Forlorn
- ALMA MATER revealed the song “Pain” feat. G. McManus (KOROZY)
- Gallery: RAMPART, HARD COMPANY, STORM and FAT WHITE CHIEFS in Sofia
- Gallery: BESTIA ATER, PAST REDEMPTION and PROKAZA in Sofia
- Gallery: TERRAVORE, CONCRETE, CIROZA and SQUAD OF DEATH in Sofia
- JUDAS PRIEST are working on new album
- NANOWAR OF STEEL reveals music video for new single “Uranus” feat. Michael Starr (STEEL PANTHER)
- Gallery: U.D.O. in Plovdiv
- Rob Halford’s Confess: “I’m a pop tart”
- Gallery: Sea Of Black Festival 2020
- Gallery: SCHIRENC PLAYS PUNGENT STENCH in Bulgaria
Събития
First bands on Inferno Metal Festival 2016
Mayhem
There is no doubt that MAYHEM is one of the most legendary and controversial bands coming from Norway. They are one of the most influential extreme metal bands and the reason why Norwegian Black Metal has conquered the world. Even with their notorious past – the band still stand strong after more than 30 years of mayhem. After all; the music speaks for itself. With classic songs from „Pure Fucking Armageddon“,“Deathcrush“ and „De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas“ to newer material from „Grand Declaration of War“ to „Esoteric Warfare“, the band has a huge back catalog that can make your skin shiver. And so it will when The True Mayhem return to Inferno Metal Festival in 2016!
Exodus
Marduk
MARDUK – the most blasphemous band in the world! MARDUK has lived up to their reputation and still today, 25 years after the band was formed, they sounds like a war machine crushing every religious figure that crosses their path. The band has huge back catalog consisting of great albums, and they are just continuing to release some of the most brutal and heretic Black Metal albums there is today. The band has just released their album “Frontschwein” and it is an instant classic. Their gig at Inferno Metal Festival 2016 will be a fist in the face of god and is not to be missed!
ICS Vortex
ICS VORTEX is a name most extreme metal fans should be aware of. He is the front man for such bands as BORKNAGAR, ARTURUS and LAMENTED SOULS and he used to play bass in DIMMU BORGIR. The man behind this voice call himself ICS Vortex and this band is his own playground. His solo project released one album back in 2011 called “Storm Seeker” and they have just performed live a couple of times before. Finally you can see this band live at Inferno Metal Festival for the very first time!
Thaw
THAW is an experimental black metal band hailing from Poland. The band has been around since 2010 and already released several splits, demos and albums. The latest one is the atmospheric masterpiece “Earth Ground” from 2014. Thaw has a good reputation for their loud and energetic live shows and they will for sure be something to see when the play at Inferno Metal Festival for the very first time!
Inferno Metal Festival is the longest running and most extreme metal festival in Norway and one of the most important extreme metal festivals in the world. We are very proud of this position and we will continue fronting Norwegian metal and bringing bands from all over the world to Norway. 2016 will be our 16th edition of the festival that keeps on growing. 2015 was one of the best years in the festival’s history and highly acclaimed and praised by press, audience and artists. Inferno Metal Festival 2016 will be even better!
4 days festival pass (including club night): 1800,- (including ticket fee)
3 days festival pass (without club night) 1500,- NOK. (including ticket fee)
Tickets available at Billettservice. Phone: +47 81533133
www.infernofestival.net
RAMPART – to play MetalWar Fest (Budapest, Hungary)
RAMPART – confirmed for Hungary’s MetalWar Festival 2014, which takes place September 5th – 7th in Budapest. Other band confirmed include: FURYON (UK), VEXILLUM (IT), TWISTER (HU), more to be announced soon.
This year, on 5-6-7 of September 2014, will be held for the second time a unique Metal Festival in Budapest, Hungary, called “MetalWar Fest 2014“. This event in the heart of Budapest, will be held at the Népliget Park, on 5, 6 and 7 of September 2014. The previous, first “MetalWar Fest” in 2013 was attended by 22.000 people in three days.
RAMPART is expected to make a number of additional festival appearances in 2014. The band is currently writing 4th album! Stay tuned for more infos!!!
First track from „Satyricon“ is out
Satyricon – Satyricon
So there we have it, the first song from the new SATYRICON album to hit cyberspace (http://tindeck.com/listen/dlda).
What strikes me: it does sound organic. It’s as if the endless “old vs new” arguments (if we could name them so) should finally dissolve. Here it is, the SATYRICON spirit. There’s probably some “old” and some “new”, but their dialectics are blended indiscriminately complete. There’s nothing much to analyze. Some expectations are gratified more than others, and maybe pre-Volcano fans are happier. But let’s not judge the book by its cover, and let’s keep an open mind (and heart) in the month ahead; moreover, “surprises” are promised… At any rate, we’re looking forward to both the record and the live shows, which always proved to set the air ablaze.
More anticipations of the new SATYRICON album HERE.
Diana Chavdarova
Let the hysteria around SATYRICON’s „Satyricon“ commence…
Satyricon – Satyricon
There’s a month to go until the new, frantically yet patiently anticipated release by the Norwegian innovators. Here and there, a snippet from one of the songs can already be heard (http://lively.fm/song/61775/) – which makes us that much more hyped. SATYRICON did an awesome job at keeping the audience guessing, for almost four years – and now, we get a confirmation for Satyr’s words: „We have never done a record which captures the spirit of this band in such a way. Ever.“
The spirit of SATYRICON… we will no doubt follow his invitation and plunge into the intricacy of the record („…musically speaking, it’s a very atmospheric record… This record is full of life… It will demand a lot from you as a listener, but I know you will love it. It will grow on you and that is why it will stay with you forever.“). We prefer to abstain from futile genre qualifications, even though we are doubtless that „…a lot of surprises here, but it’s gonna be a record that’s gonna help the black metal movement perhaps find a new way for the future.“ We don’t want to define SATYRICON‘s potency, expression and identity, indeed their spirit, past what is rock’n’roll at its intensest. It’s an extreme celebration of being. Raw, manic, refined, and limitless.
SATYRICON‘s overwhelming presence, whether we want it or not, sticks with us forever. We were lucky enough to be able to „stalk“ the band on their Age Of Nero tour. Some of us keep the burning memory of their unique Thessaloniki concert. We saw them in a number of European states. We experienced Satyr’s interesting sense of humour: „You’ve come from Bulgaria? Well, I’ve come from Oslo.“ In fact, SATYRICON deeply value their fans, which we can witness in Sigurd’s statement about the upcoming album: „We are back! Sorry it took so long, but we needed the time to be able to pull off a record like this. We won’t tour as much in the future as we used to, and that will just make every tour more special. This album and this tour is for you and ourselves. It is our moment!“
Satyr and Frost after the very final gig of the Age Of Nero tour, London, December 2009; photo by Diana Chavdarova
On the official SATYRICON facebook page, one can easily acquaint themselves with the tourdates coming, purchase tickets, and of course pre-order the album, plus other fresh merchandise. The album comes in Red Transparent Vinyl, Clear Vinyl, Mixed Colour Vinyl, and Digipack CD, as follows:
01. Voice Of Shadows
02. Tro Og Kraft
03. Our World, It Rumbles Tonight
04. Nocturnal Flare
05. Phoenix
06. Walker Upon The Wind
07. Nekrohaven
08. Ageless Northern Spirit
09. The Infinity Of Time And Space
10. Natt
Limited-edition CD digipack bonus tracks:
11. Phoenix (Recording Session Mix)
12. Our World, It Rumbles Tonight (Deeper Low Mix)
13. Natt (Wet Mix)
In addition, 50 mindlessly lucky fans will get lyric sheets of Our World, It Rumbles Tonight, handwritten by Frost and signed by Frost and Satyr.
