Category: EPKs
0 Protected: EPK – Levinia – Silver Tongues (2026) (Single)
0 EPK – Accursed – Sever The Horizon (2026) (single)
EPK – Accursed – Sever The Horizon (2026) (single)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
For fans of The Black Dahlia Murder, At The Gates, Revocation, Wretched, Angelmaker
Accursed.band | Facebook.com/accursedct | Youtube.com/@accursedct | Instagram.com/accursedct
Accursedct.bandcamp.com | Spotify | Apple Music | Accursed-merch.square.site/
“Lyrically, this new one is a furious condemnation of Christianity, joining a near-endless line of metal songs with a similar theme. Musically, it’s a hell-raiser too, a furiously vicious melodic death metal discharge. The screamed vocals are hair-raising in their intensity. The riffing blares like sirens, feverishly slashes like blood-crusted swords, and dismally roils. The drums methodically snap and maniacally clatter. The fleet-fingered soloing is exultant but also fluidly sinister. The song proves to be not just hostile but also eventually steeped in misery and dismay. It also proves to be highly groovesome, and good reason to check out Accursed‘s previous releases this year.” -Islander – No Clean Singing – (Beneath A Burning Sky Single 2025)
Band: Accursed
Single Title: Sever the Horizon – 3:38
Release Date: 5/8/2026
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: Distrokid
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
Location of Band: Connecticut, USA
Single Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Accursed
• All songs written by: Dave Lee, Chris Dwyer, Will Devereaux
• Produced by: Dave Lee
• Mixed by: Stephan Hawkes
• Mastered by: Stephan Hawkes
• Album Artwork by: Dimas Aditya
• Member of ASCAP
Album Band Line Up:
Will Devereaux – Vocals
Dave Lee – Guitar
Chris Dwyer – Bass
Ray Zvovushe – Drums
Live Band Line Up:
Will Devereaux – Vocals
Dave Lee – Guitar
Rob Casucci – Guitar
Chris Dwyer – Bass
Ethan Puetzer – Drums
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About The Single:
Although the writing for Sever the Horizon was completed over a year ago, it became the catalyst for the rest of the album, setting both the tonal direction and the level of compositional complexity that eventually pulled the full track list together. Lyrically, it tells the story of Richard ‘Sky King’ Russell and the Horizon Air Incident of August 10, 2018, approaching it through a more interpretive lens. The song explores the emotional and psychological headspace he may have been in, while surmising the surreal physical experience and the overwhelming beauty and uncertainty of what he was witnessing in his final moments.
We intentionally avoided direct callouts or any attempt to explain or glorify his actions, recognizing that much of it is ultimately unknowable. Instead, the focus is on perspective and wholly human experience within a tragic and widely discussed moment. It’s a story that resonated with a lot of people when it happened, and we hope that the song connects similarly, maybe offering listeners something to reflect on and even relate to in their own struggles.
About The Single Artwork:
We went back and forth on the artwork quite a bit because, honestly, we didn’t have a clear direction right away. We even had Dimas scrap the initial concept and take it in a completely different direction once we realized it didn’t really reflect who we are stylistically.
What we ended up with feels a lot more like a visual metaphor for confronting and battling your inner demons. It ties directly into the core themes of the song and in a lot of ways, says what we’re trying to express without needing to spell it out.
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BAND STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS:
1. Who is Justin Dupree? That’s a great question. Honestly, we’ve been asking ourselves that ever since recording our first EP, Ascension.
We were tracking vocals for The Way Out at Hat City Music Productions, and mid-take, the engineer Chris Litwin stops Will and asks him to redo a line, something like, ‘do that Justin Dupree part again’. The actual lyrics are “dust and debris”, but from that moment, it was over.
A legend was born, and now none of us can hear that line any other way.
2. During the recording of our first EP, it felt like the universe was actively testing whether the release was supposed to happen when we thought it was. The first sign came during our final vocal session when lightning struck the studio. We watched it arc from a power strip to a pipe in the room we were standing in. It fried some of the gear, but luckily, all our recordings made it through untouched. Then, just as things moved into mixing and mastering with Studio Wormwood, the Asheville area was hit with historic flooding that devastated the community. We were watching it unfold in real time, not knowing what it meant for the project, but incredibly, the studio itself was spared. At the time, we were anxious to get the music out as quickly as possible, but looking back, it felt like something was telling us to slow down and pay attention. Since then, we’ve tried to be more in tune with that because when we are, things tend to fall into place in ways we can’t really plan for. Opportunities show up out of nowhere, and we’ve learned to just stay ready, trust the process, and keep doing things the right way.
3. At this point, most of the process has moved in-house. All of the guitars, bass, and vocals are tracked out of my home studio, where I also handle the producing, engineering, and reamping. It’s given us a lot more control over the sound and the pace of how we work, which has been huge for dialing things in exactly how we want them.
Drums are the one piece we can’t quite accommodate yet due to space, so we track those at Dexter’s Lab with Nick Bellmore (Many Eyes, Dee Snider, Jasta, and more). It’s a great balance, keeping most of the process in-house while still bringing in someone with his experience to help capture the energy on the drum side.
4. On a long weekend run through Virginia and North Carolina last year, we really tested the limits of Japanese engineering. We hitched a U-Haul trailer to Dave’s Subaru Crosstrek and somehow fit five fully grown adults(?) into it for what ended up being about 25 hours of driving. If you ever get the opportunity to pack half a ton of dudes into a crossover SUV for a road trip… don’t. Just rent the van. Trust me.
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L-R: Accursed Current Line Up | Rob Casucci (Guitar) | Dave Lee (Guitar) | Will Devereaux (Vocals) | Chris Dwyer (Bass) | Ethan Puetzer (Drums)
Photographer Credit – Mia Palazzo
Accursed began in 2019 against the urban backdrop of Connecticut as a singular creative reaction to the extremes of modern metal; a project aimed at blending the melodic sophistication of classic melodic death metal with the intensity of contemporary heavy music.
Across the band’s formative years, the lineup shifted several times, each change refining the group’s direction rather than diluting it. These early transitions were a workshop – players came and went, arrangements were tested, and the band’s songwriting deepened. Rather than slowing momentum, the process strengthened Accursed’s identity, resulting in tighter compositions and a clearer sonic blueprint.
The band’s last single, “Beneath A Burning Sky,” was received extremely well, outperforming their previous releases in the first 3 months and being featured on The Circle Pit’s YouTube channel and on No Clean Singing blog.
In late 2025, Accursed entered a new phase of creative chemistry with a new lineup that will carry the band into the future. Currently putting the finishing touches on pre-production for their debut full-length, Accursed is readying a record that emphasizes dynamic contrasts, harmonized guitar work, and melodic hooks balanced against pummeling rhythm sections and visceral vocals.
Sonically, Accursed sits squarely in the melodic death metal tradition but refuses to be a pastiche. Fans can expect modern production clarity and arrangements that make space for both aggression and atmosphere. Lyrically, the band explores themes of consequence, internal fracture, and the quiet violence of everyday existence, all delivered with concise, evocative imagery that complements the music’s intensity.
Looking ahead, Accursed is focused on finishing the album and not just building on the past but blowing it away entirely. With an uncompromising creative vision, Accursed is poised to make a distinct mark on the melodic death metal landscape.
