Dutch metal titans Epica have announce a small run of UK shows to take place in November with Eluveitie and Scar Symmetry. The tour will be in support of the band's latest release, The Quantum Enigma, which was released last year through Nuclear Blast. Mark Jansen comments:
We had such a great time when we played an one-off UK show at The Forum last year that we will come back for a short run of UK dates this autumn. We will be joined on this run by Eluveitie and Scar Symmetry. I am very pleased to tour with this strong package. I’m sure you all won’t regret coming out to one of these shows and partying with us. See you!
Tour dates are as follow:
11-11-2015 UK-Bristol O2 Academy 12-11-2015 UK-Manchester Ritz 14-11-2015 UK-Glasgow Garage 15-11-2015 UK-London Forum
Polish metal quintet As Night Falls have announced their new bassist as Pawel "Siro" Siruga. The announcement was recently made on the band's Facebook page and loosely translates to:
We are pleased to announce that the search for a new bass player came to an end. The new operator of the paddle in the bass As Night Falls is Pawel "Siro" Siruga. And now for a little over a month you will be able to see and hear him in action, look at the profile!
Based in Manchester, A Clockwork Opera fuse symphonic metal with all things Victorian and steampunk. Having recently made their live debut at the first edition of the UK's only symphonic metal festival Northern Symphony, I caught up with the band's guitarist, songwriter and all-round main man Paul Cooper.
What's the meaning and concept behind the band's name, A Clockwork Opera?
To be honest it seemed like a natural choice for the band's name. I came up with this relatively early on. The first few songs I wrote were quite Steampunk themed so the Clockwork comes from there. The Opera part is simply from the fact that it was always going to be a Symphonic Metal band but I also had the intention of including some form of theatricality to our image.
You recently made your live debut at the Northern Symphony Festival, what was that like for you and do you think it was a success?
Northern Symphony was amazing. It showed the wealth and diversity of the current Symphonic Metal scene. We were all very excited about playing there, especially considering it would be our debut. It was definitely a success from our point of view and it was a great opportunity to introduce ourselves to the right audience and meet new friends at the same time.
When can we expect to see an album or EP released?
There are no guarantees yet but we plan on entering the studio in the next couple of months. We are likely to release an EP first since we're so eager to share our work with everyone.
What plans are in the works for the band?
More gigs, obviously. We can't reveal the details at the moment but we will be announcing more dates very soon. And also recording. At the moment we have Rowan Andrews, who created our logo and the artwork for Femetalism (support this site!) working on some concepts for sketches for us.
What are the major lyrical themes and concepts in the band's music?
Whilst we try not to pigeonhole ourselves so people can interpret what we do in their own way I think it is rather obvious that we have a strong Victorian theme. We write about history and we write stories but we try to make everything relevant to the period. Everyone has their own input to the writing process but I mainly write stories. There are characters and there are plots. Like any author, every character I write about has a back story and a life of their own.
Where do you see the band being in five years?
I think it's a little bit too early to know at the moment. This band is still in it's infancy and we are just trying to get a name for ourselves. I'd just like us to still be here in a year, let alone five at the moment.
Given the chance, which band would you tour with?
Everyone in the band would answer this one differently. I'm not sure I could pick just one either. My biggest inspiration musically is a band called X Japan. Not many people over here know them but in Japan they are MASSIVE! I would donate limbs to support them (Not mine, obviously). On a smaller more achievable scale, there is another band from near us called Reign of Sirius who are excellent. Their music and themes are of a style that work very well with our own and we would love to do more shows with them in the future.
How did the idea for A Clockwork Opera come about?
I started this originally about two years ago on my own. My intention back then was to make a Steampunk metal band. I soon came to realise that this gimmick would wear thin very quickly and would have been so niche that it would probably never catch on. That's how it came to expand to having a Victorian theme, Steampunk stories would still work whilst then having a much larger scope of themes to draw from.
Aonia's headline UK tour - Sunset Symphony - will take place from 27th May through to 31st May. Following the closure of Basement Nightclub in Bridlington the first date of the tour will now take place at O'Rileys in Hull. The bill includes the original line-up scheduled for the Bridlington show plus local support in the form of death metal band Teras.
Sunset Symphony UK tour dates are as follows:
27th May - HULL, O'Rileys 28th May - LEICESTER, The Shed 29th May - DUDLEY, Rock Zombie 30th May - LEEDS, Temple of Boom 31st May - SHEFFIELD, South Sea Live
The Leeds show will not include York metallers Lost Effect.
