LOUNA TEAMS UP WITH VEVO / RELEASE "UP THERE" MUSIC VIDEO

Female-fronted Russian hard rockers LOUNA are proud to team up with VEVO, the world’s leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform, to bring fans their brand new, eye-opening music video for the track "Up There", cut from their most recent full-length release, Behind a Mask. The music video is directed by Svyatoslav Podgaevsky with STG Cinema.

LOUNA is the first ever Russian rock band to have a VEVO channel. Check the results below.

"Up There" is intended to enlighten the listener, inviting them to question their surroundings and society. The lyrics of the track mirror the imagery in the video—people of all classes, ages and backgrounds—staring at the sky while nothing but rain pours down on them. People just waiting for a sign, a change, an answer—looking to the clouded sky for help, for light. But sadly, there is no answer. No one there to answer their calls and their cries. The people dream of a better day, but there is no end in sight to the constant oppression, violence, manipulation and deceit being fed to them by those who wish to control them.

This message is clearly conveyed in the lyrics to "Up There", which perfectly describe the bleak, yet hopeful images portrayed in the music video.
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“When we look up there prison walls feel cold
From this faceless fear silence all we're told
Dreams of golden streets slowly tear at me
There has got to be something else somewhere
We want to believe.

So we look up there
For the millionth year
A whispered cry, a whispered lie
So we look up there
But now I know why unfortunately there is nothing there
There is no one there.”
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Noisecreep.com recently released a new lyric video for LOUNA’s new track "Fight Club". Noisecreep also released a humorous and eye-opening Top 10 list of the reasons “Why You’re Probably Not Taking Louna Seriously”. Check it out! The lyric video includes exclusive live performance footage of the band at Milk in Moscow, Russia, giving all they’ve got to a massive crowd of fans (this also happens to be the shoot location of the band’s Live Concert DVD Box Set and MTV’s upcoming documentary “Rebel Music”, which LOUNA is featured in). The lyric video was edited by Alex Yelagin of Headshot Video and directed by Travis Leake.

LOUNA is currently out on their first U.S. tour with The Pretty Reckless and Heaven’s Basement! LOUNA is pleased to be here in the states to show American fans that outside of all of the oppression and discrimination going on in Russia right now, there are good, real people that want to spread a message of peace and bring people together.

No other rock group from Russia has exploded onto the music scene quite as rapidly as LOUNA. Their first English language album, Behind A Mask, was released on April 30, 2013 via Red Decade Records and MEG/RED.  Frontwoman Lousine Gevorkian was named the best female rock vocalist in Russia in February of 2013 at the annual Nashe Awards, the closest award show in Russia to the Grammy's or American Music Awards for rock musicians. She was nominated for the same award the year before.

LOUNA are the most commercially successful rock band of the modern protest movement (of which Pussy Riot has become the most internationally renowned). They donated their song "The Time of X" to the White Album project raising funds for Pussy Riot's support and defense.  MTV USA came to Moscow in the Fall of 2012 and will feature LOUNA in an upcoming documentary about protest musicians around the world called "Rebel Music" airing in October on MTV.

After the release of their first EP, which lyrically focused on the many modern social problems that exist, they were quickly named the 2009 Best New Artist of the Year at the annual Russian Alternative Music Prize (RAMP) awards. They released their first album, "Let's Get Louder" in December of 2010, selling out every venue during their first national tour of Russia supporting the album. Two singles, "Fight Club" and "Let's Get Louder" reached #1 on the Russian radio charts, with "Fight Club" remaining in the top 10 for a record-breaking 16 weeks and also being named the 2011 Rock Song of the Year at the annual Nashe Awards. Along with this, LOUNA was nominated for Breakthrough Artist and Solo Performance of the year. "Mama," their first single from their February 2012 album, "The Time of X", went straight to #1 on the Russian radio charts.

LOUNA has performed on the main stage as a headliner at every major festival throughout Russia, and is almost universally considered the most in demand young rock band in all of the Russian world.  They have played in Russia with numerous international artists such as Limp Bizkit, Billy Talent, Paramore, The Killers, Bullet for My Valentine and many others.  In early 2012, they were invited to perform as one of the main headliners at the 50th-birthday concert festival honoring Russian rock legend Victor Tsoi of the band KINO, playing to audiences of over 15,000 people in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Youtube

AVENGED SEVENFOLD “HAIL TO THE KING” ALBUM REVIEW

Avenged Sevenfold’s “Hail to the King” can be perceived in two ways. If you have read MetalSucks’s Axl Rosenberg’s track by track autopsy of the new Avenged Sevenfold album, then you might find it a tad bit difficult to focus on the album without recalling which 80’s/90’s Rock/Metal anthem the riff is borrowed from. For all intents and purposes this will mar the experience. On the other hand, if you listen to “Hail to the King” without any prior references or expectations, you might find a pleasing batch of tracks churned as a throwback to the old days.

“Hail to the King” is a comeback of sorts for the erstwhile Metalcore outfit. While “Nightmare” featured drumwork by the late drummer of the band, The Rev, “Hail to the King” is the first album in the band’s discography where The Rev is not an active part of the songwriting process and is absent from the album in entirety. This also marks the induction of new drummer Arin Ilejay.

