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Album Review: Gorod – The Ember Gone

Reviewed by Eric Clifford

For as madly as I love it, there are still phrases that I do not use often when describing a death metal release. Seldom do I find myself reaching for the Cannibal Corpse LPs and thinking “Christ, look at the emotional depth on “Entrails Ripped From A Virgin’s Cunt”. Which Isn’t to say that death metal can’t or doesn’t provoke emotions – clearly it does – and there are exceptions to the rule, but it would be fair to say that death metal generally is heavier in the musical sense than it is in terms of milking your tear ducts dry. That’s not a bad thing per se – it’s a feature of the genre, you wouldn’t complain that your fridge doesn’t double check your parachute or manage a budget. But it does mean that when a death metal album does successfully traverse more emotionally complex territory it’s worth remarking on. So when Gorod spend the time lining up firing angles to launch arrows right into your heartstrings…I think that’s worthy of significant praise. “Forgiveness” speaks to me of regret, knowing that you could have done better for your children, spared them sorrow in the years to come. I don’t think you have to be a parent to connect with themes around wishing you had been perfect for your kids – we’ve all let someone down before – but as a parent, shit if this didn’t spear an uncomfortable part of me. The sombre instrumentation of it, the way it builds and builds, flowing into these stark if gorgeous crescendos was spellbinding on a first listen and only grew more impressive over repeat listens. There’s melancholy to it, rage, complex tapping patterns mapped to the complications of the feelings themselves. It feels like a more deathly incarnation of “Wait” by prog outfit Pain of Salvation – an equally splendid yet maudlin and reflective track that tackles different but nonetheless discomfiting themes. And Gorod do this repeatedly too; never forgetting that they are at heart a tech death band and using that extreme metal weight to propel a bleak fury into songs that ache with pathos.

In the context of death metal that needs pointing out, but in the context of Gorod, perhaps less so. They’re esteemed as one of the best bands active within their genre niche, and tech death has (relatively) often been more comfortable exploring it’s more cerebral side than have other subgenres such as, say, brutal death – last time I checked, Devourment didn’t write “Babykiller” in order to muse over abortion rights. So lets adopt an unhealthy, emotionally stunted “boys don’t cry” frame of mind and ask how the album is purely as a collection of moving parts, riffs, blasts, growls, etc. So. How is it?

Fucking sublime.

Psycroptic dropped an album in July, so lord knows, Gorod needed to pull their A-game in terms of riffs. To stick with “Forgiveness” a minute, at 4.38 it drops into a groovy tech riff that hits like a soviet nuclear test, whereas “Devise” kicks things off with the best riff In Flames never wrote. Stunning guitar work lurks like Pennywise behind every corner, luxurious solos pouring off the fretboard with the iridescent flex of oil on a river, and the bass punches endless grooves into being with this warm, ceaselessly gratifying string-thud. At the risk of overstating the claim though, this isn’t the “If we’re breathing we’re blasting” brain liquefaction of, say, Origin or Braindrill. Even at their most vituperative Gorod never slung that type of firepower about. And even with that said, this is much more restrained than much of their own back catalogue, more attuned perhaps to it’s prog side than it is it’s tech side. The band were fraternising with samba rhythms as far back as their 2nd album “Leading Vision” in 2006 and slightly sedate textures were dotted about 2023’s “The Orb”, but nonetheless basically their whole discography is a complete blastfest by comparison.

The tradeoff for this distinct mellowing is a greater focus on mood and atmosphere, with the crescendo of “Remains” containing some of the most soulful, beautiful harmonies they’ve ever penned. “Regret” is much more liberal with the clean vocals much more than in years past (competently enough, even if they’re not challenging Akercocke’s Jason for all round vocal excellence) and rolls back the distortion to more civilised levels than on prior works. Percussive not-quite-clean licks airlifted from Tool’s shed and flighty jazz drums characterise lengthy portions of it for the first half before the talons unsheathe inch by inch through the latter sections. It remains deeply technical music both in composition and performance, less so than prior album’s unmedicated supersonic fret shiatsu stylings, but still a deep, complex, considered release informed as much by influences outside metal as it is by influences within it. Flickers of Radiohead’s sparse, damaged beauty dancing through “Ember”. Lap steel (I think) takes a break from gracing prog royalty Yes’ “Relayer” album to swoop like unchained quetzalcoatlus spirits over “Crimson” and “Ignite”, and I would be shocked if it turned out that drummer Karol Diers wasn’t almost problematically into jazz, such is the versatility and showmanship he packs into a frankly jaw dropping showcase the whole album through.

