Blacklab are back. The self-proclaimed ‘Doom witch, duo from Osaka’ are set to drop their third album In A Bizarre Dream this summer (August 19). Yuko has said before that the band’s name is a combination of her two favourite bands, Black Sabbath and Stereolab. Odd bedfellows to be sure, but if you want to know what that combination might sound like … here it is. ‘Crows, Sparrows and Cats’ actually features Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab, no less, providing the lead vocal, adding a layer of cool over Blacklab’s Hawkwind meets krautrock sludge. It’s a stoner groove with pop at its heart …Sludge Pop even, a surprising gem amongst the maelstrom of sound around it.

Japanese critically acclaimed Symphonic Metal sensation HETEROGENEOUS ANDEAD are proud to release their official video for ‘Fission’, a track taken from the band’s newly released album CHAOTIC FRAGMENTS.

US rock giants Icon For Hire share heaviest single to date, ‘Breakdown’, taken from their upcoming album The Reckoning due for release on September 9 via Kartel Music Group. The writing process for ‘Breakdown’ has been a more collaborative effort, explains lead singer and songwriter Ariel Bloomer ; “I had the hook line “I’m always up for a breakdown” in my notebook for years and wanted to do something with it. Vocally I go harder here than usual. Shawn and I collaborated on a lot of the lyrical themes on this song, which we’ve been doing more of lately. It’s usually a painful process for my control freak self but Shawn led the construction of this song. He asked what lyrical concepts I had, and then laid out the bones of the song and helped me write around his structure”.

StormbounD, symphonic metal from Israel, have been hard at work to deliver their debut album December and now with the release of their fourth single, it is almost time for the album’s long-awaited release. The single ‘Child’s Play’ is one of nine precisely woven stories that reflect on real-world experiences set to fantastical music. The band explains in their own words: “The lyrics on the album tell some interesting stories, some more personal and some global, convey some harsh messages and themes, and deliver a wide array of emotions. We did our best to bring all of that into a cohesive musical environment within the realm of metal. ‘Child’s Play’ is about the victory of creation, the libidinal energy and one’s motivation over negativity and scorn.”

Within Temptation has released the official Jeb Hardwick-directed music video for the band’s new single, ‘Don’t Pray For Me’. It is the fourth single of the band’s independent releases and will lead up to Within Temptation’s next studio album. Vocalist Sharon Den Adel comments: “‘Don’t Pray For Me’ strives against forcing beliefs and fears on to others and bears witness to being acceptive of everyone’s own journey. It is an anthem about coming to terms with the fact that beliefs can be fluid, multiple or, frankly, different. The song is about allowing people to pursue their own destiny.” [via Blabbermouth]

Next month, Arch Enemy will at long last release their highly anticipated new album, Deceivers, which they’ve been teasing with a series of impressive singles since last fall. Across the smattering of previews, we’ve heard the Swedish melodeath progenitors channel the NWOBHM sound of Judas Priest, lean into their thrashy side and embrace their heavy death-metal roots, and new single, ‘In the Eye of the Storm,’ is a little bit of everything. It’s got a big-ass lead riff, a stompy mid-tempo rhythm, and a chorus that’s catchy and excoriating thanks to Alissa White-Gluz’s viciously snarling vocal delivery. [via Revolver]

Nu-metal upstart Cinnamon Babe, the solo project from Stormi Maya, has set TikTok ablaze with a clip from the music video for her new single, ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Black,’ where she declares, “I’m taking my culture back” and points to rock’s origins in Black culture. In a press release, the Cinnamon Babe leader explains, “I made the song ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Black’ in response to all the people who seem to have forgotten the founders of this genre of music — African Americans such as Ike Turner, Bo Diddley, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. And before you say, ‘Okay, Black people may have made rock ‘n’ roll, but metal is white blah blah… I credit the invention of metal to Jimi Hendrix and blues.” [via Metal Injection]

The Mendenhall Experiment is now streaming their new single ‘Pulse Of The Lost.’ The single features Suicide Silence guitarist Chris Garza and serves as the introduction of the project’s new vocalist Alyce Hayes. “‘Pulse Of The Lost’ to me is a musical representation of how society can repress into a state of darkness, and your personal choice to either live and die there or band together with those around you and rise out of it with a positive mindset,” said project mastermind Brandon Mendenhall. “”The lyrics in ‘Pulse of the Lost’ are a rally cry for individuality,” added Hayes. “We don’t need to fit into some special ‘box’ of identity, and this song is a big middle finger to the people who try to do this to us. The addition of Chris Garza on guitar added a beautiful, disturbing presence that I didn’t even know the song needed. It really took the music to another level.” [via Metal Injection]

