Veljak norveške black metal scene Abbath se letošnje poletje znova odpravlja na turnejo po Evropi. Turneja z imenom Return to the Raven Realms Tour bo nekaj posebnega zlasti zaradi tega, ker se bo Abbath z bandom sprehodil skozi cel katalog komadov, ki jih je kot član legendarnih Immortal soustvaril med 1992 in 2009. 1. avgusta se bo karavana ustavila tudi na Dunaju, in kot pravi Abbath, bo celotna turneja nekaj posebnega:

»I can’t wait to get back on stage this summer to perform some old favorites that I haven’t played for a long, long time. Mark my words – it’s going to be loud and epic!«

Norveški hardcore stonerji Bokassa so se minuli petek odpravili na turnejo po Norveški, kjer bodo promovirali aktualni album All Out of Dreams. Poleg omenjene turneje je zasedba razkrila tudi imena in datume poletnih festivalov, na katerih bo nastopila letos:

26. 6. 2024 – Resurrection Fest, ES
29. 6. 2024 – Tons Of Rock, NO
26. 7. 2024 – SørøyRocken, NO
3. 8. 2024 – Wacken Open Air, DE
10. 8. 2024 – Elbriot Festival, DE
15. 8. 2024 – Reload Festival, DE
17. 8. 2024 – Summer Breeze Festival DE

Vse zaenkrat znane koncerte najdete tukaj.

Američani The Black Dahlia Murder se po petih letih znova vračajo v Evropi. Tukaj (ali na sliki) so vsi datumi turneje:

14. 6. 2024 – Zamora, ESP – Z! Live Rock Fest
16. 6. 2024 – Donington Park, UK – Download
17. 6. 2024 – Belfast, UK – Limelight
18. 6. 2024 – Dublin, IE – Opium
20. 6. 2024 – Atene, GR – Arch Club
21. 6. 2024 – Thessaloniki, GR – Block 33
23. 6. 2024 – Dessel, BE – Graspop
24. 6. 2024 – Nürnberg, DE – Hirsch w/ Suffocation
25. 6. 2024 – Lille, FR – The Black Lab w/ Suffocation
26. 6. 2024 – Stuttgart, DE – Im Wizemann w/ Shadow of Intent
27. 6. 2024 – Trier, DE – Mergener Hof
28. 6. 2024 – Lindau, DE – Club Vaudeville w/ Suffocation
29. 6. 2024 – Yasselsteyn, NL – Jera On Air
30. 6. 2024 – Clisson, FR – Hellfest
31. 7. 2024 – Brasov, RO – Rockstadt Extreme Fest
2. 8. 2024 – Dortmund, DE – Dortmund Deathfest
3. 8. 2024 – Wacken, DE – Wacken Open Air
4. 8. 2024 – Roitzschjora, DE – Full Rewind
6. 8. 2024 – Cham, DE – Lifestyle Café
7. 8. 2024 – Jaromer, CZ – Brutal Assault
8. 8. 2024 – Schlotheim, DE – Party San Open Air
9. 8. 2024 – Dunaj, AT – Szene
10. 8. 2024 – Ljubljana, SI – Menza Pri Koritu
11. 8. 2024 – Milano, IT – Slaughter Club
13. 8. 2024 – Salzburg, AT – Rockhouse
14. 8. 2024 – Aarau, CH – Kiff
15. 8. 2024 – Dinkelsbühl, DE – Summer Breeze
16. 8. 2024 – Sulingen, DE – Reload Festival
17. 8. 2024 – Gent, BE – Chinastraat w/ Decapitated
18. 8. 2024 – Carhaix, FR – Motocultor

Nizozemski psihedelični rokerji Dool so ob zimskem solsticiju lani nastopili v rotterdamski cerkvi Arminius, odigrani set pa bodo na letošnji predbožični večer izdali kot koncertni album Visions of Summerland (Live at Arminius Church Rotterdam). Založba Prophecy Productions, ki bo album izdala 24. decembra, za pokušino predstavlja koncertni posnetek skladbe Oweynagat.

