“It was after our 2009 tour to Europe,” Sean told us, “When Nazar and I decided that it was time to seriously consider a move. We thought of the tour as ‘testing the waters’ and we had our hearts set on it.” To the horror of the South African metal community, Nazar was killed in a car accident in October of 2010 and with the loss of Sean’s strongest ally in driving the move, plans fell silent in the months following.
“We had many member changes, but would not give up working toward a goal. I see this move as a step towards not just fulfilling my own dream, but Nazar’s dream too.”

Sean describes the current line-up of the band as primarily session members: George (guitar), Brandon (bass) and Gavin (drums).
“These guys have been amazing, but right now it is just myself taking the Warthane name and material over. A new European-based line-up has been in the cards, but I will not hesitate to call on my South African bandmates if and when a great opportunity arises.” Naturally, it will take some time – likely a number of months at best – for Sean to find his feet and re-establish the band, but he is driven and hints towards some big surprises to come. He went on to describe the excellent feedback received from European contacts since releasing the Black Divine album in December of 2011, and says that now is the time to consider offers. His initial focus, however, will be to set up a highly professional live line-up who are gig-ready and up to par with the bands new surroundings.

We asked Sean for a closing statement, or any message he would like to offer his soon-to-be former local community:

“Warthane has been given six great years in South Africa; I have many memories that will be always held dear to me. For now, Europe is my main concern, but once Warthane has built up a following in Europe, some home tours would be great!”

“None of this would have been possible without the burning fury of our South African metal scene and our fans. When we return, we want to bring nothing but our A-game and hopefully something big and spectacular. This is an exciting time and it finally feels like the hard work and sacrifice is paying off. It is not always easy to wave your home country goodbye and it is certainly no easy task feeling like you are leaving the SA family behind, but we hope that everyone will appreciate out efforts and desire to progress as far as we can. We only have one life; make things happen!”

“I would also like to thank everybody for being so positive about the move and wishing us well on our journey. I could never live with myself knowing that I never tried chasing my dreams and those of my dearly missed friend. Warthane is a work horse and will always be. Just when you think it’s down, it comes back stonger!”

From the team at Metal4africa.com, we wish Sean and Warthane all the best in his European endeavors, and we will keep a close tab on progress. Good luck, and may the spirit of Odin be with you!

About two weeks ago we were contacted by Ewa Kopyra of Radio Revolta in Poland regarding a South African metal special of the show. The show, “Demons of South Africa”, will be aired this Thursday (10 May) at 21:00 Polish time (which is approximately 20:00 here in South Africa).

Click the promo poster to visit Radio Revolta:

To stream Radio Revolta, download the playlist file and load it into your media player of choice! We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show and the way South African metal is portrayed to the rest of the world!

Contained in the seven track album is a great slice of melodic metal that draws on a number of influences from all over the metal spectrum. The strong Lamb of God-esque vocals, crunchy guitars, Metallica inspired riffs and the haunting female voice on “Reflections in Blood” all make for a really stellar and professional package; something all South Africans can be proud of!

Gadabout has existed since 2003 and has played such events as Ramfest, MotherFudd, Whiplash and Thornfest.

Stream “One More Day” off Take Another Life below:

Homeward Tracklisting:

Initiation
Niflheim
Elder Bliss
Old Man Maiden
Land Van ‘n Duisend Mere
Valhalla
Witches’ Betrayal
Autumn Moon
Earth Reborn
Homeward
Enter Euphoria
Conclusion

According to the band, the first single, entitled “Niflheim”, will be released as a teaser about a month prior to the album’s release.

The artwork has just been unveiled, along with the track listing, and album release date is expected to be announced for sometime in September. With bands such as Balyios and the somewhat more seasoned Haggis and Bong, it is becoming apparent that the folk metal scene in South Africa is on the up-rise. Enthusiasts for the sub-genre might also take an interest in bands such as Riddare Av Koden and Strident, who both exhibit some influences – albeit more subtle – from the folk scene.

