Metal Temple – Snakeblade – The Kingdom ““The Kingdom” is an addicting spin that will blow brains & shatter windows with explosive clarity. Full of density, technical prowess & engaging captivation. This is an incredibly amazing debut album, and I will most look forward to their upcoming projects. And for a singular writing attempt, bravo! I couldn’t help but score this as a masterful piece of other-worldly malevolence which most certainly deserves a slot in your collection for sure. Check it out! 10/10” http://www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/reviews/cd_3/s_2/snakeblade-the-kingdom.htm
Posts By Asher
0 Metal Temple – Snakeblade – The Kingdom ““The Kingdom” is an addicting spin that will blow brains & shatter windows with explosive clarity. Full of density, technical prowess & engaging captivation. This is an incredibly amazing debut album, and I will most look forward to their upcoming projects. And for a singular writing attempt, bravo! I couldn’t help but score this as a masterful piece of other-worldly malevolence which most certainly deserves a slot in your collection for sure. Check it out! 10/10”
0 Metal Temple – Autocatalytica – Powerclashing Maximalism “Overall, this is Progressive Death Metal turned up to 11. The tight instrumentation is un-matched. 8/10”
Metal Temple – Autocatalytica – Powerclashing Maximalism “Overall, this is Progressive Death Metal turned up to 11. The tight instrumentation is un-matched. 8/10” http://www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/reviews/cd_3/a_2/autocatalytica.htm
0 The Independent Voice Ezine – Every Hour Kills – ReAwaken “Give Every Hour Kills a try if you’re into modern and progressive metal that comes with extra intrigue if you like using music to perk your curiosities.”
The Independent Voice Ezine – Every Hour Kills – ReAwaken “Give Every Hour Kills a try if you’re into modern and progressive metal that comes with extra intrigue if you like using music to perk your curiosities.” https://www.theindependentvoice.org/2020/09/28/every-hour-kills-reawaken/
0 The Independent Voice Ezine – The Myopia Condition – Event Horizon “The Myopia Condition showcase some serious skill and killer musicianship with their debut release. Watch out for their release this fall and prepare to get shaken!”
The Independent Voice Ezine – The Myopia Condition – Event Horizon “The Myopia Condition showcase some serious skill and killer musicianship with their debut release. Watch out for their release this fall and prepare to get shaken!” https://www.theindependentvoice.org/2020/09/27/the-myopia-condition-event-horizon/
0 Album Review: Protokult – Transcending The Ruins (Self Released) – Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life “With the epic folk-melodies and chants of Feed Your Demons, the bouncy Oy Kanada and the hefty hold that Troubled Lad (Slainte Mhaith) has, the dynamic sound of the band really come to the surface. From that kind of grandiose music to another with the hyperactive traditional metal 1516 (Keeper of the Hops) where many a beer will be sunk. The operatic vocals of Ekaterina, unfiltered metal purity of Valley of Thorns and grin-inducing folk highlight that is Wenches, ensure this is an album that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. 9/10
Album Review: Protokult – Transcending The Ruins (Self Released) – Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life “With the epic folk-melodies and chants of Feed Your Demons, the bouncy Oy Kanada and the hefty hold that Troubled Lad (Slainte Mhaith) has, the dynamic sound of the band really come to the surface. From that kind of grandiose music to another with the hyperactive traditional metal 1516 (Keeper of the Hops) where many a beer will be sunk. The operatic vocals of Ekaterina, unfiltered metal purity of Valley of Thorns and grin-inducing folk highlight that is Wenches, ensure this is an album that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. 9/10” https://www.gbhbl.com/album-review-protokult-transcending-the-ruins-self-released/
0 Pick up the new issue of Zero Tolerance Magazine #097 w/ interview and review of Deathnoisefrequency
Pick up the new issue of Zero Tolerance Magazine #097
w/ interview and review of Deathnoisefrequency
https://www.ztmag.com/news/issue-097-autumn-2020-edition/
0 EPK – Ysgaroth – Storm Over a Black Sea (2020)
EPK – Ysgaroth – Storm Over a Black Sea (2020)
Publicist – Jon Asher – asher[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
For fans of Skeletonwitch, Enslaved, Wolves in the Throne Room, Death, Morbid Angel
