Funeral Rain Press Corps

Taken from the Kamelot website:

With a heavy heart we can now announce that Roy Khan has chosen to leave the band. We wanted to give him ample time for this kind of decision, due to his recent burnout and also the amount of amazing times we have shared with him in Kamelot. We respectfully accept his resignation from the band and wish him the best in his future endeavors. The timing is actually good since we feel the uncertainty the fans have had can now be laid to rest and the band can move on to finding a new singer. “The tour is going great so far and the fans have been amazing throughout this entire process” – adds keyboardist Oliver Palotai. With the new tour already in progress, Kamelot has already begun the search for a new vocalist. “I have a few guys in mind”, said band founder Thomas Youngblood. “And as you can imagine, it is a very important decision. There are some amazing singers that have already contacted us on this but we will take our time to find the right person”. Due to the overwhelming success of the recent shows in South America, we are pleased to announce new shows in November/December for Europe (stay tuned).

* The band headlines the Print de Temps Festival tonight and will play a Amsterdam (nearing sold-out) concert tomorrow followed by a full headliner tour with special guests Evergrey, Amaranthe and Sons of Seasons. (* Guest vocalists Fabio Lione and Tommy Karevik). Thank you for your support and see you on tour!!

Thomas, Casey, Oliver and Sean

Genre: Power Metal, Metalcore
Label: Punishment 18 Records

Let’s see here… how to describe what it is that you hear when you’ve got Exeence’s “Hystrionic” blaring at full blast… Melodic power(-ish) metal with progressive/aggressive with a black metal meets metalcore vocalist. Yeah, I listened to “Hystrionic” a dozen or so times over already and I’m still scratching my head. Luckily for Exence,  the plethora of genres and noises blend relatively well together. Lyrically, “Hystrionic” deals with the usual stuff: insanity, ethereal happenings and general weirdness. Instrumentally, this album is tighter than Megan Fox’s ass! Guitarist Pule, managed to create a sound that bleeds experimentation while still holding some semblance of familiarity.

My only gripe with this album/band is the vocals. Yes, it must take a lot of discipline (or lack of concern for your vocal chords) to keep up that kind of harshness. But a little bit of variety wouldn’t kill you either, you know?

Overall: Vocals aside Hystrionic is a great find and excellent addition to Punishment 18’s already awesome roster!

8/10

Exence On MySpace

NOTE: This is a REPOST from E-MetalSpace

The newly established Warriors Of Metal Inc. Non-Profit Organization is proud to announce the headliners and direct supporting acts of this year’s Warriors Of Metal Fest IV Open Air, to be held at the Frontier Ranch in Kirkersville, OH (just 30 minutes East of Columbus, Ohio) on Friday, June 17th and Saturday, June 18th.
After their great performance at Warriors Of Metal Fest III Open Air in 2010, followed by trips to Rocklahoma and the SwordBrothers Festival IX in Germany and their awe inspiring opening for CRIMSON GLORY at the Pathfinder Metal Fest II in Marietta, GA, the decision was made to bring WIDOW back to Warriors Of Metal Fest IV Open Air as a Friday night headliner. Now signed to IntroMental Management, the North Carolina foursome sport TWISTED TOWER DIRE’s frontman, Jonny Aune as their new bass player and recently turned in another great performance at the Bang Your Head Or Die Festival in Portage, Indiana on February 11th.

Directly supporting Widow will be the Heavy Artillery recording artists of VINDICATOR. This band has been a quality fixture of the Cleveland area’s thrash metal scene for many years who have sold out their first pressing of their 2010 Antique Witcheries album, and have already toured the US in support of the said album, impressing Metalheads everywhere. The organizers are very excited to have them energize the Warriors Of Metal Fest fans with a lengthy set of old school thrash metal like only Vindicator can dish out.

Ever the professional and entertaining traditional metal showmen, ASKA will be making a second return to Warriors Of Metal Fest IV Open Air by fierce popular demand. The organizers not only feel obliged to meet the demands of the Fest’s loyal fans, but also would like to show Aska all the improvements the festival has undergone as far as the venue location, stage and professional sound provided by Mr. Brian Muth, one of the sound engineering instructors at the world famous Recording Workshop Inc. Aska’s support of this event has been undying and steadfast. We thank them for that and look forward to another great performance of theirs this year, in support of the release of their sixth Studio album.

Last but certainly not least, Warriors Of Metal Fest IV Open Air is proud to present the only performance in the month of June, by the Cleveland traditional metalllers and Auburn Records artists of SHOK PARIS in support of the fest’s Saturday headliner, ASKA. Shok Paris toured the east coast and the midwest in support of their second and third albums with such metal legends as SAVATAGE and LIZY BORDEN back in the late 1980s, participated in the BW&BK Metal Showcase in Cleveland (2004), and most recently co-headlined the Headbanger’s Open Air Festival in Brande-Hörnerkirchen, Germany last summer. According to Ken Erb, Shok Paris guitarist, “This would be our first Southern Ohio date in over 20 years,” so there is a very reasonable expectation of support from their dedicated fans in Ohio and neighboring states at an Open Air setting such as the Warriors Of Metal Fest IV Open Air.

Additional bands performing at this year’s festival will be announced in subsequent weeks.

