As
ZORNHEYM embark on the next chapter in their musical journey in
2024, introducing a new drummer and releasing the anthemic single "None for
All" they continue to push boundaries and deliver an electrifying live
experience. The band's commitment to their fans and the immersive world they
have created is evident in their music and performances, promising an
unforgettable experience for all who dare to enter the twisted realm of
ZORNHEYM .
"The Zornheim Sleep Experiment" Tracklist: 01. Corpus Vile 02. An Evil Within 03. Dead Silence 04. Keep The
Devil Away 05.Slumber Comes In Time 06. Black Nine 07. The Veiling Of Bettelheims Eye 08. The Revelation 09. Keep Cutting 10. The Madness That Lurks Within (Epilogue)
With ten new tracks of powerful, cinematic and mesmerizing symphonic extreme
metal, "The Zornheim Sleep Experiment" is a musical as well as dramatic
and storytelling work of art that revolves around the horrors of a mental
institution and its prisoners. Once again,
ZORNHEYM create their very own wall of sound by using a real choir and a
string quartet and bring the album's story to life in a graphic novel that
accompanies and expands upon the stories behind the record. So get lost in the
world of
ZORNHEYM and join the band on their distracting journey straight into
the depths of the asylum!
ZORNHEYM - ANNOUNCE THE NEW
DRUMMER QUAL! [2024.05.15]
Sweden's symphonic extreme metallers
ZORNHEYM have just announced that they parted ways with drummer
Joakim Steven and announced their new drummer Qual!
The band comments "Joakim Steven has been very busy performing
live with “Ghostkid” for the last few years, and with our new album in
the works and several gigs in the future we are saddened to face the reality
that Steve needs to be released from the asylum so he can focus on
“Ghost Kid”. If you are into Steve’s playing then fear not since he
has recorded all the drum parts for the next, as yet untitled, Zornheym
opus 3. There is no bad blood between Steve and Zornheym, but
unfortunately there simply is not enough time and too many conflicting schedules
for both bands to share him."
Steve comments: "Zornheym has been a big part of my life ever
since I joined in 2017. We have been through alot and the memories we share will
forever live in my heart. Being part of this project has been an honour and
we’ve grown together as people and as artists.
I wish all the best for the band and I still believe in it, and I’m super
excited to show you the new album as it will be the best one yet. So stay tuned
and be ready for the gates to open once again… Long live Zornheym!"
Let us introduce you to the new drummer of
ZORNHEYMKim Arnell aka, Qual! Hailing from Linköping
where he has played in bands like Prime Creation, Morifade and
Nephenzy.
Qual comments:”I‘m extremely happy and proud to be a part of
Zornheym and their crazy world.
I have always been a fan of their cool mix of extreme metal, symphonic elements,
good songwriting, and Bendler’s fantastic voice.
And of course the whole Zornheym concept.
I’d like to say a huge thanks to Zorn, Bendler, and Scucca for
believing in me and taking me on this journey. And to all inmates of Zornheym,
see you at the shows"
Zorn comments:“It felt natural with Qual right from the
start! Filling the drum throne after both Angst and Steve is not
an easy thing but he does a great job.”
First show with Qual will be at METAL
THEATRE FESTIVAL 2024 in Kalmar, Sweden on the 5-6 of July.
"The Zornheim Sleep Experiment" Tracklist: 01. Corpus Vile 02. An Evil Within 03. Dead Silence 04. Keep The
Devil Away 05.Slumber Comes In Time 06. Black Nine 07. The Veiling Of Bettelheims Eye 08. The Revelation 09. Keep Cutting 10. The Madness That Lurks Within (Epilogue)
With ten new tracks of powerful, cinematic and mesmerizing symphonic extreme
metal, "The Zornheim Sleep Experiment" is a musical as well as dramatic
and storytelling work of art that revolves around the horrors of a mental
institution and its prisoners. Once again,
ZORNHEYM create their very own wall of sound by using a real choir and a
string quartet and bring the album's story to life in a graphic novel that
accompanies and expands upon the stories behind the record. So get lost in the
world of
ZORNHEYM and join the band on their distracting journey straight into
the depths of the asylum!
