THE AGONIST - Interview With ALISSA WHITE-GLUZ

On September 2, Philippe Langelier conducted an interview with vocalist Alissa White-Gluz of Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based female-fronted melodic death metallers THE AGONIST.



THE AGONIST recently completed a North American tour with KAMELOT, ALESTORM and BLACKGUARD. Unfortunately, THE AGONIST lead guitarist Danny Marino was unable to join the band on this trek, and was replaced by ex-THE CATALYST guitarist Justin Deguire on rhythm guitar while Pascal "Paco" Jobin took over lead guitar duties.

For fans that have been patiently waiting for new material from THE AGONIST, this tour was the first opportunity to get their hands on the band's latest release. "The Escape" EP — featuring two songs from THE AGONIST's upcoming full-length album ("Lonely Solipsist" and "The Escape") — was being sold exclusively on the road and online at CM Distro for the duration of the tour. The only way to get your hands on a physical copy of this limited-edition EP was to catch the band on its run with KAMELOT or to order via CM Distro. The EP is also available in a digital format after the tour.

Mixed by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, SUICIDE SILENCE), THE AGONIST's new full-length album is slated for an early 2012 release via Century Media Records.

In a recent interview with MetalConcerts.net, Alissa White-Gluz stated about the musical direction of the follow-up to 2009's "Lullabies For A Dormant Mind", "I wouldn't say it's heavier or more melodic. I think it sounds more mature. It has the same sort of schizophrenic side that 'Lullabies' has, but it also has some other I guess what you would call classic influences. Like, there's some PANTERA influence, there's some RADIOHEAD influence. I mean, there's a lot of influences that we didn't really have before."

"Lullabies For A Dormant Mind" debuted at No. 105 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Introduces Mobile Game Zombie Slay

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, one of the hottest rigins stars in metalcore, is entering the mobile gaming world with the release of "Zombie Slay", a first-person, multi-level, action game specifically designed for mobile devices, that integrates all five songs from the band's critically-acclaimed 2010 release, "Zombie EP".

The desire to provide unique goods for its fans as well as address the decline of traditional sales, radio and video avenues by providing an original and tangible platform for fans to experience the band's music, is what brought THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA to explore mobile gaming as a way to achieve both.

"Zombie Slay" challenges gamers to survive and save survivors in a post-apocalyptic world by killing as many zombies as possible. The game features randomly-generated gameplay at all levels that challenges both casual and hardcore gamers and promotes return-to-game play, an OpenFeint interface that enables players to compete against each other anywhere in the world, and social media integration. The "Zombie Slay" game is available immediately for $1.99 through iTunes for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, with Android capabilities expected in the near future. Fans can also receive updates on the game at ZombieSlay.com.

"Zombie Slay" was conceptualized by THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and was the next logical step to follow the success of "Zombie EP" and its accompanying limited-edition comic book, "Zombie, The Comic!" The "Zombie" comic book was penned by "Day by Day Armageddon - A Zombie Novel" writer JL Bourne, and illustrated by Kevin Mellon, who also provided the artwork for "Zombie Slay". The band and its management team, Fly South Music Group, enlisted the Orlando-based media development company Echo Interaction Group to build and develop the "Zombie Slay" game.

About the original idea and concept for the game, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA's lead vocalist Mike Hranica commented, "When we had the idea to write songs based on Zombie chaos, one of the enticing side effects was being able to do cool stuff outside of the EP itself. We've always liked the idea of offering our fans something really unique. We're all a bunch of Apple nerds and we spend a lot of down time on tour playing with games and apps. If TDWP fans want what we want with this kind of thing, then they should love 'Zombie Slay'."

"Zombie Slay" offers a wide variety of options, including a range of difficulty levels, realistic city and suburban locations, a variety of zombies to eradicate, gamer achievement levels and a cache of weapons that can be upgraded with accumulated points on all levels. The game's system allows the user to have a different experience every day the game is played. Points go towards the overall OpenFeint score, and the scoreboard will showcase where the gamer ranks among other OpenFeint users.

"We were thrilled to work with THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and Fly South Music Group on a truly innovative game that is going to change how the music industry approaches their mobile strategies in the future," said Carlos Carbonell, CEO and co-founder of Echo. "With the rate of mobile adoption continuing to soar, new — and sometimes unexpected — industries are increasingly recognizing applications as an essential medium through which to reach their audiences."

