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Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief) With Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) Post Teaser Of New Track

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on May 24, 2013 @ 9:15am
Category: Music / News

Wisdom Of Crowds, the upcoming project from The Pineapple Thief‘s Bruce Soord and Katatonia‘s Jonas Renkse, has released a preview of the track “Pleasure”. You can listen to the sample below.

Also below is a edited version of the full length track “Frozen North”. The song can be downloaded for free here.

Wisdowm Of Crowds will be released June 3rd via Kscope Records. The album can be pre-ordered here. READ MORE

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The Pineapple Thief Release Music Video For “Someone Pull Me Out Of Here”

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on April 26, 2013 @ 11:15am
Category: Music / Videos

UK prog rock band The Pineapple Thief have released a music video for “Someone Pull Me Out Of Here”, which comes from the band’s 2012 release All The Wars. The video shows a woman who is in the midst of what seems to be a deep depressive period, barely able to go through the motions and unable to do something as easy as walk out the door. Having seen many friends go through periods like this, I know first hand just how painful and difficult these times can be. If you’re up for it and it doesn’t trigger anything, the video can be seen below.

It was recently announced that The Pineapple Thief frontman Bruce Soord has teamed up with Katatonia singer Jonas Renske to release an album entitled Wisdom Of Crowds. More details on that can be found here. READ MORE

Katatonia’s Jonas Renske Joins Forces With The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord For Wisdom Of Crowds

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on April 16, 2013 @ 1:15pm
Category: Music / Videos

Well, my music loving brain just exploded a bit. On June 3rd, Katatonia singer Jonas Renske and The Pineapple Thief‘s Bruce Soord will be releasing Wisdom Of Crowds, an album that Soord had specifically written with Renske’s voice in mind. The album was recorded between both bands’ rigorous touring schedules. It can be pre-ordered here. Below is a video teaser as well as the track listing.

While I haven’t listened to a ton of The Pineapple Thief, I know that I’ve heard enough to like them a lot. As for Katatonia, I’ve been a fan of theirs for about ten years now, so this is just a pure treat for me. I cannot wait to get my hands on this. READ MORE

The Ocean Launch Landing Page For New Album ‘Pelagial’

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on March 04, 2013 @ 1:09pm
Category: Music / News

German progressive metal band The Ocean have launched a landing page for their upcoming album Peligial, which will be released April 30th via Metal Blade Records. The album was written, recorded and mixed as one single 53-minute take. The album was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia) at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden.

The album will be released as a double album, including both an instrumental and a vocal version of the album. Instrumental samples are available to listen to on their landing page here. The CD version will be released as a 10-page digipak with artwork by Seldon Hunt.

Below is the band’s video for “The Grand Inquisitor II: Roots & Locusts”, which comes from their Anthropocentric album. READ MORE

Steven Wilson Releases New Song “The Birthday Party”: Creates Visual Ghost Story

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on February 20, 2013 @ 2:30pm
Category: Music / Videos

Prog-master Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Blackfield) has unveiled a new song entitled “The Birthday Party”. The video is incredibly interesting as it also includes a short ghost story by the same name that was written by Wilson. The music serves to fit the mood of the tale of a little girl named Victoria who plays a game of hide-and-seek on her birthday only to have it end in a rather unexpected way. It’s a tale that is very reminiscent of something out of Schwartz/Gammell’s The Scary Stories Treasury. You can watch/read/listen below.

“The Birthday Party” comes from the deluxe book edition of Wilson’s upcoming solo album The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories), which comes out Feb. 25th and was produced by the legendary Alan Parsons. The deluxe book edition is now sold out but other copies are available for pre-order here. READ MORE

Katatonia Release Official Video For “Lethean”

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on February 18, 2013 @ 12:32pm
Category: Music / Videos

Swedish prog-rockers Katatonia have released an official video for “Lethean”, which comes from their latest album Dead End Kings (review). Shot in star black and white and directed by Lasse Hoile (Porcupine Tree, Opeth), the video features slow motion shots that serve to compliment the melancholic yet heavy beauty of the song. You can watch it below or here.

