For more than 30 years, Metal Hammer has been the biggest heavy metal magazine on the planet, and after a turbulent end to 2016, and their resurrection in 2017, they threw the party of all parties for their readers at this year’s Golden God Awards 2017 in association with Orange Amplification.
Taking place at IndigO2 at The O2, London on Monday, June 12, WWE megastar Chris Jericho hosted this unique and special night, which was, like all Golden Gods shows, all about the fans. There are no tables, no sit-down dinners, no industry backslapping – this is a room full of genuine fans who have voted in their hundreds of thousands to see their favourite bands be victorious. The night celebrated the best of heavy metal from the past 12 months as well as performances from some of the world’s most exciting bands. “After a difficult end to last year in which the future of our magazine looked uncertain, we couldn’t have thought of a better way to celebrate our comeback,” says Metal Hammer Editor Merlin Alderslade. “From the one and only Chris Jericho returning to host our awards for a record-breaking third time, to seeing legends like Tony Iommi, Tom Morello and Chuck D walk out on stage, to honouring the contemporary names who make our scene great, it was the kind of evening that only the Golden Gods can provide. As always, though, the most important thing was the metal community coming together again – and we salute everyone who has supported us in the last year and beyond, be it by coming to the show, buying our magazine or simply spreading the good word of heavy. Horns up!” The godfathers of metal, Black Sabbath, collected the evening's main honour: the Golden God award presented by Roadrunner Records. Founding member and metal legend Tony Iommi was on hand to collect the gong in the year that saw the end of the band’s final, 81-date world tour and glittering 49-year career. Mastodon headlined the evening’s ceremony with a blistering live set in what was one of their most intimate performances in years. Following the release of their acclaimed ‘Emperor Of Sand’ album in March, the band’s stock has risen monumentally to become one of the world’s must-see live acts, proven by them winning Best Live Band presented by Monster Energy. Opening the show were riff veterans Orange Goblin, one of the UK’s most vital and important metal bands. Frontman Ben Ward, along with his partner Sandie Soriano, were behind the incredible campaign to raise money for TeamRock (Metal Hammer’s then parent company) staff following the closure of Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Prog magazines – and rightly the team behind those magazines felt that Ben and Sandie deserved the Defender Of The Faith award presented by Orange Amplification. Sweden’s Avatar brought their catchy ‘circus metal’ and enthralling theatrical live show to the proceedings. This truly unique band were also voted Breakthrough Band Of The Year presented by World Of Tanks, proving they are a band on the up. Completing the live line-up were blues rock legends Clutch, simply one of the greatest live bands heavy music has ever seen! One of the evening’s most sought-after awards is Album Of The Year and this year it was awarded to ‘Magma’ by Goijra. The follow-up to 2012’s critically acclaimed ‘L'Enfant Sauvage’, ‘Magma’ was one of the most hotly anticipated albums of the past 12 months and also topped Metal Hammer’s end-of-year critics’ poll. Exodus are true legends of the game. Founded in 1979 in California, they were one of the pioneers of thrash metal. A mainstay in ‘Greatest Thrash Metal Bands Of All Time’ lists, they inspire and influence bands to this day and were rightly crowned 2017’s Inspiration presented by Spinefarm Records, an award presented on the night by fellow thrash icon Mille Petrozza of Kreator. This year’s Icon presented by uDiscover Music award went to The Dillinger Escape Plan. Currently on a world tour, the band announced earlier this year that they will be disbanding following their Tokyo date in October. In their 20-year career they’ve released six acclaimed albums and are regarded as the pioneers of mathcore. Best International Band presented by Nuclear Blast went to Avenged Sevenfold, who continue to sell out arenas around the world, pushing the boundaries of rock and metal. Best UK Band went to Architects, whose 2016 album ‘All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us’ broke the Top 15 of the UK charts and capped off a significant and difficult year for the band. Rap metal supergroup Prophets Of Rage picked up the Spirit Of Hammer award. This is an award for those who hold the principles and passion of metal and what Metal Hammer stands for in their daily lives. The group consists of three members of Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave (bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk), two members of Public Enemy (DJ Lord and rapper Chuck D) and rapper B-Real of Cypress Hill. On