TEMPERANCE
"HERMITAGE - DARUMAS EYES PT. 2"
Symphonic Progressive Heavy Metal
Year:20.10.2023
(NAPALM RECORDS)

Welcome to Hermitage - Daruma's Eyes Pt 2, a spectacular fantasy story by the melodic symphony maestros TEMPERANCEItalian maestros of modern melodic/symphonic metal TEMPERANCE unleash their brand new, conceptual seventh album, Hermitage - Daruma's Eyes Pt. 2, out on October 20, 2023 via Napalm Records! Expanding the characteristic sound of the band with a new member, professional opera/metal singer and vocal coach Kristin Starkey, the essence of charismatic singer Michele Guaitoli (Visions of Atlantis) and mastermind singer/guitarist Marco Pastorino (Serenity) reaches a higher level. Guest musicians like Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), Fabienne Erni (Eluveitie, Illumishade), Laura Fella (Faun) and Alessandro Conti (Twilight Force) complement the exciting journey.Following the release of...

ALKALOID
"NUMEN"
Technical Death Metal
Year:15.09.2023
(SEASON OF MIST)

Numen is ALKALOID’s third album and it’s got some of the band’s most intricate, thought-provoking and batshit insane ideas yet. The album is narrated from the god-like perspective of an ancient alien, who can reshape the entire galaxy with its demonic grunts. ALKALOID are still bonded together by their love of death metal. After all, this is a supergroup assembled from foundational members of OBSCURA, DARK FORTRESS and SPAWN OF POSESSION. The fiery, finger-tapped solo that squiggles loose about halfway through “Clusterfuck” is crushed like an ant beneath a Drop D mallet storm. But Numen finds the Bavarian band playing around with all kinds of genre experiments. “The Cambrian Explosion” flips tech-death on its horned head with seductive flurries of ...

SILENT SKIES
"DORMANT"
Progressive Metal
Year:01.09.2023
(NAPALM RECORDS)

"Whenever EVERGREY’s Tom S. Englund and acclaimed US-based pianist/composer Vikram Shankar (Redemption, Lux Terminus) come together to merge their creativity, the result is magic. Now arrives the next product of this fateful encounter, as the Swedish-American cinematic-pop duo releases its third album, Dormant, on September 1, 2023 via Napalm Records. Continuing on the atmospheric path of Scandinavian melancholy charted on their previous full-lengths, Nectar (2022) and Satellites (2020), the brainchild of Englund and Shankar features stunning piano melodies, atmospheric keyboards, lush and expansive soundscapes, and hauntingly beautiful and intense vocals on 10 original compositions, accompanied by bonus tracks, covers of well-known classics by Iron Maiden, Linkin Park, and more, dre...

MARC HUDSON
"STARBOUND STORIES"
Power Heavy Metal
Year:25.08.2023
(NAPALM RECORDS)

"After 12 years with DragonForce, vocalist Marc Hudson presents his first solo album, entitled Starbound Stories, set for release via Napalm Records on August 25, 2023! Starbound Stories is a sparkling, anime-inspired power metal ride, heavily influenced by both Japanese music and video game soundtracks, and featuring a horde of notable guests. Instrumental album opener “As The Twilight Met The Sea” acts as an introduction to the soundscapes of the album and features samurai metal master Ryoji Shinomoto (RYUJIN, previously known as Gyze) on traditional Japanese instruments. Shinomoto also lends his vocals on the following track, “Freedom Heart”, which also features a solo by guitar virtuoso Syu (Galneryus). Explosive power metal anthem “Dracula X&rd...

HOLDING ABSCENCE
"THE NOBLE ART OF SELF DESTRUCTION"
Progressive Metal/ Doom
Year:25.08.2023
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

HOLDING ABSENCE’s new album is a testament to how our life’s story is never fully told, with opportunities for change and growth found in every moment, from the depths of despair to the euphoria of our greatest loves. Whether adding flourishes of colour to an already picturesque painting, or chiselling away at the marble to reveal the beauty within, "The Noble Art of Self Destruction" – the final act in a trilogy of records encompassing the first chapter of HOLDING ABSENCE’s career – speaks to how we are each an unfinished work of art with new meanings and qualities waiting to be discovered.

