Author: Crix

Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA Unveil “Collective Failure” Album + First Music Video for Title-Track

KIMMO KUUSNIEMI, pioneering musician and filmmaker, finally unveils the  long-overdue release of “Collective Failure”—an album that was never properly released but feels more relevant than ever. Published under Kuusniemi’s ASA (Ancient Streaming Assembly) collective, this work stands as a haunting reflection of cycles of societal collapse, technological illusions, and humanity’s inability to escape its own self-destruction.

Unlike ASA’s latest instrumental work, “Collective Failure” remains the only ASA release to feature lyrics—a final message from a time when words seemed to matter. After this, even language is stripped away.

ASA – A Long-Term Vision Realized

ASA (Ancient Streaming Assembly) is the culmination of Kimmo Kuusniemi’s lifelong artistic exploration in music and film, expanding on themes of societal manipulation, technology’s control, and the illusion of
progress. It is also deeply rooted in his long-standing environmental work, reflecting decades of activism and filmmaking that warned of humanity’s unsustainable trajectory.

While the music of Collective Failure was recorded long ago, its full audiovisual realization was not possible at the time. Now, with the tools finally available, Kuusniemi presents Collective Failure as a
complete art piece, with every song accompanied by its own visual counterpart.

To mark the release, the first music video for “Collective Failure” has been unveiled, setting the stage for a full audiovisual experience. Each video is created by Kuusniemi using AI as a tool to expand and visualize his vision, forming a multi-sensory deconstruction of reality itself.


A Soundtrack to a World Trapped in Repetition

ASA’s work is built around Ancient Simulation Theory—the idea that humanity exists within a pre-programmed system, endlessly repeating loops of progress and collapse, memory erased each time, never breaking free.

This concept resonates deeply with tracks like:

– “Collective Failure” – A warning about society’s amnesia, blindly repeating history.
– “Synthetic Illusions” – A critique of escapism, where people numb themselves instead of confronting reality.
– “Machine Faith” – A reflection on blind reliance on technology as a savior.

Critics noted that Collective Failure refuses to conform to any genre, mirroring the ethos of ASA: a project that challenges artistic and philosophical boundaries. In ASA, music and video are inseparable,
creating a multi-sensory experience designed to provoke thought and inspire reflection.

“For me, ASA is not just another project—it is the realization of ideas that have been present in my work for decades,” says Kuusniemi. “When Collective Failure was recorded, it wasn’t possible to create the visual world it needed. Now, I can finally release it as it was meant to be—a complete audiovisual experience.”

This press release also serves as a call to experience Collective Failure—an album that was lost in time but whose message has only grown more urgent.

Rediscover. Decode. Escape.

The cycle will continue unless we break it.
Are you ready to see the simulation for what it is?

More information on ASA: https://linktr.ee/AncientStreamingAssembly

Cult gothic metal band For My Pain… released their own version of the classic Tehosekoitin’s song

Founded in Oulu in 1999, For My Pain… is known as the messenger of dark gothic metal. The vision of the supergroup, which emerged from the metal scene at the turn of the millennium, was to create music that would merge heavy melodic metal with a dark gothic atmosphere. The band members were previously known from bands such as Eternal Tears of Sorrow, Nightwish, Embraze, Kalmah, Charon and Reflexion.

In December 2023, For My Pain… announced their return – exactly 20 years after the release of their debut album. The first singles of the new era, Recoil Into Darkness and WitchBitch Elite, were released in 2024. Although two whole decades had passed since the previous recording, the familiar strong atmosphere and melancholic melodies still captured the listener firmly in their shadows.

Now For My Pain… is offering its fans something completely new, with the band’s version of the Tehosekoitin‘s Hetken Tie On Kevyt classic in the works. Bassist Altti Veteläinen, one of the band’s founding members, says he had the vision to do a version of the song back in 2004.

