 After one month of voting, nearly 6,000 votes cast and countless sharing across all social media platforms by us and nominees alike, the time has come to announce the winners of the GMA Awards 2019. But before that happens, there will be a change to how the nominees are cast. For 10 months of the year we will be running a series of rounds from which the 10 finalists will be recognised for the annual event. The system will work as thus: nominees elected in the month of January are voted for in February... February nominees voted in March, etc and finishes with nominees in October being voted for in November - the finalists will then be voted for across the month of December and into early January 2021; finishing 8th January 2021. Now that's put out into the open, we can finally reveal the winners of the GMA Awards 2019.  Release Of The Year
 Best Live Act
 Breakthrough African Metal Band
 Breakthrough Asian Metal Band
 Breakthrough European Metal Band
 Breakthrough UK Metal Band
 Breakthrough North & Central American Metal Band
 Breakthrough Oceanian Metal Band
 Breakthrough South American Metal Band
 Breakthrough International Metal Band
 Festival Of The Year
Music Video Of The Year
 Global Metal Ambassador 2019
* Later withdrawn by request of nominee.
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 Iceland's Keelrider have released their new single "Sun" via Indy Metal Vault. The song is set to be released this Friday. Listen to the song here: https://www.indymetalvault.com/2019/12/04/track-premiere-keelrider-sun/ Years of turmoil separate the wheat from the chaff. Such is the case with Iceland’s Keelrider, who since 2015 have been crafting a stoner metal sound that draws from a broad set of influences. Tastefully fusing everything from southern rock to prog by way of grunge, they place an emphasis on strong melodies and odd time signatures. Rather than adhering to the staid tropes of their scene, Keelrider pushes forward with their distinct take on heavy, guitar-driven music. Things started picking up for Keelrider in 2018 when they released their debut album North and played their first shows to support it. This led to an invitation onto Iceland’s national radio station (Rás 2) to discuss their music. Later that year they won the Unsigned Showcase Showdown on the world renowned "All Things Metal Podcast." From there the success only snowballed as North was rated the 4th best heavy release on Iceland's only heavy metal radio show, and received coverage from metal music publications worldwide. With a recharged group of guys ready to take on the world, Keelrider seeks nothing less than to make a lasting impact on the Icelandic heavy music scene. As new music gets written and recorded, there promises to be all manner of growth for the band. With every gear finally in motion, Keelrider promises to be an unstoppable juggernaut. The band is a force to be reckoned with in the Icelandic scene and is ready to make their mark on the worldwide stoner metal scene. Line-up:
 Dark Essence Records have announced today that they have welcomed Nyrst onto their roster and will be releasing the debut full-length album from the Icelandic Black Metallers in 2020. Formed in the winter of 2013, Nyrst released their first demo in 2016. The demo garnered praise for the band's use of diverse vocals and chilling atmosphere, whilst Nyrst's mystic and haunting stage performances have gained them respect as a live band in the metal scene of their native Iceland Today's line-up of Snæbjörn on vocals, guitarists Eysteinn and Davíð, Egill on bass and Sveinbjörn on drums, pays homage to the bands grim and icy Icelandic heritage by delivering a debut album that promises to be filled with a soundscape that is incredibly cold, stark and barren, whilst its lyrics come straight from old horror literature, laced with cosmic undertones. Nyrst had this to say about their upcoming collaboration with Dark Essence Records: "Nyrst are thrilled to announce that we have joined the Dark Essence Records roster to debut our first album. We draw huge inspiration from various artists on the label so we are extremely honoured to be able to work with this revered label." Our trust lies with Dark Essence Records and we believe they are the perfect platform for us to grow and expand our music. https://www.facebook.com/Nyrst/ https://nyrst.bandcamp.com/album/demo https://www.instagram.com/_nyrst_/ www.darkessencerecords.no http://www.facebook.com/darkessencerecords  Masterful Norwegian storytellers Wardruna sign to Sony Music/Columbia Records for the world, and announce European tour dates for 2020. Dates below with tickets going on sale on 11th October at 10am BST, 11am CEST. Details of the upcoming album shall be revealed in due course. Einar Selvik comments: “Wardruna has been a DIY to-the-bone kind of project since the very beginning. Slowly and patiently evolving. Working hard and always keeping the art itself as the primary decisive factor. This will never change for me, and so having people on our team that also embrace this way of working is paramount. Partnering up with Sony Music / Columbia Records is a new steppingstone for us and I am very confident that this new addition to the team will give us new opportunities to further develop our art and take it to the next level.”  