BLUES PILLS
"BIRTHDAY"
Blues/ Classic Rock
Year:02.08.2024
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

Blues Pills unveils their fourth studio album, 'Birthday'. Marked by the lead singer Elin Larsson's discovery of her pregnancy during the recordings and journey to motherhood, infusing the music with profound emotion. Written in just a few weeks in Sweden's serene countryside and produced by Grammy-nominated Freddy Alexander, the album captures Blues Pills' raw energy and magnetic charisma in its purest and most honest form. 'Birthday' symbolizes not just musical evolution but also the deep bond between bandmates, evident in their unwavering support for Elin during this transformative time.CD/ LP:        1. Birthday        2. Don't You Love It     &...

DIMBILD
"DUNKELGLOD"
Dark Progressive Metal
Year:23.08.2024
(HAMMERHEART RECORDS)

Dimbild: A Semi Acoustic Journey from Vintersorg!Dimbild emerged as an semi acoustic side project of the renowned musician Vintersorg in 2022, embracing the folky side of his journey in its full context and keeping the intense metal compositions associated with the main act outside. It’s something that has been growming for years but in 2022 it came into its own shape. Departing from the relentless energy of metal, Dimbild has a more subdued and introspective approach to music-making. The project allow Vintersorg to explore a different facet of his artistic expression, delving further deeper into the realms of folk and acoustic music with a hint of melancholy woven into its fabric.Drawing inspiration from nature, mythology, and existential themes, Dimbild’s music tra...

CASTLE
"EVIL REMAINS"
Doom Heavy Metal
Year:06.09.2024
(HAMMERHEART RECORDS)

The high priests of sinister doom return with “Evil Remains”, their sixth album and first for Hammerheart Records!“Evil Remains” is a hook-laden Heavy Metal thrill-ride into Nosferatu nights! Back after a six year break with the black magic fully recharged, Castle has delivered a juggernaut of riffery in a hook laden mix of doom and psychedelictinged classic metal. Adding to the atmosphere of majestic doom, Elizabeth Blackwell’s haunted, full-blooded vocals are electric witch hymns of death and madness; ‘Hear my warning, heed my call’ indeed.Recorded at Raincity Recorders in Vancouver B.C. by producer Jesse Gander (Anciients, 3 Inches Of Blood, Brutus) “Evil Remains” sonically balances the warm and fuzzy with the bombastic powe...

MISTER MISERY
"MISTER MISERY"
Horror Heavy Metal
Year:02.08.2024
(AFM RECORDS)

- Availabel as CD Jewelcase and TRANSPARENT RED/BLACK MARBLED Vinyl- Sweden’s favourite Horror Metal ghouls MISTER MISERY with their 3rd album!Blending clean and gritty vocals with high-voltage riffs and anthemic choruses, MISTER MISERY have developed a unique sound and style, and one that captures the essence of all the sub-genres in modern heavy music. The upcoming self-titled third album is more refined and mature while still retaining their unique energy. MISTER MISERY are getting ready to take over 2024!Sweden’s favourite Horror Metal ghouls MISTER MISERY return in 2024 with a new epos; their self-titled third album, “Mister Misery”.Be prepared to enter a dark and twisted world inhabited by peculiar creatures like “the Crooked Man” or the countess &...

CATEGORY 7
"CATEGORY 7"
Heavy Metal
Year:26.07.2024
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

CATEGORY 7, the new heavy metal outfit boasting the all-star lineup of John Bush (Armored Saint, Anthrax), Mike Orlando (Adrenaline Mob, Sonic Universe, Noturnall), Phil Demmel (Machine Head, Kerry King, Vio-Lence), Jack Gibson (Exodus), and Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Overkill), will release their self-titled debut full-length on July 26th through Metal Blade Records.With veteran musicians from so many legendary bands, it's hard not to think of CATEGORY 7 as a supergroup. "I think we're pretty super," jokes guitarist Phil Demmel, who has earned mega-metal cred over the decades as a member of Machine Head, Vio-Lence, Kerry King, and has also played as a fill-in road guitarist for Slayer, Lamb of God, Overkill, and others. "Really, I feel like this is a band, not a side project. ...

