Search Results: fest

• PROG METAL MANIA (Munich, DE) Announces 2025 Lineup w/ SCAR SYMMETRY, DISILLUSION, XAON, OBSIDIOUS, POEM, F.K.Ü. and More!

  Jan 28, 2025 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

  PROG METAL MANIA (Munich, DE) Announces 2025 Lineup

  w/ SCAR SYMMETRY, DISILLUSION, XAON, OBSIDIOUS, POEM, F.K.Ü. and More!

  Offering an exciting mix of established greats as well as emerging, young bands, Prog Metal Mania Festival is making its event debut on May 2nd and 3rd in Munich, Germany at the world-famous Backstage, featuring the headliners SCAR SYMMETRY, DISILLUSION along with OBSIDIOUS, XAON, POEM, and more.

  Official Prog Metal Mania Spotify Playlist - https://spoti.fi/4aqkF9p​

  Shaping up to be a must-attend for Progressive Rock and Metal fans from Germany and beyond, the 2025 inaugural lineup sees 13 bands and one special guest hailing from Sweden, Germany, the UK, France, Greece, Italy, and Lebanon. While each one of them brings something special out of the broad Prog, Metal & Mania spectrum, most haven’t played in the Bavarian capital before or rarely visited Southern Germany until now.

  Organizer Katha states: “The idea for Prog Metal Mania came to life through the collaboration of Mostly Metal m/ & The Progspace and the common wish to bring certain bands on one of Munich’s most prestigious stages for heavy music. Even though it's a new festival, the response to the first announcements has been overwhelming, grateful for the warm welcome we got within the scene. We’re really happy to have so many fantastic bands on board, and can’t wait to celebrate their music and the festival’s debut with all those Prog Metal Maniacs from near and far!”

  Day split tickets and weekend passes are available at the following link HERE.

  Friday, May 2nd, 2025 - Doors 13:00, Stage times 13:30 - 23:30​
  Disillusion
  Obsidious
  F.K.Ü.
  Vulkan
  Loch Vostok
  Ihlo
  Jester’s Tears
  ​
  ​Saturday, May 3rd, 2025 – Doors 12:30, Stage times 13:00 - 23:30​
  Scar Symmetry
  Poem
  Xaon
  Turbulence
  Aeons
  Soulsplitter
  John Macaluso

  About The Bands - https://progmetalmania.com/en/Bands/​

  SCAR SYMMETRY – With legendary guitar wizard Per Nilsson as a driving force, the Swedish band perfectly blends mind-blowing riffs with virtuoso soloing, built up on mighty synth layers, complex yet groovy rhythms, and topped by a vigorous dual vocal attack. Fascinating Metal fans all over the world, they will play their first show in Munich after 12 years!

  DISILLUSION - With their special blend of Progressive Death Metal, the German band takes their audience from the top of the world to the end of the sea. By creating dense, multi-layered soundscapes and versatile movements at the forefront of artistic concepts, they already released three rich, fully matured Metal masterpieces.

  OBSIDIOUS – Named after black volcanic glass, the group’s moniker exudes something dark, of fiery origin, and metaphorically offers a nearly limitless platform for expression and advancement. Having caught the Extreme Metal scene by storm with their iconic debut in 2022, the international Tech Death powerhouse is set to blow the roof off at Prog Metal Mania 2025!

  TURBULENCE – The Lebanese masters of musical story-telling even make a robot dream with their marvelous soundscapes and virtuosic playing, inviting their listeners on captivating, emotional journeys.

  JOHN MACALUSO - Born in the US, now living in Italy, the legendary drummer has already played on over 200 albums (ARK, Michael Romeo, Powermad, Yngwie Malmsteen…) and countless tours. He will present a special show for fans of hot rhythms and cool stories with his terrific, versatile playing and some glimpses behind the scenes.

  XAON - The French Symphonic Death Metal band spreads its wings on the hunt for nothing less than epicness. By melting the raw energy of Extreme Metal with the finesse and vehemence of a mighty orchestra, their music is absolutely mind-blowing, yet with an amazing sense for details - Brutal and beautiful at the same time.

  VULKAN – The Swedish band with the eruptive name offers mesmerizing melodies to immerse yourself in, served on a layer of intriguing rhythms with a true sense for incredibly atmospheric soundscapes.

  LOCH VOSTOK – By bringing together raw beauty with complexity and finesse, their music comes along brutal yet with a catchy grooviness, delivering fat choruses, shredalicious solos, and poisonous hooks.

