New York City’s TOWER To Release ‘Shock To The System’ This November

Enrico

In November, New York City true metallers TOWER will release their sophomore studio album, “Shock To The System”, via Cruz Del Sur Music. The album was recorded this May and June at Artifact Audio in Ridgewood, New York, with Sasha Stroud serving as co-producer and engineer. The album’s cover was created by Morgan Jesse Lappin.

According to vocalist Sarabeth Linden, half of the music and lyrics for “Shock To The System” were written during the recent lockdown attributed to the global pandemic. The result is TOWER’s most complete outing to date — a veritable metal call-to-arms that combines the band’s energetic brand of NWOBHM and classic rock into ten anthemic cuts.

“We stayed centered around our established style but took it to new levels in some places,” says Linden. “The heavy parts are heavier than before, the fast parts are faster, the slow parts are slower, and one song is around seven minutes, which we’ve never come close to previously. Musically, there are a lot of firsts on this record.”

TOWER (who are completed by the guitar tandem of James Danzo and Zak Penley and drummer James Jones) only has one previous full-length studio album to their credit, 2016’s self-titled outing. While their 2019 “Tomorrow & Yesterday” EP featured four songs of rocked-up metal, “Shock To The System” takes TOWER’s sound to the next level.  

“The first album is already five years old!” exclaims Linden. “It seems so long ago now. The songs that are still in the live set, like ‘Flames’, ‘Raceway Rock’ and ‘Elegy’ are still very much in the vein of the new material. The EP was a bit more simple and aggressive, and those elements are on the album, too, but manifest in a different way. In general, we have grown a lot as a band and as individuals. We’ve matured, and it’s reflected in the music.”

TOWER recently celebrated its return to the stage in July. With “Shock To The System” in the can, the band plans on preparing for future live dates — and a new bassist. “We’re in the process of revamping the lineup for tour, as Jeff Filmer stepped aside to give his full attention to his bands SHADOWLAND and HUSTLER,” closes Linden. “We’ll be ready to hit the road by year’s end. See you soon! Be prepared!”

“Shock To The System” track listing:

  1. Blood Moon
  2. Prince Of Darkness
  3. Metatron
  4. Running Out Of Time
  5. Lay Down The Law
  6. Hired Gun
  7. The Black Rose
  8. On The Line
  9. In Dreams
  10. Powder Keg

APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE To Release ‘Until The Darkness Goes’ This November

Enrico

Indianapolis doom titans APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE will release their fifth studio album, “Until The Darkness Goes”, this November via Cruz Del Sur Music.

APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE — featuring vocalist/guitarist Chuck Brown, guitarist/vocalist Steve Janiak, bassist Mike Naish and drummer Corey Webb — initially planned to record the album in late 2020, but health and safety concerns over the global pandemic pushed the start date to May 17 of this year. Once again, the band hunkered down in Russian Recording in Bloomington, Indiana, with long-time producer/engineer Mike Bridavsky at the helm.

According to Naish, the goal heading into the creation of “Until The Darkness Goes” was to write shorter, more compact songs, with an onus on their quality and emotional impact on the listener. “This album is short even by our standards,” he says. “The emotion of the lyrics coupled with slower tempos suggest a sudden and painful personal loss, a mood that evolved over the album’s creation. It is probably more about refining what we do best as a band — and individuals — to convey an idea as opposed to continuing a theme. In short, it’s a more polished version of everything we all loved about our previous records.”

The pandemic directly impacted APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE — one of its members lost both parents, casting a pall over its creation. The band took advantage of shifting recording dates to refine the album, resulting in what is unquestionably their darkest and most heartfelt LP to date.

“The pandemic was ever-present as the songwriting process evolved,” says Naish. “Thus, more of our personal experiences became infused in our playing and songwriting, specifically around vocal harmonies. To play music together was cathartic for us, but it was also challenging to stay safe during a pandemic. We were fortunate to have support from our label, Cruz Del Sur, to record when we felt comfortable. So, that’s what we did.”

APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE recently resumed live activity, including two opening slots on the abbreviated THE OBSESSED and THE SKULL American tour. While the band enjoyed hitting the stage once again, they couldn’t help but worry things could come to a halt at any time.

“There always seemed to be some impending sense of doom (pun intended?) that nothing has any sense of permanence,” finishes Naish. “We are generously supported when we tour, and, for that, we are grateful. We owe it to ourselves and each other to pull our weight to bring this pandemic to an end. We want to tour in support of this release when conditions are favorable for both performers and fans. Unfortunately, we cannot predict when that will be. Working musicians are struggling right now to make ends meet, and we feel uncomfortable putting anyone at risk in these trying times. We’ll see you all as soon as we can do it safely.”

“Until The Darkness Goes” tracklisting:

  1. When The Darkness Comes
  2. The Union
  3. Apathy In Isolation
  4. Deeper Than The Oceans
  5. Beautifully Dark
  6. Relive The Day

DARK QUARTERER Release Video For Italian-Sung Version Of “Last Song”

Enrico

Long-running Italian metallers DARK QUARTERER have released a video for the Italian-sung version of “Last Song”, a cut from their 2002 studio album, “Violence”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb0w86IkOdI

“After ‘Darkness’, which is on ‘War Tears’, we thought it would be a good idea to repeat the experience with another song in our native language,” says DARK QUARTERER vocalist Gianni Nepi. “The very first version of the song was in Italian; I wrote it for a student who eventually became one of the best sound engineers in Italy, Cristiano Grassini. The lyrics, arrangement and atmosphere of the song make it special to us.”

DARK QUARTERER released “Pompei” in 2020, marking their first album with Cruz Del Sur Music. The LP was recorded in January and February 2020 at the band’s own W.R.S. Studios in Piombino, Italy. Vocals and keyboards were tracked in May 2020 by sound engineer Andrea Ramacciotti, with mastering handled by Alex Marton of Firstinlinestudio in Follonica.

Metal Temple hailed “Pompei” as being “elegant, heavy and creative.” Metal Kaoz scored the album a 9/10 and noted it was a “truly interesting piece of music,” while Dead Rhetoric said, “DARK QUARTERER churn out material that is epic, progressive, touching and well worth the time to investigate as the aural odyssey takes you into realms rarely heard in today’s landscape.”