Release Date: 27.09.2024.

The San Jose band RIPPED TO SHREDS are rising stars in the metal world thanks to their ferocious, electric take on death metal, largely inspired by their experiences as Asian-Americans.” – Stereogum
RIPPED TO SHREDS return with their highly anticipated new album, Sanshi. The band explodes out of the underground with all the blood-soaked hallmarks of the hellacious RIPPED TO SHREDS sound - an onslaught of frenetic dueling solos, blasting drums, and van Drunen-esque vocals that further fuse the grit and grime of old school Death Metal and Grind with the here and now. Helmed by guitarist and frontman Andrew Lee, RIPPED TO SHREDS are as fierce and focused as they've ever been.
Conceptually, Sanshi sees the band dig into a morbid fixation on death and the afterlife in the context of traditional Chinese folklore. Tracks like the lead single “Perverting the Funeral Rites,” is a song inspired by obscure funeral rites in Taiwan, wherein exotic dancers perform lithe rituals for living and dead alike. Elsewhere, “Force Fed” delves into the legend of Meng Po’s "Elixir of Forgetfulness", which when drunk by the dead wipes their memories clean before they are reborn into their next incarnation. “Living In Effigy” was inspired by real life tales of photographers traversing remote rural China, taking funeral portraits of the elderly who died in solitude.

Sanshi's cover art comes courtesy of Lee’s long-term collaborator, artist Guang Yang, and depicts a scene of Yan Luo Wang, The God of Hell, and the dead who must face his judgment in his demonic court.

Release Date: 27.09.2024.

The San Jose band RIPPED TO SHREDS are rising stars in the metal world thanks to their ferocious, electric take on death metal, largely inspired by their experiences as Asian-Americans.” – Stereogum
RIPPED TO SHREDS return with their highly anticipated new album, Sanshi. The band explodes out of the underground with all the blood-soaked hallmarks of the hellacious RIPPED TO SHREDS sound - an onslaught of frenetic dueling solos, blasting drums, and van Drunen-esque vocals that further fuse the grit and grime of old school Death Metal and Grind with the here and now. Helmed by guitarist and frontman Andrew Lee, RIPPED TO SHREDS are as fierce and focused as they've ever been.
Conceptually, Sanshi sees the band dig into a morbid fixation on death and the afterlife in the context of traditional Chinese folklore. Tracks like the lead single “Perverting the Funeral Rites,” is a song inspired by obscure funeral rites in Taiwan, wherein exotic dancers perform lithe rituals for living and dead alike. Elsewhere, “Force Fed” delves into the legend of Meng Po’s "Elixir of Forgetfulness", which when drunk by the dead wipes their memories clean before they are reborn into their next incarnation. “Living In Effigy” was inspired by real life tales of photographers traversing remote rural China, taking funeral portraits of the elderly who died in solitude.

Sanshi's cover art comes courtesy of Lee’s long-term collaborator, artist Guang Yang, and depicts a scene of Yan Luo Wang, The God of Hell, and the dead who must face his judgment in his demonic court.

Release Date: 29.03.2024.

Über Thrash Metal that might cause serious damage to body, mind & soul. Dead Head celebrates 35th anniversary with “Shadow Soul”!

Two years after their last album “Slave Driver” the Dutch quartet is releasing a new release called “Shadow Soul” on Hammerheart Records in time for their 35th birthday. “Shadow Soul” is Dead Head’s 8th record already and still we are convinced that these guys are one of the most underrated bands ever in the history of Thrash Metal. They never released anything weak or bad and what they release is top-tier Metal! “Shadow Soul” seamlessly follows this tradition, presenting a powerful continuation of their legacy.

So “Shadow Soul” is no surprise at all but if you like what Dead Head did in the past 35 years you will love their newest output just as much.While the album adheres to the band’s signature fast and aggressive Thrash Metal but here and there some Death Metal and even Heavy Metal arrangements have found their way into the song writing. The album offers mostly high-speed thrashing without any trends or unnecessary melodies and tunes.

The production is once again the excellent work of Erwin Hermsen (Toneshed Studio). It’s a well-balanced and it is kept very warm and not sterile which gives “Shadow Soul” a perfect atmosphere. The cover designed by Vladimir Chebakov is once again a very cool one.

Let’s hope that “Shadow Soul will solidify Dead Head’s position and give them the respect they have earned after all these years of thrashing madness! Happy birthday!

TRACKLIST

1. Litany of the Weak

2. Serpents of Fame

3. Caverns of Fate

4. Defiance

5. The Age of Hype

6. The Run

7. Opulent Disruption

8. Dark Emptiness

More Information

Band: DEAD HEAD

Title: SHADOW SOUL

Release Date: Mar 29, 2024

Genre: Thrash Death Metal

Edition: Limited Edition

Color: Orange

Packaging: tba

Release Date: 29.03.2024.

