Fire From The Gods have released a new EP titled “American Sun (Reimagined).” The effort features acoustic versions of “American Sun, “Right Now,” “Truth To The Weak,” and “Break The Cycle” from the band’s 2019 album “American Sun.” You can find a video for the title track and streams of the other songs below. The group commented:
“’American Sun (Reimagined)’ is a reflection of what we’ve all been through this past year. We originally dropped the album on an arena tour with an exciting, busy year of touring and promo ahead. Sadly, the world shut down a few short months later and we just never felt this album got the full life it deserved. ‘American Sun (Reimagined)’ is our love letter to this album; now we feel a little more complete and ready to create what’s next.”
Akiavel have premiered a new video for their song “Comrade.” This track is from their latest album “Væ Victis.”
Vocalist Auré said the following about the song, which is based on the serial killer Andrei Chikatilo:
“When I decided to write on this killer I knew it wasn’t going to be easy… He is for me one of the most violent monsters. Above all, he targeted children…
When I was in front of my blank page, as I did for the other songs, I was watching reports on Andreï Chikatilo. It hurt me a lot. I was angry too.
I’m a mom. I couldn’t help but think that it could happen to anyone…Then I had an idea. If our children could be their voices. I wrote a chorus to make it easy to sing. I wanted us not to forget these poor victims…When the song was written, I hugged my son very hard against me. I had tears in my eyes. I asked him if he wanted to participate in a tribute to the missing children. He immediately agreed. We did the test and it gave me chills.
For the video clip, I printed the real photos of the victims and the real search notices. I hope we have respected their memories. While denouncing the atrocities of this monster, we do not forget the victims.”
White Stones, the death metal project featuring Opeth bassist Martin Mendez, have announced that their new album “Dancing Into Oblivion” will be released on August 27. A video for the effort’s first single, “Chain Of Command,” can be found below, along with the cover art and track listing.
“Dancing Into Oblivion” Track Listing:
01. “La Menace”
02. “New Age Of Dark”
03. “Chain Of Command”
04. “Iron Titans”
05. “Woven Dream”
06. “To Lie Or To Die”
07. “Freedom In Captivity”
08. “Acacia”
Mendez said the following about the new record:
“It’s a mix of feelings during the lockdown, feelings that go from fear to uncertainty as well as going through the confusion when you don’t know about the future and you feel almost as if time has stopped. Musicians might be the last who will be back to work and we don’t have any signs of a sooner return, which makes for a huge uncertainty.
I have a family and I have to take care of them. This situation creates a feeling of discomfort which you can feel on the album. Otherwise it’s been nice having so much time at home with the family and those small and peaceful moments are also in the music.
I’ve chosen to include some interludes between the songs so there is a higher contrast and it makes it easier to appreciate the different feelings throughout.”
He also added:
“It’s difficult to define the style of this album. I don’t like to tag the music. This is metal for me. It has elements of my interpretation of death metal but it has other, conscious influences from other genres too. It shows me as musician and displays my music taste within the restlessness of trying to do something different.
The first one I wrote was ‘Chain Of Command‘, where I had the idea of writing more daring songs than on the previous record where I restricted myself and didn’t want to play anything too technical, I just wanted to create something that was easier on the ear. In this one I wanted to do something slightly more elaborate and technical, musically, to add some color.
The first influence I had for ‘Chain Of Command‘ was from a John Coltrane & Wilbur Harden album, while in ‘New Age Of Dark‘ the influence came listening to Deicide, so the influences are really quite varied across this record.”
Heavy Water, the project featuring Biff Byford (Saxon) and his son Seb Byford (Naked Six), have premiered a new video for their new song “Revolution.” This track is from the band’s debut album “Red Brick City,” which is scheduled to be released on July 23.
Pestilence have premiered a new video for their new song “Sempiternvs.” This track is from the band’s new album “Exitivm,” which will be released on June 25.