announcing the band, Morello stated, "We're an elite task force of revolutionary musicians determined to confront this mountain of election year bullshit, and confront it head-on with Marshall stacks blazing." Need we say more about them collecting this year’s Spirit Of Hammer gong?! Iron Maiden’s role-playing mobile game, 'Legacy Of The Beast', took the Best Game accolade, with Eddie himself making an appearance via VT to collect the award. Formed in 2015, UK death metallers Venom Prison have been making a serious impact on the scene and beyond, and they picked up Best New Band. Doom metallers Pallbearer, who released their third album, ‘Heartless’, in March, have received huge critical acclaim since their inception in 2008 and picked up the Best Underground award. Once again the guitarists got the plaudits that they deserve – after all, where would music be without the incredible axemen and women we love to worship?! This year, Airbourne’s kamikaze guitarist Joel O’Keeffe picked up the Dimebag Darrell ‘Shredder’ award, and tour de force Devin Townsend was rightly awarded Riff Lord presented by Century Media. The Metal Hammer Golden God Awards in association with Orange Amplification winners are…
Metal Hammer would like to thank all of our sponsors, without whom our awards would not be possible: Orange Amplification Monster Energy BMG Catalogue Century Media Roadrunner Records Nuclear Blast Spinefarm Records World of Tanks uDiscover Music
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Eight years after melodic death/folk metal masters Eluveitie released their acoustic album Evocation I, the Swiss musicians have decided to put aside their electronic instruments once again in favour of a new acoustic offering. Evocation II - Pantheon will be released August 18th via Nuclear Blast Records. Band mastermind Chrigel commented on the artwork and new single 'Epona': "Evocation II is a journey back to the source of it all: Antumnos, the other world. Join us on this wayfare through the Celtic pantheon, the world of the gods of our ancestors! The album cover expresses nothing less but exactly this! It's full of symbolism and meaning and depicts things of deepest meaning and importance in Celtic mythology. The symbol contains the 'great wheel', symbolizing the wheel of the year with the four seasons and the equinoxes – forming the foundations of Celtic mythology. The great wheel is framed by a tripartite Enneagram; while three is an important number in Celtic mythology in general, we also face trinity in the Celtic pantheon! While the inner circle contains the initials of the names of the deities revered on this album – arranged tripartitedly according to their relations within the pantheon and place in the mythology – the outer circle utters an invitation as well as a blessing, a magical benediction for the one to dare to enter and set forth on this journey. The core of the symbol implies triune symbolism. The depiction shows the god Lugus, who was sometimes also addressed in the plural – Lugoves – since he's a triune god, as well as a tricephalos. The 'one with the skillful hand' and 'artisan of all skills' is depicted and a combination of two important symbols: On the one hand he's shown as 'high king' (and druid of druids), a typical gallic symbolism of an essential meaning and significance. On the other hand he's framed by the gallic 'lord of the animals/lord of life' symbolism: The character surrounded with diverse animals, but being strongly connected with all of them at the same time. So after all, the album cover vibrantly and mystically expresses the content of Evocation II! Join & let the journey begin!" Today sees the reveal of the new cover artwork, as well as the launch of the album pre-orders: The first single off the new record, 'Epona', is now available to purchase digitally: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/evocation-ii-pantheon/id1245639622 Pre-order the album on Limited Edition Double Gatefold Clear Vinyl from the Nuclear Blast UK store: http://www.nuclearblaststore.co.uk/shop/nuclearblast/products.php?cat=5096 “The time feels right to go on with Evocation II! It’s time for the album”, continues Chrigel, who revived the initial concept after three successful albums in the usual Eluveitie style.Evocation II conjures up images and emotions from another time, to eras long gone. As the title already reveals, the concept of the first opus continues and is entirely dedicated to the Celtic mythology. Evocation II takes you into the Gallic pantheon and bows down to the gods after which the song titles are named. ELUVEITIE is: Jonas Wolf | guitars Matteo Sisti | whistles, bagpipes, mandola Nicole Ansperger | fiddle Alain Ackermann | drums Chrigel Glanzmann | vocals, whistles, mandola, bagpipes, bodhran Fabienne Erni | vocals, celtic harp, mandola Kay Brem | bass Michalina Malisz | hurdy gurdy Rafael Salzmann | guitars www.eluveitie.ch www.facebook.com/eluveitie