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.

Hailing from Israel, StormbounD are adding to the symphonic metal subgenre with their latest single ‘Flying High’. This is the third single off their upcoming record December, which is slated for summer release. The band coins the album as a “melodic prophecy of wrath” – a journey that will take the listener into new territory while staying firmly planted in symphonic roots. This new single is a love song, that almost didn’t make it onto the album as the band further explains: “It’s an optimistic love song, where the man is a protagonist that helps his loved one overcome her suffering caused by a mental illness. During the recording, we noticed that all the “Irish” elements made the original chorus we had for it sound a little depressing, so we wrote new lyrics and composed a new chorus. That instantly became a winner. We almost cut this song out of the album and now it’s one of the leading singles.”

After three years of silence, Swiss Metal legends ELUVEITIE step out of the dark again, raising their voices to herald a new era of the band’s stunning career. The band unleashes their new single ‘Aidus’, following the huge success of their last album Ategnatos but in the same time showing the band from a never-before-seen side. With the new single comes an awesome music video. Founding member Chrigel Glanzmann comments on the approach: “Definitely one of the harshest songs of Eluveitie ever. It’s the sheer consequence of our spiritual journey with Ategnatos: We’re no longer a “Celtic Metal” band… a metal band singing about celtic history. We’re Celts playing metal music from all our hearts. We’re no more a “Pagan Metal” band. We are metal music playing pagans from all our hearts, gashing principles of our modern societies with our ancient message like a surgical blade. That’s probably the best way to describe our new single. Deal with it!” [via Metal Addicts]

Castrator is an “international project” based in New York City that formed in 2013, released their debut EP No Victim in 2015, and are now putting out their first full-length, Defiled in Oblivion, on July 22 via Dark Descent Records. The explicitly feminist death metal band promises to create “a brutal experience that will leave the listener feeling excited yet bloodied between the legs” and “dominate and emasculate the world,” and their new collection of anti-patriarchal brutality includes nine original songs and a cover of Venom’s ‘Countess Bathory’. After sharing ‘Tyrant’s Verdict” from the album, and its accompanying video, which was filmed, directed, and edited by drummer Carolina Perez with Stephanie Gentry, Castrator have shared another new single, ‘Dawa of Yousafzai.’ Here’s some background on the song, via Decibel: “The song is about Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani girl who spoke out publicly against the prohibition of education of girls imposed by the Taliban. She survived an assassination attempt at the age of 15 when she was shot in the head. After that, she became even more fierce and now is an activist and spokeswoman for children and girls all around the world. The intro of the song is her speaking at the UN convention in 2013.” [via Brooklyn Vegan]

The Darling Fire, the current band fronted by Jolie Lindholm (The Rocking Horse Winner, Dashboard Confessional) alongside members of Further Seems Forever, Shai Hulud, As Friends Rust, and more, will follow their 2019 debut album Dark Celebration with their sophomore LP Distortions on September 16 via Iodine Recordings. The first single is ‘Machina,’ which finds them going in a more atmospheric, Hum-like direction, and it suits them well. [via Brooklyn Vegan]

The day has finally come for German symphonic metal icons Xandria to dive into a new adventure and prepare for the next promising chapter in the band’s history. After entering the German album charts at #17 with Theater Of Dimensions in 2017, Xandria mark a steadfast return with more exciting facets than ever on their new single, appropriately entitled ‘Reborn’. Active since the early 90s, the band introduces this eagerly anticipated sign of life, featuring the dynamic range of new vocalist Ambre Vourvahis, impressively varying between angelic harmonies, a powerful and classically-induced chorus and even lurking harsh growls. ‘Reborn’ coincides with a bewitching music video that introduces the new line-up and gives a promising glimpse of what can be expected from this intriguing entity in the near future. Xandria state: “Xandria is reborn… and the first sign of the return to life is the respectively titled song. Like before, Xandria are taking you on a voyage to your imagination, and the emotional and varied voice of new frontwoman Ambre Vourvahis will show you the way there with more facets then ever – prepare for some surprises! The new line up around mastermind Marco Heubaum will definitely start a whole new chapter that is fascinating and fresh, but still genuinely Xandria. Because this is what Xandria always has been – a voyager and explorer in the inspiring world of symphonic and heavy music. And now it is reborn!” [via Metal Goddesses]

The post appeared first on She Makes Music.

StormbounD, a majestically melodic band from Israel, channel the vibes of bands such as Delain and Amaranthe with powerful, clean vocals from frontwoman Yael Horwitz, alongside the harsher lyrics sang by vocalist/guitarist Ofer Friedman who is backed up by a formidable, symphonic sound driven by bassist Pavel Kleiman, keyboardist Rotem Sadia, drummer Yuval Partush and guitarist Shani Friedman. They are amped to be releasing their debut album this summer, and so far have already released two singles, the first being ‘Altar of Innocence’, but now are drawing attention to the latest, ‘Desert’s Roar’ complete with a music video. They share their thoughts on this release: “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 surrounding within the realm of metal. ‘Desert’s Roar’ is a cry for freedom from an inner struggle taking place inside the mind of a person feeling controlled and overpowered.”

Minneapolis-based hard rock outfit COLD KINGDOM are excited to share the second track ‘Agony’ from their forthcoming third album due this summer via oneRPM. The fierce and rhythmically intense new single minces no words as it tackles the harmful effects of social media. An official music video for the track will premiere next Friday, May 20. “‘Agony’ is an energetic and aggressive song that digs into how vile people can be on social media,” collectively shares COLD KINGDOM who are: Elissa-Marie Ogaard (vocals), Evan Ogaard (guitar), Jason Michael (bass) and Chris Morley (drums).“It’s far too often that people publicly project their negative opinions and judgements on one another, whether asked to or not, whether warranted or not. It’s so easy to hide behind a screen and present a one-sided narrative that shines a light on themselves while completely disrespecting someone else or their views.” [via SRO PR]

The post appeared first on She Makes Music.