IRON GRIFFIN To Release ‘Curse Of The Sky’ In March: track streaming!

IRON GRIFFIN, the vintage metal project from MAUSOLEUM GATE drummer Oskari Räsänen, will release its first full-length, “Curse Of The Sky” on March 22 via Gates Of Hell Records.

LISTEN TO “REIGN OF THUNDER” on BANDCAMP!

 

The follow-up to the band’s 2017 self-titled EP, the instrumentation for “Curse Of The Sky” was recorded in July of 2018 at Räsänen’s rehearsal room in Kuopio, Finland. Vocals were tracked in Joensuu, while synthesizers were recorded in Helsinki. Like the self-titled EP, “Curse Of The Sky” finds Räsänen once again handling all instrumentation and recording the album himself. He is joined by a new face, female vocalist Maija Tiljander, who he discovered several years ago singing European power metal covers in a Finnish bar. Impressed, he took a mental note of Tiljander’s abilities and when it came time to work on “Curse Of The Sky”, he felt compelled to track the vocalist down.

“I found her through social media and straightly asked if she would be interested in an album project like this,” he says. “She responded, ‘Of course I am!’ Long story short, I did not know her before, I took a bus to Joensuu with my portable recording equipment and we had a pleasant demo session. I was really impressed with her abilities and sound and how greatly she adapted my ideas. Maija’s vocals give really unique twist to IRON GRIFFIN. This kind of metal is enchanted with powerful and high-pitched vocals is something really unique and cool.”

“Curse Of The Sky” traverses the familiar road of classic, proto-metal, with Rasanen’s savvy songwriting being the guide as he takes the listener through songs of fantasy and folk tales. Inspired by U.S. power metal and progressive folk/rock, Räsänen also looked toward doom metal for atmosphere and melancholy. “I tried to channel epic-ness in the instrumentation and especially in the vocals. I was highly influenced by the vocals in MAJESTIC RYTE, ENCHANTER on their ‘Defenders Of The Realm’ album and STORMBRINGER’s ‘Stealer Of Souls’. But on the other hand, folk bands like PENTANGLE, RENAISSANCE, MELLOW CANDLE, COMUS, MIDWINTER, CHIMERA, MORITA DOJI, HAKO YAMASAKI have all stuck so hard in my subconscious. If you’re aware of this kind of music, you might hear something similar and familiar in ‘Curse Of The Sky’.”

While he’s very much comfortable in a full band environment like MAUSOLEUM GATE, in IRON GRIFFIN, Räsänen admits that working alone does present its share of obstacles, especially when he wants to try new ideas out. But, through the process of elimination and sheer perseverance, Räsänen is often able to emerge with songs he can stand by, which is why he will continue to do all instrumentation himself.

“The best thing about doing music by yourself is that there are no boundaries, you can do whatever you want,” he says. “There is no one presenting bad opinions or shitty riffs, ha-ha! If you want to make even more over-the-top vocal melodies or anything weird and un-acceptable, you can just do it. No compromises have to be done. When working as a full band, it’s always about making compromises and struggling through what is good and what is not from everybody’s opinion. That is why making your own music in your own ways is really refreshing. At least for me it is. Still, the greatest motivation to make a full-length was to challenge myself and become better both in composing music and playing various instruments.”

 

“Curse Of The Sky” track listing:

1. Prelude
2. Reign of Thunder
3. Forgotten Steel
4. Lost Legion
5. Curse of the Sky
6. Dawn of Struggle
7. To the Path of Glory

IRON GRIFFIN SIGNS WITH GATES OF HELL RECORDS

Finnish Epic Metal band IRON GRIFFIN, the side-project of MAUSOLEUM GATE’s drummer Oscar Razanez, signed with Gates of Hell Rec. The band’s debut four-song EP will be released on 12” mini-LP and cassette.

Comments Razanez: “IRON GRIFFIN is a new project which started about a year ago as a one-man band mostly to improve myself at playing different instruments and writing music. Session vocals are done by my friend and spectacular singer Toni Pentikäinen. “The future of this project is living right now. I will continue working with new material and try to search for players to form a ‘real band,’ maybe. But this EP is a good start for me and the journey continues in one way or another.”

The EP is already available for download on Bandcamp:

https://irongriffin.bandcamp.com/album/iron-griffin

Razanez’s MAUSOLEUM GATE will release their second album “Into A Dark Divinity” on September 8 via Cruz Del Sur Music. The album can be pre-ordered at this location.

LEGIONNAIRE’S DEBUT ALBUM OUT ON MAY 26th!

We present you “Black Harbinger“, the first track taken off Legionnaire‘s debut album “Dawn of Genesis“!

This Finnish band’s music is based on powerful twin guitar harmonies, and medieval style epic melodies, with the lyrics influenced by ancient mythology, the middle ages, and also  by fictional themes such as Sci-Fi.

LEGIONNAIRE have a personal sound, though you can hear tons of influences in their  music: old Scandinavian Metal with classic NWOBHM-style galloping riffs and an overall epic feel that brings back to mind US metal bands such as Liege Lord, Brocas Helm and obscure US epic metal release from the mid 80s.

In a few words: traditional Heavy Metal!

“Dawn of Genesis” was mastered by Wicked Ischianus of Mausoleum Gate and will be out on 26/05/2017 on CD, LP and digital.

With bands like LEGIONNAIRE, Heavy Metal will never die!

 Recommended for fans of NWOBHM, Liege Lord, Brocas Helm, The Lord Weird Slough Feg, early German power/speed metal.

PRE-ORDER HERE !!!