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FRANTIC AMBER sign with Fireflash Records; announce new single

Swedish Melodic Death Metal act Frantic Amber sign with ????????? ??????? and announce new single “????? ?????”, to be released on April 21st.

??????? ????? is a 6-piece melodic Death Metal band based in Stockholm, fronted by five incredible female musicians. With women on the front lines, ??????? ????? has fortified their place as one of the most promising extreme metal acts to emerge from Sweden. They started by releasing their EP “????? ?? ?????????”, followed by the two critically acclaimed full-length studio albums “??????? ???????” and “?????????”. Their unique sound is an intense mixture of brutal riffs and soaring melodies combined with aggressive growl vocals.

??????? ????? have headlined their own tours and supported bands like ??? ???? ????? and ???????? ?.?. They have played at festivals like ?????? ???? and ?????? ???? ???, toured in Scandinavia and all over Europe in countries like Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Colombia and Russia.

On April 13, ??????? ????? announced the signing with ????????? ??????? (???? ?????, ???????, ?????? ?????? a.o.), where the band is going to release their upcoming singles as well as their next album, which is supposed to be released in spring 2024. “?? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??????? ??? ???? ??????? ??? ???????? ??????? ??? ????? ????? ??? ???????? ?? ?????? ??????? ??? ??? ?????. ????? ??? ?? ???? ??? ????????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ???”, ???????? ??? ????. “? ??? ?????????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ?? ????????? ???? ??????, ??? ?? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? “?????????” ?? ???? ???????? ?? ??? ???? ??????. ???? ????? ??????? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ? ???????-??????? ?? ???????, ?? ??? ?????????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????????? ??? ??????????. ? ??? ????????? ?? ??? ??-??-???????? ???????? ?? ??? ????, ??? ??? ??????? ???? ??????? ????????”, adds ?????? ??????? of ????????? ???????.

The first ??????? ????? release on ????????? ??????? will be their new single “????? ?????”, which will be released on April 21st.

Pre-Save: lnk.to/FranticAmberBlackWidow

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AD INFINITUM are running a cover competition for fans

Ad Infinitum are currently hosting a new competition for its musically gifted fans, with some amazing prizes being up for grabs. They have set the challenge of covering new song “Seth”, and to make it easier they have even provided backing tracks for your instrument of choice.

As per their official announcement on 4 April:

Hey there ! We know some of our dear Infinitors have some musical talent. In order to celebrate the release of “Chapter III – Downfall” we decided to have a cover competition! We prepared 4 backing tracks of our new song “Seth”. One without drums, one without bass, one without guitars and one without vocals. We would like to hear your version with your own instrument! You can also create your version from scratch without using those tracks.

Link to the tracks: https://www.dropbox.com/…/AABg1gN48Md9_ENHj51gdxiUa…

How to submit: simply share your cover on your social media (Instagram, Facebook or TikTok), tag Ad Infinitum and add the hashtag #AICOVERCOMPETITION . You can post on one or more social media (the more you post the more you spread the good vibes). You can cover the whole song or choose your favorite section, it’s up to you!

You have until Friday, April 14th to submit your entry and we will pick three winners!

Prizes:
1. A VIP entry to one of our concerts
2. A drums/bass/guitar/vocal lesson or nerd chat
3. A precious package containing signed items (drumsticks, picks and poster)

Winning covers will be announced and shared on April 21st!

Let’s gooo! Show us your version of “Seth” 

Ad Infinitum via Facebook

We look forward to seeing the results!

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News

CRYPTA need help raising $60K after tornado in Illinois destroys RV

Brazilian death metal band, Crypta, have found themselves in a difficult financial situation after last week’s tornado in Belvidere, Illinois, resulted in a tragic incident leaving many concertgoers injured, and one dead at The Apollo Theatre, where the venue suffered structural damage.

In addition to the terrible human toll, there was also significant property damage outside of the venue. Among this was the RV that the band had rented in order to tour the U.S. for the first time. Due to the citizenship status of the band’s members, however, they are unentitled to any state assistance to cover the damages, and the band has had to recruit lawyers to assist with their insurance claim. If unsuccessful, the band will need to fork out $60K to pay the rental company for the RV. As a result, they have started a GoFundMe page to help raise the funds.

As per the official band statement:

URGENT: We need $60K in 15 days.

As most of you know, a tornado hit the show house where we played on March 31st in Belvidere Illinois and we lost the RV we rented to travel and sleep during our first US tour – it was completely destroyed, we had to rent a new one to keeping on with the shows

As we already imagined, dealing with insurance and severance has many pitfalls, and there’s a very high chance of things getting complicated for us.

It won’t be as easy as we thought it would be, we will even have to bring in lawyers to try to solve our situation. We are being guided in the best way possible, but because we are not American citizens, apparently we are not entitled to some state indemnity, which complicates our problem even more.

