MNEMIC ANNOUNCE THE DEPARTURE OF GUITARIST / UPDATES

Guitarist Victory Ray Salomonsen is no longer a member of the longstanding Denmark metal band Mnemic. The band released a lengthy statement detailing the departure. They also delve into a band update, talking about the current status of Mnemic and plans for the future. Read below.

As usual, we've also provided some music.

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"Hey folks, without further ado it’s time to shed some light on Mnemic‘s present and future.

Bad news first, we’re sad to announce that guitarist Victor Ray Salomonsen has decided to leave the band to pursue other musical paths and also focusing on being a dad. We want to thank him for two awesome years together, that made “Mnemesis” as well as 3 European tours, 1 Australian tour and many other great shows around the globe.

There is no way we are going to let Victor out without throwing a big-ass “goodbye” party, that’s why we invite you to join us @ BETA in Copenhagen on November 28th 2013 where we’ll have our last show with him, so let’s have one hell of a great time together!

Many of you have probably been wondering, and some have been asking us in regards to why there has not been any activity from our side. The reason we’ve cancelled the latest shows, including our Euroblast appearance, was due to lineup instability as Victor left the band this summer, and bad vibes surrounding the band; and this turmoil was also undermining the writing process of Mnemic‘s next album. And with the next album, great responsibility, clutter and confusion are not compatible with it.

Therefore we decided to take a breather, clear out our minds and start fresh when the stars will align. In this era of fast food approach applied over music we’ll go zen over it and focus on music alone. It is what matters the most and what will be remembered overtime, not the noise surrounding it. That’s why we’ll keep as a 4 piece for the time being.

In the meantime our side projects, Mircea‘s Blood Eagle, Guillaume‘s One Way Mirror, Simone‘s The Modern Age Slavery and Empyrios will keep us busy and help getting back on track with an album to be remembered!

See you in Copenhagen on November 28th for this special occasion and thanks for the support!"

    - Mircea, Guillaume, Simone, Brian

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Links: Facebook // Official Website // iTunes

SOL INVICTO "INITIUM II" EP STREAM (DEFTONES / CYPRESS HILL SIDE PROJECT)

Ohhh look! Another Deftones side project. This time around it's guitarist Stephen Carpenter working with members from Cypress Hill and producers Richie Londres and Aj Cookson under the guise of Sol Invicto. The group provides a heavy Industrial mix with several creative elements. The EP also includes 50 samples submitted by fans adding to the chaos (awesome idea for this kind of project). If this sounds like a good time to you, look below where the whole party, entitled "Initium II", is streaming!

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Soundcloud

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

FREE MUSIC MONDAY - GILO

Let's get mechanical. Gilo has been at it since the turn of the century. Hailing from The Netherlands, they've been producing industrial metalcore with some *umph* for the world to hear. Go ahead and stream / grab their brand new EP "Dark Days Ahead" for a "name your price" download on Bandcamp!



Links: Facebook // Twitter // Bandcamp

BANDS TO WATCH OUT FOR - COLLISIONS

Collisions is an upcoming four-piece band form Brighton (UK) who's got the potential to take the world by storm in the following years. And that's exactley what they're aiming to. Their style is basically built on a unique mix of modern metal and drum & bass. The DnB influence in heavier in some songs and less incisive on other tracks. This ends up in a more usual, but still very appreciable industrial metal sound. The whole thing is completed by talented and charismatic vocals ranging from aggressive passages to melodic and rapcore lines.

You might have already heard their name from their recent shows supporting The Algorithm. They'll also be performing at this year's UK Tech-Metal Fest during the Friday night after party before The Algorithm as well. Don't miss their shows if they're coming near to you cause this band promises to bring the madness.

They released their first EP in November 2012 called “Believe In This”. You can check the title track, the second single “Push” and their cover of Bjork's “Army of Me” down below. Go show these guys some love. Seems like they have a bright future ahead of them.

- MATTIA

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

NEW ALBUM FROM EMPYRIOS

Hailing from Italy, we present the upcoming talents in EmpYrios. Expect power metal... and djent. A fresh combination of vibrato filled powerful vocals, melodic soloing and chord progressions, and harsh screaming laid over catchy meshuggah-esque downtuned riffing and chugging make up the signature sound of their new album “Zion.” I’m finding that the bands most memorable feature is their ability to combine catchy, slow, brutal verses, with epic choruses that are just as likely to worm their way into the listener's brain. Some solid songwriting, sick vocal talent and solid soloing make “Zion” a worthwhile listen. Beware, if you can’t stand industrial elements or electronics in metal you may be put off.