  POEM – There’s a certain beauty in melancholy, and the Greek quartet absolutely brings this to the top with its unique, intense compositions. The outstanding voice and expressive performance of singer George Prokopiou make each song a highly emotional experience.

  F.K.Ü. - Since there’s a huge overlapping between the Horror and the Metal communities, it seems like a great idea to bring these two beasts together, and F.K.Ü. clearly pull out all the stops on this. Heavily inspired by Freddy Krueger & Co, these four Swedish guys will bring Metal and Mania to Munich.

  AEONS – Hailing from the Isle of Man, the Progmetal powerhouse will come to Germany with three albums under their belt, taking their audience from the plains of the American West to ancient Greece, and even to the vast reaches of space with their mighty, musical tales.

  SOULSPLITTER – Following their combined musical vision, the German arts collective melts various stylistic splitters into a soulful, new whole. Over the past years, they delved deeper into a specific aspect of their signature sound where heavy guitars and intricate rhythms meet classical piano in a prominent position.

  IHLO – The band from Scotland blends modern Progressive Metal with electronic and pop influences to create a sound that is huge musically, emotionally crushing, and full of hooks. Their debut recently got a re-issue via Kscope, and with album No2 showing up on the horizon, they also might bring new music to Munich in May.

  JESTER’S TEARS - Even though the name of this Munich-based band might be quickly associated with an album title by Marillion, it is rather the multi-layered symbol for their music, and was actually inspired by Venice and its famous carnival. The five musicians will open Prog Metal Mania with their powerful mix of wonderful playfulness and complex, yet accessible songs.

  More info:

  ​https://progmetalmania.com​

  ​https://www.facebook.com/ProgMetalMania/​

  ​https://www.instagram.com/progmetalmania​

  ​https://linktr.ee/progmetalmania​

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• HYPERSPACE METALFEST Adds GREYHAWK, THE ASTRAL PROPHETS To 2025 Lineup w/ ENFORCER, PSYCHOSTICK, GLYPH, CRIMSON SHADOWS, LUNAR, OWLBEAR, RED CAIN and more!

  Jan 21, 2025 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  Returning for its 6th edition after another year of crowd-pleasing epic fun in Vancouver, B.C., Canada's premier melodic and power metal festival HYPERSPACE METAL FEST announces the addition of headliner GREYHAWK along with The Astral Prophets to their 2025 lineup to replace the unfortunate cancelations of Planeswalker and support from Heyoka's Mirror.

  Festival organizer Joey Hockin of Journeyman Productions adds:

  "There has been a shakeup in the Hyperspace lineup for this year. Planeswalker and Heyoka's Mirror have had to cancel their appearances this April. We're hoping that we'll be able to have them at the fest in the future, we're going to keep trying for next year. For this year please welcome newcomers The Astral Prophets and for the Friday night headliner, we have the mighty Greyhawk stepping up to play once again! Anyone who's seen them at Hyperspace before knows that they are going to tear the roof off!"

  Being hosted at The Cobalt (April 10 &11th) and the Rickshaw Theatre (April 12th), Hyperspace Metal Fest's 2025 lineup features headliners ENFORCER, PSYCHOSTICK, along with Crimson Shadows, Lunar, Owlbear, Tower Hill, Solarus, Red Cain, Tylor Dory Trio, Serpent Rider, Luminator, and Crüzer.

  HMF 2025 Lineup Spotify Playlist - https://spoti.fi/3T4kU2p

  Headlining Saturday, April 12th at The Rickshaw Theatre, Sweden's ENFORCER have proved themselves both live and on record, they stake their place amongst the world’s most renowned heavy metal bands since first forming in 2005. They have toured the world over, playing the biggest festivals and garnering a global fanbase. Their latest sixth studio album Nostalgia (released May 2023 - Nuclear Blast), features 13 heavy metal anthems and throws ENFORCER back to their speed metal roots. Fusing extreme guitar riffing with catchy stadium choruses, ENFORCER is out to conquer the world.

  ​

  Supporting ENFORCER on the closing night lineup will be Comedy Metal Kings PSYCHOSTICK. These humorcore titans bring forth a nostalgic escapade of sing-alongs and moshing fun with iconic titles such as "Beer!", "Numbers (I Can Only Count to Four)", "Dogs Like Socks", "Obey The Beard!", "Boobs", and their latest single "Ultra Mega Fast".