Album Title: Storm Over a Black Sea
Release Date: November 13th, 2020
Label: Self-Release
Ysgaroth.com (coming soon) | Facebook.com/Ysgaroth | Twitter.com/ysgaroth | Instagram.com/ysgarothofficial | YouTube
“Simply put, the album is an enormous surprise, an unexpected gem that arrives without much advance fanfare. It is, after all, this Vancouver trio’s debut album. But they’re not taking tentative steps here. The songs are remarkably ambitious in their construction and remarkably demanding in their execution. Fortunately, the instrumental skill displayed here is at a very high level, and the songcraft, while elaborately multi-faceted and wide-ranging in its stylistic scope, is thrilling to behold.” – No Clean Singing
“Songs like “Forward Unto Death” and the colossal 17-minute closer “Deluge” perfectly highlights what this band can do, spinning out intricate and aggressive tracks with killer riffs, pummeling drums, complex and strange song structures, and absolutely gorgeous lead work, all contained within a raw, savage production job which sports a guitar tone that cuts like a jagged stone dagger… a promising young band…” – The Metal Crypt
“This is sophisticated extreme metal that demands repeat listening.” – Scream Blast Repeat
“If you’re looking for a unique black metal record to carry with you into this winter season, look no further! Fantastic stuff, really.8/10” – Noob Heavy
“The sound of the band has it all: black metal, death metal of the ’80s, thrash of the ’90s, sludge with post-metal, and the final signature of progressive metal. This is a very promising new band… Listen to “Storm Over A Black Sea”, it’s worth it.” – Greek Rebels
“Unexpected melodic harmonies are accompanied by grating vocals of the harshest on the album as a whole; Steigler sounds like his voice could give out at any point before a step up into a fiery blend of Black Metal rhythms with Death Metal leads sweeps everything aside like the loser of a game of chess ripping the board from the table and throwing all the pieces into to the sky with furious intent. That rise and fall pattern between the two styles keeps you on your toes, never quite sure when it’s going to switch personality and when it does it has the grace and speed of an assassin. How on Earth Ysgaroth follow this up is beyond us… [8/10]” – Metal Noise
“This is an impressive debut, with great songs” – UK Thrashers
“The real nugget of play and exploration in this album is the 17 + minute final track, ‘Deluge’. it opens with powerful slow sludgy guitar distortion, but then slows down to a very interesting drum and bass riff session with softer blackened vocals over – the guitar spends that time in off the front. But then, the forces of power and direction come together and the energy picks up again. I would have to say that this track is a fabulous clincher for the album, but also just as a track, it is super. If you are down with noisy bands, and are okay with a few of the ‘black metal’ rules being broken, Ysgaroth’s, “Storm Over A Black Sea”, is the album to check out.
4.5 / 5” – Brutalism
“The music is melodic extremity, with a certain black metal feel in places and with some prog tendencies, but still moshing and headbanging metal. The vocals are shrieked a lot, although there is some growling in there, too. While the vocals scream black metal, the music points to some surprising melodic places. Ysgaroth is brutal and melodic and they plan to have their cake and eat it, too. Is it possible?! Ysgaroth is going to find out! Would you like to come along? It will be a fun ride through the minds of these Canadian brutes. Just when you think you got them figured out, they will surprise you with 17 minutes of the song “Deluge.” It’s like they decided to let us see that they love Scandinavian extreme metal, but maybe when you’re a Canadian prog band you can’t really avoid having some Rush sneak into your subconscious.” – Metal Bulletin Zine
[Download Album Cover | Download Album Lyrics]
Album Title: Storm Over a Black Sea
Release Date: November 13th, 2020
Label: Self-Release
Track Listing:
1. Rain (1:54)
2. Nam Gloria Satanas (feat. Jessie Grace of KOSM) (7:06)
3. Sacred (5:31)
4. Altar of Scars 11:48)
5. Forward Unto Death (feat. Jessie Grace of KOSM) (5:19)
6. Deluge (feat. Erik Leonhard of KOSM) 17:24
Album Length: 49:05
L-R: Shawn Hillman (Bass) | Steve Cuddington (Drums) | Kurt Steigleder (Guitar, Vocals) – Photo Credit: Jade Weekes
Ysgaroth is a progressive extreme metal band conjured in Vancouver, Canada that seamlessly blends elements of various metal subgenres into a vicious hybrid.