- Trisolino

Links: Facebook // Youtube // Merch

EXPLORING THE WORLD - DANISH INDUSTRIAL METAL

Denmark is not exactly a big nation in the history of heavy metal and hard rock. But recently some interesting talents have come from this country, though we can't identify a specific sound or a predominant genre. Quoting big names like Volbeat or Mnemic should give you an idea. Other important names are Hatesphere, Illdisposed, and Mercenary who made significant contributions to the death / thrash / melodeath realms. In some cases you can detect a strong Scandinavian influence, especially with Mercenary.

While looking at Denmark's lineup of talent, you may recognize a series of really good industrial metal bands who deserve to be pushed forward. So let's take a look at some of the most interesting, heavy industrial stuff coming out of Denmark.

Mnemic is one of my favourite Danish metal bands. They deliver a destructive mix of industrial metal and groove metal with modern progressive elements. Sort of like Meshuggah and Fear Factory had a baby. They've released five albums (all through Nuclear Blast Records) since their foundation in 1998. The last one, "Mnemesis", came out in 2012. This band headlined the 7th edition of the Euroblast Festival and have toured with bands such as Metallica, Deftones, Machine Head, Meshuggah, Arch Enemy, All That Remains, Fear Factory, The Haunted, Soilwork and God Forbid. Unfortunatly they went through a lot of line up changes and now only one of the original members is still in the band. But they can still bring some incredible music. I'm especially a fan of their furious second album "The Audio Injected Soul" from wich the following song "Deathbox" was taken. Check 'em out!

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

Another Danish band that really deserves to be discovered is Raunchy. They've always delivered a modern industrial metal sound with heavy electronic influence since their inception back in 1994. They've released five album with their label Lifeforce Records. The last one, “A Discord Electric”, came out in 2010. They were recently joined by the new vocalist Mike Semesky. Yeah, you read correctly, the former vocalist of The HAARP Machine who recorded the amazing vocals of their beautiful 2012 debut “Disclosure”. The band is currently working on new material with Mike at the helm. This means some amazing music might be coming out soon! The song below is called “Warriors”, taken from their forth album “Wasteland Discothque” (released in 2008), one of their biggest successes.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

The Interbeing is a younger band, formed in 2006, that released their debut full-length album “Edge Of The Obscure” in 2011. These guys bring some heavy groove, supported by a modern metal sound and industrial elements. Their music is surrounded by a dark sci-fi, futuristic atmosphere as a catalyst for the heaviness. This sound was largely appreciated, especially by the european djent scene and the album was well received thanks to intelligent promotion on YouTube and social networks. Check out their album and check out their latest music video for the song “Shadow Drifts”.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Bandcamp 

There is a lot more good music coming out of Denmark. For example there's a great progressive/power metal scene and a large number of folk metal bands, so we might come back here very soon. Stay tuned! Also, check back next week for our return to France and the second part of our local exploration!

-MATTIA

CLAWERFIELD “CIRCULAR LINE” ALBUM RELEASED

Remember our Exploring The World segment about the Swiss tech-metal scene when we described the Geneva Sound? Well, it seems like that sound is quickly expanding and infecting the whole nation!

Clawerfield is a modern industrial metal band from Thun, bringing a sharp and aggressive sound with pounding grooves. The project was started in 2009 and since then the band got to share the stage with acts like Devin Townsend Project, Sybreed, and Periphery. They just released their debut album “Circular Line” on April 6th. The album was mixed by Drop at Downtone Studio in Geneva in February 2013 and is out now! You can purchase it right here on their Facebook page and stream two tracks “Redemption” and “Rise” below. Go show these guys some love!

- MATTIA

 

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Youtube

CHECK OUT ILLIDIANCE!

I've been following this band for quite some time now and they have never disappointed me. Illidiance describe themselves as cyber metal. In other words, they play an industrial metal/trancecore style with cyberpunk elements. 

They formed in 2000 as S.C.A.R.D. and ended up chaning their name to Illidiance in 2004. Since then they have released 3 albums along with several EPs and demos, evolving from their early black metal influence to a more metalcore/melodeath sound till their latest single "Neon Rebel", released in 2012. 

Their last full-length album "Damage Theory" (2010) is definitely a must-listen if you're a fan of dark sci-fi atmospheres and cold Russian sounds. This band is able to bring fast and shattering musical assaults on one hand while being catchy and melodic with their clean choruses on the other. This combined with sharp and well-defined synths makes for an interesting sound. 

The good news is they're working on a new album to be released this year. This is definitely something to look forward to! So give a listen to some of their recent tunes and get stroked for their new stuff if you enjoy what you're hearing! 

- MATTIA 

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes