Month: November 2021

Grammy Award-nominated British rock band PORCUPINE TREE has returned with its first new music in close to 12 years. “Harridan” premieres today at all DSPs and streaming services. An epic, eight-minute-long reintroduction to PORCUPINE TREE’s truly singular sound, “Harridan” is joined by an official lyric video, streaming now via YouTube.

“Harridan” heralds the release of PORCUPINE TREE’s long-awaited eleventh studio album, “Closure / Continuation”, due on Friday, June 24 via Music For Nations/Megaforce Records. The LP — which follows 2009’s “The Incident” — will be available on standard CD, standard black vinyl 2×12″ LP, white vinyl 2×12″ LP, transparent blue vinyl 2×12″ LP, and white cassette. In addition, a limited audiophile deluxe LP will also be available, cut at 45rpm on 3×12″ clear vinyl in 12″ slipcase box with two bonus tracks; a limited audiophile deluxe CD in 12″ slipcase box will include the standard CD, a second disc with three bonus tracks and instrumentals, Blu-ray disc with 5.1/Dolby Atmos and HD audio versions of the album, and an exclusive album art book. Pre-orders are available now.

“‘Harridan’ and a few of the other new songs have been in play since shortly after the release of ‘The Incident’,” says PORCUPINE TREE. “They initially lived on a hard drive in a slowly growing computer file marked PT2012, later renamed PT2015, PT2018, and so on. There were times when we even forgot they were there, and times when they nagged us to finish them to see where they would take us. Listening to the finished pieces, it was clear that this wasn’t like any of our work outside of the band — the combined DNA of the people behind the music meant these tracks were forming what was undeniably, unmistakably, obviously a PORCUPINE TREE record. You’ll hear all of that DNA flowing right through ‘Harridan’.”

PORCUPINE TREE — Steven Wilson, Richard Barbieri and Gavin Harrison — will celebrate their long-overdue return with a wide-ranging world tour, set to hit North America next fall. The band recently unveiled a series of European live shows — their first since October 2010 — getting underway October 21, 2022 in Berlin, Germany and then culminating at London’s world-famous SSE Arena, Wembley on November 11.

PORCUPINE TREE European tour 2022:

Oct. 21 – Berlin, DE – Max Schmelinghalle
Oct. 23 – Vienna, AU – Gasometer
Oct. 24 – Milan, IT – Forum
Oct. 27 – Stockholm, SW – Globe
Oct. 28 – Copenhagen, DK – Falkoner Theatre
Oct. 30 – Katowice, PO – Spodek Hall
Nov. 02 – Paris, FR – Le Zenith
Nov. 04 – Stuttgart, DE – Porsche Arena
Nov. 06 – Oberhausen, DE – KP Arena
Nov. 07 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggodome
Nov. 09 – Zurich, CH – Halle 622
Nov. 11 – London, UK – SSE Arena, Wembley

One of the most forward-thinking, genre-defying rock bands of any era, PORCUPINE TREE was founded in 1987 by renowned musician/producer Steven Wilson as an outlet for the experimental recordings he was making outside of his acclaimed post-rock duo NO-MAN. With the addition of keyboard player Richard Barbieri and drummer Gavin Harrison, PORCUPINE TREE soon evolved into a proper band, releasing 10 studio albums between 1992 and 2009. Each new release saw PORCUPINE TREE exploring new musical ideas, their expansive music shifting from pastoral psychedelic rock and ambient electronic soundscapes to experimental pop and propulsive metal. Later releases like 2007’s Grammy Award-nominated “Fear Of A Blank Planet” and 2009’s “The Incident” — the band’s biggest seller thus far, reaching the top 25 in both the U.S. and the U.K. — saw PORCUPINE TREE effortlessly melding distinctive genres to create a groundbreaking musical universe all their own.

As relentlessly creative on stage as they are in the studio, PORCUPINE TREE proved innovative live performers known for sonic innovation and inventive visual productions. In October 2010, the band entered a period of hiatus following a spectacular concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall — their biggest live show to date.

The most collaborative album of their highly lauded career, “Closure / Continuation” doesn’t simply pick up where PORCUPINE TREE left off back in 2010. While the familiar traits of the band’s idiosyncratic sound remain intact, the new album very much places PORCUPINE TREE in the here and now, with greater texture and color than ever before.

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THE HALO EFFECT, the new project featuring five former members of the Swedish metal band IN FLAMES — Jesper Strömblad (guitar), Daniel Svensson (drums), Peter Iwers (bass), Niclas Engelin (guitar) and Mikael Stanne (vocals) — has signed a deal with Nuclear Blast. THE HALO EFFECT’s debut single, “Shadowminds”, will arrive on November 9.

