Rockshots Records | The Metal Resource

Rockshots Records Signs Finland’s Progpower Quintet Ultimatium for Upcoming Album “Virtuality” Out Nov 27th.

Posted by thrashboy on September 11, 2020 at 23:17 No Responses »

Sep 112020

Rockshots Records is proud to announce their latest signing of Finland progpower quintet Ultimatium for the release of their upcoming album “Virtuality” due out on November 27th, 2020.

Ultimatium was birthed out the deep forests of Suomussalmi, Finland. Their 4th studio full length “Virtuality” follows their independently released “Vis Vires Infinitus” (2015), “New Dawn” (2004, Mastervox Records), and “Hwainoo” (2008, Mastervox Records).

The premise behind “Virtuality” is an introduction of a storyline of four gamers getting stuck in a virtual reality game in a near-future setting. Each vocalist guest has their own, distinctive role in the story and drummer Matti Auerkallio sings the role of the villain (clean & crunch). The story album is backed up with lots of background vocals, sound effects and a “narrator”/system voice synthesized with Amazon’s Alexa.

Rockshots Records Signs Greece’s Black Fate For Release of New Album “Ithaca” Out In October

Posted by thrashboy on July 30, 2020 at 22:28 No Responses »

Jul 302020

Rockshots Records is proud to announce their latest signing of Greece’s Black Fatefor the release of the prog power metal band’s new album “Ithaca” due out October 23rd, 2020.

With their heartbreaking world-class vocals, catchy hooks and lyrics, along with crashing guitar riffs, haunting melodies, and furious technical and melodic solos, Black Fate continues to satisfy bands with the release of their 5th studio album.

The band comments on the release of “Ithaca”:

“‘Ithaca’ is melodic, technical, and groovy, but also a bit dark. It has beautiful and strange melodies with powerful emotions. We believe it’s an album for all kinds of metal audiences. We hope the fans will see it the same way. We see ‘’Ithaca’’ as a very integrated album. Fans who have followed us over the years will also notice many changes in the songwriting process; we concentrated to find the best form and the best overall result for every song.”

Heavy/Power Metal Band From The Depth Sign Record Deal with Rockshots Records, New Album Announced

Posted by thrashboy on June 17, 2020 at 17:52 No Responses »

Jun 172020

Italy’s From The Depth has just signed with Rockshots Records for the release of their second full-length album “Moments” hitting sales platforms around the world on August 28th, 2020.

Punchy and aggressive, fans who have been waiting since 2014’s EP “Perseverance”, are now rewarded with this 10 track album. “Moments” is a series of personal occasions in the band member’s lives that they are reliving through their music, from hard times to the anniversary of the band forming.

In the band’s own words: “’Moments‘ is a way to celebrate relevant memories and episodes of everyday life while time passes by. Each aspect of the production has been taken care of with extreme attention to detail from song structure to the final master; nothing has been left to chance and we did our best to get out the most from each session during songwriting.”

Enzo & The Glory Ensemble – “In The Name of The World Spirit”

Posted by thrashboy on May 6, 2020 at 17:04 No Responses »

May 062020

Enzo Donnarumma truly knows how to set a mood. “Precariousness” has an uneasy feeling, and this sense of foreboding is ramped up to breaking point as the prelude transitions to “Nothingness (It’s Everyone’s Fate)”. The string arrangement and the percussion immediately propel me to the Middle East even as the ensemble cast sing of traveling from Africa, but the Glory Ensemble interrupt themselves by introducing a progressive rock run toward the middle of the song and suddenly I’m in a different world altogether. How mighty the guitar sounds when backed by a symphony orchestra! Against a choir singing “It’s everyone’s fate” there is a world
of clamouring voices and instruments and you realise very quickly that on the album, “In The Name of The World Spirit” there will be a lot to take in.

This album is the third in a trilogy by Enzo & The Glory Ensemble, and has certainly retained its fiery delivery. The band changes tack on “The Bronze Age”, where the sequenced elements suggest a hive of activity. A lilting acoustic guitar is introduced while the vocalisations of the choir stitch this peaceful interlude to the heavier part that follows. What keeps amazing me are the contrasts achieved in the music. “Try To Put In Pit The Fear” features Kobi Farhi of Orphaned Land. The earlier uneasiness has made way for a feeling of celebration. I have found myself listening to increasingly heavier music since we’ve been in precautionary lockdown and while it has matched my somber mood it has left me dejected. A song like “Try To Put In Pit The Fear” is the remedy that blows the cobwebs of negativity away. “To Every Chest” is a beautiful duet and a little slower in pace. The combination of the male and female vocals is very effective, and there is ample room for heavenly guitar solos. The Glory Ensemble are very good at combining instruments that invoke the ancient world with those that fit more squarely in the present, like in “Just In My Heart The Blame”. There is the thumb piano but also a stringed instrument towards the middle of the track that picks up the melody and truly stands out
amongst the modern orchestration. I love the inclusion of the harp on “I’ll Add More” and if ever there were a musical intro suited to the opening scene of a film, it would be this one. It feels like a very personal song, beautifully sung by female voices.

Moon Reverie – “Moon Reverie”

Posted by John Jackson on February 29, 2020 at 03:40 No Responses »

Feb 292020

Moon Reverie started as a project back in 2012 when guitarist Luca Poma decided to create his own music after touring extensively through Europe with the likes of Uli Jon Roth, Kee Marcello, Vinnie Moore and many other notable artists. The guitar virtuoso brought influences ranging from Rainbow to Hendrix, to Malmsteen, and Europe into his project.

Very quickly into this album, even if you know nothing about the band and Luca Poma, it becomes readily apparent that you will be hearing some masterful guitar licks. The intro track “Into Glory” sets the stage and the first full track “Forgiveness” showcases Poma’s guitar skills to an even greater extent. I am instantly transported back to the first time I heard Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force…which to my ears was like if someone fed Ritchie Blackmore a whole lot of coffee. For all of the guitar parts to work with listeners, production has to be clean and that is certainly the case here. Luca Pozzi has the vocals that work perfectly well within this classically-influenced power metal.

Older Entries