Progresivni death metal duet Iapetus sporoča, da je podpisal pogodbo z založbo Willowtip Records. Band je trenutno v fazi priprave materiala za tretji album, spodaj pa lahko preberete izjavo banda ob začetku sodelovanja z novo založbo:

»We are honored, humbled, and thrilled to announce our partnership with Willowtip Records - to join their incomparable roster, both past and present, and to stand alongside so many incredible bands that we have long admired both as fans and peers.Willowtip is and has always been dedicated to pushing the boundaries of metal - to championing the off-beat and the unfamiliar - and so we feel resolutely at home beneath their legendary, ever-innovative banner. This partnership is, for us - and in so many ways - a perfect fit. We could not be more excited for the endeavors ahead.

Writing for our next album has been ongoing for years, and is still well underway - while it's still too far-off for specific details, we can promise that it will be our darkest record yet - an 80+ minute conceptual rumination on hopelessness, mortality, and meaning in an uncaring cosmos. More news will become available as the album progresses.

And, as always, our unending gratitude for the continual support of our fans across the globe - if you haven't already, check out some of our new, outstanding labelmates - An Abstract Illusion, Countless Skies, Hath, Slugdge, The Anchoret, and more!

Cheers, and Happy New Year!«

Švedska progresivna death metal zasedba Carnosus sporoča, da je sklenila sodelovanje z Willowtip Records. Poleg naznanitve nove založbe band še sporoča, da bo kmalu začel z delom na tretjem albumu:

»As the year ends we are buckling up and getting ready to record our third album. We are happy to announce that this time we are working with Willowtip Records and joining their roster of amazing bands!

Expect more ‘Visions’ as we venture into our third installment, with tales of the vicious majesty and the world it lives in. This project comes with some of our finest riffs to date and is a bit more progressive than our last album. We will, once again, team up with the trustworthy and excellent producer Robert Kukla at Obsidian Recording Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden. We are beyond stoked to let this material come to life, and we hit the studio early 2024! Giddy up!«

Organizatorji češkega festival Brutal Assault so najavili sedem ameriških thrash metal bandov, ki bodo nastopili na naslednji ediciji. To so: Testament, Exodus, Armored Saint, Sadus, Havok, Toxic Holocaust in Laid to Waste.

Poslušate lahko tudi Brand New Way, četrti dolgometražec brazilskih power metalcev Armored Dawn.

Konec septembra smo že poročali, da bodo ameriški heavy/power metal veterani Riot V izdali nov album. Zdaj je znano, da bo ta nosil naslov Mean Streets, da bo izšel 16. februarja in da bo prinesel 12 novih klomadov:

Hail To The Warriors
Feel The Fire
Love Beyond The Grave
High Noon
Before This Time
Higher
Mean Streets
Open Road
Mortal Eyes
Lost Dreams
Lean Into It
No More

Na predvečer Prešernovega dne se bo nad kranjski TrainStation Subart zgrnil black/death metal prepad, ki sliši na ime Abyssal. Britansko zasedbo, ki poredko nastopa v živo in je letos izdala split z Ellorsith, bodo spremljali italijanski kolegi Aphotic, ki so spomladi izdali prvenec Abyssgazer. Gre za projekt članov bivših Ekypirosis in Fuoco Fatuo. Večer bo odprla domača death metal zasedba Siderean, ki trenutno snema naslednika prvenca Lost on Void's Horizon.

Vabljeni torej 7. februarja v TrainStation SubArt na verjetno black/death metal koncert leta. Za več informacij lahko spremljate dogodek na Facebooku.

Legendarni britanski thrasherji Xentrix so podpisali s francosko založbo Listenable Records. Spodaj si lahko preberete izjavo kitarista Kristiana Havarda:

»Xentrix are extremely excited to continue our relationship with Listenable Records by signing with them once again. Listenable is a label that is run by people who are incredibly focused, knowledgeable and more importantly, massively passionate about metal music. And it’s these differences that made it a no brainer when it came time to for the band to choose a label for new music.«

Projekt Me And That Man je včeraj razkril datume spomladanske evropske turneje. V naši neposredni bližini žal ne bo nastopil, tako da bo morebiten obisk koncerta terjal izlet do Poljske, Nemčije ali katere od skandinavskih držav. Vse datume lahko preverite na priloženi fotografiji.

