GOTTHARD
"# 13"
Hard Rock/ AOR
Year:13.03.2020
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

MORE HARD ROCK EPICS IS COMING!When it comes to Swiss Rock, GOTTHARD are the first that come to mind. After starting 28 years ago in Ticino, the multi-platinum rockers have more than earned their spot amongst the top of the pile. And now, after 16 #1 albums, over three million records sold worldwide and numerous global awards, one would expect Leoni, Lynn, Habegger, Scherer and Maeder to take a little time off. No chance. With more than 2000 live shows all over the world and countless headlining tours under their belts, GOTTHARD show no sign of exhaustion and announce the follow-up for their successful acoustic-album ‘Defrosted 2’. A brand-new album, that proves that this band still have so much Rock’n’Roll left to give. Their 13th studio album is sim...

BURZUM
"THULEAN MYSTERIES"
Atmospheric Black Metal
Year:13.03.2020
(PLASTIC HEAD DISTRIBUTION)

- New album from the legendary and notorious BURZUM. Soundtrack to Burzum mastermind Varg Vikernes’ own fantasy role playing game MYRAROG."Thulêan Mysteries was made passively, in the sense that I never intended to make a new album; I just made music every now and then and at one point realized that I actually had enough to release it all on an album. When asked to do so I figured: why not? It was a good idea. The music is a little bit of this and a little bit of that, transcending any genre, and perhaps belonging to many different genres. The intention with it was always to create a certain atmosphere, often related to an idea or a situation. Since my true passion has never been music, but actually tabletop role-playing games, I figured I should...

BIFF BYFORD
"SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS"
Hard Rock/ Melodic Heavy Metal
Year:21.02.2020
(ADA - Alternative Distribution Alliance)

On February 21st 2020, legendary Saxon frontman Biff Byford will step into the spotlight with his first ever solo album, School Of Hard Knocks.The English North is everything you saw in Game of Thrones and more.  It is the true heart of England, the region where its soul resides, and Biff Byford has earned the right to be considered its true heavy metal bard.In his first ever solo Album, Biff takes on not just tales and stories from his heart and soul, but also investigates the Middle Ages and Medieval history amongst other subjects.School Of Hard Knocks was produced by Biff Byford, recorded by Jacky Lehmann at Brighton Electric Studios in Brighton (UK) and mixed at Queen Street Studios in Stockholm (Sweden) by Mats Valentin. Biff wor...

ROBBY KRIEGER
"THE RITUAL BEGINS AT SUNDOWN"
Rock/ Blues
Year:24.04.2020
(MASCOT LABEL GROUP)

• Robby Krieger is the legendary guitarist and songwriter of The Doors and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. The album features the Zappa members: Jock Ellis (Trombone), Sal Marquez (Trumpet) and Tommy Mars (Keys), AeB Byrne (Flute), Vince Denim (Sax), Chuck Manning (Sax), Joel Wackerman (Drums) and Joel Taylor (Drums).The legendary guitarist and songwriter of The Doors and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Robby Krieger will be releasing his first solo album in 10 years on 24th April 2020. ‘The Ritual Begins At Sundown’ will be released via his new home at The Players Club, a division of the Mascot Label Group.The Doors weren’t just one of the most iconic bands of their generation, but one of the most influential bands in rock...

THE SLEEP EAZYs JOE BONAMASSA
"EASY TO BUY, HARD TO SELL"
Evergreen/ Blues/ Country
Year:10.04.2020
(MASCOT LABEL GROUP)

 -     The SLeep EAZYs features a line-up of world-class players: Joe Bonamassa, Anton Fig, Michael Rhodes, Reese Wynans and John Jorgenson. Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to some of the great players that influenced him as a young guitarist!On April 10, 2020, Provogue Records will release the first album by The SLeep EAZYs, a band with Joe Bonamassa, Anton Fig, Michael Rhodes, Reese Wynans and John Jorgenson with special guests popping in and out throughout the album.On "Easy To Buy, Hard To Sell", Joe digs deep into the history of country, rock & roll and jazz, to pay tribute to some of the great players that influenced him as a young guitarist, like Hank Garland, Jimmy Bryant, Link Wray, Tony Joe White, King Curtis, an...

