Slovakian metal monks Malokarpatan announce details regarding their highly anticipated third album, to be titled Krupinské ohne (The Fires of Krupina).

Malokarpatan will be entering Dark Ceremonies Studio, Hostivař, Prague, Czech Republic in October to commence recordings for their third full-length album, Krupinské ohne (The Fires of Krupina). The album will be released on March 20th, 2020 on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats via Invictus Productions once again in conjunction with their US allies at The Ajna Offensive. The band will be performing a release show with Cult of Fire on March 21st in Prague. In conjunction with the international release of Krupinské ohne, vinyl reissues of both Stridzie Dni and Nordkarpatenland will also be available.

Says guitarist Adam says of the impending third Malokarpatan album:-

     "Krupinské ohne (The Fires of Krupina) is a concept work dealing with real and magical events that took place during the 17th century in the town of Krupina. A coven of witches operated here and instilled fear in the area that has eventually led to their fiery deaths upon the pyres of the Catholic Church. Adjusted to the conceptual nature of the album, the music is inspired by the specific mystique and adventurous spirit of '70s progressive rock albums, while still remaining true to our roots of Iron Curtain-style obscure black/heavy metal."
 
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Without question, Rob Halford is one of heavy metal’s all-time great vocalists - as heard through his highly influential and groundbreaking work with Judas Priest. But over his career, he has also proven able to master a variety of other styles vocally - including holiday-themed music. And in time for this holiday season, Halford will be releasing an all-new album, entitled Celestial on October 18th via Legacy Recordings.
 
Credited to Rob Halford with Family and Friends, the album mixes holiday classics with all-new compositions, and will appeal to lovers of traditional holiday music and headbangers alike. The man also known as the Metal God goes on to explain:-

     “The great thing about heavy metal is it’s got these kinds of multiple dimensions. I think when you look at it from an outside point of view - if you’re not really familiar with the metal scene - it can look pretty intimidating. And it is a very strong, powerful experience. But it comes at different levels. I think the music that we’ve made on Celestial, for example, gives a display of that. Metal maniacs - as we call ourselves - are just as ready for the holidays as everybody else. And what we’ve tried to do with this music is to reach out to as many of those metal dimensions as we possibly can.”
 
And judging from the “Rob Halford with Family and Friends” banner, Celestial sees Halford joined by a supporting cast of those very close to him - his brother (Nigel) on drums, his nephew on bass (Alex, son of Priest bassist Ian Hill), has sister (Sue) on bells, and twin guitar tandem of Robert Jones and Jon Blakey. 
 
Once all the contributors were in place, Halford:-

     “Went away and listened to a lot holiday music and Christmas carols. Traditional stuff. 12 tracks - including original tracks that I’m particularly excited about. And in that way, because of the dimensions of each song and the messages of each song, I think we cover a really broad platform. To me, more than anything, I wanted it to have its own characteristics and be a little bit more different than the regular rock n’ roll Christmas album.”
 
Halford has certainly accomplished this goal, as evidenced by such standout originals as the album-opening title track, “Donner and Blitzen,” and “Protected by the Light,” as well as re-workings of such holiday standards as “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Joy to the World,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” among other standouts. “‘Donner and Blitzen’ gets the snowball rolling for Celestial - a song full of excitement, love and hope,” says Rob. “You can hear and feel the power of Christmas time - energy roarin’ with rockin’ reindeers haulin’!” 
 
     “I think the holidays for any family are a mixture of fun and excitement and apprehension of the whole event. The magic of it more than anything else. It’s just a beautiful time of year - which a lot of us wish would be for every day of the year. It’s a beautiful thing as far as bringing families together. So, what better way to celebrate it than with your family, friends...and music. You must have music at Christmas time.”
 
And with the arrival of Celestial, Rob Halford has certainly done his part.
 
‘Celestial’ tracklist:
 
Side A

1.       Celestial [new song]
2.       Donner and Blitzen [new song]
3.       God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
4.       Away In A Manger
5.       Morning Star [new song]
6.       Deck The Halls
 
Side B

1.       Joy To The World
2.       O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3.       Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
4.       The First Noel
5.       Good King Wenceslas
6.       Protected By The Light [new song]
 
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The Mongolian Hunnu-Rock phenomenon, The Hu, who combine traditional Mongolian instrumentation and throat-singing with modern heavy rock has released “The Great Chinggis Khaan” the third single and music video from their upcoming debut album, 'The Gereg', out September 13 via Eleven Seven Music.
 