Discography:
2026 – Sever the Horizon (Single)
2025 – Beneath A Burning Sky (Single)
2025 – Cold (At the Gates Cover) (Single)
2025 – Ascension (EP)
Shared Stage with:
Undeath
Gates to Hell
Crown Magnetar
Gorgatron
Extermination Dismemberment
Jasta
Kruelty
Larcenia Roe
Malignancy
Pessimist
Fires in the Distance
Begat The Nephilim
Burned In Effigy
Fleshbore
Frog Mallet
Tours and Festivals:
2026 – Buffalo Gore Fest – Buffalo, NY
2025 – Connecticut Death Fest – Milford, CT
2024 – Connecticut Death Fest – East Haven, CT
2023 – Connecticut Death Fest – East Haven, CT
0 Protected: EPK – Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship – 二次元コンプレックス 2D Complex (2026) (Stillbirth Records)
0 EPK – Entropist – The Vision (2026)
EPK – Entropist – The Vision (2026)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“This album is the culmination of over a decade of work, and we’re excited to finally be able to share it with the world! It contains a personal story that I think many can relate to, while also containing a crazy esoteric concept, for those who are into that sort of thing. The album as a whole covers a huge breadth of metal sound. You can hear all kinds of different influences throughout, but it all comes together as what I consider its own thing, very much. Many of the songs are relatively long, with a good bit of complexity, but I think we’ve done a good job of making everything flow in such a way that it really just brings the listener on a journey. It gets really heavy, but has so many unexpected and even victorious moments that I think truly set it apart. I’m really proud of what we’ve created here, and look forward to sharing what else we’ve got in store! Solomon Smith – Guitar/Vocals – Entropist
For fans of Between the Buried and Me, The Contortionist, Meshuggah, Karnivool, Opeth
Entropistband.com | Facebook.com/EntropistBand | Instagram.com/entropistband
Entropistcolorado.bandcamp.com
Spotify single pre-save – https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/entropist1/creation
Band: Entropist
Album Title: The Vision
Release Date: June 26, 2026
Label: Self-Release
Genre: Progressive Metal
Location of Band: Denver, CO
Track Listing:
1. Intense Warmth (4:00)
2. Devour Us (6:34)
3. I Hunger (5:34)
4. The Ritual (8:36)
5. Desert of Limbo (6:04)
6. The Wandering (6:47)
7. Creation (8:49)
8. Revelation (14:12)
Album Length: 1:00:40
Album Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Entropist
• All songs written by: Entropist
• Produced by: Jamie King
• Mixed by: Jamie King
• Mastered by: Jamie King
• Album Artwork by: Shannon Bortfeldt
Album Band Line Up:
Solomon Smith – Guitar
Will Vinson – Guitar
Jeremy Smith – Bass
Matt Gleason – Drums
Parker Kitching – Vocals
Cecily Meade – Violin
Live Band Line Up:
Solomon Smith – Guitar
Will Vinson – Guitar
Jeremy Smith – Bass
Matt Gleason – Drums
Parker Kitching – Vocals
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About The Album Artwork:
The artwork was painted on canvas by my amazingly talented wife, Shannon Bortfeldt. It’s an impressionist depiction of the defining moments that open up the album’s story, as well as a powerful compliment to darker themes of dread and disillusionment that pervade its first arcs. I believe the artwork speaks better than I can to the intense emotional concepts here, and in the interest of leaving the concept a bit up to interpretation, I’ll simply say that the first few songs are told from the perspective of the entities seen there. Solomon Smith – Vocalist
About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
A powerful and visionary progressive metal odyssey. Largely through-composed, the album explores a vast array of soundscapes and flavors of metal to tell its intertwined stories. Solomon Smith – guitar/vocals
Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
1. Intense Warmth – This song is one of my favorites because it just keeps building up throughout the majority of the song. It begins in a relatively traditional manner with a clean guitar intro, but I think the moment the listener hears the walls of vocals come in, it’s clear they’re listening to something different. It’s got some big chords that come with a melodic bass solo before some fast double bass kicks us into the main riff of the song. The driving riff suddenly transitions into this huge breakdown before the song gradually cools off. The song is largely written from the perspective of one of the characters from the album’s concept becoming disillusioned with his world, and dreaming about the possibilities of changing it.
2. Devour Us – This song gives the listener a moment to breathe by starting with an acoustic guitar intro with a beautiful violin solo played by a friend of ours before jumping right back into some technical metal riffing. I think this is one of the more unique main riffs, with guitars jumping between unison and harmony parts with the bass while the drums hold everything together. The song then slows down for a bridge with odd time signatures and droning guitars, while Parker and I trade off call-and-response vocals before kicking into a faster, thrashy part. Everything stops for a moment as the vocals summon the void itself before Will rips this nasty but tasteful solo for the outro. Devour Us is where the album’s concept and connection to the real world start to blur a bit, relating to themes of struggling with seclusion, mundanity, and futility
3. I Hunger – A real crusher, this one. Meant to represent the voice of the all-consuming void, this song is arguably the heaviest on the album: a slow, sinister, and powerful wall of sound. It features heavily downtuned guitars and is largely driven by the drums and vocals. We actually wrote the lyrics for this one before everything else, writing the rest around, making it all sound as colossal as possible.
4. The Ritual – This song comes in with an eerie vibe, with the chords and melodies all creating a slightly unsettled atmosphere, accompanied by the sounds of strange creatures calling in the dark. We then dive into a fast, techy passage with brutal screams, blast beats, the like that culminates into a heavily syncopated breakdown where Parker and I trade off vocal parts. The bridge gives the listener a chance to breathe, with the bass holding down a pensive chord progression under lush vocal harmonies featuring everyone in the band. The drums kick us into a fun little part that brings us right back into the heaviness for the outro. The lyrics are largely correlated to the concept, but explore the unease and potentially devastating consequences of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
5. Desert of Limbo – This song is where the album really begins to diverge from more traditional metal sounds. The structure comes in waves, starting with an evocative clean passage in a deceptively pleasant odd time signature. We decided to get pretty experimental with the vocal melodies and harmonies here, and I think it came together well with the unique rhythms and chord changes the bass holds down. The song quickly gains energy and explodes into a breakdown with fierce vocals on top before flipping into this techy part with a tapping solo over a complex chugging from the rhythm section. We bring it down a bit for a tasty drum and bass part with some really echoey screams before transitioning into some duelling guitar solos. We hand it back to the bass and drums for a fun instrumental part that leads into a heavy, slow breakdown before the song climaxes with big chords and vocal harmonies. This song is really about both losing yourself in the trials and complexities of life, but also finding yourself through the paths you take.
6. The Wandering – The instrumental track! This one explores some of the craziest parts and time signatures and gives the rhythm section a chance to show off a bit, though we aimed to keep it as tasteful as we could throughout. It’s got tasty bass licks, fun guitar harmonies, tricky rhythms, unique chord changes and, of course, some sick solos. We love playing this one live, and it gives us an opportunity to mix things up with some improv.
7. Creation – The beginning of the final arc of the album. Sonically and lyrically, there’s a clear contrast here, the themes related to making something new and bringing about the world you want to see. This one starts with some big and bright-sounding chords where the drums give the whole thing momentum that drives us into some proggy intro riffage. This ultimately settles into a Parker delivering a meditative verse part where Will plays this tasty guitar lick over some percussive bass and drums. We quickly build it up into this powerful driving part with a combination of chords and djenty rhythms before taking it into the second verse. The second verse leads into a huge chorus part with soaring vocals and huge chords that climax into one of the heaviest breakdowns on the album. We bring it back to the chorus chord change for this gorgeous and victorious solo from Will before closing out with some heavy rhythms and huge crowd vocals.
8. Revelation – This song represents both the beginning and end of an era for me, to say the least. It’s about the elation of self-actualization, the feeling of having not only overcome one’s challenges and personal failings, but bringing forward positive movement in the world. It encapsulates and concludes both the album’s concept and the story of its own realization. It’s easily our most ambitious song, with all kinds of thematic and lyrical callbacks to the other songs on the album, the wildest riffs and rhythms, and just over a 14-minute runtime. The composition ranges from triumphant guitar lead harmonies to complex chugging rhythms, to spicy drum & bass parts, to soaring choruses. The whole thing ends in an epic and emotional passage that I think ties a perfect bow on the album.