Paradise Lost have premiered a new live video for their song “One Second.” The footage is taken from the band’s new Blu-ray/live album “At The Mill.” That effort will be released on July 16 and it will feature the group’s November 5, 2020 livestream show at The Mill in Bradford, England.
Venues have premiered a new video for their new song “Mountains.“ This track is from the band’s new album “Solace,” which will be released on August 27. Co-vocalist Lela said the following:
“For me, ‘Mountains‘ sums up the ups and downs of last year perfectly, but also the hope and confidence that the band gave me. The song represents the inner struggle with myself and the resulting strength to grow out of it.”
Fear Factory have premiered a new video for their new song “Recode.“ This track is from the band’s new album “Aggression Continuum,” which was officially released today (June 18). That record will be the group’s last to feature ex-frontman Burton C. Bell. Guitarist Dino Cazares commented:
“The day has finally come for all to finally enjoy the New Fear Factory album, ‘Aggression Continuum‘. It’s been a long journey to get to this date and I can’t say enough of how proud I am of the album. Thanks to everyone involved in making it possible for this record to come out. This is all for you, the amazing FF Family!! Machines of Hate!”
Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) has released a new 24-minute modern classical composition called “Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto.” You can find an official video for the musical piece below:
Tankian commented:
“When quarantine hit and all our projects and releases were cancelled, I started itching for a musical challenge. One night sitting in bed looking through different voice memos on the iPhone I realized I have this huge trove of short, special, unrealized musical ideas. Right then the thought of creating an epic piece utilizing them all made me smile. So I recorded them all and started arranging the instrumentation to create this incredibly unique musical experience. I mean, who the fuck listens to 24 minutes of music as one piece today? We’re about to find out :)”
A redux version of “Disarming Time: A Modern Piano Concerto” will also be featured as part of the frontman’s “Cool Gardens Poetry Suite” release. That effort will be available in about three weeks and the following was said about it in a press release:
“The release is a rich suite of four elegant cinematic works layered with intimate recital of prose from Tankian himself, taken from the pages of his first published book of poetry, ‘Cool Gardens.’ Tankian narrates 87 poems over the nearly 48 minutes of music, weaving his way through a bevy of topics ranging from humorous to sullen.
‘Cool Gardens Poetry Suite’ will also be accompanied with videos, this time at the hands of visual artist David Bradford, a previous collaborative partner on other Tankian projects. Bradford’s visuals quite literally animate pixelated paint onto digital canvas as viewers are caravanned across their screens via Tankian’s soundtrack and the gradual unveiling of his visual compliment.”
You can find a video for “Cinematic Piano Theme (With Poetry)” from the release below:
At The Gates have premiered a new video for their new song “The Fall Into Time.” This track is from the band’s new album “The Nightmare Of Being,” which will be released on July 2.
Tomas Lindberg commented:
“Hello everybody! As you might have already guessed, this album is our most ambitious effort yet, including a lot of different orchestrations and new takes on arrangements, etc.
This track, ‘The Fall Into Time’ is one of the centerpieces of the album. It is big, demanding and epic.
We have always found it intriguing to compose songs like these — think ‘Neverwhere’, ‘Primal Breath’, ‘The Night Eternal’ and ‘Daggers Of Black Haze’. It is heavy, mean and dark as well as almost cinematic in its thematic approach.
I have always said that the At The Gates listener wants to be challenged and that you hopefully all are as curious as we are when it comes to exploring new musical territory. This song is one of those moments… Enjoy!”
He also added the following about the video:
“For the video for this more adventurous track we chose to work again with our dear friend and co-conspirator Costin Chioreanu, as we thought that it required a more arty and avantgarde approach. I was, as always, very intrigued to see what he would come up with, as he has a deep understanding of what At The Gates is about. He did not disappoint, and this video is a perfect complement to a song like this. Costin went all the way with this one. Truly inspiring!”
