Thundermother release their new single ‘Sleep‘, out now on AFM Records.
Guernica Mancini gives this striking rock ballad a unique touch with her beautiful blues-soaked voice and you can check out the new video for ‘Sleep‘.
The band’s upcoming new album ‘Heat Wave‘, due for release on 31st July, is the musical expression of the lifestyle of the Swedish high voltage rock’n’rollers: Thundermother don’t just play rock’n’roll. Thundermother are rock’n’roll! Be ready,
Thundermother from Stockholm are the breathing and living embodiment of rock ‘n’ roll. Founded in 2009 by guitar-heroine Filippa Nässil, the band started their steep rise on the international stage after singer extraordinaire, Guernica Mancini, joined two years ago. With her blues-soaked voice that has invited comparison to several classic queens of rock music, these Swedish ladies have hit the jackpot. Driven by the hard-hitting pounding of drummer Emlee Johansson, these heavy rocking girls are sticking it to anyone claiming that rock ‘n’ roll is a male domain. Front woman Guernica Mancini states: “On stage we are musicians – no matter if man or woman.“
Touring relentlessly and with three albums under their belt, Thundermother are currently gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated fourth album, ‘Heat Wave‘ which will be released on 31st July on AFM Records.
Onslaught announce they are gearing up to unleash a new beast on 7th August with ‘Generation Antichrist‘, adding another Thrash Metal gem to their legacy!
UK Thrashers Onslaught will release their long awaited new album ‘Generation Antichrist‘ through AFM Records on 7th August. The album was mixed by Grammy Award winning producer Daniel Bergstrand (Behemoth / In Flames / Meshuggah) at Dugout Studios – Uppsala, Sweden and is the follow up to the critically acclaimed ‘VI’
‘Generation Antichrist‘ will be the first album to feature new Onslaught vocalist Dave Garnett who has recently replaced long term frontman Sy Keeler.
Guitarist ‘Nige Rockett’ comments:
“Wow, we’re stoked to finally get this new album ready to go, It’s been a huge challenge to get everything finalised in light of recent events around the the world. We’ve had to bend a few rules and do things in very unconventional ways to make it work, but we got it done. I gotta say this is one brutal fucking record and could be a real game-changer for the future of Onslaught, It’s a very earthy and extremely raw sounding album, we held back on the technology, with natural drums all round and i think Daniel Bergstrand did an unbelievable job on the mix. Everyone really stepped up to the plate massively on ‘Generation Antichrist’ but I have to single out our new vocalist Dave Garnett for smashing the vocals out of the park. It’s an unenviable task to follow in the big shoes of Sy Keeler but he’s made this album his own and in his own very cool style, iI’m sure he’s gonna be hugely popular with the fans!“.
Track Listing:
1. Rise to Power
2. Strike Fast Strike Hard
3. Bow Down To The Clowns
4. Generation Antichrist
5. All Seeing Eye
6. Addicted To The Smell Of Death
7. Empires Fall
8. Religiousuicide
9. A Perfect Day To Die
After the successful release of ‘By Blood Sworn‘ in 2018, a full European tour and glorious festival shows all over Europe, the ROSS THE BOSS band returns to Europe in November/December 2020 to promote their new album on AFM Records:
“We The Ross The Boss Band are really excited to announce this monster European tour. After working so hard this year on our new record ‘Born of Fire‘, we are ready to unleash it. But don’t worry, we are still playing all the classic tunes that WE ALL LOVE. Do not miss these shows. It’s an amazing package of unbridled metallic and RnR power!”
Ross and his band are teaming up with the Swiss all girl metal outfit Burning Witches and California based true metal band Trauma.
The Burning Witches released their new album in March on Nuclear Blast Records:
“This is exciting news for us – of course we are big Manowar fans! So when we got asked to join Ross The Boss on this European tour, we were thrilled & flabbergasted! It is a big honour to share the stage with such great & experienced musicians! This is a kick ass billing for Heavy Metal maniacs – we hope to see many WITCHES disciples out there next April!”