Dead End Kings landed at #2 on my Top 10 Albums Of 2012 list, which you can view here. READ MORE

Katatonia To Reissue Stripped Down, Near-Acoustic Version Of ‘Dead End Kings’

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on February 08, 2013 @ 11:45am
Category: Music / News

In a post on his official Facebook page, guitarist Anders ‘Blakkheim’ Nyström has announced that Katatonia will be releasing a stripped down version of their latest album Dead End Kings (review). He also announced that work will soon be commencing on a Katatonia documentary that will appear on an anniversary DVD.

Nyström states, “Just done with stripping down the ‘Dead End Kings’ album to an atmospheric sound void of any metal. Early on we felt it was both peculiar and Interesting how the songs could breathe on their own taking a different minimal approach, so we wanted to go back and explore this in a very spontaneous and unpretentious way. Vocals, keyboards and acoustic guitars are in and distorted guitars/bass and drums are out! Stay tuned for a release date!

“And from one big project to another… the next upcoming weeks I’ll be spending diggin’ into old boxes and transferring ancient VHS cassettes and DV tapes to digital media, so we can finally get goin’ on the actual edit on the documentary that will hopefully wrap up the anniversary DVD that’s been taken forevah!”

Dead End Kings landed at #2 on my Top 10 Albums of 2012 list, which you can see here. READ MORE

Katatonia Announces Headline Shows During Opeth Tour

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on February 05, 2013 @ 1:30pm
Category: Music / News

Swedish prog metal band Katatonia have announced a few headline shows during their upcoming tour supporting Opeth. Katatonia will be touring in support of Dead End Kings, which landed at #2 on my Top Albums of 2012 list, which you can see here. Opeth will be touring in support of Heritage. The bands will also do a special one-off show with Porcupine Tree frontman Steven Wilson in New York.

Katatonia guitarist Anders Nyström states, “Back in the U.S.A…That’s right Springsteen! We’re looking at round number two as special guests to our brothers in Opeth on their last North American leg of the Heritage World Tour. This time we’ll mainly cover off-territories, so regardless if you caught or missed us last time, consider this a second chance to attend the dead ends of North America with one of the best bills there’ll ever be!”

Head on below for the tour dates. READ MORE

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New Bands Added To New England Metal And Hardcore Festival XV

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on January 23, 2013 @ 12:30pm
Category: Music / News

Several new acts have been added to the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival XV today, including Allegaon, Alpha & Omega, Born Low, MurderDeathKill, Dark Sermon, Trapped Under Ice, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. You can see the full line up as well as day-by-day schedule and ticke information below. READ MORE

6 Dream Tour Pairings!!!

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on January 23, 2013 @ 11:00am
Category: Music / Editorials

How many of you have thought, “Man, wouldn’t it be just awesome if [insert band name here] toured with [insert band name here]?” I know I’ve done it on more than one occasion. Hell, I do it all the damn time. There are some tour pairings that make so much sense that it simply boggles my mind that the’ve never been done. These are tours that would get fans salivating, drool flowing from the mouth like waterfalls.

So I put together six of my most desired tour pairings, ones where the headliner and co-headliner would not only compliment each other but would take things to an entirely new level. Head on below to see my list! READ MORE

Opeth/Katatonia Tour Gets Special Date With Steven Wilson

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on January 10, 2013 @ 5:45pm
Category: Music / Images

Folks in Albany, NY who are going to the April 28th Opeth/Katatonia stop on their N. American tour will be treated to an incredibly special gift as Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Blackfield) will be performing his solo material there, complete with live band. This show will be the only one during the tour, so make sure to pre-order tickets in advance to ensure a spot. Head on below to see a poster for this event (I would hang that on my wall in a heartbeat). READ MORE

Dark Tranquillity Announce Title And Release Date For New Album

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on January 10, 2013 @ 3:45pm
Category: Music / News

Swedish melodic metal band Dark Tranquillity have announced that they will be releasing Construct, their 10th studio album, on May 25th in N. America via Century Media Records. This will be the follow up to 2010′s We Are The Void (review).

