The Amity Affliction Announce New Album & Single

Australian metalcore trailblazers THE AMITY AFFLICTION have announced their new album Not Without My Ghosts, out 12th May via Pure Noise. 

With the release of their new track, ‘It’s Hell Down Here’ it takes the time to address mortality — a topic frequented several times on the album. It also boasts the vocal dynamics and pummeling breakdowns that are the band’s signatures.

“This song is a a letter from myself and Ahren, written by me, to our friends who have passed on to the other side,” Birch shares.

He continues, “I’m 41. I’m bipolar. And I’m pretty tired of it. That’s where lyrics like ‘Like a snake I tire / the cold dark clouds, they steal my light’ come from. The song is wrapping up how I feel daily, and reflecting on the time leading up to my friend killing himself. I’m sure a lot of people who have experienced that guilt at not seeing what becomes glaringly obvious after the fact.”

The album boasts multiple features — something the band has not incorporated into a release in quite some time — including late New Zealand rapper Louie Knuxx, who passed away in 2021, as well as Comeback Kid’s Andrew Neufeld, The Plot in You’s Landon Tewers, and Phem.

Check out the Cover Art, Tracklisting and pre-order options below as well as a video for their new track, ‘It’s Hell Down Here’.

“Show Me Your God”    
“It’s Hell Down Here”    
“Fade Away”
“Death And The Setting Sun” (Feat. Andrew Neufeld)    
“I See Dead People” (Feat. Louie Knuxx)    
“When It Rains It Pours” (Feat. Landon Tewers)    
“The Big Sleep”    
“Close To Me”    
“God Voice”    
“Not Without My Ghosts” (Feat. Phem)

Pre-orders for the record, ‘Not Without My Ghosts’ are available via the following link.

Crown The Empire Share New Single, ‘Black Sheep’

Genre-bending, modern post-metalcore quartet, Crown The Empire share the next single from their forthcoming fifth studio album DOGMA out 28th April via Rise Records.

“We’ve tackled many lofty ideas with the singles we’ve released thus far but with ‘Black Sheep’ we wanted to bring it back down to earth to our early days as a band. When we were playing together in a garage and making songs with a “fuck you” attitude, just for the sake of doing it,” shares vocalist Andy Leo. “We kept that spirit alive with ‘Black Sheep’ and aim to provide a solid 3:52 seconds of in-your-face energy that young crown would’ve loved. We hope you love it too.”

DOGMA, produced and mixed by Zach Jones (Fever 333, Poorstacy, Scene Queen, Nova Twins), is a diverse album fueled by angst, existential identity, isolation, and determination. Over the last three years, the band took time to reflect on personal and collective priorities. This introspection is reflected lyrically in DOGMA. “The lyrics are less wordy and lofty. It’s more honest and direct,” adds Andy Leo who offers a candid perspective on paranormal encounters, manic dreams, and the depths of quarantine.

“We brought back the classic elements of Crown without taking anything away from what we’ve done more recently,” shares longtime bassist and screamer Hayden Tree on the band’s new era. “The high-energy, fast-paced, hard-hitting riffs, with the band’s more melodic side, mashed together into an updated sound.”

Check out ‘Black Sheep’ below.

Be sure to check out the Cover Art, Tracklisting and Pre-order options below.

1. DOGMA
2. Black Sheep
3. Modified
4. Paranoid
5. In Another Life (feat. Courtney LaPlante)
6. Superstar (feat. Remington Leith)
7. Dancing with the Dead
8. Immortalize 
9. Someone Else
10. Labyrinth

Pre-orders for the upcoming record are available via the following link.

Silverstein Announces Misery Made Me Deluxe & Release New Track, ‘Poison Pill’

Acclaimed Canadian rock band Silverstein are thrilled to announce Misery Made Me Deluxe, an extended release of their critically acclaimed 2022 album. Misery Made Me Deluxe features new versions of songs from the original record as well as new music, including the newly released “Poison Pill”.

