Illusions Of Grandeur JOINS METAL COFFEE'S PINK PR

The Story of The Siren:

The Siren was a winged creature with the body of a woman, feet and arms of a bird. She perched high on the flowery hilltops where she watched over and protected the Goddess Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. From the tops of Mount Olympus, the Siren soared as a God. One warm, sweet spring solstice, Persephone innocently wandered off through a field of flowers. Intrigued by one in particular, a magical glowing flower, she reached out with both hands. The ground beneath her began to quake and opened into a large hollow. Confused from the fall, Persephone did not see Hades, God of the Underworld, until he was already upon her. Her screams echoed out of reach as Hades pulled her back to the Underworld where he intended to marry her.
 

The Siren failed in her sworn duty to protect Persephone. She was stripped of her wings by Goddess Demeter and banished from Mount Olympus to a tiny island off the coast of Sicily. She would remain on earth until she found Persephone and returned her home safely.

This is now the Sirens journey. She must venture the Underworld and take Persephone from Hades. Frightened and unsure of her powers, she was lured to the seas, like a longing, calling to her soul. Once she reached the rocky cliffs, the mists from crashing waves, shown the shine of her new flesh, the scales and fins of a mermaid, a water Siren. Bound by this new skin, she must determine her new-found abilities and set forth to the task ahead.
 

The Siren would learn that when she sang, she was irresistible to mortal men. She pillaged for their lives and used them to build an army, facing peril and surprises along the way. The challenge was unlike any she had faced before. Alone and haunted by her past, if she was to have any chance of success, it would mean pushing herself towards her own self-destruction. After all, anyone who had ever faced the God of the Underworld has never returned…

Recently signed to Pavement Entertainment https://www.pavementmusic.com

We've just recorded and are set to release debut album entitled “The Songs of the Siren” - we're told it reminds people of:

 In This Moment, Evanescence, Black Sabbath, Missing Persons and more.

We have also just returned from a Tour of the UK and France in 2018 and are currently opening for national acts in the United States.  

I.O.G. will be on a full European tour starting June 2019 starting June 14th in the UK at Witney Music Festival then the Ukraine June 16th trough July 1st .

I.O.G. will then begin a North American Tour starting in August 2019.
https://www.facebook.com/IllusionsOG/

                                                       

DISRATED FROM SWEDEN SPEAKS METAL

1.What is the name of your band and how did you come up with it?
What is your name and what do you do for the band?

We wanted a name that consisted of one word. We don’t have any good reason for choosing Disrated. We just picked it out of thin air. My name is Kamal Soder, I play the bass in Disrated.

2.Tell us where you are based and describe the scene. How do you think where you are located influences your sound.


We live in Stockholm,Sweden. But we don’t play the typical Swedish death metal.


3.Who influences your sound that would surprise people?

Different life experiences are our influences. We create whatever we feel like and don’t mind what anybody else thinks. We just want to get the right tones in the right place to create the sound we want.


4.Are you endorsed by musical companies , if so who , and if not who would you like to be endorsed by?

We don have any endorsement today. But we are of course interested. Record labels, distribution, event bookings and musical gear companies are welcome to contact us. 


5.When you started what was your ultimate goal? And how close to the goal are you now?
  

The primary goal is to make great music. We hope to reach a global audience by delivering quality performances on stage and on our recordings. We are on the right track but will continue to reach out and get more fans around the globe.


6.In today's digital environment it takes creative strategy to keep things moving. What creative ideas do you have to keep your band relevant over time?

The strategy is to always deliver with quality. We are eccentric and don’t feel the need to overthink things. We don’t follow a rife way anyway.


7.We've all seen a terrible live band that is awesome on CD. Is that cool with you or do you lose respect for bands that cannot pull it off live?

I would be very disappointed. Things can happen that make it hard to deliver a great live show. But if the will to deliver the best that you can on stage is missing. You should not perform live.
 
8.Tell us your “core” are you Metal , Rock , Punk , Pop etc because people just have to categorize these days you know?

