THIS WEEK AT THE BENDIGO
Headlining on Saturday July 11 are the mighty Earth, who have spent 20-plus years crushing audiences with their melodic death metal inspired by the early-‘90s Swedish scene. Main support is Adamus Exul, who are a sadistic swipe at the modern poison of man. On tour for their sophomore album, Canberra’s atmospheric black metallers Claret Ash are not to be missed. The blackened death/doom outfit Feralian will perform hymns of sorrow and woe. Wood of Suicides will also be joining this line-up, performing their brand of harrowing black/drone/death doom. And opening is one-man band Subterranean Drilling Machine with his unique brand of chaotic black/grind/noise.
ORPHEUS OMEGA RELEASE NEW VIDEO
Melbourne melodic death metallers Orpheus Omega have released an official video for the song Karma Favours The Weak from their upcoming album Partum Vita Mortem. The video was shot in Melbourne by director Daniel Nolan of Clear Reel Productions and you can find it on YouTube. The band says, “As circumstance and unpredictability can get the better of us, it’s hard not to feel we fight a losing battle against fate. But destiny is in the eye of the beholder and we forget that we are the ones in control of our future.” Orpheus Omega will be heading out on tour to support the July 24 release of the album (through Kolony Records and in Australia via Rocket/Nerve Gas). They’re playing July 31 at The Corner Hotel with Be’lakor and Hollow World, and August 9 at Musicland with Truth Corroded, Hadal Maw & more.
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME RELEASE COMA ECLIPTIC
Grandiose, dynamic, heavy, melodic, technically challenging: these are all words that fall short when trying to describe Between the Buried and Me. Their seventh full-length album, Coma Ecliptic, stands as a significant step in the evolution of the group as a whole, as well as the individual musicians: vocalist/keyboardist Tommy Rogers, guitarists Paul Waggoner and Dustie Waring, bassist Dan Briggs, and drummer Blake Richardson. Rogers says “Coma Ecliptic is a new life for BTBAM. Throughout the process we worked harder than we ever have and really pushed the BTBAM sound to a new identity. In a world of repetition, I’m very proud to be a part of something that is extremely rewarding, as well as frightening. When you don’t push yourself you will never know what the outcome is. The outcome is Coma Ecliptic.” The album was recorded in January and February of 2015 with long time Between the Buried and Me producer Jamie King, mostly at the Basement Recordings in North Carolina. It’s out July 10 via Metal Blade/Rocket.
HAMMERFALL PLAY EXCLUSIVE AUSTRALIAN SHOW IN MELBOURNE
The career of Swedish heavy metal pioneers Hammerfall is one amazing march of triumph. After revolutionising the genre by the end of the ‘90s, the Gothenburg quintet released a total of nine studio albums, several compilations, live-releases and toured the globe relentlessly. Finally, for the first time ever, Hammerfall will perform in Australia and it will be for one exclusive, no holding back, feature packed fan-favourite show in Melbourne on Tuesday October 13 at 170 Russell. You read that right; it’s not even a tour, it’s one show. There will be strictly limited VIP meet and greet passes available for only 25 people, obtainable from metalobsession.net. Early bird tickets are on sale now from Metal Obsession and will hit ticketing outlets on Monday July 13.
NEW BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
Over the course of their career, Bullet For My Valentine has sold millions of records, amassed a worldwide army of fans, appeared on dozens of magazine covers and received mass critical praise for their highly-influential albums. Now, the band looks to transcend genres with their game-changing album, Venom. Vocalist Matt Tuck says, “Anything that went a slight bit too melodic or pop, we scrapped right away. We wanted to keep this as dark as possible. It was very important that the album sounded intense. That’s what our fans loved the most since day one.” The album was produced by Carl Bown and Colin Richardson (Slipknot, Machine Head, Trivium) at Metropolis Studio in London. It’ll be released August 14 via Sony Music Australia.
INTRODUCING THE BLACK QUEEN
The Black Queen, the Los Angeles-based trio featuring Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Killer Be Killed), Josh Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv, Nine Inch Nails) and Steven Alexander, have just released The End Where We Start, the first single from their debut album Fever Daydream. “There’s a really visual soundtrack element to the music,” Puciato says. “We talked a lot about the feel of ‘80s sci-fi, the sort of ‘used future’ thing, where it sounds alien but also familiar and gives you nostalgia for a time you don’t remember ever existing. Stanley Kubrick was a big influence as well.” Fever Daydream, which is booked for a late 2015 release, was written and recorded while the band cocooned in a Skid Row-adjacent downtown Los Angeles loft. “That played a big part in the sound too,” Puciato says. “Just being in this desolate environment of urban blight, completely self-contained, making this heavily emotional music together.”