For fan and band reactions to Warriors Of Metal Fest III Open Air and to find further information about the new location and accommodation options please visit www.warriorsofmetalfest.com.

Genres: Gothic Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal
Label: AFM Records

These Romanians sure know how to rock! Fronted by a gorgeous-voiced woman named Ana Mladinovici, they take a trip through several different genres, all while kicking your ass with strong riffs, heavy drumming, and a sense of urgency that doesn’t usually come with this genre.
There is also a huge amount of originality in sound from this album, which if you’ve been reading my reviews for awhile you’ll notice I haven’t been that happy with gothic metal bands lately. This album I’m very happy with.
I definitely recommend you grab this album if you’re into Edinbridge, Within Temptation, Tarja, The Gathering, and the like.
8 out of 10.

Magica on MySpace.

It’s Geoff Thorpe’s story of power and pain. The quest to change people’s lives with the power of metal music and the fascination of his band in 2011. The guitarist and main songwriter of American power metal act Vicious Rumors says: “The older we get, the more wicked Vicious Rumors sound. We’ve definitely not slowed down – quite the opposite – have even more drive. Our fans won’t see a single Vicious Rumors show where we don’t go to our limits and beyond.” Anybody who has been to one of the group’s gigs during the past two years knows just what he means. Thorpe’s comment not only describes his band’s concerts, but also without reservation Vicious Rumors’ latest album “Razorback Killers”, due out on SPV on 28 March 2011 (Germany: 25 March 2011, US: April 5th.) and featuring ten breathtaking new songs which transport the traditional Vicious Rumors sound perfectly into the present. To cut a long story short: this band has never sounded more dynamic than on “Razorback Killers”.

The reasons for Vicious Rumors’ high-powered performance? Thorpe has a plausible explanation: “The metal is in our blood!!!! Plus we always have an awesome line-up. Larry Howe on drums and vocals, our bassist Stephen Goodwin and guitarist Kiyoshi Morgan, and in Brian Allen we’ve found the best vocalist you could possibly get for these kind of songs.” Brian Allen joined the Vicious Rumors fold one and a half years ago at the recommendation of Matt McCourt (Wild Dogs), a long time friend who Thorpe met up with at the Headbangers Open Air.”Matt had praised Brian, and I thought that he’d be perfect for Vicious Rumors.” His assessment soon proved true: from the beginning, Allen showed his great potential during intense rehearsals. “We immediately noticed this raw, pure quality in him. Like a snowball, something very big developed very quickly out of small beginnings. During our five-week European tour, Brian got nothing but positive reactions from our fans.”

So Brian Allen and Kiyoshi Morgan are – along with Thorpe, Bassist Stephen Goodwin and drummer Larry Howe, of course – two of the elemental parameters which make “Razorback Killers” such a dynamic powerhouse of an album. Three other musicians deserve to be mentioned: the guest guitarists Mark McGee, Eric Peterson and Brad Gillis. “Isn’t it fantastic that Mark returned and contributed those amazing solos on two songs?” McGee was a band member between 1986 and 1995 and has launched veritable guitar solos on ‘Blood Stained Sunday’ and ‘Pearl Of Wisdom’. “Mark and I trading solos just like the old days,” enthuses Thorpe, who also can’t hold back his delight at Eric Peterson’s impassioned solo passages on ‘Murderball’. “Eric has been a friend for many years and is the driving force in Testament. His solo on ‘Murderball’ is a perfect combination of the whole energy of Vicious Rumoursand Testament, merged into one song.” And last but not least: Brad Gillis, who otherwise makes his living as one of the band leaders in Night Ranger, is one of Geoff Thorpe’s close friends and already delivered a number of great solos on Vicious Rumors’ predecessor album, “Warball”. This time around, Gillis contributed a matchless – as Thorpe calls it – “classic tremolo guitar solo” on ‘Deal With The Devil’. “I remember well when he replaced the late Randy Rhoads in Ozzy Osbourne’s band. Brad has my utmost respect as a friend and colleague.”

So the furious “Razorback Killers” marks the next chapter in the career of Vicious Rumors, whose history is paved with countless highlights: the band took the legendary Dynamo Festival in Eindhoven, Netherlands, by storm with their amazing shows in the summers of 1990 and 1994, floored the 2002 Wacken Open Air, rocked the metal fans at the 2007 Bang Your Head Festival and are celebrated frenetically all over the world for their passionate live performances. Vicious Rumors have released ten excellent power metal albums to date, travelled the world over a dozen times – with Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest, Aerosmith and many others – and are now ready to present their latest recording to their fans. “We’ll be co- headlining the Keep It True festival in April 2011, one month after the album is released,” Thorpe promises. “We’ll be touring for the rest of the year in the USA, Europe and Japan, hopefully also visiting countries such as South America or Australia, where we’ve never been before.” “Razorback Killers” produced by Geoff Thorpe and Juan Urteaga certainly has the potential!

TRACKS

01 Murderball

02 Black

03 Razorback Blade

04 Blood Stained Sunday

05 Pearl Of Wisdom

06 All I Want Is You

07 Axe To Grind

08 Let The Garden Burn

09 Rite Of Devastation

10 Deal With The Devil

VISIT VICIOUS RUMORS AND SPV ON THE WEB:

http://www.viciousrumors.com

http://www.myspace.com/spvmusic