Florida metallers TRIVIUM have completed recording their sixth album for a late summer release via Roadrunner Records. The CD is being produced by DISTURBED/DEVICE frontman David Draiman at a studio in Austin, Texas.
In a recent interview with PitCam.TV, TRIVIUM frontman Matt Heafy stated about the songwriting sessions for the band’s next CD: “I can tell you we do have a title, we do have songtitles, we do have 20 to 25 songs demoed, we do have an artist. Everything is set up — all the visuals and everything — but it’s all secret. Hopefully it comes out the third quarter of next year. We’re recording in January, February and March in Austin, Texas; that’s all I can say [about] that. It’s gonna be great; it’s gonna be really, really great. It’s too difficult to describe in metal adjectives, like ‘heavy,’ ‘brutal,’ melodic,’ all this stuff, like every band does. Also, the classic phrase: ‘our best album ever.’ I can say that with ‘In Waves’, it was finally an album that all the fans of the previous four… We’ve got very divided fans: ‘I just like ‘Ember’.’ ‘I just like ‘Crusade’.’ ‘I just like ‘Ascendancy’.’ ‘I just like ‘Shogun’.’ Everyone could agree on ‘In Waves’. And simultaneously, everywhere in the world, ‘In Waves’ received the biggest reaction. With the next record, people can expect the best parts of everything we’ve ever done across all five records on one.”
TRIVIUM’s latest album, “In Waves”, sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart — the highest U.S. chart entry of the band’s career. The group’s previous CD, “Shogun”, opened with just under 24,000 units back in October 2008 to debut at No. 23. The effort followed up “The Crusade”, which registered a first-week tally of 31,000 copies in October 2006 to enter the chart at No. 25.
Norway’s IN VAIN will release its third attack of progressive extreme metal, “Ænigma”, on March 8 in Norway, March 15 in Germany and Austria and March 11 in the rest of Europe through Indie Recordings. The band’s most extreme work to date, it was mixed and produced by the legendary Jens Bogren (OPETH, SOILWORK, BORKNAGAR) at Fascination Street in Örebro, Sweden. The cover artwork was designed by Robert Høyem.
A six-minute YouTube clip containing audio samples of all the tracks on the album is available below.
According to a press release, “Ænigma” contains “eight songs of IN VAIN‘s unique trademark sound and as usual, IN VAIN has brought some guests along, and ‘Ænigma’ sees appearances by Lazare and Cornelius from SOLEFALD.”
Commented IN VAIN‘s Johnar Håland: “We had a solid impression of the productions coming out of the Fascination Street Studio, and believed Jens was the right guy to give the music the crystal clear and powerful sound that it demands. Jens did not cut any corners and delivered a production par excellente.”
The second in a series of video clips featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the “Ænigma” recording sessions can be seen below. Also available is a stream of the album’s new single, “Against The Grain”.
France’s CROWN will release its new album, “Psychurgy”, on April 22 via Candlelight Records.
Check out the CD cover artwork below.
CROWN is two men and a machine who tune their neutron guitars to the Richter scale, and deliver the sound of a molten universe collapsing. Touching on early ISIS, GODFLESH, FLOOR and even KILLING JOKE,CROWN explore the depths of slow tempos on their début album, “The One”, and their split EP with ST VALLEY through sheer exuberant heaviness.
The duo’s depth-charging guitars and buried melodic tendencies snake around hissing electronics, a tribal / military percussive thwack, and the splashing cymbals of a minimal-yet-completely-effective drum-machine. Their sound is further emboldened by a massive bestial roar, heavy and oppressive, leading to an abyss of nothingness…. Welcome to the dark, spiralling, and obscure experiments of CROWN.
“In Due Time”, the new single from Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE — singer Jesse Leach, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D’Antonio, guitarist Joel Stroetzel and drummer Justin Foley — can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The song comes off the band’s forthcoming album, “Disarm The Descent”, which will be released on April 2 via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to KILLSWITCH ENGAGE‘s 2009′s self-titled release is the band’s first album with original singer Leach at the vocal helm since 2002′s now-classic, genre-defining “Alive or Just Breathing”. Leach returned to the band in January 2012 after a decade-long absence. The artwork for the new CD was created by D’Antonio.
“In Due Time” will be made available digitally on February 5. Album pre-orders will kick off in early February, as well, with more details forthcoming.
“Disarm The Descent” was selected by Alternative Press magazine for its “Most Anticipated Albums of 2013″ issue, and the band was profiled in Guitar World as one to watch in 2013. Clearly, buzz from fans and the metal and hard rock community regarding new KILLSWITCH ENGAGE remains deafening.