THE HALO EFFECT said in a statement: “Having grown up alongside Nuclear Blast in the early days of extreme metal, it just makes perfect sense for THE HALO EFFECT to partner with this prestigous label. Our music holds true to our roots and what made us who we are today while trusting our shared experiences to move forward. Joining our old and new friends at Nuclear Blast Records is an honour and a privilege and we look forward to to releasing this labor of love for metal together!”

Jens Prüter, head of A&R at Nuclear Blast Europe, adds: “In 2009, I was going to Gothenburg to produce the ‘Where Death Is Most Alive’ documentary for a DARK TRANQUILLITY DVD. Getting deeper into the Gothenburg scene, going through hours of archive footage and listening to all the interviews, I though it was a jungle of incest. In the early ’90s, a bunch of guys moved between IN FLAMES, DARK TRANQUILLITY, CEREMONIAL OATH, HAMMERFALL and many more. We shouldn’t forget that most of the protagonists were still teenagers when they released their first ‘Desecrator’ or ‘Septic Broiler’ demo tapes. What looked like incest was just a group of friends who shared a deep passion for metal. You could call it an all-star band but it’s basically just an all-family band. Listening to THE HALO EFFECT is like going to a New Year’s dinner enjoying the best food and drinks of the year. And it’s a pleasure to be invited and share the joy with the rest of the world. Cheers!”

The initial thought behind THE HALO EFFECT was to go back to the roots and explore the classic Gothenburg Sound. The band delivers the goods in a brutally efficient display of heart pounding beats, melodic mayhem and furious growling at its best and the result is an exceptional sound to fans of melodeath, where the echoes of the Gothenburg Sound are evident.

To celebrate the signing, THE HALO EFFECT has also announced its first-ever tour, accompanying the Swedish death metal giants AMON AMARTH and U.S. metallers MACHINE HEAD on 31 dates throughout Europe.

The band comments: “We could not be more excited to partner with Cobra Agency for our first tour of Europe together with metal giants AMON AMARTH and MACHINE HEAD. Working together with people who are passionate about the road, the crews, the bands and the fans means a lot to us and doing this together is something we very much look forward to. See you in September/October!”

A founding member of IN FLAMES, Strömblad quit the band in February 2010 in order to continue receiving treatment for his alcohol addiction.

Five years ago, Jesper slammed his former bandmates, calling the group a “sinking ship” and saying IN FLAMES singer Anders Fridén has “never been a songwriter.”

Svensson, who joined IN FLAMES in 1998, announced in 2015 that he was leaving the group to focus on his family life.

A member of IN FLAMES since 1997, Iwers issued a statement in November 2016 saying that he was exiting the band “to pursue other endeavors.”

Engelin has been sitting out IN FLAMES’ tour dates for the past two and a half years but has never officially confirmed his departure from the band. Engelin’s replacement for IN FLAMES’ live shows for most of 2019 and early 2020 has been former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE guitarist Chris Broderick.

When Engelin was asked in an August 2020 interview with the “MetalBreak” podcast what his “future” with IN FLAMES was, he responded, “I choose to pass on that [question],” before quickly adding, “I’m still in the band.”

As of last year, Engelin was not listed as a member of IN FLAMES on the band’s Facebook page (Broderick was), and he is not featured in any of IN FLAMES’ current promotional photos from the group’s record label, Nuclear Blast.

IN FLAMES recruited American drummer Tanner Wayne, best known for his work with UNDERMINDED, SCARY KIDS SCARING KIDS and CHIODOS, to sit behind the kit for the band for its 2018, 2019 and 2020 live appearances. Wayne stepped into IN FLAMES following the departure of Joe Rickard, who played on the band’s “I, The Mask” and “Battles” albums.

Shortly after leaving IN FLAMES, Iwers joined CYHRA, the band featuring vocalist Jake E (ex-AMARANTHE) and Strömblad. He announced his departure from that band in May 2018.

IN FLAMES’ current lineup features American bassist Bryce Paul Newman, who has been playing most of the shows with the group since Iwers’s exit.

During a January 2021 appearance on the “Vox&Hops” podcast, Iwers was asked if he ever misses being on the road. The bassist replied: “Yeah, absolutely. Well, ‘miss’ is kind of the wrong word. I loved being on the road for most of the years that I was with [IN FLAMES], and I miss the good times. I have no regrets as far as leaving, but, of course, sometimes I really miss just being free and out and playing shows and traveling to new places every day. But I have plans. Maybe this will happen again in the future — not with IN FLAMES, though, but, yeah, we’ll see.”