“This is definitely one of the finest gems of Finnish rock, to which we have danced the last slow songs of the evening and watched the midnight sun hand in hand. Every time I heard the song, a heavier version of the verse would play in my head. The thought of our own version, which would still do honor to the original classic, haunted me,” Veteläinen recalls and continues:

“When we decided to return to the books of the living with the band, this vision also reawakened. Over the years, very few people have done their own version of this, so in that sense the idea still felt good and relevant. We decided to test how the song would work with a rehearsal, and it was clear from the first rehearsal that we couldn’t leave this one undone.”

For My Pain… recorded the song as usual at their singer Juha Kylmänen’s Whiteleaf Studio, which has become practically a second home for the members recently. The legendary Finnish metal duo Mikko Karmila and Mika Jussila (Finnvox studios) were responsible for mixing and mastering.

“In our opinion, the end result sounds completely like ourselves, but still very much like the original work. The starting point was not to try to remake the song or the original arrangement in a different mold, but to interpret a great composition in our own style and respecting the original sensitivity,” Veteläinen sums up.

Upcoming gigs:
24.5.2025, On The Rocks, Helsinki
30.5.2025, Rytmikorjaamo, Seinäjoki
27-28.6.2025, LankaFest, Puolanka
2.8.2025, Loisto-Festarit, Jonku, Pudasjärvi

For My Pain… current line-up:
Juha Kylmänen: vocals (Reflexion, Full Nothing)
Lauri Tuohimaa: guitar (Embraze, Tuohimaa, ex-Charon)
Olli-Pekka Törrö: guitar (ex-Eternal Tears of Sorrow)
Altti Veteläinen: bass (ex-Eternal Tears of Sorrow, ex-Kalmah, ex-The Man-Eating Tree)
Marco Sneck: keyboards (Poisonblack, Chamelion, Tuohimaa, ex-The Man-Eating Tree, ex-Kalmah)
Ari-Matti Pohjola: drums (Reflexion, ex-Soulrelic)

For My Pain…‘s debut album Fallen was released worldwide in 2003 by Spinefarm Records/Universal Music and received a very positive reception both in Finland and internationally. The album quickly became a classic of its genre, with some of the most famous songs being Autumn Harmony, Dancer in the Dark and Rapture of Lust. A year later, another 3-song EP, Killing Romance, was released, which was the last release of the then-lineup before the project fell into obscurity in 2005. Now the reborn band.

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Rabbit Cult is back with new music with their single Pink Rifle

Today, the Finnish metal duo Rabbit Cult released their new single Pink Rifle, which blends playful irony with a world of dark menace. The captivating combination of electronic pop metal and kantele continues the soundscape familiar from the band’s first single Cute AF. The song’s lyrics explore themes of power, predation and innocence. The production was carried out in close collaboration with Markus Kaarlonen (Poets of the Fall).

“This song was the result of a long process of refining – it was rewritten about ten times before it found its final form. The arrangement was thoroughly thought out, and in the end the entire structure was renewed by increasing the tempo and adding new lyrics,” says the band’s multi-instrumentalist Marianne Heikkinen (drums, percussion, guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals).

“The original composition was really progressive and complex, and full of time signature changes. I was already sure it was ready, but then Markus, who we produced this with, suggested that we could even just keep the chorus to four. The next night I woke up playing a new guitar riff for this – even though I don’t even know how to play guitar. In the end, only a few lines of the chorus and half of the original riff in the intro remained,” recalls Salla-Marja Hätinen, who is responsible for lead vocals and kantele.

“I was also involved in writing the lyrics for the first time. We sought inspiration from texts written by men in the last millennium, which sound questionable at best in this day and age. An example of this is Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire, originally written for Elvis, which directly talks about his desire for a little girl. Fortunately, times have changed a little!”, Marianne comments.

The pop metal duo formerly known as Saruru changed their name last year. At the same time, the band’s visual side was also updated. The band, which declared itself Rabbit Cult, weaves together the matriarchal roots of Kalevala mythology and the recognizable sound of the Finnish national instrument, the kantele.