And Kris from Trauma comments: “We are so proud to be coming to Europe to deliver our classic hard hitting metal with the legend Ross The Boss”
METAL HAMMER, Guitar, Metal.de, Kalle Rock & Dragon Productions present:
ROSS THE BOSS Tour of Fire – Europe 2020
Special Guests:Burning Witches, Trauma
17.11.2020 SE-Stockholm Hus 7
18.11.2020 SE-Gothenburg Valand
19.11.2020 NO-Oslo John Dee
20.11.2020 NO-Haugesund Flytten
21.11.2020 NO-Stavanger Sandnes
23.11.2020 DE-Hamburg Knust
24.11.2020 DE-Bochum Matrix
26.11.2020 DE-Siegburg Kubana
27.11.2020 DE-Oldenburg Amadeus
28.11.2020 NL-Tilburg Little Devil
29.11.2020 NL-Rotterdam Baroeg
30.11.2020 DE-Würzburg Posthalle
01.12.2020 CH-Pratteln Z7
03.12.2020 IT-Milan Legend Club
04.12.2020 DE-Cham LA Cham
05.12.2020 DE-Eisenhüttenstadt Dock 18
06.12.2020 DE-Leipzig Hellraiser
Firewind release their new video for ‘Welcome To The Empire‘, new album ‘Firewind‘ will be released on 15th May, out on AFM Records.
The video clip was directed by Panagiotis Kountouras, VFX and post production done by Media Distribution Partners.
Guitarist Gus G states: “Welcome To The Empire is the opening track of the album and an obvious choice for a single. Making the video was an ongoing work in progress as we filmed the band performance back in January. However, we wanted to blend in futuristic visual effects for the story and as I’m a huge sci-fi movie fan, I wanted to incorporate something along those lines. Our director Panagiotis Kountouras came up with the concept and we collaborated with MDP, a vfx company out of Hollywood, CA. The story is set in a dystopia, where humanity has been surrendered to the New World Order. Two cyborgs are playing with the future of mankind in a chess game. Each move has consequences and technology will be the only winner. It was a really challenging production, but we love the end result. We hope you will too!“
Each time Firewind released an album over the last 20 years, it wasn’t just the brilliancy of exceptional guitarist Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil) that fans were in awe of, but also the skills of every one of the band’s vocalists. Fantastic riffs, hooks and solos by the gifted hands of guitarist Gus aside, it’s the great vocal melody – an integral part of every Firewind song – that’s causing a stir. In that respect nothing has changed in their newest album, simply titled ‘Firewind‘, quite the contrary: with his charismatic voice new member Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Radiant, Seventh Avenue, amongst others) refines each and every last one of the eleven new songs and infuses them with an expressive force that is remarkable.
“With Herbie I feel like we’re doing a relaunch of the original Firewind cast, because his singing style bears a certain resemblance to that of Stephen Fredrick, our first vocalist,” comments Gus. “I’m proud and happy that we can continue with the tradition of great Firewind vocalists thanks to Herbie.”
On 15th May when ‘Firewind‘ will be released via AFM, the public will hear just how competently new band member Langhans has stepped up to this challenge. Gus G and Herbie Langhans got to know each other back in the autumn of 2019, when the Firewind leader was looking for a suitable replacement for Henning Basse after the tour with Queensrÿche.
“I remembered Herbie singing for Sinbreed and how amazed I always was by his vocal performance”, he recalls. “So I did some research on YouTube, had my record company reach out to him and got right down to it: ‚Hi Herbie, here are ten new songs, can you help us? Deadline is mid of January.‘ Luckily, Herbie agreed immediately and got familiarised with everything in no time.”
Just a few weeks later the recordings for Firewind were a done deal, ready for Swedish
sound engineer Tobias Lindell (Europe, Avatar, H.E.A.T.) to mix them in ‚Lindell Audio Studios‘. The result is impressive indeed.
Firewind boasts 11 prime examples of Melodic Metal songs. The skill, craftsmanship and power bleeds through every note, a passion you can almost taste, with hymnal melodies as a particularly outstanding feature. Stylewise, the band actually broadened their range compared to earlier releases: with ‘Welcome To The Empire‘ and ‘Rising Fire’ you’ll get your typical Firewind blend. Whereas ‘Overdrive’ dressed in a groovy rhythm and reminiscent of Dio/Black Sabbath (Gus: “That was a new direction for me. The song was supposed to be just a little bonus number but it took on a life on its own and was doing so well that it just had to be on the album”) and ‘Space Cowboy’ in all its retro flair glory will take you by surprise. But there’s still more: ‘Orbitual Sunrise’, ‘Longing To Know You’ and the above-mentioned ‘Space Cowboy’ are connected through their lyrics.
”It’s kind of a Sci-Fi story about the overexploitation of nature seen through the eyes of a lonely astronaut, orbiting earth in his space capsule,” Gus explains.
