Hellfest 2024 Books Metallica, Foo Fighters, Avenged Sevenfold, Machine Head, Body Count, Biohazard, Mr. Bungle and More


Hellfest, held every year just outside of Paris, in Clisson, France, continues to up the ante every year with forever growing and impressive lineups! Taking place from June 27 to June 30, 2024, Hellfest will once again be four days long and over 200 bands appearing on six stages. For 2024, the headliners for each night will be Avenged Sevenfold, Machine Head, Metallica, and Foo Fighters. The full daily lineups, including one more major band tba, and the ticket link are coming soon!  

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ALBUM REVIEW: MMXX – Sacred Cargo


 

A new doom metal “supergroup” releasing a COVID-19 lockdown album in late 2022. That sentence, which describes MMXX‘  Sacred Cargo (Candlelight) in plain terms, will no doubt inspire a variety of different thoughts and feelings in people with an interest in such things. Some might dismiss the concept (album) out of hand. After all, the band’s name translates as “2020” and, well, not only is it not 2020 anymore, but the mere mention of that year is liable to inspire at least a wearied eye-roll if not a flashback to genuine out-and-out despair. 

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Guest Post- Bidi Van Drongelen Top 20 Heavy Albums of 2015


bidi bookings

As we dash towards the holidays and the end of the year Ghost Cult is feeling good about this season of giving. So we are giving our fans a chance to get to know our partners, peers, and friends  from bands in the world of music. They will chime in with some guest blogs, end of year lists, and whatever else is on their minds as we pull the plug on 2015. Today we have Bidi van Drongelen, Dutch booker and manager who has worked with the likes of The Devil’s Blood, Saint Vitus, Ghost, In Solitude and many more. Every year a multitude of his bands get booked at the excellent Roadburn festival, and we have asked him what he feels were the best releases of 2015.

 

1. KloneHere Comes The Sun

klone album cover

Great songwriting, amazing vocals, and a crystal clear though heavy production blending prog and post metal.

 

2. Ghost – Meliora

Ghost has it all to become one of the leading melodic heavy rock bands in the world

 

3. BliksemGruesome Masterpiece

Bliksem-Gruesome-Masterpiece

If you like Metallica’s Master of Puppets of Death Angel’s ACT III….with the a raw female voice like Doro.

 

4. Royal ThunderCrooked Doors

royalthunder

Great atmospheric rock album with the amazing voice of Mlny Parsonsz

 

5. TribulationChildren of the Night

tribulation

Melodies of occult rock like The Devil’s Blood drenched with a satanic black voice which reminds of Satyricon.

 

6. Chelsea WolfeAbyss

Chelsea wolfe abyss album cover

Refreshing approach of doom & drone. ART with capital A!

7. Paradise LostThe Plague Within

8. Steak Number EightKosmokoma

9. MelecheshEnki

10. EnslavedIn Times

11. ClutchPsychic Warfare

12. Thy CatafalqueSgurr

13. AmorphisUnder The Red Cloud

14. RAMSvbversvm

15. BRING ME THE HORIZONThat’s The Spirit

16. MgłaExcercises In Futility

17. BaronessPurple

18. LeprousThe Congregation

19. Graveyard Innocence & Decadence

20. Hangman’s ChairThis Is Not Supposed To Be Positive

 

Bidi Bookings online

 


Klone-Here Comes the Sun


klone album cover

Klone is one of those bands that is difficult to categorize. They originally branded themselves as a metal band but with each new release of music stray further from what one may consider metal to be. Their latest album Here Comes the Sun (Klonosphere/Pelagic Records) is their most progressive and psychedelic sounding yet although it still holds on to some metal sounds.

It is interesting that the band decided to name the album after one of The Beatles’ most well-known songs considering they do not cover a Beatles song. However, it does tell the listener that they should leave their idea of what metal is behind and prepare for a more surreal or ethereal sound. Overall, the album is mellower than what one would expect from a metal band.

Opening track ‘Immersion’ throws some saxophone in to show that Klone is not one’s ordinary band. The instrument could have sounded out of place in a metal band but instead blends in well enough to come as a nice surprise. Most of the album stays on the lighter sounding side of things, but eventually becomes more epic. A prime example of this is ‘The Last Experience’ which sounds like something grand is coming to an end.

Other highlights include ‘Nebulous’ and a cover of George Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’ from Porgy and Bess. What makes ‘Nebulous’ great is how it encompasses everything that the album, and arguably the band, is about. There is a balanced blend of psychedelic and heavy metal sounds. ‘Summertime’ is one of the most covered songs from musical theater, but Klone is able to own it. The sadness that is not evident in some covers of the tune becomes clear in Klone’s interpretation. The band deserves much credit for being able to pull it off and for creating yet another album that shows off their evolution.

7.0/10

MELISSA CAMPBELL

 


Audio: Klone – Summertime


klone 2

French post-rock/metallers Klone are streaming “Summertime,” off of their new album Here Comes the Sun, out April 27, 2015 via Klonosphere/Pelagic Records, here.

Sample the album below.

Here Comes The Sun Track listing:
Immersion
Fog
Gone Up In Flames
The Drifter
Nebulous
Gleaming
Grim Dance
Come Undone
The Last Experience
Summertime (cover – CD version only)

KLONE is:
Yann Ligner : Vocals
Guillaume Bernard : Atmospheric Guitar
Aldrick Guadagnino : Guitar
Jean Etienne Maillard : Bass
Florent Marcadet : Drums (also of recognized French progressive metal group Hacride)
Matthieu Metzger : Sax / Samples / Systol Device

Klone on Facebook


Klone Release New Single, New Album Due In April


Klone band 2015

French prog-rock scene veterans Klone have dropped a new single, ‘Grim Dance’, from their forthcoming new album Here Comes The Sun (Pelagic) due out on April 27th. Hear the track below:

 

http://www.facebook.com/kloneband

http://klonosphere.com/klone/

www.pelagic-records.com/vinyl

www.pelagic-records.com/cds


A Lesson In Stability – An Interview With Gojira


Gojira-2013A gradual career build-up and relentless touring are at the core of Gojira’s current success. Marcus J. West caught up with Joe Duplantier (guitars/vocals)  to discuss the band’s touring rigours, the importance of gradual career building, his fondness of nature and opening for Ghost.Continue reading