Halflives – Inferno
Halflives will release new EP Inferno on June 30.
Linda said: “Inferno is my personal descent to hell, a collection of my demons wrapped up in 5 songs. Fire has been a big part of the Halflives imagery going all the way back to the debut album Empty Rooms, and it ultimately led me to have it as the main character of this era. Each song is as honest as it can be. This EP saw no constraints in terms of songwriting and lyric writing, it’s the most unfiltered version of me you have heard so far. Raw feelings and emotions that burnt me like a fire leaving me scarred forever.
One song in particular stands out from the others – Oblivion. The only track that’s not out yet, and probably the only track that doesn’t relate to fire with the visuals. At first when I wrote it I didn’t see Oblivion being a part of the EP. I actually didn’t see it as a Halflives song at all as it sounded so different from what I’ve usually been writing. But when my producer Jack Wilson heard it, he told me there was something special about that track, and I knew deep down he was right. So, as I said, there were no compromises in this EP, if something sounded right and it felt natural or spontaneous, then it was the right thing to do. And that’s when I decided Oblivion had to be a part of this descent to hell. The final hit of this emotional rollercoaster.
I celebrate Inferno as a personal growth both as an artist and for my mental health as I don’t care anymore about other people’s judgment about my art, I don’t care anymore about pre-constructed “strategies” of what I should or should not say or sound like. It’s my way of saying “fuck it all”. I was actually my worst enemy in terms of songwriting as I was creating boundaries and constructing walls when I was writing. Turns out there are no boundaries or limits to art, and if it’s what sounds natural to me, then it is it’s what I’m gonna do, as it’s burning inside me like fire. So yeah, here’s to raw and true emotions!”
Tracklist
1) Dynamite
2) sorry mom x
3) everybody knows it
4) EVERYTHING SUCKS
5) Oblivion
The Guru Guru – Make (Less) Babies
Credit: Eva Vlonk
The Guru Guru will release new album Make (Less) Babies on October 27.
“Jan provided his studio in Hasselt, friends let us use some awesome gear, we rented an apartment in Hasselt for a week and we recorded the third album together live. We recorded all the instruments in 2 days,” says Tom Adriaenssens of their approach to the new record.
“Yoran—our live sound engineer—came over to help, along with a handful of other friends we work with. I think we can say that all these people who help us became our family. A family of people we’ve been working with for the past 10 years. And it feels good.”
Soen – Memorial
Soen will release new album Memorial on September 1 through Silver Lining Music.
Tracklist
- Sincere
- Unbreakable
- Violence
- Fortress
- Hollowed (feat. Elisa)
- Memorial
- Incendiary
- Tragedian
- Icon
- Vitals
Empire State Bastard – Rivers of Heresy
Credit: Gavin Smart
Empire State Bastard will release debut album Rivers of Heresy on September 1.
Tracklist
‘Harvest’
‘Blusher’
‘Moi?’
‘Tired, Aye?’
‘Sons and Daughters’
Stutter’
‘Palms of Hands’
‘Dusty’
‘Sold!’
‘The Looming’
Crypta – Shades of Sorrow
Credit: Estevam Romera
Crypta will release new album Shades of Sorrow in August 4 through Napalm Records.
Bassist and vocalist Fernanda Lira said: “Shades of Sorrow is a semi-concept album which describes a journey through the depths of our psyche when facing tough battles. It’s a trip to the many shades of pain we sometimes have to face while enduring our lives’ challenges. The songs are the perfect gloomy, dark, emotional soundtrack for this journey.”
Tracklist
1 The Aftermath
2 Dark Clouds
3 Poisonous Apathy
4 The Outsider
5 Stronghold
6 The Other Side of Anger
7 The Limbo
8 Trial of Traitors
9 Lullaby for the Forsaken
10 Agents of Chaos
11 Lift the Blindfold
12 Lord of Ruins
13 The Closure
Moodring – Your Light Fades Away
Moodring will release new record Your Light Fades Away on July 14.