It’s official: The band has once again brought their full potential, making Firewind a more than worthy successor of their 2017 concept work Immortals. “The new album is an exciting and fashionable mix of Hard Rock and Power Metal. These songs are fresh but tough and melodious at the same time. In my opinion the record sounds exactly as a band in our genre is supposed to in the year 2020. But of course, the key feature lies with the quality of the composition, which has been our main focus again,” comments Gus. There’s nothing more to add to this succinct assessment!
Tracklisting:
01. Welcome To The Empire
02. Devour
03. Rising Fire
04. Break away
05. Orbitual Sunrise
06. Longing To Know You
07. Perfect Stranger
08. Overdrive
09. All My Life
10. Space Cowboy
11. Kill The Pain
Thundermother release their new single ‘Driving In Style‘, out now on AFM Records.
The band’s upcoming new album ‘Heat Wave‘, due for release on 31st July, is the musical expression of the lifestyle of the Swedish high voltage rock’n’rollers: Thundermother don’t just play rock’n’roll. Thundermother are rock’n’roll! Be ready.
Thundermother from Stockholm are the breathing and living embodiment of rock ‘n’ roll. Founded in 2009 by guitar-heroine Filippa Nässil, the band started their steep rise on the international stage after singer extraordinaire, Guernica Mancini, joined two years ago. With her blues-soaked voice that has invited comparison to several classic queens of rock music, these Swedish ladies have hit the jackpot. Driven by the hard-hitting pounding of drummer Emlee Johansson, these heavy rocking girls are sticking it to anyone claiming that rock ‘n’ roll is a male domain. Front woman Guernica Mancini states: “On stage we are musicians – no matter if man or woman.“
Touring relentlessly and with three albums under their belt, Thundermother are currently gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated fourth album, ‘Heat Wave‘ which will be released on 31st July on AFM Records.
Dynazty are a band that manage to continue to put out very regular output while still retaining a freshness. ‘The Dark Delight‘ is the Swedes 7th studio album and once again it’s a real cross genre affair, blending hard/melodic Rock with Power Metal, and interesting mix for me that they always seem to get right in the balance. There is no doubting their caliber as musicians, but because of other projects they work on it is perhaps a surprise that they can manage to continue to put so much effort into Dynazty, but long may it continue.
This time around there are 12 tracks on offer, and so many of these are just excellent, with opener ‘Presence Of Mind‘ setting the tone for what’s the follow. There is a power right through this album that just picks you up and carries you along, when you have listened to it for a period of time it just seems to be getting better and better in your head. For me the production on this one just makes everything shine, the power of the vocals delivered by Nils Molin ( also Amaranthe) to the sharpness of the guitars be it the crunching riff’s to the soaring solos or monstrous drumming, but as with most albums that live long in the memory I don’t find anything over powering in the mix. So not only talented musicians, but they produced the album themselves showing there’s no shortage of talent in that department either, Jacob Hansen’s mixing skills keep everything tight and vibrant.
Highlights for me are the excellent gritty ‘Paradise Of The Architect‘ which just rips along with powerful drumming creating that backdrop beautifully. Alongside the wonderful ‘Heartless Madness‘ and beautiful balladesque ‘Hologram‘ that lifts from a quiet start to once again that powerful mid section, something about these tracks that has the ability to continue to hold your attention. ‘Heartless Madness‘ was one of the lead singles for the album and that’s no surprise, it is so upbeat, European Power Metal for sure, so melodic wonderful swathes of screaming solos and a track you can almost feel people moving to in live venue. The title track closes things out in style, but there are a bunch of top songs here, really well written an put together.
This really is a cracking album from a band that continues to deliver, but this one is a bit special, it continues to bring you back to listen again and again, and not like many albums to one specific song. Tempo changes and style differences make the feel of different tracks seem miles apart, but at the same time it doesn’t ruin the flow of the album. Having a vocalist with the talents of Nils is of course a massive bonus, but everyone steps up on this release and again it’s an album you should immerse yourself in, let it wash over you, so far it’s my album of the year to date and in our current strange World this is a perfect album to stick on your mobile device and listen to while on your daily exercise routine, at the moment I tend to get out for a 5km walk and it’s the perfect companion to lift the pace to. Don’t miss out on this release, music is a passion to hold dear right now, pick this one up it’s a classy piece of work.
I enjoyed this album throughout however I didn’t begin to truly absorb the album until I fired up the amps and subs to truly appreciate the composition and production. Don’t hold back on this one, play loud.