www.nuclearblast.de/eluveitie Into The Limelight Records are very proud to announce the signing of Heylel from Portugal. Born in the fall of 2012, Heylel are a progressive rock band from Porto, Portugal. The band combines influences ranging from classic to hard and even symphonic rock, with a very personal touch. The outcome is a dark, atmospheric and involving sound, gracefully combined with the beautiful voice of Ana Batista. In 2014 the band released its debut album "Nebulae" and caught the attention of international progressive and rock press: In September 2015 their second effort "Flesh" established the band in the international alternative rock scene. Shades of Time (2017) will be the first album to feature the new five piece line up. Release by Into The Limelight Records this will be an album to look forward to. Set your watch; time is nearly here! Release date: Friday 30 June 2017 Heylel is: Ana Batista - Vocals Narciso Monteiro - Guitars, keyboards Ricardo Teixeira - Drums João Amorim - Bass Ana Clérigo - Violin Australia's Eskhaton signs with Lavadome Productions; releases album teaser for "Omegalitheos"14/6/2017 Lavadome Productions has inked a deal with Australian cataclysmic Death Metal force Eskhaton for the release of band's third album entitled 'Omegalitheos'. The Omegalitheos phenomenon will exhibit powerful 14 songs of psycho violence brought to levels above its predecessors. You can now listen to unmixed and unmastered samples of Omegalitheos. This is just the hint of what's to come. The cover and the force of the finished songs shall be revealed soon. Expect nothing but TOTAL DEATH. Check out the album teaser at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUqRFVtrCZY lavadome.org eskhaton666.bandcamp.com www.facebook.com/Eskhaton-140670182642032/ Irish doom trio The Crawling have released a new video, 'The Right To Crawl', and it's streaming in full right now at Overdrive! 'The Right To Crawl' is the second single from the album from the band’s debut album Anatomy Of Loss, which was released recently and is streaming in full at Metal Hammer, and whom also cited the band as "fast becoming rising stars of the ever-more pertinent doom scene". Watch 'The Right To Crawl' Here! - http://www.overdrive.ie/crawling-right-crawl-world-premiere/ Vocalist & guitarist Andy Clarke says the song, "was initially on our EP In Light of Dark Days, and always goes down well live, so we opted to re-record it for Anatomy Of Loss. I'm so pleased we did as it fits in beautifully amongst the new tracks, and really benefits from the improved production. Lyrically, the track has always been a favourite of mine. It is a song about strength, and the choices people make when faced with adversary. Few things in life are easy, but on occasion we have to deal with things we would rather not. The easy option is the default 'roll over and submit,' but I have watched many people gather themselves up, and move on through the most desperate times; I admire that. 'The Right To Crawl' is from the perspective of one of those people, encouraging those that need to find that fortitude to survive." Formed in the winter of 2014 against the bleak concrete backdrop of Lisburn city, Northern Ireland, The Crawling have came a long way since their humble beginnings. Influenced by Paradise Lost, Katatonia and Bolt Thrower, The Crawling use a guttural vocal to combine melancholy with weight, churning out a heavy, doom/death ensemble. January 2015 saw the debut single 'Choking On Concrete,' which put the band on the scene, followed in October 2015 by the critically acclaimed In Light of Dark Days 3 track EP. 2016 was a massive year for the band; most notably performing at Inferno Metal Festival in Norway, and Bloodstock Open Air in England. The festival appearances have been reinforced by successful headline shows at home, which culminated in a main stage slot at the highly respected Siege of Limerick festival in Southern Ireland. Now with Anatomy Of Loss brought to the fore, an album featuring no less than seven tracks expressing desperation and defeat and artwork from Travis Smith (Anathema, Bloodbath, Death...) The Crawling strive to spread their brand of misery ever further. www.thecrawlingband.co.uk www.facebook.com/thecrawlingband www.grindscene.co.uk Botswana's Skinflint unveils single “Chief Of The Ghosts" taken from album of the same name9/6/2017 The first single of the Heavy Metal Band Skinflint from Botswana - "Chief Of The Ghosts" was released on Soundcloud. The release date of the Skinflint album "Chief Of the Ghosts“ on CD is July 7th, 2017. The pre-order phase will start on June 23th, 2017 in our webshop. Skinflint from Botswana, a country that is not well known for traditional Metal or Rock in general, already can be considered to one of the old guards on our label. Very rightly, albums like"Iklwa“ (2010) and "Dipoko“ (2012) are small classics nowadays in the underground. A perfect combination between traditional Heavy/Epic