The Ocean Collective are back with a beautifully executed noir video. The video captures breathtaking visuals that bring to life the story off their single, “Permian: The Great Dying” from their latest album Phanerozoic I: Palaezoic.
The story being told visually, shot in India, Indonesia, and Thailand by filmmaker Craig Murray, shows us parallels of the Great Dying and today’s climate crisis. We see a man on a deserted island becoming encapsulated by a rising ocean, a graven desert, plants regrowing from ashes, as well as lava overtaking the island – referencing the increased volcanic activity that caused the Great Dying. The latest video highlights the albums message in regards to climate change and where we see what life could potentially look like when about 95% of the population is wiped out. The video sends a strong message about the current climate debate that is being discussed and really helps put that message into a visual perspective.
Robin Staps discusses the songs lyrics and how this story is told through film. “The lyrics of the song revolve around the “Great Dying” topic on two related but also distinctly different orbits: the palaeontology-/climate change is the surface level – and beneath lies a personal relationship story, an end-times romance embedded into (and artistically inflated) to earth’s history dimensions.”
Ebbs and flows of proggy melodies, crushing guitars, swelling strings and powerful vocals match the heavy lyrical themes The Ocean has made its signature.
Phanerozoic I is available in Australia via Wild Thing Records
Legendary thrash metallers Sacred Reich have announced the release date for their highly anticipated new album Awakening. The band’s first new music in twenty three years will drop on August 23rd via Metal Blade Records.
Pre-orders are available now from metalblade.com/sacredreich
The band have also released the title track, “Awakening”, and the accompanying music video today. “Awakening” was premiered by Jose Mangin on SirusXM Liquid Metal yesterday (June 17th) to much excitement from fans! The video for “Awakening” was shot by acclaimed director Mark Pellington (U2, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Public Enemy).
Watch it now at: metalblade.com/sacredreich
Twenty-three years after dropping their last full-length, Sacred Reich are returning in force with the towering Awakening. The new album showcases everything a fan would expect and hope for from the Phoenix, Arizona crew, it is a timeless collection comprised of blistering thrash, crushing grooves, killer solos and socially conscious lyrics that demonstrate a true understanding of everything that matters most in the world today. The return of Dave McClain, who manned the drum throne from 1991 to 1997, and the addition of 22 year old Joey Radziwill playing guitar, alongside original members guitarist Wiley Arnett and vocalist/bassist Phil Rind are integral facets of the record. Speaking on this current line-up of Sacred Reich, Phil Rind says: “Dave is such a killer drummer and person. He works every day to become a better drummer, and I mean every day. His work ethic is inspiring. As much as he has accomplished, he is still open to what comes. Joey brings a higher level of musicianship and tightness to our band, and he brings a freshness to us. He gives us an opportunity for us to see things from a different perspective, and all of us were blown away by what he can do with a guitar and how effortlessly he does it.”
To track the album, the band headed into Platinum Underground in Mesa, AZ, and employed producer Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Cavalera Conspiracy) and engineer John Aquilino. The album was mastered by Maor Appelbaum at Maor Appelbaum Mastering, CA. Speaking on his band’s long awaited new album, Rind adds: “Going into it, we had a loose idea as far as knowing that we wanted some fast, heavy songs to honor the old school fans that have supported us and gotten us to this point. We wanted everything to happen naturally. We didn’t want to force anything and we are super stoked with every song. It is easily the best thing we have ever done. Regardless of what happens with the record, the experience of making it was enough to satisfy us. Obviously we hope people like it, but even if it tanked, it could not change the way we feel about it. We know what we did.”
Hamburg’s finest death metal act ENDSEEKER have just announced September 13th as the release date for their debut Metal Blade Records full length album, The Harvest.
Music and videos can be heard now at www.metalblade.com/endseeker
ENDSEEKER worked once again with Eike Freese (Heaven Shall Burn, Deep Purple, Gamma Ray), the same producer behind their 2017 debut album Flesh Hammer Prophecy. The album was laid down at Chameleon Studios, Hamburg, and it was described as “a painless, pleasurable process for all.” Everything on The Harvest feels natural, the songs flowing freely without being predictable, and doing the maximum amount of damage as they thunder from the speakers.
The band adds: “The new album provides a lot of diversity and surprises. The vocals are varied and the melodies are catchy, but it’s still far away from mainstream. You can hear the influential heritage but we hopefully also added some new and relevant flavor to it.”
The album’s release in September, which coincides with traditional harvest seaons, which was a source of inspiration for the record. “It’s where nature starts to shut down. Fruits ripen, fields get mowed down, people and animals start to prepare for winter by storing stocks. It’s a time of death. Leaves fall off the trees, hibernation is coming closer, the days get shorter and soon everything turns grey. It’s almost magical to see how everything seemingly dies just to resurrect in spring to fulfill another whole spin. These are strong images that are closely related to our vision of death metal, nothing is as cruel and fascinating as nature, and the lyrics are based mainly – but not only – on nature topics.”
On July 12th, the Spiritual Euphoria 7” will be released with the title track on the A-side and a vinyl-exclusive cover of Megadeth’s (get well soon, Dave!) ‘Symphony Of Destruction’ on side B. The 7” is strictly limited to 333 copies: 222 black and 111 yellow. The latter version is exclusively available through the official Metal Blade Europe webshop at Kingsroad Merch
Since 2015, the name ENDSEEKER has stood for the finest Swedish styled death metal from Hamburg, Germany. Hard as a fist and uncompromising like binge drinking on St. Pauli – but with a big chunk of heart and soul to it
Emerging from the shadows of eastern Poland back in 2015, black metal band Batushka have established themselves as one of the modern era’s most powerful and evocative bands. Harnessing the fire and fury of arcane black metal and channeling it through the reverberant grandeur of ancient rituals of worship, the band’s debut album Litourgiya stood apart from the extreme metal hordes: a monument to originality, depth and dark mysticism that swiftly cast its spell over the metal underground and beyond.
The band will release its sophomore album Hospodi through Metal Blade Records on July 12.
The album is available for pre-order here, here, or here.
Batushka have just unleashed the third track from the album in the form of “Liturgiya.”