Über Thrash Metal that might cause serious damage to body, mind & soul. Dead Head celebrates 35th anniversary with “Shadow Soul”!

Two years after their last album “Slave Driver” the Dutch quartet is releasing a new release called “Shadow Soul” on Hammerheart Records in time for their 35th birthday. “Shadow Soul” is Dead Head’s 8th record already and still we are convinced that these guys are one of the most underrated bands ever in the history of Thrash Metal. They never released anything weak or bad and what they release is top-tier Metal! “Shadow Soul” seamlessly follows this tradition, presenting a powerful continuation of their legacy.

So “Shadow Soul” is no surprise at all but if you like what Dead Head did in the past 35 years you will love their newest output just as much.While the album adheres to the band’s signature fast and aggressive Thrash Metal but here and there some Death Metal and even Heavy Metal arrangements have found their way into the song writing. The album offers mostly high-speed thrashing without any trends or unnecessary melodies and tunes.

The production is once again the excellent work of Erwin Hermsen (Toneshed Studio). It’s a well-balanced and it is kept very warm and not sterile which gives “Shadow Soul” a perfect atmosphere. The cover designed by Vladimir Chebakov is once again a very cool one.

Let’s hope that “Shadow Soul will solidify Dead Head’s position and give them the respect they have earned after all these years of thrashing madness! Happy birthday!

TRACKLIST

1. Litany of the Weak

2. Serpents of Fame

3. Caverns of Fate

4. Defiance

5. The Age of Hype

6. The Run

7. Opulent Disruption

8. Dark Emptiness

More Information

Band: DEAD HEAD

Title: SHADOW SOUL

Release Date: Mar 29, 2024

Genre: Thrash Death Metal

Edition: Limited Edition

Color: Green

Packaging: tba

Release Date: 12.04.2024.

arcasm delivers a furious and energetic trip to the early days! Multifaceted entertainment for sophisticated Death Metal freaks!

Sarcasm has had a storied career. Originally formed in Sweden in 1987, Sarcasm would release blistering Death Metal throughout the early and mid 90’s. After a shortlived reunion in 1997, they would come back into the fold in 2015 with a new re-designed version of their lineup. Now they return with their new full-length album “Mourninghoul”.

“Mourninghoul” is Sarcasm’s fifth album, it was recorded during six months of the last year. Mixed and mastered by Lawrence Mackrory at Rorysound. With the new drummer Jesper Ojala the band has recorded their most dynamic and innovative album to date, while the band keeps evolving and raises the bar a notch on each album, the old catchiness and atmosphere is still recognizable. The essence of the band is Death Metal but listening to the album closely and open-mindedly, many dimensions unfold, and indeed the album feels like a journey and explores many elements and emotions of extreme metal. And that was the intention because like the last album, “Mourninghoul” is also concept-based. It’s about a two-minded ghoul and it’s journey through its miserable existence on Earth and the deepest abyss, the lyrical structure is like a conversation the ghoul is having with its higher inner being with answers coming through on its journey as its universe expands, with lots of symbolism and metaphors thrown in till its final realization. Sarcasm does not write lyrics like others, while the musical side of the band is very strong, their unique lyrical style alone makes the band stand out from the rest. There is a deep meaning to their

concepts that truly resonates.

Take Black Metal, melodies, and Death Metal and blend it all up then you’ll have “Mourninghoul”. The music remains beautiful, vile, and brutal all in the same. “Mourninghoul” is

a triumphantly diverse Death Metal album that brings a complete and competent sound

More Information

Band: SARCASM

Title: MOURNINGHOUL

Release Date: Apr 12, 2024

Genre: Death Metal

Color: Black

Packaging: tba

Release Date: 12.04.2024.

arcasm delivers a furious and energetic trip to the early days! Multifaceted entertainment for sophisticated Death Metal freaks!

Sarcasm has had a storied career. Originally formed in Sweden in 1987, Sarcasm would release blistering Death Metal throughout the early and mid 90’s. After a shortlived reunion in 1997, they would come back into the fold in 2015 with a new re-designed version of their lineup. Now they return with their new full-length album “Mourninghoul”.

