February 25, 2022 will see German melodic and power metal act SERIOUS BLACK release their sixth studio album, entitled Vengeance Is Mine, via AFM Records. Following an impressive career, extensive touring schedules and five chart-breaking, critically acclaimed records to date, it will also mark the debut of new vocalist Nikola Mijic. With his powerful voice and expressive timbre, guitarist Dominik Sebastian’s rapid riffs and hooks, drummer Ramy Ali’s driving grooves and bassist Mario Lochert’s diverse songwriting, Vengeance Is Mine has turned into a prime example of a deeply melodic yet dynamic metal album!
After previously released tracks such as “The Story”, “Rock With Us Tonight” or the latest, enthralling single “Senso Della Vita”, today SERIOUS BLACK has shared a spectacular music video! Filmed in premium, Blockbuster-alike quality with a major budget, the cinematic camera shots and story showcases a commendable performance of the band and actors. Band mastermind Mario Lochert comments:
“A magnificent video, an amazing song and a sad story behind it. To say: “We are happy to release this video”, like usuall…. would be wrong!
But these are songs written by life and things never happen without any reason. Without those incidents, these songs, these ideas and also this album “Vengeance is Mine” would not exist! But exactly because of it, the band welded together more than ever before and we act like an unit! At this point, I, we want to take the chance, to say thank you, to our team for its incredible support and work, to all those of you who were and are involved in this album ( production videos, graphics, promotion and to all I forgot), without you all of this would not be possible! Thank you very much, it makes Serious Black proud and happy to have such an exceptional team at our side!”
Produced by i Code Film Serbia (Sabaton), you can now watch the mind-blowing video for “Out Of Ashes” below.
Appropriately, one of the new songs on Vengeance Is Mine, is called “Album Of Our Life” and hits the nail on the head in several respects. On the one hand, the melodic metal act surrounding bassist and founder Mario Lochert has succeeded in creating what is probably the most powerful and imaginative work of its career so far, with razor-sharp guitar riffs, grooving rhythms and anthemic melodies. On the other hand, the album’s lyrics venture into territories previously uncharted by the band. “This time, I have allowed more insights into my emotions and private life than ever before, in example into how I think, how I feel, how I am, and how difficult it can be to keep a band going when you yourself aren’t well.” Lochert recently said.”The lyrics on ‘Vengeance Is Mine’ reflect the past four or five years. This, of course, has had an impact on the songwriting, which has become even more intense and emotional.”
Vengenance Is Mine was produced and mixed by Lochert at his SERIOUS BLACK Studio in Kirchseeon, Germany. The guitars were recorded by Dominik Sebastian at his own studio and all orchestral arrangements and keyboards were cut by Bob Katsionis in Greece. SERIOUS BLACKenlisted singer Anna Likunic from Belgrade for the anthemnic background vocals. Mika Jussila (Avantasia, Stratovarius, Nightwish) was in charge of the first mastering sessions at the renowned Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, before the recordings were polished by Konst Fischer during a second, innovative mastering process to optimise the sound. Lochert adds: “This time we really pulled out all the stops to get the optimum result. And I think our efforts have really paid off!”
Slated for a release on February 25, 2022, the pre-sale of Vengenance Is Mine is available now: https://afm.fanlink.to/SeriousBlackVengeanceIsMine
