Toronto based band The Free Label share a collective love of 80’s Disco and 90’s RnB hence being affectionately referred to as “your mom’s favourite party band.”
With a sound that is both unique and infectious, The Free Label has taken the music world by storm and will be touring in North America, Europe, and South Asia/Japan all throughout 2023.
“Shine” is the first single to be shared from their forthcoming debut album (set for release next in 2024). Featuring Braxton Cook (who has produced for Taylor Swift and played saxophone on Mac Miller & Christian Scott’s projects), “Shine” is a laidback anthem that celebrates individuality, encouraging listeners to embrace their unique qualities and shine like a superstar.
Coming from the mind of Kamtin Mohager, Heavenward will release the debut album Pyrophonics, on June 16th through Fever Ltd.
Now he’s shared “Be My Blues”, the third single off the record following the alternative-leaning “Gasoline” and “Choke”. On “Be My Blues,’ pining vocals are surrounded by synth and guitars laced with feedback to create a lush, encompassing sound before breaking off into heavier moments.
The track was originally penned as demo for Mohager’s previous band, Teenage Wrist, and became fully realized when creating Pyrophonics.
Speaking on the lyrics, Mohager states:
“I wanted to write about the lust and desire that often comes with an unhealthy relationship. You can get so accustomed to the unfair treatment and disrespect that you end up justifying it in order to feel some sort of attention. In a way, you use those moments as emotional or physical fulfillment, having the acts become somewhat fetishized.”
Check out ‘Be My Blues’ below and Pre-orders for vinyl are available via the following link.
Gloryhammer’s latest record, Return to the Kingdom of Fife, just dropped today via Napalm Records and in conjunction with the new release, the band have dropped a new video for the track, Power Metal Icons Gloryhammer have dropped their new video for the track, ‘Wasteland Warrior Hoots Patrol’
GLORYHAMMER state on the track: “Alright you bunch of nuclear goblins, LISTEN UP! The Hootsman is coming to town, and he’s gonna cyber-detonate your brains to death with his hootatronic battle-saxophone! HOOTS!”
Check out the music video for ‘Holy Flaming Hammer Of Unholy Cosmic Frost’ below.
Chicago LURK, have announced a brand new EP, ‘Natural Causes’ sent for release on 16th June 2023 via Pure Noise Records.
The first single, ‘Dark Humor’ is a rhythmical punk rock track about the toxicity of online culture.
“This song is about how toxic of a place the internet can be. It can be addicting yet so terrible for your mental health.” says the band. “People act as if they’re shielded from reality when they engage with others on social media but forget that they are talking with real people and that there are real consequences for words. At the same time, there’s this hive mind mentality where people encourage or influence each other to keep that behavior going. Oftentimes what might start out with someone seeking justice and perhaps being in the right, will turn into that person being just as wrong. It’s cop behavior. “
The EP is 6 powerful tracks that showcase the bands raw punk rock spirit but with grooves and hooks that will surely capture the attention of fans of The Hives, TV On the Radio or Iggy Pop.
“We couldn’t be more proud of this EP as a whole. I truly think it’s the best thing we’ve ever done from the songs to the lyrics to the artwork. The songs are raw and full of energy yet remain catchy and full of hooks which is really the goal of our songwriting. We really focused on the kind of production we were after and the vibe we wanted to create with this release which resulted in some more raw sounds and darker themes. I think on Natural Causes we were able to balance everything we’re about while calling back to some of the things that influenced us to start this band.”
Your Future Is Metal have released new track ´VORTEX OF SOULS´, the second track from their upcoming debut self-titled EP.
“We present to you our second B-movie inspired picture. In VORTEX OF SOULS we have delved into the public domain for the finest visuals from some of our favourite old school movies – Messiah Of Evil, Night Of The Living Dead, Carnival Of Souls, and The Killer Shrews to name only a few in this feature. The marriage of horror imagery and heavy metal transferred and preserved by rocking out to a literal backdrop of it,” says vocalist and guitarist Johann Saul.