Rabbit Cult is not just a band, but also a story. A story that began in a time when modern-day states were not was still there, and explorers wrote on their maps Terra Feminarum (=Land of Women), which centuries later became an independent country called Finland. The Rabbit Cult continues the tradition of this female-led, secret society.

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Ball Busting in Berlin: Finnish AC/DC fanboys HÄ/DA release a new raunchy Ball Buster single and music video

The hard rock -duo HÄ/DA has released a new single and music video, Ball Buster, which tells a true, cautionary tale about meeting a beautiful lady with superb pool playing skills in Berlin. Although it is possible to interpret the lyrics in a different way as well, depending on just how dirty an imagination the listener possesses. 

Strongly influenced by AC/DC, the Finnish duo HÄ/DA is a product of the guitarist Juho “Hässi” Hämäläinen and the vocalist Antti “DeeAa” Heikkinen.

“We’re definitely not aiming to reinvent the wheel here. The style of AC/DC is our guiding star here, no question about that”, the men explain.

Hässi also plays in the best Finnish AC/DC-tribute band Dirty Deeds Indeed as well as the hard rock band Rane Rautiainen & Paha Kaksonen. DeeAa sings and plays the guitar for the heavy rock -band Mosfite. Both have numerous other musical endeavors in their past, both together and with other groups.

Ball Buster is also featured on a five-song EP that will be released in March, “(Almost) 20 Minutes Of Love”.

Watch the music video: https://youtu.be/oYcharh2MxI

Listen to the single on music services (Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal etc.): https://push.fm/fl/hada-ballbuster
For the fans of: AC/DC, The Darkness, Airbourne, Rhino Bucket.
https://www.facebook.com/hadabandofficial

https://www.youtube.com/@HADABAND

Prog rock edge and dreamy atmosphere – Luminous Mind released their The Reverie’s Lament EP

Luminous Mind is a quintet that conjures up atmospheric progressive rock. The band released a brand new EP, The Reverie’s Lament. The EP is a four-song story that explores the nuanced emotions and experiences of falling asleep and dreaming. The Reverie’s Lament presents the first songs featuring the band’s new soloist Topi Aalto. Finding a new singer took some time, but now the band’s lineup is in place, and Luminous Mind is ready to kick things into gear.

“This ensemble takes the listener on a journey where dreams and reality mix, and waking up is not a given. The songs combine elements of progressive rock and metal, creating a soundscape that reflects the chaos and beauty of being on the border between sleep and wakefulness,” the band says.

The EP was previewed with the ten-minute prog epic Waking Dreams and Borderline, which showcases Luminous Mind’s rockier edge. As the last track, the band presents the song Restless Serenity.

“Restless Serenity is a relatively more straightforward song than you usually hear from our band, and it represents more fast-paced rock. Despite this, it still strongly reflects our band’s style and essence. The song is, as the name suggests, energetic and hectic in its atmosphere, but at the end the song opens up and calms down into an atmospheric outro,” says singer Topi Aalto, who wrote the song’s lyrics.

Luminous Mind is:
Topi Aalto – vocals
Antti Soini – guitar
Aleksi Korkee – keyboards
Sami Kepsu – bass
Touko Lehto – drums & backing vocals

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SHORES OF NULL First Leg of 2025 EU Tour Dates – Live Album “Beauty Over Europe” Out May 2025

Italian melancholic dark metal SHORES OF NULL announce their first leg of of 2025 tour dates across Europe that will feature a combination of festival appearances and indoor shows between Italy and Germany.

