Dream Theater: The Looking Glass – new video & Dream Theater – full album stream

“Some will not admit their fifteen minutes have expired/Too much attention much too soon/Don’t see you walking on the moon/You are caught up in your gravity/Bathing in the spotlight/Imitating fame…” observe DREAM THEATER on ‘The Looking Glass’, off the band's highly successful self-titled twelfth studio album, released through Roadurnner Records in September 2013. DREAM THEATER's first album to involve new drummer Mike Magnini in the creative process from the beginning, had become DREAM THEATER's second highest charting album in the States (landing at number 7 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, behind 2009's ‘Black Clouds & Silver Linings’ which peaked at number 6) and their third consecutive album to enter the Top 10. Furthermore, ‘Dream Theater’ had conquered the Indonesian, Japanese and UK Rock charts, came in at number 2 in Italy, Hungary and Finland, at number 3 in Argentina, at number 4 in Germany, Holland and Czech Republic and number 5 in Canada, Sweden and Switzerland (and the list goes on). In the US alone, ‘Dream Theater’ had sold around 34,000 copies in its first week. Produced by guitarist John Petrucci and mixed and engineered by Richard Chycki, the album that earned its creators a Grammy nomination in “Best Metal Performance” category for ‘The Enemy Inside’, can be still heard in full here (Rolling Stone). Order ‘Dream Theater’, its art created by Hugh Syme, from the band's site here, or grab a copy from Roadrunner USA store here etc:

Formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts by guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung and drummer Mike Portnoy, with vocalist James LaBrie joining in 1991, the first DREAM THEATER album, 1989's ‘When Dream And Day Unite’, featured Charlie Dominici as lead vocalist. Their first album recorded with LaBrie, 1992's ‘Images And Words’, is the band's most commercially successful studio album to date. Entering the Billboard Top 200 at number 61 upon its release, the album was later certified Gold by the RIAA. The last DREAM THEATER album to feature keyboardist Kevin Moore, 1994's ‘Awake’ which peaked at number 32 on the U.S. Billboard Top 200, was followed by 1997's poorly received ‘Falling Into Infinity’, which debuted on the US charts at number 52. With Jordan Rudess firmly behind the keyboards, DREAM THEATER next recorded ‘Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory’; issued in 1999, it was voted “the number one all-time progressive album” in a poll conducted by Rolling Stone in 2012. The group's sixth album, 2002's ‘Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence’ which explored different themes of lifetime struggle such as alcoholism, loss of faith, self-isolation, sanctity of life and death and various mental illnesses, landed position number 46 on the Billboard Top 200. After 2003's ‘Train Of Thought’ came the band's final release on Atlantic Records, 2005's ‘Octavian’, followed by their first album issued on Roadrunner Records, 2007's ‘Systematic Chaos’, which peaked in the top twenty in eight countries' sales charts (at number 19 in the USA): 

The last album to feature founding member Mike Portnoy, 2009's ‘Black Clouds & Silver Linings’, conquered European Albums Chart as well as Finnish and Hungarian charts, came in at number 2 in Japan, at number 3 in Sweden, Germany and Holland, at number 4 in Poland and at number 6 in USA and Canada:

2011's ‘A Dramatic Turn Of Events’, for which DREAM THEATER “underwent a self-proclaimed musical change, reevaluating and restructuring themselves”, was a commercial success, selling 36,000 units in the United States in its debut week, where it charted at number 8 on the Billboard Top 200:

DREAM THEATER features: James LaBrie – leading vocals, John Petrucci – guitar and backing vocals, John Myung – bass, Jordan Rudess – keyboards and Mike Mangini – drums

Fleshgod Apocalypse: Pathfinder – new video

Dio mio! Italian demigods (at least in the eyes of many) FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE have a new album out since August 2013 and I have found out about it just now! An unforgivable oversight on my part. Entitled ‘Labyrinth’, symphonic death metal horde's third full-length album was produced, mixed and mastered by Stefano Morabito at 16th Cellar Studio in Rome, while its art comes courtesy Colin Marks. According to vocalist and guitarist Tommaso Riccardi, the concept of ‘Labyrinth’ is based upon the myth of the Labyrinth of Knossos and every character related to it. (King of Crete, Minos, son of Zeus and Europa, ordered Daedalus to construct a labyrinth in which he kept his son, the Minotaur. Every nine years, he would send seven young boys and seven young girls to the labyrinth, to the Minotaur. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in the underworld.) The band had reportedly “focused on the philological aspect in order to represent all the elements of the classic world and, through a manic and meticulous research, they managed to create a metaphor with our times, as the maze can be associated with the endless search for what we really are”. Described as “grandiose, powerful” by Exclaim.ca, and (“they could be singing about bacon… it’d still) epic, delicious” by MetalSucks, ‘Labyrinth’ awaits your order here (Nuclear Blast Records' store), on iTunes and at Amazon's; furthermore, visit FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE's official store here where you’ll find FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE extreme traditional handcrafted pasta (30% off!!!) and FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE “Minotaur” and “Ariadne” wine (help available in video form below), as well as the band's latest CD and the rest of it.

