AMENRA collaborate with Willy Vanderperre for humbling video | UK shows, European tour dates and new releases announced

What happens when AMENRA, extreme music's most guarded and secretive unit, relinquish control? Top fashion photographer Willy Vanderperre and director of photography Nicolas Karakatsanisare are behind the reins of a video which features the band stripped of all that we know of them, and you can watch it first at Nowness...

Amenra: A Mon Âme 

Vanderperre has worked with a startling array of individuals, from Kate Moss to Kanye West, but his encounter with AMENRA sees both parties break formation to form a hesitant, powerful and revealing union. The video, set to À Mon Âme from their most recent album, MASS V, may not be what you have come to expect from the cult crafters of discordance - but what are AMENRA if not masters of defying expectation?

Says CHVE of the collaboration; "It is not at all like the sort of visuals we usually present, it is more a case study, or a visual interpretation of the band, a little piece of concept art, if you will. The idea they [Willy Vanderperre and director of photography Nicolas Karakatsanisare] had was stripping us of everything we had – ‘what if we took it all away from them?’, ‘what if we took them from their comfort zone?’. No shadows or darkness to hide in, dark imagery, props or metaphors or symbols to use."...

He continues..."Compare it to what we sometimes or mostly do with our music - stick to the mere necessary, take a minimalistic approach of a whole. What do we really need? To create a certain 'feeling' of emotion. For us, it was an extremely interesting cooperation. We normally keep our guard extremely high, never give something out of our hands, to keep it as close to our skin as humanly possible - that's exactly what they did as well, literally...It was awkward, uneasy, and very confronting for us to see, yet one of the most interesting things we did lately, and an honour for us to be working with such talented and inspiring people. ‘Under a watchtower of punishing light.’” 

AMENRA will be hitting the road again, beginning next month and including plenty of festivals; including Bristol's Temples and London's Beyond the Redshift festivals in the UK. Watch the trailer for the Church of Ra European tour here.

LIVE DATES

FRI 11/04: 106 CLUB, ROUEN FR

SAT 12/04: JUBEZ, KARLSRUHE DE

SUN 13/04: LA MAROQUINERIE, PARIS FR

MON 14/04: CONFORT MODERNE, POITIERS FR

TUE 15/04: LA DYNAMO, TOULOUSE FR

WED 16/04: SONORA, BILBAO ES

THU 17/04: HARD CLUB, PORTO PT

FRI 18/04: SHOKO, MADRID ES

SAT 19/04: RAZZ3, BARCELONA ES

SUN 20/04: IMPETUS FEST, BELFORT FR

MON 21/04: P.M.K., INNSBRUCK AT

TUE 22/04: POSTHOF, LINZ AT

WED 23/04: LIDO, BERLIN DE

THU 24/04: PROXIMA, WARSAW PL

FRI 25/04: UT CONNEWITZ, LEIPZIG DE

SAT 26/04: YOUNG TEAM FEST, METZ FR

SAT 3/05: TEMPLES FESTIVAL, BRISTOL UK w/ Neurosis

SAT 10/05: BTR FESTIVAL, LONDON UK w/ Cult of luna

SUN 8/06: VOORUIT, GENT BE w/ COR

THU 19/06: EKKO, UTRECHT NL

FRI 20/06: NIEUWE NOR, HEERLEN NL

SAT 21/06: NEUDEGG ALM, ABTENAU AT

SUN 22/06: FEIERWERK, MUNCHEN DE

SAT 28/06: GRASPOP, DESSEL BE

SAT 27/09: AB, BRUSSELS BE - AFTERLIFE ACOUSTIC

AMENRA are also gearing up for two split releases on Consouling Sound, due for release in summer of this year. Each of the split albums will present an incarnation of AMENRA, together with a sometimes surprising, but always compelling counterpart band - for the split 10" album with Eleanora, AMENRA is offering À mon Âme (live) and for the split 10" album with Treha Sektori, AMENRA decided to re-interpret À mon Âme and create an atmospheric ambient piece called Trahn.

The Eleanora track introduces an eager young Belgian sludge/doom outfit with a truly captivating sound that'll surely keep the audience yearning for their debut EP to be released later on in 2014.  Treha Sektori's French master soundscaper Dehn Sora surely is no stranger to fan of dark ambient music and drones.

