ELVENKING
"READER OF THE RULES - DIVINATION"
Folk/ Power Metal
Year:30.08.2019
(AFM RECORDS)

- Tenth studio album by Italian veteran folk/power metal band ELVENKING. "Reader Of The Runes - Divination" is the beginning of a saga that will range over three albums. Excellent mix by Dan Swanö (Katatonia, Marduk, Opeth). Mastering by Tony Lindgren (Amorphis, Dragonforce, Eluveitie, Opeth). Cover artwork by Zsofia Dankova (Powerwolf) [!]"Considering the impressive history of ELVENKING, there is no chance to deny it: The Italian Folk Power Metal band belongs to the most important and unique bands of the scene. Founded in 1997, the musicians soon made their way and established themselves among the leading acts of Europa when it comes to powerful Metal music with Folk and Pagan influences. In 2019, the band releases their next and tenth masterpiece: &ld...

TUNGSTEN
"WE WILL RISE"
Power Heavy Metal
Year:20.09.2019
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

TUNGSTEN was formed in 2016 by drummer Anders Johansson (ex HAMMERFALL, ex YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN’S RISING FORCE) after his sons Karl and Nick Johansson had let him listen to some songs they had composed together. Anders: “I really liked the songs. My sons are of course younger than me, and the songs were modern metal, like something I could never come up with. At the same time, I could hear melodies that reminded me of Nordic folk music that made me think of the past. The overall impression was catchy heavy metal with both past and future present. I asked Karl and Nick if they wanted to join me in a band and play these songs with me, and I’m happy that they accepted”.With drums (Anders), guitars (Nick) and bass (Karl), and newly composed songs, TUNGSTEN...

MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST
"REVELATION"
Hard Rock/ AOR
Year:20.09.2019
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

“Energetic pompy Michael Schenker at his best. He is pumping new fresh life to the old vibes.”SPARK (CZ), David Havlena“A revelation indeed! Michael Schenker Fest, with emphasis on fest! Probably Michael Schenker’s best in decades!”SCREAM (N), Kim Olav SvinesSimon Phillips, Chris Glen, Steve Mann, Gary Barden, Graham Bonnet, Robin McAuley, Doogie White + Ronnie Romero as the only guest!!Energy and emotion are words that Michael Schenker keeps coming back to, and those qualities run deep in „Revelation“, from the first song and single „Rock Steady“, an anthem lit up by those four great voices, all the wa...

CULT OF LUNA
"A DAWN TO FEAR"
Progressive Metal
Year:20.09.2019
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

Building on twenty years of creating some of the most epic, emotive and inventive heavy music unleashed on the world, there is no denying that Cult Of Luna's A Dawn To Fear is a monster of a record. An album comprised of eight tracks running seventy-nine minutes, it embodies everything the band's faithful have come to expect from them while covering new ground. "We knew exactly the album we wanted to make, and that was the antithesis of everything we've done before," says vocalist/guitarist and lead songwriter Johannes Persson. "For pretty much every album there's been a very concrete theme. We've known from the start the kind of story we wanted to tell, and I didn't want that to be the case. I've seen a lot of subtle changes and patterns in my own beh...

EXHORDER
"MOURN THE SOUTHERN SKIES"
Thrash Metal
Year:20.09.2019
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

EXHORDER RELEASE ALBUM AFTER 27 YEARS!From the opening of the first track of »Mourn The Southern Skies«, we are reminded immediately just what EXHORDER is exactly through the spitting rage 'My Time' forces upon our ears. It is evident that the anger remains prevalent, with perhaps a different point of view that younger men could not possibly have understood on earlier albums. Sasha’s energy and punk influence fire the engines, with Jason locking down the foundation tightly. Vinnie once again has proven himself “The Godfather” of thrash riffs, which cut through like a high speed drill bit thanks to the stellar production. A lead guitar face-off in the solo not only exhibits Vinnie’s sometimes under-appreciated skills as a shredder...

