In case you forgot or were not alive, the late 1990s was a time when every Metal record label was jumping on the bandwagon of trend-hopping and hunting for the next “big thing” mostly Nu Metal or Nirvana’s take on pre-Grunge revival of Punk vibes. With almost no websites yet, pundits at music magazines, radio, and MTV, had declared metal dead (many bands would say otherwise, all the while the underground excelled like never before with stellar releases.
Metal and Rock supergroup DieHumane, featuring former members of Exodus, Type O Negative, Life of Agony, Anova Skyway, and more just released their debut album – The Grotesque on May 5th, 2023, in partnership with Ulrich Wild’s label WURMgroup and The Oracle Management, the management company of Coal Chamber/DevilDriver frontman, Dez Fafara and his wife Anahstasia, who is the CEO. The band has teamed up with Ghost Cult to debut their new music video today for “King Of Nothing” which you can see right now!
Legendary musician and artist Alan Robert (Live of Agony, Spoiler NYC) will release his latest in his line of best-selling and acclaimed adult coloring books – The Beauty of Horror 6: Famous Monsterpieces, this week, via IDW Comics/Penguin. Releasing tomorrow April 11th, 2023, Robert’s books have delighted fans of all ages and become a phenomenon in the genre. The latest book is a homage to world-renowned classical art masterpieces, with a hellish twist in Robert’s central character – Ghouliana! Pre-order the book at the link below!
DieHumane is the Metal and Rock supergroup featuring former members of Exodus, Type O Negative, Life of Agony, Anova Skyway and more. The band will release its debut album The Grotesque on May 5, 2023, in partnership with Ulrich Wild’s label WURMgroup and The Oracle Management, the management company of Coal Chamber/DevilDriver frontman, Dez Fafara (and his wife Anahstasia who’s the CEO). The album was completed in 2022 and will feature 10 original compositions. The band has shared their first single and video – “Oblivion” here:
Pantera, Disturbed, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, Architects, Behemoth, Kreator, Meshuggah, Gojira, Parkway Drive, Testament, Voivod are among the 103 artists who have been added to the 26th edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting, set to take place June 15-18, 2023 in Dessel, Belgium. Tickets are on sale tomorrow at the links below. Continue reading
Catton Park, United kingdom, 14 Aug 2022, Lamb of God performing on the Ronnie James Dio Stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival Credit: Rich Price/Ghost Cult Magazine
SATURDAY
Considering most people are already feeling like overcooked baked potatoes wrapped in tin foil, the fact that today is meant to be the hottest day of the festival really isn’t the best news. Still, that certainly doesn’t deter a healthy crowd from shaking off the hangovers and getting on with the business at hand, Baest and Lost Society both grabbing the main stage by the scruff of the neck while Sister Shotgun and Mastiff do the same on the Sophie stage.Continue reading
Catton Park, United kingdom, 12 Aug 2022, Behemoth performing on the Ronnie James Dio Stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival Credit: Rich Price/Ghost Cult Magazine
Main Stage and Sophie Lancaster Stage
THURSDAY
If there are two things we love doing in the UK, it’s complaining about the weather and queuing for things. Well, this year at Bloodstock Open Air, both are freely available and at no extra charge. Not a moment goes by without a comment on the sweltering heat or about having to wait to cross the road to the festival ground. Yes, not content with spending two hours in the main queue, campers have now invented a brand new line to join before even getting that far. For the first time ever, a line has formed for people pulling trolleys and sack carts. Almost a quarter of a mile of people waiting in a surprisingly orderly queue before joining an even bigger queue. England, never change.
With the heat already playing its part, I finally arrive at the Sophie Lancaster Stage in time to catch Italian nutters Nanowar of Steel who send the audience into hysterics with daft costumes and a “Wall of Love” (a traditional wall of death that climaxes with people hugging each other to George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’). Preceding the infuriatingly catchy ‘Norwegian Reggaeton’ with Burzum‘s outdoor recipe for roasted salmon (“you place the freshly caught salmon on a rock and burn down the church next to it”) the band then take the opportunity to use the mighty ‘Valhalleluja’ to build an Ikea coffee table, holding it aloft for the elated crowd. Accompanied by an actual goblin for the duration of their set, US act Nekrogoblikon certainly put on an enjoyable show but find it tough following such a display of irreverent insanity.
Bloodstock Open Air (BOA) 2022 is almost upon us. Kicking off on Thursday the 11th of August, this most metal of all festivals runs until Sunday the 14th, damaging necks, air guitar strings, and bank accounts along the way. After Covid put paid to the 2020 festival, an admirably safety-conscious BOA returned with a five day bang last year! (read our review of BOA 2021 review here), selling out weekend passes well in advance and things promise to be just as busy this time.
Ghost Cult caught up with Dan Nastasi of Hardcore supergroup Kings Never Die (members of Murphys Law, Stigma, Dog Eat Dog, Robots and Monsters, Agnostic Front , SubZero, Mucky Pup) all about the latest on the band. Dan took us through how the band linked up, their new EP The Good Times And The Bad, touring with Life of Agony, New York and New Jersey hardcore history, new music Dan is writing with Eddie Leeway, and more!
Bloodstock Open Air 2022 has shared a big update. including their plans for their Club Nights, and Plans with Sophie Lancaster Foundation and Derbyshire LGBT+, as well as added 2 more bands to the lineup. Static-X and Tallah have dropped out, replaced by Dark Tranquility and Defects respectively. The comeback of the fest in 2021 was great and you can read our review here. Headliners for BOA 2022 are Lamb Of God, Mercyful Fate and Behemoth. Bloodstock will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 11th-14th August 2022.