Shores of Null 2025 Tour Dates:​
01.03 • Journey Fest VI @ Spazio Webo – Pesaro
w/ Deadly Carnage, Ghostheart Nebula, Built-in Obsolescence Band, Lilinanna
14.03 • Alchemica Music Club – Bologna
w/ Deadly Carnage, Built-in Obsolescence Band, Eva Can’t
30.04 • Klubhaus – Saalfeld w/ Décembre Noir, Praise The Plague
01.05 • TBA
02.05 • Walpurgisnacht Vol. IV – Berlin w/ And Oceans, Heretoir, Décembre Noir
11.05 • Isola Rock – Verona w/ Dark Lunacy
15.06 • Arena Alpe Adria – Lignano Sabbiadoro w/ In Flames, Lacuna Coil

​

In additional news, Shores of Null will be unraveling a live album for May 2025. Entitled “Beauty Over Europe”, the live record features 10 tracks that were recorded during their monumental 2023 European tour with Swallow The Sun, Draconian, and Avatarium. Throughout that tour, Shores of Null performed 35 shows across 18 countries, including Norway, Denmark, Germany, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Hungary, bringing their critically acclaimed album “The Loss Of Beauty” to the stage.

The live recordings, captured in the cities of Leipzig, Munich, Aschaffenburg, Budapest, and Belfast, preserve the raw and emotive energy of their performances. Each track reflects the band’s ability to blend melancholic melodies with crushing heaviness, offering fans a visceral live experience.

“Beauty Over Europe” is both a celebration of the tour and a gift to all fans of the band. Exactly two years after that unforgettable journey, this live album offers a chance to relive the emotional intensity and true essence of Shores Of Null’s live performances.

Guitarist Gabriele Giaccari comments:

“This tour was an incredible journey, the longest in our career, and a true milestone for Shores Of Null. As the promotional tour for The Loss Of Beauty, our latest and most acclaimed album to date, it was an honor to bring these songs to life across 35 shows in 18 countries. Sharing the stage with monumental bands like Swallow The Sun and Draconian—huge inspirations for our music—was unforgettable. Despite the melancholy of their sound, they’re some of the most fun and genuine people we’ve met, and by the end of this epic journey, we were proud to call them friends.

We owe special thanks to our incredible crew—Petri, Matti, Mikko, and Tero—who ensured everything ran seamlessly and made this experience unforgettable. To pay homage to this extraordinary chapter, we decided to produce a live album. Recorded during key moments of the tour, it captures the essence of these unforgettable performances and is dedicated to all the people who supported us live and shared these magical moments with us.”

Watch a live video clip from their tour stop in Aschaffenburg, Germany performing “The Last Flower” – https://youtu.be/w-Hq69KG2RM​

Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3BU584W​

​

Setlist:​
1. Transitory (Live intro)
2. Destination Woe (Live in Leipzig)
3. Nothing Left To Burn (Live in Leipzig)
4. Quiescent (Live in Munich)
5. The Last Flower (Live in Aschaffenburg)
6. Black Drapes For Tomorrow (Live in Budapest)
7. A Nature in Disguise (Live in Munich)
8. Darkness Won’t Take Me (Live in Belfast)
9. My Darkest Years (Live in Aschaffenburg)
10. Blazing Sunlight (Live Outro)
​
Live Recording: Matti Kynsijärvi
Mixing and Mastering: Marco Mastrobuono at Bloom Recording Studios
​
​Band:​
Davide Straccione – Vocals
Gabriele Giaccari – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Raffaele Colace – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Lorenzo Carlini – Live Bass
Matteo Capozucca – Bass
Emiliano Cantiano – Drums

“The Loss of Beauty” is Shores Of Null’s fourth album and follows the acclaimed “Beyond The Shores (On Death And Dying)”, unanimously considered by fans and critics as one of the Doom Metal gems of recent years. The lyrics celebrate beauty in imperfection and transience and are meant to be an invitation to seek beauty in little things, especially those unexpected and ephemeral.

Stylistically, “The Loss of Beauty” continues along the sulcus set forth by “Quiescence” and “Black Drapes For Tomorrow”, its melancholic dark metal with a wide range of influences, from gothic metal to doom metal and melodic black/death metal, with frequent use of vocal harmonies and deep growls.

The album consists of 13 songs, while the LP version only contains 11, the two extra tracks are bonus tracks that can be found on the CD version as well as on the streaming platforms. Dark and heavy, tinged with feelings of despair and melancholy, “The Loss Of Beauty” was released on March 24th, 2023, and is recommended for fans of Swallow The Sun, Borknagar, and Paradise Lost.