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STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS ABOUT THE BAND
1. We met back in 2013 while going to college in Greeley, CO. Solomon, Jeremy, and Parker were all roommates at the time, and our drummer, Matt, was our back door neighbor. We all bonded quickly over our love for prog metal and djent. We would carpool down to Denver for shows all the time and would always get together to jam new albums together when they came out. This eventually turned into us jamming together. Solomon had written a few songs at the time (some of which are on this album), and we ended up setting up Matt’s drum set in our living room so we could learn them together. We later all moved away from Greeley, and the music quickly came to a halt. Years later, when COVID hit, Solomon ended up rekindling the music. He hit everyone up, and we started getting back in touch with each other. Lots of long nights chatting in Discord, lots of sharing of guitar pro files, bouncing ideas back and forth. This was the start of Entropist. We ended up meeting Will through a mutual friend, which took Entropist to a new level with his guitar style and creativity. We had a handful of songs written, we now had a full band of devoted guys, and we knew that this had potential. Parker – Vocals
2. We ended up choosing Jamie King to mix/master this album because we are big fans of Between the Buried and Me and The Contortionist, and both of those bands have worked with him. Some of our favorite albums of all time were mixed by Jamie King, and it was a big goal of ours to make sure he got his hands on this album. Needless to say, the final product far exceeded our expectations. Parker – Vocals
3. We did not originally intend to have group vocals with all 5 of us members on the album, but during the recording process, we all decided on the spot that we should give it a try. The group yelling/chanting at the end of “Creation” was added on the spot, as well as the layered vocal harmonies during the bridge on “The Ritual”. Parker – Vocals
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Clockwise from Top Right: Solomon Smith – Guitars/Backup Vocals, Will Vinson – Guitars, Parker Kitching – Lead Vocals, Jeremy Smith – Bass, Matt Gleason – Drums
Photo Credit – Entropist
Entropist is emerging as one of progressive metal’s most compelling new voices, delivering a sound that vocalist Parker Kitching describes as “a love letter to metal.” Blending the ambition of prog with the weight of deathcore, the precision of djent, and the emotion of post‑hardcore, the band crafts a sweeping, cinematic style rooted in both technical mastery and raw storytelling.
Formed from a decade‑long bond between Solomon Smith (guitar/vocals), Parker Kitching (vocals), Jeremy Smith (bass), and Matt Gleason (drums), the band’s origins trace back to 2013 in Greeley, Colorado, where the members first connected as college roommates and neighbors. After years of jamming, drifting apart, and reconnecting during the COVID era, Entropist solidified its lineup with the addition of guitarist Will Vinson, whose creativity pushed the project into its fully realized form.
Their debut album “The Vision” marks a bold entrance, a dual‑layered concept record that intertwines a fantastical narrative of demons, celestial beings, and the void with a grounded exploration of mental struggle, nihilism, and the search for meaning. Written largely from the perspectives of characters within the story, the album is designed as a front‑to‑back experience, filled with recurring motifs, callbacks, and evolving themes.
The band’s sonic identity is shaped heavily by influences like Between the Buried and Me, Meshuggah, Opeth, and The Contortionist, yet their approach remains distinctly their own. Solomon’s intricate compositions form the backbone of the record, while the rest of the band shaped the material through relentless collaboration, late‑night Discord sessions, shared files, and constant experimentation.
To bring the album’s massive sound to life, Entropist enlisted renowned producer Jamie King, whose work with BTBAM and The Contortionist helped define modern progressive metal. His mixing and mastering elevated the band’s wide‑ranging ideas into a cohesive, powerful whole. The album’s visual identity comes from a hand‑painted canvas by Solomon’s wife, Shannon Bortfeldt, whose impressionist artwork captures the emotional and narrative weight of the story’s opening moments.
Entropist has already shared the stage with Nightwraith, So This Is Suffering, Eternal Bloom, The Dawn Chose Orion, WOR, and Fused by Defiance, bringing their intense, immersive sound to audiences ready for something both heavy and deeply atmospheric.
With a debut that spans genres, tells a sweeping story, and showcases the band’s technical and emotional range, Entropist is poised to make a significant impact on the modern metal landscape. Their music is ambitious, meticulously crafted, and driven by a genuine passion for the genre, and this is only the beginning.
Album Band Line Up:
Solomon Smith – Guitar
Will Vinson – Guitar
Jeremy Smith – Bass
Matt Gleason – Drums
Parker Kitching – Vocals
Cecily Meade – Violin
Live Band Line Up:
Solomon Smith – Guitar
Will Vinson – Guitar
Jeremy Smith – Bass
Matt Gleason – Drums
Parker Kitching – Vocals
Shared Stage with:
Nightwraith
So this is Suffering
Eternal Bloom
The Dawn Chose Orion
WOR
Fused by Defiance
0 EPK – Eternal Drak – The Violence Of Time (2026)
EPK – Eternal Drak – The Violence Of Time (2026)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelation[.]com
For fans of Dimmu Borgir, Watain, Kreator, Motorhead, Desaster
“Long-time listeners usually look for emotional continuity, lyrics, themes, or a sound that feels them authentically, even if the production evolves. If that connection is there, reception tends to be warm even when the style shifts. We seek to deepen and solidify the bond with those who have accompanied us for years, acknowledging their loyalty and the enduring connection that has grown alongside our music. The Violence of Time is an album aimed at every true old-school metal devotee, those drawn to the raw spirit of thrash, the darkness of black metal, and the severity of death metal. It is an invitation to listeners who grew up with the foundations of extreme metal, but who still seek intensity, conviction, and relevance.” – Eternal Drak
Eternaldrak.com | Facebook.com/EternalDrak | X.com/eternaldrak | Youtube.com/@eternaldrak1684 | Instagram.com/eternaldrak
Eternaldrak.bandcamp.com | Spotify | Apple Music | Amazon Music
“A fine collection from the masters of ancient evil” – Metal Noise (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“There’s evil intent at the start of next song “Eternal Drak” something I’d expect as it’s named after the band. Again, the trio are delving into themes of dark forces and mythical battles, but they have upped the intensity on this one as it sounds more powerful. It’s hard not to imagine a town or castle besieged by dragon’s fire and the hellish earth that awaits any survivors.” – The Razor’s Edge (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“another great sounding recording from Eternal Drak and if you are a fan of blackened thrash metal, you should check out this ep. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE “Oda A La Luna” and “La Nueva Orden”. 8 out of 10.” – Bringer of Death Zine (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“„Eternal Drak“ is a small grab bag. Here they use different tempos that fit into the fast, rhythmic sound. With an extremely thrashy and vocally aggressive sound, you always have to be prepared for changing rhythms and moods. An extremely brutal melody blows with us „La nueva Order“ counter. At the end of the „EP“ they take a Metallica song from the album „Master of Puppets“ before. „Leper Messiah“ rewound in a radical version. Just as the album title says: they implement the warrior code musically.” – Hellfire Magazin (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“The Warrior Order is a real surprise and shows a completely new face of ETERNAL DRAK,” – PowerMetal.de (The Warrior Order – 2025)
““Oda A La Luna” sees a powerful drum at the beginning, before the rhythm settles in this dark ode. The lyrical theme is one of rebellion and ritual, and you can feel the intensity with each slap on the snare. The middle section has a sudden tempo change, with a riff that will get your head moving and the intensity follows through.” – The Razor’s Edge (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“This is a pretty good EP that’s got plenty of thrashy riffs, grooves and black metal harmonies and tremolos, give this a spin. ” – Drako’s Metal Reviews (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“”Drak Metal” is an excellent album, a deserving addition to any metalhead’s collection. With a few specific focuses here and there, the combination of Black and Thrash and Groove metals is done with near perfect balance, so there should be a wide appeal. ” – Metal Temple (2024 – Imprisoned Souls)
