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• THIRTEEN GOATS Announces Vancouver Island Tour Dates w/ OPAL IN SKY, NAMELESS KING + New Album “Capricorn Rising” Out Now!

  Dec 5, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

  NEWS RELEASE

  THIRTEEN GOATS Announces Vancouver Island Tour Dates w/ OPAL IN SKY, NAMELESS KING

  New Album “Capricorn Rising” Out Now! via Exitus Strategem Records

  "It's really strong. GREAT musicians, great production, as well as a very progressive aspect without losing the darkness." - Kelly Schaefer, Atheist

  Vancouver, Canada’s Thirteen Goats will be storming Vancouver Island, BC in March 2025 for the "Tour of The Black Flame" supporting OPAL IN SKY alongside NAMELESS KING (dates listed below). Thirteen Goats is performing in support of their second album—the extreme metal rock opera “Capricorn Rising” unleashed on Exitus Stratagem Records this past July.

  Tour of The Black Flame w/ Opal In Sky, Nameless King, Thirteen Goats​
  Tickets available at - https://orangetickets.ca/
  March 20 - Nanaimo, BC - The Globe
  March 21 - Victoria, BC - Phoenix Bar
  March 22 - Port Alberni, BC - Rainbow Room
  March 23 - Cumberland, BC - Masonic Hall

  Thirteen Goats's "Capricorn Rising," tells the story of their mascot, Shepherd: a goat-skull-wearing Antichrist who raises an army of animals to liberate the earth from humanity’s constant wars and greed. This high-concept narrative is delivered with Thirteen Goats' signature blend of infernal riffs, huge hooks, and uniquely theatrical songwriting.

  Each song on the album is part of a broader narrative that explores themes of disillusionment, radicalization, and rebellion as Shepherd and his 12 demon goats wage their crusade. Thirteen Goats delivers a unique blend of death and thrash metal, combined with a storytelling approach that takes listeners on a journey through the darkest aspects of both human and animal nature.

  Listeners can expect furious riffage, ambitious song structures, and even occasional female guest vocals (courtesy of guest artist Carly Ellen Jones). What they shouldn’t expect is a record that plays it safe or falls neatly into one specific subgenre. Thirteen Goats is recommended for fans of Lamb of God, Carcass, and Mastodon.

  Released on July 12, 2024, “Capricorn Rising” is available from Exitus Stratagem Records at https://www.exsrmusic.com/store/p/pre-sale-thirteen-goats-capricorn-rising

  Spotify - https://spoti.fi/41hkue1​​

  Track Listing:​
  1. Sign of the Goat (4:53)
  2. Murder Lives in the Heart (5:30)
  3. A Wolf in Shepherd’s Clothing (4:10)
  4. Global Fuckup (3:57)
  5. Beheading Zoo (3:44)
  6. Permission to Die (3:48)
  7. Beating the Disease (4:24)
  8. Goats of War (5:25)
  9. Animal Kingdom (6:19)

  More info: Exsrmusic.com | ThirteenGoats.com

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• Reminder - Deadline Dec 15th - WACKEN METAL BATTLE USA Band Submissions For 2025 Battles - One Band To Conquer Them All & Play Wacken Open Air

  Dec 5, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

  Reminder - Deadline Dec 15th - WACKEN METAL BATTLE USA Band Submissions For 2025 Battles

  One Band To Conquer Them All & Play Wacken Open Air

  

  Spotify - 2024 WMBU National Finalists Playlist - https://spoti.fi/4cbAEb8​

  One Band To Conquer Them All! The December 15th deadline is nearing for independent American bands to apply to the 2025 battles for Wacken Metal Battle USA.

  Unsigned bands ONLY can apply. Please fill out your information at the following link (please select USA and then the City that your band would like to perform in) - https://www.metal-battle.com​

  (Band Submissions End December 15th, 2024 - 11:59 PM PST)

  The 2025 battles are held nationwide across the USA for one independent band to be crowned champion and perform at one of the world's most prestigious and largest already sold-out metal festivals Wacken Open Air (July 30th – August 2nd) (Attendance of over 80,000 people in Wacken, Germany for over 30 years).

  ​

  The 2025 WMBU champion will receive the following:
  - A slot at the 2025 Wacken Open Air Festival.
  - Full professional backline provided.
  - $1,000 USD towards flights to Germany.
  - VIP camping at the festival.

  2025 battles will be taking place in the following cities:

  (National Final on June 21st in Clifton, NJ at Dingbatz)

  New York, NY
  Clifton, NJ
  Baltimore, MD
  Tampa, FL
  Portland, OR
  Seattle, WA
  Bay Area, CA
  Los Angeles, CA
  Orange County, CA
  Sacramento, CA
  San Diego, CA
  Austin, TX
  Dallas, TX
  Corpus Christi, TX
  Houston, TX
  San Antonio, TX

  The 2024 WMBU national final was held in San Diego at Brick By Brick with regional winners Cascade Effect (San Diego), WarTroll (NorCal), Versipul (PNW), Prime Prophecy (East Coast), and Father Wolf (Texas).

  Judged by an industry panel that included Rod Kukla (Silver Lining Music), Craig Goldy (Dio), Derek Engemann (Scour, Phil Anselmo and the Illegals, ex-Cattle Decapitation), and Patrick Stone (Adler's Appetite, Budderside), the band that reigned the stage and proved themselves worthy of gracing the holy land of metal at Wacken Open Air in Germany was crowned 2024 champion, San Diego's Cascade Effect.

  As the 2024 crowned USA champion, Cascade Effect went on to perform as the only independent American band at the International Battle at Wacken Open Air 2024 (July 31st – August 3rd).​

  List of previous WMBU national winners, Cascade Effect (2024 - San Diego), Fadrait (2023 - San Diego) Mythraeum (2022 - San Diego), Monarch (2019 - San Diego), Voices of Ruin (2018 - Anaheim) and Corpse Hoarder (2017 - Philadelphia).

  2024 battles were hosted in the following cities: New York, NY, Clifton, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, Bay Area, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Orange County, CA, Sacramento, CA, San Diego, CA, Austin, TX, Dallas, TX, El Paso, TX, Houston, TX, San Antonio, TX.

  For the last 6 years of battles (2017-2019, 2022, 2023, 2024), Wacken Metal Battle USA has hosted battles across the country to send one independent metal band to perform at the world’s largest metal festival Wacken Open Air in Wacken, Germany. 2019 saw the festival celebrate its 30th anniversary, but due to Covid, the 2020 and 2021 editions were both canceled. As the metal community regains its strength, Wacken Open Air 2025 will be the 34th edition of the festival and will be held from July 30th – August 2nd. The 2025 event is already sold out with a line-up that includes Machine Head, Saltatio Mortis, Papa Roach, Gojira, Apocalyptica, Saxon, Within Temptation, Dimmu Borgir, Ministry, and many more. Details here.

  Wacken Metal Battle USA is part of an international competition that sees bands from across the country battle each other for the chance to win their spot among 30 other countries’ champions, and represent the USA in an international battle of the bands at the world’s largest outdoor metal festival: Wacken Open Air. The battles have been hosted at the festival for over a decade and give independent bands the opportunity to showcase their talents to an international audience along with the chance to win multiple prizes.

  How it works:​
  ​Participating cities will host qualifying rounds plus a city final organized by a local city concert promoter where one band will move forward to the American national final (date and city to be determined). The winner of the national final will move on to perform at the Wacken Open Air 2024 and compete against the winners of 30 other countries in a final global battle. All bands will be judged during battle rounds by respected local music industry representatives.

  Links:​
  ​Metal-Battle.com​
  ​MetalBattleUSA.com​
  ​Facebook.com/metalbattleusa​.official​
  ​Twitter.com/MetalBattleUSA​
  ​Instagram.com/metalbattleusa.official

  ​

  - 30 -

  Sponsors / Partners:​
  Bravewords.com
  MetalDevastationRadio.com
  Metal-Rules.com
  V13.net
  GhostCultMag.com
  Dungeon Works Productions
  Asher Media Relations
  Fatal Illness Management
  Come And Take It Productions
  Brick By Brick
  VonWolfe Entertainment
  TMI Collaborations
  Dingbatz
  Dean Guitars

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• Finnish Melodic Death Metal Outfit VOIDFALLEN Unleash New Video for "Branding of Souls"! ​ 

  Dec 4, 2024 Al Feliciano 0 Comments

  Finnish melodic death metal outfit VOIDFALLEN has dropped their new single, "Branding of Souls", a heavy-hitting track that showcases the band's signature blend of aggression and melody. The song is taken from their upcoming new album, "The Rituals of Resilience", slated for release on January 24th, 2025, via Noble Demon. "Branding of Souls" is accompanied by a powerful new music video.

  Listen to the single  https://music.nobledemon.com/branding

  "This song represents a darker and more aggressive side of Voidfallen: relentless beats, ominous choirs and truculent vocals create the soundtrack for the message of the song", the band comments. "Branding of Souls can mean a different thing to everyone. To one it might be spiritual but to another it might be political. The core message is still the same: fight and resist the ill and draconian oppression that is forced upon you."

  "The Rituals of Resilience" will be out on January 24, 2025, via Noble Demon and is available for pre-order at THIS LOCATION

   

   

   

  Voidfallen are:
  Lauri Honkola: Vocals
  Henri Vuorenmaa: Guitars
  Tommi Kangaskortet: Guitars
  Lauri Myllylä: Bass
  Mika Lumijärvi: Drums

   

  For more info visit:

  https://www.facebook.com/voidfallenofficial 
  https://www.instagram.com/voidfallenofficial/ 
  https://voidfallen.bandcamp.com/ 

  https://linktr.ee/nobledemon

   

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• ABDUCTION Release Immersive New Single "Razors of Occam" + Music Video

  Dec 4, 2024 Al Feliciano 0 Comments

  UK extreme metallers ABDUCTION have released their immersive second single, "Razors of Occam", a gripping prelude to the forthcoming album, 'Existentialismus,' due for release on February 21, 2025, via Candlelight. The track serves as a visceral glimpse into the band’s otherworldly, introspective universe, while its haunting video, directed by Jake Kindred, draws viewers deep into the emotional abyss of ABDUCTION's world. 

   

  "'Razors of Occam' is a celebration of the back-breaking labour that our grandfathers and grandmothers endured over the past century to build the houses and systems that maintain our (relative) safety and comfort here in the west', comments vocalist A|V. '"There's more honour in the last gasping breath, spilled forth from a dying old man's chest, than in all the seas of all the tears the younger can conjure. For with one wish, they'd give it all away."

   

  Following their explosive 2022 album, 'Black Blood,' which showcased the band's fiercely expansive sound, ABDUCTION is now poised to push their musical boundaries even further. With many bands currently paying homage to black metal’s glory years and just as many attempting to connect unrelated workings to that legacy, ABDUCTION’s music manages to be both recognizably authentic and imbued with its spirit. And never has this been truer than in the new album, 'Existentialismus'.

   

   

  Watch the Video for "Razors of Occam" HERE

  Having become one of the UK’s most visible black metal acts on the live circuit, bringing their ritualistic and immersive performances to audiences at club shows and festivals such as Damnation, Bloodstock, Incineration, Fortress, Mass Destruction, Samhain, Reaperfest, and Eradication, 'Existentialismus' has been recorded, for the first time, as a full band.   “It’s inspired by the juxtaposition of this horrible post-truth era with its contradictions and the simple, metaphorical truths that began in ancient religions of the crumbling past. Somewhere between a biblical gospel and a Nietzschean nightmare. As a father, there’s a particular terror in seeing all that our grandfathers built, physically and morally, being torn apart and reduced to a commodity and wondering what kind of world my son will inherit.”   “I am by no means a philosopher – I desperately lack the patience,” A|V admits. “But my observations of the modern Western humane race have become particularly bleak, and this informs my lyrical writing process. Art as a reaction to life and experience. This is laid out in the first track, ‘A Legacy of Sores’, which posits that most of us here, in the current year, have become an alarming pairing of being both too sensitive and yet without any core beliefs to stand on. (‘Wet skin now paper thin, reveals a core of dust’) I think this is a mixture of a post-religious society and the acceleration of technology to the point at which its claws are deeply in us. Have you tried to live without a smartphone recently?”   'Existentialismus' was recorded and produced by Ian Boult at Stuck On A Name Studios in Nottingham, while the final touches of post-production and mastering were handled by Tore Stjerna (Watain, Mayhem, Deströyer 666) at Necromorbus Studios in Sweden. The striking and immersive cover art is the work of Julia Soboleva.

  Pre-Order 'Existentialismus' HERE

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• DREAM HEAVY's New Single "Survival" ft. Haida Hip Hop Artist Ms.PANIK Warns of An Imminent Apocalyptic Future

  Dec 4, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

  Canada's DREAM HEAVY's New Single "Survival" ft. Haida Hip Hop Artist Ms.PANIK Warns of An Imminent Apocalyptic Future

  New EP Coming 2025

  Weaving together ethereal vocals, rich harmonies, and intricate guitar along with violin melodies, Dunster, BC, Canada's Dream Heavy is a melodic and enchanting world folk metal group. This past June, the band revealed their single “Song In The Dark” while they toured across British Columbia this summer.

  With a plan to release their yet-to-be-titled upcoming EP next year, the band is proud to present their latest thought-provoking single “Survival”.

  “Survival” (originally titled “Extinction”) was originally written in 2019 and early 2020 as a central theme for Wishbone Theater Productions' original Stage Play: “The Last Good Valley”, a somewhat macabre and darkly humorous fantasy of a possible imminent apocalyptic future.

  The creation of this piece of music took on a life of its own as the production was ironically halted due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

  At the time of the outbreak of the pandemic, Dream Heavy was just in the process of transitioning from playing as the “Samson's Delilah” duo to the bigger heavier sound of the full band.

  Band members were also personally involved in assisting and supporting the Wet'su'weten Hereditary Chiefs and land defenders in their fight against Coastal GasLink and the colonial governments of Canada and British Columbia who were illegally forcing a fracked gas pipeline across their territory.

  Considering the lyrical content of the song and the tense decolonization struggles being undertaken by their friends and allies at the time, Dream Heavy enlisted the help of Haida Hip Hop artist Ms.PANIK to write and record the mid-section of the track.

  The band comments on “Survival”:

  "Survival is both a stark reminder of the dire consequences of unmitigated climate change and a reminder of the still unresolved horrors of colonization. But it also offers a glimmer of hope to the listeners of an end to the “Colonial Apocalypse” and a focus on healing. This is a song that will have audiences dancing for change!"

  Listen to “Survival” ft. Ms.PANIK at the following links:

  ​Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3ZG9HYv

  Dream Heavy comes from the ashes of beloved bands like Mamaguroove and Samson's Delilah and credits their unique sound to a plethora of influences from metal, Latin, Celtic, and other world music traditions. Their music, characterized by its intensity and thought-provoking lyrics, has captivated audiences across Canada and beyond, earning them a place on campus radio Top 10 lists.

  Reflecting on the band's long journey, they share that Dream Heavy's sound has evolved from each member’s collective passion for sound, movement, and justice. With their forthcoming EP, they aim to create a sonic and lyrical soundscape that demands to be heard in its entirety—a journey of self-discovery and contemplation. Dream Heavy is recommended for fans of boundary-pushing music in the veins of Porcupine Tree, Kalandra, and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

  Previous Single - “Song In The Dark” at the following links:

  Spotify - https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/dreamheavy/song-in-the-dark​

  ​

  More info: Dreamheavy.ca | Facebook.com/dreamheavyproject | Instagram.com/dreamheavyproject

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