Veljaki norveškega black metala Satyricon sporočajo, da se po petih letih zatišja naslednje leto končno vračajo na koncertne odre. Poleg koncertnih aktivnosti, ki bodo sicer osredotočene na festivale širom Evrope, zasedba že pripravlja material za novo ploščo, ki bo nasledil zadnjo izdajo Satyricon & Munch. Izjavo banda si lahko preberete spodaj:

»We are pleased to confirm that we will return to the stage for the first time in five years in the summer of 2024. We will be focusing on the European festival run and have no touring plans outside of that currently. At the moment, we are working on a new album scheduled for a May 2024 release. The art exhibition and album “Satyricon & Munch”, was an intense and all-consuming project for the record books, but it is history now and we have been working on all these new things behind closed doors for almost a year. We’re delighted to soon share it, we really look forward to playing both brand new and old songs for you, and once again being able to hear you sing, scream and chant as the army you are. We will publish all dates once they have been confirmed and approved to publish. This will be great!«

Avtor fotografije je Marko Faletič.

Italijanski melanholični doom metalci Shores of Null so posneli videospot za pesem Darkness Won't Take Me s svojega marčevskega ploščka The Loss of Beauty.

Poleg tega ima zasedba napovedanih nekaj nastopov, s katerimi je začela minulo soboto in bodo trajali naslednjih nekaj mesecev:
09/09/2023 - Summer Metal Festival - Rieti (IT)
30/09/2023 - Metal Gates - Bukarešta (RO)
04/11/2023 - Fall Fest - Helsinki (FI)
09/12/2023 - Scumm - Pescara (IT)
12/01/2024 - tba (IT)
13/01/2024 - Metal Symposium - Waves of Doom Fest II - Bari (IT)
01/03/2024 - Ziggy - Torino (IT)
02/03/2024 - The Academy - Mantova (IT)
15/03/2024 - Rework - Perugia (IT)
16/03/2024 - Slaugther - Milano (IT)

Japonska ženska hibridna metalcore zasedba z elementi japonske pop-glasbe, hip-hopa, nu-metala, elektronike in hardcore punka Hanabie so objavile video za komad Be the GAL (Early Summer ver.).

Zasedba pride kmalu v Evropo, turnejo začne 4. avgusta v Velenju na Metaldays.

Heavy metal legende W.A.S.P., ki smo jih lahko pred nedavnim ujeli na enem izmed naših odrov, sporočajo, da bo nov album luč sveta ugledal poleti naslednje leto. To je pred kratkim v intervjuju za radijsko oddajo The Five Count radio show potrdil vodja zasedbe Blackie Lawless.

»From the time the U.S. tour ended [last December], we went straight back in the studio and we were working really hard to try to get it ready for August of this year, but it's just not gonna happen. It's one of those kinds of things that… I think we've got a big fish on the hook, and I don't wanna let it go before it's ready. I was talking to the guy that does the mixing for our records yesterday, and he asked me what I thought. And I said the best I could tell him would be spring of next year that we'll be ready for him. So if he starts in the spring, that means the soonest it would be ready would be summer.« 

Avtorica fotografije: Dominika Torkar.

Ameriški brutalni death metal veterani Dying Fetus bodo v Tolminu na festivalu Tolminator začeli svojo poletno turnejo. Tukaj so vsi datumi turneje:

25.07.23 Slovenija, Tolmin @ Tolminator
26.07.23 Italija, Rim @ Traffic Club
27.07.23 Italija,Milano @ Legend Club
28.07.23 Avstrija, Gradec @ Explosiv *
29.07.23 Avstrija, Dunaj @ Szene Wien *
31.07.23 Poljska, Katowice @ P23 *
01.08.23 Poljska, Warsaw @ Proxima *
02.08.23 Nemčija, Berlin @ Hole 44 *
04.08.23 Nemčija, Wacken @ Wacken Open Air
06.08.23 Romunija, Rasnov @ Rockstadt Extreme
10.08.23 Češka, Jaromer @ Brutal Assault
11.08.23 Nemčija, Schlotheim @ Party San
12.08.23 Nemčija, Bremen @ Tivoli **
13.08.23 Belgija Kortrijk @ Alcatraz
14.08.23 Nemčija, Schweinfurt @ Stattbahnhof ***
15.08.23 Nemčija, Bochum @ Matrix ***
16.08.23 Nizozemska, Tilburg @ 013 ****
18.08.23 Nemčija, Dinkelsbühl @ Summer Breeze
20.08.23 Francija, Carhaix @ Motocultor