Formed in 2007 in central Italy, FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE's debut full-length album, ‘Oracles’, came out in 2009 through Willowtip Records and Candlelight Records. Phil Freeman, AllMusic, found it “something of a missed opportunity”, although he acknowledged that “the band can definitely play, and the songs are good” (more here). FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE entered the 16th Cellar Studio in Rome once again to record an EP called ‘Mafia’ which was released in 2010 through Willowtip Records: 

In early 2011, the band had signed a worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast Records and their Nuclear Blast Records debut, ‘The Agony’, followed in in August 2011; it sold over 1,400 copies in the United States in its first week, and had entered the Billboard's New Artist Chart at number 18:

“Italy has never yielded a truly brilliant extreme metal band - until now. FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE create crushing brutal death metal laced with sweeping orchestrals and pained wailing vocals, and ‘The Agony’ is a total triumph for this young band. Most notable is FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE's ability to weave chuggy riffage and tireless blast beats with epic orchestral passages, resulting in a tapestry of romantic brutality,” [wrote Revolver's Christopher Krovatin – more here:]

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE features: Tommaso Riccardi – vocals and guitar, Paolo Rossi - bass and clean vocals, Cristiano Trionfera – guitar and vocals, Francesco Paoli - drums, guitars, and vocals and Francesco Ferrini – piano and orchestration 

Darkane: Mechanically Divine – new video & The Sinister Supremacy – full album stream

 

 

Its video created by Sinemax Produktion, ‘Mechanically Divine’ comes off DARKANE's first new material album in over five years, ‘The Sinister Supremacy’. Mixed by Daniel Bergstrand (Dugout Productions), its art, representing a “Rorschach test as seen by an individual who has completely succumbed to the sinister supremacy”, created by Carlos Holmberg, ‘The Sinister Supremacy’ was issued in June 2013 in Europe (Massacre Records) and in July 2013 in North America (Prosthetic Records). Featuring the return of original vocalist Lawrence Mackrory, the album showcases a new, darker and heavier sound, while remaining true to melodic death and technical thrash: visit Metal Injection here to hear ‘The Sinister Supremacy’ in its entirety. Get your own copy of the album through Amazon, Massacre Records and here (Prosthetic Records store):

“The band ramps up the hostility, but at the same time the songs are more accessible than ever before. The riffs are pummeling and drummer Peter Wildoer is a beast behind the kit. Mackrory brings the vocals to an aggressive level that the band hasn’t seen, but at the same time his use of enunciation and unique blend of melodic vocal melodies is remarkable,” [commented Dan Drago, About.com – more here]

 

 

Formed in 1998 in Helsingborg, Sweden by guitarist Christofer Malmström and drummer Peter Wildoer, DARKANE first recording also featured bassist Jörgen Löfberg, guitarist Klas Ideberg and vocalist Bjorn “Speed” Strid, whom you may know as SOILWORK vocalist. Due to conflicting commitments with SOILWORK, Strid was replaced with  Lawrence Mackrory who happened to be producer's Daniel Bergstrand studio assistant at the time. And thusly, DARKANE debut full-length, 1999's ‘Rusted Angel’, came about. Alas, Mackrory, also FORCEFEED frontman, could not join DARKANE on ensuing tour; luckily, Andreas Sydow, throgh some persuasion, eventually relented. Comprised of “many moments of near-virtuoso accomplishment and athleticism” (Jason Anderson, AllMusic – more here), DARKANE sophomore album, ‘Insanity’, followed in 2001 on Nuclear Blast Records. Encouraged, (the band had rebuilt their practice space adding “a great deal of recording equipment”) and recorded DARKANE's third album under the watchful eye of Daniel Bergstrand. ‘Expanding Senses’, released in 2002, “boasted a potent balance of brutality, musicality, and style” (Andy Hinds, AllMusic – more here). Following the release, the band had toured extensively throughout Europe, the U.S. and Japan; consequently drummer and founding member Peter Wildoer suffered a serious wrist injury, causing the band to wait until he, Wildoer, fully recovered. In 2004, DARKANE began recording ‘Layers Of Lies’ which was completed by spring of 2005. Following the promotional tour, DARKANE filmed a hometown concert which they released as their first official live DVD, ‘Layers Of Live’. In 2007, after vocalist Andreas Sydow left, the band engaged vocalist Jens Broman with whom they recorded their fifth album, 2008's ‘Demonic Art’:

“DARKANE continue to distinguish themselves with the high degree of musicality with which they manage to embellish the harsher elements of their songwriting; including everything from symphonic passages, to tightly wound harmonies and jaw-dropping guitar solos (as melodic as they are technically complex),” [wrote Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic – more here]

DARKANE features: Lawrence Mackrory – vocals, Christofer Malmström – guitar, Klas Ideberg – guitar, Jörgen Löfberg – bass and Peter Wildoer – drums

 

 

Indian: Rhetoric Of No – new video & From All Purity – full album stream

You will suffer through the new INDIAN video ‘Rhetoric Of No’, created by Madeline Quinn, and later on you will suffer through the new INDIAN album ‘From All Purity’. While the band think of it modestly as their “darkest and most varied material to date”, their label, Relapse Records, admits it to be the “true antithesis of easy listening”, promising it will ruin your day. Decibel says ‘From All Purity’ is “the sound of four guys hammering away the pain”, Metal Insider describes it as “pummeling, atmospheric, blackened doom that lives somewhere in some alternate universe where the evilest of sounds are worshiped for their darkness, their bleakness, their lack of all hope at all”, while always entertaining MetalSucks applauds:

“It’s just so fucking ugly and unpleasant that, unless you’re in the mood to go looking for diamonds in the vomit-encrusted rough, it can sound like an endless, sickly death march. It clocks in at just under 40 minutes, but it sounds like an eternity. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing: INDIAN know that doom's slowness can be used to stretch out one's concept of time to submerge whoever’s listening into something truly vicious. ‘From All Purity’ does that masterfully. If you’re brave enough to venture in, you’ll find yourself knee-deep in some gnarled brilliance. It may smell like bat guano, though.” [Sammy O'Hagar (who writes for MetalSucks and not the Washington Post nor Cat Fancy, and has been doing so since 2008 for all three) – more here]

Celebrating along with the Americans and the Norwegians their first (that I know of) 2014 Winter Olympics gold medals as I am writing this, do venture in, from the album's hateful beginning to its bitter end, below. Recorded at Electrical Audio and Soma Studios in Chicago with engineer/co-producer Sanford Parker, INDIAN's fourth longplayer is out now everywhere (since January the 21st, 2014) through Relapse Records. It awaits your brave order here (Relapse Records' store), on iTunes, Amazon and BandCamp: 

 

These blackened-doom-noise-terrorists, INDIAN, operate out of Chicago, Illinois since 2003. In fact, claims the label, INDIAN had spent much of their formative years developing the volcanic sound that now seems as natural to them as breathing. Their debut EP, 2004s ‘God Slave’, was a self-released mission statement, “welcoming the band into the world like young, kicking, screaming giants”. INDIAN's full-length debut, ‘The Unquiet Sky’, came out in 2005 via Portland, Oregon-based Seventh Rule Recordings in 2005, followed by ‘Slights And Abuse’ in 2007 and ‘The Sycophant’ a year later. Each of these releases found the band gaining momentum and attracting followers, including Relapse Records. In 2010, the band began to craft their fourth full-length, ‘Guiltless’, issued in 2011 to rave reviews (Metal Hammer called it a “pretty much an essential album”):

“The one-two punch of the eight-minute death march ‘Guiltless’ and the four-minute, double bass drum-driven ‘Guilty’ is the album's centerpiece, and it’s savagely assaultive but oddly cathartic at the same time, the soundtrack to curling up on your bedroom floor and screaming into a pillow. As with most sludge and doom metal, it all gets a little oppressive after 40 minutes, but taken one or two songs at a time, ‘Guiltless’ is a potent album by a band with a lot of power and the talent to use it wisely,” [wrote Phil Freeman, AllMusic – more here:]

INDIAN features: Dylan O'Toole – guitar and vocals, Will Lindsay – guitar and vocals, Ron DeFries – bass and Bill Bumgardner – drums

