Rockshots Records

Well known in their home country of Ecuador and South America for supporting bands like Judas Priest, Kreator, Firewind (Immortals Tour 2018), Edguy, UDO, and more. Rockshots Records is proud to announce their latest signing of heavy metal trio Black Sun for the release of their new EP “Silent Enemy” due out Summer 2020. The EP follows the band’s three previous albums “The Pupetteer” (2017), “Dance of Elders” (2010), and “Tyrant From a Foreign Land” (2015).

During the production of Black Sun‘s new material, the band parted ways with their longtime lead singer. Under the guidance of the EP’s producer Nino Laurenne (Emma Winner – Finnish Grammy, Hevisaurus, Amorphis, The Rasmus), Black Sun found ways to complete the EP with guest singers on all the tracks. Guests include Finnish metal legends and talents like Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica), Lordi, Noora Louhimo (Battle Beast), Pasi Rantanen (Thunderstone), Elias Viljanen (Sonata Arctica ), Netta Laurenne (Smackbound), Jukka Pelkonen (Omnium Gatherum), Asim Searah (Wintersun/Damnation Plan), Topias Kupiainen (Arion), Henning Basse (Firewind), Petri Lindroos (Ensiferum / Norther) and JF Aguirre (JF Aguirre Project). All come together to create a powerful and catchy metal hymn.

The band adds: “This EP is a new beginning for Black Sun, the tracks were written during the touring period for the last album. However, during the production and recording sessions, the former singer was removed from the band. Consequently, the songs changed, the band had more flexibility and freedom on where to take these songs. Hence, the featuring of many different singers is what makes this EP unique. We can’t tell you exactly what will happen next, but we can guarantee this is only the beginning of an exciting new chapter, a rebirth that will bring much more music soon enough.“

Today, the band reveals the first single ‘Still Alive‘, which marks a new era and a clean slate for the South American rockers. It’s the perfect soundtrack to what the band has endured and prevailed during its recording. The song features guest vocals by Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica), Lordi, Noora Louhimo (Battle Beast), Pasi Rantanen (Thunderstone), Elias Viljanen (Sonata Arctica), Netta Laurenne (Smackbound), Jukka Pelkonen (Omnium Gatherum) and Asim Searah (Wintersun/Damnation Plan).

The band comments: “The light at the end of the tunnel. This is a melodic, powerful, and catchy metal hymn that features an array of multi-vocal performance by astonishing singers. It holds the final message that reveals the meaning of the whole concept of the EP.”

Listen to ‘Still Alive‘ at the following links:
YouTube
Spotify

 

The EP “Silent Enemy” is a concept release of seven tracks, three of them being special music scores (intro, interlude, outro). The EP will also have a special short-film based on its storyline out on its release day that was written by Black Sun and Topias Kupiainen.

The EP was recorded at Hi NoiZ Studios and Sonic Pump Studios, mixed by Jens Bogren (tracks 2 and 3) and Nino Laurenne (tracks 1,4-7) and mastered by Svante Forsbäck.

ABOUT:
Since the band’s creation in 2002, “Silent Enemy” is their first release without a lead vocalist to follow their three previous full-lengths. Their 2005 debut release “Tyrant From a Foreign Land” hit the Top 25 best-selling albums in their home country that year. Following that success, Black Sun toured the country while becoming a local sensation.

For their sophomore release “Dance of Elders”, the band decided to cross the Atlantic in 2007 and record in Hamburg, Germany at High Gain Records, a studio owned by Kai Hansen of Gamma Ray at the time. The album was produced by Arne Lackenmacher and Drik Schlächter. After recording the album, the band underwent several lineup changes, which led to the delay of its release until 2010. During this time and to support the second album, the band formed an interim lineup with past members and techs until a final lineup was settled with Santiago Salem (bass) joining the band.Their 2017 album, “The Puppeteer”, was recorded in Helsinki, Finland with a producing team of Timo Tolkki, Santtu Lehtiniemi, and Nino Laurenne at Sonic Pump Studios along with mixing done by Miko Karmila and mastering by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios. The release witnessed great success with singles ‘Robert The Doll’ featured on the New Metal Tracks editorial by Spotify along with winning an MBN (MIS BANDAS NACIONALES) Ecuador Award for Best Music Video and ‘Let Me Be’ landing a top 40 spot (#36) on the Ecuadorian music charts (radio + streams).

Band members:
Christopher Gruenberg (Guitar)
Santiago Salem (Bass)
Nicolás Estrada (Drums)

Brazilian progressive metallers CARAVELLUS have inked a worldwide record deal with Rockshots Records for the release of their third album coming out later this year.
Featuring Mario Linhares Dark Avenger‘s guitarist Glauber Oliveira, CARAVELLUS bring the technical sophistication of progressive metal while transcending the genre by writing amazing songs with masterful musicality. The arrangements and song structures with highly technical, challenging instrumental work and unbelievable melodic vocal harmonies. With elements of thundering metal, rock, jazz, classical, brazilian folk rhythms, solos with unstoppable guitar shredding and intense keyboards.