You can pre-order “The Gereg” digitally HERE and on CD or Vinyl HERE.
 
Following the viral online success of their previous videos for “Wolf Totem” and “Yuve Yuve Yu” in December 2018 - which combined have over 40 million views to date - “The Great Chingiss Khan” marks the first official video release from the band in 2019. In February of this year in minus 30-degree weather, the band travelled to Burkhan Khalduun, the birthplace of Chinggis Khaan, to film this epic video. The video shares the story of Chinggis Khaan as he is portrayed in Mongolian culture, an inventor and a founding father of the country, rather than the worldly view of him as a warrior and conqueror.

Watch “The Great Chinggis Khaan” in the video here

The Hu was recently heralded as Cultural Envoy of Mongolia by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia in a special ceremony live-streamed on MNB World, which can be seen here.

Band member Jaya (Jaw harp, Tsuur, Flute & Throat Singer) commented:-

     “Representing Mongolian artists, we have become a Cultural Envoy of Mongolia. It is a great moment for us. We are very happy. We understand that as an envoy, we are responsible for sharing our cultural heritage with the world.”
 
The Hu had their first performance in Ulaanbaatar, the band’s home town in June 2019. The group then travelled to Europe and the UK for a sold-out 23-date summer tour including performances at several major festivals including Download Festival, Rock Im Park, Rock Am Ring, Tons of Rock and more.
 
They will next embark on their inaugural North American tour for three months from September 11 to December 7 which includes stops at Aftershock Festival (Sacramento), Riot Fest (Chicago) and Los Rageous (Las Vegas). The anticipation for the upcoming shows has received an astounding response with two shows having been immediately moved to higher capacity venues (Milwaukee, Denver) and a sold-out show in San Francisco.

The Hu stands for the Mongolian root word for human being, inspiring their original style of music that they call “Hunnu Rock.” The band pull Inspiration from the Hunnu, an ancient Mongolian empire better known as The Huns in western culture. Their music is deeply embedded with their ancient culture, even integrating old Mongolian war cries and poetry into their lyrics.
 
The group was founded in 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia by their producer Dashka, along with band members Gala, Jaya, Temka, and Enkush. Together they create rock music with traditional Mongolian instrumentation such as the Morin Khuur (horsehead fiddle), Tovshuur (Mongolian guitar), Tumur Khuur (jaw harp), guttural throat singing built around the pillars of heavy rock: distorted guitars, bombastic drums, and aggressive rhythms. All four members have earned bachelor’s or higher degrees in classical music and have gained several years of touring experience throughout Asia and the Pacific Rim.

The Hu is:

Gala: Lead Throat Singer and Morin Khuur
Enkush: Lead Morin Khuur and Throat Singer
Jaya: Jaw Harp, Tsuur, Flute, and Throat Singer
Temka: Tovshuur

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After a raft of successful summer festival performances this year, Doro is preparing to continue her Forever Warriors - Forever United World Tour in a few weeks. Kicking off the next leg of the tour in Russia and the USA, the band will then be travelling back to Europe for gigs in Germany, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands and Luxembourg. To celebrate the upcoming live dates, our favourite Metal Queen has released the official video for the hit single 'Freunde Fürs Leben' (Friends For Life), taken from her latest album "Forever Warriors - Forever United".

Watch the video for 'Freunde Fürs Leben' here: https://youtu.be/kZ1e9AItu2w
 
Doro states:-

     "The fans love the song as much as I do. The video for 'Freunde Fürs Leben' turned out to be awesome and offers lots of really touching scenes of and with the fans. I wanted this song as my new single and definitely wanted the video to turn out how it looks right now."

Catch Doro live this year on the following dates:

06.09 RU Sankt Petersburg - Club Zal              
08.09 RU Moscow - Izvestia               
10.09 RU Krasnodar - Arena
11.09 RU Rostov - Arena  
13.09 RU Kaliningrad - Yantar Hall
13. - 18.10 USA Los Angeles, CA - MegaCruise
26.10 DE Düsseldorf - Mitsubishi Eletric Halle

08.11 UK Motherwell - Firestorm Rocks Festival
09.11 UK Great Yarmouth - Hard Rock Hell
11.11 LU Luxembourg - Den Atelier
12.11 CH Zürich - Komplex 457
15.11 DE Radolfzell - Milchwerk
16.11 DE Reutlingen - Stadthalle
17.11 DE Mannheim - Maimarktclub

