Today marks the worldwide release of Jon Harris' (The Host of The Rock Metal Podcast) highly anticipated debut album, Parallel Heart, out now via Epictronic Records!
Jon Harris, an instrumental rock guitarist and producer from Edmonton, delivers a unique blend of bluesy hard rock and funky synth-pop in "Parallel Heart". Written, recorded, and produced entirely by Jon in his home studio, the album features his multi-instrumental talents across guitar, bass, drums, and piano. Drawing inspiration from relationships and life’s delicate balance, Parallel Heart takes listeners on an unforgettable musical journey.
The album offers an eclecticmix of genres, from the 80s-inspired synth-pop vibes of 97BPM to the hard-hitting rock intensity of 'Togetherness' and 'Wasted Entertainment'. The track 'Mehnoynoy' also features a personal touch, with drum contributions from Jon’s son, Gabriel.
"Parallel Heart" is a fusion of infectious grooves and powerful riffs—imagine if Prince and Jeff Beck jammed together in the studio. This is Jon Harris' musical vision at its finest, showcasing his passion for instrumental rock with every note.
Track Listing: 1. If You Wouldn't 2. Wasted Entertainment 3. Entitled 4. Mustard N Ketchup 5. Parallel Heart 6. Mehnoynoy 7. 97BPM 8. My Little Lady 9. Togetherness 10. Humpty Dumpty
HELLFIRE 76 Turn Up The Volume With New High Octane Southern Metal Album “Rags to Rage”
Southern Metal powerhouse duo Hellfire 76 has now released their first full-length album “Rags to Rage”. The eight-track collection, clocking in at 31 minutes, represents a perfect distillation of the band's heavy Southern stoner devil metal sound. They delve into a variety of topics from critical examination of dictatorships and religion to personal, relatable experiences. The comment on the record:
“The album is a continuation of our first release, in that the subject matter is all thought-provoking. As for a lot of music, we want the lyrics to be literal but also open to the listener's interpretation. Sticking with the theme and ideas of Voodoo, Witchcraft, The Occult, and other oddities. We want to take the listeners on a dark and ominous journey into a place they don’t normally think about. Musically, it’s straight up, fuzzed out, uptempo jams, but with the various lyrical topics, it gives the listener a little more to chew on.”
Recorded at Catalyst Recording in Charlotte, NC with producer Rob Tavaglione, “Rags to Rage” draws deeply from the well of Southern Gothic tradition and occult themes. The album showcases the duo's remarkable ability to create a massive sonic landscape with just two members, featuring Von Bury's (LOVESUCKER, BLOODY HAMMERS) multi-instrumental talents (guitar, bass, organ, vocals) alongside Mike McGuiness's (FACE THE WORLD) powerful drumming.
The heavy dose of fuzzy, groove-laden rock will appeal to fans of doom, stoner rock, and traditional metal especially those with an interest in Clutch, Killing Joke, and Fu Manchu.
Listen to the album's full-stream premiere on MetalInsider HERE.
Montreal, Canada's CHÜZO is ready to take on the metal world with the introduction of their self-described Aggro-Metal and new EP entitled "M.T.M.D (Maximum Threshold, Minimum Decay)".The three-track recordmarks the next chapter and true representation of what their sound is meant to be with the fresh new lineup who are hungry to showcase what this forthcoming EP will spark.
Produced by Kevin Jardine (Slaves On Dope), the EP is a full audio assault upon all the senses from the heavy riffs to the soaring vocals of Brazilian transplant and new vocalist Mischa M. She is joined by local first-generation Chilean Canadian and mastermind Cristian S. along with Carlos G from Venezuela and Alex S from Russia whom all have found Montreal, Canada to be home to breed their 'Aggro Metal', a blender of grindcore, Swedish death metal and a touch of thrash metal crossed over with hardcore punk.
"The sound of the band evolved from, initially, grindcore, to hardcore, to now Aggro Metal. This is finally what CHÜZO was meant to sound like after many years and many ex-band members. This mark III version of the band is the final evolution in the sound of CHÜZO." adds Cristian S.
The EP's lyrics are driven by self-reflection and daily struggles. The inspiration for writing comes from life experiences and trying to live past them, especially the traumatic ones. Using all bad energy from bad experiences to create something positive for yourself and the world. This EP speaksof vengeance and the bad side of dedicating your life to achieving your desired revenge despite your own life and sanity. Brutal Social Justice.
For fans of Sepultura (Cavalera Bros era 84-96), At the Gates, Napalm Death, Slipknot, and Fuck the Facts, "M.T.M.D (Maximum Threshold, Minimum Decay)" is due out on November 15, 2024, and can be heard in full before it officially drops via its stream premiere on Decibel Magazine HERE.
