Metal Mix Tape Volume 12
Let there be metal! Have a look to see who made Metal Mix Tape Volume 12:
Sweden’s masters of thunderous, melodic futurism, AMARANTHE, have released their highly anticipated album The Catalyst via Nuclear Blast Records. Along with the album release, a music video has dropped for the title track.
The band states: “The proverbial eagle has landed! After a few years of hard toil, sweat and at least a small amount of blood, we are enormously proud and downright electrified to know that our newborn and latest album – The Catalyst is available worldwide! This has truly been a journey of pure passion and creative experimentation, along with a dose of soul-searching for good measure. We hope that you will find it to your taste, and if you do – don’t forget to stop by The Catalyst World Tour when it hits a town near YOU!”
GRIT YOUR TEETH WHEN THEY’VE JUST BEEN BROKEN
Svalbard are proud to release a video for their track To Wilt Beneath The Weight, taken from their breathtaking latest studio album The Weight Of The Mask. The track is a combative clincher to the record, acknowledging the dark reality of personal demons and the fight against them. The video beautifully captures Svalbard’s highly-charged performance of the track at Cult Of Luna’s Beyond The Redshift festival in London last year.
Svalbard’s Serena Cherry commented,
“We filmed this live video at The O2 Forum in London, which is the very same place that I saw one of my first ever metal shows! (It was Mudvayne!) The feeling of walking out onto that stage where I have seen so many inspiring metal musicians play was surreal. Truly one of those ‘pinch me’ moments. To have this wonderful memory of performing at Beyond the Redshift is very special to me, it was one of those awesome festivals where you get to watch and meet so many fantastic artists.
To Wilt Beneath The Weight is about the pressures and sacrifices you make as a touring musician. The lyrics explore the strain it can put on relationships and the challenging times that come with being away so often. This song features my favourite Svalbard lyric, which is “grit your teeth when they’ve just been broken.” Which represents the determination against all odds to keep persevering with your passions.
It also features the lyric I find the most painful, which is: “completely at the mercy of every form of insincerity.” Every time I scream that line on stage I choke up because it feels so raw and real.”
Gothenburg´s Finest are back! THE HALO EFFECT presents a brand-new single to their fans with Become Surrender. The track has been a staple of their live shows for a while now and has quickly become a fan-favourite.
It´s a multi-faceted song with neck breaking riffs, grooving drums and beautiful melodies which will leave you spellbound. Australian Fans witnessed just how stunning this band are on the recent Lagerfest!
Mikael Stanne comments: “´Become Surrender´ was written and recorded during the Days Of The Lost sessions, but for some reason we left it out of the album. It has been something we have played during festivals and on our tours and the response has been nothing short of fantastic, so we decided to release it in the interim before we start rolling out singles for the second album. The video was shot during our sold out show at Pustervik here in our hometown of Gothenburg in front of a few of our closest friends and hopefully the joy and love we felt in the room that night shines through. It’s a song about perseverance over distance and not giving in to despair or doubt. Turn it up!”
In anticipation of the 40 Years Of The Apocalypse North American tour with labelmates VADER, ORIGIN is proud to offer fans the single Disease Called Man. Originally written for their 2000 self-titled debut album, the single was re-recorded and is now available for the masses.
ORIGIN’s Paul Ryan comments, “Excited to present a song that was written 25 years ago with our current lineup of Origin in coordination with our upcoming tours in 2024! The Doomsday Clock ticks closer to the extinction of humanity!”
OCEANS are back with their first new music of 2024! The German nu-metal band proudly presents their latest single Slaves To The Feed, which provides another strong message towards the importance of mental health and raising awareness on this topic. The new song sees OCEANS collaborate with Australian keyboardist MISSTIQ as well as Josh Collard from EARTH CALLER.
To coincide with the release of Slaves To The Feed, OCEANS are unleashing a second new single! Breed Consume Die sees the Germans once again prove their musical versatility as they let their heavier side come to the fore. Josh Collard from EARTH CALLER also features on this song, that serves as a social wake-up call.