SACRED REICH
"AWAKENING"
Thrash Metal
Year:23.08.2019
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

23 years after their last studio album, Sacred Reich loudly return with an outstanding new work. On Awakening they seemingly effortlessly demonstrate that they are still a metal instance. The album offers everything fans have come to expect from the Phoenix troupe in Arizona, and is a timeless collection of energetic thrash songs, overwhelming grooves, killer solos and socio-critical lyrics that testify to a deep understanding of what's happening around the world right now.The return of Dave McClain, who played drums from 1991 to 1997, and the addition of guitarist Joey Radziwill to original six-string Wiley Arnett was tremendously important for the album. The recordings took place at Studio Platinum Underground in Mesa, Arizona under producer Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, C...

BATUSHKA
"HOSPODI"
Black Metal
Year:12.07.2019
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

Emerging from the shadows of eastern Poland back in 2015, black metal band Batushka have established themselves as one of the modern era's most powerful and evocative bands. Harnessing the fire and fury of arcane black metal and channeling it through the reverberant grandeur of ancient rituals of worship, the band's debut album Litourgiya stood apart from the extreme metal hordes: a monument to originality, depth and dark mysticism that swiftly cast its spell over the metal underground and beyond.Fiercely conceived and audaciously executed, Hospodi takes the epoch-shattering essence of Batushka's debut to a new level of idiosyncratic intensity. From the mesmerizing chants of the opening "Wozglas" to the blazing bombast of "Dziewiatyj Czas" and the pulsing, dar...

FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY
"THE SEA OF TRAGIC BEASTS"
Death Metal
Year:25.10.2019
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

The band buckled down in the fall of 2018 to prepare what may just be their defining moment, the Nuclear Blast Records debut »The Sea Of Tragic Beasts«. The intention of FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY to truly carve their own path appears to have been triumphantly realized.The title track wastes no time demonstrating the unbridled primitive aggression and intensity the group has come to perfect. ‘Mirrors’ weaves in and out of saddened passages, chaotic metal, and atmospheric epicness, all while maintaining thoughtful expressions on the human condition. ‘Shepherd’ could very well go down as a melodic death metal classic, and it's cascade into the deeply impassioned ‘Your Pain Is Mine’ is a shining testament to this band's versatil...

SONATA ARCTICA
"TALVIYO"
Melodic Power Progressive Metal
Year:06.09.2019
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

“INSPIRATION COMES FROM THE WORLD AROUND ME.”(Tony Kakko)“I let the music write itself within the loose boundaries and just enjoy the ride”, reveals the creative mastermind of this mighty Finnish sound forge, radiating an inner calm as well as compassion that immediately captivates. It’s undisputed: Tony Kakko - charismatic singer and lyricist of Power Metal heroes SONATA ARCTICA - is a musical genius! He has a delicatly tuned sense for incomparable, deeply epic and complex melodies which not only go into the ear but even deeper; under the skin and into the soul. It’s this atmospheric finesse which has always been born from a multitude of facets, mixed with an interplay of emotions – that characterises the men from the far nort...

KADAVAR
"FOR THE DEAD TRAVEL FAST"
Doom Heavy Retro Rock
Year:11.10.2019
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

Do you remember the final scene of “The Fearless Vampire Killers”? The one with dozing Professor Abronsius in his coach, unaware of what he’s bringing back with him from the east? 50 years on, KADAVAR did the exact same thing. They ventured east – and brought something with them: A gothic horror story turned doom rock. With a decidedly morbid turn, Europe’s hardest working rock band unearth their dark and twisted roots, once and for all defining their unique brand of retro rock, doom and proto metal.Aptly entitled »For The Dead Travel Fast« after German gothic poet Gottfried August Bürger, their doomed fifth record is a perilous journey into the land of the dead, a foray into the bleakest corners of our minds. A heavy, slow-pace...