He continued: “I’m kind of not missing spending time thinking about stuff like that. I’m kind of more living where I am now, where I’m actually free to do whatever I can with my own time. I own my own time, as I like to say; I can plan it however I like it. And I’m kind of focusing on enjoying that rather than missing the past.

“It’s fun to reminisce, but at the same time, it can take you down a dangerous road as well,” Peter added.

In a 2017 interview with Ireland’s Overdrive, IN FLAMES guitarist Björn Gelotte said that he wasn’t surprised by Peter’s departure from the band. “It wasn’t a ‘shock,’ so to speak, as we kind of knew that it was coming,” he said. “I think he was just done with it all and not happy. No, ‘happy’ is the wrong word. He just wanted to pursue other things. Peter is a very, very busy guy. He has his own brewery with Daniel called Odd Island Brewing and he’s also got four or five different musical projects happening, so he’s really got his hands full at the moment.”

A year ago, DARK TRANQUILITY vocalist Mikael Stanne, who sang on IN FLAMES’ debut album, 1994’s “Lunar Strain”, dismissed comparisons between the two bands, telling the “BREWtally Speaking Podcast”: “We are kind of forever linked, just because of our connection early on. I sang on the first IN FLAMES album, and Anders sang on the first DARK TRANQUILLITY album, and this is still a cause of great confusion for some reason. But, yeah, we toured together, we are friends and we grew up together in the same area outside of town [in Gothenburg, Sweden]. So, of course, it’s obvious. And I’m okay with that — that’s fine. It just becomes a little bit old, because there’s not much to say about it anymore, because we’ve gone in very different directions. So it’s not relevant, but, of course, you do make comparisons — that’s how people work, how you go, ‘I like this band better than that band.’ And if there is a link somehow, and there are many between the two of us, then you use that as some kind of reference or, ‘This is better than that,’ or, ‘The guitar player is better in that band’ — that kind of stuff. So I’m okay with it. It doesn’t change anything. And sometimes questions about it tend to be uninspired. It’s just like, ‘Oh, what do you think of the other band’s albums?’ It’s, like, ‘It doesn’t matter, but I’m a huge fan. I love it.’ And it’s the same with, of course, AT THE GATES as well, even though we haven’t shared any members together, but we still kind of grew up together, so, obviously, there’s a huge connection there as well. And I don’t mind talking about my friends and the awesome bands that are from this town — it’s fine — but sometimes the direct comparisons seem… Maybe they meant something in the ’90s, but they really don’t anymore.”

THE HALO EFFECT 2022 European tour supporting AMON AMARTH and MACHINE HEAD:

Sep. 08 – UK – Nottingham – Arena
Sep. 09 – UK – Cardiff – Arena
Sep. 10 – UK – London – Wembley Arena
Sep. 12 – UK – Manchester – Arena
Sep. 13 – IE – Dublin – 3 Arena –
Sep. 16 – CH – Zurich – Hallenstadion
Sep. 17 – AT – Vienna – Stadthalle
Sep. 18 – PL – Krakow – Tauron Arena
Sep. 20 – EST – Tallinn – Saku Arena
Sep. 21 – FIN – Helsinki – Ice Hall
Sep. 23 – N – Oslo – Spektrum
Sep. 24 – S – Stockholm – Hovet
Sep. 26 – DK – Copenhagen – Forum Black Box
Sep. 27 – DE – Hamburg – Barclays Arena
Sep. 28 – DE – Frankfurt – Festhalle
Sep. 30 – DE – Oberhausen – König Pilsener Arena
Oct. 01 – DE – Berlin – Velodrom
Oct. 02 – NL – Amsterdam – Afas Live
Oct. 04 – IT – Milano – Lorenzini District
Oct. 06 – ES – Barcelona – Sant Jordi
Oct. 07 – ES – Madrid – Vistalegre
Oct. 08 – ES – La Coruna – Coliseum
Oct. 09 – P – Lisbon – Campo Pequeno
Oct. 12 – FR – Paris – Zenith
Oct. 14 – DE – Munich – Olympiahalle
Oct. 15 – DE – Leipzig – Arena
Oct. 16 – CZ – Prague – Tipsport Arena
Oct. 18 – HU – Budapest – Barba Negra
Oct. 20 – LUX – Esch zur Alzette – Rockhal
Oct. 21 – BE – Brussels – Forest National
Oct. 22 – DE – Stuttgart – Schleyerhalle

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