My undignified gushing aside, there are flaws here and there. Some tracks – “Regret” primarily – do grow long in the tooth, and placing “Regret” immediately after “Forgiveness” (the 2nd longest track) doesn’t help, as much as anything because “Forgiveness” rather outshines it. “Regret” has this whimsical, swinging sing-song feel to it’s first passages that I struggled to connect with, and it’s last section from about 5.40 on is instrumentally very cool, though it feels a shade tacked on when an opening for a satisfying conclusion to the song presented itself right before it. If “Forgiveness” feels to unfold like a tapestry then “Regret” seems to develop a bit more awkwardly to me at least, even if I can’t fault the performances that bring it to life. Perhaps that is thematically appropriate, but nonetheless it did impede enjoyment of tge song for me personally.

The in-a-nutshell breakdown then is: Gorod are undeniably less overtly tech death this time around – dalliances in their softer side elsewhere in their back catalogue notwithstanding, this is by far the most pensive thing they’ve ever done. While they do still have ammo left in the magazine, “The Ember Gone” on the whole is far heavier in emotional terms than in terms of speed or distortion. Parts of it are genuinely gorgeous, and for all it casts fonder eyes towards prog tropes than death metal ones it remains masterfully technical, with mountain ranges of evolutions and crescendos climbing from the canvas it paints over the course of forty three enthralling minutes. Gorod have obviously always been good, but never in quite so (relatively) delicate and vulnerable a fashion as they are here. And that might give some of you pause. I myself don’t think it’s their best either because I miss the more enraged playing of their back catalogue and some songs drag on a bit longer than their ideas seem capable of supporting. Taken on it’s own terms though, it’s impossible to deny the craft on display. I suggest refining your expectations: approach without the hope of a trip to the warp 9 blasturbation station, engage with it as it is not as what you might’ve desired from a Gorod release, and if after that you still find yourself unmoved by it, I can only recommend checking yourself for a pulse.

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

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It seems there’s a chance that “Death Wish” might not be streaming either.

The post Ice-T Talks New Body Count Album “Death Wish” & The U.S. Political ‘Sh*t Show’: “When Obama Was In, The World Wasn’t In This Much Disarray” appeared first on Theprp.com.

Their atmospheric soundtracks long outlived the shows they were written for. Their blend of traditional Celtic music with modern instruments and leftfield arrangements pioneered a new sound that’s inspired generations. In 2014 Prog asked: How prog were Clannad?

Nightwish man Troy Donockley remembers the very moment Clannad first made an impression on his music – and his life: “I was 18 years old, confused, in a bikers’ pub listening to a jukebox, and Theme From Harry’s Game stopped me dead in my tracks. I lost all contact with my surroundings. That atmosphere – and Moya Brennan’s voice – was like nothing I’d ever heard.”

Clannad (the name created by contracting ‘Clann as Dobhar,’ meaning ‘family from Dore,’ not Gaelic for ‘family’ as many believe) broke into the world’s consciousness with that 1982 single, which has more than outlived the TV series it was attached to. As the only UK Number One single in the Irish language, its uniqueness could make it prog in its own right.

The track launched the second of three phases in the clan band’s history, all trademarked by soaring close harmonies, traditional and modern instruments, and left-field arrangements. Their career path has entailed kick-starting the stardom of younger sibling Enya, duetting with U2 singer Bono (who bought a hearse and pretended to be dead in the back during the video for In A Lifetime), persuading Steve Perry to appear on the only non-Journey track of his career at that point, and backstage parties with Phil Lynott and Rory Gallagher – which no one in the band admits remembering.

More importantly, those three phases all carry prog credentials to varying degrees. Although main songwriters Pol and Ciaran Brennan at first claim to be unaware of what prog actually is (possibly a surprised reaction at being approached by this very magazine), they soon open up and those influences become clear.