‘The Joker‘ is a short instrumental opening the album with a sense of mystery, anticipation and adventure which almost seamlessly leads on to ‘Gotta Get Away‘ , power rock track that has catchy riffs with heavy delivery.
‘The Devil Made Me Do It‘ is a classic dual lead guitar showcase with symphonic undertones and high reaching vocals and a sing a long chorus.
‘Ride The Blade‘ exercises the vocal dexterity of Alexx Stahl delivering operatic highs with husk lows alongside fast melody of guitar work.
‘When An Old Man Cries‘ changes direction and tone with more than a nod over to a New Jersey sound, this track delivers on a ballad with smoky flames.
‘Rock’n’Roll Survivors‘ brings everything needed for a Bonfire spectacular that underlines this new albums approach and originality.
‘Fire And Ice‘ is perhaps the meltwater of the album with franticly fast yet precision guitar work.
‘Fire Etude‘ is a short and complex instrumental that pumps high velocity Oxygen into a burning inferno.
‘Breaking Out‘ has energy and precision timing administered by André Hilgers delivered with a crushing beat.
‘Fistful Of Fire‘ is an anthem and title track of this fresh rock ‘n’ roll album, Hans Ziller remains true to a pedigree and doesn’t compromise, building intrigue with ‘The Surge‘ and ever impressive onslaught of ‘Gloryland‘, reaching up to the heavens and opening up a fuming fire of intense heat.
The album closes with a rather special acoustic version of ‘When An Old Man Cries‘.
If I had to pick some stand out tracks from this album I’d be spoiled for choices, but perhaps ‘Gloryland‘, ‘When An Old Man Cries‘ together with ‘The Devil Made Me Do It‘ are ones that resonate the most.
This is a remarkable album and deserves to be played loud to appreciate the detail and energy.
Bonfire release their new single/video ‘The Devil Made Me Do It‘, the second track taken from upcoming album ‘Fistful Of Fire‘, out on 3rd April on AFM Records.
Bonfire release their new album ‘Fistful Of Fire‘ on 3rd April, out on AFM Records.
Pre-order the new album: http://afmrec.de/FistfulOfFire
It’s been exactly two years since Bonfire, following the outstanding debut of their current vocalist Alexx Stahl on ‘Byte The Bullet‘ (2017), were unanimously celebrated for their successor album ‘Temple Of Lies‘ (2018). Two years which saw the band rock countless stages at home and abroad before going on to set the bar even higher with their latest offering.
“‘Fistful Of Fire‘ is definitely one of the toughest Bonfire albums ever. “This development already became apparent the last time around,”explains guitarist and founder member Hans Ziller. “However, this time our approach was even more focused and consistent. I’ve always been the tough guy in Bonfire but haven’t always been able to implement my ideas the way I wanted. But since our tour with Judas Priest, we’ve known that toughness in combination with great melodies suits Bonfire perfectly.”
‘Fistful Of Fire‘ features this very mix: throughout the 11 songs (plus three intros), the band from Ingolstadt, which has operated under its established logo for almost 35 years, fire on all cylinders. “Unlike previous Bonfire vocalists, Alexx oozes so much energy that you may occasionally have to hold him back rather than motivate him. We’ve been a hard rock band from the very beginning, but that has never been more apparent than in 2020.”
Everything comes together perfectly on ‘Fistful Of Fire‘, which was recorded in collaboration with sound engineer Tom Müller at Ingolstadt’s Flatliners Recording Studios again: the charismatic vocals, the catchy riffs and hooks courtesy of guitarists Ziller and Frank Pané, the rich bass sound provided by their American colleague Ronnie Parkes and the driving grooves
contributed by new addition André Hilgers (ex-Rage, Axxis), who has complemented the line-up for a number of months.
“This team delivers without mercy and has turned into a really tight unit,” Ziller enthuses.
In view of the album’s outstanding quality throughout, it’s not easy to highlight individual songs, but alongside the only moderate mainstream number ‘Warrior’ and the obligatory ballad ‘When An Old Man Cries’, we should perhaps take a closer look at two special tracks.
On the one hand there’s the lead single ‘Rock´n`Roll Survivors’, scheduled for release on 28
February 2020, that summarises with its programmatic title the whole career of Bonfire mastermind Ziller in one succinct phrase. “I’ve been kicked in the teeth a thousand times during my career and I often went down,” he confesses, “but I’ve always picked myself up again.”