“the album comes with a sharp and grim expression set to an appropriately dark mood and mode, and in terms of mood and atmosphere this album did remind me ever so slightly of Celtic Frost, even if the music itself is rather different. That being said, I would imagine that quite a few thrash metal fans that also enjoy a little bit extreme metal as well as a band like aforementioned Celtic Frost would feel right at home with the landscapes explored on this production.” – The Viking in the Wilderness (2024 – Imprisoned Souls)
“‘Drak Metal’ is actually very enjoyable… it has a supreme raw quality to it which gives the album a sense honest integrity that just means that the listener cannot get enough of it, that passion is infectious and is more than enough to say, more of the same guys… more of the same.” – Metal Digest (2021 – Drak Metal)
Album Title: The Violence Of Time
Release Date: July 17th, 2026
Label: FirstWave Canada
Genre: Thrash Black Metal
Location of Band: Quebec City, Canada
1. We Force It To Speak – 5:15
2. The Unborn Paths Rot – 3:51
3. Me Hice Simultaneo – 3:30
4. The Blasphemy of Time – 3:35
5. Chaos Is the Law – 3:34
6. Where Cause Is Buried – 3:55
7. Across the Watching Veils – 3:53
8. Breathing Once Again – 3:45
9. The Cosmos Rejects You – 4:09
10. No Direction Total War – 2:57
Album Length: 38:24
• All songs performed by: Eternal Drak
• All songs written by:
Tracks 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 9 – 10 by Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar)
Track 8 by Michel Amyot
• Produced by: Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar)
• Mixed by: Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar)
• Mastered by: Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar)
• Album Artwork by: Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar)
• Member of SOCAN
Album Band Line Up:
Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar) – Voices, Lead Guitar, Bass
Michel Amyot – Rhythm Guitar
Live Band Line Up:
Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar) – Voices, Lead Guitar
Michel Amyot – Rhythm Guitar
About The Album Artwork:
The image represents the structural spine of the album, a visual interpretation of the rupture and destruction of the traditional concept of time. Past and present are shown coexisting, bound together yet simultaneously under attack at their very foundation: the river of time itself.
This collision reflects the album’s central idea, where time is no longer linear or stable, but fractured and eroded. By striking at its base, the image symbolizes the collapse of chronological certainty, exposing time as something violent, unstable, and ultimately indefinable.
About the album as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
The album frames time as a hostile force—not as a neutral medium or an abstract measure. Time does not accompany human beings; it subdues them. It does not flow; it imposes. It does not advance; it erodes. It does not reveal meaning; it destroys it.
Time is a constant pressure that distorts memory, identity, and causality. Everything human beings think they understand <past, present, future> is a mental adaptation designed to survive, not to describe reality.
Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
1. We Force It To Speak
Understanding changes things. The sixth break was personal. Trying to understand time doesn’t reveal it. It distorts it. Explanation isn’t neutral.
Observation isn’t passive. Two people describing the same moment don’t agree because there is no single version to agree on. Truth isn’t discovered.
It’s enforced. Time doesn’t lie. We force it to make sense.
2. The Unborn Paths Rot
Most futures are already dead; the fifth idea changed how I think about tomorrow. There isn’t one future. There are too many. Most of them never make it. Outcomes appear and collapse without ever becoming real. Paths that existed just long enough to fail. Sometimes I see traces—effects without decisions, warnings written for events that never happened. The future doesn’t open.
It closes constantly. Time doesn’t choose. It lets everything happen and abandons most of it. I changed.
3. Me Hice Simultaneo
Attention feeds time. The eighth realization was uncomfortable.
Time gets stronger where it’s watched. Fear makes the present heavier.
Hope stretches the pressure longer. Obsession speeds everything up.
Ignoring time doesn’t stop it. It just spreads it out. We don’t control time.
We make it harsher.
4. The Blasphemy of Time
Time doesn’t move. The first thing I understood was simple and unbearable:
Time doesn’t flow. Nothing really goes forward. Nothing stays behind.
The past doesn’t leave. It stays stacked on top of everything else, still active, still pushing. Memories aren’t echoes. They’re in contact. Every time I remembered something, I wasn’t revisiting it. I was touching it again. That’s when memory stopped being comfort. It became pressure.
5. Chaos Is the Law
Disorder is normal. The second thing was harder to accept. Chaos isn’t a mistake. It’s how time works. Order is the exception. Stability is temporary.
Everything that tries to stay fixed starts breaking down faster. Systems. Stories. Identities. History isn’t falling apart by accident. It’s doing what time expects it to do. Time doesn’t preserve anything. It wears it down on purpose.
6. Where Cause Is Buried
Tomorrow edits yesterday. The seventh idea broke the cause and effect. Some things only make sense after they happen. Some causes seem to exist only to justify results. Origins don’t matter anymore. Consistency does. Responsibility gets blurry. Blame loses its shape. Time doesn’t reward or punish. It rewrites until the story holds together.
7. Across the Watching Veils
Attention feeds time. The eighth realization was uncomfortable. Time gets stronger where it’s watched. Fear makes the present heavier. Hope stretches the pressure longer. Obsession speeds everything up. Ignoring time doesn’t stop it. It just spreads it out. We don’t control time. We make it harsher.
8. Breathing Once Again
When you contemplate the relentless impact of time, your perception begins to shift; your senses warp, and the sweetness of life’s joys fades, while the disasters you endure seem to lose their weight. The tragedies you witness were never truly yours to command, because everything has already unfolded.
9. The Cosmos Rejects You
Human scale doesn’t matter. The fourth realization was humiliating. Years. Decades. Lifetimes. These are human units, not real ones. On the scale time actually uses, a human life barely registers. Too short to matter. Too small to leave a mark. Nothing lasts long enough to be important. Nothing ends cleanly enough to be finished. Time doesn’t care. It doesn’t even notice.
10. No Direction Total War
There is no direction. The third break destroyed the idea of “before” and “after.” Time doesn’t point anywhere. The present isn’t special. It’s just where awareness happens to be stuck. The future doesn’t wait. It pushes back. Some choices feel forced by outcomes I don’t understand yet. Some warnings arrive only after the damage is done. Time doesn’t guide you. It boxes you in from every side.
L-R – Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar) – Voices, Lead Guitar, Bass – Michel Amyot – Rhythm Guitar
Photo Credit – Patrick Auger
Eternal Drak is a band based in Quebec, Canada, but born in Latin America in the 90s. Thrash Black is the genre that has always been present but has varied over time by adding different touches that enrich the style. In its lyrical content, darkness is what has reigned over the pen; human and non-human darkness have manifested themselves in different ways in each of their 7 official productions. Currently signed with the Canadian Label FirstWave
In 1997, the Martínez brothers, Drakar and Warhammer, aged 17 and 15 respectively, began the foundations of “Eternal Drak”. In 1998, rhythm guitarist Oscar Layton (Reijav) joined the band.
At the beginning of the 21st century, “Eternal Drak” won the City TV network award for best Metal video, with the song Eternal Drak,
In 2002, “Eternal Drak” published its first album (EP) “La Resurreccion De La Orden Guerrera”
In 2005, they recorded their first Long Play “Eternal Drak” but officially released release was in 2012.
In 2007, “Eternal Drak” disbanded.