In other AMENRA release news, My Proud Mountain are gearing up to release LIVE II, their second live cd, and first live 2xLP - the recording is the live audio from their MASS V release show of last year, mixed and mastered by Billy Anderson.

Meanwhile, MASS V can be ordered at the following link:

www.bluecollardistro.com

More news from AMENRA shall emerge in the coming months so do stay tuned.

http://www.churchofra.com

http://www.ritualofra.com

http://www.facebook.com/churchofra

http://www.neurotrecordings.com

http://www.facebook.com/neurotrecordings

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Church Of Ra European Tour, featuring AMENRA, TREHA SEKTORI, OATHBREAKER and HESSIAN in April 2014

Three cult labels, and four phenomenal bands come together in 2014 to present a tour that should be one of the most anticipated live prosects of the year for lovers of heavy music...today it comes with real pleasure to make official the news of a Church Of Ra tour in 2014.

AMENRA, TREHA SEKTORI, OATHBREAKER and HESSIAN shall take to the road in April touring across Europe, starting and ending in France. Thanks to Neurot Recordings, Southern Lord and Deathwish Inc and a host of other sponsors.

Here's what AMENRA had to say about the tour...

"Friendship above all pushed us towards this moment in time. Now we'll travel the european roads together, to celebrate and share what we hold dearest in life. Life itself and our love for music.  Together, we'll step out of the darkness and into the light." - CHVE

As well as promoting their Neurot Recordings release, Mass V, AMENRA have just remastered and re-released Mass III and Mass IIII on LP and CD formats, so head on over to the following website to obtain and find out more: http://www.hypertensionrecords.com/store. Furthermore, they have decided to release a limited amount of live DVDs as a gesture towards their listeners and audiences worldwide, without whom they acknowledge, "we would be nothing more than a grain of salt in life's sea of tears". These are the live DVDs available; live at fortarock NL, live at AB brussels BE and live at de kreun, kortrijk BE. Colin H.Van Eeckhout took the time to record this remarkably personal interview for De Kreun's 'On Stage With' - it is both deeply moving and very revealing, we urge everyone to watch it:

Earlier this year, Hessian released their debut album Manégarmr through Southern Lord which was very well received indeed. The combined musical backgrounds of guitarist Levy Seynaeve (Amenra), drummer Tim Bryon (The Black Heart Rebellion), vocalist Bram Coussement and bass player Kenneth Vanhoutte fell effortlessly into place, pushing a sound that was at once pummeling, devouring and empowering. Named after the wolf which, in Norwegian mythology, devours the sun every night, Manégarmr focuses both sonically and lyrically on the endless cycles of destruction that are imminent to this life and the world in which we live. From the soaring take-off of “Ascension,” via the treacherous calm of central pieces “Vāmācāra” and “Father of Greed,” to the merciless onslaught that is “Mother of Time.” With towering guitars, frenzied drum patterns and savage vocals that sound like the howl of the lone wolf, Manègarmr is a furious blizzard of blackened metal, violently crashing into a maelstrom of ultra-metallic dark hardcore. Mixed by the infamous Tomas Skogsberg (Entombed, Unleashed, Dismember) at Sunlight Studios in Sweden and mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, High on Fire, Nails), Manègarmr ultimately takes the listener on a journey that is at once haunting, draining and exhilarating.

APRIL 2014 TOUR DATES:

Fri 11th FRANCE - Rouen, 106 Club

Sat 12th GERMANY - Karlsruhe, Dudefest

Sun 13th FRANCE - Paris, La Maroquinerie

Mon 14th FRANCE - Poitiers, Confort Moderne

Tue 15th FRANCE - Toulouse, La Dynamo

Wed 16th SPAIN- Bilbao, Sonora

Thu 17th PORTUGAL - Porto, Hard Club

Fri 18th SPAIN - Madrid, Shoko

Sat 19th SPAIN - Barcelona, Razz 3

Sun 20th FRANCE - Belfort, Impetus Festival

Mon 21st AUSTRIA - Innsbruck, P.M.K

Tue 22nd AUSTRIA - Linz, Posthof

Wed 23rd GERMANY - Berlin, Lido

Thu 24th POLAND - Warsaw, Proxima

Fri 25th GERMANY - Leipzig, UT Connewitz

Sat 26th FRANCE - Metz, Young Team Festival

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AMENRA's record release show this Saturday in Brussels

The wait is almost over, AMENRA's Mass V record release show is nigh and today we have some exciting announcements to make ahead of the show on Saturday 22 December at AB in Brussels.

