Tag Archives: music

Metal Missionaries The Documentary: Conversations With Christian Music’s Most Extreme Artists


Metal Missionaries brings you into conversations with some of Christian music’s most extreme artists, so you can get a firsthand feel for the scene and answer some questions or doubts for yourself.

Metal Missionaries The Documentarythe first full-length documentary about the extreme Christian Metal scene, will be released on September 15th,2017 with pre-orders beginning September 1st, 2017. You’ll see that although their music may be aggressive and they may not look like Christians, their hearts burst with the Holy Spirit. They don’t need a label or a collar to know who they are; they are missionaries who take their faith not into the deepest reaches of the jungle but into dim, dirty rock clubs and dusty music festivals night after night to wash the crowds clad in black t-shirts and denim in a sonic flood of God’s unfailing love for them.

The genre of Christian heavy metal is no longer characterized by Stryper’s trademark yellow-and-black spandex. Instead, it’s found on the stages of the wildly popular Warped Tour, it’s featured in the pages of secular music magazines like AP and Guitar World, it draws thousands of fans into rural Illinois every year for the Cornerstone Festival, and its bands garner thunderous applause from hard rockers at events like “The Revolver Golden Gods Awards.” And, while the scene has changed from eyeliner and leather to bushy beards and breakdowns, the musical message has remained the same: God’s love for us knows no bounds and the free gift of grace is spoken in every language. That includes the language of distorted Marshall Stacks that invite those who hear to worship Him with shouts of praise and swirling circle pits.

Curiously enough, there might be enough similarities to refute the fact that these two ideas cannot coexist within the same universe. Death, pain, and suffering are all themes that metal musicians embrace, while Christianity was formed on the basis of its original followers being persecuted and killed for following a savior who gave his blood and died for our sins. So which is it? Do Christianity and heavy metal mix together like oil and water? Or is Christianity as metal as it gets?

Metal Missionaries The Documentary incorporates live concert footage, one on one interviews with band members (secular and non-secular) as well as archive footage and off camera narration. The film transports the viewers back stage behind the scenes on order to get an in-depth look into the hearts and minds of extreme Christian metal musicians from unsigned bands traversing the globe in vans to major label acts riding in luxury buses the messages are the same.

Drudkh and Paysage d’Hiver stream split-EP


Ukrainian black metal veterans DRUDKH and Swiss underground one-man act PAYSAGE D’HIVER (out on Prophecy) will release their limited 12″ split-EP ‘Somewhere Sadness Wanders / Schnee (IV)’ worldwide today, August 25th.

The complete split-EP is now exclusively streaming via Invisible Oranges (US).

The artwork of ‘Somewhere Sadness Wanders / Schnee (IV)’ can be viewed together with the track-list of the split-EP below.
Tracklist
1. DRUDKH – All Shades Of Silence (12:54)
2. DRUDKH – The Night Walks Towards Her Throne (8:08)
3. PAYSAGE D’HIVER – Schnee IV (19:51)

DRUDKH release their next split-EP. The Ukrainian underground black metal veterans collaborate with the Swiss atmospheric black metal project PAYSAGE D’HIVER this time.

Mastermind Roman Sayenko continues to draw his lyrical inspiration from Ukrainian poets. “All Shades Of Silence” derives from the writings of Yevhen Pluzhnyk (1898-1936), who died in a Stalinist gulag. His contemporary Maik Yohansen (1895-1937), who penned the words in “The Night Walks Towards Her Throne” shared a similar fate by being murdered with the guns of a Soviet firing squad.

Both tracks clearly show Roman Sayenko’s musical handwriting by perfectly blending raw harshness, epic melodies and a touch of folklore into black metal masterpieces.

With their latest full-length ‘A Furrow Cut Short’ (2015), DRUDKH continued on the dark and bleak course charted with previous release ‘Eternal Turn of the Wheel’ (2012). In an ever-evolving metamorphosis, DRUDKH have regularly returned to their early legacy from the Nordic Black Metal inspired debut ‘Forgotten Legends’ (2003) as well as the cinematic soundscapes of ‘Autumn Aurora’ (2004) and the traditional influences of ‘The Swan Road’ (2005). On ‘Blood in Our Wells’ (2006) progressive elements surfaced, while after the instrumental and partly acoustic ‘Songs of Grief and Solitude’ (2006) a sharp contrast was created by the harshly black ‘Estrangement’ (2007). ‘Microcosmos’ (2009) seemed to tie up the different strands of DRUDKH‘s previous releases, before embarking on a quest to more outlying progressive realms with ‘Handful of Stars’ (2010), which led Roman Sayenko to found OLD SILVER KEY, joined by ALCEST vocalist Neige. The band’s mastermind has often penned his own lyrics, but also continuously rediscovered forgotten poets of his home country. With similar intentions but musically closer to their original band, members of DRUDKH including Roman Sayenko released an album entitled, ‘The Great Cold Steppe’ (March, 2017) using the name WINDSWEPT.

DRUDKH insist to be understood through their music alone and do not provide any kind of promotion. DRUDKH do therefore not release any pictures, nor give interviews, or perform live.

