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LIGHTNING STRIKES – video “Our Lady” – released!


LIGHTNING STRIKES – video “Our Lady” – released!

LIGHTNING STRIKES have released a video clip for the song ‘Our Lady’ off their eponymous debut album which was issued November 18th 2016 via Germany’s PURE LEGEND RECORDS, a division of PURE STEEL RECORDS.

Our Lady’ is LIGHTNING STRIKES’ nod to Rock’n’Roll Hall of Famers DEEP PURPLE, one of drummer/founding member Karpis Maksudian’s main influences and long time favorite bands.  “I grew up in Yerevan, Armenia during the Soviet era and there was no Western music available in stores at the time and very few people had actual Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath records. I think it was in 1974 when one of my relatives came to visit from Beirut and brought with him a mixed tape of rock songs. The first song on that tape was a live version of ‘Black Night’ and that was it for me.  My world instantly and completely changed forever.  From that day on I kept bugging my father to buy me a used copy of ‘Made In Japan’ which cost 300 Rubles on the black market. Mind you, an ordinary worker in the USSR was making 120 Rubles a month at the time! I’ve been a huge Deep Purple fan ever since and own all their albums.

“When we started working on the album, I wanted to do a Purple cover but I wasn’t interested in re-doing any of the obvious songs that have already been covered to death.  I mean, who needs another cover of ‘Highway Star’ or ‘Smoke on the Water’? So I started listening to their early stuff in my car for a few weeks when it hit me that not too many people are familiar with ‘Our Lady’ off of ‘Who Do We Think We Are’ but it’s a killer tune. Bingo! So I asked Rob (Math) and Cat (Tate) to learn it for the album, and then had Derek (Sherinian) come in to do his Jon Lord magic on the Hammond B3, which turned out great.  And Nando (Fernandes), too, did an awesome job on vocals so I’m really pleased how it turned out.  Hopefully the Purple fans out there will dig our version – so far the response has been very positive.”

Originally formed in the mid-80’s, LIGHTNING STRIKES were part the bustling L.A. scene, with a now highly collectable 7” single to their credit, before going their separate ways due to line-up problems.  In 2011, Maksudian began to assemble a new version of LIGHTNING STRIKES, featuring returning bassist Cat Tate (SNEW, RED AGAIN), Berklee trained guitarist Rob Math (LEATHERWOLF, PLAYER), and Brazilian vocalist Nando Fernandes (HANGAR). In addition to Sherinian, ‘Lightning Strikes’ also features guest lead vocal contributions from Tony Martin (BLACK SABBATH) and Japanese visual kei star Noah (AVANCHICK) and koto player Masayo Ishigure.

‘Lightning Strikes’ was mixed by acclaimed producer Roy Z (JUDAS PRIEST, BRUCE DICKINSON, HELLOWEEN) and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (HALFORD, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ANVIL).  The album will see its official North American release on January 20th 2017.

 

 

LIGHTNING STRIKES – „Lightning Strikes“ CD @ PURE STEEL SHOP
LIGHTNING STRIKES – „Lightning Strikes“ DL @ PURE STEEL SHOP

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#puresteelpromotion #darkartconspiracy #metal #news

EPICA – launch ‘Beyond The Matrix’ music video!


EPICA – launch ‘Beyond The Matrix’ music video!

2017-01-11 – Dutch symphonic metal band EPICA have launched the new music video for ‘Beyond The Matrix’ taken from the band’s latest album »The Holographic Principle«.

Frontwoman Simone Simons comments: “The energy that lives within ‘Beyond the Matrix’ is extremely contagious. It will sweep you off your feet when the melodies enter your mind. The video embodies the spirit and liveliness of EPICA. Transcend together with us and shine past the sky”

EPICA’s guitar player Mark Jansen continues “Beyond the Matrix is one of my favorite tracks to play live from our new album, as it makes the crowd go wild, so I’m happy we are releasing a video of it. We have managed to catch the energy of the song and translate it into images (& words). The song is dealing about us humans, being caught in a matrix (an illusion) because of our excessive thinking. We have lost control over our lives and accept the illusion as ‘the one reality’. But if we manage to free ourselves from those shackles and become masters of our thoughts again, we can make a huge step forward in collective consciousness and will be able to look beyond the borders of our matrix. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!!!”

The video can be viewed on EPICA‘s official YouTube page:

 

#epica #darkartconspiracy #metal #news

DIMMU BORGIR – announce New double-DVD “Forces Of The Northern Night”!


DIMMU BORGIR – announce New double-DVD “Forces Of The Northern Night”!

2017-01-11 – Norwegian symphonic black metal giants, DIMMU BORGIR, finally emerge from the depths of darkness, to mark 2017 as the year of their monumental return. On April 14th, they will finally release their highly-anticipated DVD »Forces Of The Northern Night«, containing two of the band’s live rituals: Their legendary show in Oslo, showing DIMMU BORGIR on stage with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and a bombastic choir, as well as the entire performance at Wacken Open Air 2012 with almost 100 musicians on stage. Both concerts present a spectacular sound scenario of raging black metal in front of an epic orchestral landscape and the band’s unique visuals.

This authentic combination of the beauty and the beast has long seemed like a natural evolution for fans, but much time, arrangements and commitment were necessary to put this gigantic production into reality and fill the stage with 90 minutes of mindblowing sets per night. The shows guide the fans through classics from the band’s discography – from the majestic finisher ‘Mourning Palace’ to the stomping manifesto ‘Puritania’ and the haunting ‘Gateways’… Norway’s DIMMU BORGIR know how to leave nothing behind but pure ashes.

