After their two acoustic adventures, Finnish power metal veterans Sonsta Arctica will honor us with their 11th studio album Clear Cold Beyond, which will be released in March 2024.
And right from the first track First In Line, we get the keyboard-heavy power metal we learned to love from the band in their early days.
Tony Kakko, Henrik Klingenberg and co. are playing like they haven't for a long time!

German heavy metal/power metal unit Hammer King are back with a brand-new bombastic full-length full of true headbanger hits! The new offering, entitled König und Kaiser, continues the storyline of the band paying homage to the mighty Hammer King, and is set for release on March 22, 2024 via Napalm Records.
Hammer King, led by ex-Ross The Boss vocalist Titan Fox, was formed in 2015 and has captured the scene with their five previous offerings and live performances, among others at Summer Breeze Open Air following their last album, the massive 2022 release Kingdemonium…

The Japanese pop-metal group’s third album, which arrives October 11th, will contain 14/16 songs and feature a bevy of guest artists. The musicians appearing on Metal Galaxy include Arch Enemy vocalist Alissa White-Gluz; Sabaton singer Joakim Brodén; Polyphia guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage; B’z guitarist Tak Matsumoto; and Thai rapper F.HERO.

‘What Lies Beneath’ is the second rock studio album by Finnish solo artist Tarja. Originally released in 2010, it is considered a classic and must-have for both fans and critics and includes timeless Tarja hits like ‘Until My Last Breath’, ‘I Feel Immortal’ and ‘Falling Awake’. This year, the album will be re-issued for the first time as 2CD Special Edition and, for the first time, as Heavyweight 2LP Vinyl (Gatefold, 180g, black). Both formats feature a beautifully restored artwork, and all tracks are remastered at Sterling Sound for superb sound quality for the ultimate 2024 ‘What Lies Beneath’-experience. Out on April 12th, 2024.

New full-length studio album by the German Heavy Metal legends Scanner. "The Cosmic Race" is released worldwide by Rock Of Angels Records.
The time has come for a new Scanner album after almost a decade. As the previous dictography almost imperatively demands, The Cosmic Race has become a concept album: survival on Earth has become increasingly difficult, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and military conflicts have reached their peak, large parts of the continents are nuclear-contaminated. Life is concentrated in a few large cities, and the confinement and heat in them has become unbearable…

Grammy-nominated extreme power metal pioneers DragonForce will release their monumental new album and Napalm Records debut, Warp Speed Warriors, on March 15, 2024! The iconic unit is known for their masterful, unparalleled and lightning-fast signature guitar solos that influenced a whole genre. The band around virtuoso guitarists and founding members Herman Li and Sam Totman are highly inspired by a myriad of heavy metal styles, fantasy realms and video games.
Warp Speed Warriors, produced by Herman Li, Sam Totman and Damien Rainaud - and mixed and mastered by the latter - is a matchless, innovative listening experience that continues the band's legacy with songs that will, without a shadow of a doubt, become instant classics in and beyond the DragonForce canon.

Great events cast their (apparently equally significant) shadows before them: German metal band Rage have announced the arrival of their latest studio album ‘Afterlifelines’ in March 2024. The double album will consist of a total of 21 songs, including an intro, interlude and outro. Remarkably, the two records feature different musical approaches: "The first CD is called ‘Afterlife’ and comprises songs that we recorded as a trio, while the material on the second CD ‘Lifelines’ also includes classical orchestral arrangements," explains singer and bassist Peavy Wagner. Wagner and his two band mates Jean Bormann (guitar) and Vassilios "Lucky" Maniatopoulos (drums) have cut more than 94 minutes of new Rage music, including what Wagner calls a "20-minute grand finale".

Rage Créé en 1984 sous le nom Avenger, le groupe Rage est mené depuis ses débuts par Peter « Peavy » Wagner. Ces tenants du metal germanique abreuvent leur public au rythme d'un album annuel, de Reign of Fear (1986) et Perfect Man (1988) à Speak of the Dead (2006), Strings to a Web (2010), The Devil Strikes Again (2016), soit une vingtaine d'albums d'un fier metal speed et progressif.

