Photo credit: Ester Segarra
Venom, the unholy trinity of Cronos, Rage and Dante, celebrate a massive 10 years together with new studio album, Storm The Gates – a 13-track outing for blasphemers, fornicators and the forever cursed set for release via Spinefarm Records on December 14; the CD / digital versions of the record will be available from this date, with a deluxe double vinyl package following early in 2019. Now approaching the band’s 40th anniversary, Venom have matured into a true force of nature – louder, faster, nastier and ready to unleash the hounds of Hell with Storm The Gates, studio album No. 15. Produced by Cronos himself, this is the raw sound of a band who don’t need tricks of technology to make their point. The titles tell it all: ‘Bring Out Your Dead’, ‘100 Miles To Hell’, ‘Destroyer’, ‘Beaten To A Pulp’, ‘Dark Night (Of The Soul)’… simply, there is no mellowing in spirit, nothing less than un-tempered rage an’ roar.
As Cronos launches into album opener ‘Bring Out Your Dead’, he spits out the lyrics like a demon-summoning incantation. “We always say that a song has to find itself, has to develop,” exclaims Cronos. “We’ve had nearly three years with these compositions, speeding some up, slowing some down, changing the lyrics, adding breaks, moving verses… that’s how songs grow, and that’s how you end up writing a better album. That’s why I don’t believe in releasing a record every year – you can’t possibly have let those songs develop to their full potential. These albums are going to be around a lot longer than I am, so they need to be able to stand up for themselves. With an album every year, I think you end up with two or three good songs and then a load of shit, and I certainly don’t want to release thatsort of album!”
VENOM “Bring Out Your Dead”Since 2009, this latest incarnation of the group has had a clear vision of who they are and where they want to go, steadfastly refusing to compromise or waiver in their beliefs, building on the signature style and sound established by Cronos back in 1979. As both artist and producer, this iconic frontman, Venom’s beating black heart, effectively opened the gates (of Hell) for a whole new brand of metal, genuinely changing the game with an intensity never before seen or heard. Mixing the caustic energy and serrated edge of punk with the volume and bombast of metal, adding a life-threatening amount of pyro, then brutally dragging the whole thing through a tangled hedge of thorns, Venom has been responsible for some of the guitar world’s most revered – and feared – compositions. Titles to be whispered in darkened, cobwebbed rooms.
Storm The Gates tracklisting:
01. Bring Out Your Dead
02. Notorious
03. I Dark Lord
04. 100 Miles to Hell
05. Dark Night (of the Soul)
06. Beaten to a Pulp
07. Destroyer
08. The Mighty Have Fallen
09. Over My Dead Body
10. Suffering Dictates
11. We the Loud
12. Immortal
13. Storm the Gates
Pre-order available here: SpinefarmRecords.lnk.to/stormthegates
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“Dance Macabre” – Carpenter Brut Remix on SpotifyWith 15-million streams worldwide,“Dance Macabre” is already one of the most popular tracks from Prequelle, the new album from Grammy Award-winning Swedish rock band Ghost. Today, “Dance Macabre” is reborn with a provocative remix by the eclectic and mysterious French synthwave band Carpenter Brut. You can check out the track and its companion animated visual here.
GHOST “Dance Macabre” Carpenter Brut remix
“I’ve been a big fan of Ghost since their beginning,” said Carpenter Brut, “and when I had the opportunity to open for the band in 2016, I was super excited. Last April, I received an email from Tobias himself asking if I would remix ‘Dance Macabre,’ and of course I accepted. I wanted to bring a funky and disco touch, not just confine myself to the pure synthwave style that would have been expected, but to make this remix a disco rock song and bring out the pop side of the band that is always underlying in their music.”
The Carpenter Brut remix crosses Ghost into the realm of dance music by injecting an infectious energy into a song that stays true to the album’s overall theme of The Black Plague that took place in 14th century Europe. The Plague spread rapidly, killing people within days of being infected. At the time, local inns, taverns and brothels thrived as the populace knew there was no tomorrow, so they danced and partied, celebrating the End of Days. Tobias Forge, Ghost’s mastermind, is a long-time Carpenter Brut fan, having invited them to fill the support spot on Ghost’s Fall 2016 tour. Forge always felt that “Dance Macabre” was a song he wanted to do a remix of and Carpenter Brut was his first choice. The “Dance Macabre” Carpenter Brut remix comes on the heels of Ghost’s record-setting run at U.S. Rock Radio where “Rats,” the lead single from Prequelle, has just completed its ninth consecutive week at Number One, the longest-running track to top that chart this year.
Ghost will headline a sold-out concert on September 9 at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, certainly on every musician’s bucket list. The band will then set off on its “A Pale Tour Named Death” Fall North American tour that starts in Dallas, TX on October 25. The North American trek includes two headline arena shows, The Forum in Los Angeles, and New York City’s Barclays Center.
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