Američane bodo na različnih lokacijah spremljale različne predskupine:
* Frozen Soul
** Converge, Archspire
*** Archspire
**** Converge, Archspire, Frontierer

Folk metal/rock zasedba Valkeat se vrača po šestih letih z novim albumom. Ta bo nosil naslov Fireborn in bo izšel 18. avgusta pri Reaper Entertainment, medtem ko bo band praznoval release show ploščka na festivalu Summer Breeze Open Air. Album Fireborn bo vseboval 14 pesmi:

My Crown
Tribe
Swan Song (Lemminkäinen)
Ukko
Moraš
Fireborn
Karjalan Kunnailla
Summer Nights
Iku
Tule Kokko
Thunderbird
Vana
Kuolematon
Land of Falling Leaves - Song up the Skies

Zaradi slabega zdravstvenega stanja dveh članov banda je julijski nastop Suffocation v Zagrebu odpovedan. V nadaljevanju lahko preberete celotno objavo za javnost:

»It is with deep regret that we have to announce the cancellation of our Summer June/July 2023 tour scheduled within Europe/UK. As you may know we previously toured Europe last month and during this tour a few members of the band suffered extreme physical strain resulting in injuries preventing us from returning back to the area less than a month from our previous tour.

Although it's never our intention to cancel any tour the health of our bandmates is key for continuing forward into the rest of the year and it's required that these members rest accordingly and recover from their injuries sustained during this tour. The physical strain that touring takes on the bodies of musicians manifests itself in many ways that are out of our control.

We have a lot in the works for the remainder of the year including writing and completing our new album and we look forward to returning to one of our favorite territories and fans in the EU/UK bringing you Suffocation at full strength, blazing and cranking alongside you all.

As you all know, Suffocation puts their all into our live show and we want to make sure fans get our all moving forward. Health and safety is our number one priority to ensure that we can bring it for you guys for the remainder of 2023 and beyond.«

Vračilo kart je možno od danes dalje v trgovini Dirty Old Shop.

Organizatorji legendarnega festivala Bang Your Head sporočajo, da se je ta za vedno poslovil. Več podrobnosti lahko preberete v izjavi organizatorja:

THAT WAS IT! Hello friends, it is with a heavy heart that we are writing these lines. But there is no other way. We really gave and did everything we could to finally catch up with celebrating the big BANG YOU HEAD!!! anniversary in 2023, and eagerly anticipated this summer like no other. But: We alone, unfortunately, did not have control over creating the circumstances needed to set up an event of this caliber with the requirement to quality connected to the name BANG YOUR HEAD!!! and actually make it happen. A lot changed in the past three years and not a lot of it was and is good. All in all, it can and must be said: The whole scene changed, and the preconditions for organizing an open-air event in Balingen are completely different in 2023 than they were in 2019 – also from an economic perspective. All in all, we thus come to the conclusion, even if it is incredibly sad, that there are too many factors and forces working against us, and pushing through to organize an event at any cost would cause more losses for us and others involved than putting an end to it now. And this is how it is now: The BANG YOUR HEAD!!! 2023 can and will NOT take place. Due to the abovementioned reasons which we can’t describe in further detail due to reasons that are hopefully understandable, there is no viable path that we can take responsibility for aside from calling off the big anniversary party in Balingen. We hope for your understanding and thank everybody from the bottom of our hearts that supported us, believed in us, and kept their tickets or even bought new ones. Especially for you we tried everything to finally raise the BANG YOUR HEAD!!! flag again over the Swabian Alb, but it seems like it was not meant to be. And to make sure to avoid any potential misunderstandings: There will be no more BANG YOUR HEAD!!! festivals in the future. This was it. Because we know that many of you waited for the BYH!!! this year with immense anticipation, we intensely tried to come up with a way to marginally make up for the cancellation of the event. So, we had an idea for a ticket exchange to the ROCK OF AGES festival 2023 which you can read up on in the detailed statement on www.bang-your-head.de. Of course, we will also reimburse the purchasing price to everybody who would like to return their tickets – irrespective of which of the past years the tickets for 2023 were purchased. We will inform you about the detailed process shortly through our channels. We want to thank you once again for your support at all 24 festivals and we would be thrilled to greet you as part of the LOYAL ONES in Seebronn on 28th June! Stay heavy! Horst and the BANG YOUR HEAD!!!-Team

Pred časom smo že poročali, da so melodični death metalci The Agonist iz Kanade odpovedali nastop na letošnji ediciji festivala MetalDays. Sedaj pa je iz tabora zasedbe tudi odjeknila vest, da je uradno prenehala z delovanjem. Več si lahko preberete v spodnji izjavi:

Dear friends, it's time to make a very difficult but necessary announcement.
We have decided that The Agonist as a band, has come to an end. Much deliberation and care has been put into making this decision, and unfortunately, given the circumstances, this is the conclusion that makes the most sense for the band and us as individuals.
There are many factors that led to this decision. It is a mix of personal, financial and industry related issues, but in the end the 5 of us are no longer able to agree on a way forward that would benefit The Agonist business as a whole, while respecting each member's personal lives and wishes.
We want to express our deepest gratitude to the fans for coming out to the shows, buying our merch, and supporting us over the years. Nothing is more satisfying than connecting with our fellow human beings via the gift of music. It is the number one factor that has always driven us- to make you, the listener, feel something. In the end, we know that we've accomplished this together.
Some members of the band will continue to work on music in various ways, others will focus on personal projects and family. We kindly ask you to respect their privacy on this particular matter and encourage you to follow them on their individual social media accounts to support their future endeavors.
Vicky Psarakis will be carrying on with her band, Sicksense. They have a new EP coming out this summer and she will be playing 2 live shows with them in Montreal, in June.
You can also directly support her by following her on Patreon and Twitch.
Simon McKay is currently looking to join a new band full-time, while offering session work for studio and live gigs. Also, keep an eye out for new music coming soon from his solo project.
Chris Kells will be focusing on his career as a videographer. Since 2015, he has directed all of The Agonist's music videos, as well as many other established bands.
Danny Marino is currently writing music for 2 new projects.
Pascal "Paco" Jobin will be releasing new music with his project Leading the betrayed.
Our US-based merch store with Sound Escape Agency will remain open. We have also put together an EU-based store for our European fans. Inventory is final and there will be no restocks. Proceeds will go directly to the band to help us pay off our remaining debt.
Once again, we thank you and we love you.
»We will survive. At the end of the tunnel there's always a light.« - The Agonist

Poročali smo že, da bodo španski black/death metalci Noctem poleti nastopili na festivalu MetalDays. Nedavno pa je band objavil seznam vseh festivalov, na katerih bo promoviral svoj najnovejši album Credo certe ne cras. Prvi nastop se bo zgodil danes, celoten seznam pa je takšen:

28/04/23 - Black Hole Fest, Aarburg, CH
29/04/23 - La Berguedana De Thrash, Berga, ES
05/05/23 - ARM Festival, Aalborg, DK
20/05/23 - Undersound Fest, Soria, ES
09/06/23 - Z! Live Rock Fest, Zamora, ES
17/06/23 - Graspop Metal Meeting, Dessel, BE
21/07/23 - Kanekas Metal Fest, Cangas Do Morrazo, ES
31/07/23 - Metaldays, Velenje, SLO
11/08/23 - Leyendas del Rock, Villena, ES
18/08/23 - Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbuhl, DE
01/09/23 - Siekiera Metal Fest, Wroclaw, PL

Marco Hietala in Tarja Turunen bosta ponovno stala skupaj na odru, in sicer bosta 8. julija v sklopu festivala Z7 Summer Nights v švicarskem mestu Pratteln nastopila kot duet s posebnimi gosti. Svoj nastop oglašujeta kot »symphonic metal dreams«. Ali je to morebitni začetek novega projekta, pa je zaenkrat vprašanje, zavito v tančico skrivnosti.