Femetalism to take a hiatus

After a fabulous 5 years working with some great bands, promoters, bloggers and radio shows Femetalism has made the difficult decision to take some well deserved time off.

As regular readers will already know, Femetalism started as a project for my eCommunications degree back in 2010.  Since then Femetalism has become a huge part of our lives and something that we not only love but something that we know you have all enjoyed too. We have interviewed and featured numerous fantastic bands, have been involved with a load of great live music events and we even released our very own promotional compilation album series. We really don't want it to end.

However, 2016 marks the beginning of a new and exciting adventure for us, and one that will inevitably take us away from what we have been doing with Femetalism. Without being able to commit 100% to the site, we feel that now is the time to take some time out. We fully intend to return at some point in the future and you will no doubt see us at the odd gig and festival throughout the year. For now, though, we will no longer be accepting promotional material from bands or sponsoring live music events, and we won't be popping up in your social media news feeds very often at all.

In the meantime, if you haven't already, please download the Femetalism compilation series, Forged in Stone and Steel, from Bandcamp, and do continue to Like and Follow us on Facebook and Twitter so that when we come back you are the first to hear! Your support over the last 5 years has been phenomenal and we appreciate it very much indeed.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Emma & Craig
Femetalism

New Release: Kamera Obscura - Copycat EP (December 2015)

Kamera Obscura have been working on their latest EP for the last few months and on the 1st December, it was unleashed. The EP entitled Copycat, features 8 tracks, made of covers, re-interpretations and remixes and is a tribute to the bands all-time favourite horror icons and music masters.

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Valkyrian Festival 2015 - Photo Round Up

On Saturday 21st November we headed over to Selby for the very last Valkyrian Festival. This year was particularly special for Femetalism as we were honoured to be sponsoring this final event.

We had a great time with a great selection of bands playing.   As always, we tried to capture all of the bands performing and and we were able to grab shots of most of the bands.  You can see our full album of photos from the event on our photos page or by going to www.irongolemphotography.co.uk.

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Northern Oak Triptych EP Launch - November 2015

Last night Sheffield's very own pioneers of the heavy flute sound, Northern Oak launched their new EP Triptych with support from The Infernal Sea and Black Moon Rising.

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Northern Symphony Festival Band Announcement

Northern Symphony Festival will take place on Saturday 16th April 2016 at The Venue in Selby, which will now host both stages.  Theatres DesVampires have been announced as the festival headliners and today another host of bands were announced; finalising the line-up for the Midnight Waltz stage and kicking off the announcements for the Infernal Orchestra.

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New Release: Collibus - The Fallen "Unplugged". Video 3 of 3 this October.

Wow, Collibus have now shared 3 brand new official videos since the beginning of October. The last of those videos is this absolutely incredible unplugged version of The Fallen.

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Kamera Obscura release Halloween (King Diamond vs John Carpenter cover) ahead of new EP Copycat

On 31st October, French cinematic industrial metallers, Kamera Obscura released their incredible version of Halloween - a magnificent cinematic production of King Diamond's Halloween and John Carpenters 1978 cult classic Halloween.

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Valkyrian Festival Preview 2015 - Operatic Power Progressive Metallers Aonia

With just a month to go until the last ever Valkyrian Festival to be held at The Riverside and The Venue in Selby, Yorkshire, we are starting to get just a little bit excited here at Femetalism.

As official sponsors of the event we thought it appropriate to feature, in no particular order, some of the bands that will be making up the festival line-up.

Today we have selected Aonia who will be playing the Valhalla Stage.

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Valkyrian Festival Preview 2015 - British Symphonic Power Metallers Rugosa

With just a month to go until the last ever Valkyrian Festival to be held at The Riverside and The Venue in Selby, Yorkshire, we are starting to get just a little bit excited here at Femetalism.

As official sponsors of the event we thought it appropriate to feature, in no particular order, some of the bands that will be making up the festival line-up.

Today we have selected Rugosa who will be performing on the Danelaw Stage.

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Valkyrian Festival 2015 Preview - British Power Metallers Dakesis

With just a month to go until the last ever Valkyrian Festival to be held at The Riverside and The Venue in Selby, Yorkshire, we are starting to get just a little bit excited here at Femetalism.

As official sponsors of the event we thought it appropriate to feature, in no particular order, some of the bands that will be making up the festival line-up.

Today we have selected Dakesis who will be performing on the Valhalla Stage.

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Valkyrian Festival 2015 Preview - Rapcore Groovy Metallers Pulverise

With just a month to go until the last ever Valkyrian Festival to be held at The Riverside and The Venue in Selby, Yorkshire, we are starting to get just a little bit excited here at Femetalism.

As official sponsors of the event we thought it appropriate to feature, in no particular order, some of the bands that will be making up the festival line-up.

Today we have selected Pulverise who will be performing on the Danelaw Stage.

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Valkyrian Festival 2015 Preview - French Melodic Metallers Heonia

With just a month to go until the last ever Valkyrian Festival to be held at The Riverside and The Venue in Selby, Yorkshire, we are starting to get just a little bit excited here at Femetalism.

As official sponsors of the event we thought it appropriate to feature, in no particular order, some of the bands that will be making up the festival line-up.

First up we've selected Heonia who will be performing on the Valhalla Stage.

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New Release: Collibus - The False Awakening. Video 2 of 3 this October.

Earlier this month we shared the first of three video releases from Collibus and today we are sharing the second video from that October triple release.

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New Release: Collibus - The Hunted. Video 1 of 3 this October.

Collibus recently announced they would be releasing not one, not two but three new videos in the month of October!!  The first video was released on 1st October, the second is due for release on the 15th and the third and final one is due for release on 29th.

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Photo Review: Mist, Kurokuma, Northern Oak & The Miser on the Faerie Gump

On 22nd September, Slovenian doom metal band Mist played their first UK date at The Rocking Chair, Sheffield with support from local bands: The Miser on the Faerie Gump, Northern Oak and Kurokuma.  The event was brought together by doom and post metal promoter Holy Spider Promotions in association with Femetalism.

It was an incredible night with top notch performances from all four bands, a great atmosphere and a huge amount of support.

First up were local 'comedy' progressive folk metal band The Miser on the Faerie Gump.  They might think their lyrics are silly, but their music is anything but!  There was so much energy on the stage and in the room during their performance and they really got the crowd warmed up.

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Theatres Des Vampires announced as headliners for Northern Symphony Festival in April 2016

 

Theatres Des Vampires - Italy's leading metal band for all things vampyric - are set to return to the UK in April 2016 for their first UK show in five years. The vampire metal coven, fronted by Sonya Scarlett, have been announced to headline the Midnight Waltz at the Northern Symphony Festival, where they will join the likes of Alwaid, Suddenlash and Orpheum plus a whole range of bands that are still to be announced. 

Formed in 1994 by former vocalist Lord Vampyr, Theatres Des Vampires have rose through the ranks of Europe's metal scene and have gone onto release several studio albums with another currently in the works. 

The line-up for Northern Symphony Festival is currently as follows: 

Midnight Waltz Stage: 

Theatres Des Vampires 

Alwaid (Special guest appearance) 

Orpheum 

Suddenlash (UK festival debut) 

Infernal Orchestra Stage: 

TBA 

Further bands are still to be announced. 

A limited number of early bird tickets are still available for £10 from this location. Tickets will be priced at the full price of £15 at midnight 15th November or when all early bird tickets sell out. 

Northern Symphony Festival is the UK's only symphonic metal festival and will take place on Saturday 16th April 2016 at The Venue and The Riverside in Selby, North Yorkshire. 

The event is 14+. Further details can be found at the festivals Facebook page.

Check out our photo review of last years Northern Symphony Festival!

Originally posted by Emma Sheridan on Femetalism.

Weeping Silence release pre-listening track from upcoming album Opus IV Oblivion

Maltese doom metallers, Weeping Silence release their new album Opus IV Oblivion on 23rd October. The band have just released a pre-listening track from that album to give us a taste of what to expect and it's pretty incredible.  Check out Eyes Of The Monolith and get excited!!

Weeping Silence will be hosting Metal Over Malta II Festival in March 2016. Check out the Facebook event page for more details.

Follow Weeping Silence on:

Facebook
Twitter

Originally posted by Emma Sheridan on Femetalism.

Pre-gig Interview with Slovenian Doom Metal Band Mist

Next week local bands The Miser on the Faerie Gump, Kurokuma and Northern Oak will be playing The Rocking Chair in Sheffield supporting Slovenian doom metallers Mist. Ahead of this incredible evening, Femetalism had the chance to talk with Mist band member Ema Babošek, about the band, their music and of course the tour.

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New Release: Thy Worshiper - Ozimina (September 2015)

Thy Worshiper have just released their new album Ozimina. First formed in Poland back in 1993, the band are now based in Ireland and Ozimina is the bands fourth full-length album.

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Holy Spider Promotions in Association with Femetalism Present: Mist, Kurokuma, Northern Oak and The Miser on the Faerie Gump

On September 22nd Holy Spider Promotions will be bringing an epic night of doom and folk to the Rocking Chair in Sheffield and we at Femetalism are extremely pleased to have been asked to get involved. Mist from Slovenia will be visiting Sheffield as part of a fairly limited UK tour and they will be playing alongside some of the best music Sheffield has to offer in the form of Kurokuma, Northern Oak and The Miser On The Faerie Gump.

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New Release: Formicarius - Lake of the Dead (Single) 2015

Formicarius believe that for too long now and without reason, English Black metal has been underestimated, never truly revered alongside its Scandinavian cousins and that the meticulous sonic assault that is Lake of the Dead will serve as a simple demand: This ends now.

First conceived in the Winter of 2014, Formicarius craft elaborate tempests of black metal that hit the listener like a finely sharpened sword to the skull: ornate yet destructive. Elements of death and symphonic metal are called upon to reinforce the gargantuan sound that can be heard on single Lake of the Dead. Unsurprisingly, Formicarius are not a collection of upstart amateurs, instead featuring members of De Profundis, Premature Birth, Phyrexia and Maxdmyz: no strangers to UK extreme metal.

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Triaxis

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Triaxis are a heavy metal 5 piece from South Wales (and a little bit Bristol) consisting of:
Vocals - Krissie Kirby, Lead Guitar - Glyn Williams, Rhythm Guitar - CJ Wilson, Bass - Becky Baldwin and Drums - Giles Wilson. Formed in 2006, their first album received critical acclaim from such places as Zero Tolerance, Metal Hammer and Terrorizer. Their third studio album Zero Hour was funded through a PledgeMusic campaign, which achieved 100% of its target in nine hours via unprecedented support from Triaxis fans.

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with We Are The Catalyst

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Formed in 2012 by vocalist Cat and guitarist Kenny, We Are The Catalyst are from Sweden and have been making a name for themselves recently. They have enjoyed global media support of the bands critically acclaimed charity cover release of Don’t You Worry Child in aid of The Fostering Network, have released both an EP - Panem et Circenses, and their debut album Monuments plus they have toured China and played one of the biggest festivals there, Strawberry Festival.

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Mist to headline at The Rocking Chair, Sheffield 22nd September 2015

Femetalism will be collaborating with Holy Spider Promotions in Sheffield on an up coming live music event being held at The Rocking Chair, Sheffield on 22nd September 2015.

Slovenian doom metallers Mist will be headlining with support from Sheffield's very own Kurokuma, Northern Oak and The Miser On The Faerie Gump.

We will be putting together a full preview of the event, but in the meantime, check out the Facebook Event and all of the bands who will be playing.

Originally posted by Emma Sheridan on Femetalism.

Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Winter Storm

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Winter Storm are a five piece dark melodic metal band from the West Midlands. We have previously interviewed them for the site and the band will be playing Valkyrian Festival in November.  We were really excited to see the band on the Bloodstock line-up and keen to know what the band have been up to since we last spoke.  Guitarist and vocalist, Hannah Fieldhouse was on hand to fill us in.

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Akarusa Yami

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Akarusa Yami are a five piece technical/progressive metal outfit from Nottinghamshire, consisting of Adam Jones on drums, Jake Bennett on Bass, Tom Brumpton on vocals, and Tom Clarke & Julia Goatly (Guitars). The band were contacted a few months ago and asked to play by Bloodstock's Simon Hall. "We were very excited to learn that we would be playing one of the most popular Metal festivals in the UK."

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Bloodyard

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Bloodyard are a 4 piece groove/death metal band, based in North-West England, made up of Donna (vocals), Nick (Guitar), Dave (Bass) and Matty (Drums). The band were keen to build a fanbase in the Burnley area and went on to win the Metal to the Masses competition at Sanctuary Bar, Burnley about a month before Bloodstock. Vocalist Donna was keen to express the bands gratitude for the support and new friendships that were made during the competition.