POWERWOLF
"WAKE UP THE WICKED"
Power Heavy Metal
Year:26.07.2024
(NAPALM RECORDS)

POWERWOLF – a band that fills the hearts of every heavy metal fan with joy – will release their highly-anticipated new studio album,  Wake Up The Wicked, on July 26, 2024 via Napalm Records! With several #1 chart entries and multiple gold and platinum records, POWERWOLF is undoubtedly one of  the most successful current heavy metal bands worldwide. Headline and premium slots at premier rock and metal festivals like Wacken, Hellfest or Graspop, as well as massive sold-out arena shows have further solidified the Wolfpack’s standing at the very top of the scene. POWERWOLF’s high quality  releases are steadily praised by critics and fans alike, building upon the successful reach of their songs and  impressive  official  music  videos,&...

SACRED REICH
"HEAL REISSUE"
Thrash Metal
Year:26.07.2024
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

Arizona Thrashers have announced that they will reissue the hidden gem "Heal" from their rich history on July 26th on CD and vinyl in Europe!"Heal" is the 4th studio album by the Thrash Metal legends, originally released in 1996 via Metal Blade Records and produced, engineered and mixed by Bill Metoyer."We are happy to re-issue the Heal record. It has some heavy tunes and I think was a bit overlooked at the time. You be the judge. Turn it up and play it loud," comments SACRED REICH bassist/singer Phil Rind.CD and vinyl track listings include the bonus track "Beef Bologna" (Fear cover, originally released as a bonus track on the 1996 Japanese release). The CD digipak features a 12 page booklet. Vinyl is available in 180g black, light red orange marbled, transparent steel blue marbled, clear...

KVAEN
"THE FORMLESS FIRE"
Melodic Black Metal
Year:21.06.2024
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

There have been many great extreme metal bands from Sweden, but only one from Kalix. This remote beauty spot near the Finnish border, on the northernmost shores of the Baltic, is home to Jacob Björnfot, creative mastermind behind Kvaen (named after the folk who populated the area in the Viking era). Kvaen’s third album The Formless Fires - their first for those world-renowned headhunters at Metal Blade Records – is a sumptuous but bitingly intense exploration of beauty and violence, a melodic black metal masterwork radiating an inspirational sense of place. Even more than 2020’s folky, speed metal-infused debut The Funeral Pyre or 2022’s compelling, expansive follow-up The Great Below, the vast pine woods and icy lakes are powerfully evoked in the elemental glo...

PORTRAIT
"THE HOST"
Dark Heavy Metal
Year:21.06.2024
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

For almost 20 years, Portrait from Sweden have delivered their ‘heavy metal darkness’ to the world. The bands’ development since the debut demo in 2006 is remarkable. Ever since then, Portrait has managed to develop and stretch their sound into several territories, without losing touch with their original core. Their current day live shows are testimony enough of this, in which songs from the first album or even the Welcome to my funeral demo can be thrown into the set and blend in perfectly with songs from later releases, even though the songwriting and musicianship have developed greatly since the early days of the band.According to the band themselves, their evolution is a result of the goal of finding their own identity as a band. Musical influences will always be par...

HELLBUTCHER
"HELLBUTCHER"
Black Metal
Year:31.05.2024
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

From the depths of the black metal underground, comes one of its most elite figures with a new band and an even more evil attitude. As frontman of legendary Swedish maniacs Nifelheim, Hellbutcher upheld the bad name of real black metal with an iron fist. Now, with this eponymous new band, the frenzied mission continues: nothing less than total metal mania will do. Teaming up with old compadres in evil, guitarists Necrophiliac (also of Mordant) and Iron Beast, bassist Eld, and drummer Devastator (ex-Nifelheim), HELLBUTCHER quickly set about bringing this vision to life. Recording in various locations around Sweden, such as Devastator’s own Red And Black Hall Drum Studio and Iron Beast’s Chrome Studios, and producing and mastering everything themselves, it is a record ...

