation, Vader, Nile and Gorguts make this sure to be one of the best the fests history. For the third year in a row, Ghost Cult will be there to cover it!
Today kicks off with the club day featuring bands like headliner and thrash legends Exodus. They wil be joined by Gorguts, Psycroptic, Sahg, Vreidhammer, Mistur, 3rd Attempt, Dødsfall, and more.
Thursday night brings the major night of the fest with Marduk, Cattle Decapitation, Mysticum, Vader, ICS Vortex, and Shores of Null to name a few of major heavy hitters.
Friday might be the most well-rounded day of Inferno. Two death metal legends in Nile and Suffocation, thrash kings Sodom, Blood Red Throne, the epic Craft, Wormlust, The Crawling and more.
Just in time for Easter Sunday, Saturday night will close out the fest with Mayhem, Moonsorrow, Nifelheim, Månegarm , Order, and Nordjevel . As always there are vendors, a music conference, other kinds of entertainment and beer!
Tickets are still available, details below:
4 days festival pass (including club night): SOLD OUT!
3 days festival pass (without club night): 1500,- NOK. (including ticket fee)
http://www.billettservice.no/event/inferno-metal-festival-3-dagerspass-billetter/468605
Club day pass (only wednesday): 460,- NOK. (including ticket fee)
http://www.billettservice.no/event/inferno-metal-festival-klubbdag-billetter/474805
Thursday pass (Marduk, Vader, ICS Vortex) 600,- NOK. (including ticket fee)
http://www.billettservice.no/event/482975
Friday pass (Nile, Sodom, Blood Red Throne) 600,- NOK. (including ticket fee)
http://www.billettservice.no/event/482977
Saturday pass (Mayhem, Nifelheim, Order) 600,- NOK. (including ticket fee)
http://www.billettservice.no/event/482979
Tickets available at Billettservice (http://www.billettservice.no/). Phone: +47 81533133
http://www.infernofestival.net / http://www.facebook.com/InfernoMetalFestival
INFERNO HOTEL
http://www.infernofestival.net/hotelbooking
Single room: 725,00 NOK
Double room:
1 person: 999,00 NOK
2 persons: 999,00 NOK (499,50 per pers)
Superior room:
1 person: 1.180,00 NOK
2 persons: 1.280,00 NOK (640,00 per pers)
3 persons: 1.530,00 NOK (510,00 per pers)
Deluxe room:
1 person:1.280,00 NOK
2 persons: 1.380,00 NOK (690,00 per pers)
3 persons: 1.630,00 NOK (543,00 per pers)
Business Suite:
1 person: 1.480,00 NOK
2 persons: 1.680,00 NOK (840,00 per pers)
3 persons: 1.930,00 NOK (643,00 per pers)
4 persons: 2.180,00 NOK (545,00 per pers)
Executive Suite
1 person: 1980 NOK
2 persons: 2180 NOK (1090 per pers)
3 persons: 2430 NOK (810 per pers)
4 persons: 2680 NOK (670 per pers)
E-mail: inferno.christiania@choice.no
http://www.clarionroyalchristiania.no
Guest Post: Joseph Spiller Of Caricature- End Of Year List
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 Joseph Spiller of progressive metal band Caricature. Caricature put out the acclaimed Shadows: Maxi Single this summer have a full-length in the works for 2016. Here is Joseph’s “Most Topesty Cool Favorite Releases of 2015”.
1. Tigran Hamsayan – Mockroot
How often can an album tote a definite influence of Meshuggah, Dave Brubeck, Keith Jarret, and Porcupine Tree? Add on top that this is still a pure jazz record? Pfffft. This is the sound of someone furthering and redefining a genre.
2. Fetty Wap – Fetty Wap
Yeah, before anyone says it sucks because it’s not metal, listen to this record. Fetty is all hits, all the time. Zoogang knows how to make pop hooks as if it’s in their DNA.
3. Steven Wilson – Hand.Cannot.Erase
Backing band of the century along with the golden god of Prog. Though it gets overly self-indulgent from time to time, Hand.Cannot.Erase is absolutely stunning.
4. Psycroptic – Psycroptic
Do you even riff, Bro? Joe Haley most definitely does.