In short, if everything goes wrong (and there’s a huge chance it will), in 15 days we’ll have to pay for a new RV to the company where we rented it, which will be around 60K dollars, not to mention the lawyer fees we’ll need to cost during the process.

We know it’s a high value that we probably won’t reach, but at this point, any help and any amount will help a lot to lessen the financial damage that we will have.

We avoid having to ask for help from you, but at the moment, it is impossible to bear these costs with the band’s cashier alone.

Thanks in advance for the support!

CRYPTA via Facebook

As well as the financial consequences, the band are obviously still dealing with the psychological impacts of that night. As vocalist/bassist Fernanda Lira describes in a heartbreaking post:

In general, everyone is shaken – some more (like the boys who found the body of the deceased), others less, but all shaken.

Feneranda Lira via Facebook

We hope the band are able to resolve this situation and recover from the incident. Please help them to reach their fundraising goal if you can.

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News

BABYMETAL release “Mirror Mirror” video with new member MOMOMETAL

In case you hadn’t heard, Babymetal are a trio once more as they revealed their newest member Momometal earlier this week. The announcement took place during their show at the Pia Arena MM in Okazaki Japan, according to Nikkan Sports.

The band have been operating as a duo since the departure of Yui-metal in 2018, who left the band in order to launch a solo career. Momometal (a.k.a Momoko Okazaki) is no stranger to the group, having been one of the three backup dancers for Babymetal since 2019. In terms of other career highlights, she was also previously a member of Sakura Gakuin, and had competed as a contestant in reality show Girls Planet 999.

To celebrate this lineup news and further promote their new concept album “The Other One”, they have just released the first MV showing the band back at full-strength, “Mirror Mirror”. Be sure to check it out below!

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News

NIGHTWISH retire from touring; announce new 2024 album

A couple of days ago, Nightwish delivered their fans a mixture of good and bad news. On the bright side, they announced that a new album was coming in 2024. But sadly, they also said that there would be no live shows played to promote and support the album after its release as the band look to take an indefinite break from touring.

As per the official band statement:

As the ‘Human :ll: Nature – World Tour’ is drawing to a close, we feel now is the time to tell you of our plans for the next phase in our journey.

After the planned shows for June 2023 we will be “hanging up our spurs” for an indeterminate time, as far as live concert performances go, and won’t be touring the next album.

The reasons for this decision are personal, but, we all agree, vital to the wellbeing and future of the band. Be assured that we still love working together, and this decision has nothing to do with Floor`s pregnancy or our other individual projects.

However, an album of 12 new songs will see bright daylight in 2024, as will 3 music videos! The band is positively hyped beyond words over this new upcoming musical adventure.

Stay tuned for updates from our legendary Nightwish band camp & studio this summer!

-Tuomas, Floor, Emppu, Troy, Kai & Jukkis via Facebook
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News

March 2023 – Best New Metal Releases

Wow – what a jam-packed month we just had. So much great music was released from so many different bands. We even gave out a couple of really high scores too. So for the month of March we realised that we couldn’t just focus on a handful of our favourite releases. It would be unfair not to mention the rest. Try to treat this more like a month in review if you can. We’re not sure if this is the format we’ll keep for months ahead (we’re kind of making this up as we go), but for now enjoy this slightly more comprehensive list of all the best metal releases for March 2023. We have no doubt you’ll find something here that pleases you earbuds!

Ad Infinitum ~ Chapter III – Downfall

Format: Album
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Release Date: March 31st, 2023
Shieldmaiden: Melissa Bonny (Vocals)

Elysion ~ Bring Out Your Dead

Format: Album
Genre: Gothic Metal
Release Date: March 17th, 2023
Shieldmaiden: Christianna (Vocals)

LYRRE ~ Not All Who Dream Are Asleep

Format: Album
Genre: Symphonic/Folk Metal
Release Date: 30th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Michalina Malisz (Vocals, Hurdy-Gurdy)

Babymetal ~ The Other One

Format: Album
Genre: J-Metal
Release Date: 24th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Su-metal (Suzuka Nakamoto; Vocals), Moametal (Moa Kikuchi; Vocals)

Frozen Crown ~ Call of the North

Format: Album
Genre: Power Metal
Release Date: 10th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Giada Etro (Vocals), Fabiola “Sheena” Bellomo (Guitars)

Phantom Elite ~ Blue Blood

Format: Album
Genre: Symphonic/Melodic Metal
Release Date: 17th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Marina La Torraca (Vocals)

Temtris ~ Khaos Divine

Format: Album
Genre: Heavy / Thrash Metal
Release Date: 17th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Genevieve Rodda (Vocals)