EP pre-order/digital per-save is available at the following links:
SUPER MONSTER PARTY (SMP) Offering way more than the average metal band, SUPER MONSTER PARTY's new album "Rage Quit" is out now on all streaming platforms at https://links.supermonsterparty.com/ragequit.
These highly motivated and talented guys aren’t just playing music and video games – thanks to their creative efforts, we are provided with an immersive multimedia metal experience, as it has never been seen before, picking us up and taking us in completely.
"Rage Quit" is more than just a music album – with narrational interludes between the tracks, the band creates a bond between the most beloved video games of their childhood and their music, providing a mesmerizing adventurous experience for the listeners. If you listen to the track listing of "Rage Quit" chronologically, it’s like listening to an audiobook in the form of kickass metal music sprinkled with unconventional storytelling. On this video game-inspired record, the South Floridian band takes us on a journey through the realm of ‘Permadeath’ – a colorful blend of classic 16-bit video game world replicas, which you as “The Champion” have to conquer. The extensive album features six new tracks, six reenvisioned tracks, and an alternate narrative path for the Permadeath series. In SMP’s pixelated nostalgia-inspired universe, we’re jumping and running through the spheres of old-school video game bangers like Mortal Kombat, Doom, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dance Dance Revolution, Castlevania, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros, and Final Fantasy. But Permadeath isn’t just the setting for the album tracks, it is also the name of SMP’s captivating, free-to-play 2D platform game, featuring a soundtrack consisting of their instrumental tracks. As a special easter egg, the band invites us to dive even deeper into their sound and join the performance: Experience the full SUPER MONSTER PARTY adventure, get the album tracks as Clone Hero downloads, and start rocking!
For "Rage Quits" release day, SUPER MONSTER PARTY dropped their new Super Mario-inspired lyric video "Another Castle". After encountering video games and embarking on legendary quests in Permadeath, you as the listener now find yourself put into Mario’s perspective. As you close the door of Doom behind you, with one last life remaining, the gate of another castle opens – but “your princess is not here, she’s in another castle”, and so you begin your search, fighting through lava, silly turtles, and walking shrooms. This vivid storytelling is musically accompanied by an electrifying, tasteful blend of punk rock, power metal, and retro video game themes.
SUPER MONSTER PARTY is a band for all video game nerds, jump’n’run enthusiasts, metalheads, 90s kids, weirdos, and everyone in between – a metal band that’s all about video games, singing from the heroes or villains introspective point of view. Rocking together since 2020, SUPER MONSTER PARTY have already gathered a lot of XP, having a bunch of achievements under their belt, such as four released albums: Permadeath (2020), SideQuest (2021), Game Genie (2023), and Up, Up, Down, Die (2023). The band is the concept of Singer/Songwriter Rei Sega, and features notable members Emilio Martinez (Yngwie Malmsteen) on bass, Fern Lemus (Lions at the Gate) on the drums, Andy Alvarez (Irras One) on rhythm guitar, and Oleh Andrievsky as lead guitarist.
Their intense, melodic, catchy, and heavy sound shows influences of The Misfits, Rhapsody, Slipknot, NOFX, and Van Halen. The variety of different influences and genres, worshiped by the band, means that they are able to find the right metal sound for all game themes – each video game universe is authentically set to music, while the skills of the masterful musical chameleon that is SUPER MONSTER PARTY cannot be pinned down to one genre. No two songs sound the same, but one thing is for sure – they all rock hard.
Canadian demolition thrash crew MUTANK will be unravelling their newest collection of bangers and first taste of new neck-breaking tunes in seven years with their new album "Think Before You Think" once again on Boonsdale Records on November 29th, 2024 to follow 2017's EP "W.H.A.T.S.T.H.A.T.".
Featuring 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.
"This is Thrash for Metalheads by Metalheads we evolved from crossover to a more refined thrash band with longer and more intricate songs… 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.”
Today, MUTANK is ready to unveil their album opener and psychedelic monster brigade video "Illuminatus". The band explains further:
"This intro track sets the tone for the album with its strong riffs and songwriting to continue the MUTANK tradition of elaborate riffs and ripping solos! Lyrically Illuminatus (which gets its title from the 1975 novel) is about power and how it takes the souls of those that desire it the most.”
With a passion for classic thrash and a desire to play radical riffs, MUTANK made a deservedly big splash 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 launch of "Think Before You Think". Fans of D.R.I., Suicidal Tendencies, Havok, Megadeth, Overkill, and Exodus are sure to join them in the pit when it releases on November 29th, 2024 on Boonsdale Records.