The core in our music is Death Metal and its subgenres

9.This is a tough question but a very real reality, Is your band actually talented or just popular?
Many bands make it with a cliche or publicity stunts etc. Would you accept fame even if it was just because of being the “ in” thing or is it actually important to you that you gain favor with talent?

We are not posers. We do what we want and don’t care about the consequences. Who we are is what you get. We are experienced hard working musicians, if that translate to talent. Yes we would like to gain favor with talent.


10.Tell us what to expect from you live. Nothing is more boring than watching bands stare at the floor and bob their heads to music nobody but the band knows. What can your band offer in a live setting that people will remember?

A band that is 100% committed to make the best out of every show. Our music and performance is meant to trigger the crowd.


11. What releases have you put out , When will we see something new?

In 2017 we released two EP on digital format. “Almighty Father” and “Hell followed with me”. 2018 we released our first full-length album Celestial Abhorrence. Its released on digital and vinyl format. We have plans to release a new EP in the first half of 2019.


12. If you have videos where can we see them?

We don’t have any official music videos. We do have streams on YouTube.


13.Everybody has Bandcamp , ReverbNation , Soundcloud , etc
Why do you think this is so important? Doesn't it seem like everyone is giving everything out for free?

Being present on this kind of sites is a good way of marketing. So I see it as free marketing for our music. If someone likes it and want to show there support they can buy our records and merchandise.


14.Best moment of your career so far?

The release of our vinyl edition of Celestial Abhorrence.


15.Your message to the fans?

We are working on new material that will exceed our previous releases. Follow us on Facebook and Spotify to get the latest news.

Bonus Question who do you bring back


Dime , Cliff , Dio , Lemmy , Randy

This question was not that hard. The most inspiring musician  for me is Cliff. 

       

LOVE THE HATE LOVE THE INTERVIEW

1.What is the name of your band and how did you come up with it?- 

Love The Hate simply put a bunch of names were thrown up against the wall and this one stuck! What is your name and what do you do for the band?- 

Leon Craft I am the bassist of the band  

2.Tell us where you are based and describe the scene. How do you think where you are located influences your sound. 

Love The Hate is based out of Mobile Alabama, Mobile is a great city unfortunately there are not many venues here for rock bands to play unless you are a cover band (That seems to be a growing trend nation wide) so we travel alot. There is one big venue here where major acts play and we have been fortunate enough to be on that stage a few times now. 

3.Who influences your sound that would surprise people? This band has about a thousand different influences between the 4 of us. Myself personally I love Billy Joel and have always wanted to do a rocking cover of Piano Man!

4.Are you endorsed by musical companies , if so who , and if not who would you like to be endorsed by? We are endorsed by In Tune guitar picks, would love to be endorsed by Schector, Darkglass electronics, Jackson, Erine ball ect... 

5.When you started what was your ultimate goal? And how close to the goal are you now?- The goal was to create music that is commercially acceptable that is also enjoyable for us to play, and to that end ultimately make a living as an original rock band, as far as the second half of the question we have an album out we are super proud of and has been pretty well received by all who have heard it. Still working on quitting our day jobs tho.lol

6.In today's digital environment it takes creative strategy to keep things moving. What creative ideas do you have to keep your band relevant over time? 

 Social media presence is very important yes, but we still find the old ways to also be effective, word of mouth, putting on a good show, and simply talking to people has taken this band pretty far. After every show we always go to the merch table and shake hands and talk with everybody and we have found people really appreciate that and want to see us again 

7.We've all seen a terrible live band that is awesome on CD. Is that cool with you or do you lose respect for bands that cannot pull it off live? 
 I prefer for musicians to be able to play live what is on their record this is why I have very little respect for pop singers with a few exceptions, because most of the time they are lip syncing and using autotune 

8.Tell us your “core” are you Metal , Rock , Punk , Pop etc because people just have to categorize these days you know?- 

Modern rock with a splash of metal influence 

9.This is a tough question but a very real reality, Is your band actually talented or just popular? Many bands make it with a cliche or publicity stunts etc. Would you accept fame even if it was just because of being the “ in” thing or is it actually important to you that you gain favor with talent? 



  I can honestly say this is the most talented group of musicians I have ever played with, now i don't think any of us will try out for Dream Theater any time soon.lol But I can definitely say for me I want it to be because of talent and that people genuinely enjoy our music.

10.Tell us what to expect from you live.

 Nothing is more boring than watching bands stare at the floor and bob their heads to music nobody but the band knows. What can your band offer in a live setting that people will remember?

 We have a very high energy show we are all moving jumping around like crazy people and my neck is killing me the next morning after every show and again after every set we come down and talk to the fans take pictures and sign whatever and people remember that. 

11. What releases have you put out , When will we see something new?-

 In April of 2018 we released our debut full length album titled Burn available on all digital outlets as well as physical copies at shows. We are currently writing our second album right now and are about 6 songs into that process 

12. If you have videos where can we see them?- 

We have videos for the songs Buried Alive, Bleed The Weak, and Addict all can be found on youtube or our facebook page under the videos tab.

13.Everybody has Bandcamp , ReverbNation , Soundcloud , etc  Why do you think this is so important? 

Doesn't it seem like everyone is giving everything out for free? The thing is you need to make your product accessible people need a reason to see your live show, its relatively common knowledge that bands are not making their money from
album sales anymore it's primarily from live shows, touring and merch and making the music being heard easy helps get people to come see you.

14.Best moment of your career so far? 

Very recently, on Febuary 9th we opened for Lita Ford in Destin Flordia HUGE crowd most of them had never heard of us, but we made alot of new fans and friends that night and a good chunk even said we blew Lita out of the water. Now Im not sure I would go that far ,she is a freaking legend, but still is nice to hear regardless. Amazing night 

15.Your message to the fans? 

We love each and every one of you thank you for all you have done for this band and helping us get this far you guys make everything we go through so worth it!

Bonus Question who do you bring back 
Dime , Cliff , Dio , Lemmy , Randy -Easy gather the dragonballs and bring them all back!!

 

LIFE OF AGONY is Recording with TOOL Producer SYLVIA MASSY on New Concept Album “THE SOUND OF SCARS

LIFE OF AGONY is Recording with TOOL Producer SYLVIA MASSY on New Concept Album “THE SOUND OF SCARS”

Brooklyn, NY’s LIFE OF AGONY is currently tracking their highly anticipated sixth studio album “THE SOUND OF SCARS” with esteemed producer SYLVIA MASSY (Tool, System Of A Down) at her recording studio Studio Divine in Ashland, Oregon. Additional recording will take place at various studios in New York. Sylvia Massy will also handle mixing duties for the album. "The Sound of Scars" is expected to drop this fall from Napalm Records.

“Sylvia has a deep understanding of what this band is all about and we’ve wanted to work with her for a very, very long time,” says bassist Alan Robert. “Especially, since this is a concept album continuing the story of 'River Runs Red,' we’re extremely grateful to have her on board to help capture the darkness, raw emotion and heaviness of the new material.”

“Life of Agony began boldly over 25 years ago with its hard musical discourse into the human condition, a darkly hued story which continues to evolve today,” explains Sylvia Massy. “This is a unique band with a remarkable history of personal discovery - a phoenix tale of flight, fire and resurrection. This month we begin again to record the latest chapter. I am excited to be the witness to the creation of the new Life of Agony album!”

"The Sound of Scars" marks the first Life of Agony album with new drummer Veronica Bellino, who joined the group last January and performed all-year long on LOA’s highly successful “Rise of the Underground” tour. Bellino is best known for her work with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jeff Beck, DMC, Richie Sambora/Orianthi, and Carmine Appice/Slamm.

Besides work on the album, Life of Agony has already announced a handful of dates for 2019, including a co-headlining show with Overkill on Friday, May 10th at PlayStation Theater in New York City, Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany on August 2nd, and Rhein Riot Festival in Cologne, Germany with Body Count on August 3rd.

