KICK*ASS*METAL
MetalstorM —– FACE THE FACE-MELTING METAL
FORECAST FOR THE TOP 100 HEAVY METAL ALBUMS OF 2017
FIRST UPDATE JANUARY 3RD, 2017
ARCANE RITUAL * Enemy of the State
“January 24th, 2017”
Arcane Dimension. A place where sonic art, ritual, poetry and provocative ideas meet hard hitting metal. With roots in thrash…, gothic, and industrial as well as experimentations with symphonic and haunting world sounds based in middle eastern music this group pulls together the old and the new into a sound that defies typical metal genres. It simply must be heard to be understood.
BEYOND THE BLACK * Lost in Forever
RE-EDITION…JANUARY 13, 2017 UDR RECORDS
Beyond The Black are most certainly that.…
And with a sensational new line-up ready to conquer the planet, Beyond The Black’s ascension is guaranteed.
Joining dynamic, world-class frontwoman and vocalist Jennifer Haben are Christian Hermsdörfer (guitar & backing vocals), Tobias Lodes (guitar & backing vocals), Jonas Roßner (keyboards), Stefan Herkenhoff (bass) and Kai Tschierschky (drums). This power-packed sextet will immediately dazzle audiences on Beyond The Black’s own headline tour in November, as well as in support of the mighty Scorpions during the same month in Germany and France.
Further road adventures will come when Beyond The Black join forces with Powerwolf & Epica in January & February 2017, with a US special guest slot slated in Spring 2017.
To celebrate the new band’s union, an international tour edition of the Lost In Forever album will be released worldwide on January 13th 2017, featuring four brand-new bonus tracks.
Beyond The Black have also written the title track for forthcoming German movie Die Ketzerbraut, which tells the story of a 16th century well-to-do merchant’s daughter who one night sees her life turned upside down as everything is taken from her, creating a path of treachery and revenge in renaissance era Europe. Haben enjoys a cameo appearance in this epic drama, and the title track will also be available on the domestic release of the Lost In Forever tour edition.
…if you think that’s a lot of information to sink your teeth into, disengage them fast and get ready to bite down once more in the near future, because with Beyond The Black, the news and activity is only going to increase!
Jennifer Haben and her band colleagues celebrated their live debut on stage at the legendary Wacken Open Air 2014. A few months later they were supporting the legendary SAXON on their UK tour. On February 13th 2015 the band released their debut full-length album Songs of Love and Death, which hit the German top 20 album charts, and which was produced by melodic metal maestro Sascha Paeth (Avantasia, Edguy, Epica, Kamelot, Rhapsody). You’ve probably already guessed that the album was royally received throughout Europe, with Haben establishing herself as one of the leading voices in hard rock and metal music.
Beyond The Black continued to conquer the road. They played their own headliner tour in spring and autumn 2015, and featured at several of Germany’s biggest rock & metal-festivals. Momentum is beautiful thing; Beyond The Black supported Queensrÿche in Holland and Within Temptation in Switzerland, and their incredible ascent culminated in them receiving the “Best Debut Album 2015” Metal Hammer Award.
Enough for the year? Hardly. Because between all that stuff, they were working on their second full-length album “Lost in Forever”, which was released in February 2016 (G/A/S), entered the German charts at #4 and will soon enjoy a worldwide release.
Fortified yet further with fresh energy, Beyond The Black went on their biggest tour so far in spring 2016, as a special guest on The Scorpions 50th Anniversary World Tour (do we really need to remind you they are Germany’s most successful-ever band?).
“It was a great honour for us to stand on one stage with such huge Rock N Roll icons,” enthused Haben, “we are very grateful to be celebrating 50 years of Scorpions with them.”
Yes indeed, Beyond The Black’s incredible story continued!
On May 30th and 31st 2016, they supported metal heroes Korn on some of their 2016 world tour’s European dates, and once Beyond The Black have blown people away at major festivals like With Full Force, Wacken Open Air, Bloodstock Open Air and Summerbreeze Open Air, they bring their own headline show through major cities in Germany this November.
If you thought 2015 and 2016 were Beyond The Black’s shining lights, then consider 2017 high-beams of the brightest order.
CRUCIFIED BARBARA
7 INCH SIGNELS REISSUES
Sweden’s GMR Music are now offering Crucified Barbara’s first 4 singles on limited edition 7″ vinyl. Only 300 copies of each have been pressed:
#1 – “Losing The Game” / “Killed By Death”
#2 – “Rock ‘N’ Roll Bachelor” / “Shout It Out Loud”
#3 – “Play Me Hard” / “My Heart Is Black” (acoustic version)
#4 – “Jennyfer” / “Fire”
Go to this location to order.
