A roundup of the latest news from Metal Blade Records. English New Wave Of British Heavy Metal band Satan and melodic death metal band Nothgard signs to Metal Blade plus Keyboardist Vikram Shankar joins Redemption.
Metal Blade Records is proud to announce the signing of long-time running NWOBHM legends Satan to its roster.
The heavy metal quintet has signed a multiple album deal with Metal Blade and has just finished recordings for their tentative new album to be released during the second half of 2018!
Comments Satan: “Metal Blade is part of Satan’s past and we are super excited for it to be part of our future. It seems so fitting, it’s hard to imagine another label that could give us a better platform for our music today.”
While standard bearers of the NWOBHM movement and responsible for ’83’s seminal Court In the Act and ’87’s Suspended Sentence, with their tentative new album Satan make it abundantly clear that in 2018 they are not interested in simply capitalizing on past glories. Comprised of 10 tracks of searing metal, it is blatantly and profoundly the work of the Newcastle upon Tyne natives at their very best, infusing their signature sound with a more raw, wild and spontaneous vibe than they showcased on 2015’s mighty Atom By Atom, in the process displaying more passion and energy than slews of bands half their age.
Having reunited in 2012 and returned to touring duty, Satan – comprised of six-stringers Russ Tippins and Steve Ramsey, bassist Graeme English, drummer Sean Taylor and vocalist Brian Ross – once more proved their collective mettle with 2013’s Life Sentence and follow-up Atom By Atom, both records critically acclaimed and maintaining the high standards of their earlier releases. With such a powerful collection in their hands the band were unsurprisingly eager to take it on the road, and they once again had successful tours and festival runs in Europe, North America and South America, culminating with a slot opening for Pentagram in Helsinki, which Tippins counts as a true honor.
Satan will unleash their latest batch of classical Heavy Metal songs in the second half of 2018. Be prepared for one of the best Metal albums of the year and stay tuned for more information about it!
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Metal Blade Records is proud to announce the addition of epic melodic death metallers Nothgard from Germany to its roster! The Bavarian quartet has signed a multiple album deal with Metal Blade and is right now in the middle of recording their tentative new album, to be released during the second half of 2018!
Comments Nothgard singer/guitarist Dom R. Crey: “We are really happy to announce the signing with the renowned label Metal Blade Records. For years we have had an eye on the countless and fantastic releases Metal Blade has launched. Eventually we can call ourselves part of this family, something that makes us really proud. We are looking forward to a great collaboration and cannot wait to usher into a new era of Nothgard.”
Dom is also presenting us an outlook on the upcoming new Nothgard album: “This exciting chapter will be initiated by a new studio album! In the history of the band we have never worked harder on an album. And to be honest we never had a clearer view on our approach of composing and on our sound. We listened to both, our fans and ourselves. We have clearly analyzed our strength and how to transfer this awareness to our material. Right now tons of work are still laying ahead of us and in the end our fans will judge the result. But let me tell you: As a band we are more than happy about the outcome so far and can’t wait to present it to the rest of the World!”
Founded in 2008 by singer and lead guitarist Dom R. Crey, Nothgard dragged along the winning ways since their debut album, Warhorns Of Midgard, from 2011. The high technical quality of their guitar work and the epic orchestration of their melodic death metal is exciting to fans and critics alike. In 2014, the band released another epic milestone of deadly metal, memorable melodies and influences from both neo-classical and folk music called Age Of Pandora. After the release, Nothgard finally signed to Noise Art Records who released the band’s latest album, The Sinner’s Sake, their most serious approach yet to enter the melodic death metal throne. On The Sinner’s Sake, deadly riffs meet playful, catchy lead guitars, while the epic orchestration arranges for a cinematic atmosphere that will bring goosebumps to your skin! Completed by Dom R. Crey’s raw vocals, Nothgard’s sound is both stormy-spectacular and full of a sublime atmosphere. With The Sinner’s Sake, Nothgard set off into the most spectacular chapter in the band’s history so far. And the best is yet to come!
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Keyboardist Vikram Shankar has joined progressive metal band Redemption. Nick van Dyk – the band’s guitarist and songwriter, who has also played the majority of keyboards on Redemption’s seven studio albums – comments: “We haven’t had a dedicated keyboard player since before 2011’s ‘This Mortal Coil’. We were very happy and fortunate to have had Greg Hosharian in the band for some time, but when Greg left to focus on composing and conducting classical music, we decided to continue without replacing him and I returned to playing keys in addition to guitar. I’m comfortable enough handling things, but at the same time, from a performance and also from a compositional standpoint, it’s always been in the back of my mind that having a dedicated keyboardist allows us to do more, sound better, and grow.”
Van Dyk continues: “Almost as soon as Tom [Englund, vocals] joined Redemption, he introduced me to Vikram by way of Vik’s YouTube channel, where Vik showcases both original compositions as well as stunning arrangements of some great progressive metal songs. I was utterly floored. This is a guy who has perfect pitch, tremendous feeling to his playing, and is absolutely a virtuoso – I mean he literally plays blindfolded to perfect his technique. I’ve never seen anything like it. Then we spent some time together, both one on one and then with the rest of Redemption, and learned he’s a terrific guy as well as a terrific musician. He came out to LA for a few days and spent some time adding some parts to our otherwise-finished upcoming release, Long Night’s Journey into Day, and it was evident that not only does he have technique and feel for miles to enhance our musicianship, but he and I share a similar compositional sensibility. We hear things the same way, plus Vikram adds fresh ideas and his tremendous talent as an arranger and writer. I can’t wait to involve him more in songwriting for future material, and we are all thrilled to have him join us on stage and in the studio. He’s an absolutely stunning talent.”
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to play alongside the talented folks in Redemption!” enthused Vikram. “The guys are wonderful musicians and wonderful people, and I can’t thank them enough for welcoming me into the fold as they have. Can’t wait to see and play for all the Redemption fans at Progpower USA and elsewhere, and for the future of our music and collaboration!”