Behemoth: The Satanist – new album

And so, Mesdames et Messieurs, one of the most anticipated albums in recent heavy metal music history is here: BEHEMOTH's ‘The Satanist’. Already besetting North American (and Japanese) stores since February the 4th, 2014, courtesy of Metal Blade Records, the album will become available in Europe and Australia tomorrow, February the 7th, through Nuclear Blast Records/EVP Recordings. Relentlessly (and not always prudently: “And last thing before [yo]u masturbate and fall asleep… vote [for BEHEMOTH] in this poll…” likes to instruct the band's front-man Nergal – more here) promoted, we have been thus far informed that BEHEMOTH's “sounds and words on the album are like huge phallus that brutally rapes every taboo concept or sanctity” and that “ ‘The Satanist’ is a manifesto of wise man, a free man, a man who dares to say no” (Nergal, Prologue I), that ‘The Satanist’ is “to show [BEHEMOTH's] best features but also [their] imperfections” (Orion, bassist, Prologue II) and that “at one point rhythm and arrangement became the consequence of musical maturity [since] the drums often play the role of an introduction to the trance” (Inferno, drummer, Prologue III). And since Seth (guitarist) doesn’t do prologues, many thousands of fans watched bespectacled Nergal throwing darts in expertly dimmed room located somewhere in BEHEMOTH castle in Prologue IV, heh (more here/BEHEMOTH YouTube channel). And the critics are responding: AllMusic's Gregory Heaney describes the album as “a vital, crushing monster of an album - fans should be ready to either go along for the ride or be crushed” (more here) and Decibel's Adrien Begrand writes: ‘The Satanist’ is “one hell of a statement - an album that leaves an immediate impression, one that’s difficult to shake” (more here). For me, what constitutes a good album/album of the month is the absence of a frantic need to find the “next track button” on my iPod, and I am allowing the possibility ‘The Satanist’, of all BEHEMOTH albums, comes closest. Or to borrow Adrien Begrand's words once more: “the band has created more space for the music to breathe”. And now to the technical stuff: ‘The Satanist’ was produced by BEHEMOTH, Wojtek and Slawek Wieslawscy and Daniel Bergstrand in Hertz Studio in Białystok, Poland, mixed by Matt Hyde and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. The cover art was painted by renowned Russian painter and occultist Denis Forkas (the paint used allegedly included some of Nergal's own blasphemous blood), with additional art and design completed by Metastazis and Zbigniew Bielak. Lyrically, you know the drill by now; the group's chief lyricist was put on trial in his home country for publicly denouncing religion, after all. (They, the lyrics, also read as tourist guide to the Holy Land: with ‘Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel’ we visit עמורה (Gommorah/Dead Sea/Masada), with ‘Furor Divinus’ we tour גת שמנים‎ (Gethsemane/Jerusalem), with ‘The Satanist’ we dip our toes in the Red Sea (הר סיני/Mount Sinai) and so on). Anyhow, what’s left is to point you to your usual music store, here (Nuclear Blast store), here (Metal Blade store) or here (BEHEMOTH store), or over to iTunes, Amazon or Spotify, where ‘The Satanist’ awaits.

Formed in 1991 in Gdańsk, Poland, BEHEMOTH underwent quite a few line-up changes during the years after the band's formation, with singer and guitarist Nergal being the only constant member. And EP, ‘And The Forests Dream Eternally’, was issued in 1993 on Enthopy Records, followed by the group's first full-length recording, ‘Sventevith (Storming Near The Baltic)’, in 1995. On 1996's ‘Grom’, Nergal, accompanied by drummer Baal and bassist Les, experimented with acoustic guitars, synthesizers, and female vocalist but was quickly stirred back into ferociousness by the new  drummer Inferno, first  introduced on the 1997's EP entitled ‘Bewitching The Pomerania’. BEHEMOTH's third album, ‘Pandemonic Incantations’, was released in 1998 via Solistitium Records and featured Mefisto on bass, followed by 1999's ‘Satanica’ on a new label, Avantgarde Music, featuring L-Kaos on guitar. Officially blackened death metal band by then and with Novy on bass and Havok on guitar, ‘Thelema.6’ came out in 2000 which “made its virtues clear right from the onset: excellent, full-sounding production (as opposed to the basement blur favored by many black metal bands); tirelessly executed blastbeats and double-bass drumming; and powerful vocals” as put by William York, AllMusic (more here); the album was the first in the group's career to receive a worldwide distribution. Next, BEHEMOTH embarked on their most substantial tour yet, performing alongside MORBID ANGEL, NILE and others. After the release of their sixth album, 2002's ‘Zos Kia Cultus (Here And Beyond)’, the group had toured North America for the first time. Squeezing an EP ‘Conjuration’ in between, 2004's ‘Demigod’, featuring bassist Orion and guitarist Seth, was released through Regain Records in Europe and Century Media in North America:

“In ‘Demigod’ [BEHEMOTH] may well have completed what may one day be looked back upon as their defining, unholy trinity of masterful death/black metal. Lending this bold statement weight is the band's readily identifiable style: a brutal assault built on machine-gun playing so technical and precise, yet so instinctively primal, that one's basest and most sophisticated metallic desires are almost always equally sated,” [wrote Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic – more here]

After much touring that ensued the release and after ‘Slaves Shall Serve’ EP came out in 2005,  

the band had finally settled down in 2006 to record their eight full-length, ‘The Apostasy’. Released in 2007, it became BEHEMOTH's first album to chart on the Billboard Top 200, debuting at number 149. Their sixth EP, ‘Ezkaton’, (“a taster of sorts, to hold over fans until BEHEMOTH unleashes their [next] full-length album,” as put by Greg Prato, AllMusic) was released in 2008 (Regain Records/Metal Blade Records), followed by ‘Evangelion’ in 2009. The album peaked at number 1 on Polish Albums Chart, at number 55 on the American Billboard Top 200 and had made it to position number 56 on the Top European Chart:

“BEHEMOTH are absolute masters of the craft of making extreme metal. Every record is a savage beating one doesn’t so much listen to as withstand, and ‘Evangelion’ is no exception,” [commented Phil Freeman, AllMusic – more here:]

BEHEMOTH features: Adam “Nergal” Darski – vocals and lead guitar, Tomasz “Orion” Wróblewski – bass, samples and backing vocals, Zbigniew Robert “Inferno” Promiński – drums and percussion and Patryk Dominik “Seth” Sztyber - rhythm guitar and backing vocals

Full Album Stream: Corpsessed: Abysmal Thresholds – new album

Well, Finland's CORPSESSED were apparently spawned from putrescent slime somewhere in Järvenpää delta-area, sometime in 2007. In 2014, with some help from Dark Descent Records, they would like you to hear at least some of their decomposing morbid death metal tunes - but preferably the entire album (they would appreciate if you buy from here/Dark Descent store) they call ‘Abysmal Thresholds’ - here (BandCamp), or below. No matter how scary CORPSESSED (want to) appear, no matter how long the album art created by Canadian artist Danille Gauvin will haunt your dreams, ‘Abysmal Thresholds’ is actually a fine listen:

“Subterranean and sepulchral tones put the listener on edge as truly demonic vocals plague the psyche. Thunderous percussion motivates fiery, blasting riffs and infernal mid-paced admissions of inhumanity. An unhallowed, chasmal aura binds CORPSESSED's considerable strengths into a churning malevolency destined to terrify the way highest quality death metal is meant to. Hail the metal of death,” [hailed Matt Hinch, About.com – more here:]

As already mentioned, disillusioned (former SKULLFUCKER and WORMPHLEGM and CARDINALS FOLLY's) vocalist Niko Matilainen, guitarists Matti Mäkelä and  Jyri Lustig, drummer Jussi-Pekka Manner and bassist Mikko Mäkelä (who later reportedly disappeared, circumstances unknown, and was replaced by Mikko Pöllä in 2009) formed CORPSESSED in 2007 in Järvenpää, Finland. Their first EP, ‘The Dagger & The Chalice’, was issued through Dark Descent Records in 2011, followed by a two-track 7" self-titled EP in 2012:

CORPSESSED features: N. Matilainen – vocals, M. Mäkelä – guitar, J. Lustig – guitar, J-P. Manner – drums and M. Pöllä - bass

Shrapnel: The Virus Conspires – new album

Metal Hammer reckons this lot, SHRAPNEL, are pretty fucking awesome, Lords Of Metal thinks “this album is simply mandatory” and Ave Noctum believes ‘The Virus Conspires’ is “possibly the best British thrash metal album yet made” - so who am I to argue and why should I want to argue anyway? SHRAPNEL's full-length debut is out now (February the 3rd, 2014, in Europe and February the 4th in North America) on Candlelight Records; “fast, furious, and uncompromising, propelled by its freshness and electric intensity”, ‘The Virus Conspires’ was produced by revered studio wizard Russ Russell at Parlour Studios and features artwork from Eliran Kantor. Wholeheartedly endorsed by Metal Hammer's Dom Lawson (who also contributed his voice on the album), the CD is available for order here (Plastic Head UK), here (Candlelight Records' US store), via iTunes and other digital platforms and via Amazon.