“Mourninghoul” is Sarcasm’s fifth album, it was recorded during six months of the last year. Mixed and mastered by Lawrence Mackrory at Rorysound. With the new drummer Jesper Ojala the band has recorded their most dynamic and innovative album to date, while the band keeps evolving and raises the bar a notch on each album, the old catchiness and atmosphere is still recognizable. The essence of the band is Death Metal but listening to the album closely and open-mindedly, many dimensions unfold, and indeed the album feels like a journey and explores many elements and emotions of extreme metal. And that was the intention because like the last album, “Mourninghoul” is also concept-based. It’s about a two-minded ghoul and it’s journey through its miserable existence on Earth and the deepest abyss, the lyrical structure is like a conversation the ghoul is having with its higher inner being with answers coming through on its journey as its universe expands, with lots of symbolism and metaphors thrown in till its final realization. Sarcasm does not write lyrics like others, while the musical side of the band is very strong, their unique lyrical style alone makes the band stand out from the rest. There is a deep meaning to their

concepts that truly resonates.

Take Black Metal, melodies, and Death Metal and blend it all up then you’ll have “Mourninghoul”. The music remains beautiful, vile, and brutal all in the same. “Mourninghoul” is

a triumphantly diverse Death Metal album that brings a complete and competent sound

More Information

Band: SARCASM

Title: MOURNINGHOUL

Release Date: Apr 12, 2024

Genre: Death Metal

Color: SEA BLUE VINYL

Packaging: tba

Release Date: 26.04.2024.

Elaborate and unrestrained ACOD dives deeper into the Abyss!

A new chapter has been written... The French ACOD has just returned from beyond to relate you their journey on the other side. Some stories must be told, some stories must be revealed, it is time to unveil: “Versets Noirs”!

Hidden from everyone, a sorority of witches needs to find the chosen one in the afterlife. Now the day is slowly ending and the night will fall on humanity. They found him, but only one can change the course of history. Burdened with fear, borrowed from melancholy and Mediterranean melodies, your soul will travel to the heart of different eras, constantly crossing the path of witches.

You will discover it through these four Black/Death occult metal tracks that make up this cursed sixth album of ACOD. Trowned into the meanders, the brutality and the elevation will be draped with a black veil to leave no choice to the passenger of the afterlife. The cover track from Samael ‘Black Trip’ sublime it, summarizes by closing the doors of this opus.

Occasionally a record will come along with so much obvious effort and variation put into it that it feels like the band really planned out some veritable tour de force, and such is the case for ACOD’s “Verset Noirs”. Ostensibly an admixture of black, death and thrash metal, they’ve also got no opposition to tossing in symphonic sequences, narrative samples, or more accessible riffs and melodies than you might expect given their track record. The bottom line is that they have crafted this comprehensive album in which anything can go as long as it services the songwriting, and you will enjoye the experience for all that it draws upon, and the fact that it defies any sort of easy predictability while not swinging too far outside the box.

More Information

Band: ACOD

Title: VERSETS NOIRS

Release Date: Apr 26, 2024

Genre: Black Metal

Color: Marbled

Packaging: tba

Release Date: 26.04.2024.

Elaborate and unrestrained ACOD dives deeper into the Abyss!

A new chapter has been written... The French ACOD has just returned from beyond to relate you their journey on the other side. Some stories must be told, some stories must be revealed, it is time to unveil: “Versets Noirs”!

Hidden from everyone, a sorority of witches needs to find the chosen one in the afterlife. Now the day is slowly ending and the night will fall on humanity. They found him, but only one can change the course of history. Burdened with fear, borrowed from melancholy and Mediterranean melodies, your soul will travel to the heart of different eras, constantly crossing the path of witches.

You will discover it through these four Black/Death occult metal tracks that make up this cursed sixth album of ACOD. Trowned into the meanders, the brutality and the elevation will be draped with a black veil to leave no choice to the passenger of the afterlife. The cover track from Samael ‘Black Trip’ sublime it, summarizes by closing the doors of this opus.

Occasionally a record will come along with so much obvious effort and variation put into it that it feels like the band really planned out some veritable tour de force, and such is the case for ACOD’s “Verset Noirs”. Ostensibly an admixture of black, death and thrash metal, they’ve also got no opposition to tossing in symphonic sequences, narrative samples, or more accessible riffs and melodies than you might expect given their track record. The bottom line is that they have crafted this comprehensive album in which anything can go as long as it services the songwriting, and you will enjoye the experience for all that it draws upon, and the fact that it defies any sort of easy predictability while not swinging too far outside the box.

Band: ACOD

Title: VERSETS NOIRS

Release Date: Apr 26, 2024

Genre: Black Metal

Color: Marbled

Packaging: tba

Release Date: 26.04.2024.

"Founded in 1976, ACCEPT, the long-standing legendary German titans of heavy metal, are back with a fiercely awaited and highly acclaimed new studio album, entitled Humanoid, to be released on the 26th of April, 2024 via Napalm Records. Once again finalized by leading metal producer Andy Sneap (Judas Priest, Amon Amarth, Testament, Saxon, etc.) at his Backstage Recording Studios Ltd. in Derbyshire, UK, Humanoid is a towering musical achievement and another world class entry in the ACCEPT catalog, certain to rally fans from around the world. Humanoid will be available in various formats worldwide, some of them strictly limited.