TWILIGHT FORCE
"DAWN OF THE DRAGONSTAR"
Fantasy Melodic Power Heavy Metal
Year:16.08.2019
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

Lo and behold: The »Dawn Of The Dragonstar« is here! Three years after their spellbinding quest aptly called »Heroes Of Mighty Magic«, the epic metal brotherhood TWILIGHT FORCE is about to unleash their most ambitious, most epic and most daring adventure yet. Sharpen your blades, brew your potions, mend your shields and brace yourselves: A storm is coming. And this time, it will leave no stone unturned. Precise as a flying arrow, ringing as a victorious sword, thundering like a galloping steed, entrancing like a magician’s most potent spell and roaring like a fiery dragon: »Dawn Of The Dragonstar« is the hymn these heroes deserve and will make you ask “Mano-who?”. Roll your dices, bring your lembas, fill your horns: TWILIGHT FORCE ar...

EQUILIBRIUM
"RENEGADES"
Epic/ Pagan/ Viking/ Folk Metal
Year:16.08.2019
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

Progress without estrangement is a rare craft that very few bands truly master. All too often, a band ventures so far from its roots it that loses its trademark sound. And every so often, a band’s stagnation drains all of its charm. Finding that rare balance between the two is a huge task not easily accomplished. And yet there is a band that has been coming close to that perfect balance more and more over the course of the past few years. A band that, ironically, already bears that balance in its well-known name: EQUILIBRIUM.Born in 2001 in Southern Bavaria, the band has long become an Epic Metal powerhouse, a force to be reckoned with. Now, their latest, sixth record “Renegades” is heralding a watershed, the turn of an era for this genre. This is not only ...

WEDNESDAY 13
"NECROPHAZE"
Heavy Metal
Year:27.09.2019
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

The Duke of Spook has returned once more from beyond the grave to reveal the »Necrophaze«!  This latest, full length offering from the ghouls of WEDNESDAY 13 will be available on September 27th, 2019 via Nuclear Blast Records. Heavily influenced by the real life night terror occurrences of Wednesday himself, historical serial killers, and a slew of 80’s horror films, the ideas behind »Necrophaze« are bizarrely familiar, frightening, and a hell of a lot of fun. Being a collector of both media and toys, Wednesday 13 was inspired by a craving for variety to create dual album artwork for this release. The covers showcase either end of the horror spectrum with a “Creepshow” comic book vibe for the LP artwork, and the eeriness of something akin t...

HAMMERFALL
"DOMINION"
True/ Heavy Metal
Year:18.08.2019
(NAPALM RECORDS)

These Swedes are in fine form and have forged an unforgettable metal manifesto!It will go down as a milestone in the career of HammerFall, of that we have absolutely not even a sliver of doubt.” Brave words – but you better believe, because they`re coming from the one and only gods of heavy metal! Mercilessly galloping opener ‘Never forgive, never forget‘ keeps that promise: The Swedes are in fine form and have forged an unforgettable steel manifesto! Dominion is hungry for blood and ready for battle with 12 new tracks: The title track is pure headbanging frenzy with epic backing vocals, ‘Testify‘ shreds like mad, and just to make one thing clear: ‘(We make) Sweden rock‘! Well, certainly not just Sweden will rock, because all o...

RAM
"THE THRONE WITHIN"
Heavy Metal
Year:13.09.2019
(METAL BLADE RECORDS)

There can be few better ways to mark the 20th anniversary of your band than releasing the finest record of your career. In RAM's instance, this comes in the form of The Throne Within, the Swedish quintet upping their game across the board to deliver a record with deep roots in classic heavy metal but wielding an energy and freshness to it that places it very much in the now. "It is unmistakable RAM, there are fast songs, heavy songs, mid-tempo and slower tempos as well. There's melody and there's grit. The arrangements are recognizable but some may be unorthodox," states founding guitarist Harry Granroth."This is a monumental album for us, and I am certain for our fans. We have worked very hard to bring our sound, songwriting and playing to the next level with...