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

EUROBLAST FESTIVAL 2013 - THE LINE UP SO FAR

Cologne's Euroblast Festival doesn't need an introduction for many of you, so I'll put it this way... One of Europe's most mind-blowing metal festivals will unleash all of its energy on the crowd from the 11th til the 13th of October. It seems like this forthcoming ninth edition is going to be another blast!

In fact, the guys at the Euroblast Collective have announced a good portion of this year's line up and two of the headliners. Textures will be performing their only German show of 2013 here. The second headliner is Germany's very own The Ocean. The rest of the unveiled line up is stacked as well, making this an unmissable event. Euroblast 2013 will feature international names like Threat Signal, The Agonist, Twelve Foot Ninja, Arsis, Hacride, Benea Reach, Mnemic, Feared, Xerath, Lifeforms, Aliases, Humanity's Last Breath, Syqem, The Omega Experiment, Deathember, Der Weg Einer Freheit, Dawn Heist, Hord,  Overdown, Pomegranate Tiger, Tardive Dyskinesia, Cyclamen, Kartikeya, Heights, and Third Ear.

Last year's line up featured more than 40 bands. This year is currently at 28. So the only thing you need to do is stay tuned for the announcement of the third headliner / rest of the line up, coming very soon. If you live in Europe, you should definitely start thinking about buying tickets. This is the kind of event you don't want to miss!

- MATTIA

Links: Facebook // Official Website

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