The band comments: “Greetings, Darklings! After having played over 200 shows in every corner of the world in support of the ‘We Are The Void’ album, it’s time to focus inwards and lock ourselves up in the studio. Months and months of hard songwriting work has paid off, and the recording sessions will start early this year. Further details will be announced in due time, but for now we can reveal that the album will be entitled ‘Construct’ and that we’re very excited to have Jens Bogren (Paradise Lost, Opeth, Katatonia) taking care of the mix. The release date is set for May 28 in North America.” READ MORE

Full Schedule For Opeth/Katatonia N. American Tour Released

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on January 09, 2013 @ 3:45pm
Category: Music / News

Two of Sweden’s greatest musical exports, Opeth and Katatonia will be joining forces for a full N. American tour this Spring. The two bands will kick things off in Buffalo, NY on April 18th and wrap things up on May 26th in Santa Cruz, CA. Opeth will be touring in support of their 2011 album Heritage (review) while Katatonia will be supporting their 2012 release Dead End Kings (review), which made #2 on my Top 10 Albums of 2012 list.

Katatonia guitarist Anders Nyström comments, “Back in the U.S.A…That’s right Springsteen! We’re looking at round #2 as special guests to our brothers in Opeth on their last North American leg of the Heritage World Tour. This time we’ll mainly cover off-territories, so regardless if you caught or missed us last time, consider this a second chance to attend the dead ends of North America with one of the best bills there’ll ever be!”

You can see the full touring schedule below. READ MORE

Opeth/Katatonia Team Up For N. American Tour

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on January 08, 2013 @ 1:45pm
Category: Music / Images

Two of Sweden’s greatest musical exports, Opeth and Katatonia, will be touring N. America this spring. So far only one release date has been released: May 10th at the Machine Shop in Flint, MI (check out the flyer below). Tickets will be made available this Friday, Jan. 11th at 10am.

Opeth will still be touring in support of their album Heritage (review) while Katatonia will be touring for Dead End Kings (review).

On a personal note, I’m beyond excited for this. I saw Katatonia and Opeth tour together before and it was nothing short of incredible. Another combined tour from the two of them is something that I refuse to miss. READ MORE

[Best & Worst '12] Jonny Picks His Top 10 Albums Of 2012

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on January 01, 2013 @ 1:01pm
Category: Music / Editorials

And so another year comes to a close. 2012, just like any other year, you had your gems and you had your flops when it came to album releases. For this article, I’d like to give you my Top 10 albums of 2012 as well as several honorable mentions that didn’t exactly make the cut but were too good to leave unmentioned. So, read on to see my Top 10 Albums Of 2012!

Make sure to check out my worst 5 albums here. READ MORE

Riverside Unveil “Shrine Of New Generation Slaves” Cover Art And Track Listing

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on November 19, 2012 @ 2:00pm
Category: Music / Images

Polish progressive rock group Riverside has unveiled the album artwork and track list for their upcoming fifth studio album Shrine Of New Generation Slaves, which will be released Jan. 21st, 2013 via Century Media/InsideOut Music. You can see both below.

The artwork was designed by Travis Smith, who has done most of the album artwork for bands such as Opeth and Katatonia as well as the Avenged Sevenfold Nightmare cover, which many regarded as the best hard rock album cover of 2011. READ MORE

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[Interview] Devin Townsend Talks ‘Epicloud’, The “Epic Kings & Idols” Tour, And More

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on September 21, 2012 @ 5:30pm
Category: Music / Exclusives

Bloody-Disgusting is thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with none other than the great Devin Townsend! Discussing everything from his new coffee maker to the just-released Epicloud to scoring a movie, we get the rundown on all that is going on in the world of Devin Townsend. Read this extensive interview below!

Epicloud was released this past Tuesday. Make sure to pick up your copy either via CMDistro or iTunes/Amazon. READ MORE

Stolen Babies Release ‘Naught’ Today: Stream The Album

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on September 18, 2012 @ 11:53am
Category: Music / News

Avant-garde metal band Stolen Babies have digitally released their latest album Naught today. In celebration of this, Shockya is streaming the album in its entirety (you can also hear it below). I’ve been listening to the album nonstop and I’m kinda loving it. I definitely recommend you check it out.

The band is also currently opening up the “Epic Kings & Idols” tour, which is co-headlined by Katatonia and Devin Townsend. Paradise Lost act as direct support. You can see the tour dates, as well as post-tour headline shows, below. READ MORE

Twisted Music Video Of The Week Vol. 49: Devin Townsend Band “Vampira”

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on September 07, 2012 @ 7:15pm
Category: Music / Videos

It’s been a slightly miserable day today in terms of the weather. It was overcast with a small breeze. It was the type of weather that makes me crave the fun of Halloween. I want rain. I want grey clouds. I want fog. I want leafless trees. All of this combined made me decide that the Twisted Music Video Of The Week was going to be “Vampira” from none other than Devin Townsend Band! The song comes from the 2006 album Synchestra (Inside Out Music).

