Heathen Deity (featuring Dagon of Frostwork) posted the following message on their Facebook page last night:
On this the eve of Walpurgisnacht we would like to announce the return, the rebirth of Heathen Deity. A return to the UK underground. More news and announcements coming soon!!!
TRUE ENGLISH BLACK METAL
Watain have announced the release date and the title of their new album via Facebook. The message can be seen below.
After 120 nights of iron will and ardent magic, the fifth fullength album of Watain is now complete. With broken bones and burning hearts we have ploughed our way through deepest winter into a new wilderness, to which we will open the gates at summers end. THE WILD HUNT will be released on August 19th in Europe and August 20th in USA. Beware!
Keep of Kalessin have been going through a bit of a change recently with Thebon’s fairly public departure. I’ve been a massive fan of Thebon’s style of vocals for quite some time, so this change concerned me quite a bit. What would become of Keep of Kalessin?
Shortly after the initial press release (and Thebon’s response… and the band’s follow up), a new EP was released. The EP features three tracks and is a bit of interesting mix. There’s the new (title) track, an instrumental and another version (with different drums) of “The Dragontower”.
The title track was released as a video at the time of the original press release, so I’ve had a bit of time to familiarise myself with it. I have to admit that, prior to my first listen, I was quite sceptical. As I’ve already mentioned, I’m a massive Thebon fan. I just wasn’t sure that Keep of Kalessin would be the same without him. While Thebon has most certainly left his mark on the band, it turns out that my worries were unfounded. Not only is Obsidian C a terrific guitarist and songwriter, he is also a rather good vocalist. Bloody good, in fact. The combination of extreme and clean vocals is spot on and the overall feel of the track can only really be described with one word… EPIC.
“Intropection” feels like a very positive track – I really do want to raise my arms in the air and sing along when the clean vocals come in – and should go down a storm live.
“Flight of the Hatchling”, the instrumental, demonstrates the insane amount of skill these guys have. You can’t listen to this and not be impressed. I can’t even keep up with air guitar, let alone the real thing…
The re-recording of “The Dragontower” seems out of place. Other than the drums, I haven’t noticed that anything else has been changed. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds great and is a wonderful addition to any fan’s collection. However, I do find it hard to get excited about it – especially after the other two tracks.
Now that Obsidian C has taken on vocal duties, it’ll be interesting to see how the band are on stage. Luckily I’ll be able to find out first hand when the band team up with Finntroll to take over The Underworld in May.
You can check out the video for “Introspection” below:
Rating: 91%
In case you’re not familiar with the concept of “Freebie of the Week”, here’s a brief explanation… Each week I go on a little hunt through the vast wastelands of the Internet in search of FREE and LEGAL downloads. So, all of the downloads featured here will be obtainable through trustworthy means… and they’ll be guilt-free. For example, I will only ever feature music available from official band websites, profiles (such as MySpace, Reverbnation or Facebook) and Last.fm (or equivalent)
It’s Black Metal and it’s free – what’s not to like? Plus, there’s the fact that the name reminds me of cider. I like cider…
Anyway, head over to the Blackthorny Bandcamp page to download some awesomeness (or just use the widget below).
Info:
Blackthorny was created by Magnus Hellcaller in Sao Paulo – Brazil in mid-december of 2006.
Line-Up:
Magnus Hellcaller – All Instruments and Programming
Tristenius Von Doom – Vocals and Sinister Voices
Links:
blackthorny.com
facebook.com/blackthorny
blackthorny.bandcamp.com
Fast rising metal band I.C.O.N have announced their 2013 UK tour continuing the promotion of their critically acclaimed debut album ‘New Born Lie’. In recent years, I.C.O.N has shared the stage with Diamond Head, Voodoo Six, Blaze Bayley, Sworn to Oath, Witchfynde, Furyon, Zico Chain and a host of other rock and metal artists.
Last year, the band performed over fifty UK shows on their ‘New Born Lie on the Road’ tour which took in the whole of the UK including the band’s first shows in both Scotland and Wales.
I.C.O.N has consistently toured throughout the UK and mainland Europe continuing to build a loyal fanbase. The band have appeared on SKY TV, BBC Radio, Total Rock Radio and appeared in rock press such as Metal Hammer and Powerplay magazines. Two tracks from the album appear on the worldwide smash PC game MOTORM4X and lead track ‘Messiah Complex’ continues to receive airplay on international rock radio stations.
This first tour of 2013 will take in a huge majority of the UK over the spring and summer including a London date at the Intrepid Fox on May 31st with Download Festival performers EMPEROR CHUNG.
Following their highly acclaimed performance as Second Stage headliners last year I.C.O.N are returning to the METAL GODS FESTIVAL in Derbyshire in May, this time to the main stage alongside rising British metal acts Beholder, Bull-Riff Stampede, Line Of Fire, Incinery, Derision and many more.
I.C.O.N are headlining the Saturday night of the Bolton Metal Alliance METAL MASSACRE FESTIVAL weekend on Saturday 4th May at the Alma Inn, Bolton.
The band will also be making their debut performance at the hugely successful SOS FESTIVAL, Radcliffe, Manchester, in July.
The tour will be the first with their new drummer Si Tubbs replacing Aaron Youd who recently left the band. Si joins I.C.O.N having previously drummed with popular rock band Uncle Rotter.
Guitarist Scott Knowles says:
“2012 was such a busy touring twelve months, but it was worth it, as we made an enormous amount of new fans and a bigger impact on the UK metal scene. We’re really looking forward to heading back out on the road in 2013, especially with our new drummer. The band is really fired up for our upcoming tour dates and festival appearances.
We’re going to be sifting through all the riffs and lyric ideas we have with a view to putting together our next album at some stage too, which is very exciting for us all. There’s also a lot of other great stuff to come from us this year”.The tour dates are:
Thursday 25th April – Grand Central, Manchester
Friday 26th April – Railway Institute, Bangor
Saturday 27th April – Gasworks, Bradford
Saturday 4th May – Metal Massacre Festival, Bolton
Friday 10th May - The North Wales Inn, Rhyl
Friday 17th May – The Salutation, Nottingham
Saturday 18th May – Freebird Freehouse, Stoke on Trent
Friday 24th May - The Borough, Darwen
Saturday 25th May - Metal Gods Festival, Intake Club, Mansfield
Friday 31st May - Intrepid Fox, London
Saturday 1st June - Rock Zombie Club, Dudley
Friday 7th June - Rampage @ Roper Hall, Preston
Saturday 13th July - Caveman Bash Festival, Samlesbury, Preston
Sunday 21st July - SOS Festival, Radcliffe, Manchester
Saturday 24th August - Aces High Festival, Nottingham DoghouseI.C.O.N have also released a short documentary that shows the band preparing for the forthcoming tour. Check it out below:
For a taster of the band’s music, check out “Messiah Complex” from the debut album “New Born Lie”:
