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• WACKEN METAL BATTLE CANADA Announces BC and Ontario 2025 Battle Rounds - One Band To Rule Them All & Play Wacken Open Air

  Dec 19, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

  WACKEN METAL BATTLE CANADA Announces BC and Ontario 2025 Battle Rounds  - One Band To Rule Them All & Play Wacken Open Air

  

  One Band To Rule Them All! After another record-breaking year of submissions from independent bands across the country, Wacken Metal Battle Canada is proud to announce this year's British Columbia and Ontario 2025 battles, which could see one unsigned band 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 British Columbia and Ontario battles will be held in the following cities and dates with more to be announced for Canada. The national final will be held in Vancouver, BC on May 31st, 2025 at The Rickshaw Theatre.

  2025 Canadian Wacken Battles:​
  ​
  ​British Columbia Dates:​
  March 1 - Vancouver Round 1 @ The Cobalt
  March 2 - BC Interior Round @ Jackknife Brewing
  March 22 - Vancouver Round 2 @ The Cobalt
  March TBC - Vancouver Island Round @ Lucky Bar
  May 3 - BC Final @ The Cobalt
  May 31 - National Final @ The Rickshaw, Vancouver
  ​
  ​Ontario Dates:​
  January 10 - London Round @ Rum Runners
  Atria (guest headliner), Death Club, Dead Days, 4HateU8
  FB: https://www.facebook.com/events/1944970149316798/
  Ticket link: https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/whacken-metal-battle-2025-rum-runners-tickets/14091163
  ​
  January 24 - Hamilton Round @ Main Stage Rehearsal
  The Good Depression, Killotine, Zero Tolerance, Devilz By Definition, Zero End
  Ticket link: https://wackenmetalbattle.bigcartel.com/product/wacken-metal-battle-jan-24-hamilton
  ​
  January 25 - Toronto Round 1 @ Hard Luck
  Pillars of Autumn, Ischemic, Purveyor of Chaos, Unkle Skurvey
  Ticket link: https://wackenmetalbattle.bigcartel.com/product/wacken-metal-battle-jan-25-toronto
  ​
  February 1 - Toronto Round 2@ Hard Luck
  Seagrave, Nepenthe, Panic Response, The Animal Warfare Act
  Ticket link: https://wackenmetalbattle.bigcartel.com/product/wacken-metal-battle-feb-1-toronto

  Edmonton, AB - TBA
  Calgary, AB - TBA
  Ottawa, ON - TBA
  Montreal, QC - TBA
  Quebec City, QC - TBA

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

  The 2024 WMBC national final was held in Edmonton, AB at The Starlite Room on May 25th and witnessed regional winners Arrow In The Quiver (Vancouver, BC), Infrastrvctvre (Calgary, AB), Age of Ashes (Edmonton, AB), Beguiler (Toronto, ON) and Red Raven Chaos (Montreal, QC) along with special guest headliners NECHT (Calgary, AB - 2023 National Finalist).

  The night was MC'd by Gord Alexander (Tessitura, Tides of Kharon) and judged by an industry panel that included JJ Tartaglia (Wacken Metal Battle Canada, Boonsdale Records, Skull Fist, Thunderor - Toronto, ON), Luc Lainé (CFLX 95,5 FM - Alerte Metallique - Sherbrooke, QC), Dan Cleary (Striker), Kim Aebly (The Invisible Orange, Vancouver, BC), Dana Zuk (Dana Zuk Photography - Edmonton, AB), Jon Asher (Asher Media Relations - Montreal, QC), Nancy Barnes (Big Nate Productions - Calgary, AB), Celestia Scarlett (Owner/Artist Manager - The Celestial Agency- Calgary, AB) and Steve DC (Strigampire - 2023 National WMBC Winner - Trois-Rivières, QC).

  After each band presented their furious rallying battle performance, the only one that stood out from the rest was crowned 2024 champion Toronto's Beguiler who moved on to perform as the only independent Canadian band at the International Battle at Wacken Open Air 2024 (July 31st – August 3rd).

  Live Full Video of 2024 WMBC National Final in Edmonton, AB - https://www.youtube.com/live/dCYiImMkzq4​

  List of previous WMBC national winners Beguiler (Toronto, ON - 2024), Strigampire (Trois-Rivières, QC - 2023), The Slyde (Toronto, ON - 2019), Centuries of Decay (Toronto, ON - 2018), Profaner (Hamilton, ON - 2016), Vesperia (Toronto, ON - 2015), Mutank (Montreal, QC - 2014), Crimson Shadows (Toronto, ON - 2013).

  Info:

  Since 2013, with a pause year in 2017 and 2020 due to COVID-19, Wacken Metal Battle Canada 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.

  About:

  Wacken Metal Battle Canada 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 Canada 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 giving 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 Canadian national final (date and city to be determined). The winner of the national final will move on to perform at the Wacken Open Air 2025 and compete against the winners of 29 other countries in a final global battle. All battle rounds are judged by respected local music industry representatives.

  Rules for participation: https://www.metal-battle.com/rules/​

  Links:​
  ​Metal-Battle.com​​
  ​Facebook.com/WMBCanada.official​
  ​Twitter.com/MetalBattleCan​
  ​Instagram.com/MetalBattleCanada.Official​

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  Media Partners:​
  Bravewords.com
  Metal-Rules.com
  Absolute Underground Magazine
  BrokenNeckRadio.com
  V13.net
  MetalDevastationRadio
  Rich Embury (internationally syndicated DJ)
  GhostCultMag.com
  Rocknroam.ca
  Vox & Hops Podcast
  The Metal Voice

  Promoter Partners:​
  Boonsdale Records
  Dungeonworks Productions
  The Invisible Orange
  Big Nate Productions
  ConcertWorks
  Asher Media Relations

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• THE CONVALESCENCE Announces "No Survivors Tour Part 2" w/ Casket Robbery, Ignominious, Voraath, Green Jelly, The Bunny The Bear On Select Dates

  Aug 27, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  Blending black metal/horror theatrics with intense death metal style blast beats and shredding guitar along with brutal slamming breakdowns and catchy melodies, Toledo, OH symphonic deathcore band The Convalescence unleashed their latest album entitled "Harvesters Of Flesh And Bone" this past November on Cleopatra Records.

  Featuring 11 tracks of relentless brutality, each song is its own short horror story. For this record, The Convalescence really wanted to continue down the path of what they've done on past releases "This Is Hell" and "Monument Of Misery" but also experiment with some new ideas while still bringing everyone the gore-filled lyrics and bloodthirsty riffs that their fans expect. After 2 years of work on the full-length, The Convalescence expects "Harvesters Of Flesh And Bone" will be received well by the fans. The album features guests Scott Ian Lewis (Carnifex) and Ricky Myers (Suffocation) and was produced and mixed by Jason Suecof (The Black Dahlia Murder, Carnifex, Deicide, Job For A Cowboy) plus mastered by Christian Donaldson (Cryptopsy).

  In support of the full-length, the band toured across the USA and Canada with dates with Obituary, King 810, Green Jelly, Monochromatic Black, Sea of Trechery, and more, earlier this summer. They now continue this Fall, with"No Survivors Tour Part 2" with support on select dates from Casket Robbery, Ignominious, and Voraath. The tour will also be supporting Green Jelly & The Bunny The Bear on select dates. (dates listed below).

  Filthy, brutal, and symphonic, The Convalescence is not to be missed! All tickets are available at tconband.com.

  "Harvesters Of Flesh And Bone" is available from Cleopatra Records at the following links:

  CD / Vinyl - https://www.indiemerchstore.com/collections/the-convalescence​

  Digital - https://orcd.co/theconvalescence_harvesters

  The Convalescence "No Survivors Tour Part 2"​

  Tickets are available at https://tconband.com​

  Oct. 5 - Toledo, OH @ The Ottawa Tavern w/Green Jelly
  Oct. 6 - Lakewood, OH @ The Foundry Concert Club w/Green Jelly
  Oct. 7 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Hard Rock Cafe
  Oct. 8 - Hartford, CT @ The Webster Underground
  Oct. 10 - Clifton, NJ @ Dingbatz
  Oct. 11 - Mechanicsburg, PA @ Lovedraft's Brewing Co.
  Oct. 12 - Raleigh, NC @ Chapel Of Bones
  Oct. 13 - Charlotte, NC @ The Neighborhood Theatre
  Oct. 14 - Nashville, TN @ The End
  Oct. 15 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
  Oct. 16 - Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle
  Oct. 17 - New Haven, IN @ Carl's Tavern
  Oct. 18 - Detroit, MI @ Harpo's Concert Theatre
  Oct. 19 - Madison, WI @ The Annex
  Oct. 20 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Bigs Bar
  Oct. 22 - Saint Paul, MN @ Turf Club
  Oct. 23 - Des Moines, IA @ Lefty's Live Music
  Oct. 24 - Bloomington, IL @ Nightshop
  Oct. 25 - Battle Creek, MI @ The Music Factory
  Oct. 26 - Bedford Park, IL @ Hell Over Midway w/The Bunny The Bear

  For more info:​
  ​http://tconband.com​
  ​https://www.facebook.com/theconvalescence​
  ​https://www.instagram.com/theconvalescenceofficial​
  ​https://twitter.com/tconband

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• STRIKER Unveils Music Video "Live To Fight Another Day" + Shredding North America Tour w/ Seven Kingdoms, Lutharo, Osyron

  Aug 20, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  Every day is a new day! And STRIKER has a new music video "Live To Fight Another Day" to announce their upcoming USA and Canada tour dates with Floridian power metallers SEVEN KINGDOMS, Hamilton, ON's melodic metallers LUTHARO and Calgary, AB's thunderous progressive symphonic metallers OSYRON whom will support select dates.

  Striker will kick off preliminary dates with a performance at ProgPower USA in Atlanta, GA on September 4th followed by Canadian shows with Lutharo in September, and then push things into full gear in November to start the "Shredding North America Tour" in Corpus Christi, TX on November 9th and wrap up the month-long tour in Orlando, FL on December 8th (dates listed below).

  "Live To Fight Another Day" is off the shred master's new album "ULTRAPOWER" produced with Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore, Tallah, King 810) released this past February. The band explains the track:

  "Originally this was just a regular Striker song. Tim had the idea that we should just try turning it into a synth-wave track. It fits like a glove. We’ve always been into Synthwave but never had the guts to do it ourselves. Until now! This is our first attempt at it and we are stoked about how it turned out. This one is another track about keeping it together and taking on life one day at a time."

  Watch the video for "Live To Fight Another Day" below.

  ​

  "ULTRAPOWER" is the seventh full-length from Striker and follows their Juno Award-winning self-released record "Play to Win" (2018) unleashed on their label Record Breaking Records.

  With the band writing material since 2018, "ULTRAPOWER" is a collection of Striker tinkering and exploring new avenues. From the album's opening track "Circle of Evil", a Malmsteen-esque metal banger about secret societies and the evil dealings behind closed doors to their previously released single "BEST of the BEST of the BEST" serving up some big riffs and hockey arena vocals to "Blood Magic", which might be one of Striker's most progressive songs, taking cues from bands like King Diamond, with its unconventional structure and punctuated guitar solos. From the band delving into their obsession for late 80s AOR and pop rock with "City Calling", an ode to 1987, and bands like Toto and Kenny Loggins with their hook-powered albums. To fans experiencing the band's first attempt at a synth-wave track with "Live To Fight Another Day", this new offering sees Striker making a shredding love letter to the hard-rocking era of guilty pleasures.

  The band comments on the album:

  "Starting with the album cover, we wanted the artwork to represent how we feel as a band right now. We are an engine that is fired up and ready to roll. We’re made of metal and our circuits gleam! The album itself is an amalgamation of 5 years of writing and exploring music. With influences from AOR to Speed Metal, Hardcore to Hair Metal, Steely Dan to Deathcore, you name it, it made its way into the album. In the end with the help of Josh Schroeder’s guiding hand, we melted it all together to present something uniquely Striker. Lyrically we’ve stuck to the Striker tradition of writing montage songs for movies that don’t exist, songs about our spiraling serfdom, and lyrics about the evils that lurk in the shadows."

  "ULTRAPOWER" is available at https://www.striker-metal.com/shop/ (CD, Vinyl, Digital)

  Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3SnIshu​

  

  Tour Dates:​
  Sept 4 - Center Stage - ProgPower USA - Atlanta, GA
  ​
  ​Striker, Lutharo​
  Sept 11 - La Source de la Martinière - Quebec City, QC
  Sept 12 - Piranha Bar - Montreal, QC
  Sept 13 - Overflow Brewing Company - Ottawa, ON
  Sept 14 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, ON
  ​
  ​Shredding North America - Seven Kingdoms, Striker, Lutharo, Osyron ​
  # = w/ Osyron
  Nov 9 – Boozers Rock Bar – Corpus Christi, TX
  Nov 10 – Come And Take It Live – Austin, TX
  Nov 11 – Haltom Theater – Haltom, TX
  Nov 12 – 89th Street – Oklahoma City, OK
  Nov 13 – Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM
  Nov 14 – Vultures – Colorado Springs, CO
  Nov 16 – Last Exit Live – Mesa, AZ
  Nov 17 – Sinwave – Las Vegas, NV
  Nov 18 – Brick by Brick – San Diego, CA
  Nov 19 – Knucklehead – Los Angeles, CA
  Nov 20 – DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
  Nov 21 – Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
  Nov 22 – El Corazon – Seattle, WA
  Nov 24 – Jackknife – Kelowna, BC
  Nov 25 – Dicken’s – Calgary, AB #
  Nov 26 – The Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB #
  Nov 27 – The Black Cat – Saskatoon, SK #
  Nov 28 – Sidestage – Winnipeg, MB #
  Nov 29 – TBA – St. Paul, MN
  Nov 30 – Reggie’s – Chicago, IL
  Dec 1 – Sanctuary – Detroit, MI
  Dec 3 – Meadows – Brooklyn, NY
  Dec 4 – Metro – Baltimore, MD
  Dec 5 – Hangar 1819 – Greensboro, NC
  Dec 6 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
  Dec 7 – The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
  Dec 8 – Conduit – Orlando, FL

  More info: Striker-metal.com

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• Streaming Now! APE VERMIN’s “Andromedas Colossus” Is A Sludgy Progressive Prelude To Planetary Destruction + USA Tour Dates

  May 16, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

  Ape Vermin is an American 3-piece metal act delivering a hellish avalanche of sludge with progressive and thrash tendencies. Hailing from Valdese, North Carolina, the trio is composed of guitarist/vocalist Brett Lee, drummer Seth Lynn and bassist Jared Edge. They vow to continue pushing the boundaries of the genre with “Andromedas Colossus” a thrilling, space-themed concept album that is out on May 17th. Lee speaks on the record and its potential reception:

  “This record is going to be well received by most of the ‘Metal’ Community. We are a Sludge metal band pushing the boundaries with progressive and thrash metal as well. Fans can most definitely expect more crushing material from us, we have a lot of stuff on the line for the next LP as well.”

  Across ten tracks, listeners will encounter an atmospheric and tribal acoustic intro that gives way to crushing metal with a machine gun-like double bass. Evil instrumentals and guitar leads reminiscent of Dimebag Darrell and Kerry King in their prime and enough low-end to destroy planets.

  Inspired by outer space phenomenon, extra-terrestrials, prehistoric tales, murder, psychedelics, and sci-fi horror games, “Andromedas Colossus” will take listeners on an expansive voyage into the unknown. This album is extremely dynamic, melodic, visceral, and brutal and the lyrics are extremely dark. It is recommended for fans of Mastodon, Yob, and Conan.

  Due out May 17th, 2024, “Andromedas Colossus” can be heard via its full stream premiere on DoomedandStoned HERE.

  Album pre-order - https://apevermin.bandcamp.com/​

  Track Listing:​
  1. Obliteration Imminent - 5:12
  2. Colony - 7:00
  3. Solaruss - 5:30
  4. Pulse Driver - 3:47
  5. Mining The Colossus - 8:06
  6. Signal Transmissions - 2:45
  7. Motherlode - 8:32
  8. Awakened - 3:17
  9. Unearthing the Artifact - 7:43
  10. Return to Andromeda - 7:57

  APE VERMIN - Riders of the Damned Tour Dates:​
  5/17 Spartanburg, S.C - Ground Zero
  5/18 Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits
  5/19 Tampa, FL - Brass Mug
  5/21 New Orleans, LA - The Goat
  5/22 Houston, TX - Black Magic Social Club
  5/23 Fort Worth, TX - Haltom Theatre
  5/24 San Antonio, TX - Bonds Rock Bar
  5/25 Laredo, TX - Cold Brew Rock Bar
  5/26 Austin, TX - Valhalla
  5/28 El Paso, TX - Rockhouse Bar & Grill
  5/29 Tucson, AZ - The Rock
  5/30 Phoenix, AZ - Blooze Bar
  6/1 Richmond, CA - Baltic Kiss
  6/2 Reno, NV - Alturus Bar
  6/4 Salt Lake City, UT - International Bar
  6/5 Casper, WY - The Gaslight Social
  6/7 Ridgeway, CO - The Sherbino
  6/8 Denver, CO - Hermans Hideaway
  6/12 Asheville, N.C - The Odditorium
  ​

  More info: Facebook.com/ProgressiveDoom | Instagram.com/ape_vermin_official

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