Vanuit de stal van Seek & Strike komt vandaag de band Hypermass die zojuist de EP Apparition Day heeft uitgebracht. Voor de single Cult Vendor is een video beschikbaar.
HYPERMASS : “Our new EP, Apparition Day, has been in the works for quite some time and we are truly excited to bring it to life and show you all what we have been working so hard on. Musically, it is more of everything that defines our style. The grooves, the melodies and the variety have all been kicked up a notch from our last output. while we also delve into some previously unexplored territory. On this release, we incorporate elements from genres such as jazz, blues, electronic, etc. Our main goal is to always push our music forward no matter what, and it’s important to us that we keep things fresh while maintaining our signature sound. Lyrically, the EP is a natural step forward from our debut album, Empyrean, as we explore a lot of the same themes throughout.
“On this EP we wrote about the human condition in the modern world, and how our craving for convenience trumps our social and creative needs. With the rise of artificial intelligence, we see a lot of people embracing it with open arms without a shred of critical thinking as to what is going to happen if we let it. There are a lot more themes throughout, but that would give you an idea of what to expect. As our last album was more conceptual, this has five stand-alone songs with each song having its own clear identity both lyrically and musically.
“The EP’s second single/video is for ‘Cult Vendor,’ which is a track we did pretty early in the writing process. When we wrote the main riff we knew this track had huge potential and had to finish it. It’s more mid-paced and groovy and has more of a thrash/death-element than the previous single. It has an immediate, undeniable catchiness to it that we decided it had to be one of the singles. The song is really fun to play live as well and gets the crowd going every time.
“The coalescing of styles has resulted in our signature sound. While a lot of modern metal bands seem to prioritize either heavy breakdowns or lightning-speed shredding, the most important thing to us is the riffs and the grooves. Our main goal while writing each song is to find new and exciting ways for it to groove. That has always been the centerpiece of our music, and we find ways to work around that to make it as interesting as possible using different layers and atmospheres. A lot of the time the vibe of our music is actually quite uplifting as well, unlike a lot of other bands within our genre.
“As the themes explore a lot of dark sides of the human psyche, we always feel it is best to balance that with a more upbeat approach to the music. We always love it when bands and artists have a contrast between the music and lyrics, as it makes the experience more multilayered and interesting. The most important thing to us is to keep the music fun and engaging, and if people wish, they can delve more into the themes of the lyrics on their own.”
Bij Arising Empire kun je Mavis vinden die de single Sentinel Hill hebben uitgebracht. Lekkere metalcore met een paar fijne breakdowns zorgen voor de juiste atsmosfeer.
Bijna niet in één of twee of meer hokjes te plaatsen is het Zweedse Vildhjarta. Het derde album + där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar +bevat de single + sargasso +.
Dan is voor velen de muziek van Mother Misery makkelijker te behappen. De Zweedse rockers preferen een meer melodische sound en laten dat met de nieuwe single The Predator horen.
Mother Misery: “‘The Predator’ was recorded in the same session as our last album ‘From Shadow To Ghost’. We felt the track had a different vibe to the rest of the songs and decided to keep it for a special release. When we invited David ‘DaKe’ Isberg, known for Blood Of Jupiter and as a founding member of Opeth, to add some of his deep growl to the song, it felt complete and even more special. The song has a driving riff, a mellow verse and a melodic chorus, along with a nice breakdown in the middle.”
Afterlove is een project van Mirza Radonjica, misschien bekend als zanger van Siamese. Mirza bundelde de krachten met Zac Allen (If Not For Me) en Zack Backer (Rain City Drive) om het mini-album Copenhagen Closure te maken. Hierop kun je de single The Humbling vinden.
Mirza zegt over de single: “‘The Humbling’ is the groovy, happy cousin of a pretty bleak album. “I love how Zack Baker is bringing back that ISSUES vibe from the 10’s on this one! A little sunshine before I get to show the world what ‘Copenhagen Closure’ is about.”
David Judson Clemmons weet minstens zoveel gevoel te leggen in zijn muziek en dat komt tot uiting in de single Songs In The Key Of You dat ook te vinden is op het aankomende album Everything A War dat gepland staat voor 28 maart.
Niklas Sundin kun je ook in Zweden vinden. Hij zocht een samenwerking met Enrico Longhin en startte het nieuwe project Time And The Hunter. Mycelium kun je nu vinden.
Tot slot nog een fijne single van Mary Was A Machine.