Latest Articles

• SPHERES Announces New Album "Shadows of Despair" with Progressively Extreme Single "Underworld"

  Apr 18, 2025 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  Paris' SPHERES have an invitation to a spiritual journey and dystopian dimension with the release of their new single "Underworld". This is the first feast of new music since releasing their 2022 sophomore album "Helios". The new track, recorded and mixed by Chris Edrich (Devin Townsend, Tesseract, Leprous), is a preview of their third full-length "Shadows of Despair," set for release in October 2025.

  Just like the world we live in, SPHERES' sound is becoming increasingly extreme, and their new song "Underworld" asks the question: can we evolve without destroying ourselves? We don't need to save the planet. The Earth has undergone several mass extinctions and will remain alive until our star, the sun, dies out. Humanity is less certain.

  With "Underworld," listeners will be struck by the multitude of contrasts and textures that inhabit SPHERES' music: From sharp riffs to ethereal melodies, from clean singing to growls and screams, the atmosphere oscillates between dream and frenzy. Everything is designed to push the listener’s boundaries and invite them to take part in this expedition.

  Listen to "Underworld" at the following links:

  Spotify (all digital platforms) - https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/spheres7/underworld​

  ​

  In additional news, SPHERES will be touring across Europe in 2025 (dates listed below).

  Spheres has performed, among others, at Malmöfestivalen in Sweden, Hellfest and Ready For Prog in France, as part of their previous European tour in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, and France. They opened for bands such as Angra, Threshold, Hangman's Chair, and Angelus Apatrida.

  Live Video - S.C.S. at Macumba Open Air Festival 2023 - https://youtu.be/--oXvBR19ZI​

  Tour Dates 2025: (more to be announced)
  September 19 - Bifrôst - Rouen, France
  September 20 - El Camino - Caen, France
  October 17 - Oeil Glauque Festival - Rennes, France
  October 26 - AK Shelter - Nantes, France

  SPHERES is:
  Jonathan Lino: Vocals, Guitars, Producer
  Marco Walczak: Lead Guitars, Keyboards
  Clémence Santé: Bass
  Jesse Haddad: Drums

  For more info: https://linktr.ee/spheres.band​

  Read more

• Gore House Productions Celebrates 15 Years w/ Free Label Compilation "Intestinal Purge" On Bandcamp

  Apr 17, 2025 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  Extreme metal label Gore House Productions is celebrating 15 years of debauchery with its 13-track sampler "Intestinal Purge," featuring various bands who have released unhinged grinding torment to earworm its way to fans.

  Label founder Carlos Matt shares his sentiments about the early beginnings of GHP and the present.

  "TLDR coming in:15 Years? Can you believe it? It's been 15 years since the inception of Gore House Productions. I never imagined what life would look like in my 30s, let alone running an indie for this long. I was a 23-year-old who started booking shows with zero experience besides KNOWING how much extreme metal meant to me. I wanted to find a way to give back to a genre of music that was my scapegoat to reality. This was an itch I needed to scratch, and I had no idea this is how I would be doing so. I still recall messaging bands on MySpace to inquire about booking shows while contacting countless venues for possible booking dates.

  What many don't know is that I started buying/selling merch a year before. Back then, I was selling merch at swap meets on the weekends. This was before I officially launched an online store in 2012. I can go hours talking about those early days, but I'll save it for another time.

  I want to thank every band and fan for sticking around for this long. Besides the hurdles/delays, your patience and die-hard love for what we do mean more than words can describe. I also want to thank the many labels that continue to work with us as a source of distribution globally. Additionally, I want to thank my family who has continued to encourage me; my son who, reminds me to not give up; his mother, Violet, who many of you know also pushed me to keep grinding even when things got rough; lastly, @ashermedia who has taken over the PR role for GHP.I'm taking this time to announce the return of our label compilation, Intestinal Purge.

  The album is available for free download via BC. A playlist is also available to stream via our Spotify account if you prefer that.

  There's also a 15% discount for all new orders placed online, until the end of the month, with code: Happy 15

  Cheers to everyone once again!"

  Intestinal Purge (2025) offers 13 tracks taken from GHP's recent releases. Featuring album art by Sidjimbe Art -
  ​www.facebook.com/SIDJIMBEARTSTUDIO​
  ​
  While GHP doesn't ask you to pay for a download. They do, however, ask that you share your new musical discoveries with friends who are also unfamiliar with their bands, their releases, and the label. Sharing music with others is how bands continue to grow.

