Fatal Opera sends some light with new single and album towards us

In all of the uncertainties of times we're living in music always shone a light for me. It contains my hope and keeps me pushing on forwards.

This goes even more in these days for me. So it was a massive highlight as I got the info that a brand new track by experimental progressive metallers Fatal Opera surfaced. 

Almost 20 years after the initial recordings, a brand new Fatal Opera record see's the light of day.

It's not "just" a song. It lives and breathes the typical soul of a song by this particular band. The many timing changes, the dark tonality, the unique lyrics but most of all a glimpse of uplifting positivity is what keeps me sticking to this particular band. There are also few slower parts that add to the great atmosphere - these lay the foundation for a even heavier next part of the single.

"The Raven" holds all of this. Plus it is some sort of reunion. David Ellefson contributes the bass guitars while Chris Poland can be heard on the six strings. Don't wait any longer and go straight to the music.

But we're even graced with more good news as as full new album by Fatal Opera also shines now on Spotify. Read all of the story below, I think a lot of the history guys out there will love to know how the story around Gar Samuelson (R.I.P.) moved on after he left Megadeth back in the day.

FATAL OPERA 3 can be streamed here:

https://open.spotify.com/album/4jOX9voVjVxg6PNPTPda7G

Following his departure from Megadeth in 1987, Gar Samuelson assembled his new band Fatal Opera, along with his brother Stew on guitar. Gar went on to produce the group’s debut album in 1994, which also featured Dave Inman on vocals, Travis Karcher on bass and Billy Brehme on guitar. The group’s second album Eleventh Hour was released in 1997 and introduced Andy Freeman on vocals, reaching top 10 on European charts while the group continued building a loyal fan base touring across the USA that year. Sadly, in 1999 Gar became ill and passed away, at which point the group disbanded.

Then, in 2018 Andy and Stew set out to remix the Eleventh Hour LP and in the process discovered a collection of demos with Gar which were intended to become the band’s third album before his passing. Although the demo tapes were damaged after many years of neglect, Freeman labored to revive the tracks with some songs lost forever. However, he was able to complete 12 tracks, inviting Ellefson & Poland to participate on "The Raven" as a way to conclude the legacy of Gar and Fatal Opera.

Chris Poland recalls, “Back in the day, long before Megadeth, Gar and his brother Stew were the heart and soul of a heavy instrumental jazz/rock project called THE NEW YORKERS. I played guitar with them and Robbie “Pag” Pagliari played fretless bass. It was everything we could do just to keep up! Stew’s right hand was a machine. Flawless. And Gar was right there with him always pushing things to the next level. 

And again, these two brothers were the heart and soul of Fatal Opera. It was a privilege to be a part of this release, and playing on ‘The Raven’ with David Ellefson made it that much more special. Gar was a true artist. Be it his amazing drumming, his painting or his wood sculpture pipe (he made by hand). Gar was one of a kind. And here Gar, Stew and crew push the limits of experimental metal. These songs are complex yet accessible. Music with a dark side that draws you into their world and keeps you wondering 'what’s next!'” Chris Poland also added additional guitar work to the track "Mask of Time".

David Ellefson adds,“This is a really cool moment for Chris and me to musically reunite with our friend Gar, now almost 35 years after our last studio session together, which was the 1987 re-recording of 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ for the Dudes movie soundtrack, compiled by director Penelope Spheeris. Gar was always such a free spirit with his music, no click tracks or digital reinvention for him. And, he seldom played the same thing twice, quite unusual for heavy metal! He just went for it with real gusto and that became the hallmark of his sound."

He continues, "When I was laying down the bass track for 'The Raven' it reminded me once again of Gar’s spontaneity in the studio, as if we were recording live in the same room together. I’m super happy these tracks were brought to life so we could have one last go around with Gar behind the kit. It’s a reminder that he truly was one of the greats!”