A great allegory that Bonfire have translated perfectly into a video clip featuring two female
boxers: multiple world champion Tina Schüßler and her colleague Stephanie Posch were the focus of the shoot at a boxing club in Augsburg. Talking of which: Tina Schüßler is not only an exceptional athlete, but also an accomplished rock singer. Together with her band, she will support Bonfire during their tour in April. The end of March will see the release of the second single ‘The Devil Made Me Do It’, providing another perfect foretaste of the new album.
The lyrics of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Survivors’, in combination with its powerful rock sound, is a mix that also features on other songs on the new album. Bonfire prove that they have no problem thinking outside the box of pure musicians’ themes. The title track ‘Fistful Of Fire’, for example, warns of the reckless abuse of a world which seems to have been turned upside down in ecological terms.
Ziller demands: “We simply mustn’t leave a planet to our children that’s no longer worth living on.” In this respect, the group’s musical motto also applies: “Long-standing bands like Bonfire may be considered an endangered species, but we’ve still got a lot to say, musically as well as in terms of content.”
Which is precisely what every single note on ‘Fistful Of Fire‘ proves!
Tracklisting:
01 – The Joker
02 – Gotta Get Away
03 – The Devil Made Me Do It
04 – Ride The Blade
05 – When An Old Man Cries
06 – Rock ‘n’ Roll Survivors
07 – Fire And Ice
08 – Warrior
09 – Fire Etude
10 – Breaking Out
11 – Fistful Of Fire
12 – The Surge
13 – Gloryland
14 – When An Old Man Cries (Acoustic Version)
Firewind release their new single ‘Rising Fire‘, the first track to be taken from upcoming album ‘Firewind‘, out 15th May on AFM Records.
Since power metal masters Firewind announced their new line-up (which now features Herbie Langhans from Avantasia on vocals), fans and critics alike speculate how Firewind’s new incarnation might sound. Their questions find an answer now in the band’s brand new music video ‘Rising Fire‘ The song is taken from the upcoming album, simply titled ‘Firewind‘, which will be released on May 15th.
Gus G. comments:
“Hey everyone! We’re finally back with some new music for you! ‘Rising Fire‘ is the first single of our upcoming self titled 9th studio album. It features our new singer Herbie Langhans, who sounds amazing! This song is about overcoming difficulties and situations that one might be stuck in. We’ve all been there at some point in our lives. We hope ‘Rising Fire‘ can be a soundtrack to a positive mindset. So play it loud!“
Each time Firewind released an album over the last 20 years, it wasn’t just the brilliancy of exceptional guitarist Gus G (Ozzy Osbourne, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil) that fans were in awe of, but also the skills of every one of the band’s vocalists. Fantastic riffs, hooks and solos by the gifted hands of guitarist Gus aside, it’s the great vocal melody – an integral part of every Firewind song – that’s causing a stir. In that respect nothing has changed in their newest album, simply titled ‘Firewind‘, quite the contrary: with his charismatic voice new member Herbie Langhans (Avantasia, Radiant, Seventh Avenue, amongst others) refines each and every last one of the eleven new songs and infuses them with an expressive force that is remarkable.
“With Herbie I feel like we’re doing a relaunch of the original Firewind cast, because his singing style bears a certain resemblance to that of Stephen Fredrick, our first vocalist,” comments Gus. “I’m proud and happy that we can continue with the tradition of great Firewind vocalists thanks to Herbie.”
Tracklisting:
01. Welcome To The Empire
02. Devour
03. Rising Fire
04. Break away
05. Orbitual Sunrise
06. Longing To Know You
07. Perfect Stranger
08. Overdrive
09. All My Life
10. Space Cowboy
11. Kill The Pain
Shakra return with their 15th album ‘Mad World‘, which is available now via AFM Records.
For those of you already familiar with the band, ‘Mad World‘ won’t deliver any surprises, carrying on where ‘Snakes & Ladders‘ left off. Is this a bad thing? Hell no, as a long time fan of the band it means more of that heavier end of hard rock which gets you reaching to nudge the volume knob up a few more notches.
For those of you unfamiliar with the band, I guess a quick analogy would be imagine a heavier version of German rockers Bonfire.
The album itself consists of twelve tracks, no being short changed here, and with no ballad you just get twelve tracks of pounding, foot stomping rock that’ll either piss off your neighbours or entertain them, depending on their musical preferences!
I’m not going to delve into each track using a magnifying glass, I’m just going to tell you to go out and buy it, you won’t be disappointed………trust me!