5. Ghost – Meliora
I never got the hype on this band. I actually disliked almost everything prior to Meliora, but goddamn, did Papa bring that A-game with this heavily Dave Grohl “inspired” record.
6. Abigail Williams – The Accuser
Who doesn’t love a good comeback? Possibly the best thing Ken Sorceron has ever done. Crushing and beautiful with rich song structures. BUY THIS RECORD NOW!
7. Lamb of God – VII: Sturm Und Drang
After all that went on with Randy, the band came back and tell that tale along with snapshot a troubled time in the world perfectly. The riffs and drumming on this record are some of their best to date, and Josh Wilbur killed it on the production side.
8. Baroness – Purple Record
Another “Comeback Record” of sorts. Stronger, more refined, defined. The mesh of only the finest points of Yellow & Green mixed lush instrumentation and what sounds like an intense infatuation with The Cure. This one has it all.
9. Ellie Goulding – Delirium
Though not an immensely technical singer, Goulding has a golden voice. The slight raspiness and harmonically rich tambre makes me envious. This album is LONG for the pop genre, but its all top quality with fantastic hooks meshed with smooth beats and tranquil melodies.
10. Solution .45 – Nightmares In The Waking State
If you don’t know who this band is, we probably cannot be friends. GROOVES
EXTREMELY HONORABLE MENTION:
I’ll be Me – Soundtrack
The delayed release of the soundtrack to the documentary about the legendary guitar player, singer, songwriter, and former member of The Wrecking Crew, Glen Campbell, who has been battling Alzheimer’s Disease for the past few years. This has two live songs from his final tour that will blow your mind considering his state, along with songs from his daughter that will make you cry while your heart flutters. The title track, penned by Mr. Campbell himself as a final letter to his wife and family will give you goosebumps (unless you don’t have a heart.
Brian Giffin – Encyclopedia of Australian Heavy Metal
The Encyclopedia of Australian Heavy Metal (Dark Star) is a thorough listing of most, if not all, of the bands to have been born in the land down under. This is the third revised edition of the encyclopedia lovingly compiled by long time fan Brian Giffin. In his opening he shows the reader just how many people and how much work goes into creating a book of this depth and length. The worldliness of metal is also emphasized. It is clear that Giffin takes Australia’s role on that world stage very serious.
Giffin’s desire to highlight Australia’s presence in global metal is not misplaced. The only Australian band most average music listeners can name is AC/DC. Even then, many mistakenly believe they are from the United Kingdom. Interestingly the encyclopedia seems to confirm that AC/DC are the biggest band to come out of the country. The entry on them is one of the longest in the entire book. One third of the book based resources in the References section are solely written about them. While it is good to acknowledge this part of Australia’s history it also makes the reader wince since the goal of this encyclopedia is to introduce people to all the country’s metal offerings.
This encyclopedia is one of the most in-depth there is out there when it comes to sheer length and number of bands mentioned. Although this is a testament to Giffin’s thoroughness and love for Australian metal it can present itself as a setback. Many of the mentioned acts only have a single sentence to describe them. A good chunk of others read like a “Where Are They Now?” article since there is so much overlap with band members and the formation of new bands out of defunct ones. This is where one wonders if being a completest has been given favor over accessibility. The book may have been more clear and engaging if important bands in certain sub-genres were highlighted and defunct ones were mentioned in the biographies of newly formed bands where appropriate. In defense of the smaller bands being included, there are some interesting entries one may not have heard of otherwise. One such case is the description of Circadian which reads, “Circadian is an enviro-centric one-man doom band…” It makes the reader wonder just how specific one can get with their music approach.
While the encyclopedia is a great example of how passionate metal fans are, it is likely not something casual listeners will be interested in. It is easy for the entries to seem never-ending as the whole work could use more visuals. The wiki version that Giffin mentions in the opening is better for those who just want to look into a few bands from this part of the world. Credit must be given to the man for opening readers’ eyes to just how much music there is to be discovered; especially considering all 342 pages of the encyclopedia is just on metal.
The Encyclopaedia is available now via
Lulu: http://bit.ly/1VEkqeC
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1frgKvY
5.5/10
MELISSA CAMPBELL