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Ella Perez (Babe,) Catherine Ariale (Lady,) Tyler Pirrung (Bob Mackie,) and Morgan Scott (Star) Photo by Meredith Mashburn Photography…

Hi! Emma here. Bringing CPRW back from the dead for one day only.

Hi! Emma here. Bringing CPRW back from the dead for one day only.

Tracklist
1. Volens Discordant (1:02)
2. EPIC (4:35)
3. Miserere (3:51) [WATCH]
4. Exercitus Irae (4:01)
5. Mephisto Manifesto (05:05)
6. Scorcher (03:21) [WATCH]
7. Invictus (5:30) [LISTEN]
8. Nature’s Fangs (3:52)
9. Spoils of War (5:54)
Total runtime: 37:16

Style: Dark Extreme Metal
FFO: Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Cryptopsy










Extreme metal powerhouse VLTIMAS (pronounced ‘uhl-tuh-mas’) assault metaldom once more with their highly-anticipated sophomore album, EPIC, through Season of Mist. Featuring Norwegian guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen (ex-Mayhem, RUÏM), American vocalist David Vincent (ex-Morbid Angel), and Canadian drummer Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy), the multinational quintet, rounded out by Dutch bassist Ype TVS (ex-Dodecahedron) and Portuguese guitarist João Duarte (Corpus Christii), continue to venture down their path. Moored by strength and integrity, VLTIMAS fortified their signature with wicked invention, as applauded by Decibel Magazine, BangerTV, Louder, and many others, on their debut, Something Wicked Marches In (2019). Singles “Miserere,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus” showcase a band of musicians at the top of their game, united in their pursuit of oneness.
“We wrote every bit of EPIC together at my ranch in Dime Box, Texas,” offers Vincent. “The writing sessions were as organic as they could be. There were times when, at the end of the night, Rune would take his guitar and play something ridiculous. Flo would play something even more ridiculous on top of it. I’d say to the guys, ‘I need to capture this.’ So, the magic [of VLTIMAS] is being in the same room together, discussing, playing, and recording music and everything else we’re doing together. We have unbelievable camaraderie.”

While the members of VLTIMAS are not atavists, their preferred creative methods are time-tested and battle-hardened. Technology has its place, but the group thrive when they’re together, not separated by the world. Eriksen, renowned as a riff innovator, is more effective when he’s got a highly capable sideman like Vincent or Mounier, whose drumming in Cryptopsy and his celebrated instructional Extreme Metal Drumming 101 DVD has proven to be a no-limits player, by his side. Whether it’s the moody, angular attack of “Miserere,” the wicked groove of “Mephisto Manifesto,” or the dark fury of “Nature’s Fangs,” the chemistry and enterprise of VLTIMAS is undeniable.

“The main goal [of VLTIMAS] is to be real,” Eriksen reveals. “To channel the very moment, to let true inspiration out. I don’t believe I ever set myself a goal on what an album should or needs to sound like before I or we write it because that means I have to compromise during the process. For EPIC, we focused on more direct songs, trimming the fat, as opposed to Something Wicked Marches In, which had a progressive and ‘playful’ flair.”

VLTIMAS was a profane concept—a constellation of riffs against a modest frame—when formed by Eriksen in 2015. After departing Mayhem in 2008 and putting his gothic doom outfit Ava Inferi to rest in 2013, the Norwegian’s fingers still itched with infernal fury. VLTIMAS was his vent, and when Mounier and Vincent joined, he finally had the cadre of professionals to make it a reality. Together, they devised complementary schemes and themes rooted in rightness. In a world gone mad, VLTIMAS had a vision. On Something Wicked Marches In, they commanded attention with metaphors about the apocalypse, the ancient goddess Lilith, and truth. Lyrically, EPIC spears into the very nucleus of strength through Vincent’s brio of double entendre and clever wordsmithing. The songs are designed to be heard, read, and interpreted—there are no shortcuts.
“Everything we’re doing and messaging is about strength and honor,” says Vincent. “These are the fundamentals that I incorporate into my life, which I believe in. I want to share with others, hoping they’ll incorporate strength and honor into their lives. I wouldn’t say I like spelling lyrics out. I use a lot of double meanings on purpose because I want to inspire the listener to think. I’m not a short attention span guy, and I don’t appreciate it. EPIC is holistic and meant to be experienced that way.”

EPIC was recorded by producer Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Grave Miasma) with engineer Jonathan Mazzeo (First Fragment, Sickening) at Arda Recorders in Porto, Portugal. VLTIMAS tracked the album throughout May 2023. Arellano also handled the mix and master. Like everything the band does, the main goal was to be honest. The maxim of no sample replacement or re-amping—EPIC was captured on outboard gear—was adhered to and enjoyed by the team. The result is a sonic expression that sounds like nothing else. From the crushing title track to the epic musicality of closer “Spoils of War,” EPIC is an absolute beast.

“Stress, long walks, too much alcohol, yet very focused once in the recording mode,” Eriksen says of the sessions. “We booked a month, but somehow, that flew by instantly. We worked up until the very end. I even added a few solos at my local Soundscape Studio in Almada, Portugal. Art unfolds, and once you think you are done, there’s always another idea popping up.”

VLTIMAS brought Italian artist Daniele Valeriani (Mayhem, Unanimated) to visualize EPIC. The aesthetic, as illuminated by music and message, was iconic boldness. The three-eagle head crest with three different crowns, accompanied by transfigured symbols of the Passion and the “impossible triangle,” projects effortlessly. In EPIC, the group will dominate. There’s no escape from “Miserere,” “Mephisto Manifesto,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus.” Together, they thrust, by resolve and inventiveness, VLTIMAS into the uppermost echelons of extreme metal.

“[EPIC is] old meets contemporary, a symbiosis of all the great things we love about extreme metal,” offers Eriksen. “All combined into one album.”

“I want to be as emotional and honest [with VLTIMAS],” Vincent adds. “I want to tell stories; I want to have the themes that appeal to me; I want to have some messaging that someone can take away, in this case, strength. EPIC is strength.”
Lineup
David Vincent – Vocals
Rune Blasphemer Eriksen – Guitars
Flo Mounier – Drums
Ype TVS – Bass
João Duarte – Guitars

Recording studio
ARDA Recorders

Producer
Jamie Gomez Arellano

Sound engineer
Jonathan Mazzeo

Mixing and mastering engineer
Jaime Gomez Arellano

Mixing and mastering studio
Arda Recorders, Orgone Studio

Cover art
Daniele Valeriani

Additional artwork and layout
Adrien Bousson

Biography
Chris Dick

Pre-save: https://orcd.co/vltimasepic

Pre-order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/VLTIMASEPIC 

Links:
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/vltimas/1445457453
Bandcamp: https://vltimas.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vltimas/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vltimas/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0kz64zyv2xtkdhboztpdwa
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/vltimas?lang=en

Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Skull Gold
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Dracula
12″ Picture Vinyl

Tracklist
1. Volens Discordant (1:02)
2. EPIC (4:35)
3. Miserere (3:51) [WATCH]
4. Exercitus Irae (4:01)
5. Mephisto Manifesto (05:05)
6. Scorcher (03:21) [WATCH]
7. Invictus (5:30) [LISTEN]
8. Nature’s Fangs (3:52)
9. Spoils of War (5:54)
Total runtime: 37:16

Style: Dark Extreme Metal
FFO: Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Cryptopsy










Extreme metal powerhouse VLTIMAS (pronounced ‘uhl-tuh-mas’) assault metaldom once more with their highly-anticipated sophomore album, EPIC, through Season of Mist. Featuring Norwegian guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen (ex-Mayhem, RUÏM), American vocalist David Vincent (ex-Morbid Angel), and Canadian drummer Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy), the multinational quintet, rounded out by Dutch bassist Ype TVS (ex-Dodecahedron) and Portuguese guitarist João Duarte (Corpus Christii), continue to venture down their path. Moored by strength and integrity, VLTIMAS fortified their signature with wicked invention, as applauded by Decibel Magazine, BangerTV, Louder, and many others, on their debut, Something Wicked Marches In (2019). Singles “Miserere,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus” showcase a band of musicians at the top of their game, united in their pursuit of oneness.
“We wrote every bit of EPIC together at my ranch in Dime Box, Texas,” offers Vincent. “The writing sessions were as organic as they could be. There were times when, at the end of the night, Rune would take his guitar and play something ridiculous. Flo would play something even more ridiculous on top of it. I’d say to the guys, ‘I need to capture this.’ So, the magic [of VLTIMAS] is being in the same room together, discussing, playing, and recording music and everything else we’re doing together. We have unbelievable camaraderie.”

While the members of VLTIMAS are not atavists, their preferred creative methods are time-tested and battle-hardened. Technology has its place, but the group thrive when they’re together, not separated by the world. Eriksen, renowned as a riff innovator, is more effective when he’s got a highly capable sideman like Vincent or Mounier, whose drumming in Cryptopsy and his celebrated instructional Extreme Metal Drumming 101 DVD has proven to be a no-limits player, by his side. Whether it’s the moody, angular attack of “Miserere,” the wicked groove of “Mephisto Manifesto,” or the dark fury of “Nature’s Fangs,” the chemistry and enterprise of VLTIMAS is undeniable.

“The main goal [of VLTIMAS] is to be real,” Eriksen reveals. “To channel the very moment, to let true inspiration out. I don’t believe I ever set myself a goal on what an album should or needs to sound like before I or we write it because that means I have to compromise during the process. For EPIC, we focused on more direct songs, trimming the fat, as opposed to Something Wicked Marches In, which had a progressive and ‘playful’ flair.”

VLTIMAS was a profane concept—a constellation of riffs against a modest frame—when formed by Eriksen in 2015. After departing Mayhem in 2008 and putting his gothic doom outfit Ava Inferi to rest in 2013, the Norwegian’s fingers still itched with infernal fury. VLTIMAS was his vent, and when Mounier and Vincent joined, he finally had the cadre of professionals to make it a reality. Together, they devised complementary schemes and themes rooted in rightness. In a world gone mad, VLTIMAS had a vision. On Something Wicked Marches In, they commanded attention with metaphors about the apocalypse, the ancient goddess Lilith, and truth. Lyrically, EPIC spears into the very nucleus of strength through Vincent’s brio of double entendre and clever wordsmithing. The songs are designed to be heard, read, and interpreted—there are no shortcuts.
“Everything we’re doing and messaging is about strength and honor,” says Vincent. “These are the fundamentals that I incorporate into my life, which I believe in. I want to share with others, hoping they’ll incorporate strength and honor into their lives. I wouldn’t say I like spelling lyrics out. I use a lot of double meanings on purpose because I want to inspire the listener to think. I’m not a short attention span guy, and I don’t appreciate it. EPIC is holistic and meant to be experienced that way.”

EPIC was recorded by producer Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Grave Miasma) with engineer Jonathan Mazzeo (First Fragment, Sickening) at Arda Recorders in Porto, Portugal. VLTIMAS tracked the album throughout May 2023. Arellano also handled the mix and master. Like everything the band does, the main goal was to be honest. The maxim of no sample replacement or re-amping—EPIC was captured on outboard gear—was adhered to and enjoyed by the team. The result is a sonic expression that sounds like nothing else. From the crushing title track to the epic musicality of closer “Spoils of War,” EPIC is an absolute beast.

“Stress, long walks, too much alcohol, yet very focused once in the recording mode,” Eriksen says of the sessions. “We booked a month, but somehow, that flew by instantly. We worked up until the very end. I even added a few solos at my local Soundscape Studio in Almada, Portugal. Art unfolds, and once you think you are done, there’s always another idea popping up.”

VLTIMAS brought Italian artist Daniele Valeriani (Mayhem, Unanimated) to visualize EPIC. The aesthetic, as illuminated by music and message, was iconic boldness. The three-eagle head crest with three different crowns, accompanied by transfigured symbols of the Passion and the “impossible triangle,” projects effortlessly. In EPIC, the group will dominate. There’s no escape from “Miserere,” “Mephisto Manifesto,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus.” Together, they thrust, by resolve and inventiveness, VLTIMAS into the uppermost echelons of extreme metal.

“[EPIC is] old meets contemporary, a symbiosis of all the great things we love about extreme metal,” offers Eriksen. “All combined into one album.”

“I want to be as emotional and honest [with VLTIMAS],” Vincent adds. “I want to tell stories; I want to have the themes that appeal to me; I want to have some messaging that someone can take away, in this case, strength. EPIC is strength.”
Lineup
David Vincent – Vocals
Rune Blasphemer Eriksen – Guitars
Flo Mounier – Drums
Ype TVS – Bass
João Duarte – Guitars

Recording studio
ARDA Recorders

Producer
Jamie Gomez Arellano

Sound engineer
Jonathan Mazzeo

Mixing and mastering engineer
Jaime Gomez Arellano

Mixing and mastering studio
Arda Recorders, Orgone Studio

Cover art
Daniele Valeriani

Additional artwork and layout
Adrien Bousson

Biography
Chris Dick

Pre-save: https://orcd.co/vltimasepic

Pre-order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/VLTIMASEPIC 

Links:
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/vltimas/1445457453
Bandcamp: https://vltimas.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vltimas/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vltimas/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0kz64zyv2xtkdhboztpdwa
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/vltimas?lang=en

Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Skull Gold
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Dracula
12″ Picture Vinyl

 

Featuring Felícia Andrade’s versatile vocals, the band provides a preview of what’s to come on their upcoming album

Credits: Photo by Michel Villares (@meh.studio)

Preparing for a new and brutal chapter in their musical journey, the São Paulo-based Melodic Death/Thrash Metal band, Sophie’s Threat, has responded to their fans’ requests with the release of an explosive and intensified reimagining of their debut single, “Infernal Manipulation”, from 2022, now titled “Infernal Re-Manipulation (A New View)”, offering a preview of what’s to come. This meticulous renewal brings with it the impressive addition of the striking and powerful vocals of newcomer Felícia Andrade, the new member who promises to further elevate Sophie’s Threat‘s unique and aggressive sound. Listen on your preferred digital platform at: https://onerpm.link/264071729667 Production by Michel Villares (MeH Studios) Cover art by Yarles Silva Napoleão Tiago Carteano (drummer) shares his perspective on Felícia Andrade joining the band: “We had been familiar with Felícia’s work for some time, so her name was one of the first that came to mind. With the assistance of our producer, Michel Villares, we held auditions, recorded demos with all the candidates, and chose her due to her unique vocal timbre, versatility, excellent technique, and, most importantly, her clean and beautiful vocals. We always look for vocalists who can alternate between clean melodic vocals and guttural ones.” Regarding the re-recording of “Infernal Remanipulation (A New View)”, the musician commented: “After we released our four singles, we had an incredible reception from fans of the genre. With the departure of the previous vocalist, many of them wanted to know how the new vocalist would sound. So, to satisfy this curiosity, we decided to re-record our first single, which didn’t make it onto the EP ‘Phase One,’ as a glimpse of what we’re working on for the album.” In addition to Tiago Carteano (drums) and Felícia Andrade (vocals), the current lineup of Sophie’s Threat also includes Ricardo Oliveira (bass/guitar). At the moment, the trio is immersed in finalizing their debut full-length album, already titled “Enemy Within”, set to be released in the second half of 2024. Stay tuned for new and unreleased singles coming soon! Follow SOPHIE’S THREAT social media: Facebook: @sophiesthreat Instagram: @sophiesthreat YouTube: @sophiesthreat3860