2019 marks ten years since Wardruna’s first release. A series of sold out shows at prestigious concert venues around the world culminate in the highlight of the fall; Wardruna will perform in the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater in the United States, followed by sold out European tour. The group's critically acclaimed “Runaljod” trilogy based on the Nordic runes reached its conclusion and was followed by a stripped-down, fully acoustic album exploring the ancient poetic traditions of the Skalds. This spring, a new chapter for the band will start. New music is being worked on as well as further steps in the band´s concert production. “I don’t wish to reveal too much at this point but can say that we are now deep into the process of writing and recording a new album. When Wardruna gets up from the current studio-hibernation and initiate the concert-year of 2020, it is clearly allowed to hope for new music!" Says Einar Selvik. WARDRUNA 2020 EUROPEAN TOUR DATES: 28 Mar - Oslo (NOR) - Sentrum Scene 2 Apr - Kristiansand (NOR) - Kilden Teater 3 Apr - Stavanger (NOR) - Konserthus 4 Apr- Bergen (NOR) - Grieghallen 30 Apr - Moscow (RUS) - Crocus City Hall 01 May - St. Petersburg (RUS) - Yubileyny Sports Palace 03 May - Poznan (POL) - Hala Ziemi 04 May - Krakow (POL) - ICE Congress Center 05 May - Bratislava (SVK) - Refinery Gallery 07 May - Belgrade (SRB) - Sava Centar 08 May - Bucharest (ROM) - Arena Romanele 04 Jun - Manchester (UK) - Albert Hall 05 Jun - Dublin (IRL) - Vicar St. 06 Jun - Birmingham (UK) - Symphony Hall 07 Jun - Glasgow (UK) - Royal Concert Hall 09 Jun - London (UK) - Royal Festival Hall 10 Jun - Cambridge (UK) - Cambridge Corn Exchange 01 Aug - Savonlinna (FIN) - Savonlinna Opera Festival 21 Sep - Reykjavik (ISL) - Harpa  Icelandic sludge crew Horrible Youth have partnered with Metal Injection to stream their debut album "Wounds Bleed". The new record is out today on Bandcamp and Spotify. Iceland has produced some amazing artists over the years, and it seems the fountain of inspiration never dries up in the small, northern nation. Enter Horrible Youth, a five-piece sludge and grunge band that sprang to life in Oslo in 2016 and quietly recorded their stunning debut, Wounds Bleed. The band is now based in Reykjavik and are proud to announce their signing with Artoffact Records. The band comprises scene notables Ágúst Bent Jensson on vocals, Magnús Leifur Sveinsson on synths, Frosti Gringo on drums, Hálfdán Árnason on Bass and Moog, and Helgi Rúnar Gunnarsson handling guitar. The five members have a storied history in the Reykjavik scene, including membership in bands as diverse as Úlpa, Legend, Benny Crespos Gang, Kul and many others. Wounds Bleed is released on Toronto-based Artoffact Records. HORRIBLE YOUTH: Bandcamp / Facebook / Spotify ARTOFFACT: Bandcamp / Facebook Icelandic Black Metal outfit Óreiða stream self-titled debut via "Decibel" magazine's website12/5/2019  Icelandic black metal enigma Óreiða streams its striking debut album, Óreiða, at Decibel magazine's website. Now set for international release on May 13th via Harvest of Death, stream Óreiða's Óreiða in its entirety exclusively HERE. Hailing from the modern black metal hotbed of Iceland, Óreiða are an enigma within a scene rife with enigmas. A nameless but by no means faceless entity, Óreiða made its/their first public recording with Demó I in 2016, which was soon released on cassette and 7" vinyl formats at the beginning of 2017 by Harvest of Death. Ensorcelled by the entity's monolithic trance-out black metal, Harvest of Death released in late 2017 Óreiða's one-track/20-minute Demó II on cassette, which was soon followed by a split 10" with Portuguese comrades Holocausto Em Chamas the following year. With these but all-too-fleeting glimpses into true, brilliant madness, Óreiða at last delivers its/their first full-length recording, Óreiða. Its self-titled designation is significant, as this four-song/35-minute tome serves as both Ground Zero for the Óreiða experience and also a statement of intent. With a sort of paradoxically "enlightened" primitivism, each of the album's four icy, component screeds surges into being and locks onto near-stasis, hovering and taunting in equal measure. Deceptively, each of those four epics seems comprised of one or perhaps two riffs total; delve deeper - or deliver thyself to total immersion - and discover a wealth of textural magic, subtly dynamic details in which to drown and rearrange one's mental parameters. Likewise, the seemingly wholesale lack of vocals is both stark and stratifying; allow that immersion, that submission to drowning, and then truly hear reverse voices of the dead wafting up from the sound-field to whisper buried secrets. Through it all, a shimmering, stained-glass style of melodicism emerges (synth? more guitars? both?), simultaneously at odds with the lifelessly pulsing black metal at hand and making perfect, alternate-world sense.