As if the release of two new singles wasn’t enough, OCEANS have also delivered a brand new music video for their single Slaves To The Feed.
Timo Rotten comments:
“Social media makes us sick. It makes me sick, I’m fucking addicted to my smartphone. Even though it has made my life miserable to a certain extent, I still keep scrolling. And why is that? Because people tell me it’s part of the business. We as a band are both part of the solution and part of the problem.”
Having just returned from the European leg of their Magno Interitus headline tour, there’s no rest for the wicked for Danish deathcore maniacs CABAL. They’ve released a new rework of their song If I Hang, Let Me Swing, which saw the band partner with Danish industrial-techno collective JOHN CXNNOR. The result of this energetic collaboration sees the light of the day today.
Singer Andreas Bjulver states:
“John Cxnnor are one of our favorite acts on the Danish scene, the way they manage to bridge the gap between electronic music and metal is truly impressive and since we’ve already collaborated with them on a bunch of tracks, having them do a complete rework of one seemed like a no brainer to us. We couldn’t be happier with the result, this is electronic music at it’s hardest and grittiest.”
Finnish folk metal superstars KORPIKLAANI are happy to unleash Aita, the second single from their upcoming new studio album, Rankarumpu, which is due to be released on April 5th, 2024.
Aita keeps up the full-speed ahead approach from the previous single, Saunaan. The dizzying pace, a catchy chorus and a masterful violin/accordion duel make Aita an absolutely irresistible tune that bears all trademarks the Finns are universally known and loved for. Folk metal at its best!
Composer Olli Vänskä commented:
“‘Aita’ was actually composed as an instrumental track, or that was at least the intention. I sent a demo version to Jonne and when I was asking about it a week later, he told me “hell no!” and gave me the lyrics he wrote. And good lyrics, too! I’m very satisfied about the violin riff and how the folk interlude turned out as well. Lots of interesting stuff happening there!”
Front man Jonne Järvelä added:
“I got a very cool demo song from Olli to which I riffed with a guitar. Then a theme started to form in my head that I transformed into a song which was easy to write words to. In the lyrics, the main person meets an old familiar village man who has been on the road as journey man for a long time and returns to his home village. The man asks his friend all sorts of questions about what he has seen around the world, but the journey man only answers vaguely, but with wise lessons.”
One of Finland’s hottest new exports, high-profile modern metal band CROWNSHIFT, are happy to finally announce the release date and details of their eagerly awaited self-titled debut album, which is due out on May 10th, 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Earlier this year CROWNSHIFT have released their first single and music video, If You Dare that was received with great acclaim by fans and media alike. To whet your appetite even more, today marks the release of yet another infectious single accompanied by a stylish and energetic music video, A World Beyond Reach.
A World Beyond Reach is a perfect example of what CROWNSHIFT’s debut album is offering – eight contemporary melodic death metal anthems with a progressive edge and captivating choruses for the ages. CROWNSHIFT’s members are or have been involved in some of Finlands most renowned and universally beloved metal bands, including NIGHTWISH, CHILDREN OF BODOM, WINTERSUN and MYGRAIN, and it shows. On their first album CROWNSHIFT have managed to combine their collective experiences and have crafted a modern metal masterpiece that sounds distinctively Finnish and offers stellar songwriting and excellent production.
One year ago, cosmic pioneers Enslaved released their latest avant-garde creation Heimdal. To celebrate the studio album’s first year of existence, the band announced the Heimdal (Deluxe) digital album, which is out now! As well as a UK and European tour with British post-hardcore quartet Svalbard and US metallers Wayfarer this month.
Also, Enslaved are thrilled to announce that internationally acclaimed composer and virtuoso cellist Jo Quail will make a special appearance at the first show of the tour, on March 6th at London’s Islington Assembly Hall.
To celebrate this news, Enslaved have released an electrifying alternative version of their track Congelia, featuring Jo Quail, alongside a beautiful lyric video created by Kolibri Media.