Kamelot ~ The Awakening

Format: Album
Genre: Power Metal
Release Date: 17th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Kobra Paige (Vocals), Svenja Kehder (Vocals; Choir), Tina Guo (Cello), Simone Simons (Vocals), Melissa Bonny (Vocals), Ina Morgan (Vocals; Backing)

Asylum Pyre ~ Call Me Inhuman – The Sun – The Fight – Part 5

Format: Album
Genre: Progressive / Power Metal
Release Date: 24th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Oxy Hart (Vocals)

Visions of Atlantis ~ Pirates Over Wacken

Format: Live Album
Genre: Symphonic / Power Metal
Release Date: 31st March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Clémentine Delauney (Vocals)

Vintersea ~ At the Gloaming Void

Format: Single
Genre: Extreme Progressive Metal
Release Date: 15th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Avienne Low (Vocals)

Seven Spires ~ Live at Progpower USA XXI

Format: Live Album
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Release Date: 17th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Adrienne Cowan (Vocals)

Sukkhu ~ In Their Names

Format: EP
Genre: Black Metal
Release Date: 23rd March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Morgause (Vocals)

Nervosa ~ Endless Ambition

Format: Single
Genre: Thrash Metal
Release Date: 28th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Prika Amaral (Vocals; Guitars), Helena Kotina (Guitars), Hel Pyre (Bass), Michaela Naydenova (Drums)

Serenity in Murder ~ Matrix

Format: Single
Genre: Symphonic Death Metal
Release Date: 17th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Ayumu (Vocals)

Ioana Ellyn ~ The Wailing

Format: Single
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Release Date: 17th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Ioana Ellyn (Vocals)

Velkhanos ~ Gunpowder

Format: Single
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Release Date: 3rd March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Miriam Ortiz (Vocals)

Infinitas ~ Xana

Format: Single
Genre: Melodic Metal
Release Date: 8th March 2023
Shieldmaiden: Mary Crane (Vocals)

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News

Italian power metal band KALIDIA have split-up

In what is obviously sad news for the weekend, Kalidia have officially announced that they are no longer active.

A statement posted by frontwoman Nicoletta Rosellini on her Facebook profile reads:

Dear friends,

It’s with heavy heart that we announce that we’ve disbanded, for the good of all the people involved.

Unfortunately during the latest years, our vision on the future of the band strayed away: we tried our best to make it work anyway, but we now understand that it’s better for everyone to take different paths, without forcing anyone to do things they don’t want to.

It was such a long and, most of the time, joyful adventure and we would like to thank you all for the unconditional support and love you showed us in these 12 years. The music and the good memories remain forever.

Take care and hopefully our paths will cross again – the band members are already working on new exciting music projects!

On a happier note, Rosellini also updated us on her future plans in a subsequent video released on her YouTube channel. In the video, she details how herself and Dario Gozzi (drummer of Kalidia), together with Paolo Campitelli and some other as yet unnamed members, have formed an entirely new band and have already recorded a new album in the same genre. You can watch the full video below:

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Courtney Cox replacing Larissa Ernst in BURNING WITCHES

In a statement released on the official Burning Witches Facebook page, Courtney Cox, who is a good friend of the band and guitarist of the female tribute band The Iron Maidens, will be stepping in for Larissa Ernst while she is away on maternity leave. Larissa left the following message to her followers:

Dear fans, friends, metalheads, due to my motherhood I will not be regularly playing on stage for some time. I am very thankful, that we found a good solution for the meantime and want to say thank you to my witch-sisters for their flexibility and love, to Courtney for playing the upcoming shows, to our amazing fans, label, supporters and to everybody involved! I am looking forward to seeing you all at future BURNING WITCHES shows, stay metal!!!

In addition to congratulating Larissa, the band also expressed that they are “super thrilled” to be playing with Courtney at their upcoming shows. Courtney seemed to be similarly happy with the appointment, adding:

Where do I even begin.. I have been friends with the mighty WITCHES for a long time now and to be able to lend my guitar to their mighty coven is beyond an honor for me. To Larissa, I hope I make you proud. READY TO FIGHT! Love CC

As well as the upcoming shows, the next single/music video is scheduled for release on March 30th via Napalm Records. Be sure to keep an ear/eye out!

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News

DEMONS BY DESIGN releases “Feed Me Like A Drug” (Feat. Kirsten Jørgensen)

DEMONS BY DESIGN is the side project of Colin Emery (PERFECT NME). Drawing inspiration from earlier musical and conceptual influences, it seeks to recombine these various elements in a new way and to present them in a contemporary fashion.

This musical freedom allows for a lot of scopes to experiment with sounds and atmospheres, incorporating elements of industrial, goth, and metal, to name a few. The occasional collaboration with guest artists also helps to add an additional layer to a song’s atmosphere and impact.