Siblings Moya, Pol and Ciaran, along with their uncles Noel and Padraig Duggan, had a definite aim with their self-titled debut album, released in 1973. They’d gone around their native Donegal with tape recorders, capturing folk songs before they were forgotten forever. “We had in our minds that we’d make folk albums,” Ciaran recalls. “Some of them didn’t have any pattern or arrangement, so you could wrap anything around them to keep them alive. We were listening to Jethro Tull and jazz rock, and I would have been very influenced by Pentangle.”

Donockley supports Ciaran’s assertion. “Clannad were primarily a prog folk act,” he says. “Structurally, they were very much like Pentangle; the progressive tendencies shine out on albums like Dulaman [1976] and Fuaim [1981]. Check out Strange Day In The Countryside from Crann Ull [1980] – it’s very pastoral hippie-acoustic prog, with its cross-fade from harp to guitars and wordless voices.”

Clannad’s debut saw them immediately embroiled in the kind of artistic battle many prog artists would be familiar with, as they stuck to their guns about singing in the Irish language, fighting label pressure to do otherwise. Ciaran recalls: “We did it in two and a half days after we won a competition in Letterkenny or somewhere. The record label MD said, ‘That’s never selling!’ and sent us back in to translate one of the songs into English. I was a pushy 19-year-old. I told him, ‘You’ll probably get a villa in Spain out of this!’”

He can’t have been far wrong. For Pol, though, it was always about crossing cultural streams. “It’s definite,” he says. “Our background is between the traditional stuff and classical stuff. When we were very young we were all classically trained on piano, and we had voice training and stuff. But we were growing up with the music of the day all around us. In the 60s we were stuck to Radio Caroline and Luxembourg. Ciaran and I listened to a lot of John McLaughlin but we were soaking in everything. I was much more of a rock-head myself. Musically, I was very challenged by it.”

Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery was struck by their unique blend at an early point in his career. “I thought Clannad were a unique blend of Celtic folk with prog elements,” he remembers. “They had a very evocative and ethereal sound. Moya Brennan’s vocal and the band’s harmonies are quite unique.”

The massive success of Harry’s Game brought those elements to global attention and led to a change of direction in the mid-80s, powered more by synths and a sound which could be compared to the neo-prog of the era. It’s first hinted at on 1983’s Magical Ring, of which Donockley says: “It’s an unreserved classic – a masterpiece of spacey prog-folk which is just beautiful. If it’s not already in your record collection, your musical education has amounted to nothing and you are an utter buffoon!”

Pol enthuses over a new era of inspiration: “The influences of bands like Yes, Marillion and fucking anyone – we were eating them up! If you’re looking for prog in our music, look in the riffs.”

He points to the band’s work on another 1980s TV series, Robin Of Sherwood, and particularly the track Scarlet Inside, written for Ray Winstone’s Will Scarlet. “I was rocking out with that. It’s Joe Elliott of Def Leppard’s favourite – he took me for beers and told me so!” he laughs.

If you like Sirius, don’t ever say so in Ireland!

Leon Brennan

Rothery confirms Clannad’s work informed at least the artistic intent of his Wishing Tree side-project. “The blend of the symphonic and acoustic elements of the music, and the odd time signatures of some of the pieces, give them a progressive feel,” he notes. “The mood and atmosphere of their music was one of the influences on the Carnival Of Souls album.”

But Clannad’s most riff-led album is 1987’s Sirius, which saw them fully embracing elements of neo-prog and even pop in a big US-style production. It involved Steve Perry, Bruce Hornsby and JD Souther, and resulted in a record many fans hated – brother Leon Brennan, the band’s tour manager, warns: “If you like Sirius, don’t ever say so in Ireland!” Nevertheless, it contains tracks where synths and different time signatures dominate, including In Search Of A Heart, Second Nature and the title track. Ciaran reflects: “I would agree it’s a prog rock album. I was very glad we took that direction when we could. We’re very comfortable with it now, but at the time there was that backlash. It was very expensive…”

Although they don’t revisit many of its tracks in their live shows, Pol says: “I’ve said to Ciaran it’s the one I’d love to do as a live album. Rock it out, use real strings – do a one-off show. The songs are good. With some of the timings, there’s an element of prog. Some of them are straight, but then that’s the last thing that some of the others are. I think what happened was we didn’t have enough of our own identity on them.”

