A roundup of the latest news from Metal Blade Records including updates on Act Of Defiance, Igorrr, Sorcerer and Hamferð.
Metal Blade Records is proud to announce the signing of up-and-coming doomsters Hamferð from the Faroe Islands.
Hamferð comments: “We’re thrilled and proud to announce that we have signed a recording agreement with Metal Blade Records! Since we started out back in 2008 we have worked closely with our local label TUTL. The cooperation has been rewarding and our ties will not be severed completely. However, for the upcoming album and in the future we felt it was time to work with an internationally renowned metal label to hopefully help take Hamferð to the next level as a band. We feel positive and confident about Metal Blade’s setup and their commitment towards quality as the label houses many of our favorite artists and has released a ton of groundbreaking releases. Their legacy and dedication to metal music is vital. Our new record has been a long time coming. Needless to say, we are extremely excited to finally set it up for release!”
Hamferð will release their new album in early 2018. Stay tuned for more news coming soon!
About Hamferð:
Hamferð refers to an apparition: the image of a person facing death, appearing before his or her loved ones as an omen.
“Faroese doom metal” is a powerful sound. Exclusive to this self-styled tag is Hamferð. For a near decade, the funeral dressed sextet has been casting a unique expression rooted in conceptual tragedy and intense, narrative doom metal.
“Hamferð is heavily inspired by our natural surroundings and our cultural heritage. Those aspects combine into unique feelings and atmospheres which we attempt to describe through our music”, comments guitarist Theodor Kapnas.
Faroese history and folklore are mixed together with grand atmospheres, a trademark that has earned worldwide attention. Stages at festivals such as Inferno, Midgardsblot, Tuska, Summer Breeze, Wacken and many more have been turned into funerary ceremonies. Touring with bands like Amorphis and Moonsorrow has further garnered the band a respected reputation due to strong yet solemn live performances.
The lyrical and conceptual approach is ambitious in scope. People are drawn to it, even though the band sings in their native tongue, Faroese. With a highly engaging idea concerning lyrics and songwriting, the hour has arrived to close a conceptual trilogy which commenced with the 2010 EP Vilst er síðsta fet, continued with the internationally acclaimed 2013 full-length album Evst, and is now concluded with the new album, soon to be announced.
Check out a live video of Hamferð performing “Vrain” in the cathedral of Torshavn
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Act of Defiance – the heavy metal group featuring the veteran talents of Chris Broderick on guitar, Henry Derek on vocals, Shawn Drover on drums and Matt Bachand on bass – will unleash their dynamic new album, Old Scars, New Wounds, today via Metal Blade Records.
The band has revealed a third new track from the album, the powerful epic “The Talisman”
Listen to it here
On Old Scars, New Wounds, Act Of Defiance has upped the ante. Each of the 11 new tracks sound fresh and urgent while wielding a timeless quality that will connect powerfully with metal fans new and old – and there aren’t many contemporary bands who can make such a claim. Naturally blending a plethora of metallic styles and never recycling ideas, Old Scars, New Wounds is an even more dynamic and diverse collection than its predecessor. The title – plucked from the blistering track “Conspiracy Of The Gods” – stands as a metaphor for life in general, and the breadth of lyrical matter covered is as broad as the styles of heavy music found on the record.
Old Scars, New Wounds track-listing:
1. M.I.A.
2. Molten Core
3. Overexposure
4. The Talisman
5. Lullaby of Vengeance
6. Circle of Ashes
7. Reborn
8. Conspiracy of the Gods
9. Another Killing Spree
10. Broken Dialect
11. Rise of Rebellion
Old Scars, New Wounds is out now!
www.nervegas.com.au/act-of-defiance
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To get an impression of the live performance of Igorrr, check out the full live show that the band performed just recently at the Dour festival:
Gautier Serre comments: “Performing this music provokes always very interesting reactions – some people get it, others don’t. While we are deep into it with the band, it’s going to be a strong experience for sure.”
Igorrr released their latest album, Savage Sinusoid, in June via Metal Blade Records. On this record, electronic manipulations, accordion, saxophone, sitar, harpsichord, mandolin and strings sit comfortably alongside ruthless blastbeats, chunky riffs, death grunts and soaring operatic vocals – and as chaotic as this might sometimes seem, there is no lack of heart behind everything thundering from the speakers.
Savage Sinusoid is out now
www.nervegas.com.au/igorrr-savage-sinusoid-cd
www.nervegas.com.au/igorrr-savage-sinusoid-pale-skin-clear-vinyl-lp
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Swedish epic heavy doom metal warlords Sorcerer will release their new album, The Crowning Of The Fire King, on October 20th via Metal Blade Records!
For a preview of the record, Sorcerer has now released a lyric video for the new single, “Ship Of Doom”, which can be viewed below:
The band comments: “‘Ship of Doom’ captures the essence of Sorcerer. Slow, doomy and full of surprises for the listener. The music for this one was written by our very talented guitar player Peter Hallgren.”
Sorcerer comments: “We have aimed to write an album with diversity and intensity, an album that we want to listen to ourselves. ‘The Crowning Of The Fire King’ is by far our best recording ever with songs that are strong, powerful and doomy. We have captured what Sorcerer is about and taken the songs to the next level for the band.”
The Crowning Of The Fire King track-listing:
1. Sirens
2. Ship Of Doom
3. Abandoned By The Gods
4. The Devils Incubus
5. Nattvaka
6. Crimson Cross
7. The Crowning Of The Fire King
8. Unbearable Sorrow
Sorcerer online:
www.facebook.com/sorcererdoom
www.sorcererdoom.com