19.11 DE Lübeck - Kulturwerft Gollan
20.11 DE Wilhelmshaven - Pumpwerk
22.11 DE Coesfeld - Fabrik
23.11 DE Bonn - Brückenforum
24.11 NL Arnhem - Luxor

Order 'Backstage To Heaven' here physically: http://nblast.de/DoroBackstageToHeaven
Order 'Backstage To Heaven' here digitally: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/backstage-to-heaven-ep/1449880530

Order 'Forever Warriors - Forever United' here: http://nblast.de/DoroForeverWarriors

The Finnish extreme heavy metal group Antipope has released a new lyric video. The song ”Resolution” appears on ”Denial/Survival” album, released in 2017. Mikko, a vocalist-guitarist of Antipope, describes the song as being ‘the conclusion for the previous album. At the same time, it points unremittingly towards the next album, which heralds the beginning of the new era of Antipope.’

Presently, Antipope is finalizing a new full-length album, being the fifth album by the group. The band has hinted at presenting more details about the upcoming album in the form of album title, tracklist, and artwork during the autumn of 2019.

The video of Resolution can be viewed on Antipope’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/W6iOzlkoPpE

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Spanish Heavy Metallers Blackhearth have signed with Sliptrick Records.

Blackhearth is a multi faceted Heavy Metal project combined with genres such as ambient music and prog. Asier Larrea (Drums) and Alex Hernández (Lead & Rhythm Guitar) have remained  Blackhearth’s primary driving force throughout the years and they decided to look for professional musicians to carry out a project. With their line-up complete, the group recorded their self-titled debut album which will be released worldwide via Sliptrick Records and due to hit the streets on October 29th.

Their songs include strong influences from the very best classic Heavy Metal bands and often include acoustic guitar passages and some atmospheric landscapes.

Blackhearth | Released October 29th 2019 via Sliptrick Records

Blackhearth are:

Alex Hernández – Guitar
Asier Larrea – Drums
Jorge Sánchez – Bass
Endika Ortega – Guitar
Julio Veiga – Keyboards
Alain Concepción – Vocals

Band links: Facebook | Youtube | Twitter | On Sliptrick

Calgary-based Heavy Metal quintet Kobra & The Lotus have returned with their new studio album 'Evolution', which will get a September 20th release on Napalm Records.The upcoming LP sees the band imbued with a new fire that comes through by way of undeniable hooks, soaring guitar riffs, marching drum beats, and the soulful, bombastic vocal delivery of lead singer Kobra Paige. No longer bound by old formulas and expectations from the past, 'Evolution' comes through with a sound that is expansive and, at times, borders on outright swagger. Each song feels like an Active Rock hit in the making, while still having the grit and feverish intensity that longtime fans have come to admire from Kobra & The Lotus.
 
Fans can now enjoy the first offering from 'Evolution'. The band has dropped their music video for the new single "Burn!", which can be HERE.

'Evolution' boasts the band's most cohesive and confident material to date. For the new record, Kobra and the Lotus enlisted the services of producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette[Alter Bridge, Linkin Park, Slash, Sevendust].
 
     "The new body of work sets the tone for the music going forward. Sonically, it’s still heavy. It highlights the showmanship and maintains the edge. At the same time, it’s approachable. It pays tribute to our influences, but it takes the next step. So, it’s a reintroduction to us and a rebirth. A firm goal was to build a strong identity and update everything. We just want to be Kobra & The Lotus; that’s what we’re doing."
 
The first single, "Burn!” ignites this chapter. A hummable riff snaps into a visceral verse as the frontwoman directly declares, “I really hate you, yes I do.” The track builds towards an incendiary and infectious chorus, hinging on a see-sawing guttural groove and hitting like a sledgehammer.
 
     “It’s about all of the reasons you hold yourself back,” she explains. “You literally need to burn all of those feelings, stories, excuses, and obstacles keeping you from being your own authentic self. It’s super personal. It’s a product of growing and arriving as a person. I’m realizing who I am. It’s symbolic of the rebirth,” says Kobra.
 
Pre-orders for 'Evolution' are available now over at https://smarturl.it/KATL-Evolution

Going further into the process behind Evolution, Kobra comments:-
 
     “We’ve never done a record like Evolution. We’ve flown demos over the internet back and forth or started a few ideas prior to hitting the studio. This time, we were all working together in the flesh for the full duration of the writing process. It’s a collision of everything we love. We feel like it’s the freshest and most timeless thing we’ve brought to the table.”