Donockley is one of those who wasn’t a fan of Sirius: “There was a lot of 80s-style pop on that record, which I didn’t like. Clannad, to me, was a thing of art that didn’t follow fashion. But a lot of the synth sounds were quite 80s prog, mind!”

The 1990s saw the departure of Pol from the band, intent on pursuing an offer Peter Gabriel had extended to him. “I’d come to a point where I wanted to experiment,” he recalls. “I’d been asked by Peter when we were in Real World Studios to do some production, so I wound up working out of there for four or five years. It was almost like going back – while I write from a place of construction, it was deconstruction there. It came from instinct.”

Mel Collins fitted like a glove, being in bands like Crimson. We gave him one playback and told him, ‘Have fun!’

Ciaran Brennan

That led to something of a departure in his next musical project: Trisan, an experimental three-piece with Japanese percussionist Joji Hirota and Chinese flautist Guo Yue. “Real World was a masterclass, then Trisan were really stripping it right back. The last time I’d been on stage, there were 12 or 13 people there.”

Meanwhile, Clannad – now led by Ciaran – entered their third phase, in which they secured a trademark approach which remains more or less in place today. That included a stack of collaborations with some prog names: Mel Collins (King Crimson), Anton Drennan (Genesis, Mike & The Mechanics) and Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa).

Ciaran recalls: “Being with a major label gave us the chance to experiment with people who drifted into the studio. Anton Drennan was always influencing us. Mel fitted like a glove, being in bands like Crimson – the deal was we let them do their own thing and Mel loved the band for that. We gave him one playback and told him, ‘Here are the chords – have fun!’ I was delighted to play with Vinnie, who was on drums for Lore.’”

Donockley cites Lore (1996) as being among Clannad’s very best outings, calling it “their most prog album for me, just in its ‘this is us’ approach. It’s a massive-sounding album, and to me was a killer return to form.”

He went on to work with Moya Brennan on her solo album Two Horizons, and recalls “late nights round the kitchen table with Pol, initiating him into the cosmic wonders of Thomas Tallis.” He adds: “They’re a delight to be with. Moya is the real thing and Pol is deeply splendid, and definitely progressive in his total willingness to experiment.”

The Brennan brothers – Pol returned to the fold for 2013 album Nadur – are comfortable with Clannad being described as a prog band, and themselves as prog musicians. “It started for me when I discovered my father had a double bass from his showband days, which I jumped on without lessons,” Ciaran says. “The influences just came out as soon as we rehearsed in my father’s tavern. I would be in charge of a lot of the arrangement and whatever I was listening to at the time went in.”

Pol believes the attitude of blending influences which haven’t previously been put together remains a strong element of his band’s music – and of the entire prog world. Namechecking fledgling Irish outfit Shattered Skies, he says: “Prog is just huge, isn’t it? When I go to write, the first part is a riff for me, and the prog bands I listen to are all riffs and counter-riffs with amazing syncopation.

“The thing with me is, I’ve always rocked the thing out. In my head I’ve always looked for the riff, looked for a bit more cut into anything. When we’re doing a nice ethereal thing, I’m like, ‘It’s really nice, but we need to get a cut through it.’ Unconsciously it was always a part of the sound, and it was as important as the ethereal stuff.”

Rocked out or not, there’s certainly a lot more to this mystic crew than anyone would expect.

Album Review: Kamelot – Dark Asylum

Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez

In the ever changing and challenging landscape that is the live music industry, longevity is everything. Many bands perish before really getting established. How many bands last thirty five years? How many bands can consistently push out thirteen full length albums that set the standard for others in their sub genre to be compared against? Very few, that’s for sure.

Enter Kamelot.

On the eve of a sixteen date European tour and a fourteenth studio album ‘’Dark Asylum”, the North Americans are showing zero signs of showing down!

“Dark Asylum” kicks off with the cinematic display of ‘Sanctorium’. This could make a fantastic opening segment to a concert – like when they come to Manchester in early November! It’s always fun when bands arrange their songs into a concept and overarching theme – like Pyramaze and their criminally underrated “Legend of The Bone Carver”. Understanding the context of “Dark Asylum” and the underlying theme helps to understand and process the lyrics on a deeper level. The theme of a soul trapped in a former cathedral-turned-asylum and the inherent experiences of the psychological torment and self-discovery is explored. ‘Cassandra’s Disease’ is perhaps the best example of this, with Tommy’s vocal delivery portraying that of a soul in genuine distress and in grave peril in a very convincing and believable performance.