In 2020, the band moved to Quebec, Canada, and Drakar, Warmessiah, and Reijav came together to create the album “The Past is Gone, A New One is Coming”. In memory of his brother and friend, co-founder and eternal drummer of “Eternal Drak”, Eduardo Martínez, Warhammer.
In 2021, the band’s third Long Play was released, “Drak Metal”, an album with 12 unreleased songs and 1 Cover.
That same year, the band’s line-up was reorganized with the addition of Juan Francisco Avella on drums, and a contract was signed with the Italian label Wormhole Death to physically release the album Drak Metal.
In 2022, the 4th studio album, “Shadow Storm”, was released, and along with it the video clip HIDE YOUR MADNESS was recorded on the Orleans Island in Quebec, Canada.
In 2023, a 2nd Ep is released, “Interdimensional War Of Satan” with 5 tracks.
In 2024, the 5th Long Play “Imprisoned Souls” is released with 10 Tracks.
The Line Up is renewed with Mike Amyot (Lead guitar) and Patrick Auger (Drums)
In 2025, a 3th EP, “The Warrior Order,” with 5 tracks.
Currently, Eternal Drak is still more alive than ever and is determined to live up to its name to continue distorting its strings, hitting its drums, strumming its voice, with more Metal, melody, and harmony than ever.
The perspectives predict that its vibrations start from North America, crossing the entire American continent, with a resonance so strong that the waves of the Pacific and the Atlantic will make them travel to the other continents.
2026 – The Violence Of Time – LP
2024 – Imprisoned Souls – LP
2023 – Interdimensional War Of Satan – EP
2022 – Shadow Storm – LP
2021 – Drak Metal – LP
2021 – My God Is The Sun (single)
2020 – Lets Get Rude (single)
2020 – The True Meaning Of Life (single)
2020 – The Past Is Gone, A New One Is Coming – LP
2012 – Eternal Drak – LP
2002 – La Resurreccion De La Orden Guerrera – EP
0 EPK – As Oceans Divide – Self-Titled (2026)
EPK – As Oceans Divide – Self-Titled (2026)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations.com
For fans of Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, All That Remains, Unearth, God Forbid
“This record came from a very real place for all of us. It’s a reflection of everything we’ve experienced over the past while, personally and as a band, and that naturally shaped both the sound and the message. There was no interest in forcing a concept. It was more about being honest and letting the music speak for where we were at.”
“We wanted to create something that people can sit with from start to finish and actually feel. There’s a lot of contrast throughout the album, heavy, aggressive moments balanced with melody and atmosphere, but it all serves the same purpose. Nothing is there just for the sake of it.”
“Lyrically, it deals with struggle, loss, and confronting what’s beneath the surface, but also finding a way to push through that. Musically, it’s more focused and dynamic than anything we’ve done before. Every part is intentional.”
“At the end of the day, this album is about feeling something real. Whether that’s intensity, reflection, or release, we want people to connect with it in their own way.”
Asoceansdivide.com | Facebook.com/asoceansdivide | X.com/as_oceansdivide
Youtube.com/@AsOceansDivide | Instagram.com/asoceansdivide
Asoceansdivideband.bandcamp.com | Spotify
[Download EP Cover | Download EP Lyrics]
EP Title: Self-Titled
Release Date: July 9, 2026
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: DistroKid
Genre: Metalcore
Location of Band: Ontario, Canada
Track Listing:
1. Into The Dying Light – 4:04
2. White Noise – 3:31
3. World Collapse – 3:16
4. Cursed Oblivion – 3:59
5. One Of The Herd – 3:25
EP Length: 18:15
EP Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: As Oceans Divide
• All songs written by: As Oceans Divide
• Produced by: Thomas Ireland
• Mixed by: Thomas Ireland
• Mastered by: Thomas Ireland
• Album Artwork by: Mikio Murakami (Silent Q Design)
• Are you a Member of SOCAN
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
Album Band Line Up:
Tom Emmans – Vocals
Thomas Ireland – Guitar
Eric Camilleri – Guitar
Matt McGuire – Drums
Live Band Line Up:
Tom Emmans – Vocals
Thomas Ireland – Guitar
Eric Camilleri – Guitar
Matt McGuire – Drums
Mark Sorge – Bass
==========================================
About the EP Artwork:
The artwork centers around a crest featuring a sea serpent bound in chains and wrapped around an anchor, set against a violent ocean backdrop. It represents the tension between control and chaos, something powerful trying to break free while being held down.
The serpent symbolizes the emotional weight and intensity that lives beneath the surface, while the chains reflect restraint, internal struggle, and the pressure of carrying that weight. The anchor adds another layer, representing both stability and the feeling of being pulled under, depending on how you look at it.
Visually, it mirrors the balance in our music between aggression and melody. There’s a constant push and pull between heaviness and atmosphere, just like the imagery suggests.
Overall, the artwork captures themes of struggle, depth, and resilience, facing what’s beneath the surface rather than running from it.
About the EP as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
As a whole, the EP is built around contrast, both lyrically and musically. There’s a constant push between heaviness and melody, aggression and atmosphere, chaos and control. That balance is really at the core of what defines our sound.
Musically, it blends technical, hard-hitting elements with more dynamic and melodic sections, allowing each song to breathe while still maintaining intensity. There’s a strong focus on structure and flow, so every track feels like a journey rather than just a collection of parts.
Lyrically, the album explores themes of internal struggle, loss, resilience, and confronting what lies beneath the surface. A lot of it comes from real experiences, and there’s an emphasis on emotional honesty, turning those moments into something listeners can connect with in their own way.
Everything ties together to create an immersive experience. It’s meant to pull the listener in, hit hard when it needs to, and still leave space for reflection.
Track by Track (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
Into The Dying Light is built around the idea of confronting the end, whether that’s death, inner collapse, or the breaking point of everything someone is carrying, and choosing to face it head-on rather than surrender to it.
Lyrically, the song explores themes of inner struggle, regret, and the weight of the past, with recurring imagery of being pulled down by those experiences. There’s a constant tension between giving in and pushing forward. Lines like “regrets like chains” reinforce that feeling of being held back, while the repeated return to “I walk into the dying light” becomes a statement of acceptance and defiance at the same time.
As the song progresses, that mindset shifts. What starts as something that feels like surrender evolves into resistance, culminating in a refusal to break or disappear. It walks a line between letting go and fighting back, leaving the interpretation open: is it acceptance, transcendence, or survival?
Musically, the track mirrors that journey. It moves between aggressive, technical sections and more melodic, atmospheric moments, allowing the emotion in the lyrics to fully land. The heavier parts drive the sense of urgency and pressure, while the melodic elements create space and depth.
The dynamic vocal performance plays a key role in that contrast, shifting between intensity and clarity to match the emotional weight of each section. Everything builds toward a final release that feels both heavy and cathartic.
Overall, Into The Dying Light sets the tone for the band’s sound, balancing heaviness with melody, and intensity with emotional depth.
==========================================
STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS ABOUT THE BAND:
1. Matt (Aquila) and Tom’s (Odium) previous bands toured together. Embarked on a journey together all the way to the East Coast and back. Playing shows from Ontario to Quebec, to New Brunswick, all the way to the Bay of Fundy. Aquila and Odium developed a great bond together and have memories we will never forget.
2. Thomas Ireland’s band Battlesoul once showed up to open for Aquila in St.Thomas, Ontario, and blew us away. They wore kilts and put on one of the most intense shows we have ever seen.
3. Eric Camilleri is and once was one of the most established metal promoters in the Hamilton area. Booking acts like Beneath the Massacre, Despised Icon, Arch Enemy, Cryptopsy, and way, way more. He worked under the name Chaos Promotions.