According to SHRAPNEL, we should forget revivals and reunions - “there is only now and there is only thrash” and SHRAPNEL are reportedly one of the finest new bands to proclaim their devotion to keeping the thrash flame blazing. They “exploded” out from the deceptively genteel streets of Norwich, England, in 2009, “driven to provide what few others seemed to be doing: a sound that revolves around formidable core of pure-to-the-bone thrash and speed metal, but that never fails to keep one eye on the future of the genre too”:

“The energy in thrash is just so much more satisfying than anything else,” [explained guitarist Chris Martin] “It’s technically challenging and exhausting to play live and it gives you that buzz, that rush of adrenaline that few other genres do for me personally. Individually we are pretty different in our tastes but when you throw it all together it works. It's got to have balls and it’s got to have attitude. When you find a band that has that bite to them, that testosterone driven aggression, then it’s killer. And that’s what we do!” 

Counting lead guitarist Nathan Sadd, guitarist Chris Martin, bassist Adam Read, drummer Chris Williams and frontman Jae Hadley, SHRAPNEL released their first EP, ‘No Saviours’, in 2009 followed by second acclaimed EP, ‘The Devastation To Come’, in 2010 which was recorded with Russ Russell to whom they returned in the autumn of 2012 to piece together their debut full-length album:

“I honestly think our live shows are where we really come to life,” [confided in Dom Lawson guitarist Chris Martin] “We have the most metal bassist of all time. We have a frontman who looks like a Viking ready to pillage! Everything is aggressive, everything is loud and we mean it. We’re tight, we're fast and we're driven. I want bands to leave me half dead so why shouldn't we do the same thing?”  

Send Newsletters to your fans from ReverbNation.com

SHRAPNEL features: Jae Hadley – vocals, Nathan Sadd - lead guitar, Chris Martin – guitar, Darryl Abbot – bass and Simon Jackson – drums

Full Album Stream: Grand Magus: Triumph And Power – new album

The official soundtrack for Viking power is out now on both grateful continents: GRAND MAGUS' seventh opus magnum, ‘Triumph And Power’, was released on January the 31st, 2014 in Europe, yesterday in the UK and today, February the 4th, in North America on Nuclear Blast Records. The album was recorded at Studio Sweetspot in Halmstad, Sweden with producer Nico Elgstrand and engineer Staffan Karlsson, and is covered in the art courtesy of Anthony Roberts. According to GRAND MAGUS, ‘Triumph And Power’ will “melt your face” therefore you should visit Classic Rock here (full album stream) for the aforementioned to happen. The Swedish riff merchants' new album awaits you here (Nuclear Blast store), on iTunes and Amazon/Amazon MP3. MetalSucks comments:

“This is music that would fit just as well being performed on a mountaintop as it would in a sweaty rock club, a balance oft quite difficult to strike, especially in a subgenre known for its extreme level of theatrics and posturing. But I find it rather easy to take GRAND MAGUS quite seriously as a super-solid band. Yes, the ostentatious drama is there, but it feels purposeful through and through. Every track on this album is a winner, and these loveable Swedes can certainly count on me to join their army in the crusade to fight for metal (metal that’s real),” [writes Kip Wingerschmidt who allegedly fights for truth, justice, and steaming hot pork dumplings – more here]

 

GRAND MAGUS was founded by vocalist and guitarist JB Christoffersson and bassist Mats “Fox” Skinner in Stockholm, Sweden in 1996; the pair was joined by drummer Fredrik “Trisse” Liefvendahl two years later. After recording a three-track demo, GRAND MAGUS released their self-titled debut album in 2001 through Rise Above Records (“The Swedish threesome revels in all things doomy and bell-bottomed, with tempos ranging from slow and chugging to slower and droning,” Brian O'Neill, AllMusic – more here), followed by ‘Monument’ in 2003 (“Powerful, steady, unrelenting, and always f*ckin' heavy, ‘Monument’ helped put the bite back into what was then a distressingly flagging strain of heavy metal,” Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic – more here) and ‘Wolf's Return’ in 2005 (“Of course, the fact that GRAND MAGUS combine their melodic/harmonic sense with a lot of loud, amplified, balls-to-the-wall aggression is what makes them both headbangers and craftsmen - and this time, they do it in a way that links doom metal/stoner rock with power metal,” Alex Henderson, AllMusic – more here). As its predecessor, 2008's ‘Iron Will’ was released through Rise Above Records in Europe and through Candlelight Records in North America:

“Perhaps more than any other popular music style, heavy metal has the most subgenres. But besides MANOWAR, “he-man metal” has been a subgenre explored by few others - a style so testosterone-heavy that only the toughest and proudest of specimens are allowed entrance into the proceedings. … As evidenced by their 2008 release, the appropriately titled ‘Iron Will’, the chaps fit the aforementioned description oh so perfectly… ‘Iron Will’ is the perfect soundtrack for the next time you’re trying on your furry loincloth and/or doing your next bench-press set. All hail Viking metal!” [These grand words belong to Greg Prato, AllMusic – more here:]