Though if you’re not following this narrative, and just dipping into the music bit by bit, you’ll find everything you’d expect from a power metal album. From the choppy rhythms and high tempo through to the blazing lead guitar solos, they’re all built upon an undeniable melodic and symphonic foundation. The foundation provided by Oliver’s expertly deployed array of keys and synths. Just keeping a single guitar in the lineup helps for them to shine in the mix. As opposed to a dual guitar set up which may drown out this melodic component that’s essential to the band’s sound.

Though it’s not all fast rhythms and blazing leads – though ‘Godlike Alchemy’ is a fantastic track to check out if you like that sort of thing. No, you’ll find stripped down ballads like ‘Ivy, My Dear’. The drums and distorted guitars take a break, and the tin whistles and harps provide an epic medieval style backdrop for the ballad to unfold. In the live arena, the lights will go down, the camera phone lights will come on (or a lighter if you’re old school), and hundreds will be singing along in unison to the heavily infectious chorus! Isn’t that what power metal is all about? Recreating that spirit of the drunken tavern hall sing-a-longs? Kamelot captures that spirit perfectly here.

Let’s face it, we live in an attention deficit society whereby listeners are becoming easily distracted. With literally thousands of artists available at your finger tips via streaming sites, there’s more choice than ever before. That’s why a fourteen track album may appease those who prefer a deep listen on a CD they’ve purchased, but may dissuade casual fans who aren’t willing to invest so much time. It’s all about perspective.

Guest musicians. They can certainly enhance an album. Especially with Miss World Chile champion Ignacia Fernández lending her vocals to ‘Ashen World’ and ‘Sanctuary’.

Especially with her blood curdling growls! However, having a total of six guest musicians on four out of fourteen songs begins to raise questions about the capabilities within the band itself and dilutes their talent. In addition, how can Kamelot play songs live without the harsher growl vocals of Ignacia? Hiring guest vocalists may be an option but then it’s like having a substitute teacher; it’s just not the same!

Overall, a solid effort from one of the standard bearers for the genre. Everything you’d expect from symphonic power metal, and executed to a high standard.

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

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Album Review: Miscreance – Reminiscence

Reviewed by Sam Jones

Introduced to the band last year in the run up for Kill-Town Death Fest’s 2025 edition, Miscreance were labelled as an Italian Coroner initiating my Neuron Activation, convincing me to give them a check out. Their 2022 Convergence record was a breath of fresh air in my books, delivering the technical threads and death metal medley I was pining for prior to Coroner’s own studio comeback. After experiencing the band live themselves and the news of a new record on the horizon. I am thoroughly on board with whatever Miscreance can throw at me. Originally formed in 2013 out of Veneto, Italy, as Atomic Massacre they released just an EP and a Demo before becoming Miscreance in 2018 and soon unleashed their Coroner-influenced style upon us. Reminiscence, their second album, is due out August 28th and this time through Season Of Mist. I was very excited to get started.

If Miscreance wanted to demonstrate their last album was no mere stylistic one-off then Reminiscence proves that right out of the gate. With basslines nicely audible, drums that always leave you guessing and a riff attack that’s as predictable as the lottery, Miscreance arguably go even harder on the technicality of their sound than their last outing did. It’s the sheer breadth of ideas and techniques they’ll employ throughout a single song that makes them worth checking out, with blast beats and alternating strumming sequences, leading into flying solos all the while the rhythm guitar continues its discordant assault. Miscreance have rapidly established their sound as one merging juxtaposing aesthetics and yet make it work.

Whilst this praise towards Miscreanxe is thoroughly earned, we must remember they’re always playing at significant speed. Their style is a technical thrash/death metal attack and they aren’t sleeping on the technical element; I can’t conceive of the writing and consensus that must go into crafting a record like Reminiscence given how quickly they play. A less-capable band would have slowed their momentum to give aid to their own ability to perform but Miscreance throw caution to the wind and unleash a succession of volleys that would make other thrash acts whimper. The unpredictability of their songwriting means a single track can have more crammed into it than other bands have across a full record, and since it’s always changing up you’ll constantly be on your toes watching for the next surprise.