NeKronos Promotion is Proud to present the band of the NeKroWeek, they are HATE(Death
Black Metal),
without a doubt one of the best expressions within their musical genre!
This band had a tremendous
influence over forming Polish metal scene in the nineties!
Show your support and share this info to all your metal brotherhood if you like what you have heard!
[Album
artwork by: Daniel Rusilowicz] Rugia track-listing
1. Rugia
2. The Wolf Queen
3. Exiles of Pantheon
4. Saturnus
5. Awakening the Gods Within
6. Resurgence
7. Velesian Guard
8. Sun of Extinction
9. Sacred Dnieper
No one combines death and black metal quite like Poland’s HATE.
With unflinching viciousness and a sense of atmosphere unique to the band, on
Rugia, their twelfth full-length, they push the boundaries of their craft
even further. “It was clear to me that it should build upon and evolve from
our previous record, ‘Auric Gates Of Veles’ (2019), both musically and
lyrically. However, every Hate record stands as a separate journey, and never
twice to the same place. You never know exactly where it will lead you,”
states vocalist/guitarist ATF Sinner, who has led the band since 1991.
Fresh blood in the band’s line-up also helped contribute to Rugia‘s
unique sound. Pavulon (drums), who had played with the band since 2014,
was forced to step down from the band due to serious health issues. The band
tapped Nar-Sil (Neolith, Virgin Snatch, Embrional) to take his place.
“Working with a new drummer this time around was a fascinating experience for
me. Nar-Sil’s technique and presence are quite different from Pavulon’s,
and that definitely comes across. I believe we managed to construct a refreshing
new chapter to our discography, composing nine truly sinister onslaughts of pure
rage.”
The band elected to once again track the album in the Hertz Recording Studio
in Poland, and it was recorded, mixed and mastered by the Wiesłaski Brothers
(Behemoth, Decapitated). Everything was laid down over about two to three
weeks, with longtime collaborator Michał Staczkun providing the ambient
elements of the band’s sound. The only struggle came about at the mixing stage,
where the final character of the record emerges. “Here we encountered many
problems, contradictory visions too. The producers had their own idea for the
overall sound, which differed from what I had in mind, so we were trying to find
a good compromise and it took us a few months.” Given how strongly the
personality of the record shines through, it is safe to say that the compromise
reached was definitely in its best interest, standing as perhaps the best
sounding record in the band’s long career. Hate is also celebrating thirty years
of activity with Rugia, Sinner affirming he is as driven as ever.
“Well, the fire is still burning! I’m proud that I have built a band with such
strong energy, that’s lasted for a long time in spite of numerous line-up
changes and obstacles in our way. We are still here and we create with ever
growing consciousness and dedication. The energy speaks through us. Honestly, I
think of the band as something much bigger and more profound than the individual
people involved in it over any given period of time. I believe we create a
channel for energies that surpass us.”
HATE BIOGRAPHY
No one combines death and black metal quite like Poland's Hate. With
unflinching viciousness and a sense of atmosphere unique to the band, on
Rugia, their twelfth full-length, they push the boundaries of their craft
even further. "It was clear to me that it should build upon and evolve from
our previous record 'Auric Gates Of Veles' (2019) both musically and
lyrically. However, every Hate record stands as a separate journey, and never
twice to the same place. You never know exactly where it will lead you"
states vocalist/guitarist ATF Sinner, who has led the band since 1991.
Fresh blood in the band's lineup also helped contribute to Rugia's unique
sound. Pavulon (drums), who had played with the band since 2014, was
forced to step down from the band due to serious health issues. The band tapped
Nar-Sil (Neolith, Virgin Snatch, Embrional) to take his place.
"Working with a new drummer this time around was a fascinating experience for
me. Nar-Sil's technique and presence are quite different from Pavulon's
and that definitely comes across. I believe we managed to construct a refreshing
new chapter to our discography, composing nine truly sinister onslaughts of pure
rage."
Writing for Rugia commenced shortly after Auric Gates of Veles was
released. However, Hate soon began to tour extensively in support of their then
new opus, and the production of new music was put on the back burner. But come
2020 and the COVID pandemic, the band's touring plans with Belphegor and
Suffocation were abruptly cut short. With this unexpected infusion of free
time, the band decided to buckle down and finish writing the material they were
working on.
