Pirate metallers Calico Jack recently unleashed their treasure chest of riches with the sophomore album “Isla de la Muerte” on June 30th via Rockshots Records. For this full-length, the band kept the style of their debut album but improved every aspect of their music. “Isla de la Muerte” is much more aggressive, the songs are heavier, more dynamic, and more powerful than past ones. The fiddle tunes on the release are more epic and refined, and there’s no shortage of some of Calico Jack’s trademarks such as the Caribbean sounds in ‘Antigua’. The band also added important elements such as a track of pure classic heavy metal Running Wild-style (‘Bad Fortune’) and a journey through the eastern sounds of the Indian Ocean in the final suite ‘Sandokan’.

Today, the band presents one of its gems, “Marauder” with a new music video. The track is an ode to the life of the looter, who thrives only by plundering the property of others.

“To be a pirate is not just to live free and have fun in a tavern, but one must be prepared to commit the most abject crimes to survive, and if that meant amassing wealth and power, many marauders of the sea were just fine with that. ‘Marauder’ is a song written to be engaging and fun, with simple, groovy guitar riffs and Korpiklaani-esque violin melodies designed to unleash nonstop pogoing and headbanging. The lyrics, by contrast, tell of the heinous and cruel deeds of a sea marauder who has no mercy for anyone who stands before him and aims to plunder as much wealth as possible without qualms or remorse for his deeds. The accompanying video is an actual comic book adventure drawn by cartoonist Nico Tamburo, famous for publishing various works with a pirate setting. In the video, a pirate crew made up of the band members storm a Caribbean port and defeat naval officers after a savage swordfight, toasting the mountain of gold accumulated at the end of the song.” adds the band.

Named after the nickname for Captain John Rackham, the English pirate captain who operated in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century, Calico Jack was founded in 2011 by the brothers Toto (rhythm guitar) and Caps (drums) with the aim of merging legendary 80s heavy metal with modern Scandinavian folk metal, wrapping everything in a maritime atmosphere, inspired by folk songs and sea shanties of the Anglo-Saxon tradition. They make sure they present a flashback to those times with stage scenery and costumes.
“If you play pirate metal, you can’t help but fill the stage with bandanas, chests, skulls, cutlasses, and pistols. We are arranging to bring real parrots and cannonballs on stage, but we are meeting some resistance from animal welfare and pacifist associations… Aesthetics aside, our live shows are notorious for creating absolute chaos above and below the stage, so it is not advisable to attend one of our concerts if you are looking for meditative and intellectual listening. We also hold the record of never having played sober since the beginning of our career, and we offer unlimited drinks to any fan who asks!” adds the band.

Recommended for fans of Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Equilibrium, Moonsorrow, and Running Wild.

Spotify – https://sptfy.com/O9Rg
Music Video – “Broadside Attack” – https://youtu.be/fbkuvnJ_cuk
Music Video – “Queen Anne’s Revenge” – https://youtu.be/nJupjSnaz6k

#calicojack #pirate #folk

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LISTEN – https://bfan.link/queen-anne-s-revenge

This song tells the story of the most feared vessel of all time, the infamous Queen Anne’s Revenge of Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. Through fast-paced, dark-toned folk metal, it tells how this legendary vessel is viewed with dread and is considered almost a supernatural menace, after all, its captain was considered by his opponents to be a real devil on earth.

Named after the nickname for Captain John Rackham, the English pirate captain who operated in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century, Calico Jack was founded in 2011 by the brothers Toto(rhythm guitar) and Caps (drums) with the aim of merging legendary 80s heavy metal with modern Scandinavian folk metal, wrapping everything in a maritime atmosphere, inspired by folk songs and sea shanties of the Anglo-Saxon tradition. They make sure they present a flashback to those times with stage scenery and costumes.

“If you play pirate metal, you can’t help but fill the stage with bandanas, chests, skulls, cutlasses, and pistols. We are arranging to bring real parrots and cannonballs on stage, but we are meeting some resistance from animal welfare and pacifist associations… Aesthetics aside, our live shows are notorious for creating absolute chaos above and below the stage, so it is not advisable to attend one of our concerts if you are looking for meditative and intellectual listening. We also hold the record of never having played sober since the beginning of our career, and we offer unlimited drinks to any fan who asks!” adds the band.