Crucified Barbara announced the band’s demise in 2016 with the following statement:
“Hey everyone! Today we are sad to say that a long journey has come to an end. Crucified Barbara were our dream and you all, made it come true! The times we’ve had together as a band and shared on (and off) stage with you guys, leaves memories that no time can kill.
Our lives have parted and we need to move on. The last years have taken its toll on all of us and the joy of playing together got lost somewhere along the way. But we are musicians at heart and the last chord is not taken for any of us, so we will probably see each other again, under different circumstances and in other variations.
Thanks to everyone we worked with during the years who believed in us when no one else did. But without you, our fans, we wouldn’t have seen the beauty and the strength of what rock music can do. Thank you again for making our dream come true!
All the best and biggest respect!”
CHASTAIN * CHASTAINIUM
CRYSTAL VIPER * Queen of the Witches
FEBRAUARY 17TH, 2017
★ Time to reveal one more secret of our new album! As it’s already a tradition that we pay a tribute to the Heavy Metal legends of which legacy we proudly continue, it couldn’t be different this time. The CD version of our new album is completed with bonus track, cover version of the GRIM REAPER classic “See You In Hell”, while fans that will decide to get the limited vinyl LP version, will hear our version of the EXCITER classic, “Long Live The Loud…“! Except that, as previously announced, “Queen Of The Witches” feature three special guests: Mantas (VENOM), Ross The Boss (MANOWAR) and Steve Bettney (SARACEN)!
New video clip “The Witch Is Back” – https://youtu.be/caPi0V_5Tvs
Pre-order the new album: http://bit.ly/CRYSTALVIPER_Queen_PREORDER
★ Czas wyjawić jeszcze jeden sekret związany z naszym nowym albumem! To już tradycja, że składamy hołd legendom Heavy Metalu których dziedzictwo staramy się kontynuować, tak więc i tym razem nie mogło być inaczej. Na wersji CD naszego nowego albumu znajdziecie nagranie bonusowe: cover klasyka GRIM REAPER “See You In Hell”, natomiast fani którzy zdecydują się nabyć limitowaną wersję na winylu, usłyszą naszą wersję klasyka EXCITER – “Long Live The Loud”! Oprócz tego, jak już informowaliśmy poprzednio, w nagraniu “Queen Of The Witches” gościnnie udział wzięli: Mantas (VENOM), Ross The Boss (MANOWAR) i Steve Bettney (SARACEN)!
Nowy teledysk “The Witch Is Back” – https://youtu.be/caPi0V_5Tvs
Zamów nowy album: http://bit.ly/CRYSTALVIPER_Queen_PREORDER
EDGE OF PARADISE * March 2017 Extended Play !!!
Edge of Paradise might be a new band, but when your debut album includes the rhythm section of bassist Tony Franklin (Blue Murder, The Firm) and drummer Gregg B…issonette (David Lee Roth Band), you know you’re already in great shape. Now add the powerhouse vocals of Margarita Monet and Dave Bates’ towering guitars and you have yourself a record essential to any fan of melodic metal.
Formed by Monet and Bates in 2011, Edge Of Paradise debut release ‘Mask’ (Co written with Robin Mc Auley ) that came at #6 most added on national CMJ radio, right behind Machine Head and Five Finger Death Punch. An album chockfull of industrial-tinged metal coupled with soaring vocal hooks, was greatly received by critics and fans worldwide. Legendary Rock Interviews stated “Once in a while a new band comes along that not only has a unique sound of its’ own but draws upon all the things we love about metal or rock to begin with. Edge of Paradise are one of the best independent bands to come out of L.A. in some time.”
Edge Of Paradise has been gearing up for the new year with new music and big plans. The group immediately began writing to showcase the bands maturity and define the direction that was pre-empted by “Mask”. Working with legendary Michael Wagener on the mix of the songs and recording with grammy winning producer Bob Kulick (Kiss, Motorhead), the new songs will be a showcase for the staggering growth and maturity, achieved since the release of the “Mask”.
Edge Of Paradise knows how to bring it live. HardRockHaven stated, “Don’t be fooled by her angelic personality and beauty, Monet’s power and intensity will grab you by the neck and won’t let go until your head is blown off by her unearthly vocal range, hitting the notes most singers would not dare to attempt. Guitarist, Dave Bates is the epitome of sheer effortless virtuosity; this guy will make all guitar players either Idolize or hate him, as there are very few guitarists on this Earth that can shred like Bates.”