Featured as on the soundtrack for the game “Call of Duty: Black Ops II”, “Shepherd of Fire” kicks things into action with an ominous bell-toll and crackling fire to set the central premise for the track. A concoction of “Enter Sandman” era Metallica-esque thrashyriffing and typical A7X drumwork makes this track a fairly enjoyable one. Being a fan of M.Shadows’ vocal texture since the first album, I stand mighty impressed with his range and the extent of real estate his voice stretches over now. The title track features as the 2nd number on the album. By now the basic template to the songwriting approach the band has followed is somewhat obvious. Gang chants for backing vocals and Synyster Gates’ grandiose guitar chops fit like a glove with Shadows’ Power Metal inspired vocals. “Doing Time” is where the band further shines. The maturity in their songwriting becomes more apparent when the solo takes center-stage. For a band that has come all the way from playing contemporary Metalcore to recapturing the 90’s Heavy Metal without ripping off the big names, Avenged Sevenfold is just aces in my book.

For all intents and purposes, the album is easier to digest without jumping at every riff, hook, or progression that bears the faintest resemblance to a 90’s Rock/Heavy Metal anthem. It’s better to look at them as hidden cookies than rip-offs. Starting with Latin chants, “Requiem” makes quite an impression with the flurry of activity on the instrumental front, comprising of some of the most memorable guitar-work on the album and one of the most enjoyable duet between the pair of Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates. “Crimson Day” is a track which should be welcomed by most of Avenged Sevenfold’s fans, since it sounds like a sequel of sorts to the bands crowd favourite “Seize The Day”. Capturing the ballad-ish feel of epic tracks by the likes of Guns ‘n’ Roses and the likes, the band clearly has a well-defined formula down for what they are doing right now. What remains to be seen is how long they plan to milk it and how long it is before they realize that they have overplayed their hand. “Coming Home” is another testimony to the fireworks show that is Synyster Gates. Quite possibly the personal favourite from the album, “Coming Home” showcases how brilliantly how Ilejay gels with the rest of the band, as does “Planets”.

Not entirely a success story, second for second, “Hail to the King” has its moments where you sit and exclaim at some neat trick that the band pulls out of its sleeve, but there are enough tell signs that mar the album. For starters, the band’s desperate effort to be up their amongst the legends they have idolized for so long kind of fall’s flat on its face after the first few spins. The original tracks which have been referenced for its A7X counterpart kind of stand in mockery. The band, in its bid to move up a notch higher, have taken themselves a peg down in some aspects because the originality and freshness of their compositions is under careful scrutiny at the moment. At the end of the day, my personal opinions states that A7X have traded one nuance for another losing precious little in the trade-off. Maybe another couple of albums down the line their efforts will be further recognized and pack enough punch to deliver another #1 album. Till then let’s juice up this hamster for the treadmill!

Make no mistake, 80’s/90’s influences aside Avenged Sevenfold have retained their commercially successful tightness, which is reflected in their song-writing. I’m not sure if I can tag this effort as a no-frills approach or otherwise, but calling a spade a spade, the band has not really achieved anything ground-breaking with a new drummer in their ranks. Now I won’t go into whether this would have been a better album if The Rev or Mike Portnoy were to be a part of it. Because let’s be honest, individual skill-sets aside, none of them did anything game-changing for the outfit.

“Hail to the King” can be either perceived as a cheap shot at legends or homage to the progenitors of the genre, and for the sake of keeping the listening experience fresh and intact it’s safer to assume the latter. The album highlights the Hard Rock side of an A7X which was once a borderline Metalcore band. If you’re a fan of “Arena rock” anthems then look no further. “Hail to the King” should sit perfectly well with your needs. When I needed something to take the monotony of continuously critiquing Modern Progressive Metal bands, “Hail to the King” fit the job perfectly. And nary without a single thought of reminiscing the good old school days when “Little Pieces of Heaven” was the “coolest track ever”. Till Now. Damn, so close.

Given that their album is now #1 in the UK, at the risk of trifling my own religious beliefs I daresay the “God has saved the King”. Metalheads looking to reminisce the glory days should definitely invest their time and money into “Hail to the King”. Younger listeners, if you’re planning to develop an ear that can differentiate between class and crap, then this is the record you should practice that to.

-Aurko

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Official Website 

MEKANISM "THE END OF FEAR" EP RELEASED

Finnish modern metal and hard rock unit Mekanism just released a brand new EP with 3 fresh new tracks! Welcome to “The End Of Fear”. It's composed of the new single / title track plus two more songs “Live And Die Today” and “The Ruler Of Ashes”.

This new release follows up the previous 6-tracks EP “Unearth the Unknown” (released in May 2012) and the debut EP “Cicatrized” (released in March 2011). The new EP is not free as the two previous releases but you can download it anyway for the ridiculously good price of 3 euros on their Bandcamp. You can also stream the whole thing for free.

Go give it a listen and check out the lyric video for “The End Of Fear” below! \m/

-MATTIA

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Bandcamp