For More Info Visit:

www.lifeofagony.com

www.facebook.com/lifeofagonyfamiglia

www.napalmrecords.com

www.facebook.com/napalmrecords

 

Bofo Kwo Review

Bofo Kwo – Legend of a Cannibal King (EP)

Review by: Jaime Perez 

Bofo Kwo is a trio from Helsinki, Finland who performs symphonic, black/dark metal. The band are members of the Sliptrick Records roster in Latvia, an independent label that has many interesting signings to brag about (check out the label’s website to see for yourself @ https://sliptrickrecords.com/ ) Some fans of Dimmu Borgir and many fans of Tiamat will likely find a place in their dark hearts for BK as they have “somewhat” followed the lead of the aforementioned, metal giants but have still managed to create an approach they can call their own. I say that Bofo Kwo have “somewhat” followed Dimmu’s and Tiamat’s styles because BK’s style is a little more straight-forward and less technical than Dimmu Borgir’s more varied and complex song structures and more like Tiamat’s “softer yet dark” approach. A couple of riffs per song is all BK uses to compose their tunes. This is not black metal of the Darkthrone or Satyricon variety, as the aforementioned bands have a much rawer and brutal sound; I don’t know if it’s the clean production or the musical approach (or both?), but this is almost hard rock/ heavy metal with black metal overtones, specifically the vocals and some of the blistering fast, programmed drum beats. I would understand if a Satyricon fan would see this as “not heavy or brutal enough,” but this still has many traditional black metal elements. In case you are wondering where the name comes from, each member of the band has an alter-ego; Bofo Kwo is the vocalist’s alter ego, whose actual name is Ted Egger. The trio consists of a two vocalists (one lead and one backing) and one bassist, which leads me to presume that the drums are of the programmed variety. Their most recent offering is an EP from 2017 titled, Legend of a Cannibal King, which contains 4 songs and an intro. This was submitted to me in mp3 format, so I don’t have any lyrics to follow along with while listening (yes, I still follow along since, as a lyricist myself, I find lyrics to still be important in metal.). A noteworthy mention regarding the lyrics is that they come from chapters of Ted Egger’s/ Bofo Kwo’s novel, also titled Bofo Kwo, who happens to be a cannibal king, hence the name of the EP, The Legend of the Cannibal King. Each song happens to incorporate a layer of keyboards/synths, but I am not sure if they are contributed by one of the three members (since the band’s label site doesn’t credit a keyboardist in the band line-up) or an additional, studio musician. The song “Son of Hatred” happens to add additional layers of vocal tones/sounds that add a haunting element to the track. I found this to be a little “different” for this dark genre of extreme music, but Bofo Kwo do justice to their approach. “Black Unicorn” continues with the hard rock-ish riffs and black metal vocals; again, this song has some female vocal/moaning-like vocal tones that remind me of what Dawn Crosby (R.I.P.) used to masterfully incorporate in her band, Fear of God, on their debut album. The two shortest songs are both just under the six-minute mark, and the other two songs exceed the seven-minute mark; so you are getting plenty of music in this EP. In addition, the production on this reminds me of some of the earlier recordings of Tiamat or Moonspell in terms of cleanliness, overall tone and musical approach. To sum it up, if members of Moonspell or Tiamat formed a band with Fenriz and/or Quorthon, the vocalists of Darkthrone and Bathory, respectively, you might get a band that is a little heavier than the average radio friendly metal band but less heavy than a band whose aim is all-out brutality, or you might get Bofo Kwo. If you are intrigued, you should be; seek it out on Spotify, Youtube, etc. ; you have nothing to lose.

(JP)

About Jaime Perez -

Jaime Perez is a founding member and drummer of McAllen Texas’ longest running death metal band, Severance. He has been a part of the Texas metal scene since the early ’80s and continues to be a global metal ambassador to this day. His music collection; both cds and vinyl, tallies in at roughly 1500 physical copies and includes a variety of musical genres, although a vast majority is metal. In addition to churning out metal, Jaime is also a fiction writer and author of “The Vacant Space” and the award-winning novels, “A Risky Yet Worthwhile Endeavor” and “Through You”.