As you continue listening you’ll be amazed at how deliberate all of Miscreance’s songwriting is here. Yes, they’re playing at speed and present just how precise their playing is, and how they’re willing to shake up the playing field their sound represents, but it’s worth noting how everything has its timing and its position in the track they’re playing. The momentum may be wild but it’s not like they’re thrashing around (pun unintended) around control over their faculties; if a riff or specific note is present it’s because it was planned there intentionally. The way they’re able to convey differing tempo as well through methodical playing and writing so it’s not some jarring change is also on point too. It really is a thinking person’s thrash.

But we can’t think Miscreance’s performance results in some superfluous stream of technical thrash where the atmosphere is weightless; there are several key moments where the impact they deliver truly hits its mark, creating these stomping sequences where it feels overtly stronger because the band aren’t necessarily bringing devastating, crushing levels at every moment. That’s not their prerogative so when that feeling is inferred it’s much more potent because the technical edge is the reason they write, and the reason fans return to them too.

In conclusion, Reminiscence sees Miscreance truly embrace and further the technicality they made their own on their last record, though I do feel they’ve taken it that necessary step further herein, a step that was entirely needed to distance themselves not only from their influences but also their contemporaries. There really aren’t many bands like Miscreance kicking around right now who are willing to play this fast with the complex songwriting they’ve got on display. Multiple listens are therefore rewarded due to your discovering of aspects you will have naturally missed on your first time and that’s completely okay, it’ll only deepen your adoration of Miscreance’s madness. At just forty minutes Reminiscence gets what it needs to do out of the way whilst providing a real plethora of exciting material to sink your teeth into. A worthwhile thrash album amongst the greater lot for 2026.

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

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Album Review: Ninth Realm – Damnation’s Veil

Reviewed by Rich Oliver

Thrash is generally seen as one of the most straightforward styles of metal but in reality it is quite a versatile genre – it can be fun, melodic, technical or it can just smash your skull in with pure violence and aggression. Maryland five piece Ninth Realm definitely fall into the latter category and ramp things up with their second album “Damnation’s Veil” which is an exercise in no holds barred thrashing.

Ninth Realm have a vicious concoction where they mix old school thrash, death metal and hardcore together in bludgeoning style in thirty seven minutes of neck wrecking action. “Damnation’s Veil” is an album that rarely pauses for breath with the only slower moments being the intro ‘Valigeth’ and the interlude ‘Orphaned Throne’. The rest of the album is explosive death thrash with songs such as ‘Rituals In Thar’amath’, ‘Vengeance Unto Rot’ and the title track being lessons in violence. A few influences from traditional heavy metal can also be heard throughout the album especially in closer ‘Twilight’s Blade’.

With this album generally being the vicious end of thrash, the vocals from Ben Hageage match that intensity being a vicious bark whilst the guitar team of Charlie House and Liam McMahon unleash crushing riffs and ripping solos. The rhythm section of bassist Amelia Morris and drummer Joey Burke hold down tbe low end and unleash devastating rhythmic attack. The lyrics are also based from Joey’s fictional “dark fantasy world, Tythorin – a setting shaped by themes of vengeance, fate, grief, trauma, and the indomitable willpower of the human spirit”.

If you fancy an album that sounds like the bastard offspring of Bolt Thrower, Power Trip and Mercyful Fate then “Damnation’s Veil” is perfect for you. It is an album that pulls no punches and doesn’t fuck around being a nicely concise thirty seven minutes of quality over quantity. I was a big fan of Ninth Realm’s debut album “A Fate Unbroken” and this takes their sound further and into darker and more aggressive territory. Ninth Realm aren’t out to rewrite the rulebook when it comes to metal but rather draw from their musical influences, weave in their own lyrical concepts and sound like they are having a blast doing it. Nearly 45 years into its existence, thrash metal still sounds killer and Ninth Realm are one of the band’s keeping the thrash torch burning bright.

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

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At yesterday’s ‘Göteborg Brinner’ festival in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The post Watch: Dark Tranquillity & In Flames’ Anders Fridén Paid Tribute To Tomas Lindberg With A Cover Of At The Gates’ “Blinded By Fear” appeared first on Theprp.com.