Track Listing for Fatal Opera 3 :

1. The Raven (Feat. David Ellefson & Chris Poland)

2. Live Again

3. Mask of Time (Feat. Chris Poland)

4. Killers in the Night

5. Swept Away

6. Burning of the Midnight Lamp

7. 10 Years Gone

8. Little Sister

9. Salt

10. Rise

11. Wings of Pain

12. Jumped in the Pot

Fatal Opera 3 Line-up:

Andy Freeman – Vocals, Keyboard, Guitar

Stew Samuelson – Guitar

Billy Brehme – Guitar

Travis Karcher – Bass

Gar Samuelson – Drums

Band history of doom band Nest speaks of hope

Making music has never been easy. And in fact it still is like this these days. I cannot understand some people saying making music is free. It's not. You need to buy equipment, you need a rehearsal space (a lot of bands need to pay a rent for that) and in the end you need to make a record and promote it with a decent video. Everyone of these steps (and some more) needs to be backed finacially. Plus in the end you can never know if the people out there will like and buy your stuff.

But there are also signs of hope out there in the darkness. One is the story of the doom/sludge three-piece called Nest situated in Stockholm, Sweden. Read below how things went out for them and listen to their full record in the stream below.

It started in 2011 with two brothers, Fredrik & Jonas, and a riff. The riff is key, for it carries the song, driven only by understated and economical drumming. For this the band  needed the right drummer, but good drummers are few and far apart. The brothers happened upon a Frenchman named Dave, a drummer with death metal roots that brought that extra something to the fold. Nest was now a three piece. A band. The idea came to life and the riff became a song.

(c) by Nest, used with kind permission

A couple of riffs later, the songs became a set, and Nest played their first show at a bar called Snövit, known to play host to punk shows. People seemed to like it.

When the time came to record their songs, they knew that the heaviness was there but wanted to capture the raw nerve of the punk influences that might get lost in hazy riffs. They turned to their friend Mattis Rundgren (Makabert Fynd/Dissekerad/Kakafoni) for the recording. The result is the self-titled debut, released in 2015.

The band was now faced with a new problem: how to get that recording out into the world. Nest opted for a DIY approach, pressing CDs and selling them themselves, in hopes that they could sell enough to afford a vinyl pressing.

At a bar in Tilburg, Holland, during the Roadburn festival, Fredrik and Jonas met up with their dear friends, Craig and Andrew, from the new country across the sea, Since they, too, worship at the altar of the riff, they were given CDs and t-shirts. The words spoken after that went something like this:

Craig: So when do I get to hear this on vinyl?
Fredrik: When we've sold enough CDs and shirts to afford it.
Craig: If I start a label, would you consider letting me release it?
Fredrik: Yes. That would be awesome!

Not long after that Tribunal of the Axe Records was born, and the record was pressed.

If you'd like to purchase a copy on vinyl just head over to the Bandcamp page and get one of the limited physical releases or the digital version.

What I like in the band's sound so much is that they keep things raw and direct. It's not that much polished and it's kept simple and straight forward. If you like bands like Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard and the like I think you'll love this.

Make sure to stay in connection with Nest through their Facebook page or have a look at the label that helped them to do the vinyl pressing - here's the link to Tribunal of the Axe Records Facebook site.

Senate of Prevail look back on the past time with new video

Memories can be sweet gifts. Sure they also can be bad and often we tend to look upon the bad those. It's so easy to forget the good things that happened in a world that is filled with problems.

Anyway, the swedish band Senate of Prevail currently is on hold after having powered all around for nearly a full year with recordings and live performances. They gathered some fans during that process including me and I've posted many of their stuff here on my blog. Just click this link to get a fast overview on those posts. I miss those days...

Happily the guitarist Peter Jonsson recently looked through the band's video archives and compiled a clip showing some nice scenes of the band's history. He also mixed a older track of Senate Of Prevail called "October Sky" and put both things together. The video shows material that has never before seen in any of the band's videos that came out during the last months.

It's well worth checking out. It's the music but also the memories that got me so quickly. My favoite scene is Anton Forsman playing the drum kit at the start of the video and looking like the "Wasn't I supposed to do this?" look at the end and then Pecka Wexell (the drummer of the band) comes rushing in with the forklift as some sort of reaction. :-) 

Enjoy these sweet memories and keep an eye on the band's Facebook page. Who know's maybe one day they'll be back? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that!