Guitarist Ivar Bjørnson commented,
“London has a very special place in the history of our band, since the very first live shows we ever did outside of our home town(s) – the city has supported us through it all. We have a huge part of our extended family and tribe here; it is always like coming home. Just with better Indian food and worse traffic. This time London seems set on outdoing its welcome of us; Jo Quail will join us on stage to perform ‘Congelia’ with us! We are so proud and eager to show you how absolutely crushing that sounds. See you very soon. Baah!”
Jo Quail commented,
“I am thrilled to be joining forces with Enslaved once again on stage! It was such a wonderful experience in Bergen last year and I am honoured to be able to do this again in London – I hope you’ll enjoy this moment as much as I will.”
In celebration of the first anniversary of the band’s latest studio album Foregone, and with their Australian Tour with KREATOR kicking off this week, Swedish melodic death metal icons IN FLAMES have released a digital bonus version of Foregone on all streaming platforms.
The anniversary edition of this highly lauded part of the group’s discography comes accompanied by alternative artwork as well as including a new bonus track, Become One.
The band states:
“Foregone was a very special record to make and time for our band. We normally don’t have any extra material leftover but this time we had “Become One” and want to share it with you all. Hope you enjoy!! See you out on the road this year!”
NOLA thrash and groove trailblazers EXHORDER will release their much anticipated fourth full-length record, Defectum Omnium, out now via Nuclear Blast Records. The band has revealed the record’s second single, Forever and Beyond Despair; a ripping and gripping pit thrasher with massive riffs and blistering solos. You know, what EXHORDER are known for!
Commenting on the new song, vocalist/guitarist Kyle Thomas says:
“Our second single ‘Forever and Beyond Despair’ embraces many of the punk rock ingredients that we grew up on. Exhorder got its start on the punk rock scene of New Orleans, so it only made sense to dig back into this part of our roots. With aggressive angst and sarcastic themes, this song is absolutely a middle finger to the hypocrisies of the establishment.”
British death-doom legends, My Dying Bride, are proud to announce their fifteenth studio album, A Mortal Binding, set to be released on 19th April via Nuclear Blast Records. The news is accompanied by the release of tempestuous, heart-wrenching new single Thornwyck Hymn. The track comes with a stunning video directed by Daniel Gray, depicting a maritime story of unfolding desire and tragedy.
My Dying Bride’s Aaron Stainthorpe commented,
“Set upon the rugged coast of Yorkshire, Thornwyck village has spent an eternity being haunted by the chill waters that wash it’s shore – and the hidden folk who dwell in the salty depths.
Woe betide anyone who fares into the briny sea, or even steels to close to its edge for they may never set foot back on mother earth”
Malevolence are set to shut down cities across the UK, starting tomorrow with a full-on, 11-date club tour, featuring New York’s Pain Of Truth and MLVLTD’s finest Rough Justice. The run is now almost completely sold out, with the Liverpool venue recently upgraded due to high demand.
In celebration, the UK’s reigning champs of heavy metal present a special memento from their sold-out UK tour dates last November. Malevolence have released an intoxicating live performance video of Higher Place featuring Espera of Sleep Token, from their monumental show at The Forum, London. The performance reimagines one of Malevolence’s more emotionally charged songs from their current album Malicious Intent.
Malevolence vocalist Alex Taylor commented:
“We always relish the opportunity to do something special and different, so it was a privilege to have the Espera girls join us on stage for ‘Higher Place’ at our biggest ever headline show. The idea spawned when the group tagged us in a reel of themselves singing ‘Higher Place’ on Instagram – we immediately knew that we had to do it live together. We can’t thank them enough for coming down and being part of something so special in Malevolence history!”
The formidable powerhouse Beasto Blanco are back in 2024 with new single Run For Your Life, produced by Chris Harms / Lord of the Lost. It’s the first taste of their forthcoming new album, KINETICA, coming later this year via COP International Records that aspires to capture the visuals, energy, love, sex, sweat, robots, and raw animalistic essence that defines the band.