Initially, Ysgaroth started as Kurt Steigler’s black metal studio project, a non-serious musical outlet, but over time he grew attached to the songs and wanted to take them live.
With the desire to hit the stage, Steigler (guitar/vocals) was joined by Steve Cuddington (drums) and Shawn Hillman (bass) With these additions, the songs got more structurally ambitious, a sludge influence began to creep into the band. Cuddington brings an absolutely crushing, hardcore-influenced drumming style that gave the songs a new vitality, and Hillman’s exceptionally musical bass playing served as the perfect bridge between the crushing drums and razor-sharp guitars. Ultimately, the sound of the band became a mix of its black metal roots, classic 80’s death metal, 90’s thrash, and sludge with the long compositions of post-metal and the shifting, churning time signatures of progressive metal. Steigler is the main songwriter, but overall the process is hugely democratic.
The debut album from the band “Storm Over a Black Sea” will be unearthed on November 13th, 2020, and considering the growing amount of music they have been writing – fans can expect a lot more from Ysgaroth.
Album Credits:
• All songs performed by: Steve Cuddington, Shawn Hillman, Kurt Steigleder
• All songs written by: Ysgaroth
• Produced by: Ysgaroth & Michael Krauschaar
• Mixed by: Michael Krauschaar
• Mastered by: Michael Krauschaar
• Album Artwork by: Braden Farr
• Music is Canadian Content (MAPL)
Album Band Line Up:
Steve Cuddington – Drums
Shawn Hillman – Bass
Kurt Steigler – Guitar and Vocals
Jessie Grace – Vocals on Nam Gloria Satanas and Forward Unto Death
Erik Leonhard – First guitar solo in Deluge
Live Band Line Up:
Steve Cuddington – Drums
Shawn Hillman – Bass
Kurt Steigler – Guitar and Vocals
Discography:
2020 – Storm Over a Black Sea
Shared Stage with:
Chaos Century, Wraiths, Rejected Sanity, SVNEATR, Death Machine, Hexripper, Exterminatus, Illyrian, BornBroken, Suicide Forest, Ozawar, Arrow in the Quiver, Param-Nesia, Kayas, Demon Cleaver, Tribunal, Basic Instinct
0 Thrashers Paradise Interview w/ Ancient Thrones
0 Exclaim! Edmonton’s Sadistic Embodiment Channel Their Disdain for the Modern World on ‘Blood Spell’
0 It’s All In The DNA With Helion Prime’s New Lyric Video “Photo 51″, New Album “Question Everything” Out October 5th (North America) (Saibot Reigns), October 28th (Japan) (Ward Records)
(contact info below)
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – September 28, 2020
For fans of Unleash the Archers, Iron Maiden, Helloween
It’s All In The DNA With Helion Prime’s New Lyric Video “Photo 51”
New Album “Question Everything” Out October 5th (North America) (Saibot Reigns), October 28th (Japan) (Ward Records)
L-R – Alex Bosson – Drums, Mary Zimmer – Vocals, Jason Ashcraft – Guitar, Chad Anderson – Guitar, Jeremy Steinhouse – Bass
Photo Credit: Casey Frederick
Helion Prime have released a new lyric video for the fourth single “Photo 51” off of their upcoming album “Question Everything” due out on October 5th in North America along with Europe via their label Saibot Reigns and October 28th in Japan via Ward Records. The Japanese CD version will feature two exclusive bonus tracks “Prof (Demo)” and “Rain (Trivium Cover)” (track listing below) and is available for pre-order HERE. The North American/EU pre-order at Helionprimemetal.com.