Visit Balyios on Facebook here

They approached alternative music veteran and entertainment writer Paul Blom (Terminatryx, V.O.D, ex-K.O.B.U.S.) to helm the column. Dubbed Eruption, the 3-page spread will include a feature (the debut piece taking a peek at the state of SA Metal from the perspective of Metal4Africa founder Darkfiend), news clips, reviews and more. It will serve both as a hub for people into more extreme music, and for those unaware of its existence and global reach. Muse Magazine is a full colour print magazine distributed across South Africa.

Check them out at www.museonline.co.za

“We’ve all worked really hard on this recording and are quite proud of it”, Alex Wiese (Messiah Complex frontman) told us. The band is still reasonably new in the Cape Town scene, and Alex went on to tell us how each new song the band writes is harder for each member to cope with, but the result is that Messiah Complex is constantly driven towards streamlining their sound, which is now available for all to hear and salivate over. “I think a lot of people will be quite surprised as to how we’ve developed over the years,” he concluded, and we at M4A most certainly were. Go and check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/messiahcomplexsa

Cape Town thrash fans rejoice, for impact is imminent! Bonded by a mutual love of thrash legends Exodus, members of some of the Cape Town metal scene’s most highly regarded bands have joined forces under the guise of Sexodus to wreak some lethal whiplash-inducing havoc this Easter weekend.
The band will be performing a full set of Exodus classics, running the gamut of tracks from their debut thrash masterpiece Bonded by Blood all the way through to their most recent devastating opus Exhibit B: The Human Condition. The shows are also respectfully dedicated to the memory of the 10th anniversary of original vocalist Paul Baloff’s death.

Sexodus is:
Jarrod “Baloff Zetro Dukes” Firmani – Vocals (The Broken Result)
Chris “Gary Holt” Hall – Guitar (Infanteria)
Arno “Hunolt Altus” Van Zyl – Guitar (The Broken Result, Crimson House Blues)
Tim “Mckillop Gibson” Leibbrandt – Bass Guitar (A Walk With The Wicked)
Rob “Tom Hunting” Hall – Drums (Infanteria)

Ensuring the devastation is complete and utter, the band have enlisted the services of an impressive lineup of brothers in arms. Aandklas will feature “lekker metal” upstarts Beeldenstorm and local legends Mind Assault (who have promised to unleash some thrashier new material to commemorate the occasion). ROAR will include the recently reunited Damnatia and death-thrash masters The Warinsane.

The dates are:
Saturday, 7 April- Aandklas, Stellenbosch (with Beeldenstorm and Mind Assault)
Sunday, 8 April (Easter Sunday) – ROAR, Cape Town (with Damnatia and The Warinsane)
For more information, please visit the Sexodus Facebook page. For neck braces to help you through the whiplash please visit these guys!

The single features beautiful hand drawn art by Stephen Green and contains three tracks, including two brand new songs and an acoustic/instrumental version of “Morning” from the band’s previous incarnation, Heathens.

Wildernessking frontman, Keenan Oakes, revealed some further information on the single.

“And the Night Swept Us Away is a song we wrote during the recording process of the first album. It picks up where the album left off and introduces a couple of new elements to our sound. The songs touch on drifting, dreaming, floating into the night.”

When asked about the visual contrast between their debut album and the new single, Keenan explained that “The reason behind the change is simple. We try to push ourselves further with each release, musically and aesthetically.”

According to the band, this is an independent release on CD only, so be sure to follow their Facebook page for information on how to get your copy! The single is set to be released in the middle of April.

Listen to “River” off The Writing of Gods in the Sand below.

Dominic Vorster, Bleeding Spawn‘s bass guitarist, thinks that the stereotypes in Middelburg have greatly contributed to their success as a band. “The knee-length-socked-men,” he refers to the Afrikaans farmers in the area, “Are here but the stereotypes are what fed me! Oppression leads to anger and anger leads to death metal. Being in a metal band here in our town is seen as underground and people don’t really like the whole look and image. That’s why we have learnt to not care what people think or say, but rather take that negative energy and feed our music with it. We have overcome the hardest parts of being in a death metal band in a small town, and now it’s our duty to feed our fans with the anger and oppression that we see.”