MY DYING BRIDE
"THE GHOST OF ORION"
Doom Metal
Year:06.03.2020
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

AND THE STORY CONTINUES...MY DYING BRIDE‘s three decades of misery almost came to an end several years ago. Following 2015’s universally lauded »Feel the Misery« album, vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe’s daughter, just five years old at the time, was diagnosed with cancer. Shocked and heartbroken, Stainthorpe put all band activities on hold while he, his immediate family, and MY DYING BRIDE put their collective energies into eradicating what Stainthorpe called, “the cruellest of God's bitter and loveless creations.” The high hurdles, however, didn’t stop with cancer. In 2018, returning original member and guitarist Calvin Robertshaw texted his departure, effective immediately. No reason was given or explanation provided to anyon...

SHAKRA
"MAD WORLD"
Melodic Heavy Metal/ AOR
Year:28.02.2020
(AFM RECORDS)

SHAKRA - 25 YEARS!For a quarter of a century SHAKRA has been part of the music circus. Only someone who's been in a band before, knows how fragile und exhausting this kind of social fabric is. 25 years is a very long time and only a few acts can make this distance. SHAKRA made it and it doesn't look like they'll give up sometime soon. Quite the contrary!Guitarist, Thom Blunier, points out: "I'm extremely proud and thankful, that this band is stil existing after 25 years of Rock'n'Roll. [...] I am ready for the next 25 years!"The band has experienced several highs and lows together, survived turbulences and they also kept their eyes dead on target. This is also reflected in their multiple and regular chart entries in Germany (e.g. #53, #69,...

WARBRINGER
"WEAPONS OF TOMORROW"
Thrash Metal
Year:24.04.2020
(NAPALM RECORDS)

Tremendous riffs and deadly grooves, the unmistakable WARBRINGER sound! Weapons of Tomoorrow – Thrash Metal in a class of its own!Weapons of Tomorrow is poised to be a new-age metal standard, thundering forward with modern influences while staying true to the unmistakable sound of WARBRINGER! The sixth studio album by the Californian thrash metal overlords will stir up the heavy metal scene with an impressive the ultimate headbanger anthem. Weapons of Tomorrow is thrash metal in a class of its own!balancing act between power, heavy and the finest thrash metal. With insanely fast and brutal riffs, as soon as the dynamic, energetic opening track "Firepower Kills” begins, the listener is given a perfect impression as to where this beast of an album will lead them &m...

BURNING WITCHES
"DANCE WITH THE DEVIL"
Female/ True Heavy Metal
Year:06.03.2020
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

THESE GIRLS WILL KICK YOUR ASS!Firstly, BURNING WITCHES are an all-female band clad in jeans and leather. A band feverishly committed to the true, real, galloping thunder of traditional heavy metal. Secondly, they are an inseparable unit, an alliance whose all-weekly Thursday rehearsal is their innermost sanctum. Their holiest rite that they simply never miss, with their rehearsal space being their cathedral.Their third record is embodies the momentum of its predecessor and their countless live shows, propelling their sound onto a whole new level. The opening force of 'Lucid Nightmare' is accelerates at breakneck speed, riff bombardment and double-bass fire; 'Dance With The Devil' is a massively steel-plated stomper with bewitching melodies; t...

ROSS THE BOSS
"BORN OF FIRE"
Heavy Metal
Year:06.03.2020
(AFM RECORDS)

One can't talk about genre defining acts in the metal scene without mentioning one man: Ross "The Boss" Friedman has written music history as a founding member of Manowar and The Dictators. His influence in heavy metal and also punk is noticeable to this day.Manowar's first six masterpieces which saw him significantly involved in between 1982 and 1988 are immortal classics today, and that the band wasn't able to deliver the same quality again after his departure speaks for the New York based guitarist and songwriter.Since 2006 Ross again is releasing traditional and raw epic metal which calls up memories of the Manowar masterpieces from the 80's with its very own style.The brand new "Born Of Fire" is the fourth album of Friedman an...