As usual, these exquisite perfectionists have a complete aesthetic concept. While Age Of Nero was obviously dedicated to pitch-black darkness, self-titled SATYRICON might kick us off into a warm, blazing twilight… a pleasure we do not rush to consummate, just yet.
Let it all be still ahead. „…it is SATYRICON; constantly on the move.“ Thank you for taking us along on this rollercoaster.
Diana Chavdarova
ENSLAVED – истинският хедлайнър на Sofia Rocks 2013
Ето че и София доживя да се гмурне в този меломански разкош, ENSLAVED. Интензитетът, страстта и съзерцателността на тази група не оставят никого равнодушен – твърде жалко, че сетът им бе прекалено кратък, за да побере леещите се композиции. Върнете се отново, романтични воини на Музиката!
1. Riitiir
2. Ruun
3. Ethica Odini
4. Roots of the Mountain
5. Convoys to Nothingness
6. As Fire Swept Clean the Earth
7. Allfaðr Oðinn
Текст и снимки: Диана Чавдарова
The trve headliner of Sofia Rocks 2013
So, Sofia finally lived to find ourselves sucked into that music-loving splendour which is ENSLAVED. The intensity, the passion and thoughtfulness were well-received and embraced, shared, contemplated. We were moved, we were touched and exalted. Too bad the set was way too short for the voluptuous compositions. Please do come back, romantic warriors of high-caliber music!!!
1. Riitiir
2. Ruun
3. Ethica Odini
4. Roots of the Mountain
5. Convoys to Nothingness
6. As Fire Swept Clean the Earth
7. Allfaðr Oðinn
Diana Chavdarova
Not to miss at Sofia Rocks 2013: ENSLAVED
Photo by Diana Chavdarova
ENSLAVED, for the acquainted listener, are needless of presentation; and yet, let us explain why we find them the most valuable addition to the 2013 Sofia Rock Festival (headlined by RAMMSTEIN). First of all, we have the exclusive chance of seeing them, which wouldn’t be possible solo, due to the unthinkable for our economy fees of Norwegian artists. We are glad to have ENSLAVED joining the leading player in the extreme metal market, Nuclear Blast, for a chance to significantly widen the band’s live appearances. The strategy of Ivar & Co to popularize the band works solidly, backed with an equally solid musical content. Is ENSLAVED truly unique? Doubtlessly; and yet, the answer to that question does not come immediately. ENSLAVED is a band complex in terms of influences and musical/lyrical content; inspired on the one hand by Floyd and Crimson, on the other by the likes of Autopsy, and by everything in between. Indeed, the Norwegians are happy to find their comfortable place within a wider extreme-progressive-rock frame, rather than to distinctly define a style while stepping upon these influences. This is, if we may speculate, misleading – or equally, leading to a cathartic point („Never to return / Merge with the unknown“…) through intricate patterns. Composer Ivar does need the wider frame in order to fit in – musically, and if he pardons the pun, organically (which is one and the same in mythological terms). His ingenious riff and harmony find their exaltation in Grutle’s electrically-charged vocals; around these pillars, revolves the rest of the band’s equally rich musical support. The result is something we have witnessed, hinted at, in 70s heavier prog-bands; something which escalates within Enslaved. Already an oxymoron, which this band is – at the same time a proof that extremes can coincide within an entity, and thus defining extreme metal itself. The arguments of „opposing“ sides – prog-fans and „black metal“ supporters, and namely that ENSLAVED should drop either the harsh vocals or the progressive frame, become ignorable. The band is unique with the fact that it enthralls the listener, inevitably and immediately, into a musical universe of their own: a universe specific yet broad, intense yet as free as possible. Their lyrics are perhaps not that intriguing to us in this latitude, given their local-mythology charge; still we fall partial to the all-pervasive and organic grasp of these Norse vikings. ENSLAVED is a journey, but most of all it’s an immersion. It’s a wave. And a pure probe rock’n’roll. Be witness, July 26th, 18.45.
Recommended albums: Isa, Ruun, RIITIIR.
Text and photo by Diana Chavdarova
The Other Side 