Francoski black metalci Incipient Chaos so objavili besedilni video za komad Ominous Acid s samonaslovljenega prvenca, ki ga bodo 7. junija izdali pri I, Voidhanger Records. Tracklista:

Sever the Oracle
The Apex
The Fire that Devours the Soul and Flesh
Crumbling Bones
Ominous Acid
Dragged Back to the Abyss
All Is Lost, All Is Found

V okviru turneje Theatrum Mortis Humanae Tour začnejo Srd, Ater Era in Britof danes v Mariboru ob 20. uri:

19.30 vrata
20.00 Britof
21.20 Ater Era
22.40 Srd

Angleški black metalci Inconcessus Lux Lucis s komadom Temples Colliding in Fire napovedujejo tretji studijski album, ki bo nosil isti naslov. Album Temples Colliding In Fire bo izšel 7. junija pri I, Voidhanger Records in prinaša komade:

From the Forge Primordial and Timeless
I Am the Crooked Blade
Temples Colliding in Fire
Meditations upon Burning Breath
Revenge of the Other God
Eternal Descent (At the Speed of Death)
And His Wounds Shall Devour the Heavens

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.«

Švedsko-kanadski death metalci Darkened bodo 14. junija pri Edged Circle Productions na zgoščenki, vinilu, kaseti in digitalno izdali tretji album Defilers of the Light. Ta prinaša enajst komadov:

Waves of Desolation
Defilers of the Light
Those Who Dwell Below
In Praise of Shadows
Just Close Your Eyes
Echoes of Solitude
On We Slaughter
Dead Inside
Masses of Vain Observance
As Apocalypse Dawns
Final Sanctuary

Mednarodna progressive metal zasedba Seventh Station je razkrila vse datume prihajajočega evropskega popotovanja. Heal The Unhealed – Spring Tour 2024 bodo otvorili 16. maja s koncertom v Mariboru (MC Pekarna), sklenili pa 26. maja v Sofiji (Old Skulls). Koncertni datumi si sicer sledijo takole:

16. 5. 2024 Maribor – SLO (MC Pekarna)
19. 5. 2024 Brežice – SLO (grajsko dvorišče Posavskega muzeja)
21. 5. 2024 Zrenjanin – SRB (Mitraljez)
22. 5. 2024 Požarevac – SRB (Klub KB)
25. 5. 2024 Plovdiv –  BG (Spike Showcase Festival)
26. 5. 2024 Sofija – BG (Old Skulls)

Simfonična metal zasedba Elvellon v obliki besedilnega videa predstavlja drugi single My Forever Endeavour s prihajajočega drugega albuma Ascending in Synergy. Izid albuma je napovedan za 17. maj, izšel pa bo pri založbi Napalm Records.

Organizatorji dogodkov Hangtime Agency sporočajo, da je nedeljski koncert zasedb Grima in Ultar v zagrebškem klubu Močvara odpovedan. Odpovedana sta tudi koncerta v Beogradu in Novem Sadu ter tudi 40 drugih nastopov skupin po Evropi. Zapletlo se je namreč pri vizah. Izjava banda:

»Dear followers of the Grima cult, sometimes even the biggest and oldest spruce tree can't withstand (in)human acts. There is a point where we have to bow down and accept what cannot be changed.
After 4 months of non-stop efforts from everyone involved behind the scenes, the best we got is a 30 days stay in the Schengen area. We have applied for a 90 days arts science visa, which we have been granted in past years, but not this time, the reasons have not been communicated to us.
We did everything we could do, Asgaardian Events and even Les Acteurs de L'Ombre Productions helped us as much as possible, but all we got are these 30 days for now, which we shall use to the fullest.
Our first show will be on the April 25 in Switzerland and the last one will be on the May 22 in Paris. Any other show will be cancelled. There will be no further rescheduling. We will be happy to see each one of our cultists at these shows. We won't have any other Central European tours in the near future, except a few festivals next year, which we are already negotiating with.«

Nemški death/doom metalci Calliophis predstavljajo video za komad Trepak, ki ga boste našli na izdaji Dawn Of A Lifeless Age. Gre za split EP, ki so ga Nemci izdali skupaj z doom metal zasedbo Urza in bo izšel 3. maja. Na albumu bodo tako ti komadi:

Urza – Maunder Minimum
Urza – Through Ages Of Colossal Embitterment
Calliophis – Trepak
Calliophis – Endure Your Depression

Norveški gotični elektroničarji The Kovenant bodo nastopili na nizozemskem festivalu Eindhoven Metal Meeting 2024. Poleg njih je bilo napovedanih še šest zasedb, celoten seznam nastopajočih pa trenutno zgleda tako:

DARK FUNERAL (petkov headliner) | ASPHYX | THE KOVENANT | AGENT STEEL | M.O.D. | ANAAL NATHRAKH | IMPALED NAZARENE | CARPATHIAN FOREST | REVEL IN FLESH | HOUR OF PENANCE | EMPYRIUM | SCHAMMASCH | CHAPEL OF DISEASE | AKHYLS | ALFAHANNE | SVARTTJERN | SOULBURN | SAVAGE GRACE | THY ANTICHRIST | MALPHAS | FRACTURED INSANITY | VIOLENTHOR | THREE EYES OF THE VOID.

Brazilski black metal veterani Amen Corner predstavljajo pesem The War of the Antichrist s sedmega studijskega celovečerca Written by the Devil, ki ga bosta 7. junija izdali založbi Hammerheart Records in Metal Army. Seznam pesmi je tak:

Intro
The War of the Antichrist
The Protectors
Fall and Ascension
Signal from Beyond
Inferno
Written by the Devil
The Splendor of Your Presence
Lúcifer, a Suprema Luz da Manhã

Metalcorovci SetYøurSails, ki bodo jutri izdali nov album Bad Blood, predstavljajo nov single z naslovom Bad Company. Album bo poleg omenjenega singla zajemal te komade:

Bad Blood
Best of Me
T.F.M.F.
Halo
Lately
Dangerous
Bad Company
In My Head
Heart Attack
Eternally

Sporočajo, da je umrl Horst Odermatt. Horst je bil na sceni dejaven že od zgodnjih devetdesetih, ko je deloval kot urednik revije Heavy oder was? Bolj znan pa je bil privržencem trših zvokov kot vodja ter ustanovitelj festivala Bang Your Head, od leta 2006 pa tudi festivala Rock Of Ages. Star je bil 60 let. Naj počiva v miru.

Ameriška enočlanska zasedba Xasthur bo 5. julija pri založbi Prophecy Productions izdala album Disharmonic Variations. Album bo zajemal trinajst komadov, tukaj pa lahko prisluhnete singlu Messenger of Your Reflection.

Deathcorovci Chelsea Grin sporočajo, da je vrzel na bobnarskem stolčku zapolnil Josh Miller. Zasedba se je pred kratkim razšla z bobnarjem Pablom Viverosom in tako je nov polnopravni član zasedbe postal Josh. Izjava banda:

»We hope everyone has been doing well; we have some updates. We have parted ways with our fill-in drummer, Nathan Pearson. We sincerely value his friendship, as well as his devotion to furthering his craft and bringing his all to the stage. We truly look forward to watching his drumming career continue to blossom and advance, and value his time with us.

Furthermore, the band and Pablo have mutually agreed to separate. Pablo is one of our oldest friends, the life of the party, a masterful player, and a powerful creative. After Pablo spent some years away from the band, we all came together and realized that personal visions had diverged through time. We will always wish the very best for him, and seriously value all that he brought not only to the band, but to our lives. Nothing but tremendous love for him, always. We also encourage everyone to show support for him, Jaek and Alex’s new band, Ameonna.

Moving forward, we are proud and excited to announce that Josh Miller will be joining Chelsea Grin. It goes without saying that the future is bright – you will hear it in our music and witness it in our performances.

We keep very much to ourselves at this stage in our lives, but when we check in we want each of you to know that you are deeply and sincerely valued – we are so grateful for the opportunity to do what we love. We cannot wait to bring more of our vision to you all. Thank you for the years of support and love, and we will see you on our current tour supporting Fit For A King.«