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Wretched Toad

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Wretched Toad are from Barnet and St Albans and have been together for three years. They haven't released anything yet, instead focussing on song-writing and competition-winning. They won the London Metal 2 The Masses competition for a place on the Bloodstock New Blood stage in June.

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Black Mass & Femetalism Presents ... Part 3 - Photo Roundup

Sunday 16th August and while the post Bloodstock Festival haze was just starting to lift, we headed out to South Sea for another evening of awesome music at the third instalment of Black Mass & Femetalism Presents ...

It was a really great evening, with loads of fantastic bands playing. Here is our very quick photo round up, showcasing some of the photos taken of the evening. You can see the full set on the photos page.

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Skarthia

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Skarthia are a London based melodic death/groove metal band who released their debut album Retaliate in 2012. Following their fantastic performance on the Bloodstock New Blood Stage we asked the band a few questions about their experience at Bloodstock and what to look out for from the band in the future.

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New Release: Burn The Void - Born Of The Phoenix (August 2015)

Bristol based metal band Burn The Void have just released their long awaited debut album Born Of The Phoenix. The band features Steve Peril on lead/ rhythm guitar, Nicky Rogerson on bass guitar & backing vocals, Doogle Hill lead/ rhythm guitar, Londa Ntotila on lead vocals. Originally formed in 2010 by Steve and Nicky; they had the idea to create a sound, which brought together their NWOBHM influence, merged with more modern elements of the rock and metal genres.

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Alunah

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Formed in 2006 and based in the West Midlands, Alunah merge elements of doom, psych and classic heavy rock with earthy hypnotic vocal melodies to create their sound. Currently signed to Napalm Records, the band have released 3 full length albums. They found out they would be performing on the Sophie Lancaster stage at Bloodstock a few months back, chose a set list and practiced it loads. They were unfortunately plagued with lots of trouble with amps and pedals, so "lots of trips to amp techs and music shops to get things sorted" was involved in getting the band ready for their performance.

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Tombstone Crow

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Tombstone Crow describe themselves as "Original Geordie Metal from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne". With Debi Lisle on vocals, Andy (Farmer) Bright on guitars, Kev Nolan on drums and Rob Nukem on bass. The band were selected to play the New Blood Stage after entering the Wychwood video contest online.

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Dead Label

Here is the next interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Dead Label originate from Celbridge, Ireland and have been performing together since 2008. Made up of Dan O'Grady on bass and vocals, Danny Hall on guitar and Claire Percival on drums. They were contacted back in March by Simon Hall and asked to play the Sophie Lancaster Stage at Bloodstock, but they then had to keep it quiet until May!

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Incipit

Here is the second interview in our series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Blackened death metallers Incipit travelled over from Stavanger, Norway to perform on Sunday afternoon on the New Blood Stage.  The band was formed in 2011 and despite numerous line-up changes have now settled on a steady line-up; Eric on vocals/guitar, Stian on drums, Christina on bass/vocals and Peder on guitar.

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Post Bloodstock 2015 Interview with Piss Viper

I am delighted to bring you the first in a series of interviews with some of the bands we featured in our Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015 article last week.

Piss Viper hail from Swansea, South Wales and brought with them a brutal recipe of groove and hardcore brutality to the New Blood Stage on Friday evening. Made up of David Malpass (vocals), Ray Tamanous (Guitar), Miss Viper (bass), Steffan Penhale (guitar) and Ricky Turner (drums).

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Femetalism's Top Picks for Bloodstock 2015

The annual pilgrimage to Bloodstock Open Air Festival begins in but a few short hours.  This year the Femetalism team have splashed out and invested in tickets of the VIP variety and we are very much looking forward to sampling some of those 100 real ales in the Serpents Lair VIP Bar. Oh yes! But what bands are we looking forward to seeing and where will we be over the weekend?

Having looked through the confirmed set times for the festival, I can't help but notice the distinct lack of female musicians on the big stages, despite having Within Temptation and Delain headlining stages over the weekend. That said, there are some blooming awesome sounding bands heading out onto Bloodstock stages throughout the weekend and so it seems this year, Bloodstock have again gone for quality over quantity.