Album Stream:

YouTube – https://youtu.be/vWOcwJYjhq8​

Spotify – https://spoti.fi/3ZckbMW​

Album order (Digital, CD, Vinyl) – https://linktr.ee/thelossofbeauty​

For more info: Spikerot.com | Shoresofnull.com

About:

Shores of Null stand out from their contemporaries with their ability to blend seemingly disparate elements into their sound, overwhelmingly heavy and soothing at the same time: blackened aggression stands alongside gothic-doom sections without either sounding out of place. Their music can be both melancholic yet majestic, made of chorale-like guitar textures across the instrument’s entire range, sustained by a powerful rhythmic section and punctuated by a refined mixture of clean and growled vocals, along with extensive use of pleasing vocal harmonies which have become the band’s trademark through the years.

The Rome-based metal band has been an unwavering presence within the metal underground since their musical outset in 2013, churning out a series of impressive records: the melodic and somber “Quiescence” (Candlelight, 2014), the darker and more complex “Black Drapes For Tomorrow” (Candlelight/Spinefarm, 2017), and the ambitious “Beyond The Shores (On Death And Dying)” (Spikerot Records, 2020), a 38-minute long doom manifesto that sees guest appearances of the doom-titans Mikko Kotamäki (Swallow The Sun) and Thomas A.G. Jensen (Saturnus), along with the angelic voice of Elisabetta Marchetti (Inno).

Shores Of Null’s fourth album, “The Loss Of Beauty”, released in March 2023, was hailed as one of the best albums of the year within the genre. The band supported the release with an extensive EU/UK tour alongside Swallow The Sun, Draconian, and Avatarium, followed by standout performances at major festivals like Hellfest, Rock Imperium, and 70000 Tons Of Metal among others, further solidifying their status as one of the rising forces in the metal scene.

Shiraz Lane’s upcoming album’s catchy Dangerous single released today – The band heads to the Caribbean next week, Finland’s only spring gig in April at Olympia, UK tour announced for June

Shiraz Lane, who announced their international deal with Frontiers Music Srl earlier this month, releases the first single from her upcoming studio album, Dangerous, today.

‘‘Explosive and seductive, Dangerous is the first single release from our upcoming album in its own right. The song is like a compass towards a renewed soundscape and at the same time a perfect example of what Shiraz Lane means in 2025″ the band describes.

Both Dangerous and the entire upcoming album were made in collaboration with producer Per Aldeheim, the same man who also conjured up the sounds of the band’s most successful releases to date, Carnival Days and Vibration I.

The release is accompanied by a music video filmed and edited by Juho Virinkoski (Rytmivisuals), which captures the atmosphere of the song in a minimalist way.

“The inspiration for the video came from a scene in the movie Joker: Folie á Deux, and we think this landscape fits the elegance of the song perfectly.”

Shiraz Lane will travel to the United States next week and from there to the Caribbean to perform on Monsters Of Rock cruise, and the band  also  announces a tour in the United Kingdom next June. Two festival shows have been supplemented with club dates around the island nation.

Currently announced shows are:

10.-15.3. Monsters of Rock Cruise – US & Bahama
18.4. Olympia – Tampere (support: Block Of Flats)
24.5. Wildfest – Belgium

Shiraz Lane UK tour:
* Support XIII DOORS
19.6. Loverocks Festival
20.6. The Northern Club – Pontefract
21.6. Rock Vibes – Nottingham
22.6. Cart And Horses – London
23.6. The Giffard Arms – Wolverhampton
26.6. Waterloo Music Bar – Blackpool
27.6. Wildfire Festival – Wanlockhead

8.11. Lion Rock Festival – Spain

Black Ancestry releases Possessed In Chains album via Blasphemous Art Records

Black Ancestry rises from the depths of darkness, to revive lost sounds that have made history. They are devoted fans of the bands that have influenced much of extreme metal music such as SODOM, HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST, BATHORY, VENOM, SARCOFAGO, MORBID, NIFELHEIM, focusing on staying true to the attitude of those years and trying to revive that style and involve people, to revive an old-school metal scene. Instigating the new generations to pick up the battle axe again and push themselves further, to listen more and more to these styles of music, without needing too much modernity and bullshit!!!