This adrenaline-fueled track Run For Your Life kicks things off with a sonic and lyrical call to face fears and trust bestial instincts. In the accompanying music video, Beasto Blanco charges full force into life amid intergalactic chaos, pursuing their cybernetic “Machine Girl” warrior Queen. The epic hunt unfolds, with the band’s sound leading the charge. Beasto Blanco refuses to run, embodying the spirit of the less than perfect, the flawed, and the free.
Calico Cooper says of the track, “’Run For Your Life’ is a track about stamina. The sheer force of will it takes to dig deep and run from any black holes sucking you in. To not be crushed by the destruction. But to run hard and fast… for your life. You have the power to save yourself. And it’s worth it.”
Since their 2004 formation in El Segundo, California, The Ghost Inside have inspired international audiences with their songs of resilience, perseverance and vulnerability born from genuine life experiences. After five studio albums, today they announce their new record Searching For Solace out digitally on April 19th and physically on June 7th via Epitaph Records.
The Ghost Inside also share the lead single Wash It Away, which finds vocalist Jonathan Vigil ruminating on the realisation that anything, even the band, can quickly disappear.
“It’s really hard to break everything down, start over and rebuild,” they explain. “Whether that is a relationship, schooling, a career or a business venture. After dedicating so much time to something, it can be scary to lose it and start over.”
Nuclear Blast Records are proud to announce the signing of Leeds, UK based alternative rock band HIGHER POWER. The quintet were birthed from the effervescent UK hardcore scene, and through blending elements of shoegaze, grunge, punk, thrash and more have managed to establish themselves as a wholly unique prospect in the world of modern heavy music.
To commemorate their signing to the label, the band have released a brilliantly tongue-in-cheek video for their new single Absolute Bloom. The track is a vibrant, hook-laden anthem that sees their penchant for 90’s alternative music take the fore.
On Absolute Bloom, vocalist Jimmy Wizard comments “I’m super excited to release this song. It’s really personal to me in this transitional period of my life, about wanting a deeper more meaningful connection to the real world and not quite being equipped to do so, but finding hope and figuring it out. The music reflects that with a song that’s so big and upbeat.”
Iconic U.S. rock band, High on Fire, will release its new LP, Cometh the Storm, on April 19 via MNRK Heavy. The GRAMMY Award-winning group, celebrating its 25th anniversary, recorded Cometh the Storm at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts with producer Kurt Ballou. The 11-song effort — the band’s ninth studio album — marks the release of the first new High on Fire music since 2018’s Electric Messiah and the first to feature drummer Coady Willis (Big Business, Murder City Devils), alongside bassist Jeff Matz, and guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike.
‘’Burning Down” kicks off with a classic Pike riff,” says Jeff Matz. “I think this song harkens back to the early High On Fire sound, but infused with fresh, new elements. It has a killer groove that you can really sink into. The body of the song took shape in our PNW rehearsal space, and we came up with the bridge/solo section and finalized the arrangement while we were at GodCity. Kurt Ballou’s input as a producer was also hugely helpful. His keen ears and fresh perspective were invaluable in making this album.“
Hailing from the Carolinas, post-hardcore band Excide announce their signing to SharpTone Records with the release of the dual single Humdinger, out now. The band harness hardcore spirit, grunge-style hooks, and unpredictable heaviness in a hard-hitting and hypnotic hybrid of their own. The two songs on Humdinger – Dis(re)member and All Down But 9 are vibrant and visceral, swirling through melody-driven vocals and chunky riffs. Dis(re)member gets a video treatment, directed and produced by Tyler Norris (of Foreign Hands), depicting a ‘90s style performance from the band spliced with a story told through shadow puppet.
Expanding on Dis(re)member, vocalist Tyler Washington states: “Dis(re)member is about leaving behind the person you were in the past. It doesn’t matter if it was a good or bad version of you. You’re simply not letting this person influence your current decisions and how you do things. The song fell together naturally and really showed where we’re at.”
