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New tracks – John Corabi, Mount Mary, Kaasin, Zepter, Creye, Joel Hoekstra…

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Here’s a few excellent new tracks, from new (and upcoming) releases to check out!

After decades of fronting and collaborating with some of rock’s most iconic acts, JOHN CORABI steps fully into his own with ‘New Day,’ his first full-length solo album of original material…. “‘New Day’ is a positive, upbeat song with a message of enjoy life!!! Stop whining and complaining about how unfair life is, and enjoy the ‘little beautiful things, life offers’ and make the changes you need to make your life better!!! Change happens WITHIN…”

JOHN CORABI:
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Helsinki blues rock band MOUNT MARY has a new single, “Hallowed Ground”, co-written with legendary rock manager / producer Alan Niven (Guns n Roses, Great White…). “Eventually Maria sent me some of her music. It supported a remarkable voice. The character of the voice represented the character of her soul. When she asked if I might think to compose with her, it was an invitation that even an old recluse, like myself, could not refuse. As I sit atop my Arizona desert mountain, I am now connected to her spirit frequency- to a Queen of the Forest, a Finnish Mother Earth. I have something of a dubious past – Motley Crue, Don Dokken, Berlin, The Angels, Clarence Clemmons, Havana Black, Chris Buck of Cardinal Black, Great White, Guns n’ Roses – and Mount Mary is as inspiring as anyone to me. There’s magic in Mount Mary.”

Mount Mary : https://linktr.ee/mountmary

Norwegian Hard Rock group KAASIN will release the sophomore album The Underworld via Pride & Joy Music on April 24th. KAASIN was founded in 2020 by guitarist Jo Henning Kaasin, formerly of Come Taste the Band.  Kaasin is widely respected for his collaborations with internationally renowned artists such as Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple) and Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow). Together with bassist Ståle Kaasin (Humbucker, 2020Vision), the foundation of KAASIN was laid with a clear ambition: to create contemporary hard rock with a classic spirit and a strong sense of identity. https://www.facebook.com/kaasinmusic

Austrian NWOBHM band ZEPTER have a new video for the single “The Lords”. Anyone interested in classic metal should check these guys out. “Some specific NWOBHM bands which have inspired us are early Maiden (everything from »The Soundhouse Tapes« up until »Killers«), Saxon, Witchfinder General, Dark Star, Raven, Saracen, Angel Witch and Satan.” MATTHIAS MADER

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585764231240

Joel Hoekstra’s 13 has a new album coming out at the end of the month titled From The Fade. About the album Joel commented: “The songs were built from the guitar riffs up.  Most of the riffs were written during the time I was filling in with Accept, so there is a heavier edge to this album overall.  That being said, the album still would be more accurately described as melodic hard rock, not straight-up metal”.

Hoekstra said: “’The Fall’ is built on riffs and melodies that stem from two early influences that I often fail to mention in Queensryche and Dokken. It’s a straight ahead melodic, hard rock track with a powerful foundation laid out by Vinny Appice and Tony Franklin, a killer keyboard solo from Derek Sherinian, a stunning vocal performance from Girish Pradhan and Jeff Scott Soto’s tastefully executed backing vocals!  Hope ya like it!”

JOEL HOEKSTRA’S 13:
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Swedish hard rock powerhouse CREYE have a new single “Left In Silence”, taken from the upcoming new studio album, IV Aftermath, to be release April 24, on Frontiers Music Srl. 

The band comments, “Left In Silence” is about what happens when people drift apart and stop truly speaking and listening to each other. The song captures that quiet aftermath, when communication fades and only silence remains. As the first release from our upcoming album, it kicks open a new chapter for the band – powered by fresh energy, driven by the original vision, and focused on pushing our sound forward without losing what made us who we are”.

CREYE:
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The Story Behind The Album Cover – ZEPTER’s debut album w/ Sebastian Frigerio

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Austrian heavy metal band ZEPTER will release their debut album next month. Zepter features cover art created by Sebastian Frigerio, from Chile, who’s also drawn a number of other album covers for various metal bands. Below Sebastian talks about his art and creating the Zepter cover. As well I’ve included images of other covers that Sebastian drew.

Check it out, and check out the new ZEPTER album, which has a new video release for the track “Dark Angels”.

Can you give me a bit of background as to your work in art, and in particular, how you got involved in music and album covers? 

First of all, thank you so much for your interest. This goes back a long way. I’ve always been fascinated by the visual arts, especially drawing. My first foray into it was collaborating with bands and friends’ projects, contributing illustrations to their demos and other releases. They would introduce me as their artist friend, giving me the opportunity to do my first work, and little by little, connections were made. During that time, I began creating my own pieces to gain recognition and, above all, to perfect my technique.

Do you have any favorite album cover artists, as well as a list (5+) of some of your favorite record covers (excluding your own)? 