This album is nothing but all of that!

The CD is available at Detroit Rock City Music Store & Alternative Bar Cafè in Gallipoli or by ordering it at blasphemousart@libero.it with worldwide shipping via Express Courier (Tracking Service).

Possessed In Chains (2025)

Tracklist:

1. Intro (Army of Darkness Prologue)
2. Black Angels
3. Satanic Nightmare
4. Evil… In March with Satan
5. Possessed In Chains
6. Black Ancestry
7. Rise Again
8. Master of the Earth

 

Wretched Path releases epic new single with a music video – New album out next month

Finnish death metal band Wretched Path releases their second album “Sea of Death” on March 26th 2025. First single “Release of Violence” introduced the straight-forward and raw side of the upcoming album. Now released title track of the album dives into the versatile depths with epic touch. The band also releases a music video of the single.

“The lyrics were inspired by the sound of a submarine sonar heard in the original intro, which took the lyricist’s thoughts to the Baltic Sea in 1945, where several ships were sunk during the final days of the war. These events constitute the greatest loss of life ever recorded at sea. This track is the perfect conclusion to the album.” tells the Singer Esa Salminen.

Listen to the single on music services (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer etc): https://push.fm/fl/wretchedpath-sods

Check the music video on YouTube.

Formed in 2020 by seasoned musicians from renowned bands like Pestigore, Born of Thorns, Tukkanuotta, and Warmen, Wretched Path was born out of a desire to return to their Death Metal roots. Their debut album received rave reviews from various magazines and websites, and they played several gigs around Finland including the legendary Nummirock festival 2023.
https://www.wretchedpath.com/

https://www.facebook.com/wretchedpath

https://www.instagram.com/wretchedpath/

https://wretchedpath.bandcamp.com/

Returning metal regiment Freedomination releases their album Until The Lights Go Out

Freedomination, which draws inspiration from the depths of thrash, prog and heavy metal of the old Finnish League, is today on the verge of its new full-length studio album. The release of the new album will be celebrated at Myyrmäki Skenesal on March 7. More information and tickets can be found here.

The band, founded in Vantaa in 2008, was on hiatus from 2017 until the band returned to the stage with a new lineup in 2022. Unusually, Until The Lights Go Out is also the debut album of a long-standing band!
Now, however, Freedomination has been honed to a new level, and their sights have been set on the top of the metal world.

“Finishing Freedomination’s debut album was not an easy process. The first version of it was already created in 2011, the next in 2014. In 2017, I already decided that this band had come to the end of its journey – but here we are again. Now with a new line-up, the album is finally finished! As a whole band, we can proudly say that the album came out very hard. Less has never been an option. Until The Lights Go Out is full of stuff for all lovers of quality, melodic and guitar-driven heavy metal. Check it out for yourself!” says the band’s singer-guitarist Timo Ahlström.

The band released the album’s lead single, Second Chance.

“Sometimes in life there are moments when you have to turn the page, even if you don’t want to. Second Chance is about the weight of these moments and how important it is to look forward. We wrote a real hit song for this song! At the same time, the song represents the rockier side of the album,” Ahlström comments.

Until The Lights Go Out (2025)

1. Sin Road
2. Heaven Sent
3. The Raven
4. Second Chance
5. Tear Down The Wall
6. Smoking Gun
7. Unleash Hell
8. Down With The Rain
9. Until The Lights Go Out

Freedomination founding member singer-guitarist Timo Ahlström’s musical resume includes live touring in the band Barren Earth and performing with Canadian Annihilator in 2013. In addition to Timo Ahlström, the band’s lineup includes Jörgen Reinholm (guitar), Tommi Otsavaara (bass & backing vocals) and Jukka Ahlström (drums).

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