Sinner and Nar-Sil were joined by Domin on lead guitar and
Tiermes on bass, who played with the band live since 2018, to complete
the lineup. "Although I wrote the riffs, main arrangements and lyrics, we all
worked on what you hear on Rugia. We put the pieces together and
re-arranged fragments as a team. Our albums are always a collective effort and
Rugia was no different," asserts Sinner. Sound-wise, they were
mainly inspired by nineties extreme metal, both black and death, and they wanted
to keep their sound as organic as possible. Warts and all. "It sounds quite
harsh, very dynamic and unrestrained. It also has a strong ambient element to it
that emphasizes the material's tone and dark atmosphere. The rhythm section is
more death metal influenced this time around, which harkens back to our roots.
You could say that most of the songs on this album are 'pagan death metal' - a
combination of epic riffs and ferocious blasting rhythms." One thing that
might come as a surprise to fans is the manner in which Sinner uses his
voice, which is a lot more sophisticated than on previous records. "I tried
to make my voice sound at three different timbres, or even different people
behind the microphone. Sometimes the voices are combined together, sometimes
they are more like separate vocal lines. I wanted to build this enriched
narrative, and at our shows, I think Tiermes will help me with some of
the vocal lines to bring that effect to a live surrounding."
Lyrically, the album sees the band continue to delve into the depths of Slavonic
mysticism. "Generally, all the songs on the album are dedicated to the
ancient Slavic world - great migrations, wars, battles, and the struggle for
survival. But there is also a philosophical level to it, which is very
important. Slavic mythology is a collection of universal stories touching upon
fundamental issues that we all encounter in our lives. Therefore it is a frame
that allows me to write about contemporary problems that I encounter myself from
a different perspective. Along the way, I discovered my pagan soul and I
encourage people to do the same. I think everybody has this deeper, more
profound identity based on understanding our unity with nature, something that
goes beyond all the civilizations we have built." The album title is taken
from the archaic name of a German island on the Baltic Sea now called Rügen. In
ancient times, Rügen or Rugia, was a site of holy pilgrimage to the pagan
Slavic people. It was the very heart of the western Slavic faith, housing the
fabled stronghold of Arkona. The album is at its core a tribute to Rugia and its
tribes and the culture they created.
The band elected to once again track the album in the Hertz Recording Studio
in Poland, and it was recorded, mixed and mastered by the Wiesłaski Brothers
(Behemoth, Decapitated). Everything was laid down over about two to three
weeks, with longtime collaborator Michał Staczkun providing the ambient
elements of the band's sound. The only struggle came about at the mixing stage,
where the final character of the record emerges. "Here we encountered many
problems, contradictory visions too. The producers had their own idea for the
overall sound, which differed from what I had in mind, so we were trying to find
a good compromise and it took us a few months." Given how strongly the
personality of the record shines through it is safe to say that the compromise
reached was definitely in its best interest, standing as perhaps the best
sounding record in the band's long career. Hate is also celebrating
thirty years of activity with Rugia, Sinner affirming he is as driven as
ever. "Well, the fire is still burning! I'm proud that I have built a band
with such strong energy, that's lasted for a long time in spite of numerous
lineup changes and obstacles in our way. We are still here and we create with
ever growing consciousness and dedication. The energy speaks through us.
Honestly, I think of the band as something much bigger and more profound than
the individual people involved in it over any given period of time. I believe we
create a channel for energies that surpass us."
ALBUMS:
Deamon Qui Fecit Terram, 1996
Lord is Avenger, 1998
Cain's Way, 2001
Awakening of the Liar, 2003
Anaclasis – A Haunting Gospel of Malice & Hatred, 2005
Morphosis, 2008
Erebos, 2010
Solarflesh – A Gospel of Radiant Divinity, 2013
Crusade:Zero, 2015
Tremendum, 2017
Auric Gates of Veles, 2019
Rugia, 2021
VIDEO ALBUM:
the Litanies of Satan, 2004
COMPILATIONS:
Evil Decade of Hate, 2000
Gateways To Hell: Tribute To Slayer, 2000
Holy Dead Trinity, 2001
DEMOS:
Abhorrence, 1992
Evil Art, 1994
The Unwritten Law, 1995
NeKronos Promotion is Proud to present the band of the NeKroWeek, they are
GAEREA (Portugal) an intense cathartic black metal experience. This is an
impressive band that unleashes some of the most sickening
dark and sinister black metal we have heard in years! A mind-blowing band that
crafts mysterious and rebellious black metal art!