For Media/Press, Republishing or Booking Inquiries Contact:

Email: jaimeperez917@yahoo.com

Twitter: @JPerezAuthor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaime.perez.188478 & www.facebook.com/severancemetal

Website: www.severancemetal.com

 

HELL'S GUARDIAN • Epic Melodic Death Metal • New lyric video "My Guide My Hunger"

Driven by hunger

HELL'S GUARDIAN today released a brand new lyric video for their third single, "My Guide My Hunger," from their latest album, "As Above So Below." Guest vocalists are Adrienne Cowan of Seven Spiers and Marco Pastorino of Temperance. Thematically, the powerful, striking and catchy song is about desperation and hope very often lying pretty close to each other.

Official lyric video for 'My Guide My Hunger' Youtube link: https://youtu.be/1MvIPpDM4rE

In a richly worth listening, play-cultural high-quality intersection of Amorphis, Edge Of Sanity and In Flames, the band has musically found itself entirely. The quartet's EPIC MELODIC DEATH METAL, which was arranged as elaborately as lovingly and often upliftingly pompous, also made its own unique, stylistically and thematically unbreakable way. In July 2015, the lombard hellguardians released an EP titled "Ex Adversis Resurgo", which was able to receive many positive responses.

HELL'S GUARDIAN • 2019

LINE-UP: Cesare • Growl vocal & guitar Freddie • Guitar Claudio • Choirs & bass Dylan • Drums

HELL'S GUARDIAN shared the stages with popular acts like Amorphis, Children Of Bodom and Sabaton. The second album "As Above So Below" was officially released on September 14th, 2018.

Frontcover • "As Above So Below" • Artwork by Gustavo Sazes

TRACKS: 01. Over The Line 01:40 (instrumental) 02. Crystal Door 05:27 03. As Above So Below 04:13 04. Blood Must Have Blood 04:38 05. Waiting… For Nothing 01:15 (instrumental) 06. 90 Days 07:26 07. Lake Of Blood 05:10 08. Jester Smile 04:44 09. My Guide My Hunger (feat. Adrienne Cowan & Marco Pastorino) 05:30 10. I Rise Up 05:52 11. Colorful Dreams (feat. Ark Nattlig Ulv) 05:14 total: 51:09 min.

Temperance vocalist Michele Guaitoli, who also sings in Visions Of Atlantis, mixed the songs at the Groove Factory Studio and did the mastering to give the material a reasonably intense sound for the heavy scores. (Markus Eck)

Discography: 2010 Hell's Guardian (Demo) 2014 Follow Your Fate (Full-length) 2015 Ex Adversis Resurgo (EP) 2018 As Above So Below (Full-length)

MEDIA FEEDBACK:

90 / 100
"… competent Melodic Death metal … Certainly recommend to both Death and Symphonic Metal lovers …"
(The Belgian Metal Shredder)

9 / 10
"... aggression and energy ... coupled with a first-class sense for catchy melodies ... symphonic elements ... are here only in nuances available ... failures can not be found here, instead, one great song joins the next, for example, reminiscent of Amorphis' 'Blood Must Have Blood' ... powerful and balanced production that can easily compete with international competition ... unlimited purchase recommendation ..."
(Hellfire)

4 / 5
"… a very interesting work, which will easily find the favors of lovers of the most epic sounds … helped by a very good production … 'As Above So Below' easily passes the test of the second album."
(All Around Metal)

8,5 / 10
"… the Epic Melodic Death Metal path is maintained with some progressive winking to Amorphis … a good album, varied, no weak songs … quite enjoyable and deserved to be checked."
(Sounds From Apocalypse)

8 / 10
"From Melodic Death with epic nuances due to the dictates of bands such as Amorphis and Children Of Bodom, the stylistic figure of the group is in fact renewed in favor of a greater presence of symphonic arrangements, without for this trespassing in the proper territory of Nightwish, Rhapsody or Therion, but adding this element to an always direct and immediate approach … Cesare Damiolini … holding one of the best growl ever … really a great return."
(IronFolks)