In 2013, they released the debut EP “Panic In The Harbour”, and first self-titled full-length in 2019. Now signing with Rockshots Records, the band will rum running their sophomore album “Isla de la Muerte” out on June 30th, 2023.

For this new record, the band kept the style of their debut album but improved every aspect of their music. “Isla de la Muerte” is much more aggressive, the songs are heavier, more dynamic, and more powerful than past ones. The fiddle tunes on the release are more epic and refined, and there’s no shortage of some of Calico Jack’s trademarks such as the Caribbean sounds in ‘Antigua’. The band also added important elements such as a track of pure classic heavy metal Running Wild-style (‘Bad Fortune’) and a journey through the eastern sounds of the Indian Ocean in the final suite ‘Sandokan’.

Recommended for fans of Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Equilibrium, Moonsorrow, and Running Wild, “Isla de la Muerte” is available for album pre-order
https://bit.ly/IslaDeLaMuerteCD

FOLLOW CALICO JACK:
Website: https://calico-jack.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalicoJackOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calico.jack.official/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@calicojack2574
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2wW9Wz7tLPIA4hPAeDL03U

FOLLOW ROCKSHOTS RECORDS:

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CD – https://bit.ly/theigns-thralls
DIGITAL – https://bfan.link/theigns-thralls

Theigns & Thralls is the brainchild of Skyclad vocalist and songwriter Kevin Ridley. Originally, it was intended to be an ‘occasional band’ to perform songs from Ridley’s back catalogue of songs from Skyclad and his solo album while working around Skyclad’s touring plans. However, when the 2020 global pandemic struck, his plans changed. Being stuck in lockdown, the project became a collaborative recording project building on a few demo ideas. At first, musician friends were contacted to add a bit of violin here and a whistle there. But then things gathered momentum and friends of friends were also asked and players across Europe joined to contribute. The response was, to say the least, overwhelmingly positive and, in the end, twenty-five musicians from bands such as Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, Cruachan, Waylander, Celtibeerian, and Metal De Facto as well as solo musicians (new and old acquaintances of Ridley) contributed everything from drums, bass, guitar, violin, whistles, bagpipes to hurdy-gurdy and vocals. Recommended for fans of Skyclad, Cruachan, Fiddlers Green, Flogging Molly, and Volbeat, Theigns & Thralls’ self-titled album is due out April 8, 2022 via Rockshots Records.

Director / Camera / Editor | Fernando J. Martínez

Additional Footage | Mike Verhof, Dave Briggs, John Ryan, Juan Antonio Lizaga, Gustavo Burguete y José Manuel Lestegás

Special thanks to Álvaro Izquierdo

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The post THEIGNS & THRALLS – Today We Get To Play (Official Music Video) appeared first on MyRockNews.

LISTEN: https://spoti.fi/3KWkiFk

Band founder Kevin Ridley adds about the song:
“I decided early on to have an eponymous album, so the album had the same name as the band, but I also thought to go one stage further and add a song with the same name. As it is the opening song, I wanted it to up-tempo and be anthemic as it also conveys some of the band’s underlying philosophy, in terms of its socio-political stance. Again, Dagda’s pipes helped to lift the song and I really enjoyed adding a bit of old-school harmony guitar here.”

Theigns & Thralls is the brainchild of Skyclad vocalist and songwriter Kevin Ridley. Originally, it was intended to be an ‘occasional band’ to perform songs from Ridley’s back catalogue of songs from Skyclad and his solo album while working around Skyclad’s touring plans. However, when the 2020 global pandemic struck, his plans changed. Being stuck in lockdown, the project became a collaborative recording project building on a few demo ideas. At first, musician friends were contacted to add a bit of violin here and a whistle there. But then things gathered momentum and friends of friends were also asked and players across Europe joined to contribute. The response was, to say the least, overwhelmingly positive and, in the end, twenty-five musicians from bands such as Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, Cruachan, Waylander, Celtibeerian, and Metal De Facto as well as solo musicians (new and old acquaintances of Ridley) contributed everything from drums, bass, guitar, violin, whistles, bagpipes to hurdy-gurdy and vocals.

Recommended for fans of Skyclad, Cruachan, Fiddlers Green, Flogging Molly, and Volbeat, Theigns & Thralls’ self-titled album is due out April 8, 2022 via Rockshots Records.

Album CD pre-order – https://bit.ly/theigns-thralls
Album digital pre-save – https://bfan.link/theigns-thralls

Music Video – Drinking – https://youtu.be/nr87Qjd1NrU

#theignsandthralls #folk #celtic

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The post THEIGNS & THRALLS – Theigns & Thralls (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO) appeared first on MyRockNews.

LISTEN – https://spoti.fi/3JSurmd

Band founder Kevin Ridley adds about the track:
“Once I got into the flow of writing and recording the album, things came together quite quickly. Like with this track. When I came across an old poem (by Abraham Cowley) called ‘Drinking’, I thought folk-metal and drinking, what could possibly go wrong? Again, this song has a big chorus and I thought it would be good to ask all the people playing on the album to add some backing vocals and do a little video of themselves recording it so we could make it into a video. This was so successful that I decided to do a different mix of the track for the video. So, you have the ‘Theigns mix’ for the video (which is shorter) and the ‘Thralls mix’ (which is the album version). This mix also contains the ‘drunken guitarist’ intro, which you might witness at gigs. It is a BIG song with lots of players on it, including Emilio (Souto) on guitar, Jonne (Järvelä) on mandolin and Dave (Briggs) on whistle. It’s a bit of a ‘a folk-metal anthem’, hopefully.”

Theigns & Thralls is the brainchild of Skyclad vocalist and songwriter Kevin Ridley. Originally, it was intended to be an ‘occasional band’ to perform songs from Ridley’s back catalogue of songs from Skyclad and his solo album while working around Skyclad’s touring plans. However, when the 2020 global pandemic struck, his plans changed. Being stuck in lockdown, the project became a collaborative recording project building on a few demo ideas. At first, musician friends were contacted to add a bit of violin here and a whistle there. But then things gathered momentum and friends of friends were also asked and players across Europe joined to contribute. The response was, to say the least, overwhelmingly positive and, in the end, twenty-five musicians from bands such as Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, Cruachan, Waylander, Celtibeerian, and Metal De Facto as well as solo musicians (new and old acquaintances of Ridley) contributed everything from drums, bass, guitar, violin, whistles, bagpipes to hurdy-gurdy and vocals.

“I think that because a lot of the album was written and recorded in a fairly short space of time, there is a certain feel and continuity to it. There is a blend of Celtic Speed-Punk, Folk-Metal and Classic Rock influences. Added to that, in terms of lyrical content, there is a strong appreciation of history, literature and humanism that comes together.” adds Ridley.

The name Theigns & Thralls (which basically means masters and servants) was settled on and it was also decided to make an eponymous album so that Theigns & Thralls was the band’s name, the name of the album, and the name of one of the songs. This was to help clarify the band’s ’mission’ or ‘raison d’etre’.

As well as putting out the album and videos, the next phase of the band’s evolution will be to put together a ‘touring band’ when permitted, not only to do what was originally intended, but also to perform the new original songs – perhaps with a few guest artist appearances – and to become a force in their own right.

As well as putting out the album and videos, the next phase of the band’s evolution will be to put together a ‘touring band’ when permitted, not only to do what was originally intended, but also to perform the new original songs – perhaps with a few guest artist appearances – and to become a force in their own right.

Recommended for fans of Skyclad, Cruachan, Fiddlers Green, Flogging Molly, and Volbeat, Theigns & Thralls’ self-titled album is due out April 8, 2022 via Rockshots Records.

Album Pre-Order – https://bit.ly/theigns-thralls
Album Pre Save – https://bfan.link/theigns-thralls

FOLLOW ROCKSHOTS RECORDS:

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-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Please watch: “CRUSADE OF BARDS – Vento Aureo (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) ”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlScyKYsIdg
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-

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CD – https://bit.ly/TheFifthSeason_CD
Digital – ​https://bfan.link/the-fifth-season

Mixing traditional folk instruments (Flute, Violin, Bouzouki) with the modern symphonic metal, Aexylium‘s sophomore full length follows 2018’s “Tales From This Land” (Underground Symphony Records) and their 2016 self-produced EP “The Blind Crow“. “Tales From This Land” has had over 110k streams on Spotify along with its powerful single “Revive the Village’ placing on the top 200 metal song charts in Germany on Apple Music. Aexylium has also released fan-praised covers of Game of Thrones and Vikings main themes with reinterpreted folk metal sounds.

Since their inception in 2014, the Italian band has performed at renowned festivals in Europe such as Dumeltica International Music Festival, Montelago Celtic Festival, Malpaga Folk & Metal, Rock Inn Somma, Druidia and Strigarium along with sharing the stage with Elvenking, Wind Rose, Nervosa, Furor Gallico, Temperance and more. In August 2020, despite Covid restrictions, Aexylium was chosen by the city of Milan to perform at the historical Castello Sforzesco.

Their new album “The Fifth Season” is a concrete step towards growth and musical maturity with its offering of festive ballads, tighter riffs, advanced orchestrations and heavier dark songs that are all inspired by Norse Mythology. The record also features guest vocals from Samuele Faulisi (Atlas Pain), Arianna Bellinaso and the members of Coro Facoltà di Musicologia Vocal Ensemble. The album was recorded at Twilight Studio by Davide Tavecchia with the artwork done by Jan Yrlund of Darkgrove Design (Manowar, Testament, Korpiklaani).

Videos:​
Lyric Video – The Bridge – https://youtu.be/jyssCoDi9jo
Music Video – The Fifth Season – https://youtu.be/uL0YN1JIyVc
Music Video – Mountains – https://youtu.be/dTt14GcEz9k

#aexylium #folkmetal

FOLLOW ROCKSHOTS RECORDS:

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https://shop.rockshots.eu/

-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Please watch: “CRUSADE OF BARDS – Vento Aureo (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) ”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlScyKYsIdg
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-

The post AEXYLIUM – Spirit Of The North (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO) appeared first on MyRockNews.

Filmed by Maurizio del Piccolo – Moviedel Productions

Mixing traditional folk instruments (Flute, Violin, Bouzouki) with the modern symphonic metal, Aexylium’s sophomore full length follows 2018’s “Tales From This Land” (Underground Symphony Records) and their 2016 self-produced EP “The Blind Crow“. “Tales From This Land” has had over 110k streams on Spotify along with its powerful single “Revive the Village’ placing on the top 200 metal song charts in Germany on Apple Music. Aexylium has also released fan-praised covers of Game of Thrones and Vikings main themes with reinterpreted folk metal sounds.
Since their inception in 2014, the Italian band has performed at renowned festivals in Europe such as Dumeltica International Music Festival, Montelago Celtic Festival, Malpaga Folk & Metal, Rock Inn Somma, Druidia and Strigarium along with sharing the stage with Elvenking, Wind Rose, Nervosa, Furor Gallico, Temperance and more. In August 2020, Aexylium was chosen by the city of Milan to perform at the historical Castello Sforzesco.

Their new album “The Fifth Season” is a concrete step towards growth and musical maturity with its offering of festive ballads, tighter riffs, advanced orchestrations and heavier dark songs that are all inspired by Norse Mythology. The record also features guest vocals from Samuele Faulisi (Atlas Pain), Arianna Bellinaso and the members of Coro Facoltà di Musicologia Vocal Ensemble. The album was recorded at Twilight Studio by Davide Tavecchia with the artwork done by Jan Yrlund of Darkgrove Design (Manowar, Testament, Korpiklaani)

#aexylium #folkmetal

FOLLOW ROCKSHOTS RECORDS:

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http://www.facebook.com/rockshotsrecords
https://www.instagram.com/rockshotsrecords/
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https://shop.rockshots.eu/

The post AEXYLIUM – Mountains (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO) appeared first on MyRockNews.

Italian symphonic folk metallers Aexylium are sharing their first single “The Bridge” from their forthcoming album “The Fifth Season” due out October 29th, 2021 via Rockshots Records.

The opening track of the full length, “The Bridge” is an instant war call, a powerful rush of drums, symphonic speed, and heaviness to immediately convey this clan’s followers ready for battle.
The lyric video for “The Bridge” can be viewed and heard on Rockshots Records’ YouTube Channel – https://youtu.be/jyssCoDi9jo

Digital download and stream on the following platforms:
SPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/36M35fX
APPLE MUSIC: https://apple.co/3xMU6Hc

Mixing traditional folk instruments (Flute, Violin, Bouzouki) with the modern symphonic metal, Aexylium’s new album “The Fifth Season” is a concrete step towards growth and musical maturity with its offering of festive ballads, tighter riffs, advanced orchestrations and heavier dark songs that are all inspired by Norse Mythology. The record also features guest vocals from Samuele Faulisi (Atlas Pain), Arianna Bellinaso and the members of Coro Facoltà di Musicologia Vocal Ensemble. The album was recorded at Twilight Studio by Davide Tavecchia with the artwork done by Jan Yrlund of Darkgrove Design (Manowar, Testament, Korpiklaani).

The band adds:
“This work is the result of different approaches toward music, and different interests between the members of the band. For example, “An Damhsa Mór” – one of our completely acoustic pieces – reflects the interest of our flutist for Irish tradition and Gaeilge, while “Yggrdasil” is obviously a reference to Norse mythology, which our singer is passionate about. The title track is dedicated to something we would prefer to avoid, but, on the contrary, since the world we are facing is showing its environmental and social limits, the song “The Fifth Season” seems to express all our doubts and anxieties toward the future.”

“The Fifth Season” is due out October 29, 2021 via Rockshots Records and available for pre-order at the following link:
https://bit.ly/TheFifthSeason_CD

For Fans Of: Eluveitie, Korpiklaani, Alestorm

#aexylium #folkmetal

FOLLOW AEXYLIUM:
http://Aexylium.it
http://Facebook.com/aexylium
http://Instagram.com/aexylium_official
http://Youtube.com/c/AexyliumOfficial
https://sptfy.com/5y1a
http://Aexylium.bandcamp.com

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Finnish songwriter Timo Mölsä will be releasing his studio project Endless Chain’s debut album “Forthcoming Past” via Rockshots Records on June 25th, 2021.

The album features guests Mikko Heikkilä (Kaunis Kuolematon, Dawn Of Solace, Black Aeon Sun), Ville Hovi (Blackstar Halo), Aki Salonen (Nemecic), Sami Yli-Sirniö (Kreator, Waltari), Antti Kolehmainen, (Waltari), and Samuli Mikkonen (Korpiklaani). The full length was recorded, mixed, and produced by Aleksanteri Kuosa (Before the Dawn, Wolfheart, Waltari) along with mastering done by Juho Räihä (guitarist of Swallow the Sun).
Today, Endless Chain is now ready to unveil the next single “All of The Above” with guest vocals from Ville Hovi (Blackstar Halo), Aki Salonen (Nemecic).

Mölsä comments:

“The second last song I composed for the album. The song was built around a chorus lead guitar melody. After all, a pretty straight striking metal song with clean and growling vocals as well as a big chorus.”

Lyric Video – https://youtu.be/b9nbm_euL9U
Digital – https://backl.ink/146711362

A late bloomer to being a musician, Endless Chain’s Timo Mölsä had his musical awakening in 2016, however, he has been listening and influenced by various genres of metal music for over 30 years. It took re-introducing himself to guitar with long-time friend Ari Hokkanen as a fun pastime that drove Mölsä to create his own songs. What would soon follow is a new project with contributions from Hokkanen for writing and lyrics.

Soon after, Mölsä shared his demos with drummer Samuli Mikkonen (Korpiklaani), who, after listening, joined the project and performed all the drums on the debut record.

Step by step things fell into place, through Mikkonen, Mölsä became acquainted with producer Aleksanteri Kuosa who had a big impact on the completion of the debut album.

“Aleksanteri is an imaginative producer and he was also very patient with a perfectionist like me. He knew how to weed out extra notes from my compositions and finally got the most out of my songs. There were maybe a total of 20 songs in the beginning, of which we went through less than 15 in the preliminary production. Finally, 10 songs had been selected for the album. Through Aleksanteri, I also got many other great musicians involved in the project.”

The end result is Mölsä’s dark and melancholic sound premiered through Endless Chain’s first offering “Forthcoming Past”.

Album pre-order – http://bit.ly/ForthcomingPastCD

Lyric Video – Nothing More – https://youtu.be/3ZeUhMPttYM

#endlesschain #metal

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