“It is with a grateful spirit that we prepare for this record’s release,” Leach said. “From the music, to the lyrics, to the artwork, we are all proud of what we have accomplished. To me, this is by far my best vocal performance, much thanks to Adam‘s guidance and faith in my abilities. I am very grateful to be where I am in life, back in an amazing band with a record we are all excited for the world to hear. Thanks to all the fans for their warm welcome back and their undying love for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE.”
2012 marked a busy year for KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. [More]
“Skinandteethandnails”, the new album from the French hardcore outfit VERA CRUZ, is available for streaming in its entirety below. The band’s Season Of Mist debut features eleven tracks of pulse-pounding, relentless hardcore and metal will be out in North America on January 22.
VERA CRUZ embraces the fine art of serious ass-kicking with “Skinandteethandnails”. Balancing melodic hardcore with rock influences, the band displays astonishing mastery for such a young act. The effort captures the explosive energy that the band unleashes during their live shows.
States the band: “There’s an overall theme about this album and the way it has been thought and composed. There’s a sort of ‘Holy Grail’ we always try to reach in every song but like the latter, whatever is Holy doesn’t lie in front of your eyes for everyone to see, but is rather a kind of quest to find it. We would like people to be able to find what they’ve been seeking with our music. It’s for everyone to decipher it and find what’s under the surface.”
“Skinandteethandnails” will be available on CD digipak and digitally.
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“Second Skin”, the Jakob Arevarn-directed video from Maryland extreme metallers DYING FETUS can be seen below (courtesy of Bloody-Disgusting.com). The song comes off the band’s latest album, “Reign Supreme”, which sold around 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 186 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at position No. 5 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
DYING FETUS‘s previous collection of original material, “Descend Into Depravity”, opened with around 2,700 units to land at No. 166.
Released on June 19, 2012 via Relapse Records, “Reign Supreme” was recorded at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore with longtime producer Steve Wright (SLIPKNOT, MISERY INDEX). It will feature nine tracks and is “a ‘return to roots,’ with production focused slightly more on slam than in the band’s last few works,” according to a press release. “Thematically, the album is set to be a good old-fashioned piece of social and political commentary in the style of DYING FETUS as we have come to know.”
Commented DYING FETUS guitarist/vocalist John Gallagher: “The last album had some groove in it, but [it] was basically a lot of tech; this one is a return to form of older DYING FETUS albums, so to speak — more modern production, though, of course. Everything’s tight, the sound is crushing, the drums are amazing.”
Fans of death slam, get excited, new Devourment is almost here. The album, Conceived In Sewage, comes out on February 19th in North America, February 22nd in Benelux, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Finland, and February 25 in the UK and rest of the world.
Proving that they are not fucking around, the band enlisted the services of death metal mastermind, Erik Rutan (he of Hate Eternal) to produce the record. The band have also released a little teaser of new material, and it will make your ears bleed…
We’ve missed you, Fenriz.
Darkthrone have announced that they will be releasing their new album The Underground Resistance via Peaceville Records on February 26th.
The band wrote and recorded the album themselves over the course of the last two years. They recorded at at Necrohell 2 studios. The album was mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door in Texas, with epic cover art courtesy of Jim Fitzpatrick.
Here’s a great quote from Fenriz about the album:
“Three songs each, Ted’s are flown from the universe of metal with his strongest voice ever so far. Songs of mine are torn from the wombs of the riders of rohan of metal, safely cradled in 1985 style.”
I can’t wait to get hammered and listen to this opus!
Suffocation are gearing up to release their new album, Pinnacle of Bedlam on February 15th via Nuclear Blast Records and today they released some killer artwork for the new full length. The artwork was created by Raymond Swanland.
This will be the first album that drummer Mike Smith hasn’t played on since 1998′s Despise the Sun EP. Smith left the band a few months ago citing creative differences. Could those difference be that frontman Frank Mullen can no longer commit to the band’s full time touring schedule? Metal Injection contributor Frank Huang recently posted three live clips of the band (with Mullen) playing Brooklyn, NY. Check those clips out here.
A few weeks ago, Children Of Bodom teased that they had big plans for next summer, but didn’t say what. At least now we know why.
The band is hinting that they have begun the pre-production process for their next record by posting:
“Recording preproduction demos of new songs. Drums done, some guitars and keys plus vocals still missing.”
That was right before the weekend, so who knows how far along the band is by this point. Seeing as though the band already has plans next summer, it’s safe to assume they’ll be done recording the new album in the first quarter of the year and hope to have it released in time for their big summer tour.
New COB in 2013, people!