Renowned for their mastery of prog-power, Lords of Black are set to captivate audiences once again with their sixth studio album, "Mechanics Of Predacity," slated for a global release by Frontiers Music on March 15th, 2024. This monumental release marks a pinnacle in the band's evolution, seamlessly fusing power, epic grandeur, and intense musicality with a profound narrative woven through evocative lyricism. Tony Hernando's exceptional musical composition, Ronnie Romero's emotive vocals, and the formidable rhythm section of bassist Dani Criado and drummer Jo Nunez converge in this release, a testament to the band's artistic prowess.

Grammy-nominated extreme power metal pioneers DragonForce will release their monumental new album and Napalm Records debut, Warp Speed Warriors, on March 15, 2024! The iconic unit is known for their masterful, unparalleled and lightning-fast signature guitar solos that influenced a whole genre. The band around virtuoso guitarists and founding members Herman LI and Sam Totman are highly inspired by a myriad of heavy metal styles, fantasy realms and video games. Formed in 1999, DragonForce has captivated audiences worldwide with their highly successful records and iconic singles, including the platinum-selling hit "Through the Fire and Flames" - the ultimate challenge for gamers on the legendary "Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock". Renowned for their epic compositions that expand the boundaries of heavy metal, on their highly anticipated new full-length, DragonForce explore a wider range of varying musical styles than ever before, evolving their sound throughout the exciting musical journey.

In such turbulent times it's important to stand closely together as humanity instead of fighting each other. That's exactly what the new Firewind album 'Stand United' is about! In addition to societal problems and environmental issues, which are the main topic in ten new tracks, we are expecting the strongest masterpiece of band history. In line with the new release, the band around ex Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G. and vocalist Herbie Langhans (formerly Avantasia) will spread their message of 'Stand United' all over Europe in spring 2024. Combined with MASTERPLAN they will play a big co-headliner tour, among Germany, France, Spain, Sweden and many other countries.

Sonata Arctica have been many things in their storied career. Finnish power metal messiahs, relentlessly touring powerhouses, champions of sublime melody. First and foremost, however, they have been stalwarts in showcasing the magic and the enchantment flowing through heavy metal. They have been embodying the majesty and serenity of Nordic nature since their foundation in 1995 and have been spellbinding their world with ten records, EPs and countless tours. “Clear Cold Beyond” easily is the most relentless Sonata Arctica record to date, a spectacular resurgence of their trademark, lightning fast power metal forged far, far north. “We’ve felt for a while now that we’d need to get heavier again after some unintentionally softer albums,” Tony says. With production duties handles by your truly Mikko Karmila, key figure of their early days, “Clear Cold Beyond” sounds massive, heavy and hungry and takes a bow to their early work when everything was shrouded in a profound sense of magic and mystery. This magic is back now – only with a band that’s 25 years down the road and nothing less than an experienced beast urging to go mental like they never did before.

Power Metal fans, unite! Here it is, the latest release from Primal Fear, released via Atomic Fire Records on September 1st, 2023. “Code Red” marks their fourteenth album, a truly impressive milestone. The new sound continues in the same vein as their previous works, ensuring that fans won’t be disappointed. The album brings the energy Primal Fear has honed into their unique style, which one can readily identify as their own artistic signature.

It's been five long years since iconic Brazilian power metal kings Angra released their latest album, "Ømni". Finally the band is back now with new music, proving once again to be one of the most unique bands of the genre. Angra's signature sound - merging classic virtuosic power metal with progressive elements and rhythms - is on full display here and makes "Cycles Of Pain" a highlight for every fan of sophisticated first-class metal. The band's long-running line-up (founded in 1991) is joined by former Rhapsody of Fire vocalist Fabio Lione since 2013, who once again delivers an incredible performance. Guest appearances by multiple Latin Grammy winner Lenine (on the partly Portuguese song "Vida Seca") as well as Amanda Somerville (Avantasia, Kiske/Somerville) and Vanessa Moreno round off Angra's new masterpiece perfectly.

Alongside Switzerland's Celtic Frost and Sweden's Bathory, Germany's Helloween are possibly the most influential heavy metal band to come out of Europe during the '80s. By taking the hard-riffing and minor-key melodies handed down from metal masters like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, and infusing them with the speed and energy introduced by the burgeoning thrash metal movement, Helloween crystallized the sonic ingredients of what is now known as power metal. The group hit their commercial peak in the late '80s with the release of the two-volume Keeper of the Seven Keys, which helped make them the benchmark by which most every power metal band is measured.