Line-up DRUDKH
Roman Sayenko: guitars
Thurios: guitar, vocals
Krechet: bass
Vlad: drums, keyboards

CYHRA REVEAL ALBUM DETAILS + DEBUT FIRST SINGLE ‘KARMA’ (FEATURING EX-MEMBERS OF AMARANTHE, IN FLAMES & ANNIHILATOR)


NEW BAND FEATURING EX-MEMBERS OF AMARANTHE, IN FLAMES & ANNIHILATOR

BAND DEBUTS FIRST SINGLE ‘KARMA’

Cyhra, a new band featuring former Amaranthe singer v. and ex-In Flames guitarist Jesper Strömblad, have revealed details of their forthcoming debut album, ‘Letters To Myself’.

Due for release on October 20th 2017, ‘Letters To Myself’ features plenty of the magic that each member of the band has become known for over the years. From the blissfully melodic thrust of Jesper Strömblad’s riffs and hooks, and the soaring, soulful splendour of Jake E.’s unmistakable voice to the pummelling, groove-driven precision of Peter Iwers, and Alex Landenburg’s rhythmic bedrock, every last moment crackles with the excitement of fresh territory, new challenges and a brand new identity for all involved to embrace.

636F243B-BA6F-496E-8234-4941694BE479.jpg

‘Letters To Myself’

Album track-listing:

01.  Karma

02.  Heartrage

03.  Here To Save You

04.  Muted Life

05.  Closure

06.  Letter To Myself

07.  Dark Clarity

08.  Holding Your Breath

09.  Rescue Ride

10.  Black Wings

11.  Inside A Lullaby

12.  Dead To Me

‘Letters To Myself’ is available for pre-order here: https://lnk.to/cyhrakarma_Ar

Cyhra have also taken this opportunity to share the first single from the record in the form of ‘Karma’. You can listen to the song here: https://lnk.to/cyhrakarma_Ar

The video for the track will be premiered on September 8th.

 

Formed in 2016 by long-time friends Jake E. and Jesper Strömblad , Cyhra are about to light a fire under the contemporary metal scene that promises to blaze for decades to come.

With former In Flames bassist Peter Iwers plus Alex Landenburg (current drummer with power metal titans Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody and a former member of thrash legends Annihilator) completing the line-up, the buzz around Cyhra has been growing at a rapid rate since the band unveiled their plans earlier this year..

“The excitement that I feel about Cyhra is over the top,” Jake E. exclaims. “I have to pinch myself every day to make sure it’s not just another dream. I am so proud of the music we have created and I can’t wait to show it to the world!”

“For the first time for as long as I can remember, I feel I am a part of something special,” adds Strömblad. “This band has helped me regain my true passion for music. I can’t wait to share this with the world!”

Cyhra plan to tour globally in support of their Spinefarm debut, with their first show scheduled for October 27th 2017 at Nosturi in HelsinkiFinland.

Cyhra are:

Vocals: Jake E (ex-Amaranthe)

Guitar: Jesper Strömblad (ex-In Flames)

Bass: Peter Iwers (ex-In Flames)

Drums: Alex Landenburg (ex-Annihilator)

 

www.cyhra.com
www.facebook.com/CyHraofficial/

LEPROUS new album “Malina” out NOW!


Norway’s acclaimed progressive Rock group LEPROUS are releasing their much-anticipated new fifth studio album “Malina” today via InsideOutMusic,

The track-listing for “Malina” reads as follows:

LEPROUS – “Malina” (58:56):
1. Bonneville (05:28)
2. Stuck (06:48)
3. From The Flame (03:51)
4. Captive (03:43)
5. Illuminate (04:21)
6. Leashes (04:09)
7. Mirage (06:48)
8. Malina (06:15)
9. Coma (03:55)
10. The Weight Of Disaster (06:00)
11. The Last Milestone (07:30)

Continue reading LEPROUS new album “Malina” out NOW!

ARCH ENEMY – reveal music video for new single, “The Eagle Flies Alone”


ARCH ENEMY have revealed the second single, “The Eagle Flies Alone”, taken from their forthcoming album, “Will To Power”, due out on September 8th.

Band leader Michael Amott comments: “Strangely enough, this is a song I wrote in sunny Mexico last year, but fear not – Arch Enemy hasn’t gone Mariachi on you! On the contrary, this song is steeped in classic Metal and melancholic Scandinavian atmosphere. Lyrically, this is an anthemic warcry to all fellow individualists around the Heavy Metal world. We shot the video with our director Patric Ullaeus in Sweden on the coldest outdoor shoot I can recall ever doing! The end result was totally worth it, it turned out beautifully. I guess sometimes you really have to suffer for the art!”

Watch the official music video for “The Eagle Flies Alone” here:

Continue reading ARCH ENEMY – reveal music video for new single, “The Eagle Flies Alone”

Caligula’s Horse – premiere official video for ‘Will’s Song (Let the Colours Run)’


Caligula’s Horse, a band at the forefront of Australia’s progressive rock scene, recently debuted the track ‘Will’s Song (Let the Colours Run)’, the first track taken from the forthcoming new album ‘In Contact’ out 15th September 2017. Now they are premiering the music video for the track, directed by the band’s guitarist Adrian Goleby.

Vocalist Jim Grey explains: “The story of ‘Will’s Song’ is centred around pride and ambition, the human tendency toward self-destruction, the last demand of a proud old man that time is not decay and he is ‘that young man still’.” Goleby has mirrored this in the clouded performances, obscured figures either silhouetted in smoke and colourful light or dissolving into nothing, and the frenetic visuals truly capture the kinetic energy of the song.

Continue reading Caligula’s Horse – premiere official video for ‘Will’s Song (Let the Colours Run)’