Humanoid joins absolute genre classics like Balls To The Wall, certified Gold in USA and Canada, Metal Heart, and newer masterpieces like Blood of the Nations or the #1 album Blind Rage. Their albums regularly place in national Top 10 sales charts, with global sales in excess of 17 million to date.

ACCEPT have never shied away from hot button issues, and this album is no exception. Yet the band’s 17th studio album is certainly not a concept album. It deals with topics like AI and how our reliance on technology is gradually stripping away our individuality. ACCEPT offers a warning in this new album and title track single Humanoid. Since singer Mark Tornillo will never be an advocate for the digital age, he counterbalances the title track with raw emotions, frailties, significant Rites of Passage we encounter on the path of life and characteristics that make us uniquely human: feeling uncomfortable, getting older, dealing with hurt, disappointment, and the final stop for everyone: death.  

Humanoid is a ferociously electrifying, dynamic and subtly nuanced platter with tongue in cheek humor, biblical references in “The Reckoning” – an ode to concert audiences – a thrilling new spin on the “Frankenstein” story and “Straight Up Jack” – a track that surely would have been a Bon Scott approved drinking song.

The opening track “Diving into Sin” gives listeners a hair-raising energetic jolt with its Middle Eastern influenced intro, and an almost aggressive, screaming vocal from Tornillo setting the rest of the album up for a most bountiful feast. ""Unbreakable"" is as much about the band as it is the bond between ACCEPT and their fans, in the concert arena – an easy going “Hey, let’s do this, ‘kind of rock song.” ""Mind Games"", on the other hand, has a vintage feel, circa “Metal Heart”. ""No One Gets Out Alive"" seems tailor made for live shows. It says that regardless of life's circumstances, rich, famous, or not, death is the great equalizer. The good ole’ drinking song, ""Straight Up Jack"" utilizes many euphemisms for ordering at the bar. Upbeat and aggressive with guitar interplay, ""Southside Of Hell"" ends the disc with a wonderful bit of wordplay, courtesy of Tornillo. 

Humanoid is an album that targets the head, heart, gut and... balls! Listen for yourself! "

Band: ACCEPT

Title: HUMANOID

Release Date: Apr 26, 2024

Genre: Heavy Metal

Color: Black

Packaging: Gatefold Cover

Release Date: 17.05.2024.

Chicago’s iconic technical Death Metal band Oppressor was formed in 1991 by bassist/vocalist Tim King and guitarist Adam Zadel, soon adding guitarist Jim Stopper and drummer Tom Schofield. Oppressor is reformed and has started playing live again!

Oppressor recorded two demo’s... and their second demo, 1993’s “As Blood Flows”, got them signed in 1993. This demo was seen a very strong release, clocking in over 30 minutes and with a decent production. Released the following year was the band’s debut album, “Solstice of Oppression” which was supported by heavy touring, but Oppressor’s label went went bankrupt soon after.

To keep their name in the public ear, Oppressor released a half-live/half-studio compilation called “European Oppression Live/As Blood Flows”, live material collected from their European support tour for their debut and studio material consisting of the band’s 1993 “As Blood Flows” demo in its entirety.

They eventually hooked up with Olympic Recordings, which released their second studio album, “Agony”, in 1996. Featuring more structured compositions, and an improved production, the album became the group’s breakthrough, and ultimately allowed them to expand their audience after securing the opening slot on one of Cannibal Corpse’s American tours

Release Date: 17.05.2024.

Chicago’s iconic technical Death Metal band Oppressor was formed in 1991 by bassist/vocalist Tim King and guitarist Adam Zadel, soon adding guitarist Jim Stopper and drummer Tom Schofield. Oppressor is reformed and has started playing live again!

Oppressor recorded two demo’s... and their second demo, 1993’s “As Blood Flows”, got them signed in 1993. This demo was seen a very strong release, clocking in over 30 minutes and with a decent production. Released the following year was the band’s debut album, “Solstice of Oppression” which was supported by heavy touring, but Oppressor’s label went went bankrupt soon after.

To keep their name in the public ear, Oppressor released a half-live/half-studio compilation called “European Oppression Live/As Blood Flows”, live material collected from their European support tour for their debut and studio material consisting of the band’s 1993 “As Blood Flows” demo in its entirety.

They eventually hooked up with Olympic Recordings, which released their second studio album, “Agony”, in 1996. Featuring more structured compositions, and an improved production, the album became the group’s breakthrough, and ultimately allowed them to expand their audience after securing the opening slot on one of Cannibal Corpse’s American tours