A new track Devin Townsend Project‘s upcoming album Epicloud entitled “True North” was streamed earlier today. Listen to it here.

Devin Townsend Project just hit the road as co-headliners alongside Katatonia on the “Epic Kings & Idols” Tour. Paradise Lost and Stolen Babies are opening. Tour dates can be found below.

As always, make sure to leave your suggestion for the next Twisted Music Video Of The Week in the comments below! READ MORE

The Gathering Release New Video For “Heroes For Ghosts”: Stream New Album ‘Disclosure’

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on September 05, 2012 @ 2:45pm
Category: Music / Videos

Dutch atmospheric rockers The Gathering have released a near 11-minute video for “Heroes For Ghosts”, which comes off the band’s 10th studio album Disclosure, out Sept. 25th via Psychonaut Records (pre-order here). The band has also made the entire album available to stream via their Bandcamp page. You can check out the video and stream the album below.

Keyboardist Frank Boeijen, who also sings for the first time on this album states, “Disclosure is the most personal soundscape the band has ever made, both lyrically and musically. The album is a great marriage between electronic and organic sounds, and has a wide range of colorful songs. With long, epic songs, we stayed close to ourselves. We are incredibly proud of this album which is a reflection of what we do best, and our urge for experimentation. Every band says the same thing about their new album, but we think we’ve made our best album yet.”

The Gathering singer Silje Wergeland did a guest appearance on Katatonia‘s Dead End Kings (review). READ MORE

Katatonia Stream Entire ‘Dead End Kings’ Album

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on August 28, 2012 @ 7:00pm
Category: Music / News

The day is finally upon us! Dead End Kings, the 10th studio album from Katatonia has been released and is available for the world to hear! However, if you’re still on the fence about the album (really?), Exclaim! has the entire album available for streaming. And if that’s not enough to convince you, how about checking out my review, eh? The combination of those two should be more than enough for you to shell out $9.99. Right?

Alright, for those of you who have the album, what are your thoughts? What’s your favorite track? READ MORE

Katatonia Unveil ‘Dead End Kings’ iTunes Pre-Orders

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on August 17, 2012 @ 12:00pm
Category: Music / News

Katatonia has unveiled two iTunes pre-order options for their upcoming album Dead End Kings (review), a standard edition and a deluxe edition, which comes with a bonus track and a digital booklet. There are also multiple physical packages available for pre-order at OMerch.

Katatonia will also be co-headlining on the “Epic Kings & Idols” tour with Devin Townsend Project. Support will come from Paradise Lost and Stolen Babies. VIP ticket packages can be ordered here. A tour promo video and full tour schedule is below. READ MORE

[Album Review] Katatonia ‘Dead End Kings’

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on August 03, 2012 @ 4:00pm
Category: Music / Reviews

In October of 2009, I became a contributor to Bloody-Disgusting Music. I submitted two album reviews, one being Rammstein‘s Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da and the other being Katatonia‘s Night Is The New Day. So, in a strange way, being given to opportunity to review Katatonia’s newest effort, Dead End Kings, is, in a way, a full circle journey.

But it’s more than that. One of Katatonia’s earlier albums, Viva Emptiness, was an album that shaped my view of metal, molding it into an understanding of how nostalgia and melancholy can be used as to make the listener feel incredibly powerful and poignant emotions.

So, with this history firmly in mind, I began my journey into Dead End Kings, apprehensive but hopeful of the musical path that was open before me. READ MORE

Stolen Babies Announce Release Date For ‘Naught’

Music
Posted by JonathanBarkan on August 01, 2012 @ 1:45pm
Category: Music / News

Stolen Babies, the avant-garde metal group, has set a digital release date of Sept. 18th and a physical release date of Oct. 16th for their upcoming album Naught. We exclusively premiered the album artwork for Naught, which you can see below.

Stolen Babies will also be touring with Devin Townsend and Katatonia on the “Epic Kings & Idols” Tour alongside Paradise Lost. All tour dates are below.

Now, I haven’t heard all of this band’s material, but I’m loving everything I have heard so far. So, yeah, I’ll be buying a copy of this album posthaste. READ MORE