Show your support and share this info to all your metal brotherhood if you like what you have heard!
The band comments:""World Ablaze" tells a story of a man who
has lived all his life inside a cage, knowing one day he will be set free and
experience the world with its true colours.
Unfortunately he also knows that day will be his last hours alive. It is a song
about desire, hope and freedom. A dance between life and death, hope and
despair."
The video was recorded by the great Grupa13,
distinguished for working with giants like Behemoth, Arch Enemy, Dark Funeral.
Formats:
CD Digipak
CD Digibook
2x 12" Gatefold (Black) 2x 12" Gatefold (Dracula / limited to 300) 2x 12" Gatefold (White / limited to 500) 2x 12" Gatefold (Gold / limited to 700)
GAEREA BIOGRAPHY: Style: Cathartic Black Metal
Something rises in the bleak and blackened skies of society as we know it.
Vortex community GAEREA are
about to bestow their Undying Sigil to the masses, with their brand-new full
length ‘Limbo’!
GAEREA is a
black metal quintet from Portugal. Emerging in the beginning of 2016, the band
released their first (self-titled) EP on November 11, 2016 through
Everlasting Spew Records. The EP received many praises from the worldwide
press, and it was not long before the first full length "Unsettling Whispers"
(2018) was presented.
With that, GAEREAhad
the pleasure to perform and tour festivals in Europe and China, including
performances with Jupiterian in April 2019 and a headlining Chinese tour
in May 2019. The band already performed at festivals like SWR Barroselas
Metalfest (PT), De Mortem et Diabolum (DE), Throne Fest (BE),
Frantic Fest (IT), Eresia Metal Fest (IT), Amplifest (PT)
and many more. During the fall of 2019, the band did an extensive tour with
label mates NUMENOREAN under the Doomstar Bookings wing throughout
Europe.
Are you finally ready for the tale of the Fallen Society and the journey to the
vast Void, the only good in Life? Let us begin then. In the first hopeless
circle, on too great and Undeniable Nothingness. WE ARE GAEREA.
- - -
"MIRAGE":
Style: Cathartic Black Metal
Behind black shrouds of obscurity and desolation, the men of
GAEREA deliver their odes in cascading maelstroms of aggression and
beauty. Emerging from the age of pandemic to whatever awaits humanity next, the
Portuguese horde remains on the frontlines of the next generation of extreme
metal. With an EP and two albums to their name,
GAEREA has rapidly distinguished themselves from the thousands of bands
toiling away in the underground. Brewing their cauldron of sound from a recipe
of pounding black-metal blast mixed with a touch of harrowed, reflective
longing, many devotees of the darkened arts have flocked to their banner. With
the emergence of third full-length album Mirage, those numbers are sure to grow.
Underground metal itself is a strange and cyclical beast. Trends come and trends
go. But at no point in the genre’s history have we borne witness to what
happened to the world in 2020.
GAEREA met this challenge by releasing their second album, the aptly
titled "Limbo", to excellent world reception. In the meantime, they found
the total suspension of interactive life as it was previously known to be the
perfect breeding ground for further creation and making. As the troupe’s main
songwriter elaborates, "I lost two precious years of my life, years that I
would rather have spent touring and growing as an artist. But they were crucial
for us, these years, because not too many bands stayed relevant and productive.
The pandemic gave us the time to make the best release we could. All the
promo-shoots, interviews, videos, we all had time to prepare for everything.
Mirage was the product of a sudden inspiration. The basic parts were written
over about two weeks."
Such a stunning admission goes to show that art is fickle, and the artist is
merely a vessel through which the sweet sorcery we call music may flow. It can
mute itself to frustrating silence – or it can explode into being regardless of
all consideration. For this band on the rise, it is most certainly the latter.
Sizzling with ambition from day one,
GAEREA may present one unique face to their audience, masked and
enshrouded, but the truth is they have not remained changeless. "We are not
the same band who recorded Limbo," he insists. "We are more eager
to take on the world. If the pandemic taught us anything it is that nothing is
certain."