  Download the sampler at https://gorehouseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/intestinal-purge-2025-sampler​

  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0SBwfnr2pH681JBeqk0r6f​

  Track Listing:​
  1. Necrambulant - Chunked Pus Chowder - 3:04
  2. Cryptic Enslavement - C.T.E. (Chronic Traumatic Encepaulopathy) - 4:21
  3. Heinous Exsanguination - Severed Limbs, Mangled Remains - 2:31
  4. Traumatomy - Womb Of The Desecrated - 3:10
  5. Chunked - Pulsing Excrement - 2:59
  6. Onchocerciasis Esophagogastroduodenoscopy - Warmth of the Womb - 3:31
  7. Stages of Decomposition - Carve Out the Eyes - 2:36
  8. Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship - Song of the Neet - 3:37
  9. Foetal Juice - Mountains of Gore - 3:01
  10. Display of Decay - Legion of Doom - 4:04
  11. Torn The Fuck Apart - Corrosive Form - 3:28
  12. Human Instrumentality Project - ANGEL OF DOOM I: 使徒、襲來 (ANGEL ATTACK) - 4:25
  13. Rott - Blood of the Holy One - 3:42

  More info: ​Gorehouseproductions.com​

  Read more

• AITTALA Release Eclectic Doom Album 'Machines"

  Apr 17, 2025 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  Now available as of April 17th, 2025, from Exitus Strategem Records, eclectic doom metal powerhouse AITTALA is unleashing their new album "Machines".

  The songs on "Machines" were originally written and demoed between 1990 and 1997 on an analog 4-track cassette recorder. Now, Aittala has revived these tracks, preserving their raw essence while enhancing them with modern production techniques. The album offers a nostalgic yet powerful experience, blending early progressive metal influences with storytelling-driven lyrics. While showcasing a distinct style from their recent works, "Machines" stays true to Aittala’s signature heavy, immersive sound.

  Formed in 1991 in Holland, Aittala quickly gained recognition in the Dutch metal scene, opening for bands like THE GATHERING and SADIST. After a hiatus, frontman Eric Aittala resurrected the band in 2008, leading to six full-length albums: Bed of Thorns (2009), Haunt Your Flesh (2011), Effigy (2014), American Nightmare (2016), False Pretenses (2019), and Live to Regret (2022).

  Now, with "Machines," AITTALA boldly steps into the past, bringing long-lost tracks to life with a modern, crushing edge.

  This dynamic duo of Eric Aittala (Guitars/Vocals) and Gary ‘Zeus’ Smith (Drums) (THE FIFTH, ex-MR BLACKWELL) continues to write, record, and tour, bringing their distinct brand of heavy, immersive metal to fans worldwide.

  Album order - https://hypeddit.com/aittala/machines​

  ​

  Track Listing:​
  1. Machines - 7:31
  2. Myself Deceived - 6:24
  3. Misery - 6:53
  4. To Know the Man - 4:51
  5. Machines (Prologue) - 2:32
  6. Machines (Epilogue) - 5:03
  Album Length: 33:15

  For more info: Exsrmusic.com | Aittala.com | Facebook.com/aittalamusic | Instagram.com/aittalamusic

  Read more

• SVNTH Unleashes Unconventional Metal Versatility with New Album “Pink Noise Youth” + EU Tour Dates

  Apr 17, 2025 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  Meshing styles like post-metal, gothic/doom, punk, post-hardcore/screamo, post-rock, shoegaze, black/death metal, and alternative rock, Italian experimental metal outfit SVNTH's fourth studio album, “Pink Noise Youth,” is ready for its coronation on April 18th, 2025, via These Hands Melt Records.

  Before it officially unleashes digitally and physically (CD / Vinyl), SVNTH has teamed up with Decibel Magazine for the album's full-stream premiere, which can be heard HERE.

  The band comments on the release of "Pink Noise Youth":

  "If the previous record Spring in Blue was about facing life’s struggles from a childhood perspective, Pink Noise Youth is based on exploring awareness as an adult in late youth, trying to give a voice to a generation emotionally unstable and chaotic as pink noise. It is the second part of the band’s own “trilogy of colors”. Musically, we intended to stay outside of genres and labels where elements of hardcore, metal, shoegaze, post-rock, and unconventional instrumentation such as electric indian sitar, classical, and 12-string guitars are blended in the same pot. People will surely welcome it with curiosity."

  Vocalist and bassist Rodolfo Ciuffo adds:

  "Lyrically, most of the inspiration comes from personal life events, relationships, and conversations with people and reflections about existential topics; in several cases, it also comes from movies and books."

  Following SVNTH's 2020 "Spring in Blue", “Pink Noise Youth” demonstrates the band's continued evolution, deliberately transcending genre boundaries. The album promises to take listeners on a cohesive journey through its carefully crafted track sequence, maintaining the band's tradition of creating conceptually unified works. The music from SVNTH has always aimed to give the listener emotional vibes. This record, in particular, is conceptually based on exploring late youth emotions, and the music created reflects such instability.

  Recommended for fans of Deafheaven, Alcest, and Agalloch, “Pink Noise Youth” is due out on April 18, 2025, on Vinyl, CD, and Digital via These Hands Melt Records and is available for pre-order / pre-save at https://lnk.to/SVNTH​

  The musical versatility of SVNTH’s sound can be witnessed live in April and May with tour dates in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, and Switzerland (dates listed below).