“Almost a year later, it’s super exciting to celebrate my favorite album we’ve ever made with some extra songs and alternate versions,” shares front man Shane Told. “‘Poison Pill’ was one of my favorite songs from the Misery Made Me sessions, but I wasn’t sure it completely fit in with the rest of the album. But, it was so catchy, and had so many cool tones and textures we wanted to save it for this moment and really show a different emotion and feel from the rest of the album. The song inspired us to throwback to some of the music videos we grew up with, and it’s one of the most fun videos we’ve ever done. I think it captures the feel of the music perfectly.“

Misery Made Me Deluxe is set to be released on 7^th April via UNFD. The album is available for pre-save now and fans can also pre-order physical bundles, including an exclusive collaboration with lifestyle brand The Pretty Cult. The two have teamed up to create a custom – and authentic – Silverstein tarot card deck, special tarot card-themed merch, a custom candle, and altar cloth.

The Pretty Cult owner / founder Arielle Salsa shares: “I’m so excited for this opportunity to team up with Silverstein on this collection. I met Silverstein at their Misery Made Me album pop-up last May and saw they had tarot-inspired art for some of their merch. After connecting with them, it was clear that The Pretty Cult was the perfect fit to expand the concept as my brand revolves around tarot, the occult, and the practice of witchcraft. I thought we could expand on the idea by creating a collection complete with a tarot deck, guidebook, altar cloth and two unique Silverstein x The Pretty Cult tarot items. When creating this tarot deck and guidebook, I wanted to make sure it was as authentic as possible, as I am a practicing witch myself. I wanted to create a deck that was as inclusive to the avid tarot user as it was to a beginner.

As Silverstein is a band that are self-managed and unafraid to constantly push boundaries and grow over their 20+ career, it was a nice fit with the practice of tarot as it’s less about a higher power and more about being your own master and creating your own path.”

Check out the Cover Art, Tracklisting and Pre-order options below for ‘Misery Made Me’ deluxe.

1. Our Song

2. Die Alone

3. Ultraviolet

4. Cold Blood

5. It’s Over

6. The Altar/Mary

7. Slow Motion

8. Don’t Wait Up

9. Bankrupt

10. Live Like This

11. Misery

12. Poison Pill

13. Stitches

14. Mary (Orchestral)

15. Don’t Wait Up (Acoustic)

16. Poison Pill (Acoustic)

17. Bankrupt (Live in Toronto)

18. It’s Over (Live in Toronto)

Eloah Release New Record, ‘Proud To Love You’

Four Piece Eloaћ have released their new record, ‘Proud To Love You’.

The band whom formed in 1993 is the bands latest release after their trilogy of ‘The Mondestein Chronicles’ from 2019-2022.

Elmar “As I have mentioned frequently in interviews, we are not a “soft rock / ballad” band per se. However, romantic love has been, is – and probably will continue to be a very important source of inspiration for me. I am a (helpless?) romantic, and I experience this emotion (which is actually more an umbrella term for a number of different emotions for me) quite strongly. So, I decided to put together an album on that topic choosing from a number of love songs that I had written over the years.

Now, usually love songs tend to be more on the sad side – because when you are happy in love, you enjoy it – why should you write a song about it? But I wanted to do something different: I wanted to create an album about love that was positive without becoming superficial or tacky. I think this is possible because of a number of reasons: First, sometimes the happiness can be the prevailing feeling in an actually bad situation – this is what the song “Proud to Love You” is about – and then what you get is a positive, hopeful song. 

Then there is love that you experience to be so fulfilling that next to this fulfilment there is still some “excess” emotion asking you to be cast into song – this is what “My Heart Shall Be Your Fire”, “You Are A Diamond”, “Wonderful Beautiful” and “A Winter’s Tale” are about. Then, of course, there is the (probably) most famous type of love song where you are longing for and dreaming about someone. This can be either purely joyful as in “The Purest You” and “Caterpillar”, or a bit painful as in “Child Within” and “Tuesday Morning”. 

Since emotional pain and despair normally accompany romantic love at some point, I chose to put two songs about these emotions with quite self-explanatory titles on the album as well (“How Could I Ever Have Hurt You” and “Why Can’t I Forget You”). Although these songs are about painful emotions, they are clearly a minority. Finally, there is a song I wrote for one of my sons, another kind of love thus, who provided me with most of the lyrics (“King of Winters”, he was about five years old then), and two songs that take the whole topic less seriously, more tongue-in-cheek (“Sugar Refinery” and “Time to Say Goodbye”) to end the album on a both positive and light note.”