He adds, “As far as the inspiration behind the track goes – Visually speaking, VORTEX OF SOULS is the river Styx as portrayed in the 1997 Disney film Hercules. My own nihilistic take on the afterlife is a hellish green vortex where our skulls scream for eternity. The narrator berates our ignorance in believing a heaven could even exist for us, as we descent into a ghostly washing machine… forever.”
Following the world´s bleakest hour, a fog lifted and a dream emerged from the thick mist; a vision of the greatest heavy metal band post covid. Johann Saul (vocals and guitar) enlisted the help of longtime friend Salaryman Ben (drums), both ex-members of Weathered Hands and Real Authority, by manifesting in his nightmares Freddy Kruger style. Reluctant yet convinced, Ben agreed to sit behind the kit for fear of his own demise.
“I don´t see this band as our baby so much as our Frankenstein´s monster, of which I am proud (and equally horrified) of every necrotic limb,” says Saul.
Following the release of their caustic, indie-punk anthem, ‘Selfish,’ London-based grunge upstarts KING NUN have announced their highly anticipated new album ‘LAMB’, set for release on respected independent label Marshall Records, 29th September 2023. Pre-orders can be made via the following link.
The announcement is accompanied by the band’s latest video ‘But We Live On The Beach’. Check out the video for the track below.
The album encapsulates the struggle to remain true to oneself in a world that often demands conformity and detachment. This powerful indie-punk, grunge opus serves as a profound metaphor for that delicate part of us susceptible to cynicism, trauma and emotional pain. Yet, it is precisely this vulnerability that emerges as the most beautiful aspect of our being, rising to the occasion with resilience and grace.
Speaking on their new album, vocalist and enigmatic frontman Theo Polyzoides comments:
“LAMB is about vulnerability. It’s about being true to yourself. It’s about retaining the part of you that is naive and optimistic and trusting, in the face of a world that will turn you into a fucking android if you give it even an inch.” exclaims Polyzoides.”
“So, LAMB is a metaphor for that Achilles heel, the part of you that is susceptible to trauma, emotional pain… all of these things,” he expands. “that’s the thing that rises to the occasion and is the most beautiful part of us… I think that, actually, if we all just tried to retain a bit of humanity, we’d probably make a better future.”
On the new track, ‘But We Live On The Beach’, Theo (Vocals) says:
“In direct contrast to how bright and optimistic the song sounds, lyrically, this is one of our bleakest songs.” remarks Theo. “It’s about being surrounded by friends who are all developing substance issues, when you come home to a 24/7 rager that goes on for weeks on end. In this song; ‘the beach’ is an analogy for a party. The chorus is a desperate plea which is to say; “No, I don’t want any part of this, we LIVE on the beach, this isn’t a holiday anymore, it’s become habit, the novelty is gone and it’s getting scary now.”
‘Be With You Again’ is the new collaboration between Erase Theory and The Color Fred.
Its yearning, singalong chorus is emotive to the core, conjuring echoes of both creatives’ formative years. As Jeff himself says: “To have had the opportunity to collaborate with a musical icon from my formative years on this composition is truly an honor. The finished product speaks to the unifying potential of music as an art form and the profound impact it can have on those who engage with it. Excited to share this and thankful for the experience.”
Fred adds of the collab’s inception and journey: “I was out in L.A. and talked to Jeffy about writing together. What I liked was he didn’t want to put any expectations on whatever we wrote. He said, let’s just hang out and see what happens. We met up at a rehearsal spot in San Pedro. He had his Fender Telecaster that was tuned pretty low and I just picked that up and chose two chords to get started. Then he started programming the drums. I left that first day feeling super inspired and wrote all the lyrics on my drive back to where I was staying. I pulled off the I-5 a couple times to work out the lyrics on paper. We decided to meet the next day and finished writing the song. There’s something really special about this song for me. I feel it’s one of those rare times when we captured perfectly what we were feeling at the time. I didn’t know Jeffy before that day but we’ve become close friends since then. He’s an amazing producer and writer and I think the reason this worked is because we both took the other person to a new place they haven’t been before. Our individual music projects are pretty different but we were able to really compliment each other when the two styles collided.”
The Finnish progressive metallers Damnation Plan has released a music video for the title track from their upcoming new album ‘The New Horizon’, due out on August 18th.