GRAND MAGUS' fifth full-length album, ‘Hammer Of The North’ was issued in 2010 on Roadrunner Records; the album was once more praised by critics (“listeners would do well just to leave their suspicions at the gates of Valhalla and accept the righteous northerly hammering awaiting them here,” wrote Eduardo Rivadavia, AllMusic – more here) and had entered the German Album Charts at position number 42. The Swedish riff lords (as they are commonly referred to), released ‘The Hunt’, GRAND MAGUS' sixth LP, in 2012 through Nuclear Blast Records; the album which introduced new drummer Ludwig Witt was produced by Nico Elgstrand: “Long may they ride, long may they hunt,” had wished AllMusic's elder Eduardo Rivadavia (more here):

GRAND MAGUS features: Fox Skinner – bass and backing vocals, JB Christoffersson – guitar and vocals and Ludwig Witt – drums

Caliban: Ghost Empire – new album

CALIBAN's ninth full-length album, ‘Ghost Empire’, is now (February the 4th, 2014) definitely out, including in North America. Issued through Century Media, ‘Ghost Empire’ was produced by the band's guitarist Marc Görtz in cooperation with Benny Richter, mixed by Klaus Scheuermann and mastered by Olman Viper. Its art was created by Cristopher Lovell. CALIBAN have released three new tunes in promotion of the album, one of those, ‘Devil's Night’, as the official video, courtesy SH Videography. ‘Ghost Empire’ awaits your order (available in multiple formats and featuring guest appearances by CALLEJON's Bastian Sobtzick and TRIVIUM's Matt Heafy) here (CM Distro Europe) and here (CM Distro North America), as well as here (Impericon), here (EMP), on iTunes etc.

Formed in 1997 in Hattingen, Germany, CALIBAN had released their first recording, a self-titled EP, the following year on Lifeforce Records. Followed by relentless touring (as will be all CALIBAN's consequent releases) the bandmembers' assorted experiences on the road found a proper outlet in form of CALIBAN debut studio album entitled ‘A Small Boy And A Grey Heaven’ (1999). After a split with HEAVEN SHALL BURN, 2000's ‘The Split Program’, the hard-working five-piece released ‘Vent’ in 2001 next, followed by ‘Shadow Heart’ in 2003 (Imperium Records). CALIBAN signed with Roadrunner and Abacus Recordings in 2004, through which they issued their fourth full-length, ‘The Opposite From Within’. Their second split with HEAVEN SHALL BURN came out in 2005, followed by 2006's ‘The Undying Darkness’, their second cooperation with Anders Fridén and Andy Sneap.CALIBAN's sixth album, and their first recorded with producer Benny Richter, 2007's ‘The Awakening’, peaked at number 36 on the German charts. In 2009, after signing a worldwide pact with Century Media, the group issued ‘Say Hello To Tragedy’, an album that matched its predecessor's chart success:

“While it’s quite commonplace for bands to mix their heavy metal and hardcore influences together, it’s important to remember that up until the mid- to late '90s, it was not entirely widely accepted by fans of either of the aforementioned genres to commingle. And certainly, one of the first groups to fully integrate both styles into their own sound was the German quintet CALIBAN. On their 2009 release, CALIBAN impressively let it rip as if they were a brand new band, let out of the gate for the first time,” [wrote Greg Prato, AllMusic – more here]

Their eight full-length, ‘I Am Nemesis’, was released through Century Media in 2012, featuring guest vocal appearances by HEAVEN SHALL BURN's Marcus Bischoff and SUICIDE SILENCE's Mitch Lucker (1984 – 2012). Co-produced by Benny Richter and CALIBAN guitarist Marc Görtz, mixed by Klaus Scheuermann at B.B. Serious Studio in Berlin and mastered by J. Oliver Wiebe in Hamburg's Nullzweistudios, the album had entered the German Media Control chart at number 21: 

CALIBAN features: Andreas Dörner – vocals, Marc Görtz – guitar, Denis Schmidt – guitar, Patrick Grün – drums and Marco Schaller – bass 