Tracklist
1) SHI=DEATH
2) BLACK_WAVE
3) WOULDYOUWAITFORME?
The Criticals – Front Door Confrontations
The Criticals will release new EP Front Door Confrontations on July 21.
ZAND – Sewerstar
ZAND will release new EP Sewerstar on July 20.
Tracklist
DESCENT (intro)
Deliverance
Religion
Battery Acid
I Spit On Your Grave
DTF
L.E.E.C.H.E.S.
King Nun – Lamb
King Nun will release new album Lamb on September 29 through Marshall Records.
“I really do believe LAMB is our greatest achievement because it’s so honest,” says Theo, “and it’s the thing I’m most proud of because there was such a struggle to make it happen.” Over the course of the lockdown, the boys wrote non-stop with their vision fixed firmly on the next release, with the name itself guiding them from the start. “I loved the quasi-religious imagery that we were using with Mass, and the title of that album led us on to the title for Lamb. I knew that that name had significance because the thing that struck me about it was the innocence and fragility being right next to the sacrificial animal. A lot of violence and naivety right next to each other in the same word.”
Tracklist
Golden Age
Selfish
Do You Know Where You Are?
Sinking Feeling
One Time Alarm
OCD
In Vains
I Must Be Struck By Lightning To Fly
But We Live On The Beach
Escapism
Lamb
Echo Ladies – Lillies
Credit: Albin Bogren
Echo Ladies will release new album Lillies on September 8 through Rama Lama Records/Gazehop Records.
The band said: “While our past material conveyed feelings of nostalgia and hope for the future mixed with worries and anxieties about defining who you are and what you will become, Lillies instead tries to balance the emotions of sorrow and loneliness, with anger, frustration, and the determination to make a change for the better. This album really carries the Echo Ladies mantra that ‘Nothing Ever Lasts’—good things can come to an end, but bad things will also pass.”
Tracklist
1. Fabrik
2. Selfcontrol
3. Dirty Dancing
4. Coming Home
5. Lilies
6. Getting On Me
7. Awake
8. Illness
9. Strangers
10. Funeral
Necrotted – Imperium
Necrotted will release new album Imperium on September 22 via Reaper Entertainment!
The band said: “We’re extremely happy to announce that in September 2023 – just in time for our 15th band anniversary – our fifth studio album will see the light of day. The new long-player will bear the name ‘Imperium’ and will be released via our label Reaper Entertainment. Already today, we’d like to present you the cover artwork and the tracklist of the upcoming album. The artwork for Imperium was once again illustrated by 3D designer Robin Schneider and perfectly visualises the evolving, elaborate storyline that builds on the acclaimed predecessor Operation: Mental Castration. It fits brilliantly with the album’s dystopian, socio-political themes and dark musical atmosphere.”
Tracklist
01. A Veiled Awakening
02. Reich Der Gier
03. Sow Sorrow For Victory
04. Artificial Truth
05. Ignorance Is Fear
06. Round X: Freedom V Security
07. Imperator
08. Order Beyond All Bounds
09. My Reign Come, My Will Be Done
Teenage Wrist – Still Love
Credit: Joe Calixto
Teenage Wrist will release new album Still Love on August 4 through Epitaph!
“We didn’t have a preconception about how we were going to be received for this record, so we decided we should just create something organic that we feel completely present making,” Anthony Salazar explains. “There was no other intent than for us to express ourselves.”
Tracklist
1: Sunshine
2: Dark Sky (feat. SA Martinez)
3: Still Love (feat. Softcult)
4: Digital Self
5: Something Good
6: Wax Poetic (feat. Sister Void)
7: Diorama
8: Cold Case
9: Cigarette Two-Step (feat. David Marion)
10: Humbug (feat Heavenward)
11: Sprawled
12: Paoloma a.k.a. Ketamine