The band comments on “Photo 51”:
“We are very happy to release the final single for our album “Question Everything”, which comes out one week from today! This song is called “Photo 51” and based on…Photo 51! The first photograph of DNA. This song is a favorite among the band from the new album and those who have heard it seem to claim it as a favorite as well! It might just become a new staple in our live sets! We hope you enjoy Photo 51! And thank you to Scott Kennedy from 12 Inch Media for creating it.”
Watch and listen to “Photo 51” HERE.
It’s been about two years since the band’s sophomore release “Terror of the Cybernetic Space Monster” and Sacramento sci-fi power metallers Helion Prime returns with their third effort and the much shorter title “Question Everything” set for release on Monday, October 5th, 2020 via their label Saibot Reigns. This is Helion Prime‘s first album with new vocalist Mary Zimmer, who has also accompanied the band on two separate tours of the United States. It also sees the band’s original singer, Heather Michele, returning in a writing capacity and contributing all lyrics and melodies. Heather Michele also along with other former Helion Prime vocalist Sozos Michael and with John Yelland (Judicator/Dire Peril) add their guest vocals on the full length.
The highly anticipated third record is a concept album, with each song revolving around different figures throughout human history that had the courage to question the status quo of their respective worlds/societies, in some cases even dealing with harsh persecution as a result. Those Helion Prime chose to write about-faced prejudice, mockery, ex-communication, and persecution – yet through it all, they held true to their beliefs and ideas. Time would be their greatest ally as their ideas and identities were eventually validated, oftentimes not until after their passing. They serve as an inspiration for all minds to continue thinking outside the box and staying true to themselves.
Jason speaks on the album itself:
“This album has truly been amazing to work on. The idea behind it is something I’ve been holding on to since around the time I started the band. Aside from writing some of what I consider to be Prime’s best work it was a great experience getting to work with Heather again on an album as she once again contributed her talents for the lyrics.”
“Question Everything” was produced by Jason Ashcraft and Alex Nasla. Mixing was done by Chris Collier and mastered by Brett Caldas-Lima along with additional mixing/drum edits/reamping plus writing and performance of keyboard arrangements by Alex Nasla of Gear Gods Studio. Guitar/Bass edits by Michael Goodrich and cover art by Marc Whisnant.
Previous singles:
“The Forbidden Zone” YouTube (Lyric Video), Spotify.
“Madame Mercury” Youtube (Lyric Video), Spotify.
“Gadfly” YouTube (Music Video)
Track Listing:
1. The Final Theory
2. Madame Mercury
3. Prof
4. The Gadfly
5. Photo 51
6. E Pur Si Muove
7. Words of The Abbot ft. guest vocals John Yelland (Judicator, Dire Peril)
8. The Forbidden Zone
9. Question Everything ft. Heather Michele (ex-Graveshadow, ex-Helion Prime) and Sozos Michael (ex-Helion Prime, Planeswalker)
10. Reawakening
11. Kong at the Gates (Misfits Cover)
– Japanese Edition Limited Bonus Tracks –
12. Prof (Demo)
13. Rain (Trivium Cover)
Helion Prime is:
Mary Zimmer – Vocals
Jason Ashcraft – Rhythm Guitars
Chad Anderson – Lead Guitars
Jeremy Steinhouse – Bass
Alex Bosson – Drums
For more info:
Helionprimemetal.com
Facebook.com/helionprimemetal
Instagram.com/helionprimemetal
EPK
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ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
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