Tickets for the first date of the tour, which is the only show to have advance tickets, are available from this location.
Aonia will also be supporting Sirenia at this year's Dames of Darkness Festival on Saturday 9th May in Bilston at The Robin 2.
Gothic metallers Sirenia, whom have recently signed to Napalm Records, have been announced to headline the Brynerocken Festival in Norway on 5th September. Tickets for the event are available at this location.
Sirenia will also be headlining the Dame of Darkness Festival in the UK on 9th May, where they will share the stage with likes of Aonia, Winter In Eden and more.
Lopsided Moon is the debut release from Canadian symphonic metal act Armenia whom are fronted by Armenia Sarkissian. Finding information on this act is no easy task and Armenia's Facebook page offers little up as well, only stating that the project is "symphonic/gothic metal with Armenian motifs for good measure".
The album opens up with the tragic sounding My Own Self, that serves up a feast of different dishes from the dramatic orchestral paths to the emotion stirring vocals and the integral metal regions. Lidwina opens up with an obsessively foreboding choir passage that really does cause shivers to run down the spine, The rest of the track makes use of Armenia's affectional vocals and the noble, awe-inspiring orchestrations that make this project so intriguing.
Vapour musters a sentimental piano entrance that really highlights the strength and beauty of Armenia's voice.The orchestral avenues reinforce the power of the song, as well as creating new dynamics that connect well with the heavier segments of the piece. The sound in Broken Chords ranges from crepuscular and dusky to rich and lustrous. The Middle Eastern melodies that make cameo appearances enhance the beauty hidden within this piece,
The enchanting dancing of piano notes and acoustic musicianship found in Grounded By My Feet conjure up a delicate atmosphere and allow the fascinating vocals to glide ever so gently in, like a a robin on a fresh winter morn. The title track, Lopsided Moon, roars out with a majestically fateful sound that combines all the finest and exquisite elements of Armenia's musics, from the tragic orchestrations through to the propulsive metal passages and Armenia's angelic voice. The appearance of Milen Petzelt-Sorace's vocal work adds a very vicious ferocity to the music, that contrasts well with the divine-like elements found within the rest of the track.
Lopsided Moon is a stunner of a debut album and leaves the listener wanting more from Armenia. Where most bands achieve a good debut at best, Armenia has provided a masterpiece that can only be likened to albums from acts such as Leaves' Eyes and Within Temptation.
Unless you're constantly searching for new music or are completely dedicated to your preferred genres, a lot of bands will probably be under your radar. Invictus from Romania could be one of those bands to have flown below the aforementioned proverbial radar. Surprisingly there's little information about the band, even on their official website and Facebook page.
The band's debut self-titled release, which was released last month, opens up with the synth orientated track Descent before rushing into the bombastic power metal assault of the title track, Invictus. The guitar riffs immediately hook the listener's ears, performing a well orchestrated dance with the keyboards which create a very haunting aspect to the song.
Conquer portrays itself as a driving force, stirring together well thought out keyboard passages and complex yet simple drum sections. The guitars and bass are on top form but the vocals sound very uninspired for this style of music, falling flat of the band's full potential. The lyrics are very gothique, almost like they were taken from a Powerwolf track. An august shaded orchestration introduces the song Warhorse, which is filled with chilling vocals and cimmerian melodies and an imposing atmosphere of blackened grandeur.
Turn of the Tide shows the band's ability at composing more melodic passages, conjuring forth from the nether a series of melodic and catchy riffs. The vocals on the other hand vary in their strength, coming across as weak during in the verses but beaming with strength during in the choruses. The piano and orchestrated segments of Sorrow of the Forsaken call out with emotion, laying a sorrowful path for the solemn vocals to tread along, leading up to the fierce snarls of the guitars.
The guitars in Unchain The Beast lash out like a slaver's whip, fast, sharp and without mercy, carving out their own route throughout the song leaving strained vocals to follow in their wake. Fallen Angel appears to be the name of what would be a faux-Gothic track but it unleashes something far more vigorous, making use majestic orchestrations and howling guitars.
Black Widow, for the most part, sounds like a heavy rock song than a power metal track. Even the vocals sound almost like those of Halestorm's Lzzy Hale. The guitars and drums are the main driving force of the song, acting like the vanguard amidst the battle field. Invictus' self-titled release comes to an allegded soothing end with REVolution as a peaceful orchestration takes hold at the beginning, leading the listen into a garden of blazing vocals, crashing riffs and celestial orchestration.