“For us, this is the pinnacle of our career so far. As a band, we’ve always used a lot of symphonic elements in our music. But we haven’t been able to use a real orchestra. We’ve had to use samples, synthesisers and so on, so this was a huge, awesome experience for us!”, states front man Shagrath.

On April 14th, both concert plus a bonus documentary feature will be available in many different formats that will soon be revealed.

And beware… this is not the only gem that the year 2017 holds for DIMMU BORGIR.

 

#dimmuborgir #darkartconspiracy #metal #news

ANCILLOTTI ANNOUNCE THE EUROPEAN TOUR 2017 with Ross The Boss


ANCILLOTTI ANNOUNCE THE EUROPEAN TOUR 2017 with Ross The Boss.

 

After announcing a series Italian Tour dates promoting the new album “Strike Back” we are very excited to announce that the band will embark on tour with the mighty Ross The Boss band in March across Europe as opening act of their “The Discipline of Steel” World Tour 2017!

More Information: www.ross-the-boss.com

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Tourdates:
03.03.2017 Zlin, Czech Republic
05.03.2017 Vienna, Austria*
06.03.2017 Mannheim, Germany*
08.03.2017 Hamburg, Germany*
09.03.2017 Stadskanaal, Netherlands*
10.03.2017 Essen, Germany*
11.03.2017 Andernach, Germany*
12.03.2017 Helmond, Netherlands*
13.03.2017 Utrecht, Netherlands*
16.03.2017 Barcelona, Spain
17.03.2017 Zaragoza, Spain
18.03.2017 Erandio, Spain
19.03.2017 Madrid, Spain
20.03.2017 Cangas do Morrazo, Spain
21.03.2017 Lisbon, Portugal
24.03.2017 Brescia, Italy*
25.03.2017 Torino, Italy*
26.03.2017 Prato, Italy*
28.03.2017 Diest, Belgium
30.03.2017 London, UK
31.03.2017 Evesham, UK
01.04.2017 Swansea, UK
02.04.2017 Dublin, ireland
04.04.2017 Glasgow, UK
05.04.2017 Edinburgh, UK
06.04.2017 Milton Keynes, UK

* Support = ANCILLOTTI

#puresteelpromotion #darkartconspiracy #metal #news #tour #ancillotti

 

PALLBEARER – announce European tour dates for April!


PALLBEARER – announce European tour dates for April!

PALLBEARER - announce European tour dates for - 2017-01-10

2017-01-10 – Fervent Arkansas progressive doom quartet PALLBEARER are incredibly pleased to announce that they will be gracing our UK and European stages in April 2017, for 16 show dates.

Kicking off at the Botanique, Brussels – this run will take PALLBEARER across Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the UK before concluding at distinguished Tilburg, Netherlands based underground music festival Roadburn. The 2017 edition of the festival has been part-curated by renowned musician and artist John Baizley (BARONESS), who personally hand-picked PALLBEARER for the illustrious event.

PALLBEARER commented on the tour news:
“As always, we are completely thrilled to venture beyond our own dystopian shores. Europe and the UK have always been a killer experience for us and our return could not come at a more crucial time.”

The dates read as follows:

Last week PALLBEARER announced that their highly anticipated third record »Heartless« will be released on 24th March 2017! »Heartless« will be released via Nuclear Blast Entertainment in the UK, Europe, Australia & New Zealand and via Profound Lore in North America.

 

#darkartconspiracy #metal #news

KATAKLYSM – announce special European tour in autumn 2017!


Canadian hyperblasters, KATAKLYSM, will celebrate their 25th band anniversary in 2017. In support of this noticeable jubilee, the band will play special shows and bring their classic records »Shadows & Dust« and »Serenity In Fire« on European stages in their entirety.

The band commented:

“It’s hard to think that 25 years have already arrived, feels like yesterday when we were in high school being teen rebels and we started a band called KATAKLYSM, hard to believe that through everything this band has been through, we are still standing tall, but when you really think hard a few words can summon it all: Perseverance, strength, belief and honesty, those were and are the key ingredients for KATAKLYSM success and of course killer anthems who have stood the test of time!

We have taken this moment to stop and reflect and thought we should celebrate this event, as it doesn’t happen often to bands, to still be meaningful to the world and achieve 25 years of career, with this we also noticed that one of our breakthrough albums »Shadows & Dust« will turn 15 years old in 2017, so what better way to send a big thank you back to our fans by revisiting this classic record and its follow up »Serenity In Fire«, two landmarks in KATAKLYSM’s on going blistering career?

We decided to make a special event with select dates and bring this idea to life with a tour called »A Moment In Time: Shadows & Dust vs. Serenity In Fire« where KATAKLYSM will play both albums in their entirety, with a brand new stage show reflecting those two records, for this special occasion KATAKLYSM has invited their old friends in GRAVEWORM from Italy to open up the festivities, who themselves supported KATAKLYSM in Europe and in the US during the »Shadows & Dust« and »Serenity In Fire« campaign era, we are beyond excited for this event, it will be a one time thing for the cities we play it, so don’t miss it, we will not bring it back, so make sure you come out and party with us celebrating our 25th anniversary!”

Check out this trailer to get more info about KATAKLYSM’s upcoming European tour 2017:

 

#darkartconspiracy #metal #news