It has been thirty years since drummer / vocalist Jonas Renske and Anders “Blackheim” Nyström began a musical journey that would see them evolve from a studio-only project exploring their darker musical tastes to becoming one of the most respected purveyors of melancholic and post-Gothic music; always evolving with each album, embracing Gothic and progressive metal, and always distinctively Katatonia.
According to reports from Decibel and Metal Sucks, Peaceville Records founder Paul “Hammy” Halmshaw is terminally ill with a heart condition and needs help to cope with his condition from fans, and peers. There is a crowdfunding campaign launched via JustGiving. Peaceville has given the world albums by such legendary musical acts as Katatonia, Autopsy, Darkthrone, Paradise Lost, and My Dying Bride. Hammy, who is now 56 years old, was recently diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a hereditary, terminal condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened and enlarged. “As a result, the heart cannot pump enough blood to the rest of the body,” according to MedlinePlug.gov.
The reignited interest in distinctly eighties-sounding metal styles, and more specifically, the thrash revival of the 2000s, has brought with it a handful of blistering new acts, alongside a slew of respectable releases from its originators. However, as a general scene, it has also suffered from a lack of innovation and compositional creativity. Often bands of this scene are perfectly content to just emulate classic sounds long-established by Sodom, Kreator, Venom, Bathory, and Slayer. Oftentimes, I find it a dull guessing game of which thrash bands are being ripped off whenever I listen to these bands. But there are nevertheless a handful of acts that in addition to paying tribute to the old guard’s sound manage to capture that fury, excitement, and blasphemous spirit of heavy music during the proto-extreme metal era. James McBain, the singular creative force behind Hellripper, clearly loves the style of first wave black metal and Teutonic thrash but is also creative enough to blend them to create something that sounds completely fresh. The result here is The Affair of the Poisons (Peaceville Records), a sophomore effort to the more straightforward Coagulating Darkness, and a release of blackened thrash/speed metal fury that will leave you yearning even more for a destructive live experience in 2020.Continue reading
Katatonia has released their new album today, City Burials, via Peaceville Records. Now you can 1watch the new music video ‘The Winter of Our Passing’ for the track below! The clip is a stunning animated video, created by the incredibly talented artist Costin Chioreanu of Twilight 13 Media. The band have also announced details for a live streaming show on May 9th from Sweden’s Studio Grondahl. Please see below for more details on that below.Continue reading
Katatonia has announced a brand new album, City Burials on 24th April, on Peaceville Records! The band has unleashed a brand new single and video for ‘Behind The Blood’ which you can watch here:Continue reading
Black Metal legends Darkthrone will release their highly anticipated new album tomorrow, May 31st, Old Star via Peaceville Records. Watch the visualizer for the brand new single ‘Duke of The Gloat’ right now! Pre-order the album here: https://darkthrone.lnk.to/OldStarFAContinue reading
Classic old-school Black Metal band Darkthrone, led by metal tastemaker Fenriz, will release their new album Old Star via their label Peaceville Records, due out on May 31st. Long in the works, the album will usher in a new age for the band and their fans. Fenriz has promised an album deep-rooted in classic Black and Death Metal influences. Old Star was recorded at the band’s Necrohell 2 Studios, with engineering and production duties carried out by vocalist/guitarist Ted “Nocturno Culto” Skjellum, mixed by Sanford Parker (Voivod) at Hypercube Studios, & mastered once more by Jack Control at Enormous Door. Cover art by Chadwick St John, titled “The Shepherd of the Deep”. Pre-orders are now live for the album at the link below. Continue reading
Fresh off of their appearance at Bloodstock Open Air 2018, Bloodbath has announced the release of a new album, their fifth overall, coming this fall via Peaceville Records. The delightfully evil sounding The Arrow Of Satan Is Drawn will release on October 26th. The kvlt supergroup is comprised of members of Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Opeth and Craft. The album also features guest vocals from Carcass’ Jeff Walker, Bolt Thrower/Memoriam singer Karl Willetts and Cancer’s John Walker.Continue reading
Oh hell yes! Bloodbath and Autopsy will release a new 7″ split on December 15th in celebration of Peaceville‘s 30th anniversary. Continue reading
So, Akercocke, it’s been a while; you’ve been missed, welcome back. Trailblazers in their genre, and firm cult favourites Akercocke left a massive hole in both the scene and our cold black hearts when they went on hiatus, and the news they’d be releasing new material was met with widespread anticipation. Renaissance in Extremis (Peaceville) is the album that many a metalhead has been hoping for, but until recently didn’t think we’d get.Continue reading