Check out ‘Proud To Love You’ below.

Heart Attack Man Announces New Record, ‘Freak Of Nature’

Heart Attack Man have announced the brand new album ‘Freak Of Nature’  due out late spring as a self-release.  The record is preceded by the title track single ‘Freak Of Nature’ as the band explains:

“Hello everyone, it’s me Heart Attack Man. Whom up freaking they nature? Haters will say it’s fake but we’re releasing our new album Freak Of Nature on May 26^th. We’ve got a music video for the title track too – you can check that out at 7pm here:  
Anyway, here’s more about the new song from our overlord and saviour Eric Egan:

“‘Freak Of Nature’ is the most solidified Heart Attack Man song we’ve written to date. It cranks it all up to eleven and condenses everything we’ve done into the most potent version of our sound in the form of a true weirdo anthem. Lyrically, I really wanted to zero in on embracing feelings of abnormality and a lifelong sense of being out of place. I’ve always felt a sense of anxiety like I’m about to get yelled at or arrested, and this song is that sentiment flipped into a celebration.”

Check out the single, ‘Freak Of Nature’ below.

Check out the Cover Art, Tracklisting and Pre-order options for the upcoming record below.

1. Practiced In the Mirror
2. Freak Of Nature
3. Like A Kennedy
4. Late To The Orgy
5. Stick Up
6. God Called Off Today
7. C4
8. 9 On Your Bedside
9. Clown School
10. See You On The Other Side

Pre-orders for ‘Freak Of Nature’ are available via the following link.

Post Grunge Rock Act Amphettamine Release New Record, ‘De:Compondo’

Amphettamine’s debut album “De: Compondo” mixes influences from the Post Grunge and Gothic universe, creating something original and innovative in alternative music. Thirteen tracks make up the record, the first of which is an introduction.

All lyrics deal with personal themes of Amandha Ribaski (founder of Amphettamine), following an obscure and everyday theme, seeking to be as real and sincere as possible, with the instrumental following the nuances.

The album featured some guest musicians and was produced at the “Funds House” studio in Curitiba-PR/Brazil, being released by Electric Funeral Records.

Check out the record, ‘De:compondo’ below.

Alt. Announce New Record, ‘Abeyance’

ABEYANCE: a state of temporary disuse or inactivity. More accurately, the polar opposite to Adelaide rockers alt.’s modus operandi, emerging from a turbulent few years armed with rejuvenated focus and ferocity, as well as their debut full-length album ABEYANCE ready to stupefy the senses and catapult one of the city of churches’ brightest stars further into the spotlight. 

Due out on Friday 16 June via Resist Records, ABEYANCE will feature the group’s recent singles THE GREAT DEPRESSION and WRAITH, as well as a brand new track dropping today to accompany alt.‘s album announcement: enter A.D.D, a futuristic and, at times, industrial wormhole that flits between crystalline calm and stadium-ready, scathing arrangements. 

“We didn’t really know what Abeyance was going to sound like initially,” vocalist Dan Richards reveals of the album’s early days. “The first two songs that we had for ABEYANCE were polar opposites from each other, they were WRAITH and BETTER OFF LEAVING, the former being pretty much the first proper track and the latter being the last song on the album. We started off trying to fill in the gaps between those at first, but a few songs after that we really found what we wanted the sound to be – and it all really started with A.D.D, that was the first song we wrote that we were like: ‘Yep, this is the sound of ABEYANCE!’”.

Check out the video for ‘A.D.D’ below.

Hot Mulligan Announce New Album ‘Why Would I Watch’

Hot Mulligan have announced their forthcoming new album ‘Why Would I Watch’ out 12th May 2023 via Wax Bodega. A new song titled “Shhh! Golf Is On”, taken from the album, is out now and can be seen below.

Produced by longtime collaborator Brett Romnes, ‘Why Would I Watch’ is Hot Mulligan at their loudest, their poppiest, and, ultimately, their most poignant: twinkly Midwestern emo guitars and mathy, synthy-heavy rhythms, Tades Sanville’s sandpaper vocals and indelible melodies. This lightning-in-a-bottle kinetic energy is encompassed on the aforementioned first single and in true Hot Mulligan fashion, a closer listen to the lyrics reveal an intense honesty that could get written off if you don’t pay attention.