Nemški power metal veljaki Freedom Call se trenutno nahajajo v Soundart Recording Studio, kjer poteka snemanje njihovega enajstega studijskega albuma. Več podrobnosti sledi kmalu, spodaj pa lahko preberete izjavo banda iz studia:

»Hello to everyone from Freedom Call and big cheers from the Soundart Recording Studio. The recordings for their new studio album have started. Fantastic work of Ramy Ali - drums - (artist page) on the drums & Alexander Lysiakov on the sound machine. More infos will be revealed soon!«

Srbske thrash/speed metalke Jenner so razkrile prve podrobnosti svojega drugega albuma Prove Them Wrong. Ta bo izšel 24. januarja pri Fighter Records na zgoščenki ter digitalno in prinesel devet novih komadov, od katerih je bil že razkrit naslovni komad:

No Time For Prayer
Prove Them Wrong
Born For Something More
Down in the Pit
Not Even You
Eye For an Eye
I Saw it All Clear
Never Say Die
Laws of the Weak

Heavy metal legende Armored Saint so objavile live video za pesem Pay Dirt, ki je del ploščka Symbol of Salvation Live.

Švedska simfonična metal zasedba Therion je objavila besedilni video za skladbo Ruler of Tamag s prihajajočega albuma Leviathan III, ki bo 15. decembra izšel pri Napalm Records. To bo njen že 19. studijski album po vrsti, prinaša pa naslednje skladbe:

Ninkigal
Ruler of Tamag
An Unsung Lament
Maleficium
Ayahuasca
Baccanale
Midsommarblot
What Was Lost Shall Be Lost No More
Duende
Nummo
Twilight of the Gods

Ameriški heavy/doom metalci Cirith Ungol so naznanili, da s koncem leta 2024 ne bodo več koncertirali. Tukaj izjava banda:

»After careful deliberation, we have decided that 2024 will be the final year that Cirith Ungol will be performing live. Having taken a 25 year long hiatus, we could never have imagined the tidal wave of love and support that would come from all of you upon our return. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank every one of you, who has attended our shows and supported our music. We are immensely proud of the work we have created in the past few years, and are beyond excited about our latest epic album, Dark Parade.

Legions, this is your rallying call. If you've never had the opportunity to see the band live, or if you want to see us perform once more, 2024 is your year. We will be announcing shows worldwide in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for news.«

Orto Bar se na svoj način poklanja legendam:

»Ljubljanski rock klub Orto Bar že 29 let gosti tribute to skupine znanih velikih še obstoječih ali neobstoječih glasbenih skupin, predvsem v okvirjih različnih zvrsti rocka in metala. V novi sezoni 2023/24 pa so v klubu pripravili poseben ciklus kar devetnajstih tribute to skupin ORTO TRIBUTE – POKLON NAJBOLJŠIM (sledijo še presenečenja), med katerimi so mnoge resnično vrhunske zasedbe, ki neprekosljivo oponašajo in interpretirajo slovite svetovne glasbene skupine in izvajalce. Gre za skupine, ki jih kot originalne ne moremo doživeti v klubskem, bolj intimnem okolju, temveč le na stadionih ali v arenah, in je doživetje njihove glasbe v živo v klubskem okolju prav posebno doživetje, kjer imajo tako rekoč vsi obiskovalci direkten stik z izvajalci in zvočno izkušnjo, ki pritiče samo klubom. Poleg tega mnogi izvajalci več ne obstajajo in je to edina možnost, da njihovo glasbo v živo sploh doživimo. In kot vemo, tudi J. S. Bach že zelo dolgo več ne nastopa, izvajajo ga le boljši in slabši interpreti. V Orto Baru pa so se še posebej potrudili v novi sezoni ravno glede kakovosti nastopajočih tribute to skupin, ki bodo prinesle v klub vrhunske izvedbe omenjenih izvajalcev, s pravo in neposredno glasbeno žur izkušnjo.«

Še več informacij o nastopajočih oziroma koncertih (štirje so že bili izvedeni) in možnosti nakupa vstopnice najdete na spletni strani Orto Bara.

Ameriška metalcore zasedba Lower 13 je posnela videospot za pesem The One to Blame, ki je del prihajajočega EP-ja Deception. Tracklista:

More Time
Your Love's a Curse
The One to Blame
Holding on to Misery
You Just Left Her