With the solid line up that consists of Margarita Monet -vocals, Dave Bates-guitars, Nick Ericson-bass, John Chominsky-drums, the band is planning a heavy touring year.
During one of their past live shows, Music Connection Magazine described the band “as a tight, well-oiled machine”. The band is now ready to bring that machine to the people!
HALESTORM * ReAnImAtE 3.0
JANUARAY 6TH, 2017
ReAniMAte 3.0 coming January 6th! Pre-order the and stream the new single at the links below:
– Halestorm Webstore – http://smarturl.it/D2CReanimate3.0
– iTunes – https://atlanti.cr/reanimate3
– Apple Music – https://atlanti.cr/reanimate3am
– Spotify – https://atlanti.cr/reanimate3spotify
– Amazon – https://atlanti.cr/reanimate3amazon
– Google Play – https://atlanti.cr/reanimate3gp
IDES OF GEMINI * RISE ABOVE RECORDS
2017 is shaping up to be a monster year for Rise Above Reords with some seriously killer new releases in the pipeline. One of which is the truly sensational f…orthcoming album from LA’s finest Ides Of Gemini. Simply and tastefully titled ‘Women’ it is scheduled for release April 28th. More news on other imminent releases coming next week. In the meantime, Seasons Greetings from all of us over here!!
Please note the offices will be closed until the new year, so all orders made during the period will be dealt with when we return. Thanks, as always, for your continued
INSATIA * “Phoenix Aflame”
Insatia is an American/Canadian power metal band with female vocals. Founded in 2009 and fronted by Zoë Federoff, the band has released one self produced debut …album and opened for multiple international acts, including Sonata Arctica and Dark Tranquility. In 2014 Fabio D’Amore (Serenity) and his partner Ivan Moni Bidin (Starsick System, Pathosray, Last Warning) announced their positions as producers on Insatia’s upcoming sophomore release, Phoenix Aflame. Joined by producer Staffan Karlsson, known for his work with Arch Enemy, Firewind, Roxette, and many other notable acts, Fabio and Ivan spent the first part of 2015 recording the album at St. Cecilia Studios in Tucson, Arizona, USA, with engineers Steven Lee Tracy and Robbie Williamson. The album’s production then went to Artesonika Studios, Fabio and Ivan’s home base, in Perdenone Italy. In mid 2015 Insatia’s lineup was further enhanced by the addition of Dave Ablaze on bass, as album production continued overseas. Phoenix Aflame is set for a 2016 release and features Apollo Papathanesio (ex-Firewind, Spiritual Beggers), Chris Amott (ex-Arch Enemy, Armageddon), Christian Hermsdörfer (ex-Visions Of Atlantis, Serenity), and Erica James (The Erica James Band).
Fabio D’Amore and Christian Hermsdörfer appear courtesy of Napalm Records. Ivan Moni Bidin appears courtesy of Bakerteam records. Apollo Papathanesio appears courtesy of InsideOut Music. Chris Amott appears courtesy of Century Media.
Homesite
www.insatiaus.com
INSATIA is an American/Canadian Power Metal band with female vocals. The band’s upcoming sophomore release, Phoenix Aflame, features a power/symphonic metal style with a guest list that includes Chris Amott (Armageddon, Ex-Arch Enemy), Apollo Papathanesio (Spiritual Beggars, Ex-Firewind), Erica James Foster (The Erica James Band), Christian Hermsdörfer (Serenity, Beyond The Black, Ex-Visions Of Atlantis), and many others. Produced by Fabio D’Amore (Serenity) and his partner Ivan Moni Bidin (Pathosray), as well as Staffan Karlsson………
KREATOR * Gods of Violence
LA GUNS
Frontiers Music Srl is delighted to welcome the reunion of Tracii Guns And Phil Lewis as L.A. GUNS to the label for the release of a brand new album set for release in the summer of 2017.
After a nearly 15 year break, Philip Lewis and Tracii Guns are back together for another chapter in their partnership that began in 1986, four years after Tracii formed L.A. Guns in 1982.
Their writing partnership spawned classic L.A. GUNS songs such as “Sex Action”, “Never Enough”, “Electric Gypsy”, “The Ballad Of Jayne”, and countless more in an impressive catalog of fan favorites. The last time Lewis and Guns joined forces was back in 2000 with legendary producer Andy Johns for the making of what would become “Waking The Dead” – an album that went on to receive tremendous critical acclaim and proved that their musical partnership was every bit as strong as the early days with all-killer-no-filler songs including “Don’t Look At Me That Way”, “Hellraisers Ball”, and “The Ballad”.