The band has labelled their brand of death metal as “futuristic” due to their unique sound. Dominic explains what makes their sound unique: “Seven string guitars, the six string bass, super-fast drumming and dual guttural vocals which in this era of time is seen as low end music/metal. But what gives us that edge is our song structure, the complex diversity of each song we have is the same, but all have unique blends that make it sound futuristic.”

Apart from music, the band finds music inspiration in zombie and gore movies, amoung other things.
“The best death scenes are acted through underpaid actors are great ideas for lyrical themes,” Dominic says, and adds; “Marvel and DC comics – imagination is the key to capture a good story.”

Bleeding Spawn might be musically unique, but like many other death metal bands, their name is not one that everyones grandmother would approve of, yet the band feels their name is the molten brand which tells you what they are about.
“In my opinion with a band like Cannibal Corpse the name says it all – death, gore and horror. They don’t beat around the bush. They use their name to illustrate exactly what they are about, which also becomes a household name for their fans and for listeners. I wouldn’t be impressed if I hear a band name like Prostitute Disfigurement only to find out they play Backstreet Boys covers.” Thus Dominic thinks a band’s name, as much as it’s music, classifies them.

This weekend, the band will kick off their national tour with international death metal band, Fleshgod Apocalypse. Dominic thinks they’ve come a long way from their first live performance. “Our first gig was in our hometown on Halloween and until this day I will not forget it. It was the most nerve wrecking thing I have ever done. Lots of people pitched up and I knew we had to bring it. The show was a success and it was the best feeling that I have ever experienced. As it was our first show ever; we didn’t have much stage experience. The performances on the tour will show that we have learnt a lot about what to do and what not to do.”

The other members of the band are just as excited for the tour.
“It’s going to be an eye-opening experience playing alongside guys of their calibre, but I think it’s going to be an epic party at the same time. We are all super nervous and excited and ready to represent South African death metal as best we can,” says guitarist, Gary Parkin.

Fans can see Bleeding Spawn and others playing with Fleshgod Apocalypse from tomorrow in Gauteng, Pietermaritzburg, PE and Cape Town. For more information, visit the Detonation Tour website.

Originally from Durban, playing gigs above the Winston Pub & Burn Night Club, this groove death metal band has been growling its way onto the local metal scene since 2006 and has performed at all the major venues and festivals in South Africa.

Contrast The Water has just returned from a massively successful six month tour of the USA and will be bringing their unique brand of groove death metal to the small town of Margate this April.

They’ve also shared the stage with: Carcass, Blind Guardian, Exodus, Possessed, Sacred Reich, D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles), Attitude Adjustment, Death Angel, Forbidden, Heathen, ABSU, Warbringer, Hatchet, Bonded By Blood, Witchhaven, Bell Witch, Mandoza, Cursed, Cultural Warfare, Locust Furnace, Enemy In Peril, Recoil vor, Infernal Stronghold, Embryonic Devourment, Mudface, Ensiferum, Becoming The Archetype, and many more.

Contrast The Water was nominated for the SA MusicReview’s Artist Of The Year 2012, and won the second place silver medal, pitted against mainstream bands like Mark Haze (gold medalist), and Van Coke Kartel (bronze medalist).

During the weekend of Africa Bike Week 2012 this awesome band will perform at Backline Night Club on the 29th April at 9pm. This will be Contrast the Water‘s last gig in SA before leaving for yet another tour of the USA.

South Coast Live & Backline Night Club are offering special tickets for pre-booking. R60 at the door, pre-booked tickets R40 at the door if you bring your special reference.

[To get your special pre-booked tickets: send an email to us at kate@southcoastlive.co.za requesting your PRE BOOKING CONTRAST THE WATER ticket, we will email you your reference number which will be on the door list.]