Therein lies the true magic of Hot Mulligan, the push and pull of puns and pathos that might seem diametrically opposed at first but actually intersect to perfectly encapsulate life in a heavy, ADD-addled world.

The band don’t consider these groundbreaking topics, opting for more measured and at times resigned realism to deal with the melancholia and malaise of life’s ups and downs. “No one who’s depressed is crying all the time,” Sanville says. “The media likes to portray deep depression as sadness, but most of the time it’s indifference. That works its way into alternative comedy and shitposting. The two cultures collide perfectly. The titles are the shitposts and the songs are what everyone in this position actually feels.”

“Shhh! Golf is on” is about my mom. I’m asking her to die. Every time I hear about her, she’s a worse person than before,” says Tades on the song.

Check out ‘Shhh! Golf Is On’ below

Therapy? Announce New Record, ‘Hard Cold Fire’

Northern Irish rock outfit, THERAPY? have announced their colossal new studio album ‘Hard Cold Fire’, a spiralling, hypnotic melange of grunge-rock and towering melody that sees the trio steadfast and reinvigorated. ‘Hard Cold Fire’ is set for release 5th May 2023 via Marshall Records.

Accompanying the announcement, the band also shares their first offering in the form the riotous new single ‘Joy,’ and details on a run of intimate UK in-store dates coinciding with the album’s release.

As Therapy?’s fourth decade finally gets underway in earnest, sixteenth album ‘Hard Cold Fire’, written and pre-produced during an unprecedented time for music, is hefty, compact, and accessible, a distillation of everything that has made them what they are – hewn from County Antrim basalt, still possessed of their stoicism, but casting a renewed focus on catharsis and healing.

“One thing we did decide when we were eventually able to rehearse, was that we didn’t want to make a lockdown record,” says vocalist and guitarist Andy Cairns,“because people have been through enough.

“When we began to rehearse the songs, we realised there was an empathetic quality to them. We wanted to make something that was a bit more relatable, and less standoffish and claustrophobic – which we have a history of, and it stands in places – but we wanted to make something more approachable and open.”

“We wanted this album to be one that felt good to play live, almost a release after this period of stasis, but then also not dwelling on the whole situation – we’re moving forward, and we wanted that energy to be there,” adds bassist Michael McKeegan.

The serrated, chugging riffage, churning low-end and propulsive rhythms that are hallmarks of the band’s sound are all present and correct, but met with a new-found sense of resolution and release, as most readily displayed on the one-two punch of their first single, ‘Joy’.

“Well, ‘Joy’ started with a term from ‘Waiting for Godot’, by Samuel Beckett,” confesses Cairns“this wonderful line: ‘habit is a great deadener’. I just love that word, ‘dead-en-er’. It’s an amazing word. People get themselves into these habits, and the next thing you know, their life is over and they’ve only lived in a very small circle of experience, often through choice, which is scary.”

Check out the Cover Art for ‘Hard Cold Fire’, track listing and the music video for the track, ‘Joy’ below.

1. They Shoot the Terrible Master
2. Woe
3. Joy
4. Bewildered Herd
5. Two Wounded Animals
6. To Disappear
7. Mongrel
8. Poundland of Hope and Glory
9. Ugly
10. Days Kollaps

French Symphonic Prog-Metakl Trio Oïkoumeno Release New Record, ‘Dystopia’

2 years and a half after its debut and self-titled EP, French symphonic prog-metal trio Oïkoumen self-released a first full-length record called ‘Dystopia’ on CD & digital through the main legal platforms. 

This concept album is about the anxiety generated by receiving all day long (bad) news from all around the world (from ecological and economic to human issues)

First influenced by big names of the symhonic metal scene such as Epica, Nightwish and Within Temptation, the band released its debut and self-titled EP (2020) with the aim to tell about historical subjects in their works and share epic vibes.

However, with the single “The Green Queen” and then the album ‘Dystopia’ (fall 2022), the band heads towards a more brutal and incisive aesthetic with the harmony and rythmics but still with symphonic vibes thanks to the orchestras.

Check out Merch and Physical editions of the record via the following link.