U.S. metalcore act Like Moths To Flames have announced their new album THE CYCLES OF TRYING TO COPE. It arrives on May 10 via UNFD.
The band has also shared the video for the explosive juggernaut of a new single Kintsugi, which also shows off the melodic and contemplative side of the band.
Each song that the band has released is like one of the cycles of trying to cope. The term Kintsugi refers to the the “fracture” cycle. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with a mixture including powdered gold — essentially repairing the cracks with gold.
“When things go wrong, I think we are left to pick up the pieces and forced to choose which piece to leave with,” says singer Chris Roetter. “If it’s not possible to leave with everything the way it was before it broke, how do you know what piece to hold onto?”
Fresh off selling out Melbourne’s Forum in 24 hours, alongside the sold out sign hitting Adelaide and less than 200 tickets available for the remaining shows on their Half Living Things Tour, Aussie metalcore behemoths Alpha Wolf unveil Whenever You’re Ready; a compelling and cathartic new cut taken from the band’s upcoming third full length album, Half Living Things due out Friday 5 April via Greyscale Records and SharpTone Records.
Pushing their own limitless boundaries and exploring new musical terrain, Whenever You’re Ready opens with hazy ambience before evolving with haunting beats and searing vocals, showcasing a bewitching new side of Alpha Wolf, built firmly around its soaring melodic chorus and stirring subject matter.
“Alpha Wolf likes to let our listeners expect the unexpected at all times and Whenever You’re Ready is a testament to exactly that,” shares the band of their brand new track. “We could feel the impact of this song from the moment the first chords were written.
“Dancing around on our melodic side, this song touches on the complications between people with a deep connection to one another and ultimately losing them, everyone has a story to tell in this regard and this is ours.”
Prolific metalcore progressives ERRA recently announced their new album CURE, which arrives on April 5 via UNFD.
The band has shared Blue Reverie. The song is a master class of dynamics — the kind that ERRA are known for it. It deftly mixes contemplative, moody passages with bouts of pure metallic fury and thunderous rhythms.
CURE is the band’s sixth album and it highlights and expands on the forward-thinking sound and guitar-driven style that the band has built its reputation on. Following 2021’s self-titled release, CURE is a stunning execution of both raw talent and surgical technicality. It’s as emotional powerful as it is musically proficient, which is not an easy feat to achieve. Yet ERRA make it look and sound easy. CURE is a sonic thrill ride — one that you hope will never end.
Oozing with sultry melodics and sweltering riffs, the brand new single Obsession from Melbourne rockers Thornhill, out now via UNFD, is a sharpened delight,.
Welding the rugged sensuality of Deftones together with Thornhill’s trademark beaming charisma, Obsession transcends into decadent waters, with vocalist Jacob Charlton unleashing on narcissistic desires against a primal sonic backdrop.
“Obsession focuses on a narcissistic inner monologue, insistent on having what they want,” the band shares of their latest release. “Oozing lies and pleas at the distress of an old lover, they project their desires at the cost of their own “life”.”
Boston Manor return with new single Container. It marks the first new music from the band in 2024 as they make their return in impassioned and ambitious mood. Full of thrust and intention, Container is rich with depth and groove, offering an early signpost to where their sound is taking them next: from parallel universes to personal growth, vivid dreamscapes to raw grief. Lead singer Henry Cox says, “Container explores the idea of second chances, the panic that sets in knowing you need to change your world before it’s too late and you get swallowed up and lost forever. It’s about the stagnancy of life creeping up on you and how that can bring about change.”
Change is a colour that Boston Manor wear well, and Container signals the first step in a bold and inspiring new journey.
Greek thrashers SUICIDAL ANGELS release their brand-new track Virtues Of Destruction, which is part of their highly anticipated new album Profane Prayer. Profane Prayer will be released on the 1st March 2024 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Singer Nick comments about the new song Virtues Of Destruction: “Our third single just landed! Almost 2 weeks before our headline European tour, we are glad to share with you one more song from our new album “Profane Prayer”! Play it loud and headbang along with the whole neighbourhood!!!”
