Melancholy Death

Svart Records has set a February 28 release date for KUOLEMANLAAKSO's "Tulijoutsen" ("The Fire Swan"), the highly acclaimed Finnish death-doomsters' second album and their most ambitious work to date. Produced once again by TRIPTYKON/DARK FORTRESS guitarist V. Santura, the CD explores unconquered grounds of heaviness and pushes the band into a new level of melancholy. The 50-minute magnum opus was inspired by the grandeur of the Finnish forests, serene eeriness of the lakes, and early 1900s poetry and folklore. Thus, it was only natural for the band to live the lyrics, so to speak, and isolate themselves in a secluded location in the middle of the woods and capture the true essence of the songs on hard disk.

Side project from Katatonia main men Jonas Renske and Fredrik Norrman, October Tide celebrated the melodic, ambient doom side of Katatonia's sound. Featuring brand-new artwork and remixing/engineering by Dan Swanö, this edition of Rain Without End recalls the intense, brooding melancholy of mid-1990s European metal. A dark release, even by today’s standards, October Tide’s debut is a testament to the inventiveness of two of metal’s understated visionaries.

Since their formation in Mechelen, Belgium at the dawn of 2008, Marche Funèbre have carved their own indelible mark into the annals of heavy music. Originally inspired by the renowned triumvirate of Peaceville bands - My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and Anathema - Marche Funèbre have long since shaped those influences into a sound that is all their own, a unique distillation of melancholy, atmosphere, beauty and soul crushing heaviness. With revered albums like 2017s "Into The Arms Of Darkness" and 2020s "Einderlicht" they have risen to a place of prominence within the mournful ranks of doom metal’s elite - and still their creative star continues to rise. With a new deal in place with Ardua Music, Marche Funèbre are ready to unveil their fifth full length album, After The Storm - the most impactful and emotive set of songs to bear their name…

The end game, the final unit. The last Gridlink record. Recorded over five days in Kyoto, Japan, ‘Longhena,’ is a twenty-three minute grindcore opus made real through the emotional ferocity and painstaking calculation of Jon Chang (Discordance Axis), Bryan Fajardo (Phobia, PLF), Takafumi Matsubara (Discordance Axis, Hayaino Daisuki) and Teddy Patterson (Burnt by the Sun, Human Remains, Hayaino Daisuki).Awe-inspiring musicianship, landscapes of shred, atonal and melodic at once, blast-beat hyper-mania and vocals screamed from the bottom of a personal and illustrated hell. This is the one you’ve been waiting for. The one that makes the body ache.‘Longhena,’ is for anyone sick with melancholy, and those who wish to obliterate the world with music.

The last night of this North American tour was very special - it was shortly before Christmas (December 22) so the band performed an acoustic version of White Christmas during the acoustic set. Also several crew members and friends (incl. John Reid and Peter Straker) sang backing vocals in the first encore (Sheer Heart Attack). An audio recording exists and is available on the bootleg market.

The origins of Agalloch date back to 1995 and the disintegration of the band Aeolachrymae. As that group died, three phoenixes emerged from the ashes, Sussurrus Inanis, Nothing, and Agalloch. Mixing black metal with atmospheric textures, gothic doom, and neo-folk and post-rock touches, the Portland, OR-based group quickly developed a rabid cult following.

Collection includes 4 studio albums, 4 EP and 3 compilations by American dark folk metal band Agalloch.

Harry James was one of the most outstanding instrumentalists of the swing era, employing a bravura playing style that made his trumpet work instantly identifiable. He was also one of the most popular bandleaders of the first half of the 1940s, and he continued to lead his band until just before his death, 40 years later.