Mad About Rock

2018 will go down in the history as an important year for KORPIKLAANI. The band celebrated its 15th anniversary, released their 10th album 'Kulkija' and finally wrapped up the year with a successful North American tour in December. 2019 will be just as busy. The Finnish Folk Metal Superstars will start the year with an 8-date Finnish tour and will be joined on stage with a brass section from Lahti Sinfonia. With KORPIKLAANI attracting a wide and varied audience, it is especially nice that the tour includes also two all-ages shows at Nosturi in Helsinki and Finlandia Klubi in Lahti. The show in Helsinki will be opened by WALTARI and the Norwegian TROLLFEST, while all Finnish shows will also be supported by PROFANE OMEN who recently released their latest album 'Ooka'. After the Finnish tour, KORPIKLAANI will continue their worldwide 'Kulkija' -tour with a month-long European run with TURISAS and TROLLFEST and in May, the band will once again head down to Austr...

Get ready as something special is about to be unleashed, heed “The Calling”, it‘s a killer slab of high quality melodic metal mixed and mastered by Lasse Lammert (Alestorm, Gloryhammer) and contains the following tracks: 1.Possess Me 2.Demons Inside 3.Overdrive 4.Curse Of Olympus 5.No Survivors 6.Memories Lost 7.Into The Light 8.Into The Dark 9.Tempest Returns 10.The Calling The album cover was designed by Claudio Bergamin (Judas Priest, Battle Beast). Check out the video for the brand new track “Overdrive” below: Here‘s what the band had to say about it: "This was the first song we wrote for this album, it's about how it feels to be firing on all cylinders again. We tell this through the tale of a Mad Max style character, knocking down everyone who stands in his way, settling old scores before carrying on his journey. The song has all that euphoria and drive chanelled into it, alternating between fast, slamming riffs and big melodic chord progressions topped ...

ALESTORM UNVEIL DETAILS FOR RE-RELEASE OF DEBUT ALBUM!  'Captain Morgan`s Revenge - 10th Anniversary Edition' Coming in January 2018! Back in 2008, ALESTORM were mere newcomers and beginners - and yet they created a modern metal classic and a completely new subgenre. Captain Morgan`s Revenge marks the birth of Pirate Metal as we know it today and turned a couple of young Scotsmen into the hottest band the modern metal scene has to offer! Ten years later and sold-out shows all over the world, their boozy debut gets its well-deserved anniversary treatment and will be re-released on January 26th 2018 with Napalm Records! Captain Morgan`s Revenge – 10th Anniversary Edition has received a fresh remix and remastering by original producer Lasse Lammert at his LSD studios and will be coming with a rejuvenated artwork. Alongside the 'Live At Summer Breeze' bonus disc, this re-release will be a true gem for all collectors, new fans and nostalgics alike! The pirates about...

So the new Stencil Mag is out today (May 31st) and this was a big issue yet again for me as I got to interview frontman Christopher Bowes from Alestorm  as well as Wednesday 13 as part of the Download Festival focus! Alestorm interview here:  https://issuu.com/stencilmag/docs/issue43/94 Wednesday 13 interview:  https://issuu.com/stencilmag/docs/issue43/86 Following on from the Download Festival theme I also contributed to the festival preview and wrote about AFI , Opeth , Alter Bridge and In Flames :  https://issuu.com/stencilmag/docs/issue43/220 And as always I did some reviews: Alestorm:  https://issuu.com/stencilmag/docs/issue43/178 Six Impossible Things:  https://issuu.com/stencilmag/docs/issue43/178 Wednesday 13 :  https://issuu.com/stencilmag/docs/issue43/180 Incubus :  https://issuu.com/stencilmag/docs/issue43/180 Bleed Again :  https://issuu.com/stencilmag/docs/issue43/184 Enjoy! Check all this out and more...

Scallywags Alestorm Temporarily Dock To Start Next Musical Adventure Titled "No Grave But The Sea"! Popular Pirate Metal act Alestorm from Scotland have just revealed they are heading to the studios to work on their next swashbuckling release. The band said:  " We are very thrilled to announce that we have entered the studio to record our fifth full-length album, entitled "NO GRAVE BUT THE SEA"!  We will be spending the next month at Alpaca Ranch Recording Studio in Orlando, USA, with producer Lasse Lammert once again at the helm. This will also be the first full release featuring our grandiose guitarist Máté Bodor! This is the point where we would usually tell you this album is going to be darker and heavier than our previous works, but that's probably not true. It is, however, full of epic songs about pirates, drinking, and pseudoscientific cryptogeography. We'll have a bunch more updates for you over the coming weeks and months, including ...

      It’s a Sunday Night and many of us will have work in the morning but that’s not stopping us from packing out the venue at Concorde 2 in Brighton where a mass of pirates have descended to witness Alestorm’s Piratefest.. The first support act Red Rum , are such a superb and appropriate band to support the mighty swash buckling scallywag’s that are Alestorm! Sometimes the first support band doesn’t grab the crowd’s attention, but Red Rum didn’t suffer this fate! They had the crowd dancing, singing and stomping their feet like they were crew on the decks of a drunken pirate party! This six piece neoclassical pirate metal band from East Midlands showed Brighton a hell of a good and hearty time, especially with their brilliant Lord Of The Rings rendition which fitted in nicely with their set! If you weren’t a fan before today you will be now! The second support act, Lagerstein hailing from Australia who describe themselves as ‘drunken pirate metal’ ke...

    Scottish Metallers, Alestorm are known for their pirate themes and are back after three years with their fourth album and follow up to, 'Back Through Time', so are you ready to board the swash buckling pirates boat again?!.. Opening song, 'Walk The Plank' opens on an upbeat triumphant note and showcases a more symphonic epic sound, which displays a more serious and refined side to them immediately, all the while embracing their catchy wonderful pirate sound! Enjoying yourself on their quest, stick around for 'Drink', which could well compete with their best and most infectious anthems to date! You will find you can't stop listening to this and will have found your new weekend tune to get merry to and have a blast with your mates! 'Magnetic North' again demonstrates their slight change in sound, possessing their nautical elements but mixed with heavier sections also. '1971 (The Battle of Cartagena)' is an truly epic su...

Darkest Era are a celtic metal band from Northern Ireland, although not just strictly celtic metal as they have other genres mixed in to create their epic sound. The band signed with the mighty Metal Blade Records back in 2010 and released their first full length debut through the label, the brilliant, "The Last Caress Of Light". This band is one to look out for! They have recently just finished a 14 date tour with 'pirate metal' band, Alestorm and Australian folk metal band, Claim The Throne on the "Useless Drunken Bastards" UK and Ireland tour in February 2012. I was lucky enough to witness all 3 bands in action on the 14th of February in Brighton at The Haunt. If you haven't seen Darkest Era or heard their music, you best do it now! I asked guitarist, Ade Mulgrew about touring with Alestorm, live shows, signing with Metal Blade Records and what the future holds... So I saw you at The Haunt in Brighton on the February 14 th , and th...