"Recommendation! In addition to the music, the vocals are aptly tuned to match male growls and clear vocals, and that works really well ... what HELLS GUARDIAN does not forget in any case is to write catchy songs that are both rousing and demanding at the same time."
(Amboss)

Overt Enemy - Inception - Review by Jaime Perez

Overt Enemy – INCEPTION

Review by: Jaime Perez

  

What started out as a Slayer tribute band has now become an unrestrained force of its own. Wait…I did exactly what I tried to avoid!! I told myself that I would make every effort not to mention Slayer while reviewing this EP, and I have already failed. Oh well, I must carry on. As expected, a tribute band turned original band will likely possess overt (yes, I said “overt”) hints of influence from the band they pay tribute to in their own original music; Overt Enemy is no exception to this likelihood as they were once solely a Slayer tribute band who covered all eras of my personal favorite quarter of “The Big Four.”

There are 5 songs on this release, but two of the songs are repeated as radio edits. One of the other songs (“Inception”) is somewhat of an instrumental, ambient piece that adds a nice aura of darkness to this release, but the meat and potatoes of this release are the two teasers that Overt Enemy has fed us for now: “Mercenary” and “Political Cancer.” Both songs are solid, thrash tunes in the vein of latter-era Slayer. I honestly don’t see how any Slayer fan could not enjoy Overt Enemy (maybe unless you only enjoy Slayer’s “evil era” during the heavier, rawer first 4 or 5 albums). “Mercenary” starts off calm and soft, but eventually escalates to a mid-paced pulsating tune that is likely to get one’s head in banging mode. “Political Cancer” is the faster of the two songs (the latter part of the song, at least) and starts off with a nice, haunting, guitar melody that repeats later in the song like a bad nightmare that you actually enjoy. Aside from obvious comparison, Leo’s vocals remind me a little of Russ Anderson from Forbidden during Forbidden’s debut release. The vocals are delivered with clarity and originality that is difficult to find nowadays in metal vocal deliveries. The words have little nuanced tones and accents that add to the vocals enjoyment and steer it away from the monotone deliveries that plague many bands. I’ve always associated many of the genres of metal with shredding, guitar leads. Although many metal genres don’t necessarily call for guitar leads or use them as frequently (punk and industrial come to mind), Overt Enemy make it a point to display their guitar shreddage on these two songs as they incorporate enough guitar solos to make fellow guitarists smile and take note, particularly “Political Cancer.” It’s a nice, almost mandatory, element to have in thrash metal. The production on this, which I believe was handled by ultra-talented Joshua Lopez at Widowmaker Studios, is outstanding. Containing the chaos of louder more extreme forms of music but still capturing the natural roughness of the art is not easy, but Joshua delivers a level and strong sound for the quartet from Mission, Texas.

If these original tunes are any indication of what is to come in the future from Overt Enemy, you better brace yourself because I think Overt Enemy intends to show no mercy!! (JP)

“Inception” by Overt Enemy is available now: Amazon/iTunes/Google/Spotify & www.ConfusedRecords.com

About Jaime Perez -

Jaime Perez is a founding member and drummer of McAllen Texas’ longest running death metal band, Severance. He has been a part of the Texas metal scene since the early ’80s and continues to be a global metal ambassador to this day. His music collection; both cds and vinyl, tallies in at roughly 1500 physical copies and includes a variety of musical genres, although a vast majority is metal. In addition to churning out metal, Jaime is also a fiction writer and author of “The Vacant Space” and the award-winning novels, “A Risky Yet Worthwhile Endeavor” and “Through You”.

For Media/Press, Republishing or Booking Inquiries Contact:

Email: jaimeperez917@yahoo.com

Twitter: @JPerezAuthor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/jaime.perez.188478 & www.facebook.com/severancemetal

Website: www.severancemetal.com