Well, from artists like Goya and Gustave Doré, to Renaissance and modern art, there are many, but this would be my top list:

Frank Franzetta, Boris Vallejo, Michael Whelan, Rowena Morrill, Andreas Marshall, H.R. Giger, Necrolord, Emanuele Taglietti, to name a few.

How did you get involved with the Zepter album? 

Well, that was thanks to social media, and the band followed up with a couple of bands they had already worked with.

And they were looking for something similar to what I had already done

Was the cover completely your own creation and/or was there input from the bandmembers? What inspired it?

If the band had an idea that perfectly matched my artistic tastes and references, the drawing process was much easier thanks to our shared interest in dark fantasy and album covers from the 70s and 80s.

Had you been able to hear the music prior to and did that play a part in creating the cover? Any favorite tracks from this Zepter album? 

I was already familiar with the band, so it was a surprise when they contacted me, since their style is what I listen to most often, so it also served as inspiration. Overall, I’d highlight the entire album, from its composition to the final result, both musically and in terms of design.

Can you tell me about the actual drawing – how it was achieved (drawing technique…) ? 

Well, this work is done in oil on paper, and the goal was and is to make it similar to the classic album covers of bands from the 70s and 80s, which are practically an influence and inspiration.

What are some of the other album covers you’ve created for other bands? Any in particular that stand out?  And aside from covers, do you also create posters or merch items for the bands you work with? 

Well, as I mentioned before, I participated in several projects, but when I started to stand out it was thanks to bands like Insecurity, Phantom, and Void, which put me on the radar of many others, something I’m very grateful for since it also opened me up to the field of design for other types of merchandise. And obviously, working with more bands has been rewarding in many ways.

*Check out more of Sebastian’s art and album covers at – https://www.instagram.com/sebastian.frigerio_artwork/

ZEPTER – Austrian band release first full length album

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This second release from Austrian band ZEPTER is a great surprise that kicks ass from the start. (OK, so the first release was an extremely limited EP cassette). Influenced by the like of Thin Lizzy, early Iron Maiden, and New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands like Saxon and Angel Witch. This has a definite old-school vibe, with heavy twin guitar blends. A good listen beginning to end. Check out the first video for “Slasher On The Highway”, which is a good indication of this album. Other favorites include “Hit The Streets”, “Everlasting”, and a cover of “Lonely Night”, originally by a short-lived Swedish metal band from the 80s! These guys remind of Swedish band Black Trip, who put out a pair of great albums a decade ago, then changed their name and disappeared! *To be released February 20 on various formats (including vinyl!). Killer artwork. Order Link: https://www.hrrecords.de/ZEPTER

Zepter are a new traditional heavy metal band from Austria. The project started in January 2024. A few months later, an EP called »Inferno« was issued on cassette in a limited edition of 100 copies through Ironbound (a vinyl version on Fucking Kill Records and a CD edition via Witches Brew followed shortly after).
 
“We have been knowing each other for years and have played together in other bands,” explains guitarist/vocalist Lukas about the formation of Zepter. “One day, the idea to form a traditional heavy metal band came up. And this is exactly what we did. We had our first rehearsal in January 2024 and the EP was published in April the same year. Everything happened really quick.”
 
High Roller Records will release Zepter’s self-titled debut album, which Lukas describes as “authentic heavy metal of the old school, with lots of catchy hooks and tasty twin-guitar harmony parts”. According to him, “it should come across like a mixture of Thin Lizzy and UFO of the Schenker era, combined with elements of early speed metal by the likes of Acid and Slayer, as if they had been already around in 1978.”
 
All tracks on the album are new, apart from the cover version of a song called “Lonely Night” by the band Screem.
 
With songs like “Exterminator”, Zepter’s music transports quite a strong NWOBHM vibe, with hints of Trespass and Tygers Of Pan Tang, first and foremost. “That’s true,” says the band’s guitarist and vocalist, “for this project the NWOBHM is a big inspiration. But it’s not the only one. We are all listening to different stuff, from blackended death metal to prog, post-punk and film music. Our smallest common nominator is the NWOBHM though. And that’s where Zepter comes in. Some specific NWOBHM bands which have inspired us are early Maiden (everything from »The Soundhouse Tapes« up until »Killers«), Saxon, Witchfinder General, Dark Star, Raven, Saracen, Angel Witch and Satan.”  MATTHIAS MADER

TRACKLISTING:
01 Slasher on the Highway
02 Everlasting
03 The Slayer
04 Hit the Streets
05 The Exterminator
06 Dark Angels
07 Lonely Night (Screem Cover)
08 The Lords

LINE-UP:
Lukas Götzenberger – guitar, vocals & synths
Stefan Bolda – guitar
Tobias Hochwagen – bass
Alex Nemeth – drums & vocals (on “Lonely Night”)

LINKS:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585764231240
https://www.instagram.com/zepterattacks
https://zepter.bandcamp.com/
https://www.hrrecords.de/