The band’s drummer-songwriter / lyricist Jarkko Lunnas, who also directed the video, comments on the song and the music video:
“Already before the covid restrictions there was the idea to go and shoot the video at Faroe Islands, an out-of-this-world place surrounded by the water with only the remaining mountain highs and cliff peaks remaining – symbolizing the post-apocalyptic event-ridden world where it’s already too late to do anything about it – the water has risen. The lyrics tell a story through the eyes of the post-apocalyptic survivors, and about humanity’s collective tendency to want to find someone to blame as the simplified solution. When the society’s basic rights structures fail, what is left is the survival game of the fittest.”
Check out the music video for ‘The New Horizon’ below.
On the heels of being announced as support for Dermot Kennedy’s latest Canadian tour dates this fall, alternative-pop band Valley have released their latest single, “Have A Good Summer (Without Me)”
“Have A Good Summer (Without Me)” captures a very specific type of heartache, one which is contradicted by sunshine and the expectations of the season. A theme that’s been explored by the likes of Lana Del Rey, Regina Spektor and Taylor Swift, Valley interprets that feeling of longing on their own terms, singing, “If you fall for somebody new, do everything we used to do, I hope it gets you thinking about me,” which if you’ve ever experienced a summer break-up, hits deep. On the track, Karah James describes, “the summer in our minds is a romanticized version of life. Love and its adventures are heightened with the heat and the water and the sunshine. The blow of losing someone before those precious few months of the year is devastating to say the least. ‘Have A Good Summer (Without Me)’ is loving them so much, you will let them go.”
Check out Valley’s latest single, ‘Have A Good Summer (Without Me) via the following link.
Modern Metal pioneers SYLOSIS have returned with their highly anticipated new record, A Sign of Things to Come, which will be released on 8th September via Nuclear Blast Records.
Josh comments “This has been a homecoming for me, in many ways! We’re confident that we’ve created something special with our new record and we can’t wait for you to hear the new music over coming months ahead of the release in September.”
Produced by Josh Middleton, alongside production legend, Scott Atkins, the new record has challenged Sylosis into brand-new territory.
“This is the first time I’ve allowed myself to be produced; taking on some brutal criticism and pushing myself to deliver the best vocal performance of my career. I’m a big fan of progressive and long albums, but I was ruthless on myself during the whole process. I think that shows in the final result on the record!”Josh continues
Check out the latest track from Sylosis, ‘Poison For The Lost’ below.
Arch Blade will be unleashing their debut album “Kill The Witch” via Rockshots Records this coming July 2023.
Presenting versatile heavy metal with high energy both on record and live, the band’s debut full-length is a full-speed-intense blend of various different styles of metal (NWOTHM, Thrash, Power) mixed into one known as Arch Blade. Lyrically, the album is mostly based on vocalist Denys Podmazko’s dreams and nightmares along with his interests in comic books, sci-fi, horror movies, and sometimes documentaries.
“We picked the best songs that we had and focused on them. We did pass on a couple that was not right for the narrative of this album. We are already working on the second album. We feel like it will be even more composed and catchy, so to speak. We want to get back in the studio ASAP.”adds the band.
To give fans a taste of what’s to come, Arch Blade are sharing their music video for their first single “Nightbreed”, a super fun and catchy track to get your hails thrown high into the sky!
“Biker demons, speed, and metal are all you need. If you like classic heavy metal, you probably will like this one. It was inspired by the early 80s Iron Maiden and Judas Priest tunes, and it sounds like something from that time. It’s also our first official video, and that was a lot of fun shooting it in the desert outside of LA with a bunch of our friends.” says the band.
Paramore had a treat for fans as they brought out Lil Uzi Vert at New York’s Madison Square Garden on May 31st 2023 to help out with ‘Misery Business’.
Welcoming him onto the stage, Hayley Williams said to the rapper: “We’ve been talking for a minute but this is the first time we’ve met in person. I love you.”
Before playing the fan favourite track, Williams added: “You’ve said so many nice things about me. You’re so sweet to me, and to Paramore. So can we do this bridge again together? Then we’re going to melt their faces off.”
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