VISIONS OF ATLANTIS
"PIRATES II – ARMADA"
Symphonic Female Heavy Metal
Year:05.07.2024
(NAPALM RECORDS)

The pirates of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS are about to take listeners on their heaviest symphonic adventure yet with their new studio album, titled "Pirates II – Armada", set for release on July 5, 2024 via Napalm Records. The new successor to their high-charting previous release, "Pirates" (2022),is set as high as the waves cresting the Jolly Roger — taking everything that has been achieved to date to another level. With the second chapter of the pirates' saga, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS prove that they are more than ready to claim the crown of symphonic metal.CD:01    To Those Who Choose to Fight02    The Land of the Free03    Monsters04    Tonight I’m Alive05    Armada06    The Dead of the...

200 STAB WOUNDS
"MANUAL MANIC PROCEDURES"
Death Metal
Year:28.06.2024
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

Slave To The Scalpel saw 200 STAB WOUNDS insinuate themselves into the minds of extreme metal fans, leading to praise from Pitchfork for their “unpretentious brilliance, pitch-black sense of humor” and an “aesthetic [that’s] built around a chugging, groovy riff that stomps down a path of destruction.” Manual Manic Procedures sees the band upping the ante both musically and lyrically.The themes on Manual Manic Procedures run the gamut of classic gore-metal horror subject matter, beloved to the band and their rapidly growing audience. “I'll feel what kind of vibe the song has, and what topic would fit for that particular song,” vocalist/guitarist Steve Buhl explains. “The last song on the new record, ‘Parricide,’ is about someo...

AMORPHIS
"TALES FROM THE THAUSAND LAKES - LIVE AT TAVASTIA"
Folk Metal/ Melodic Death Metal
Year:12.07.2024
(ATOMIC FIRE)

Immerse yourself in a musical phenomenon that is second to none: The 30th anniversary of AMORPHIS' landmark album "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" is celebrated with a live recording that sets new standards in terms of brilliance and intensity. This unique release, available on BluRay, CD and vinyl, was recorded at the iconic Tavastia club in Helsinki, Finland,in chronological order. Available from July 12, 2024, this release manifests AMORPHIS' unparalleled dynamism and artistic uniqueness. Rarely has the raw power and emotional depth of a live performance been captured so authentically as on this sonic memento and extraordinary concert film.“Tales From The Thousand Lakes” unfolds as much more than your average live recording; it is an ode to Finnish mythology, a nod ...

KRYPTOS
"DECIMATOR"
Heavy Metal
Year:05.07.2024
(AFM RECORDS)

KRYPTOS, the Indian Heavy Metal institution is back. Their thunderous seventh studio album "Decimator" has all the old-school trademarks the band is praised for: crushing guitar riffs, barbwire vocals and a more powerful songwriting than ever before. It's the perfect combination of classic 80s metal and caustic thrash sensibilities, dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age.

On 5th of July 2024 "Decimator" will be released as limited orange vinyl, as black vinyl and Jewel Case-CD. Be prepared for this sonic armageddon and crank it up to the max!

CD/ LP:

1. Sirens of Steel
2. Fall to the Spectre's Gaze
3. Turn Up the Heat
4. Electrify
5. Solaris

6. Decimator
7. In the Shadow of the Blade
8. Pathfinder
9. We Are the Night

ANVIL
"ONE AND ONLY"
True Heavy Metal
Year:28.06.2024
(AFM RECORDS)

- The mighty new, 20th(!) studio album by the Canadian heavy metal cult band!- Mix and mastering by Jörg Uken (Soundlodge Studio; e.g. Stormwarrior, Dew-Scented).- Produced by Martin 'Mattes' Pfeiffer (e.g. U.D.O.) & Jörg Uken.Prepare to experience the relentless force of metal legends Anvil with their latest album, "One and Only." As pioneers of the genre, Anvil has forged a path of uncompromising metal excellence for over four decades, and "One and Only" is a testament to their enduring power and influence. Their 20th studio album (!) showcases Anvil at their finest, delivering a relentless onslaught of blistering riffs, thunderous drums, and anthemic choruses that will leave you electrified. With tracks that resonate with the raw energy and passion that d...