 

Finland’s Sinisthra have signed with Italian label Rockshots Records for the release of their album, “The Broad and Beaten Way”. Best described as sadness tinged with despair and hope, the new album encapsulates raw emotion set against heavy and brooding music.

This album comes 15 years after the debut record “Last of the Stories of Long Past Glories”, and its manifestation has been a slow and arduous process. The songs were written ages ago while other projects, primarily vocalist Tomi Joutsen’s presence in Amorphis, were given priority from the band members.

Guitarist Markku Mäkinen writes the majority of the music for the highly elusive band whose original and complex sound has often been mislabeled. The band explains the evolution of their music:

“We all had a history in thrash and death metal bands, but when the band originally came together in 2000, there was not much metal at all in the sound, it was leaning more towards grunge and at times trip-hop. After the first album in 2005, the sound took a lot more metallic turn and something came in from 70’s prog as well. Metal genres are irrelevant to us.”

Listen to ‘Closely Guarded Distance‘ at the following links:
YouTube 
Spotify 

The band comments about the song: “‘Closely Guarded Distance’ is the centrepiece of the album and probably the hardest to digest of the whole lot. So we chose it as the first “single”. It’s some 13 minutes long, divided into three parts. The first phase is the courting, the second phase is the fulfillment and the final phase is aftermath. Musically it’s an amalgamation of several half- finished and half- discarded songs we had lying around. I think it represents what Sinisthra is about, with all our main ingredients neatly distilled into one song.”

Best described as sadness tinged with despair and hope, “The Broad and Beaten Way” encapsulates raw emotion set against heavy and brooding music. This album comes 15 years after the debut record “Last of the Stories of Long Past Glories”, and its manifestation has been a slow and arduous process. The songs were written ages ago while other projects, primarily vocalist Tomi Joutsen’s presence in Amorphis, were given priority from the band members.

The name for the album comes from “Paradise Lost” by John Milton; “The Broad and Beaten Way” is a bridge from Hell to Earth with the lyrics taking inspiration from the fall of man and from leading a chaotic and self-destructive modern day life and trying to find solid ground and perhaps even some peace of mind. “Eterne” is the first song, where the metaphorical Adam and Eve are expelled, both from Eden and from their union, and in the last song “Ephemeral” Adam, solitary, finally accepts his past actions as futile.

The melancholic sojourn, suitable for fans of Katatonia, Anathema, and Amorphis is available for pre-order:
CD ➤ 
DIGITAL (iTunes) ➤ 

Finland’s SINISTHRA featuring Amorphis vocalist Tomi Joutsen are sharing the first single ‘Closely Guarded Distance‘ off their forthcoming album, “The Broad and Beaten Way” due out May 15, 2020 via Rockshots Records.

Listen to ‘Closely Guarded Distance‘ at the following links:
YouTube 
Spotify 

The band comments about the song: “‘Closely Guarded Distance’ is the centrepiece of the album and probably the hardest to digest of the whole lot. So we chose it as the first “single”. It’s some 13 minutes long, divided into three parts. The first phase is the courting, the second phase is the fulfillment and the final phase is aftermath. Musically it’s an amalgamation of several half- finished and half- discarded songs we had lying around. I think it represents what Sinisthra is about, with all our main ingredients neatly distilled into one song.”

Best described as sadness tinged with despair and hope, “The Broad and Beaten Way” encapsulates raw emotion set against heavy and brooding music. This album comes 15 years after the debut record “Last of the Stories of Long Past Glories”, and its manifestation has been a slow and arduous process. The songs were written ages ago while other projects, primarily vocalist Tomi Joutsen’s presence in Amorphis, were given priority from the band members.

The name for the album comes from “Paradise Lost” by John Milton; “The Broad and Beaten Way” is a bridge from Hell to Earth with the lyrics taking inspiration from the fall of man and from leading a chaotic and self-destructive modern day life and trying to find solid ground and perhaps even some peace of mind. “Eterne” is the first song, where the metaphorical Adam and Eve are expelled, both from Eden and from their union, and in the last song “Ephemeral” Adam, solitary, finally accepts his past actions as futile.

The melancholic sojourn, suitable for fans of Katatonia, Anathema, and Amorphis is available for pre-order:
CD ➤ 
DIGITAL (iTunes) ➤ 

In questo periodo di isolamento, si salveranno solo le persone che conoscono le regole del Subbuteo.
Perché le regole, sono le regole.