  SVNTH - Pink Noise Youth EU Tour:​
  April 17 - Bologna, Italy - Alchemica
  April 18 - Milan, Italy - Legend Club
  April 19 - Rome, Italy - Traffic Live
  May 7 - Pfaffenhofen am der lim, Germany - Stockerhof
  May 8 - Bamberg, Germany - UpYours
  May 9 - Cologne, Germany - Valhalla
  May 10 - Delft, Netherlands - OJV de Koornbeurs
  May 11 - Ypres, Belgium - Art Vort'n Vis
  May 12 - London, UK - Moor Beer Co
  May 14 - Zurich, Switzerland - Ebrietas

  Track Listing:​
  1. Inhale - 1:31
  2. Cinnamon Moon - 5:18
  3. Perfume - 4:19
  4. Elephant - 6:49
  5. Narrow, Narrow - 5:35
  6. Exhale - 4:33
  7. Winter Blues - 4:32
  8. Nairobi Lullaby - 4:37
  Album Length: 37:18

  More info: https://linktr.ee/svnthband

  Read more

• Nightfall Lead Beastly Anthem on New Single "Seeking Revenge"

  Apr 16, 2025 Al Feliciano 0 Comments

  Since rising up from Athens' underground in 1991, Nightfall have stood as pillars for Greek metal alongside current and former Season of Mist label mates Rotting Christ and Septicflesh. 
  
  Like their brothers-in-arms, captain Efthimis Karadimas and his Athenian rebels sculpt towering gothic melodies from fiery blackened death metal. Their monumental eleventh full-length is bolstered by a powerful message and the mightiest production in the band's pantheon-level discography. The latest single from Children of Eve charges into the heat of battle with the same vengeance that fueled their rise, but "Seeking Revenge" is spearheaded by the biggest hell-raising chorus on an album full of crowd-pleasers.          
  
  "We wrote this song in retaliation for the vengeful teachings that the catechism practices on us", Efthimis says. "It seeks revenge for the expelled ones, the traders of anathema, who have the outlandish desire to disobey Christian Svengali".  
     
  Watch the searing lyric video for "Seeking Revenge" on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.  
  
  https://youtu.be/eF1f3IJanxI
  
  Children of Eve comes out May 2, 2025 on Season of Mist.
  
  Pre-order & Pre-save
  https://orcd.co/nightfallchildrenofeve

  
  Can't wait for the arrival of Children of Eve? You can listen to the whole album tomorrow during Nightfall's Bandcamp listening party.
  
  Nightfall Children of Eve Bandcamp Listening Party

  Thursday, April 17 @ 1 pm Eastern Time / 7 pm Central European Summer Time
  
  RSVP
  https://nightfallofficial.bandcamp.com/live/children-of-eve-listening-party

  Though they stand proudly among the unholy trinity of Greek metal, Nightfall have always separated themselves from the pack. They were the first band in the country's history to sign an international record deal and perform at Wacken Open Air. "Well, here is one of the rare, original bands", wrote Angry Metal Guy about one of their more astronomical concept albums.
  
  Read the tracklist out loud and it's clear that the message behindChildren of Eve is aimed at overzealous devils. But even though the band have sharpened their attack, "Seeking Revenge" shows that Nightfall still have a flare for the dramatic. Operatic vocals climb like a fallen angel over Fotis Benardo's coliseum-shaking drum fills and what sounds like a dark, alien strobe of light. 
  
  "I bought a Yamaha synthesizer secondhand in 2000", says Efthimis. "What you hear at the beginning of this song is the same riff that I recorded on that synth 25 years ago".

  While their fearsome frontman does wield a cloak and dagger onstage, when "Seeking Revenge" hits the chorus, Nightfall go straight for the kill. Guitarist Kostas Kyriakopoulos down-picks chug like an army of horses. "I am the fire in your eyes",  Efthimis growls, stoked by the smoldering bass of Vasiliki Biza and synths that don't shimmer but pierce across the sky.  
  
  Living under the Eastern Orthodox Church over the past three decades has only deepened Nightfall's disdain for overzealous rulers. "Anger was the root", Efthimis says when asked what birthed Children of Eve. But while their latest rebellion was spurred by the ongoing rise of so-called "holy wars" around the globe, the album's message is personal. When the band retreated amongst the shadows during their 2010's hiatus, Efthimis was diagnosed with depression. He now wears a black mask that covers half of his face to show what it's like to live under the invisible veil of mental illness.
  
  "Mental illness can lead to self-isolation", says Efthimis, a stigma he's now fighting through his new initiative Metal Music against Depression. "We can talk about this. We can sing about it. We can build a community that's based on understanding".       
  
  To amplify the message behind their new album, Nightfall boosted the production for Children of Eve. Once again, Efthimis and drummer Fotis Benardo took charge of the production with a guiding hand from InnerWish guitarist Thimios Krikos. But the album was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen, who's helped Volbeat, Amaranthe and The Black Dahlia Murder crank their metallic fury to arena levels. With its beastly crescendo, "Seeking Revenge" will incite the blackened masses to raise their horns when Nightfall bless the world stage with Children of Eve.
  
  “We're excited to play this album live", Efthimis says. "The songs sound massive. The choruses are huge. And there’s a clear message that comes through”.  

  The video for "Seeking Revenge" was created by Instagoodpromotions (@instagoodpromotion).

  Read more