  ​

  The Saturday night lineup will also witness the return of the formidable force that is Toronto's Crimson Shadows bringing forth tales of fantasy and warfare in their fierce melodic power and death metal imbued sound. Thundering across the icy Canadian mountains, Crimson Shadows has awoken after five years away. The band has emerged from the dark and is preparing to forge its own path in this next stage of its journey. Across their defiant career stretching almost two decades, to date notable highlights of Crimson Shadows' journey include the band’s appearance at Wacken Open Air in Germany in mid-2013 and subsequent victory in obtaining the title of International Wacken Battle Champions. Alongside international performances, Crimson Shadows has ventured across the length and breadth of their homeland delivering brutality, technical prowess, and unyielding intensity in their melding of power and death.

  Headlining Friday, April 11th at The Cobalt and returning for their third time at HMF is Seattle's Greyhawk. This will be the band's first time headlining along with performing with new vocalist Anthony Corso. They are supporting their latest album "Thunderheart" released in April 2024 on Fighter Records, a division of Xtreem Music.

  The second night of the festival will also unleash the first-ever live performance of Lunar, a progressive metal project from California that features members from Helion Prime, Beholder, Vis Mystica, Mokili Wa, Nordic Frost, Outloud, and Double Vision. Founded by drummer Alex Bosson (Helion Prime, Planeswalker) and Ryan Erwin who passed away in 2018, LUNAR continues in his memory. This fourth full-length "Tempora Mutantur" out on January 31st via Saibot Reigns Records follows 2023's "The Illusionist" and features a fresh lineup with the addition of guitarists Carlos Alvarez and Connor McCray (Vis Mystica) along with keyboardist Anthony Stahl plus album guests Wayne Ingram (Wildrun), Joe Gullace (Thank You Scientist) and Sam Vallen (Caligula's Horse).

  Meant to perform on the 2024 lineup, but forced to cancel, Tylor Dory Trio returns for 2025, they are a monstrous progressive metal unit and beloved by many in Western Canada. This live performance on Friday, April 11th, will be their first following a nearly seven-year layoff. 

  Also added to the Friday lineup and opening the night is The Astral Prophets, a psychedelic rock/metal band from Calgary, AB featuring Apprentice, Lycanthro, and Scythia members. This is the band's first time on the fest although some members have played the fest before in previous groups. They will be supporting their latest 2023 EP "Anywhere But Here".

  Opening night of the festival, Thursday, April 10th at The Cobalt, will showcase the Pacific Northwest's Glyph, which is not just a heavy metal band, they are a crew of intergalactic mercenaries escaping a dying planet in their spaceship, the VSS Dragonlord. Clearly, Glyph isn’t just writing songs, they’re building worlds and they bring it forth in their latest album "Honor, Power, Glory" released this past March. 

  Traveling from Edmonton, AB, Tower Hill delivers premium old-school heavy metal inspired by bands like Running Wild, Riot, Judas Priest, early Blind Guardian, and Helloween. Forging the best of the late 80s and early 90s German, British, and US metal scenes into a new blend of shimmering steel, Tower Hill’s riff-driven, hook-laden traditional metal will have you banging your head and singing along.

  Replacing the originally announced Lost Nebula, Calgary's RED CAIN has been imported to perform their power-prog storytelling with Eastern European roots for the masses. They have been making waves since their first release in 2016, with award-winning music videos and concept albums “Kindred: Act I”, “Kindred: Act II” and "NÄE'BLISS". The albums contained a ton of genre inspirations, from gothic rock to ambient electronica, power, black, and death metal, and were universally lauded for their inventiveness, variety, and strong conceptual content. They continue this momentum with the latest singles "Firestarter" and "Demons II".

  ​Hyperspace Metal Festival VI - April 10th - 12th.​
  One-day passes and three-day passes are available at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/hyperspace-metal-festival-vi-tickets-1000996957847​

  Facebook Event - https://www.facebook.com/events/1637280440385808​

  Thursday, April 10th - The Cobalt​
  Glyph
  Tower Hill
  Red Cain
  Serpent Rider
  Crüzer
  ​
  ​Friday, April 11th - The Cobalt​
  Greyhawk
  Lunar
  Solarus
  Tylor Dory Trio
  The Astral Prophets
  ​
  ​Saturday, April 12th - The Rickshaw Theatre​
  Enforcer
  Psychostick
  Crimson Shadows
  Owlbear
  Luminator

  To follow updates for Hyperspace Metal Festival 2024, please visit the following links:
  ​Facebook.com/HyperspaceMetalFestival​
  ​Instagram.com/HyperspaceMetalFestival​
  
  

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• Canadian Thrashers MUTANK's New Album Wants You To "Think Before You Think"

  Nov 28, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  Seven years in the making since 2017's EP "W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T." and touring across Canada with Annihilator and Australia's Mason, and a short hiatus, Montreal, Canada's MUTANK are discharging their new album "Think Before You Think" on November 29th via Boonsdale Records.