CD/ LP:

1. Head Prison Blues
2. A Crooked Melody
3. False Dawn
4. Scissors
5. Honey Moon

6. Death, Nonetheless
7. Her Wings
8. These New Dreams
9. Liminal
10. The Angel In The Marble

OF MICE & MEN
"TETHER"
Heavy Metal
Year:06.10.2023
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

Few hard rock albums are as intimate as the modern output from OF MICE & MEN. While their songs pack the kind of rhythmic punch and anthemic bombast that thrills festival crowds, the confessional lyrics, and haunting melodies are the heart of what they do. Taking all creative matters into their own hands, the Southern California quartet self-produced and engineered all of the songs on „Tether“, their astonishing eighth album. Frontman Aaron Pauley mixed and mastered the album while Drummer Valentino Arteaga designed and painted the album's artwork. As a legion of devoted listeners worldwide has come to expect, guitarists Phil Manansala and Alan Ashby, Aaron, and Tino poured their hearts and souls into every note, creating another sonic document of their live...

CARNIFEX
"NECROMANTEUM"
Death Metal
Year:06.10.2023
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

"Necromanteum" is a musical journey through the darkness to speak with death itself. With it's blast beats, blackened riffage, heavy breakdowns and epic orchestral arrangments, it's a visceral experience that only CARNIFEX can deliver. What secrets will you uncover in the "Necromanteum"?

CD/ LP:

1. Torn In Two
2. Death's Forgotten Children
3. Necromanteum
4. Crowned In Everblack
5. The Pathless Forest

6. How The Knife Gets Twisted
7. Architect Of Misanthropy
8. Infinite Night Terror
9. Bleed More
10. Heaven And Hell All At Once

SVALBARD
"THE WEIGHT OF THE MASK"
Post Black Metal
Year:06.10.2023
(NUCLEAR BLAST)

British Alternative Metal quartet SVALBARD return with their new album „The Weight Of The Mask“, the follow-up album to the critically acclaimed „When I Die, Will I Get Better?“ which featured in both Kerrang and Metal Hammer’s top 10 albums of 2020.Formed in 2011 SVALBARD have gained the momentum of a runaway freight train - releasing 3 albums whilst continuing to refine their vast array of musical influences; black metal, hardcore and post-metal, drawing from video game soundtracks, even grindcore and dream pop, all buried within a distorted yet dynamic sound. Throughout this, SVALBARD succinctly articulate the reality of mental illness and the impact that depression has on your relationships and ability to communicate.With „The Weight Of The Mask&ldqu...

VARG
"EWIGE WACHT"
Pagan Folk Metal
Year:13.10.2023
(NAPALM RECORDS)

VARG, Germany’s top-notch pagan metal force, returns stronger than ever on their new album, entitled Ewige Wacht, to be released on October 13, 2023 via Napalm Records. With their last and most successful record to date, Zeichen (2020, #16 in the German album charts), VARG put the thematic and musical focus completely on their pagan roots. On their brand new brainchild, the wolves follow this path unwaveringly, honest, authentic and raw, and impressively manifest their reincarnation and matchless standing on top of the scene alike! In addition to eleven brand-new songs, the 2-CD Digipac features an exciting bonus CD on which all the songs are performed by a wide variety of well-known guests, including Rotting Christ, Kanonenfieber, Alestorm, Nachtblut, Korpiklaani, Obscurity, Tyr, Fo...

BLACK STONE CHERRY
"SCREAMING AT THE SKY"
Blues/ Classic Rock
Year:29.09.2023
(MASCOT LABEL GROUP)

    The bands most recent release, 2020’s ‘The Human Condition’, debuted at #1 on the UK Rock Albums Chart. This is the 6th consecutive #1 debut for the band. Besides the UK, the album charted in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and The Netherlands.Proud Kentucky rockers, Black Stone Cherry, emerge from a challenging few years triumphantly with a behemoth of an album, Screamin’ At The Sky, out September 29th. The four-piece band’s eighth album explodes with urgently-emotive pop-rock hooks; heartfelt, redemptive lyrics; headbanging riffs; powerful dynamics; thunderous drums; and its most thrilling musicianship yet. The 12-song collection is also BSC’s biggest and best sounding album. The self-produced studio record was tracked at a classic Ken...

