Zeal & Ardor have already announced their new album, a self-titled release, due out on February 11th, 2022, via MVKA. The 14-track album was recorded by Marc Obrist and frontman Manuel Gagneux at Hutch Sounds and mixed & mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio. The band is currently on tour with Mastodon and Opeth in North America. Listen to the new single “Golden Liar,” the fifth off the album, and pre-order it now.
Two progressive metal legends Opeth and Mastodon have booked a co-headline tour for 2021 The two bands last toured together in the USA in 2011, with Ghost as the opener on their first national tour. The late year North American this fall will have direct support from Zeal & Ardor kicking off in Asheville, North Carolina on November 16th and wrapping in Denver, Colorado on December 5th. The pre-sale takes place tomorrow with the general on sale Friday, September 17th, 2021. Opeth continues to tour behind 2019’s In Cauda Venenum (Nuclear Blast) and Mastodon will soon release their new album Hushed and Grim.
Genre-bending band Zeal & Ardor has announced they will release a new album, a self-titled release, due out on February 11th, 2022, via MVKA. The 14-track album was recorded by Marc Obrist and frontman Manuel Gagneux at Hutch Sounds and mixed & mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio. Listen to the first single “Bow” and pre-order the album now.
Instead of reminding everyone of the horrible year we’ve had by sharing this list of my top 20 albums of 2020 with all of you, I want to think that I am sharing new music that can keep being an outlet to rely on when times are tough. We’re in a moment in time where we’re all vulnerable and music keeps being one of the best tools to help our mental health. The following albums are the ones that helped me go through the year and I hope you find something that you can add to your playlist and enjoy it as much as I do. Within each album, there is the country, genre, and their Bandcamp links (for those that have Bandcamp) in case you want to directly support them in these troubled times.
In a year of great tragedy and upheaval, where the word ‘unprecedented’ became a mantra spoken around the world, music has been a stabilising force for millions of us. It has been a consistent power for good at a time when many of us have struggled with unemployment, illness, and bereavement. Whether providing companionship during stretches of isolation, rallying us to fight for change when faced with corrupt political machinations, or even just handing us a convenient distraction from the horrors outside our window, never have I felt such a kinship with music and the people who dedicate their lives to the art.
Progressive Metal greats Meshuggah has announced a run of 2021tour dates for later next year in Europe. Kicking off in Vienna, the tour will end in Hamburg. Direct support will come from Zeal & Ardor (except for the Oberhausen show). The band also announced a show at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London on June 3rd, 2022. Tickets will be on sale starting Friday 18th of December at Meshuggah’s website, at the link below. The band working on the follow-up to their 2016 album, The Violent Sleep Of Reason, expected for release in 2021 on their longtime label, Nuclear Blast.
It feels rather redundant to preface this year’s celebration of the music that got us through what was annus horribilis maximus unprecedentius with much of a narrative of 2020 because we were all affected. We all lived through it. Some of us in un-splendid isolation. Some of us irreversibly overhauling the way we live, work, and support our dependents. Some of us welcomed changes we had to make while mourning the root cause behind them and that each and every person on this planet we call home was affected, impacted, and touched in a negative way by the events of a global pandemic and high-profile political situations.Continue reading
Ghost Cult kicks off our massive 2020 Album of the Year Countdown! Chief editor Keefy is joined by the esteemed Steve Tovey (The King is Blind), our Senior Editor Emeritus of Ghost Cult! We run down the big list with a brief discussion of our rankings from 75-31, with a deep dive into the albums ranked 50-31! All in all, over 300 albums were considered and voted on by our staff of worldwide contributors: writers, correspondents, photographers, and more. Check back here for the full list and a deeper look at albums 75-31 on our site and for Part II of the podcast series click here:
One of Europe’s most respected instrumental/experimental post-rock and metal music festivals returns in 2019, with AMFest in Barcelona this October. Returning for its eighth edition returns AMFest takes place 10-13 October 2019, Fabra I Coats, Barcelona. Headlining the festivals are Daughters and includes Foscor, Zeal & Ardor, Alcest, Pelican, Deafheaven, Tides From Nebula, Brutus, Portrayal of Guilt, The Album Leaf, Cocaine Piss and many more! Ticket links and other info can be found below. Continue reading
How can you top an unforgettable end to a three day Welcome to Rockville festival in 2018 when Ozzy gave us one hell of a send-off? You take the anticipation of thousands of Tool fans who are busting at the seams waiting for the new album to release, and you give them more of a tease by making Tool the final headliner in this year’s Welcome to Rockville Festival, that’s how. We all heard the rumors that Tool was going to debut two new songs (‘Descending’ and ‘Invincible’) during Welcome to Rockville, and they delivered with this history-making moment that fans have not stopped sharing and talking about, whether they were present to witness it or not. Continue reading