Canadian heavy metal legends Anvil announced their new studio album ‘One And Only’ to be released in June via AFM Records and unleashed a first killer track with ‘Feed Your Fantasy’!
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News Posts
Australian blackened heavy metal collective Black Lava announced their upcoming new album ‘The Savage Winds to Wisdom’ set to be released in July and unleashed a first taste of the darkness to come with the single ‘Ironclad Sarcophagus’!
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US heavy metal band Sonja signed to Century Media Records and released their new video/single ‘Discretion For The Generous’!
Catch them on their “10 Year Anniversary Intercontinental Tour”, bringing them to our very own Asgaard venue next week!
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Otherworldly alt duo Zetra emerged from the shadows once more with the new track ‘Starfall’, featuring Svalbard’s Serena Cherry, and announced their self-titled debut album to be released in September via Nuclear Blast Records!
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Belgian music project Entering Polaris dropped a 4th video for the single ‘Glacier’, a track from the double album ‘Atlantean Shores’ and ‘And silently The Age Did Pass’, released last year in June via Freya Records!
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Finnish heavy metal band Oceanhoarse has returned! With new single ‘Killer & the Queen’ and a new line-up, they’re ready to continue their quest to bring proper metal to people around the world!
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UK heavy metal act Balance Of Power returns with a new line-up and brand-new studio offering in April with ‘Fresh From The Abyss’, via Massacre Records. Right now they’ve presented another taste of that album with the single ‘One More Time Around The Sun’!
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India’s heavy metal powerhouse Kryptos ‘Turn Up the Heat’ with their furious new single, another track from their upcoming album ‘Decimator’, set for release via AFM Records in July!
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Melodic heavy metal band Black Sun released their first new single and video ‘Slay The Queen’ with their new lineup, featuring Nino and Netta Laurenne!
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Metal super trio Smoke AxD, brought together in a haze of ganja and a shared passion for heavy riffs, announced their heavy debut EP ‘Vaya Con Dios’ to be released in May!
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Album Reviews
German occult heavy metal outfit Attic offers a brilliant album for fans of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate. The third album ‘Return of the Witchfinder’ is an old-school heavy metal drenched in dark occultism, released via Ván Records on April 5th.
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“Invincible Shield” is an album showing how Judas Priest can sound ultimately aggressive, pure, and straightforward heavy metal, out via Sony Music. There seems to be a consensus that this is one of their best albums since long, on par with some of their classics like ‘Painkiller’!
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The British heavy metal juggernaut Saxon deliver an outstanding performance on the newest album “Hell, Fire and Damnation”. Musically, the veterans embrace their classic NWOBHM roots and show great ability to write mid-crushing songs. Out tomorrow, January 19th via Silver Lining Music!
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Sorcerer returns with an epic dark album on its fourth installment “Reign of the Reaper” and brings an absolutely great slab of late 80s and early 90s heavy metal out since yesterday via Metal Blade Records.
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U.S. heavy/doom metal veterans Cirith Ungol return with their sixth epic studio album “Dark Parade”, presenting eight thundering hymns of glorious 80s heavy metal, out on October 20th via Metal Blade Records.
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“Touchdown” is one of U.D.O.’s best albums in the last decade and fans should expect some ballsy aggressive tracks and raw classic heavy metal that has a distinctly German vibe. The album was released on August 25th, 2023 via Atomic Fire Records.
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The superb musicianship of US heavy metal outfit Spirit Adrift delivers another glorious record with fifth album “Ghost At The Gallows”. This comes recommended for fans of Khemmis, Black Sabbath, and Solitude Aeternus and was released via Century Media Records!
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Germany has been a home for many heavy metal and thrash metal bands in the past, and The Night Eternal is no exception. “Fatale” combines many elements from the NWOBHM era and occult heavy metal, this is a very catchy and infectious album, released via Ván Records.
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Nanowar of Steel’s new record ‘Dislike to False Metal’ brings parody metal to a whole new level with quality, yet hilarious songs that at times almost sound more than the bands they’re emulating. Released via Napalm Records.
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Forget about Excalibur, forget about the Sword of Power. These are kitchen knives compared to the ‘Might and Power’ of Megaton Sword. The Swiss collective’s second full length after the ‘Niralet’ EP and their much applauded debut ‘Blood Hails Steel, Steel Hails Fire’. Released via Dying Victims Productions on February 24.
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Photo Reports
We caught Amaranthe and Dragonforce on their co-headline European tour at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, Belgium, with special guest Infected Rain for a night of high energy metal music!
Back in February on a cold Sunday evening, things in Tavastia got quite hot when a massive horror show took over with Wednesday 13 playing old Murderdolls tunes in the memory of Joey Jordison, culminating in with the headliner act, British extreme metal legends Cradle Of Filth.
Last week, Cyhra, together with NeonFly, started off their short Finland tour at Tampere’s YO-Talo with a blast of a show organised by Nem Agency.
The Nordic weeks in Rock over Germany have been going on. Just a week after a fabulous BEAST IN BLACK tour stop in Stuttgart, another headliner from Finland’s power-metal top-notch acts conquered another concert venue in town with a show deluxe: BATTLE BEAST on their ‘Circus Of Doom Over Europe Tour 2024’. Support was given by INDUCTION and SAINT DEAMON.