SKALMOLD
"YDALIR"
Folk Metal
Year:18.08.2023
(NAPALM RECORDS)

After reigning in the metal scene for almost 15 years, Viking metal giants SKÁLMÖLD will unveil their highly anticipated sixth studio album, Ýdalir, on August 18, 2023 via Napalm Records. With their first record in five years, the Icelandic six-piece are bound to exceed all expectations – inspired by several Icelandic sagas and Norse mythology, such as the poem Grímnismál.Starting off with soothing opener “Ýr“, gentle acoustic guitar and organs are the calm before the storm. Catapulted to a dwelling owned by the god Ullur, the unsettled “Ýdalir“ builds with its hypnotizing guitar rhythms and galloping drum sounds, building a solid ground for ominous and dark growls. Carried by a breathtaking guitar solo, strident ...

FIREWIND
"STILL RAGING - 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW"
Power Heavy Metal
Year:01.09.2023
(AFM RECORDS)

The Greek power metal legends, FIREWIND led by ex-Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G. and vocalist Herbie Langhans (Avantasia), returning with an incredible live album „Still Raging - 20th anniversary show“! The show was recorded at Principal Club Theater in Greece, in 2022 and will be released as BluRay including double CD disc digipak. Raise your fist for 106 minutes (20 tracks) of finest power metal live performance!For Fans Of: Primal Fear, Helloween, Dream Evil, Brainstorm ...CD1:1. Welcome to the Empire (20th Anniversary Show)2. I am the Anger (20th Anniversary Show)3. Head Up High (20th Anniversary Show)4. Devour (20th Anniversary Show)5. Destination Forever (20th Anniversary Show)6. Orbitual Sunrise (20th Anniversary Show)7. World on Fire (20th Anniversary Show)8. Drum ...

OBLIVION PROTOCOL
"THE FALL OF THE SHIRES"
Progressive Metal
Year:18.08.2023
(ATOMIC FIRE)

Six years after Threshold’s "Legends of the Shires", prog mastermind Richard West returns to these shores to deliver a long-awaited sequel with a brand new supergroup: OBLIVION PROTOCOL"The fall of the shires" is available as limited CD in a lush digipak.At its best, prog can be a safe haven from the storm outside, a soothing experience with healing and escapist qualities. Genuine musicianship, pure emotion and a penchant for supreme melody make this music a journey, an experience for which records and headphones were invented in the first place. At the forefront of prog music stands Richard West, renowned keyboard wizard and songwriter for British prog metal pioneers Threshold for over 30 years. Six years after their epic masterpiece "Legends of the Shires", West returns to these sh...

NYTTLAND
"TOREM"
Folk Metal
Year:06.10.2023
(NAPALM RECORDS)

The new masterpiece by Siberian dark folk duo NYTT LAND invites fans of HEILUNG and beyond into a spiritual, cosmic world!"Formed by shamanic couple Natasha “Baba Yaga” and Anatoly Pakhalenko in 2013, NYTT LAND is one of the most captivating and haunting acts the dark folk music scene has to offer. This fall, on October 6, 2023, the Siberian duo returns with its ninth epos, titled Torem, via Napalm Records.Torem invites listeners into a mystic world of ancient percussive instrumentation and mesmerizing vocal spheres. The album takes you on a unique sonic experience and journey of the band's new trilogy, dedicated to the three worlds in the cosmology of their land. Torem is sung in old languages Khanty (Siberian Native Tribe) and Old Norse (Old Icelandic), and its title, in...

BRIAN SETZER
"THE DEVIL ALWAYS COLLECTS"
Rockabilly/ Blues
Year:15.09.2023
(MASCOT LABEL GROUP)

Creative sparks and killer riffs are flying everywhere on Brian Setzer’s new album The Devil Always Collects out September 15 via Surfdog Records. The 3-time Grammy award-winners guitar work is bracingly virtuosic and blazing on these 11 tracks, and his irresistible vocals thrillingly deliver the clever storylines of catchy songs like “The Devil Always Collects,” “The Girl On The Billboard,” “Black Leather Jacket” and “Rock Boys Rock.” Add in non-stop breakneck rhythms, and you have an album—produced by Brian Setzer and Julian Raymond and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge—that stands with Setzer’s best.It’s always been Brian’s special talent to inject the roots of rock with a contemporary freshness that un...