4. Thomas Ireland has been a studio engineer for the past two decades, working with bands like Crimson Shadows, Primalfrost, Vesperia, and the recently reformed Blood of Christ, and many more.
https://exclaim.ca/music/article/icehouse_studio_brings_scandinavian_death_sounds_to_goderich_ontario
5. Matt McGuire also currently plays for Cowboys From Hell, an established Pantera Tribute band. Playing bars and theatres.
==========================================
As Oceans Divide, forged from years of friendship and a shared legacy in Canadian metal, is a new heavy force rising out of Ontario, Canada. Featuring members with roots in recognized acts such as Bloodshoteye, Aquila, Odium, and Battlesoul, the band brings together a lineup of seasoned musicians whose combined history gives their sound undeniable weight and authenticity.
Blending soaring melody with crushing rhythms, As Oceans Divide channels the heart of early 2000s metalcore through a modern lens. Their music moves effortlessly between harmonized guitars, driving mid-tempo anthems, and high-intensity metalcore assaults, all anchored by the dynamic power of vocalist Tom Emmans, the precision of drummer Matt McGuire, the creative foundation of guitarist Eric Camilleri, and the technical mastery of guitarist/producer Thomas Ireland. The result is a sound that is as emotional as it is aggressive, built on experience rather than imitation.
Their upcoming debut release showcases a band with relentless ambition and a clear musical identity, explosive, melodic, and unfiltered. With no interest in boundaries or trends, As Oceans Divide stands poised to carve out their own space, delivering music fueled by brotherhood, history, and two decades of dedication to the craft. This is a band built to leave a mark, and they’re only just getting started.
0 EPK – Nova Spei – Deracine (2026) (single)
EPK – Nova Spei – Deracine (2026) (single)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“I really think they will love the rebirth of the band with the change of vocal to the feminine, but even more intense. Into this one, we add some reflection about a sad part of our story…Something more organic than our previous album. Make them feel how passionate and how much fun we can have doing this… The subject of Deracine was important to Emmanuelle, given her background. It’s a topic that is still often silenced by governments, and she wanted to denounce it.” – Nova Spei – Dany Soucy – Founder, Rhythm Guitarist
For fans Gojira, Tesseract, Killswitch Engage, Spiritbox, Architects
NovaSpei.com | Facebook.com/NovaSpei | X.com/NovaSpeiBand | Instagram.com/novaspei | Youtube
Novaspei.bandcamp.com | Apple Music | Spotify
Online Store – www.novaspei.com/marchandise | Bam&Co. Heavy
“Une pièce qui a tout ce qui faut pour devenir un classique du métal québécois. Des phrases percutantes et pleine de sens sur une musique lourde à souhait.” – Ondes Chocs
“Nova Spei : Nouvel espoir sur la scène métallique au Québec” – Voir
“Bref un excellent album à se mettre sous la dent ou sous le sapin pour le temps des fêtes ! Supportez notre belle scène du Québec ! ” – Metal Universe (2021 – Sequentis – LP)
“so there they were, twelve times groovy metal in French – from Canada. “Sequentis” by NOVA SPEI offers many an entertaining song. A lot of it certainly ignites live in the mosh pit and causes the crowd to freak out because they know how to get their limbs moving with their riffs and fat grooves… an album that is fun and fans of the good old groove metal should like.” – Stormbringer (2021 – Sequentis – LP)
“”Along with a meticulous display of proficient musicianship, this entire album is not only a credit to its makers, but the multifaceted collection of influences that has firmly planted a seed deep within them over the years, and brings New Hope to both the listener and the band as you peel away the cellophane so to speak. As a result, this album won’t gather dust in any collection, and will keep heads bouncing and feet tapping from sofa to stage.”” – Stargazer Music Magazine (2021 – Sequentis – LP)
[Download Single Cover | Download Single Lyrics | English Translation of Lyrics]
Band: Nova Spei
Single Title: Déraciné – 4:07
Release Date: April 24, 2026
Label: Bam&Co-Heavy
Distribution: Believe Digital
Genre: Metal
Location of Band: Trois-Rivières, Québec
Single Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Nova Spei
• All songs written by: Nova Spei
• Produced by: Nova Spei
• Mixed by: Francis Perron – Radicart Studio (Voivod, Martyr, etc)
• Mastered by: Maor Appelbaum at Maor Appelbaum Mastering – California – U.S.A (Faith No More, Halford, Yes, etc)
• Album Artwork by: Flat Bathtub: Filip Ivanović personal playground
• Member of SOCAN and SOPROQ
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
Band Line Up:
Cédrick Charland – Lead Guitarist
Dany Soucy – Founder, Rhythm Guitarist
Emmanuelle Desbiens-Dubois – Vocal
Julien De Carufel – Drum
Nicolas Dumais-Brouillette – Bass, Vocal
=========================================
About the Single Artwork:
Filip Ivanovic has managed to capture in images what our rebirth is in a world full of pitfalls.
About The Single (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
It mainly speaks of what the First Nations experienced, the uprooting of their values, their origins, and the abuses of the state.
=========================================
BAND STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS:
1. We started imagining the next album with an approach as modern as Sequentis’s. But Francis Perron showed us how it could all sound much more organic, more raw, the way he worked with Voivod, and our focus completely shifted when we heard his first rough mix.
2. We didn’t know who to contact for mastering the songs, and when we were offered the chance to work with Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Yes, etc.), we thought it would never happen, and yet… he said yes and seems to have really liked what he heard! We’re not worthy! hahaha
=========================================
Left to Right: Nova Spei Current Line Up | Dany Soucy (Founder, Rhythm Guitarist) | Cédrick Charland (Lead Guitarist) | Emmanuelle Desbiens-Dubois (Vocal) | Julien De Carufel (Drums) | Nicolas Dumais-Brouillette (Bass, Vocal)
Photo Credit – Joe Weller (Joe Lacerte)
NOVA SPEI, a French-language metal band from Quebec, launched/presented their first album, “Self-Titled” as the opening act for Anonymus on their December 2017 tour across Quebec. In 2019, they toured most of Quebec’s major cities during the band’s 30th-anniversary tour. By 2025, Nova Spei will have performed over 100 shows to promote the band in Quebec and Ontario.
NOVA SPEI was formed in 2012 by Dany Soucy (guitar) (Dook, Legion). Nicolas Dumais (bass) joined the band in 2014. Julien De Carufel (drums) arrived in August 2021, and it was, finally, in 2025 that Cédrick Charland (lead guitar), as well as Emmanuelle Desbiens-Dubois (vocals), joined the new version of Nova Spei.
In 2017, their first album was produced and recorded in their home studio in Champlain, and mixed, produced, and mastered in France by Anthony Chognard (Smash Hit Combo, CHSprod). Their single “L’homme aux 1000 Sourires” (The Man with 1000 Smiles) is in constant rotation on Quebec City’s RadioX 98.1FM, and their song “Ma Muse” (My Muse), and a few more can be heard during Montreal Canadiens games at the Bell Centre.
2019 marked the beginning of recording for their second album titled SEQUENTIS. The first single, “Qui Sème Le Vent” (Who Sows the Wind), was released in November 2019, but due to the pandemic, the album’s release was delayed by two years, until November 12, 2021.
After some lineup changes, 2026 heralded the return of the full band and the desire to hit the road again. An album titled TRINITAS is therefore in preparation for autumn 2026, with the intention of restarting the party on stage that is Nova Spei.