Chimaira: Wrapped In Violence – new video

The new CHIMAIRA video (“A boiling rage/The burning flame/A cloudy haze/A middle finger – will forever define us … Fuck what you think no, fuck everything … And now your back's against the wall”) was directed by Alex Morgan. ‘Wrapped In Violence’ is just one gem off CHIMAIRA's seventh album, ‘Crown Of Phantoms’, which was released in July 2013 through eOne to land at position number 52 on The Billboard Top 200, selling approximately 7,400 copies in the USA in its first week, and to conquer iTunes Metal Chart immediately upon its release. CHIMAIRA ‘Crown Of Phantoms’ edition features the band's only founding member vocalist Mark Hunter, drummer Austin D'Amond (“he’s just a really crazy drummer; he’s constantly changing the beat up and the patterns and you never know what you’re going to get from him”), keyboardist Sean Zatorsky (“[he brings] in a little bit more of the analog synth, it’s something that is a newer to the sound and also contributing with vocals and with me together, we sound - I think - pretty demonic”), lead guitarist Emil Werstler and rhythm guitarist Matt Szlachta (“both are insanely talented; Emil comes from a more of a gypsy jazz style and Matt is a kind of on the classical realm and the '80s metal realm and together they create a really technical, yet easy to grasp sound”) and bassist Jeremy Creamer (“he’s one of those virtuoso musicians that can hear the tiniest minute detail that nobody else in the room can hear if it’s just slightly sharp or flat” -  vocalist Mark Hunter explained to Loudwire – more here). As Gregory Heaney, AllMusic puts it:

“If there’s a feeling that courses throughout the record, it’s one of reinvigoration, with CHIMAIRA bouncing back from a rough couple of years with a rock-solid album of stomping metal. Though the band is named for the chimera of myth, they seem more like the hydra, always returning angrier no matter how many heads get cut off.” [More here]

Get your own copy of ‘Crown Of Phantoms’ here (CHIMAIRA's store), through Amazon or iTunes.

“To live in Cleveland, Ohio, more of a sunken hole than a driven notch in the Midwest rustbelt, is to not only encounter, but embrace the crippling winters, the broken jawed economy, and the expectations of defeat. All of which culminate in the very specific attitude of not only being an asshole, but being an asshole and an underdog. None of this is lost on CHIMAIRA.”

Formed in 1998 in Cleveland, Ohio by guitarist Jason Hager and vocalist Mark Hunter, CHIMAIRA recorded their debut LP with producer Andrew Murdock and released ‘Pass Out Of Existence’ in 2001 on Roadrunner Records:

Next came ‘The Impossibility Of Reason’ LP, recorded with guitarist Matt DeVries (current FEAR FACTORY guitarist) which debuted at number 117 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, selling to date over 200,000 copies in the U.S. alone. CHIMAIRA's third, self-titled, album was to be the last issued through Roadrunner Records; ‘Chimaira’ climbed up to number 74 on the Billboard Top 200. Hunter, lead guitarist Rob Arnold, rhythm guitarist Matt DeVries, bassist Jim LaMarca, drummer Andols Herrick and keyboardist Chris Spicuzza next recording, 2007's ‘Resurrection’ debuted at number 42 on the U.S. charts, selling 16,000 copies in its first week: “ ‘Resurrection’ does not suffer from false advertising as far as the album title goes - it truly sounds like the CHIMAIRA chaps are reinvigorated and reborn,” commented Greg Prato, AllMusic (more here): 

CHIMAIRA's fifth studio album surpassed its predecessor, charts-wise; issued in 2009 through Ferret Music/Nuclear Blast Records, ‘The Infection’ reached position number 30 on the Billboard Top 200. The band recorded their eOne Music debut after losing longtime bassist Jim LaMarca in late 2010, and after longtime drummer Andols Herrick, and electronic knob twister Chris Spicuzza had fallen away from the band in April 2011:

“This left CHIMAIRA's flagship member and singer Mark Hunter and guitarists Rob Arnold and Matt Devries [rhythm guitar] with an album to record with no rhythm section or an effects specialist. The splintered CHIMAIRA could have stared at the sun dissecting separate fires then converging into a singular sphere of blinding defeat. Most bands would have. But most bands aren’t from Cleveland. And only one band is CHIMAIRA. Instead, Hunter, Arnold, and Devries pushed themselves into frequent collaborator [the group's longtime producer] Ben Schigel's Spider Studios with bloodied teeth and balled fists, hell bent on birthing what anyone else would have aborted.”

‘The Age Of Hell’ was released in 2011 to debut at number 54 on the Billboard Top 200, selling over 7,000 in the U.S. in its first week of sales:

“What’s remarkable is how little an effect the stated departures had on the sound of the album. It’s a very smooth and seamless transition from 2009's ‘The Infection’ - so much so that it’s not immediately obvious that anything has changed,” [observed Dave Donnelly, AllMusic – more here:]

CHIMAIRA features: Mark Hunter – vocals, Emil Werstler – guitar, Matt Szlachta – guitar, Jeremy Creamer – bass, Austin D'amond – drums and Sean Z – keyboards and vocals