He adds about the new album Profane Prayer: “The time has come! Finally, almost after 4 years, the 8th studio album of Suicidal Angels is true and ready to unleash itself in to the market, bringing you some new tunes to satisfy the needs and the appetites of the toughest audience! March the 1st of 2024, this beast will be out, in digital and physical form in all of Nuclear Blast’s channels. We have returned and it will be killer!!!”
“Sometimes you have to die first to fully understand what life is.” – Francesco Paoli
Death… our inevitable ruin that calls for us sooner or later. Many who are fortunate enough to temporarily escape its fatal clutches experience life altering changes, finding renewed purpose, rejuvenated creative spirit and a reawakening of the soul. Such as the story goes for FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE frontman Francesco Paoli who in 2021 was involved in a tragic mountain climbing accident that left him clinging to life with years of recovery ahead, and ultimately inspiring the band’s first music in years.
Today marks the monumental return of Paoli and Italian symphonic metal giants FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE as the band releases their first new music since the devastating accident. Inspired by horrific event, the new single Pendulum swings with intense ferocity and baroque classical movements, seething with anguished pain.
Commenting on the song, Paoli says:
“This is the first song we release since my ‘dance’ with death, back in August 2021. It’s obvious that such a life changing event would have affected our music. It took a toll on me, physically and mentally, and sharing my experience is also part of my healing process. Pendulum is just the opening chapter of a bigger story, which is yet to be told…”
It is the first day of a new season, and Autumn has arrived. Following on from January’s release of the bright and energized Spring, this latest track sees Melbourne band RUN’s sound venture down a darker and notably colder path as another page of its latest vision is revealed.
“The lyrics to this song are mostly quite blunt, but to be clear it is a reflection on the suicide of a friend,” shares vocalist Lochlan Watt of the latest track. “RUN’s operative word is bittersweet and I think this song embodies that better than anything else we’ve done so far. I hope people can find some catharsis and hope in it. This one is for SK.”
Already one of British metal’s biggest names, While She Sleeps are set to take things to the next sonic level with the March 29th release of their new album SELF HELL. As showcased with visceral intent on the recent singles, the title track and DOWN (featuring Alex Taylor of Malevolence), the band’s ambitious approach is simple – make everything bigger and more unpredictable than ever before.
TO THE FLOWERS continues the maximalist ethos of their recent singles. Opening with spoken words from the philosopher and spiritual leader Jiddu Krishnamurti, TO THE FLOWERS finds cohesion in chaos. Drawing upon an ever-expanding maelstrom of influences, their renowned mix of screaming with melodic textures, punk energy, synths and metallic breakdowns. The result again heightens expectations for the boundary-breaking scope of the ‘SELF HELL’ album.
Guitarist Sean Long says, “This song means a lot to us. As much as we love a good breakdown and heavy riff, a lot of our passion lies within emotive musical pieces. This song has nearly brought us all to tears multiple times simply because it touches something in us that we hold very dear. A pain we all know and have felt down to our deepest core. The essence of our personal pain expressed in music is what the band is all about. Talking about the things we know are difficult but necessary. The working title was called “radiohead” and that should help understand the feeling it gave us when writing it. This contains the “double whammy” that I stumbled across just before the song was finished. It went insanely viral when I posted it online so I just had to get it in the song. People have been saying it’s one of the greatest lead guitar parts of all time, I’ll take it.’
Japanese rockers Crossfaith have returned with a roaring new single titled ZERO.
The song comes out of the gates swinging, throwing hellacious haymakers from start to finish. It finds the band continuing to cross-pollinate metal and industrial music into a DNA-distinct blend.
The accompanying visual finds the band performing with a fierce fire in its belly that is utterly impossible to extinguish.
“After approximately one year of hiatus, we’re finally coming back in the game,” the band states. “This song is filled with primitive energy, showcasing our distinctive style to the fullest. It becomes a music full of the desire to tear through the dark abyss with our own hands and be reborn anew.“
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