Joining AMENRA, TBHR, Oathbreaker and Scott Kelly will be Church Of Ra's own TREHA SEKTORI from Paris bringing his unique soundscapes to the clubspace. And as previously mentioned, Edwin Pouncey aka Savage Pencil from The Wire will be giving a talk about Subterranean metal. You can find more information about that right here: http://abconcerts.be/en/concerts/p/detail/the-wire-primer-subterranean-metal-edwin-pouncey-22-12-2012

Though tickets sold out in record time, there will be mulitple cameras set up around the venue to record the event in its entireity and you can watch the live stream via AB tv: http://www.abconcerts.be/nl/abtv so you needn't miss out!

If you are one of the lucky ones who scored a ticket to the show, then don't miss out on snapping up limited copies of Mass V on LP (also comes with a screenprint) and CD, both formats will be available at the release show for purchase and are likely to sell out fast.

It doesn't end there either, as there is much live activity confirmed for 2013, feast your eyes on some of the festival appearances and EU tour dates below:

RECENTLY ANNOUNCED SHOWS IN 2013

FRI 11/01 : EUROSONIC FESTIVAL - MACHINEFABRIEK, GRONINGEN NL
TUE 22/01 : GARAGE, LONDON UK w/ CULT OF LUNA
SUN 10/02 : DEKREUN, KORTRIJK BE w/ ELEANORA
SAT 16/02 : WINTERFEST - PERRON, IEPER BE
FRI 22/02 BURGERWEESHUIS, DEVENTER NL w/ TBHR
SUN 24/02 : MOD, HASSELT BE w/ HESSIAN
FRI 19/04 : TILBURG, NETHERLANDS - PATRONAAT CHURCH @ ROADBURN FESTIVAL
SUN 26/05: STUK, LEUVEN BE w/ OATHBREAKER

EU TOUR

4/25/2013 Glazart - Paris, FR w/ TBHR
4/26/2013 Epicerie Moderne - Lyon, FR
4/27/2013 Boulevard rock club - Misano Adriatico (RN), IT
4/28/2013 Traffic live club - Roma, IT
4/29/2013 Lo fi club - Milano, IT
4/30/2013 Gaswerk - Winterthur, Swiss
5/01/2013 Arena - Wenen, AU
5/02/2013 Feierwerk - Munchen DE
5/03/2013 Conne Island - Leipzig DE w/ Syndrome
5/04/2013 Klub Firlej - Wroclaw, Poland @ Asymmetry Festival
5/05/2013 Bi Nuu, Berlin DE w/ Syndrom

If you have any further questions about the release show or AMENRA in general, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

http://www.rarelyunable.com/

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AMENRA - Mass V coming up on the 30th of November 2012

Neurot Recordings / Cargo (VÖ 30.11.2012)

Formed in the forsaken fields of West-Flanders Belgium, AMENRA has been conjuring unholy masses and paving their own headstrong way since 1999. Spreading their vision of a world that's out of touch with its past, present and future, they take their adepts through a world of unseen mystique. Their postmodern vision of music, existing of droning, repetitive chords alternated by gut-wrenching hauls can make an experienced listener renounce his definition of music, perhaps even his whole belief system. Amenra puts heart and soul into every note, word and image, and changes the course of people’s lives everywhere their path leads.

Recent history has shown an extremely confident and focused AMENRA. Besides touring on their own and with Neurosis, the band has been branching out and taking modest steps onto what has previously been virgin territory to them with an acoustic record, a book which vulnerably offers their heart and inspiration, and various art exhibitions. AMENRA forges their path while constantly gaining followers, members of the Church Of Ra, a sect, now thousands in numbers.

AMENRA's confounding and compelling sound that mixes surrealist melody and warped subtleties with churning rhythms, pummeling riffs and crushing dynamics stands on it's own. Having found a home with Neurot Recordings, ambitions and expectations for their upcoming release, Mass V, are high. And as you know, and if you’re fortunate enough, might have experienced, Amenra does NOT disappoint.

Tracklist:

1. Dearborn and Buried

2. Boden

3. A Mon Ame

4. Nowena

Links: Website | Facebook

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