Band Line Up:
Cédrick Charland – Lead Guitarist
Dany Soucy – Founder, Rhythm Guitarist
Emmanuelle Desbiens-Dubois – Vocals
Julien De Carufel – Drum
Nicolas Dumais-Brouillette – Bass, Vocals
Discography:
2026 – Renaissance (single)
2021 – Sequentis – LP
2017 – Self-Titled LP
Music Placements: Montreal Canadiens games at the Bell Centre
Artist endorsements: Charbonneau Guitars
0 EPK – Paradise – Queen of Mars (single) (2026)
EPK – Paradise – Queen of Mars (single) (2026)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Paradiserockband.com | Instagram.com/paradiserockmtl | Facebook.com/paradiserockmtl | Youtube.com/@paradiserockband5339
Paradiserockband.bandcamp.com | Spotify | Apple Music
“The Canada scene has been fire in recent years, and it’s great to see the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll alive and kicking up there. Think about it: in this jaded era of fake music, here’s a group of five genuinely real, thinking, feeling humans who make music that you can also see live. The vibes are infectious. They call it volcanic rock, and the band’s been at it in some form or another since 2002. After two initial releases in the early part of the century, Paradise returned to the recording studio in 2020 ready for a new beginning. Now following the release of Paradise, they’re bringing all the attitude, energy, riffing, and fuzz to bear in the brand single before us: “Queen of Mars.” Beginning with a splash of pedal-mediated wah, the song picks up a groovy, heart-pounding pace, joined by grinding desert revving perfect for the visuals of the music video. Vocals tell the story in gritty and clean tones of “straying beyond the desert’s edge” and encountering the elusive Queen of Mars, depicted as “a gypsy spirit, wandering this ancient land.” Mysteries abound and you are invited to trip with the band into this strange, electrifying realm. Paradise’s new single comes out on Tuesday, April 28th, so this is your chance to hear it first! Stick it on a playlist with Freedom Hawk, Sandveiss, Bone Church, Kal-El, and Blackwülf. Give ear…” – Doomed and Stoned
“Montreal based hard rock band Paradise have returned after a six year hiatus with a red hot new single, ‘Queen of Mars’. A sci-fi tale ripe with a deep bottom end, driving heavy riffs, percussive rolls, soaring guitar breaks and foreboding vocals, ‘Queen of Mars’ is a fantastic epic in a tidy four minutes. It’s also an impressive return to prominence as Paradise sets the stage with this strong statement. In rotation now on your Home for the Best New Rock… W-J-O-EEEE” -WJOE – Findlay’s Home for Rock & Roll
“Fans of melodic heavy rock, there’s a new sheriff in town!” – Jano Lapin (2020)
“Solid, driving Hard Rock from the quagmires of Quebec!” – Reek Of STOOM (2020)
“Brilliant from start to finish !” – Stoner Rock Army (2020)
“A record that growls like a hungry beast” – ARP Média (2020)
“Riffing melodic hard rock and metal seems to the recipe for Canadians PARADISE, hailing from Montreal. And they do it well!This is a truly giutar driven album including ten songs only, but with energy enough to please you. Among my fave tracks are the cool and heavy riffed ”Who Do You Wanna Be” and the tempo filled ”Away From You” – try to stand still to that one! Like AC/DC on dope, if I exaggerate a bit.” – Melodic.net (2020)
“The synergy of this quintet gives the listener a proper kick in the ass needed to remember why we fell in love with the format. They also lend proof as to why heavy metal is the cornerstone of the myriad of hard rock subgenres. Blistering guitar riffs, thundering drums, and of course ample swipes at stuffy establishment rules.” – Boston Rock Radio (2020)
“The album opens with “Straight From Hell” and it is an adrenaline high. It is an unmistakable straight forward rock construction of verse-bridge-chorus, repeat, repeat, and the dial is set on stadium anthem. RL Black’s vocals are about as rock and roll as you can get – strong clean singing with a gruff edge. The lead breaks are short to fit in with the song structure, and they are pretty metal. I like the brand they have going here. It is great driving music, great drinking music. I would be stoked to see Paradise on the list of bands at a festival because you can just feel from these songs that they are going to put on a good show on stage.” – Flying Fiddlesticks Music Blog (2020)
[Download Single Cover | Download Single Lyrics]
Band: Paradise
Single Title: Queen of Mars – 4:31
Release Date: April 28th, 2026
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: TUNECORE
Genre: Heavy Rock
Location of Band: Montreal, QC, Canada
Single Recording Credits:
• song performed by: R.L. Black, Frank Kelly, Fred Kelly, Freddy Crew Grr, Federico Castrogiovanni
• song written by: Frank Kelly, R.L. Black
• Produced by: Frank Kelly
• Mixed by: Federico Castrogiovanni
• Mastered by: Samuel Plante
• Single Artwork by: R.L. Black
• Member of SOCAN
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
Recording Band Line Up:
François Kelly: Guitar
Frédéric Kelly: Bass
R.L. Black: Vox
Fred Crew Grr: Guitar
Samuel Plante and Federico Castrogiovanni: Drums
Live Band Line Up:
François Kelly: Guitar
Frédéric Kelly: Bass
R.L. Black: Vox
Fred Crew Grr: Guitar
Samuel Plante: Drums
=================================================
About the single:
This song paints a mystical portrait of a timeless, wandering woman, “the Queen of Mars”, who symbolizes freedom, resilience, and transcendence. Moving through a desert that represents both isolation and memory, she exists beyond the limits of time and space, carrying stories, secrets, and a quiet power.
Her journey reflects a spirit that refuses to be confined: she’s both earthly and cosmic. The song suggests transformation and inner strength, someone who turns solitude into sovereignty, becoming almost mythic, even intimidating, as she rises above darkness and control.
In short, it’s about a lone, powerful figure who embodies eternal freedom, mystery, and the ability to transcend time, hardship, and identity.
The music is a hypnotic, cinematic space-rock track that blends atmospheric, heavy guitars with a steady, ritualistic rhythm, creating a sense of lonely grandeur. Its mood is mysterious, introspective, and empowered, evoking the feeling of a mythic figure moving through vast, otherworldly landscapes. Vocals are controlled and poetic, emphasizing storytelling over raw emotion, placing the song stylistically between Hawkwind’s cosmic art-rock, the dreamy textures of Dozer, and the dramatic, cinematic sweep of Muse.
L-R: PARADISE Current Line Up | Frank Kelly (Guitar) | Frédéric Kelly (Bass) | R.L.Black (Vocals) | Samuel Plante (Drums) | Fred CrewGrr (Guitar)
Photo Credit – R.L. Black
Montreal summer of 2002. First, they were swept up in a wildly creative, almost electric state of mind, then proceeded to forge “volcanic rock” and chose a name: Paradise. The next day, still riding that same surge of inspiration, they came up with a title for their first album: Rock Anthropologists on the Kon-Tiki Voyage. Obviously, the creative energy hadn’t worn off. Co-founders and fellow guitar players, Frank Kelly and Jet Phil, convinced they had a great concept on their hands, fired up the rock riff machine and came up with a bunch of kick-ass rock and roll. Pretty soon, every track was assigned a title and, what do you know, they were all taken from a Kon-Tiki drink menu. It all made a lot of sense…
Still without any lyrics to complete the recipe, they set out to find someone crazy enough to work on their project. Through a mutual friend, rock promoter François Lalancette, they were introduced to singer-songwriter Richard Eusanio, who was more than crazy enough to jump in feet first. Within days, the record started to take shape. By this time, also on board was guitar master and the Sword‘s axeman Mike Plant. Paradise was happening…
Frank and Phil then recruited good friends, underground icon Xavier Caféine and drum god Michel “Away” Langevin of Voivod, to help. Pretty soon Paradise became big and loud…
The record was then sent to Glen Robinson (Voivod, Tea Party) to be mixed and mastered. Fall of 2002, Paradise came alive with the release of Rock Anthropologists on the Kon Tiki Voyage.