Musically, Invictus is on the same level as releases such as Epica's The Divine Conspiracy and Nightwish's Wishmaster but it's the vocal work brings the album down. Whereas elements such as the guitars and keyboards are built up by a staunch wall of musicianship, the vocals wax and wane throughout the album, weakening the power of the release itself.
Norwegian-German titans of folk-infused symphonic metal Leaves' Eyes have announced the dates for their 2015 UK tour, which will be in support of their new album. Details of the new album are still to be announced.
Leaves' Eyes, who are fronted by exceedingly talented Liv Kristine, will be in the UK in November later this on the following dates:
03.11.2015 UK - Southampton, Talking Heads
04.11.2015 UK - Bristol, Marble Factory
05.11.2015 UK - Wolverhampton, Slade Rooms
06.11.2015 UK - Sheffield, Corporation
07.11.2015 UK - Glasgow, The Audio
08.11.2015 UK - Manchester, Academy 3
10.11.2015 UK - London, 02 Islington Academy
Tickets for the tour go on sale on Thursday 16th April. And if you can't wait that long to see Leaves Eyes in the UK, they'll be headlining the second night of The Dames of Darkness Festival in Bilston on Sunday 10th May.
Cathar - a six piece band that reside in the former Lancastrian territory of Liverpool - are fairly new on the scene who fuse folk metal with symphonic elements. I only discovered them in March and saw them live on the Infernal Orchestra stage at Northern Symphony Festival. The Grimoire is their first release.
The chilling sounds of keyboards open up the first track, entitled Prologue, as a Lord of the Rings-esque narration follow throughout the track conjuring an archaic, majestic atmosphere paving the way for the Winter's Curse which screams out with riffs reminiscent of Iron Maiden. The dual vocals carve their own path through the music. And it is a relief to a hear a band of this genre not using the typical be-and-the-beast vocals, but rather a pair of clean male and female vocals that ring out with a grandiose sound.
Carpathia sets the mood with haunting winds and a Dracula-like quote. The slow crescendo, built up by the bass and drums, helps dramatise the mood whilst Chris' vocals assail with power. Aimee's vocals add a different dynamic to the music with despair-ridden vocals, injecting to the near Gothic style of the song. The guitar conjurings by Alex are hypnotic, almost infectious though Jade's keyboard working are barely heard.
The Pirate King is instantly recognisable by the opening stream of accordion and the piratical vocal melodies. Carl's bass styling is easily witnessed through this shanty, carefully sailing through the oceans of the other elements of the song. Shieldmaiden might sound like its going to be a full frontal assault of high spaced metal and the wailing voice of Lagertha from Vikings but its far from that. Rather it takes a slower pace for its march, allowing Aimee to take the lead with vocals. The melody of the track isn't flashy but it is memorable.
Spirit Dance is an enchanting piece of work, beginning with a mix of Chris' vocals, Danny's rhythmic percussion work and Carl's bass lines, creating the sound and sensation of old world music that speaks to the deepest depths of the listener's soul. Of course, the track turns heavier later on but it still retains that mystique the band created at the beginning. And so The Grimoire ends with Epilogue, another track composed of narration.
Cathar are a band with a lot of potential but The Grimoire doesn't do their sound any justice due to the quality as the dynamics and elements don't jump out at the listener like some enraged Nordic raider. The band's sound appears to come off better in the live arena, where the energy can be felt pulsating throughout each note. However, The Grimoire is quite becoming for a first release.
Midlandic melodic metallers Winter Storm are the first (and currently only) band to be announced to play the Valhalla Stage for the 2015 edition of Valkyrian Festival, which is also set to be the last ever Valkyrian Festival.
Valkyrian Festival: The Requiem For Valhalla will take place at both The Venue and The Riverside on Ousegate in Selby, North Yorkshire with the Valhalla Main Stage being hosted in The Venue and the Danelaw Stage being hosted in The Riverside.
The event will take place from 14:00 on Saturday 21st November. Tickets are available for the price of £10 from this location. An additional 13 bands, including headliners, are still to be announced with a few other surprises as well.
Dutch symphonic metal outfit Delain have confirmed four shows to take place in the UK - Well, the part of the UK that is England - in October, later this year, in support of their latest album The Human Contradiction. This will be the band's second in the UK this year, the first time being at Bloodstock Festival in August on the Sophie Lancaster Stage.
The shows are as follow:
22nd October - Bristol, Marble Factory
23rd October - Birmingham, Institute Factory
24th October - Manchester, Academy 2
25th October - London, Islington O2 Academy
Delain also kick start their North American tour today with Nightwish and Sabaton.