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Following the success of the 'snuff prevention' music video for the track "Rudra", Switzerland's Folk / Heavy metallers Infinitas have released a new lyric video for the track "Amon", both tracks being extracted from the band's latest full-length "Civitas Interitus".

The track is about the lives of many people whose job gives them no satisfaction: "One second in Heaven, forever in Hell".

You can watch the lyric video for "Amon" at this location: http://watch.infinitasband.ch/amon/

https://www.facebook.com/infinitasband/

Fighter Records is proud to announce the signing of Ankhara, one of the most legendary Spanish Heavy Metal bands from he 90's, for the international release of their acclaimed 4th album "Sinergia", originally released for the Spanish market, and which will now be released with 3 bonus on CD and also limited vinyl version on 12 "LP.
 
Ankhara returned after fourteen years of recording silence presenting her 4th studio album "Sinergia". In this new album, the guys from Madrid recover the essence of their first two works in favour of an authentic and revamped sound, which tastes to Power and Hard Rock, but above all, Heavy Metal. A raw and straight album that some media have already stated to be "their most aggressive work to date"; in which the voice of Pacho Brea is reminiscent of "Rob Halford or Ripper Owens"; and with the guitar solos of Cecilio and Alberto being described simply as "epic". The power of the double bass drum by Matt de Vallejo and the elegance of Sergio's bass is also said to complete "a rounded disc".
 
"Sinergia" has been recorded by a lineup close to the original, in which Matt de Vallejo (037 Leo, Zero3iete) replaces Jesús Alcalde. Guitars and vocals have been recorded at José Rubio's Meiga Sound Studios (José Andrëa and Uróboros, ex-Warcry); drums at Andy C.'s Cadillac Blood (Lords of Black, ex-Saratoga, ex-Dark Moor) and the bass at Mojo Road. The mixing and mastering have been made at Cube Madrid by Alberto Seara (Sôber, Mägo de Oz) and the cover is the work of Fernando 'Nanderas'.

International release date for Ankhara's "Sinergia" will be 18th of September 2019 through Fighter Records on CD & 12"LP formats. In the meantime, check out ANKHARA's official Facebook site here: www.facebook.com/Ankhara-473887429326193 and listen to a song of the album on the following link: https://youtu.be/mT-hr9eJaI4

Albania's Crossbones release their new album “The Awakening” Friday, July 12th, via Alpha Omega Records. The album was produced, mixed and mastered by Alex Azzali at Alpha Omega Studios.  “The Awakening” is now available on all the digital platforms:

Spotify – iTunes – Apple – Amazon

Comments the band on “The Awakening”:

     "What if everything you are told is a lie? Are you ready to start accepting it? This album is an inner reflection on the origins of human kind. It is a personal view on who brought us here on Earth. It also raises questions on whether all the information and knowledge we have is true or beneficial to our journey. What if everything we are taught is wrong, wayward, a version of the truth; the personal truth of a certain group and not the objective truth? It is time for us to open our minds and hearts and to begin accepting that our origins and this place we call “home” maybe far more exotic and fantastic than what we can even begin to imagine. It is time to wake up from the deep sleep of ignorance and absolute darkness and enlighten our minds, hearts and souls and to prepare to take a step further into ascension."

Just recently Crossbones released the official video “Realigning The Truth”, taken from the new album, watch it here: https://youtu.be/PeTi4DX9XqY

Crossbones is the most recognized metal act in Albania and the only band from the mid 90’s that still keeps going, today stronger than ever. Their album “WWIII” is making quite a buzz since its launch in January 13th 2017. The album was produced, mixed and mastered by Tommy Talamanca (Sadist) at Nadir Music Studios. “WWIII” combines American thrash metal influences with a dark sound and typical Est European sonorities. The result is an album created with the intention of hit hard the ears of the listener without losing melodic passages and “catchy” riffs, and where the recurring use of both English and Albanian languages marks a new way in the European post-thrash genre. Among countless gigs and performances, CROSSBONES have played with Rock and Metal giants such as Ian Paice, legendary drummer of Deep Purple and as a direct support act for Greek Black Metal legends of Rotting Christ. Furthermore the band has headlined many concerts and festivals in Italy, Greece, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, toured in Baltics (Estonia and Latvia), Ukraine and headlined Balkan Metal Meeting 4 Tuzla/Bosnia, April 27-28 2018, and more. Crossbones' new effort, “The Awakening” is released digitally on July 12th, via Alpha Omega Records, produced, mixed and mastered by Alex Azzali at Alpha Omega Studios.

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