Here is a quick run down of the bands we recommend you check out:

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Lisa Cuthbert collaboration with Helevorn in the works

News has reached us that Dublin-born singer/songwriter Lisa Cuthbert is heading to the studio in collaboration with gothic doomsters Helevorn once again. This is very exciting for us, being great fans of both Lisa and Helevorn and of their last collaboration, Els Dies Tranquils.

There are no details yet of what form this collaboration may take except that Lisa is providing guest vocals on an upcoming track. We can't wait to hear the result!

Here's Els Dies Tranquils, from Helevorn's latest album Compassion Forlorn, to get a feel for why we love this collaboration so much.

Check out Lisa's 2013 solo album Paramour for more of her work. As an added bonus, if you sign up for the mailing list on her website you get the EP III for free.

Originally posted on Femetalism by Craig Andrews

Forever Still release music video for Awake The Fire - July 2015

Forever Still release music video for their new single “Awake The Fire”, and lets fans pay ‘what they want’ for it at their website www.foreverstill.dk

"We believe that music should be available to everyone - both those who are broke, and those who have a little extra to spare in support of the artists they love" Maja explains. We’ve put a lot of time and effort into this song, so if people want to give us some help for the time and effort, we are very grateful! But if they don't have the money right now, they can take it, share it and if they love it, come back and kick in later.

The video is the first video from their latest EP “Save Me” which is the second of three digital EPs that will eventually end up as one physical full length concept album later in 2015. The story of the album is about a suppressed individual struggling through depression, anxiety, and worthlessness fighting to get well and getting stronger in the process. “The songs are all very raw, emotional and somewhat imperfect, because we wanted it to sound like someone falling apart and trying to put the pieces back together” says Maja

The EP is recorded, mixed and mastered in Copenhagen by band member Mikkel Haastrup in the band’s own studio. Mikkel is a trained sound engineer by Flemming ‘Metallica’ Rasmussen and explains: "We like our music and everything surrounding it to be 100% honest and we felt the only way we could achieve that was by doing everything ourselves".

We look forward to welcoming Forever Still back to the UK in October for the Black Mass Festival taking place in Sheffield October 23-25.

Follow Forever Still on:

Facebook

Twitter

Bandcamp

Originally posted by Emma Sheridan on Femetalism.

New Release: As Night Falls - Final Destination (Video) July 2015

Polish metal band As Night Falls, have this month released the official single for Final Destination, a track taken from their EP From Grace To Oblivion and which features on Femetalism's Forged in Stone and Steel compilation series.

The video is a series of live shots taken in Rock'a club and Prokultura with credit to Bandphoto and Mirek Majzel.

Check out the video here:

Follow the band on:

Facebook
Twitter

Originally posted by Emma Sheridan on Femetalism.

New Release: Recon By Fire - Demo June 2015

Recon By Fire were formed in 2014 in Warsaw, Poland and have recently released their first demo Into the Fire. The demo was recorded mixed and mastered in HZ Studio by Mariusz Konik and Robert Wawro. The artwork was created by Karina Wilczek.

Check out the demo on YouTube:

This is a really promising demo from a band with bags of potential. We will be keeping up with what the band do next.

Follow the band on:

Facebook

Originally posted by Emma Sheridan on Femetalism.

New Release: Veil of Mist - Ghosts of Winter (Single) June 2015

Dark progressive metallers, Veil of Mist have recently released a new song online called Ghosts of Winter. The track is taken from of their forthcoming album; Disenchantment, which is set to be released later this year. The album will feature 11 tracks and was mixed by Joey Siedl (Architects of Chaoz, ex-Cheeno) and mastered at D-studio, Finland by Jarno Hänninen.

Check out Ghosts of Winter here:

We love this track and are looking forward to hearing more about the album release as it comes in.

Follow the band on:

Facebook
Twitter

Originally posted by Emma Sheridan on Femetalism.

Black Mass & Femetalism Presents: Part 3 - South Sea Live, Sheffield, Sunday 16th August 2015

On 16th August 2015, South Sea Live will play host to the next instalment of the hugely successful Black Mass and Femetalism Presents. Yet again, a great line up has been put together and we are really looking forward to another awesome evening.

So, let's have a quick look through that line up!

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