Metal and decent African folk music. The trio around Giuseppe "Juice“ Sbrana continues with their old tradition also on the fifth long player "Chief Of The Ghosts“. Rough and simple, yet with much sensitivity for the decent exotic touch, there are nine new songs, again partly sung in their native language Setswana. Those who already love the predecessors won’t be disappointed with "Chief Of The Ghosts“ at all. Chief Of The Ghosts @ Soundcloud LINE-UP: Giuseppe Sbrana - vocals, guitars Kebonye Nkoloso - bass Sandra Sbrana - drums www.facebook.com/SKINFLINTMETAL www.myspace.com/skinflint123 Australia's Make Them Suffer have announced details of their new album Worlds Apart. The new record will be out on 28th July via Rise Records. It is available for pre-order here. Ahead of the album's release, Make Them Suffer have dropped the new track "Fireworks." Watch the video here "Worlds Apart represents a new era for Make Them Suffer," singer Sean Harmanis said. "We've taken risks in songwriting and production; this album is a reminder to ourselves that change and growth are good things. It's tough to say so early, but I think Worlds Apart is an album that will be in your stereo for quite some time." https://www.facebook.com/makethemsufferau Finnish rock metallers Zarthas has signed a worldwide deal with WormHoleDeath for the release of their third album "Reflections". The band stated: "Scouting for labels started already before the recordings, and WormHoleDeath was one of the first labels we sent our promotion to. In time, WormHoleDeath was also recommended by European promotion agencies, and we got convinced that we are now dealing with a label that is not only independent, down to earth, and artist-friendly, but has also grown to be quite a big player in the fields of international music business. As negotiations went on, pieces started to fall in place pretty quickly. We honestly believe that this is the beginning of solid co-operation, that suites the interests of both parties. Zarthas has received lot of feedback that we need to get our music to European markets, so clearly WormHoleDeath became our number one target as a label to co-operate with. "Reflections" was not an easy album to record. Our studio gear started to fall apart piece by piece right from the beginning. All and all recording and mixing process went on one step forward and two steps back because of that. So after bunch of misfortune, we were extremely happy to hear that WormHoleDeath liked the stuff, and wanted to release it. It feels like all the hard work and countless hours are finally paying off, and that feels really good. Whole band is very excited and happy for this opportunity." Caverna Abismal Records has ses August 25th as the international release date for the highly anticipated second album of Australia's Bloodlust, At the Devil's Left Hand, on August 24th on both CD and cassette tape formats. Conceived in the slaughter of innocence, upon a desecrated altar of God. Nurtured in the cold earth of the tomb world amongst the bones of the dead. Fed on endless pain and suffering, caressed by the dark mother of decay then thrust howling for vengeance into this mortal world on a mission to do Satan's deadly work. Bloodlust are a unit of infernal soldiers risen from Hell to spread a plague of blasphemous darkness against the light and all that is holy. Armed to the teeth with an arsenal of dirty, thrashing black metal riffs, relentlessly bludgeoning war drums, and scorchingly vicious vokills, Bloodlust spit forth a venomous tirade against Jehovah and his cowering angels. The rhetoric of holy destruction written in blood and the audial terror. Inspired by visions of decaying graveyards, black magic rituals, demonic summoning and the mighty Infernal Lord, Satan, Bloodlust follow in the musical path of early metal warriors Venom, Hellhammer / Celtic Frost, and Bathory. Old-school black / thrash straight from the fiery depths of Hell: Bloodlust are At the Devil's Left Hand! Hear the album's title track, "At the Devil's Left Hand," at Caverna Abismal's Bandcamp HERE. In 2016, Swedish Death / Black Metal specialists Necrophor entered Sunlight Studio for a third time, this time with the purpose to record their first full-length album. It took almost 6 months from the start to the finished album with the group not wanting to rush through any step of the process. The result is Reborn, containing nine tracks infused with the essence of chaos.. This is not a band that wallows in self-promotion, this is not a band looking for gimmicks and fads… Necrophor want to be taken on their own terms and let the music do the talking. So hop onto the roller coaster, this is purely a one way ticket! “Like it, hate it or just be indifferent – it does not matter.” “The Word will take root and in due time manifest itself within the depths of your being” Reborn | Released June 8th, 2017 on Sliptrick Records |
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