“I think we owe it to our fans who have stuck with us during the many ups and downs of the band’s long and checkered career,” says Lewis. “Tracii and I have written the songs to the soundtrack of many people’s lives, and I think it’s definitely worth investigating to see if the magic is still there.”
As for Guns, he’s been compiling song ideas over the last year and promises this one will be one of the band’s heaviest records, simply stating, “It’s good to be home.”
The band has already confirmed a bunch of UK shows in early 2017 and two shows at the legendary Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles, CA with more surprises to be announced soon!
TOUR DATES US & UK
March
03. Los Angeles, CA, Whisky A Go Go
04. Los Angeles, CA, Whisky A Go Go
10. Belfast. Limelight2.
11. Phewelli. HRH fest.
12. Swansea. Scene
16. Bristol. Bierkeller.
17. Basingstoke. Stage.
18. Wolverhampton. Civic.
20. Doncaster. Diamond.
22. Sheffield. Academy2.
23. Edinburgh. La Belle Angele.
24. Glasgow. ABC2
25. London. Academy2
Follow L.A. Guns online:
https://www.facebook.com/LAFknGuns/
https://www.facebook.com/traciiguns
https://www.facebook.com/philip.lewis.1029
Photo Credit: Ron Lyon
MINDMAZE *
http://www.mindmaze.bigcartel.com/product/mindmaze-w-dirkschneider-at-soundstage-tickets
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thanks to everyone for their support in 2016, but we promise that 2017 will be even better!
-The vinyl pressing of our Back From the Edge album is being finalized and will be available for pre-order soon.
-Our new album is in the final stages of mixing and release info will be available soon.
-We have discount tickets to our show supporting Udo Dirkschneider at Baltimore Soundstage on February 2nd available at this link.
http://www.mindmaze.bigcartel.com/product/mindmaze-w-dirkschneider-at-soundstage-tickets
The band’s debut album Mask of Lies has been hailed by fans and critics all over the world as an outstanding piece of independent metal that is refreshing while being firmly rooted in many classic metal mainstays. With no label support, management, or outside hired promotion, the band managed to sell copies of Mask of Lies to fans in 34 of 50 United States and a total of 17 countries worldwide, selling 100% of the album’s first pressing in the first 12 months of its release.
On the heels of Mask of Lies’ success, the band released their sophomore effort Back from the Edge (2014), on October 24th, 2014 in Europe and October 28th, 2014 in USA/Canada via Inner Wound Recordings, featuring artwork by MONOWASP (Seventh Wonder, Harem Scarem, Brazen Abbot, Crash Diet, many more), Symphony X bassist Mike LePond on all tracks, and guest appearances by members of Stratovarius, Pharaoh, LORD, and Draekon. 2015 saw the band release a fan-funded EP in support of their single “Dreamwalker” which featured a selection of cover songs, acoustic versions, alternate versions, and a new original track entitled “Slave to the Cycle”. The EP is on the verge of going out of print after only 6 months on the market.
The band is currently working on their third full-length album which is due (again through Inner Wound Recordings) in early 2017. It will be the band’s first-ever concept album and will see them covering all sorts of new ground musically.
Awards
Lehigh Valley Music Awards 2015 – BEST METAL BAND
WZZO Motley Crue Contest – WINNERS
WZZO Backyard Bands 2013 – Runner-Up
Reddit /r/ Power Metal – WINNER: Best Debut Album of 2013
When Prog and Power Unite – WINNER: Album of the Year 2013
http://www.mindmaze.bigcartel.com/product/mindmaze-w-dirkschneider-at-soundstage-tickets
ONCE HUMAN * Evolution
FEBRUARY 10TH, 2016
OVERKILL * The Grinding Wheel
POISON GARDEN
News — Three years of gigs all around the World, three years of love and friendship, three years of magic and witchcraft , three years of people who danced and headbanged at our concerts. Three years of experience and music that eventually will be printed in a physical medium. We are pleased to announce the signing with Trisol Music Group in collaboration with darkTunes for the release of our debut album. We do not want to hide our joy in being part of the same rooster of ot…her great artists of the gothic / victorian scene that have been for us a source of inspiration as Emilie Autumn, clan of xymox, London After Midnight, SPIRITUAL FRONT official page, Kirlian Camera (official), NACHTMAHR, L’Âme Immortelle and many others. We hope to add to this scene a healthy dash of distortion and all the gears and cogs of our music. The album, recorded and mastered at Kick Recording Studio by Marco Mastrobuono (Hour Of Penance) with the great collaboration Francesco Ferrini FA (FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE) and Riccardo Studer (Stormlord) will be out in february. Many thanks to you all. Spread the Steam!
