Australia’s Victoria K returns in 2022 for the release of the sophomore album Korethis coming October via Rockshots Records to follow the 2020 debut album Essentia.
Offering up progressive symphonic sound, Kore was specifically written to provide a full orchestral experience that drives people through a sonic journey of growth and grandeur.
A concept record, “Kore” explores modern-day issues through the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (the story of Persephone). Victoria K conceptualized the idea for the album with her producer Lee Bradshaw and then spent many months researching and analyzing the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, even meeting with experts of the Homeric Hymns from Greece. The story was then broken up into its different parts where Victoria Knight wrote the lyrics and developed the melodies for each section of the tale, exploring the myth from a modern perspective.
Victoria K
The tracks were written specifically to encapsulate the various sections of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and tell the story chronologically through each song and the music grows in intensity throughout the record capturing the emotional state of Persephone and other characters as the story progresses.
The various instruments were then written by Victoria around the lyrics and further enhanced and developed through the production process. Lee Bradshaw then finalized the songs by writing orchestral scores for each song, which were recorded live in Europe, before the final mixing and mastering.
Recommended for fans of Lacuna Coil, Rammstein, Within Temptation, Spirit Box, and Delain, Victoria K‘s forthcoming “Kore” will be released on October 14, 2022.
Finnish symphonic power metal band Everfrost shares brand new single “Flyers” taken from Frostbites, an EP of anime opening song covers coming out November 2022.
The band adds about the track: “‘Flyers’ by the band BRADIO became a big hit in the Japanese anime scene when it was used as the opening for cult classic show Death Parade. It’s a song we’ve wanted to cover for a long time because of its infectious groove and anthemic chorus, perfect for EVERFROST!
On this song we had the privilege of working with featuring vocalist Rob Lundgren, well-known for his bands Mentalist and Reveal, and vocal work on Youtube. His fun, energetic style was perfect for the track and he gave a great performance!
Aside from arranging the song into a heavier genre, main songwriter Benji wanted to elevate the chorus specifically with a huge vocal sound. This lead to us having the pleasure to work with a group of excellent singers in Finland to provide the large group sound heard on the track. This group consisted of Yannis Papadopoulos (Beast In Black), Bini Silvennoinen (Blame Me!), Mikael Salo(ex-EVERFROST, Thy Row, Dyecrest) and Sara Strömmer (Shereign, ex-Fear of Domination).”
“It’s time to crank ‘Flyers’, put your hands up and have a blast this summer!”
Everfrost is a Finnish symphonic power metal band known for incorporating Japanese anime and manga influences into their music, visuals and storytelling.
Metal fans and anime enthusiasts alike have described Everfrost numerous times as the band they were always looking for as the music is created from a passionate desire to energize you, make you happy and take you away from the struggles of everyday life.
The familiar influences of classic and modern Finnish heavy metal (Nightwish, Beast in Black, Sonata Arctica, Wintersun etc) are present in the Everfrost sound, however the band’s trademark wintery style combined with elements from non-metal genres such as eurobeat, dance pop and anime music bring a unique freshness to the mix. The result is an addictive cocktail that has proven to find its way into a wide variety of playlists, DJ sets, parties and live events.
Another big reason people fall in love with Everfrost is because of how immersive the band’s universe is. Each album features ongoing stories of a group of characters living in a cursed city, sealed off from the world. The concept is inspired by the ‘secret cities’ experiments established during the Cold War.
The band’s latest full length album Winterider was in particular quite a unique release in the metal world, being a concept album featuring this world and characters in a fully coherent manga comic, following the story and working in tandem with the songs. It received critical acclaim and high scores from multiple well-known metal media outlets such as Kaaoszine, Powerplay Magazine, Bravewords Magazine and Tuonela Magazine. “9/10 The next great power metal band.” –BRAVEWORDS
The album also made it to Disk UNION Japan’s top 10 charts for two weeks, charting at number 1 for the first week. The band also won Tuonela Magazine’s ‘best new discovery’ award for 2019.
While the music may sound energetic and cheery, the lyrical themes are usually dark, melancholic and vulnerable, dealing often with escapism through fantasy and entertainment, death and loss, social isolation and hardship. These feelings and ideas are manifested in the stories and characters, however the core inspiration stems from how cruel and cold the real world can be at times. This combination of happy music with sad lyrics empowers listeners in whatever stage they are going through or have been through in their lives.
The band features keyboardist and songwriter Benji Klint-Connelly, guitarists Samuli Heiskanen and Joose Ylianttila, bassist Roi Partanen and drummer Jope ‘James’ Salminen. Past members have included vocalists Hew Wagner and Mikael Salo (Thy Row, Dyecrest). The band has also featured and worked with many other esteemed musicians such as Rob Lundgren (Mentalist, Reveal), Yannis Papadopoulos (Beast in Black), Asim Searah (Damnation Plan, ex-Wintersun), Sara Strömmer (Shereign, ex-Fear of Domination) and Bini Silvennoinen (Blame Me!).
For fans of Epica, Within Temptation, Sonata Arctica, Lacuna Coil, Evanescence
Rockshots Records is proud to announce their latest signing of Italian symphonic metallers Eternal Silence for the release of their next album Timegate Anathema due out in October 2021.
The band comments: “We hope fans will be excited as we are for this new record. It is the most complete and refined album we made so far, and we think that the introduction of new elements and musical inspirations will attract new ones. We plan for it to be a heavy and romantic experience.”
Recorded at The Groove Factory (Udine, Italy) and Line/Out Studio (Milano, Italy) with mixing and mastering by Michele Guaitoli (Visions of Atlantis, Temperance, Kaledon), Timegate Anathema will feature ten tracks of symphonic and power prog metal plus will see the band introduce new elements and experimentation into their sound. The album goes from power metal songs like “The Way Of Time” and “My Soul Sad Until Death” to heavy and dark ones like “Rain and Red Death Masquerade“, passing through the catchy melodies of tracks like “Glide In The Air” and acoustic moments on “Lonely and Firefly“. The main theme that inspired the album is the concept of Time.
Bassist Alessio Sessa adds: “Time as the pace of life, time that gives a rhythm to the music, time as the nerve of existence, the ticking of a clock that brings back distant memories. The future developing through uncertainty and hope that flies on the wings of time. Time giving life to seasons, during which we struggle to give a sense to our hurry. The album’s image is of time represented by the two-faces god Janus, the divinity that looks backward and forward, guardian of thresholds, passages, chances, and who holds the keys of the flow of events. Musically the album puts together a solid metal rhythmic section with real strings orchestra and a choir, which accompany the melodies by the duo vocalists.“
Formed in Varese, Italy in 2008, Eternal Silence combines powerful guitar riffs, a thunderous rhythmic section, catchy melodies, and bombastic orchestral tracks with the support of two vocalists, Marika Vanni and guitarist Alberto Cassina sharing the front stage. The band’s current line-up is completed by Alessio Sessa (bass), Andrea Zannin (drums) and Enzo Criscuolo (guitarist).
Since their formation, the band has unleashed three albums and two EPs. 2020’s Renegades(EP), 2018’s Metamorphosis (EP), and 2017’s Mastermind Tyranny were released on Sliptrick Records, and their earlier full-lengths Raw Poetry (2013) and Chasing Chimera (2015) were released on Underground Symphony Records.
Over the years, the band has been a consistent touring presence in Europe, performing in Germany, Switzerland, France, Czech Republic, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, and Hungary along with being support for bands such as Temperance, Therion, Haggard, Sound Storm, Timo Kotipelto (Stratovarius) and Jani Liimatainen (Insomnium) Blackoustic.
