Britanski simfonični/power metalci Imperial Age so glavni nastopajoči na letošnji 15. ediciji MetalWitcha. Seznam vseh potrjenih bandov je takšen: Imperial Age, Necrotik, Sovrag, Spirits of Stygia in Hogminister.

Švedski power metalci Prime Creation predstavljajo komad State Dominion s prihajajočega albuma Tell Freedom I Said Hello. Album izide 25. avgusta pri založbi Rock Of Angels Records.

Heavy metal legende W.A.S.P., ki smo jih lahko pred nedavnim ujeli na enem izmed naših odrov, sporočajo, da bo nov album luč sveta ugledal poleti naslednje leto. To je pred kratkim v intervjuju za radijsko oddajo The Five Count radio show potrdil vodja zasedbe Blackie Lawless.

»From the time the U.S. tour ended [last December], we went straight back in the studio and we were working really hard to try to get it ready for August of this year, but it's just not gonna happen. It's one of those kinds of things that… I think we've got a big fish on the hook, and I don't wanna let it go before it's ready. I was talking to the guy that does the mixing for our records yesterday, and he asked me what I thought. And I said the best I could tell him would be spring of next year that we'll be ready for him. So if he starts in the spring, that means the soonest it would be ready would be summer.« 

Avtorica fotografije: Dominika Torkar.

Metalcore zasedba Necrotik je naslednji znani band, ki bo nastopil na letošnji izvedbi koncertnega dogodka MetalWitch, ki se bo zgodil 9. septembra v PGD Kozarje. Pred tem so že bile napovedane zasedbe Spirits of Stygia, Hogminister in Sovrag.

Progresivni death metal band Angel Rising je podpisal z založbo Wormholedeath Records. Pri tej bo izšel njegov tretji dolgometražec Afterlife. Zaenkrat sta razkrita naslovnica in seznam komadov, ki so našli svoje mesto na albumu:

Utopia
Afterlife
Hell Bent on Rampage
Reign of Torture
In Nomine Regis
Dominion
Worn Out Blood
Endless Sorrow

Nemški black metalci Servant z videospotom za komad To Crown A Beast napovedujejo svoj drugi album Aetas Ascensus, ki bo izšel 7. julija. Tracklista:

Aetas Ascensus
Of Asceticism And Ecstasy
To Crown A Beast
Empire Of Madness
Mater Hominis
A Spell To Dethrone
Prayer
Seven Sins To End The World
Licht

Spirits of Stygia so naslednji znani band, ki bo nastopil na letošnji izvedbi koncertnega dogodka MetalWitch, ki se bo zgodil 9. septembra v PGD Kozarje. Pred tem sta že bili napovedani zasedbi Hogminister in Sovrag.

Italijanski black metal dvojec Gosforth, ki se po 17 letih ponovno pripravlja na izdajo celovečernega ploščka, je razkril drugi single s prihajajočega albuma Scourge of Dark Dominion. Gre za komad Funeral Lust, medtem ko bo celoten seznam pesmi zgledal tako:

Ignis Daemonicus
Luciferian Gnosis
Scorge of Dark Dominion
Graced by Flames
Funeral Lust
As Gods Below
Legion of the Adversary

Nova eksperimentalna/post industrial zasedba Diminishing je objavila svoj prvi videospot, in sicer za single An Emptiness. Njen debitanski album The Unnamable bo izšel 16. junija pri Anti-Corporate Music.

V petek so denverski death metalci Cronos Compulsion pri Caligari Records izdali EP Malicious Regression, ki mu lahko prisluhnete tukaj. Mini album obsega naslednje komade:

Secher
Sacred Butchery
Malicious Regression
Morbid Subconscious Explorations
Consumed by Malignant Spirit

Domači progresivni metalci Cordura so posneli besedilni videospot za svoj najnovejši single 0.3.6. The Trojan s prihajajočega drugega EP-ja Nibiru X.

Hkrati zasedba napoveduje release show novega EP-ja, ki bo to soboto, 29. aprila, v Kulturnem domu Šoštanj. Tam boste lahko kupili tudi knjigo z naslovom Saga sedmih svetov (1. del):

»Zgodba temelji na glasbenem projektu zasedbe Cordura z naslovom Saga sedmih svetov, ki obsega popotovanje po sedmih planetih galaksije Cordura. Pričujoči del predstavlja besedilni dodatek glasbi prvih dveh mini albumov, ki se dogajata na planetih Annurth in Nibiru.

Potovanje nekega Zemljana se z izgubo spomina prične na Zemlji, od koder ga pot pelje na planet Annurth. Tam postane član vojske Najstarejših, neznane vesoljske rase, katere izvor je izgubljen v prostoru in času. Z njegovo pomočjo želijo rešiti planet Nibiru, ki so ga napadli sovražni stroji in je že blizu popolnega uničenja.

V prvem delu Sage sedmih svetov boste izvedeli, ali bo Najstarejšim uspelo premagati vojsko strojev in rešiti Nibiru pred uničenjem.«

Hogminister so naslednji potrjeni band, ki bo poleg Sovrag nastopil na letošnji 15. ediciji MetalWitch. Dogodek se bo zgodil 9. septembra v PGD Kozarje, Ljubljana.

Nemci Heretoir predstavljajo nov single s prihajajočega mini albuma. To pot so vizualizirali naslovno skladbo albuma Wastelands, ki naj bi izšel 16. maja pri založbi AOP Records.

Švedski temačneži Tribulation so izdali mini plošček Hamartia. Spodaj si lahko ogledate »stop motion« animacijski video za komad Vengeance (The Pact), ki je priredba komada ameriških rock legend Blue Öyster Cult.

Ukrajinska post/black metal zasedba White Ward je bila zaradi situacije v Ukrajini žal primorana odpovedati vse načrtovane nastope in turneje. Spodaj lahko preberete izjavo banda:

»Dear friends,

With a heavy heart, we need to inform you that our April tour is canceled. Last 2 weeks we fought for the fate of the tour. We tried all the possible ways, but the system proved to be stronger.

So, let's make it clear about what happened and about the reasons for the cancellation.

Right now “wartime” restrictions are applied in Ukraine, and they include limitations for men in ages 18-60 to cross the border, because it is a range when men are available for military service. So, there is a need to get special permission from state authorities to travel out of Ukraine. During the year 2022 the Ministry Of Culture helped Ukrainian musicians and different artists and assisted in acquiring such permits (for a limited time) and that is why we, and many other bands, were able to play in Europe last year.

But a working algorithm that allows to control the “way back” was not created and responsibilities related to the violations of the permission terms - were nowhere written. And that is why some impudent people just used this opportunity to run out of Ukraine and decided not to come back. Very few cases are known, but after the last one, which raised a lot of noise and dissatisfaction in the media, the Ministry Of Culture decided to implement immediate changes and new rules, even for artists who have already sent a request for permit weeks before an accident - we have sent such request on February, 20th. That is the reason why many Ukrainian bands like Schizogen, Bezlad, The Hypnotunez, Kazka, and many more have already canceled or almost canceled their tours. Some bands were affected when they were already at the border and shows should take place the next day, but due to new rules, they were not allowed to leave Ukraine!

The new rules suppose some additional documents to a request. In our case, every member of the band has his own difficulties in acquiring that, even with an immediate start - there is no guarantee that the process will be successful and accomplished in time. Also, that is anyway not a guarantee that the request will be approved - our colleagues` request was refused even with all the requested documents. So, we just can't get this permission and it is over.

We have tried everything, and the media noise was our last hope. But it hasn’t worked, unfortunately. Months of work, preparations, money - all this is now in vain.
We sincerely apologize to our fans, promoters, and everyone who helped us with this tour. We hope that one day we will make this tour real, and you will wait for us. We will still try to figure something out before Hellfest and August festivals, but no new tour announcements till the end of the war will be made.

But, the one and only responsible for this is russia. They broke everything by invading our country, killing our children, bombing our cities, destroying our culture, and applying all fascist methods to destroy us and we will never forget what they DID and are still DOING!«