SCARLET LIES (Detroit, MI)
Scarlet Lies is a Detroit-based glam pop rock band, with heavy guitar leads, powerful vocals, hard hitting drums and grooving bass lines.
STEEL PANTHER “Lower the Bar”
FEBRUARY 24TH, 2017
“NICHOLAS NAME THE GREATEST BAND OF ALL-TIME.”
DON’T YOU SAY STEEL PANTHER
“STEEL PANTHER”
WHAT THE F@UCK DID YOU SAY TO ME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
VUUR …out in August
Dutch vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen is easily one of the hardest working people in music, and an artist that defies being pigeonholed by genre. She will forev…er be known as the vocalist for melancholic metallers The Gathering, but since striking out on her own in 2007 she has solidified a solo career, recorded and performed multiple times with Canadian metal genius Devin Townsend, launched the prog rock band The Gentle Storm, and recorded an album with Icelandic folk group Árstíðir. This has provided Anneke with a huge catalogue to choose from as a live performer, but it has also created a certain amount of confusion amongst her fans which has led to the creation of a new band, VUUR.
In early 2016, Anneke decided for the sake of clarity to narrow her musical focus, choosing to go in a folk acoustic direction as a solo artist and in a heavy progressive metal direction as a band vocalist. The name VUUR – translated from Dutch as “fire”, which can also be interpreted to mean “passion” or “drive” – was chosen as a moniker to represent Anneke’s metal side, with the idea that when fans buy a ticket with the VUUR name on it they will be getting her heavy progressive music, while an Anneke van Giersbergen show will be entirely different. Thus, in order to give VUUR’s kick-off the proper fanfare, Anneke has opted to take a break from performing in the first half of 2017.
“It’s like I’m searching for contradictions,” Anneke says of splitting her focus in two. “I want the heavy to be really heavy, and the soft acoustic stuff that I can do can be almost silent and inward. I’m trying to find those outer limits. I’m still writing and collaborating with different people, so VUUR’s style is still kind of different from The Gathering and The Gentle Storm. You could say VUUR’s music has the melancholy of The Gathering and lots of elements from The Gentle Storm, but it’s a bit darker with fewer folk elements. It’s still melodic and warm, but heavy.”
The launch and subsequent success of The Gentle Storm in 2015 raises questions as to whether Anneke really needs VUUR to present the heavy prog metal side of her personality, especially since VUUR boasts a lot of the same band members. Anneke makes the point that The Gentle Storm is a collaboration between herself and legendary Ayreon mastermind Arjen Lucassen, and it will be resurrected only when they are both able to devote time to writing and recording. She is quick to add that The Gentle Storm proved to her that fans have been waiting for her to go back to the heavy progressive style of music, which is why VUUR came to be.
Anneke comments: “The band has a different name, because the music will be slightly different from The Gentle Storm, but most band members are still involved and the music will be heavy too, so in that perspective not a lot will change, especially in the live situation. I think people will really embrace VUUR as a live band because there are nothing but stars in this band (laughs). They’re some of the best heavy metal players in Holland so I didn’t want to let them go.”
VUUR will release their full length debut in the fall of 2017 produced by Joost van den Broek, who will also be involved in some of the writing and arranging. From there the band will hit stages across Europe and beyond. Make no mistake: VUUR is a band and not a project, meaning that Anneke will focus on new material as well as the heavier side of her previous outings.
“I will always play songs from The Gathering and Devin Townsend because I love them,” she says. “I also know for a fact that people want to hear those songs, so I’ll never leave them out. I also have my absolute favourite songs from The Gentle Storm that I will keep playing. I have such a big outlet to choose from nowadays, it’s such a luxurious position to be in. We should look at VUUR as my ultimate heavy outlet. It’s not a project, which is why when we make the setlist it will include the new stuff and my favourites from my catalogue.”
TOP 100 HEAVY METAL ALBUM OF 2017 — MetalStorM — FACE THE FACE-MELTING MOLTEN METAL
Kick•Ass•Metal/ Cenas Brutais News Service 
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