Escuela Grind will release their brand new LP Memory Theater September 30 via the MNRK Heavy label, also the home of united spirits such as High on Fire and Crowbar. An official video for the first single, ‘Cliffhanger,’ is also now streaming. Escuela Grind has got moxie one would die slow and painfully for, and truly is the stuff of envy. They’re young, and unquestionably hungry on ‘Cliffhanger,’ as the grind is hot as steel, and that ain’t just some clever pun. These upstarts bring it raw and ragged, Massachusetts basement show-style. One listen and you’re going to be tempted break something valuable in a stranger’s home, I promise you. About the track, vocalist Katerina Economou has said “‘Cliffhanger’ is us branching out and including all of our influences into a heavy, danceable song. It’s a perfect representation of all the new things to expect from Escuela Grind. The lyrics are about the people that try to play both sides of the fence… and drag you down with them. It’s about fighting crab mentality.” [via Metal Injection]

The post appeared first on She Makes Music.

Master Dy present a new single called ‘Legacy of Satan’. The band has been causing a buzz on the internet with their wave of surprise releases and has once again caught fans off guard with a new song. ‘Legacy of Satan’ is released in anticipation of the new album with the same name. [via Metal Goddesses]

Hard rock band DramaScream have released their new single ‘Sham’ via Curtain Call Records. DramaScream is a hard rock band from Endicott, NY. The band finalized their line up in 2017 with members: Lauren Eliza , Steve Huff, Greg Grieve and Justin Arnold. Their newest album In Your Mind pulls influences from all aspects of hard rock and metal. Combining in your face screams (often ear piercing) with melodic vocals. The band draws off the energy around them, creating music that hits every nerve. From headbanging to heartpounding, DramaScream lives up to their name. [via Metal Goddesses]

After releasing their introspective seventh album Mea Culpa, where it was already possible to perceive how the environment has influenced their music and what the world was living, Secret Rule, talented players of modern rock-metal, have prepared their new album The Resilient and present the first single/video ‘One More’, out via 7HARD Records. With a dark-cinematic opening, ‘One More’ cuts sharp like a razor blade without making any compromises. With distorted guitars, rumbly drums, and a really angry voice, Secret Rule express their position on the war speaking directly to the guilty who keep pursuing their interests for their dirty power games.

It’s 2022 and Blacklab are back. The self styled ‘Doom witch duo from Osaka’ are set to drop their third album in the Summer. In the meantime ahead of their first appearance outside of Japan at London’s Desertfest, the band are dropping a new single which is a little taster for the sonic mayhem to come on album 3. ‘Abyss Woods’ has all the trademark Blacklab sounds, furious fuzzed up riffs, rolling thunder drums and vocals slipping seamlessly from melodic to full on throat shred. Heavy stoner doom as only these two women know how to do. Add to that a new found assurance in the studio, with production by Jun Morino and mix by Wayne Adams (Big Lad, Green Lung, John, Cold In Berlin) and you have a potent indication of what’s to come on album 3, which is set to ramp things up even further. Plus there is a new video in full on psychedelic doom metal overload mode to whet your appetite for catching them live.

Today the spotlight is being focused on Norwegian solo metal artist Anniken and her latest single off her forthcoming debut album Climb Out of Hell on May 13 via Rockshots Records. Entitled, ‘Spotlight’, the single and album opener kicks is a track that many musicians can relate to. It’s about the anxiety and desire for success along with the love and hate relationship of being up on stage with the spotlight focused on you.

Coming from Iran, the two founding members of Heterochrome have had a myriad of challenges to overcome through the years. One of the outlets they utilize to express these feelings is through music. The latest single off their upcoming album From the Ashes tells two of these stories as they share: “’Time’s Up’ consists of two stories about the difficulties of love and the emotional devastation that comes from it. The first part deals with a deep sorrow from the mentioned devastation in Arash’s life, and the second part recalls a memory from Mida. Arash wrote this song shortly after a life changing period of time and brought it forward, even though it sounded different than their previous work, sounding a lot more simple and raw. Mida’s life story sounds like something out of a telenovela! A very progressive one, but a telenovela all the same.”

The post appeared first on She Makes Music.