  Before it is officially released, MUTANK has teamed up with Decibel Magazine to premiere the album's full-stream, which you can bang your head heavy to HERE.

  "This is Thrash for Metalheads by Metalheads! We have evolved from crossover to a more refined thrash band with longer and more intricate songs, it can be a bit proggy… The level of seriousness in songwriting is evident in the new album. We want this album to energize people and make them feel the way we do when we listen to some of our favourite artists. This album is the most material we have ever put out! 50 minutes of pure metal across 10 tracks. The songs picked themselves as we kept writing tracks we enjoyed playing. Lyrically we cover a lot of ground from the economy to time travel.” adds the band.

  MUTANK's new album "Think Before You Think" features ten volcanic thrash tracks to blaze a new path to jackhammer a pure audio assault. Live favourites such as "Running Reds", "Abortron", and "Thrash Primordial" are sure to please die-hard fans for easy repeat listens. With a passion for classic thrash and a desire to play radical riffs, MUTANK made a deservedly big impression on the Canadian metal scene with their debut EP "M.E.C.H METAL" and a performance at Wacken Open Air after being declared champions of the 2014 Wacken Metal Battle Canada competition.

  ​

  With their distinctive sound, the band moved forward in 2017, touring across Canada supporting ANNIHILATOR alongside Australia's MASON in support of their EP "W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T" (Boonsdale Records). Metal Injection also named the band "1 of 8 Hidden Gems in Canadian Metal You Need To Know" (Read here).

  2024 will be a tour de force for MUTANK with the payload of "Think Before You Think". Fans of D.R.I., Suicidal Tendencies, Havok, Megadeth, Overkill, and Exodus are sure to join them in the circle pit when it releases.

  CD Pre-Order (Limited to 250 copies) - https://boonsdale.bigcartel.com/product/mutank-think-before-you-think-cd-pre-order​

  Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3NLOS88​

  ​

  Track Listing:
  ​1. Illuminatus - 6:14
  2. Payback - 5:24
  3. All Against All - 4:43
  4. Channel Change - 5:11
  5. Bad Magnitude - 5:30
  6. Abortron - 3:37
  7. Groundbreaker - 2:08
  8. Metalheads For Hire - 5:37
  9. Running Reds - 6:27
  10. Thrash Primordial - 4:40
  Album Length: 49:38

  More Info: Boonsdalerecords.com | Facebook.com/bonebrainsnotdemolishers | Instagram.com/mutank_or_die | X.com/MUTANK

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• ARMSTRONG METALFEST Opens Up Band Submissions For 2025 Lineup! 15 Years of Mountain Moshing In The Okanagan!

  Oct 1, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  Western Canada's largest mountain mosh pit Armstrong MetalFest will be celebrating 15 years of bringing extreme metal music fans from across Canada and beyond to British Columbia's Okanagan Valley with their forthcoming 2025 lineup being held on July 11th-12th in Armstrong at the Hassen Arena.

  This 15th annual gathering of metalheads will once again witness two days of unforgettable moshing, headbanging, and camping. From iconic headliners to promising newcomers, the 2025 lineup is set to showcase the best of diverse metal genres, ensuring an electrifying experience for all.

  Bands interested in applying to perform at the 2025 festival can submit at the following link from October 1st to 15th: https://armstrongmetalfest.ca/band-submissions/

  In addition to band submissions opening for 2025, Armstrong MetalFest has been honoured with the Tourism and Hospitality Award at the Armstrong Spallumcheen Community Excellence Award Show this past September.

  The 2024 lineup hosted Los Angeles death metal masters ABYSMAL DAWN (July 12th) and Kansas City THE BROWNING (July 13th) who unleashed their unique eclectic blend of electronicore and deathcore. Also featured were dissonant and atmospheric Vancouver tech death metallers ATRÆ BILIS, and Orlando's two-fisted two steppin' double-wide aural assault squad BODYBOX. Returning to the festival, were the Okanagan's very favourite Black Metallers XUL (Vernon, BC) and Edmonton death metallers EYE OF HORUS along with first-time performances from Vancouver twin brother duo OPAL IN SKY, San Francisco's outside-the-box prog metallers CYBORG OCTOPUS, and the tech death fury of Riverside, CA's ARKAIK among many more.

  Since 2009 (minus pause years 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic), West Metal Entertainment and Armstrong Metalfest have not only fostered the talent of hundreds of local bands, but have imported well-known, international acts to the quiet, little Canadian town of Armstrong, British Columbia.

  Each year hundreds of metal music fans from Canada and the USA descend into the picturesque Okanagan Valley and under the blistering sun, they spend three days camping, taking in as much metal over two days, participating in wrestling events, scavenger hunts, and catching up with their metal family.

  The festival has seen such renowned headliners as Kataklysm, Cattle Decapitation, Archspire, Nekrogoblikon, Origin, Rivers of Nihil, Warbinger, Fallujah, Striker, and Beyond Creation as well as emerging artists from across North America. At the end of the revelry, the festival disappears without a trace, leaving the landscape as pristine as it has always been.

  West Metal Entertainment is a non-profit society that not only puts on the Armstrong Metal Festival every year in Armstrong, B.C. but also gives bands opportunities to play at different venues throughout the region including all-ages shows, to encourage musical passion in kids as well as adults.

  For more info:​
  ​Armstrongmetalfest.ca
  ​​Facebook​
  ​Instagram​
  ​Twitter

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• Trois-Rivières MetalFest Announces 2024 Lineup w/ IMMOLATION, UNEARTH, BEYOND CREATION, GOROD, GHOULUNATICS, AUGURY and More!

  Sep 17, 2024 Fistoffreedom 0 Comments

   

  TMF 2024 Spotify Playlist - https://spoti.fi/4gw6Mcu

  After a sold-out 2023 event that hosted Kataklysm, Suffocation, Incantation, and many more, Trois-Rivières MetalFest is proud to announce their 2024 lineup for its 17th edition on November 22nd and 23rd at the Amphitheatre Cogeco in Trois-Rivières, QC, which stands between Montreal and Quebec City.

  The 2024 extreme music event will showcase headliners New York death metal legends IMMOLATION and Boston metalcore titans UNEARTH with support from Montreal technical death masters BEYOND CREATION, France's progressive metal lords GOROD, Montreal legends GHOULUNATICS, Progressive Death champions AUGURY among many more over the two nights along with the Thursday, November 21st pre-festival kick-off concert at L'Entité (lineups listed below).

  Ticket Info:

  3-Day Pass (Two Main Nights + Pre Fest Show):

  French URL: https://amphitheatrecogeco.com/spectacles/trois-rivieres-metalfest​
  English URL: https://amphitheatrecogeco.com/en/shows/trois-rivieres-metalfest​

  Thursday, Nov 21st - Pre-Fest Show:

  ​https://lepointdevente.com/billets/3rmf2024?lang=en​

  Thursday, Nov 21st - Doors at 7pm, show at 8pm at L'Entité (1420 rue Notre-Dame Centre):​
  Feels Like Home (Qc)
  Hopeless Nation (Qc)
  Polygraph (Qc)
  Chained by Illness (Qc)
  ​
  ​Friday, Nov 22nd - Doors at 5pm, Show at 6pm at Amphitheatre Cogeco (100, avenue des Draveurs):​
  Immolation (Headliner US)
  Beyond Creation (Qc)
  Ghoulunatics (Qc)
  Reanimator (Qc)
  Strigampire (Qc)
  Backstabber (Qc)
  Uriel (Qc)
  ​
  ​Saturday, Nov 23rd - Doors at 5pm, Show at 6pm at Amphitheatre Cogeco (100, avenue des Draveurs):​
  Unearth (Headliner US)
  Gorod (France)
  Necrotic Mutation (Qc)
  Augury (Qc)
  Fracturus (Qc)
  Apocalyptic Fear (Qc)
  Zero State (Qc)

  For more information, please follow Trois-Rivières MetalFest at the following links:

  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/troisrivieresmetalfest​

  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/3rivmetalfest​

  ​About: Trois-Rivières Metalfest was originally founded by Jean-François Houle, Samuel Landry, and Annie Richard. Since 2001, Trois-Rivières MetalFest has been bringing metal music fanatics from across Quebec and abroad together for one of the province's most extreme mosh pits. Presenting past headliners such as Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Annihilator, Voivod, Despised Icon, and many others to name a few. In 2023, the team experienced a second wind with the addition of new blood. Its new committee, now made up of Jean-François Houle, David Steines, Dany Soucy, and Nicolas Dumais, has set itself the task of ensuring the sustainability of the festival for many years to come! Once again this year, the Trois-Rivières Metalfest will do everything possible to prove that its festival still has its place among the biggest events in the province.

   

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