Metal Update – 28 February 2018
The endless torrent of news regarding new albums continues. I’m actually really enjoying this series, as it feels like I’m keeping on top of things more. Mind you, almost every week I’m blindsided by news about an album that I didn’t even know was on the cards. Last time, it was a new record from Ihsahn, the time before that, it was Tomorrow’s Eve.
There’s no such revelation this time around, just a bunch of really exciting information brought to you in my usual newsletter style. Hopefully there’s something interesting for you all in the following post:
Evergrey – TBC
Release date: TBC
Bearing in mind my love for everything Evergrey, you can count on me to watch all updates, all interviews and everything else that has something to do with the mercurial Swedes. It’s like an addiction. The addiction does pay off though because within the interview below, aside from the usual questions and answers, we get a little bit of information about the next Evergrey album, right at the end.
At 10:41, Rikard Zander and Jonas Ekdahl confirm that their future is dominated by writing new material. They state that they’ll be writing the new album until late Spring. The plan is to then record the album in the summer, with a release date of January 2019 the aim.
So there we have it. I’d heard a rumour that Evergrey might wait until 2019 to release their eleventh album, but now we have it confirmed. We must be patient. But as they say, you can’t rush genius!
And then, just to whet the appetite further and prove that things are happening in the world of Evergrey, we get this photo, with the strapline: “Setting up the HQ computers! It’s officially on!” Hurrah!
Kingcrow – The Persistence
Release date: TBC
The news regarding Evergrey is all the more important now because it means that the biggest challenge to Kingcrow during 2018 has stepped aside. Therefore, if ‘The Persistence’ can get released this year, it has an even better chance of being top dog.
Admit it, how many of you are getting thoroughly bored by now of my constant Kingcrow updates? But more importantly, how many of you have finally taken the plunge and checked them out based on my persistent updates? And if you have, what did you think? Well, either way, I’m not going to stop, so I’ll convert you all to the cause in the end! Here’s a song off their ‘In Crescendo’ album today to enjoy while we wait for some news…any news.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4sNpc-fvPw&w=560&h=315]
Kamelot – The Shadow Theory
Release date: 6 April 2018
Now that we have the artwork and the release date all sewn up, how about a taster of the music that will feature on ‘The Shadow Theory’? Well, your wish is my command as I’m able to bring you a minute-long teaser post that gives us a few seconds at a time of some of the music.
It is so hard to get to grips with the songs in this format, but having listened a few times, I can say that at least I’m sufficiently interested in hearing more. The music hasn’t veered off into leftfield territory, but I get the impression that it might be a bit darker, a bit heavier and possibly even a bit more varied than the last few albums. I hope that my impressions are proved correct.
The biggest downside? ‘The Shadow Theory’ is being released on Napalm Records, the latest in an ever-growing line of labels to only offer streams of promos to us journalists. It means that I’ll be up against it in order to bring a detailed, in-depth review to you all ahead of the release date because my life away from manofmuchmetal.com means that it is nearly impossible to find time to sit by a computer and stream the music. At least if I can download it, I can listen to the music in the car and most importantly, whilst I take the dog out for a walk. Most of my ‘epiphany’ moments occur whilst exercising my pooch, because I can give it my undivided attention.
It won’t happen yet, but if too many labels go this way and don’t essentially trust us, I’ll have to cease this website. And I’d hate to do that.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sD-BFcx94Q&w=560&h=315]
At The Gates – To Drink From the Night Itself
Release date: 18 May 2018
I brought you news about the title of the upcoming At The Gates album a little while ago within one of these update posts. Well now we can add another piece or two to the jigsaw, namely the cover art and the track-listing. The cover art was inspired by the Pergamon Altar and it links closely to the concept that features on this record. So it’s a new album from At The Gates and also a concept disc. As a fan of concept albums, this is great news for me.
The track-list is as follows: 1. Der Widerstand, 2. To Drink From The Night Itself, 3. A Stare Bound In Stone, 4. Palace Of Lepers, 5. Daggers Of Black Haze, 6. The Chasm, 7. In Nameless Sleep, 8. The Colours Of The Beast, 9. A Labyrinth Of Tombs, 10. Seas Of Starvation, 11. In Death They Shall Burn, 12. The Mirror Black
Apparently, we can also expect the release of the first single in the not-too-distant future, so rest assured, I’ll bring this to you as soon as we have it.
Riverside – TBC
Release date: TBC
Not a huge update today, but any news is good news where Riverside is concerned. The following photo might not tell us much, but it at least confirms that the recording process is under way for album number seven, after a few hints earlier in the year. I’m not a knowledgeable chap regarding equipment, but even I can tell that the instrument upon which Mariusz Duda is slumped looks old or ‘classic’, so maybe that gives us a clue or two. Other than that, the excitement just jumps up a notch and, despite the apparent frustration or tiredness of the two faces in the studio, I’m sure the final result will be worth the wait.
Omnium Gatherum – ‘The Burning Cold’ (working title)
Release date: TBC
In the process of writing this post, Finnish melodic death metal band Omnium Gatherum have seen fit to release another snippet from the studio, to add to the copious amount of studio photos they’ve released of late. The video focuses on the guitars and the bass recordings and whilst it may only be a minute long, it gives us a really nice insight into the new record. All I can say is: those riffs and those solos – I cannot wait to hear more now, from the masters of ‘adult-oriented death metal’!
If you’ve missed any of my other updates in this series during 2018 so far, they can be accessed via the following links.
Metal update – 25 February
Metal update – 23 February
Metal update – 21 February
Metal update – 17 February
Metal update – 12 February
Metal update – 6 February
