Po 20 letih se z best of albumom A Life of Suffering na sceno vračajo francoski brutal death metalci Gurkkhas. Plošček, ki bo vseboval komade z obeh studijskih albumov Francozov, bo izšel poleti pri Great Dane Records.

Iz tabora hrvaških doom metalcev Old Night sporočajo, da jih je zapustil vokalist in kitarist Matej Hanžek. Vrzel v zasedbi bo na vokalu tako zapolnil njegov brat Ivan, na kitari pa se je zasedbi pridružil Rafael Cvitković (Nekroza). Spodaj lahko preberete celotno izjavo banda:

»This is a post I write with a heavy heart, yet full of hope and with a bright look on the future. After eight years with us as our lead singer and frontman, earlier this year Matej decided to step down from his duties within Old Night. I know you are hoping for some gossip or a sassy story, but there was no drama involved. He just wants to focus on other things in life and at this point, music is not a priority for him. Having said that, I wish to thank him on our behalf for everything he has done for us, all the great times we shared on stage and backstage, but also for all the long hours he has put in working on our first three records. It was a privilege and you'll always be a part of our family. Obviously, this news has taken us aback and we had to figure out how best to proceed. We took some time to see what our options were, as this is an important role we needed to fill. After much deliberation we figured out we need not look outside our band for a perfect candidate as we have one in our midst. Ivan has been singing all the backing vocals from day one and from now on he will be handling all the lead vocals. No need to worry, he’ll remain our lead guitarist as well.

The only piece of the puzzle left to figure out was who’ll play the rhythm guitars? Without further ado, we welcome Rafael Cvitković, from the Croatian death metal machine Nekroza, as our new guitarist. If you attended our concerts, you might have already seen him filling in on sound checks or working on our merch booth. Nekroza just released their debut album on InsArt Records – you can check them out and show them your support.

With our line-up complete, we will continue working on our new record and we hope we’ll have some news in that regard soon. In a couple of weeks, we’ll have our first concert with the new line-up and we can’t wait to present you the New Old Night.«

Švedski power metal dvojec New Horizon napoveduje izid drugega albuma Conquerors. Album bo izšel 14. junija pri založbi Frontiers Music Srl in bo zajemal te komade:

Against the Odds
King of Kings
Daimyo
Shadow Warrior
Apollo
Fallout War
Messenger of the Stars
Before the Dawn
Edge of Insanity
Alexander the Great (356 – 323 B.C.)

Ukrajinski groove death metalci Arhat so napovedali Secrets of Ancient Gods, svoj drugi album. Ta bo izšel 31. maja in prinesel deset komadov:

Intro
Abyss of Flame
Karnak
Arcana XVI
Nasha khoda nevpynna
Symbols (feat. Oleksii Syrota from Voracity)
Path Eternal
Wheel of Fate
The Great Unknown (feat. Dmytro Moskalenko from Violateress)
Shlyah do prozrinnya

Gothic/doom metalci Drift Into Black, pri katerih bobna Klemen Markelj, bodo 28. junija izdali peti album Voices Beneath the Rubble. Ta bo izšel pri Black Lion Records in prinesel deset komadov:

The Horns of Despair
In Turmoil
The Great Machine
Voices Beneath the Rubble
Last Hope
Forever King
Blood Storm
What’s Left in the Fire
Turning of the Tide
December

Švicarski melodični death metalci As The Sun Falls naznanjajo izid drugega albuma Kaamos, ki bo izšel 3. maja in bo zajemal te komade:

Indrøø
Among the Stars
Black Lakes
In Forlorn Times
The Wanderer
Aurora
Through Sorrow and Grief (feat. Gogo Melone)
Into the Shadows (feat. Kari Olli)
Silver Shining
The Great Cold
Kaamos

Nemški Lo-Fi astro metalci Galvornhathol so razkrili prve podrobnosti prihajajočega EP-ja H-Alpha. Ta bo izšel 21. februarja in prinesel štiri pesmi:

The Great Attractor
Virga
Novae
Pleiades

Melodična death metal zasedba Inner Sanctum iz Nemčije se po osmih letih zatišja vrača z novim dolgometražcem. Četrti album, ki bo nosil ime The Great Odd Ones, izide 22. marca, spodaj pa si lahko že pred izidom albuma ogledate video za komad Abgott Death Kult.