Once again, Harvest of Death points the way for the future by dragging it beyond a primitive past: here lies, and arises, Óreiða's Óreiða. Fully arise exclusively HERE, courtesy of Decibel, North America's only monthly metal magazine. Pre-order info can be found HERE at Signal Rex's Bandcamp. www.signalrex.com www.facebook.com/signalrex www.signalrex.bandcamp.com  Icelandic black metallers Örmagna stream the entirety of their striking debut album, Örmagna, at Decibel magazine's website. Set for international release on February 1st, via Signal Rex, hearÖrmagna's Örmagna in its entirety exclusively HERE. Hailing from the modern black metal hotbed of Iceland, Örmagna are an otherwise new entity with no other public recordings, save a self-released track on Bandcamp forecasting the shape of their Örmagna debut. What can be revealed is that Naðra vocalist Ö here also handles vocals, but let comparisons end there: Örmagna are undoubtedly a poignant new development in the increasingly rich landscape of Icelandic black metal.
Right after the chopped & screwed intro to the album, Örmagna explodes with a heart-bursting amount of passion and emotion. Its spiritual basis is black metal, within and without, but as the album progresses - or, for that matter, each of its six central songs - Örmagna weave windingly epic screeds of melody and fury that cycle through a surprisingly vast array of textures and tropes. It pushes and pulls with patience and insistence alike, guiding the listener on a fever-dreaming journey through mysteries unknown and unknowable, but always with gritty physicality that's difficult to resist. As such,Örmagna is as modern as it is ancient...or, more accurately, its magickal storytelling is simply timeless. Rounded out by mastering courtesy of Misþyrming's Dagur Gonzales, Örmagna's self-titled debut album is a proud 'n' powerful new chapter in Icelandic black metal. Fully read that chapter exclusively HERE, courtesy of Decibel, North America's only monthly metal magazine. www.signalrex.com www.facebook.com/signalrex www.signalrex.bandcamp.com  Icelandic black metallers Örmagna premiere the new track "Náladoði" at heavily trafficked web-portal IndyMetalVault.com. The track hails from the band's striking debut album, Örmagna, set for international release on February 1st, 2019 via Signal Rex. Hear Örmagna's "Náladoði" in its entirety exclusively HERE. Hailing from the modern black metal hotbed of Iceland, Örmagna are an otherwise new entity with no other public recordings, save a self-released track on Bandcamp forecasting the shape of their Örmagna debut. What can be revealed is that Naðra vocalist Ö here also handles vocals, but let comparisons end there: Örmagna are undoubtedly a poignant new development in the increasingly rich landscape of Icelandic black metal. Right after the chopped & screwed intro to the album, Örmagna explodes with a heart-bursting amount of passion and emotion. Its spiritual basis is black metal, within and without, but as the album progresses - or, for that matter, each of its six central songs - Örmagna weave windingly epic screeds of melody and fury that cycle through a surprisingly vast array of textures and tropes. It pushes and pulls with patience and insistence alike, guiding the listener on a fever-dreaming journey through mysteries unknown and unknowable, but always with gritty physicality that's difficult to resist. As such, Örmagna is as modern as it is ancient...or, more accurately, its magical storytelling is simply timeless.
Rounded out by mastering courtesy of Misþyrming's Dagur Gonzales, Örmagna's self-titled debut album is a proud 'n' powerful new chapter in Icelandic black metal. Continue reading that chapter with the new track "Náladoði" exclusively HERE, courtesy of IndyMetalVault.com. Begin reading that chapter with the previously revealed "Háskinn í Seljunum" HERE at Signal Rex's Bandcamp. www.signalrex.com www.facebook.com/signalrex www.signalrex.bandcamp.com  Black metal band Carpe Noctem have returned with their new song "Hér hvílir bölvun" which is streaming right now via Cvlt Nation. The site commented:- "This Icelandic horde has done it again and created a collection of songs that transcends genres and stabs the listener in the heart with each listen. The level of emotion and passion that makes up these tunes is otherworldly and makes me respect this band even more." Listen to the song here: https://www.cvltnation.com/raw-chaotic-apocalyptic-carpe-noctems-hvilir-bolvun/
Pre-order the album here: http://www.auralwebstore.com/shop/index.php?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=vitrun&submit_search= Line-up: Alexander - Vocals & lyrics Andri - Guitars Árni - Bass (also in Árstíðir lífsins) Helgi - Drums (also in Misþyrming and Naðra) Tómas - Guitars (also in Misþyrming and Naðra) Stephen Wilson-Artist H.V. Lyngdal-band picture https://www.facebook.com/carpenoctemiceland/  [Photo Credit: Gupbi Hannesson] The Icelandic Viking Metal Heroes SKÁLMÖLD strike back with their 5th full length album Sorgir. The album title (eng.: sorrows) gives the headline for this concept album that is divided in two parts: The first four songs tell four short stories about tragedies and death. It is called Sagnir (tales). The second chapter called Svipir (ghosts) thickens the plot by telling the same four stories from a different perspective. Sorgir is a dark, cold and tragic album dealing with Icelandic myths of superstition, shadows, spectre and despair. Look elsewhere for something light, warm and comforting! Soaring melodies, folk elements and harsh outbursts remind of the chilly beauty of SKÁLMÖLD`s home country – Iceland, the eternal and awe-inspiring source of inspiration for neckbreakers such as "Gangari" and the gripping epic "Mara." Pre-Order Sorgir HERE!
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