ALMANAC
"RUSH OF DEATH"
Melodic Power Heavy Metal
Year:06.03.2020
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

- IT IS THE THIRST OF BLOOD THAT LEADS THE AUDIENCE TO THE ARENA!Few artists have left their mark upon the pairing of an electric guitar and orchestra quite like Victor Smolski. For more than 15 years, the guitar wizard from the very heart of Belarus shaped the sonic tapestry of RAGE before finally starting his own project ALMANAC. There – no surprises here – he continued working on the perfect amalgamation of metal and classical music, spiced with enthralling historic themes. After establishing ALMANAC as an uprising metal force with his first two records “Tsar” (2016) and “Kingslayer” (2018), Smolski boldly reshaped the band, and is starting from pole position into what will be a very exciting heavy metal year....

BROTHERS OF METAL
"EMBLAS SAGA"
Power Heavy Metal
Year:10.01.2020
(AFM RECORDS)

- Exceptional Swedish power/heavy metal newcommers Brothers Of Metal return with their second album. 25 million song streams of their debut album "Prophecy of Ragnarök" made Brothers Of Metal instantly one of the most successful European metal acts.-Tthe unique eight-member line up guarantees the perfect blend of Heavy Metal with a Pagan/Viking- and Folk-Touch. Absolute unique characteristic: Brothers Of Metal consist of three singers (among them singer Ylva Eriksson), three guitarists, bassist and drummer ...  for fans of Sabaton, Powerwolf, Manowar.The Gods have finally answered the call of true metal! A new Brothers Of Metal album is on the horizon. Every song on the album is a heavy metal hymn and will thrill new fans and...

THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA
"AEROMANTIC"
Hard Rock/ AOR
Year:28.02.2020
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA are ready to take it even further with the release of their new album »Aeromantic« on 28th February 2020. This time, they’ve gone back to earth, or at least to somewhere 10,000 ft. above the earth, with an airborne soap opera about the inevitable heartbreak, the endless longing, the futile nostalgia and the occasional moments of euphoria you experience when you’re always leaving where you should have been going, traveling to where you should have been.»Aeromantic« is a decadent, melancholic but life affirming assault on all of your senses. THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA has expanded their sound, and »Aeromantic« is an album that contains all your guilty pleasures, everything from mind-melting hard rock, s...

ANVIL
"LEGAL AT LAST"
Heavy Metal
Year:14.02.2020
(AFM RECORDS)

- 'Legal At Last' is the impressive new statement of a band that stands for the same values in 2020 as they did when it was founded in autumn 1978. Anvil enjoy cult status since four+ decades and have been heavily influential to legendary acts such das Metallica and Guns'n'Roses. Everybody in the metal scene knows Anvil, at the latest from their documentary 'The Story Of Anvil' (2009).- "Legal At Last" was produced by Martin ‚Mattes’ Pfeiffer (e.g. U.D.O.). Mixed and mastered by Jörg Uken (Soundlodge Studio, e.g. Stormwarrior, Dew-Scented).When it comes to virtues such as endurance, unconditional commitment and a thoroughly down-to-earth attitude, Anvil are the measure of all things. Like ...

LORDI
"KILL ECTION"
Heavy Metal
Year:31.01.2020
(AFM RECORDS)

- Tenth studio album by finish monster-rockers LORDI. he previous album “Sexorcism” (2018) was one of the most successful albums in the band’s history with several chart entries (DE #20, FI #19, CH #64, AT #74).Officially the Rock/Heavy Metal monsters LORDI were founded in 1992 by lead singer, songwriter, and designer Mr. Lordi. The band has deep Finnish roots, originating from the city of Rovaniemi, in Lapland. In 2006 they celebrated their international breakthrough by winning the Eurovision Song Contest (“Hard Rock Hallelujah”). But is it possible that this is only a pale misperception of our poor, small, pathetic reality? What if LORDI would have already been making usic since the early 70's? And what if they have been ...