Whenever Finnish bands travel around in other parts of the world, we tend to try catch them live at least once. The “Glory and the Beast” tour brought together three of the most exciting bands in the European power metal scene: Brothers Of Metal, Gloryhammer and our Finnish friends of Beast in Black. The tour enthralled fans throughout Germany with a spectacular blend of epic melodies and high-energy performances. See and feel the power of this night of their stop-over in Stuttgart, Germany!
Last Monday, TuskaLive and Grey Beard Concerts & Management brought the carnival to town. To be precise, the Swedish band Avatar and along with them Æther Realm from the USA. Avatar played a very fun show at Olympia-Kortteli in Tampere, including magic tricks, balloons and of course some good old heavy metal.
At the end of January, Battle Beast and Merta came through Tampere’s Pakkahuone for a powerful sold out show presented by Tuhdimmat Tahdit and Master Events.
Our recently joined photographer Lindy is excited to see what 2024 is going to bring for her, but for now, let’s have a look back at some of her favorite pictures she took in 2023 at shows from bands like Across the White Water Tower, Alesana, Autopsy Affair, Brand of Sacrifice, Currents, Emmure, Greyhaven, Knuckle Puck, Magg Dylan, Magnolia Parl, Midnight Threat, Norma Jean, Origami Angel, Pink Shift, Saliva, See You Space Cowboy, Silverstein, Sweet Pill, The Contactees, The SoapGirls, Virginia, and We Came As Romans!
A selection of 30 photos that Helder likes a lot from one of his most productive year considering covering concerts, including captures of Fear Factory, Atreyu, Jinjer, Rolo Tomassi, Stone, The Kooks, Pixies, Wunderhorse, Yours Truly, You Me at Six, Lake Malice, Bloodywood, Epica, Avatar, The 69 Eyes, Nova Twins, Cam Cole, Sabaton, The Lumineers, Grailknights, All For Metal, The Baboon Show, Combichrist, Megaherz, The BossHoss, Cancer Bats, Kvelertak, Fixation, Ignea, and Butcher Babies.
One of our newest photographers to have joined the team, Tommy offers a fine selection of cover bands, and gigs from the local club scene with pictures of Sabbra Cadabra, Crowley, Kraken Waker, Self Revolution, The SoapGirls, Nu-Castle, All Before, Audioslaves, Rage, Spartan Warrior, Twin Lizzy, and Red Hot Chilipinos!
Gig Reports
With 3 bands being shining lights for (the future of) metal, and all 3 of them having a brand-new album in their pocket, Amaranthe, Dragonforce and Infected Rain turned Black Box Helsinki into a true celebration of heavy music about a month ago!
Modern metal outfit CyHra came to present their latest album ‘The Vertigo Trigger’ to their Finnish fans starting with a show at Yo-Talo in Tampere, with support band Neonfly, turning the night into a celebration of good music and community!
One of our reporters got to fulfill her dream to see a show at the legendary Palladium on Time Square while she was in New York City and caught great shows from Dragonforce, Amaranthe, Nanowar of Steel and Edge of Paradise ripping it up, turning the night into a celebration of heavy metal!
Poisonblack returned for a couple more shows in October 2023, organized by Fullsteam Agency. We were present for the gig at Klubi in Tampere, a true celebration of the gothic metal legends they are.
Earlier this month, Kvelertak dropped by in Helsinki on their “Krøterveg Te Helvete tour 2023” in support of their latest album ‘Endling’ (released via Rise Records) and brought the house down with support from Cancer Bats! An event by TuskaLive and Greybeard Concerts & Management.
Legendary Belgian metal band Channel Zero finally got to celebrate their 30th anniversary (a few years late due to the pandemic) at Cactus Club in Brugge, a small venue that was a perfect setting for an intense, energetic and somewhat intimate show. Support came from modern metal/nu metal stars on the rise Mantah!
This night was Iron Maiden night! After one of their greatest performances ever last year at Graspop Metal Meeting expectations were real high for the band’s return this year. But they left our reporter with somewhat of disappointed feeling after the show at Sportpaleis in Antwerp with support from The Raven Age.
Sabatons ‘Tour To End All Tours’ came finally to an end, but not before also bringing the fire to Finland. With the Support of Lordi and BABYMETAL, they gave us an incredible show at the sold out Jäähalli in Helsinki last week. Thanks to TuskaLive and Grey Beard for bringing them here!
Nervosa came to On The Rocks in Helsinki to prove to us all that they are still a force to be reckoned with, even though the band is in yet another new iteration at the moment. With Prika on vocals, they sound as solid as ever, and killed it. Local heavy metal heroes Satan’s Fall were special guests and warmed us up nicely for the good old thrashing we were getting later.
Kamelot struck down in Helsinki to give us a proper “awakening” on their European tour, and brought with them some excellent support through Myrath, Eleine and League of Distortion! A night of absolutely excellent music that left a positive feeling with anyone who attended the show at Vanha Ylioppilastalo at the end of March!