This lack of certainty plays heavily into newest creation Mirage. As its
name suggests, the inability to trust what our senses are telling us could be
construed as one of the album’s central themes. Rather than constrict their art
to mythological references or anti-religious tropes,
GAEREA instead plumb the depths of the human experiences of isolation
and suffering. "The concept, the subject, of each song is everyone, you, me .
. . if people were alone together in Limbo, in Mirage they are truly alone.
Nobody is truly real until they are alone."
If existential dread could be turned into sound,
GAEREA have carved their own philosophical path through its stygian
tunnels. It isn’t Satan, demons, death, or even suicide that is waiting for us
there. "What if people finally reached their goal," he posits, "to end
their suffering, and instead of dying they find themselves in a new reality,
lost in a big city they were once a part of – they don’t know if anyone else is
still alive. They are alone inside their own world." This theme of being
alone in a world full of familiar scenes, unable to end things and unable to
reach anyone else, might well terrify the listener more effectively than any
glimpse into the imagined hellscapes of our nightmares. Being isolated in your
own world is the real nightmare, and
GAEREA strum the chords of this horror with nuance and a miserable
grace.
Boasting a superior production that threads the needle between clarity and
causticness,
GAEREA unwaveringly admit their loyalty to countryman and producer
Miguel Tereso of Demigod
Recordings. "Miguel is fantastic," enthuses the band’s primary
composer. "He comes from a brutal death metal background. I thought if this
guy can pull off a punchy, modern, but still authentic production with a slam /
death metal band, I wonder what he can do with a band like Demigod
Recordings. He has a vision for a sound, and that is what I really like.
He is not a black metal fan, but it’s this very external set of ears and eyes
from a guy who really knows his craft, and he brings all of that to our sound."
The fruits of this union are quite evident, as the turbulent moods of the title
track are so wonderfully tossed between tension-building moments, and the
explosive payoffs which set
GAEREA apart from so many who try but come up short.
Tormented leads and building riffs sit atop some seriously explosive drumming,
waxing and waning, on "Arson," a tempest of moods and one of the album’s
centrepieces. Emotion, at times sounding triumphant in brilliantly wrought
guitar leads, is skewered by vocals that bustle with shattering despair. The
dichotomy is magnificent to behold.
GAEREA’s composer makes no mistake. "I want to hear the throat on the
album, and if we are a vocals-driven band, I don’t want to over-process them
during the recording. Striking that balance is one of the beauties for me in
this record."
In a world that increasingly elevates the shallow and the narcissistic,
GAEREA pursues an artistic struggle of inward isolation, honest
self-examination, and a dogged refusal to bow to the void that awaits. Thus, the
persistence of their shadowed visages, draped in the masks which codify their
anonymity while also creating a reliable extreme metal brand that fans can
appreciate, especially in the live setting. "GAEREA
are truly ourselves when we put these masks on, and we transcend into something
different, and primitive," he asserts. "It still makes total sense, and
this band would not be a band anymore if we ever dropped the masks."
As
GAEREA prepares the release of Mirage, the world has resumed
functioning, and as it lurches onward into its bleak future, one could stipulate
that the pressure may be on to continue its rise amid the clamor of this renewal
of activity. Does this challenge intimidate
GAEREA? "We want to do better, but I don’t feel any pressure because
we are in very good hands with the people we work with. We are building a strong
team that really cares for us, stage-wise, promotional-wise, website and
sales-wise. We are building a very structured confident teams that aims for the
same goals we do. What I truly care about is continuing our ever-growing concept
of the band
GAEREA, and not becoming sterile, and I would not want people to be
unaffected by our music. In the end we’re trying to express something within
ourselves, and I don’t want it to be too complicated."
The beauty of
GAEREA lies in the directness and simplicity found within their florid
tapestry of extremity and aggression. Whether it is in the less-polished aural
dynamite of their self-titled EP, or in the lustrous textures of Mirage,
GAEREA is building a mighty edifice of underground metal. With talons
dipped in the inky blood of black metal and scraped across the flesh of human
suffering,
GAEREA is leading a charge into the future of darkness, and all those
who find beauty and power in the dark side of existence would do well to take
heed.