"Zombie Slay" news, information and official links can be found at the game's site, ZombieSlay.com.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA's recently released full-length album, "Dead Throne", debuted at No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band will embark on the "Dead Throne Tour: North America 2011" beginning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 3.

TesseracT release - One Instrumental

Progressive metallers TesseracT go back to their roots with the release of an instrumental version of their highly acclaimed debut album 'One'. Fans from the guitar forum days, where founder Acle Kahney and TesseracT begun, have been requesting instrumentals ever since the band rose from the internet to the clubs, and they will not be disappointed!

Check out a preview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh8pGz9sY8w&feature=youtu.be

Bassist Amos Williams explains:
“TesseracT began as an instrumental project in Acle's filthy cat ridden bedroom, so it has always had quite a strong instrumental focus. That's not to say that we don't enjoy vocals, we love them! But, it is worth noting that with every song we write, we like for it to be able to stand up on its own with or without vocals. We've always had the mind to, about six months after the initial release of 'One', to then release the instrumental version. It’s something that the fans have always asked us to do, and we felt now was the correct time to do so.”

One instrumental is out now via itunes.

TesseracT set off on the European leg of the Lowering The Tone tour (with Vocals!) on Saturday 15 October with Chimp Spanner, and then head to the US for the Saints and Sinners tour with Between The Buried and Me and Animals As Leaders.

Screaming Eyes - Greed - 20 October 2011

Screaming Eyes Greed
This is core Records Release: 20 October 2011


Sentenced
When I'll Close My eyes
Pull The Trigger
We Are
My Reason, My Fire
...and Nothing Else Shall Remain
Cash-O-Crazy
One Last Trip
Moderns
Dream Pt. 9

Mind blowing aggressive metal that will quite literally melt your face off, brought to you from the depths of dark Italy, Screaming Eyes are an exciting take on todays growing market that will certainly catch you off guard as you crank the speakers up and bang your head ferociously.
Forming together from previous established bands, the guys know what they need to break in to the limelight and it is safe to say they have hit the nail on the head with sheer force.

With this debut full length delivering sheer force and strength within every track. Everything right down to the album artwork delivers professionalism and attention to every detail.

Expect the name Screaming eyes to become viral right before they embark on their first visit to the UK late November.

SKELETONWITCH Announce Studio Video

the band has posted the first in a series of "behind-the-scenes" videos documenting the recording of "Forever Abomination" in Los Angeles with producer Matt Hyde (Slayer, Hatebreed, Children of Bodom). Check out this first vignette, which introduces new drummer Dustin Boltjes (Demiricous), now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkhJnfQIr5A

IN ARCHIVES Traitors - Release: 3 October 2011

* Alone Download Track
* Embrace The Tide Download Track
* Lost At Sea Download Track
* The Oncoming Seasons Download Track
* Traitors Download Track

Release: 3 October 2011
In Archives were formed in 2010 by the two stubbed out ashes of two well known local bands. After recording their debut EP 'Traitors' at Core Studio (heart of a coward, pay no respect) the band have built a spark of a name for themselves and are expanding their fan base at a rapid rate as they storm stages nationally. In Archives present an epic blend of heavy breakdowns and melodic chorus' along side an energetic stage show that will leave minds spinning. The band have had the pleasure of sharing stages with many of the UK's rising stars such as While She Sleeps, Heart Of A Coward, Heart In Hand, Ruins of Earth, Feed The Rhino, Giants and more!

Dark Reflexions - Beyond Obscurity - Metalcore / Deathcore

Facts
After two times of touring as headliner, playing a lot of festivals and support shows for bands like Lamb Of God, Born From Pain, Arch Enemy,… Dark Reflexions finished the debut “Beyond Obscurity”. Here you get the best songs of their young carrier. Perfect for fans of As I Lay Dying, Unearth or Heaven Shall Burn.
Discography:
1. Beyond Obscurity (2010)

Tracklisting:
1) Beyond Obscurity
2) The Path Of The Weak
3) Eternal Fear
4) Euthenasia
5) Darkend Skies
6) Voice Of Silence
7) Faceless
8) Visions Of Paradise
9) Almost Dead
10) Darkness, Quiet
Total playtime: 41:49 min

Line-up:
Joachim Bitsche - vocals
Benjamin Gruber - guitar
Pascal Egartner - guitar
Michael Lapitz - bass
Aaron Schinnerl - Drums