Summer of 2004: The boys were now ready for another roller-coaster ride. The usual suspects were rounded up, including bass man Fred Kelly. Now transported from the beaches of the South Pacific to the famous and even infamous hotels of this world, they began to work on Paradise’s follow-up “Hotel“. Everybody was ready for the trip.
During the sessions in the summer of 2004, they were blessed with the inspirational collaboration of Voivod‘s guitar pioneer, the late but great Denis “Piggy” D’Amour, who left his stamp on a couple of titles before losing his battle to illness in August of 2005. Mixed and mastered again by Glen Robinson, Paradise’s Hotel was released in the winter of 2005, and once again, it all made a lot of sense.
2019 /2020: With the will of the volcanic rock gods, the resurrection of Paradise was inevitable. The then line-up was composed of Frank Kelly (guitars), Fred Kelly (bass), R.L. Black (vocals), Fred Crew Grrr (guitars) and Mat Hias (drums), Paradise, like a phoenix that is reborn from its ashes, releases a new eponymous album that sways on the line between hard rock and pure heavy metal (recorded, mixed and mastered by Kevin Jardine from Slaves On Dope). From the opening piece and future classic “Straight From Hell” to the final “Free in Exile”, through “Hitting On All Sixes” and “Long Gone”, Paradise delivers an album where the balance between catchy riffs, attitude, intensity, and melodies is perfect.
2026: After years of letting the idea simmer somewhere between myth and memory, Paradise resurfaces, still driven by that same untamed creative force, to finally close the loop. This time, the voyage goes further: an intergalactic expedition where they fully embrace their role as rock anthropologists, digging through the strange, colorful relics of ’60s and ’70s sci-fi culture. Analog futures, cosmic psychedelia, and B-movie dreams reimagined through roaring guitars and hypnotic riffs. Paradise, once again locked into their riff-fueled orbit, set out to translate that retro-futuristic universe into sound. Each track becomes a transmission, a fragment of a larger journey; part nostalgia, part exploration, bringing their Kon-Tiki vision full circle, only now it’s drifting somewhere far beyond the stars.
Discography:
2026 – Queen of Mars (single)
2020 Paradise
2004 Hotel
2002 Rock Anthropologists on the Kon-Tiki Voyage
Shared Stage with:
Sword, Anvil, Sandveiss, Anonymus, Deadwood, Nova Spei, Global Haulocost, Hazytones
Tours and Festivals:
2019: Cuban tour
2024: NXNE – Toronto, ON
2024: Metalagora
2025: Gaspesian Metal Fest
Corporate sponsors/artist endorsements:
Frank Kelly has an artist deal with Reverend Guitars
Samuel Plante has an artist deal with Collision Drumsticks
0 EPK – Tonic Breed – Close In ft. Guest Drums Charlie Engen (Five Finger Death Punch)
EPK – Tonic Breed – Close In ft. Guest Drums Charlie Engen (Five Finger Death Punch)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“This is probably the track that’s taken the longest to finish. It’s been sitting with me for years, and it wasn’t until the right people got involved that it finally came together the way it was supposed to.” – Patrik Svendensen – Tonic Breed
Tonicbreed.com | Facebook.com/tonicbreed | YouTube | Instagram.com/tonicbreed
Tonic Breed is a Norwegian thrash and heavy metal one-man music project by Patrik K. Svendsen. Until 2019, Tonic Breed was originally a four-piece band, established in Sarpsborg, Norway, in 2006. As of 2022, Tonic Breed has released three albums and one EP. Today, Tonic Breed is constantly reinventing itself in songwriting and guest collaborations, which already include Chris Adler (Lamb of God), Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth), Björn Strid (Soilwork), and Michael Gilbert (Flotsam and Jetsam).
Discography:
– 2026 – Close In (single) (ft. guest drums Charlie Engen (Five Finger Death Punch, Scale The Summit, Idealogy)
– 2025 – Anew (single) (ft. guest drums Chris Adler (Lamb of God)
– 2025 – The Die Is Cast (single) (ft. guest guitar solo Michael Gilbert (Flotsam and Jetsam)
– 2025 – The Charge (single w/ Darkroot)
– 2024 – Outsold – LP – 10th Anniversary Edition
– 2022 – Fuel the Fire – EP (ft. guests Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth), Bernt Jansen (Artch/Wig Wam), Björn Strid (Soilwork), Martin Skriubakken (Endezzma), Oliver Palotai (Kamelot)
– 2018 – Install Memory – LP
– 2014 – Outsold – LP
– 2010 – On the Brink of Destruction
[Download Single Cover | Download Single Lyrics]
Band: Tonic Breed ft. guest drums Charlie Engen (Five Finger Death Punch)
Single Title: Close in
Single Length: 05:45
Release Date: April 10, 2026
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: Stream
Genre: Heavy Metal
Location of Band: Norway
Single Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Tonic Breed
• All songs written by: Patrik K. Svendsen
• Produced by: Patrik K. Svendsen, Adrian Bjerketvedt
• Mixed by: Adrian Bjerketvedt, Patrik K. Svendsen,
• Mastered by: Steve Kitch
• Single Artwork by: Patrik K. Svendsen
Single Band Line Up:
Patrik K. Svendsen – Vocals, Guitar
Charlie Engen – Drums
Adrian Bjerketvedt – Guitar, Bass
Ben Zimmermann – Orchestra
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About The Single Artwork:
An obvious inspiration here, to the point we almost can call it a tribute, but with a twist. I wanted to reshape it into something that reflects the themes of the song, almost like a visual interpretation of the weight and atmosphere in the music.
About the single as a whole (LYRICALLY & MUSICALLY):
Musically, it’s a semi-ballad with a lot of layers. There are clean parts, heavier sections, harmonies, choirs, and orchestration. It’s by far the most dynamic thing I’ve done in music.
Lyrically, it deals with loss and what that does to you over time. Not just the moment, but the long-term weight of it.
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TOP STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS:
1. Parts of the song were written over 20 years ago
2. Features Charlie Engen (Five Finger Death Punch) on drums
3. One of the first Tonic Breed tracks to explore harmonies, choirs, and a more ballad-driven structure
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What the press has said:
“This is a collection of songs you need to hear, so what are you waiting for? [8/10]” – Metal Noise (2022 – Fuel The Fire)
“The guest musicians really came together on this EP, it’s real luxury material. In short, it is a great return of Patrick as he has been throughout his career with Tonic Breed. If you are fans of Metallica, Testament, Pantera or Slayer, listening to «Fuel the Fire» it is essential this year. Without a doubt I will follow the career of this One Man Band with great interest.” – Broken Tomb (2022 – Fuel The Fire)
“Tonic Breed show that the embers have not gone out and this EP gives them a good old poking, tossing them around and letting the heat build-up. ” – Metal Digest (2022 – Fuel The Fire)
“Tonic Breed reinforces my growing belief that music, and particularly metal, can one day survive and even thrive without need of the corporate machine.” – Metal Disciple (2014 – Outsold – LP)
“For an unsigned act Outsold has one of the best productions I have heard in a long time. Simply put it’s a fantastic album.” – Teeth of the Divine (2014 – Outsold – LP)
“TONIC BREED could easily advance up the ranks thanks to this impressive release.” – Metal Temple (2014 – Outsold – LP)
“10/10. Album of the year 2014.” – The Metal Review (2014 – Outsold – LP)
“For an unsigned act Outsold has one of the best productions I have heard in a long time. Simply put it’s a fantastic album.” – Teeth of the Divine (2014 – Outsold – LP)
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