Nemški heavy metalci The Night Eternal sporočajo, da je band iz osebnih razlogov zapustil Jones Nühlen.

»Unfortunately we have to inform you that Jones decided to part ways with The Night Eternal due to personal reasons. We‘re still good friends, so there‘s no bad blood and we respect his decision. Being a founding member, Jones was notorious for his catchy bass lines through all of our releases so far and we want to thank him sincerely for the great times we had.
There‘s a last chance to catch The Night Eternal with its original line-up on stage at Endzeit Festival on January 27th, so give Jones the honor and get your tickets!
For THE SATANIC PANIC TOUR starting on February 1st, our good friend Jannik will take over the bass duties.«

Amon Amarth predstavljajo najnovejši video za komad Saxons And Vikings z zadnjega albuma The Great Heathen Army. Pri skladbi so Švedi združili moči z legendarnimi Saxon, ki se v videospotu mogočno zoperstavijo neustrašnim vikingom.

Amon Amarth se naslednje leto odpravljajo na turnejo po Evropi, kje jih boste lahko ujeli, pa lahko preverite tukaj.

Finski tehnični blackened death metalci Ulterror predstavljajo prvi single The Greater Sublimations of Cosmic Panic s prihajajočega albuma Transcendent Origins. Izid albuma je napovedan za 29. marec naslednje leto.

Temačni metalci Todomal iz Španije bodo ta petek, torej 24. novembra, izdali drugi celovečerec z naslovom The Greater Good. Pred samim izidom plošče ji lahko že v celoti prisluhnete na tej povezavi. 

Italijanski power metalci Trick Or Treat in Chiara Tricarico (Moonlight Haze) so posneli live video za pesem Tears Against Your Smile, s čimer napovedujejo prihajajoči live album A Creepy Night Live. Ta bo izšel 8. decembra pri Scarlet Records in prinaša 14 komadov:

Intro/Creepy Symphony
Have a Nice Judgment Day
Loser Song
Aquarius: Diamond Dust
The Great Escape
Tears Against Your Smile (feat. Chiara Tricarico)
Cloudrider
Hungarian Hangover
Libra: One Hundred Dragons Force
Take Your Chance (feat. Michele Luppi)
Rabbits’ Hill
Crazy
Like Donald Duck
When the Lights Fade Out (Santa's in Trouble) (feat. Tommy Johansson)

Sporočamo, da je umrl basist Mike »M. S.«, član nemške black metal zasedbe Groza. Mike je bil njen član od leta 2018. Naj počiva v miru. Izjava banda:

»With the heaviest of hearts we announce the passing of our brother and bass player, Mike "M.S." after a prolonged battle with illness. We will forever remain greatful for his friendship, passion and commitment for the band as well as all the great times we had spent with him. He will always be part of the collective.

Our hearts are with his family, friends and everyone who had the privilege to know him. Please respect our wish to be able to grieve in privacy during these incredibly difficult times.«

Veljaki norveškega black metala Satyricon sporočajo, da se po petih letih zatišja naslednje leto končno vračajo na koncertne odre. Poleg koncertnih aktivnosti, ki bodo sicer osredotočene na festivale širom Evrope, zasedba že pripravlja material za novo ploščo, ki bo nasledil zadnjo izdajo Satyricon & Munch. Izjavo banda si lahko preberete spodaj:

»We are pleased to confirm that we will return to the stage for the first time in five years in the summer of 2024. We will be focusing on the European festival run and have no touring plans outside of that currently. At the moment, we are working on a new album scheduled for a May 2024 release. The art exhibition and album “Satyricon & Munch”, was an intense and all-consuming project for the record books, but it is history now and we have been working on all these new things behind closed doors for almost a year. We’re delighted to soon share it, we really look forward to playing both brand new and old songs for you, and once again being able to hear you sing, scream and chant as the army you are. We will publish all dates once they have been confirmed and approved to publish. This will be great!«

Avtor fotografije je Marko Faletič.