Ozzfest, sushi, tributes, doom and more.

The post Here’s This Week’s Top Ten Stories On Theprp.com (August 23rd, 2026) appeared first on Theprp.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CANDLEPOWER RECORDS SIGNS LOS ANGELES PROGRESSIVE METAL POWERHOUSE STRYFE
Dynamic Southern California Band Joins Candlepower Records Through Virgin Music Group/UMG; New Single “Breathe” Available Now
LOS ANGELES, CA — Candlepower Records and ElectraCast Media are proud to announce a new distribution agreement with Los Angeles-based progressive metal powerhouse Stryfe , bringing the band into the Candlepower Records family with distribution through Virgin Music Group/UMG .
The partnership marks an exciting new chapter for Stryfe, whose dynamic combination of heavy rock, progressive metal, intricate arrangements, and commanding vocals has established the band as one of Southern California’s distinctive rising metal acts.
The first release from Stryfe through Candlepower Records, “Breathe,” is available now on all major streaming platforms.
Listen to “Breathe” and find Stryfe online:
https://music.stryfeband.com/single
A Band Built for the Big Stage

Candlepower Records first discovered Stryfe in a packed house at The Viper Room , where the band’s commanding live performance immediately caught the attention of label co-founder Diego Negrete .
Stryfe delivered a set so compelling that Negrete could instantly envision the band commanding a much larger stage.
“It was easy for me to imagine the entire show on stage at The Forum,” says Negrete.
That ability to connect with an audience while delivering sophisticated, hard-hitting musicianship is at the heart of what makes Stryfe stand out.
The band’s sound brings together progressive metal and heavy rock while drawing from Armenian classical and folk traditions, creating a sonic identity that is both adventurous and accessible. Each member brings decades of musical experience and a diverse cultural and artistic background to the group, resulting in songs that are technically impressive without sacrificing emotion, melody, or impact.
Stryfe isn’t simply interested in writing songs that sound good on record. They’re creating music designed to be experienced live, remembered long after the final note, and carried with listeners wherever they go.
The Critics Have Spoken

Stryfe’s distinctive sound has already earned praise from music media:


“Stryfe delivers a very lively sound consisting of heavy rock accents, harmonious chord arrangements and powerful captivating vocals. The best way to describe the sound is a modern metal band with progressive ambitions… Giving the group a unique yet familiar sound.”
— Soundmagnet




“A sound that has an alternative flavor but is ultimately dominated by progressive metal in a positive way.”
— World Of Metal Magazine




“Hard hitting. Riff driven. Both relentlessly upbeat and laced with brooding intensity.”
— V13 Media




“Metal rock powerhouse… Stryfe delivers music that is as technically compelling as it is emotionally resonant. Fusing intricate arrangements with influences ranging from progressive metal to Armenian classical and folk traditions, they create a rich sonic tapestry.”
— Wormholedeath Records


For fans of Tool, Fates Warning, Dream Theater, Butterfly Effect, and Karnivool , Stryfe offers a powerful meeting point between progressive ambition, heavy riffs, memorable songwriting, and emotionally charged performance.
This is Stryfe’s next chapter. And they’re ready to turn it up.
Candlepower Records: Built By Musicians, For Musicians

Founded by hard rock veterans Diego Negrete and Bill Metoyer , Candlepower Records is a division of ElectraCast Media built around decades of real-world experience in the music business.
Negrete is a founding member of 1980s metal band MX Machine and a three-time Primetime Emmy Certificate recipient. Metoyer is the former Vice President of Metal Blade Records and has produced and engineered recordings for some of heavy metal’s most influential names, including Slayer, D.R.I., Fates Warning, and Dark Angel .
With Candlepower Records, that experience is now being brought directly to a new generation of artists.
The signing of Stryfe represents a natural fit between a band with a powerful and forward-thinking sound and a label founded by musicians who understand what it takes to build a lasting career in heavy music.
“Breathe” Is Available Now

Stryfe’s first Candlepower Records release, “Breathe,” is available now .
Listen, stream, and connect with the band:
Stryfe Official Music & Social Links:
https://music.stryfeband.com/single

Candlepower Records:
https://candlepowerrecords.com/contact
Candlepower Records and Stryfe are ready for the next level.
Let’s Go!

Their first four tracks are now available.

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