The new single FEED ME LIKE A DRUG is a perfect example of that;

Says Colin: “Kirsten’s (Kirsten Jørgensen) beautiful and exceptional vocals really accentuate the diversity of the song and adds that extra dimension. The combination of our vocals brings out that haunted dualism the song required.”

FEED ME LIKE A DRUG is an atmospheric, gothic-inspired song, with a dual storyline. It’s a dark tale of two lives entwined, of passion and of fate.

BUY / STREAM HERE

Colin Emery is the lead singer of the Norwegian metal band PERFECT NME. Their debut album was released in 2020 (Wormholedeath Records) and are currently working on a follow-up.

Kirsten Jørgensen is one of the founding members of both EVIG NATT and REISM. EVIG NATT is currently in the studio working on their fourth album, which comes out later this year. EVIG NATT’S music is aggressive but subtle, noisy yet beautiful, a maelstrom of symphonic darkness.

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News Releases

French female-fronted prog-metal/rock band WEDINGOTH release and stream new album ‘Five Stars Above’

About 7 years after their latest record ‘Alone in the Crowd’ (2016), French female-fronted prog-metal/rock band Wedingoth finally released its fourth full-length record called ‘Five Stars Above’ and available right now as a self-released on digital through all legal platforms.

In addition to the official release-news, the band also shared the whole effort for FREE STREAMING on YouTube while physical editions will follow very soon.

Wedingoth is a musical project based on openness and the mixture of styles, whose claimed credo is eclecticism. It combines the power of rock and metal, served by an emotionally charged female voice, with atmospheric nuances inviting you to travel, supported by an orchestral technique.

Released on december 2009, the band’s debut album ‘Candlelight’, received positive reviews from both public and professional critics. After taking the road in Autumn 2010 toto conquer the scene, Wedingoth recorded its second album ‘The Other Side’ ; which is released in March 2012.

One year later only, in Summer 2013, Wedingoth returned to the studio to develop its third album. This one was released in October 2016 under the name ‘Alone in the Crowd’.

After French and European tours, Wedingoth released their 4th album ‘Five Stars Above’ in early 2023, with all the maturity and musical emotion that defines its music.

STREAM THE FULL ALBUM ON YOUR FAVOURITE PLATFORM

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Enter the Dystopian World With TEMTRIS’ “Eternal Death Machine” Single and Video Release

Aussie heavy metal sensation TEMTRIS is excited to present the second highly anticipated single and video, “Eternal Death Machine,” from their upcoming 7th studio album, “Khaos Divine.” Set to be released worldwide on March 17th, 2023 via WormholeDeath, “Khaos Divine” is a modern metal concept album that explores a dark and dystopian city controlled by a new world order.

Temtris introduces you to the strong female character of the story “Ember” on their album cover, giving you a taste of what’s to come in this powerful modern tale.

Don’t miss out on this incredible metal experience.

Be sure to check out “Eternal Death Machine” Official Music Video:

TEMTRIS are:

Genevieve Rodda – Vocals
Anthony Fox – Lead Guitar
Nadi Norouzian -Lead Guitar
Nicholas Bolin – Drums
Vane Danov – Bass Guitar

Keep up with TEMTRIS by following their social media pages.

www.temtris.com
www.facebook.com/Temtris
www.instagram.com/temtris_official
www.youtube.com/@temtris6323

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News

Grammy-nominated metal cellist TINA GUO featured on new KAMELOT single “Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem)”

U.S. power metal band Kamelot have just released “Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem)”, the second single taken from their much anticipated upcoming album “The Awakening”, due for release on 17th March 2023. The single, accompanied by a new lyric video, features a guest appearance by Grammy-nominated heavy metal cellist Tina Guo. This is not the first occasion that Guo has collaborated with a high profile band within the power metal genre. Fans may also recall her contribution on Sabaton’s 2021 single “Steel Commanders”.

According to Kamelot vocalist Tommy Karevik:

‘Opus of the Night’ honors the traditional dark and melodic sound of the band while bringing some new and exciting elements to the table.

In addition to Tina Guo, Kamelot’s 13th studio album is also set to feature guest vocals by Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum, Dark Side of the Moon). In describing the new album, Kamelot guitarist Thomas Youngblood says:

With The Awakening, we have one of our most diverse albums in years. We’ve fused elements from progressive, power and gothic metal to symphonic and melodic metal on this one. Working with incredible guest artists from around the music industry and having producer Sascha Paeth and Jacob Hansen mixing gave us another step up on overall sound. This album offers everything to KAMELOT fans and also reaches beyond borders to new metal and hard rock legions.

Tracklist:

1. Overture (Intro)
2. The Great Divide
3. Eventide
4. One More Flag in the Ground
5. Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem)
6. Midsummer’s Eve
7. Bloodmoon
8. NightSky
9. The Looking Glass
10. New Babylon
11. Willow
12. My Pantheon (Forevermore)
13. Ephemera (Outro)