Serious Black
Formed: 2014
From:
Multinational
Last Known Status: Active
Latest Serious Black News
Below is our complete Serious Black news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Serious Black Posts New Music Video Online
Serious Black has released a new single, "Rock With Us Tonight", which is out now on AFM Records. The song comes from the band's forthcoming new album, "Vengeance Is Mine," which will be released on February 25th.
"Vengeance Is Mine," the upcoming album by Serious Black has turned into a prime example of a deeply melodic and at the same time dynamic power metal album. Today, the band unleashes their second single and video for "Rock With Us Tonight." The message is clear: the track conveys a sense of solidarity and hope. Serious Black mange to express what everyone wishes for, being together again and rocking without worries. More...
Serious Black Reveals New Album Details
Serious Black has released a new single "The Story," out now on AFM Records and announced a new album "Vengeance Is Mine" to be released 25th Feb 2022. You can check out the video below.
One of the new songs on Serious Black’s upcoming studio album "Vengeance Is Mine" is called "Album Of Our Life" and hits the nail on the head in several aspects. On the one hand, the international power metal band 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 loads of great guitar riffs, grooving rhythms and anthemic melodies. On the other hand, the album’s lyrics venture into territories previously uncharted by the band. Lochert: "This time, I have allowed more insights into my emotions and private life than ever before, i.e. into how I think, how I feel, how I am, and how difficult it can be to keep a band going when you aren’t well yourself. The lyrics on ‘Vengeance Is Mine’ reflect the past four or five years. This, of course, had an impact on the songwriting, which has become even more intense and emotional."
In addition to the private insight of the band’s soul, another new aspect came into play: Nikola Mijic, a powerful vocalist from Serbia, has recently become the front man of the band. Mijic is the successor to Urban Breed, who separated from the band in spring 2021. "Nikola is a very talented and experienced singer," Lochert reports proudly. More...
Serious Black Reveals "The Witch Of Caldwell Town"
In celebration of casting "Magic" around the globe today via AFM Records, Serious Black - featuring ex-Tad Morose vocalist Urban Breed, ex-Rhapsody of Fire drummer Alex Holzwarth, Emergency Gate bassist Mario Lochert and Edenbridge guitarist Dominik Sebastian among its ranks - released a video clip for the new song "The Witch of Caldwell Town." Check it out in the player below.
The track listing for "Magic" is:
1. With a Tip of the Hat
2. Binary Magic
3. Burn! Witches Burn! (song streaming here)
4. Lone Gunman Rule
5. Now You’ll Never Know
6. I Can Do Magic
7. Serious Black Magic (see video clip here)
8. Skeletons on Parade
9. Mr. Nightmist
10. The Witch of Caldwell Town
11. True Love is Blind
12. Just Kill Me
13. Newfound Freedom
14. One Final Song
Check out "The Witch of Caldwell Town" here: More...
Serious Black Puts Out Some "Serious Black Magic"
Serious Black - featuring ex-Tad Morose vocalist Urban Breed, ex-Rhapsody of Fire drummer Alex Holzwarth and Emergency Gate bassist Mario Lochert and Edenbridge guitarist Dominik Sebastian among its ranks - released the new single and video clip "Serious Black Magic." The song is a trip into the world of fantasy and a visual introduction to the concept of the upcoming album "Magic" which is set to drop on August 25th via AFM Records.
"Magic" will be released in following Editions: Standard Jewel case, 2CD digipak edition (including "Live in Atlanta"), special Fan Box (limited to 500 copies) and black and white vinyl (limited to 250 copies each)
The Fan Box will contain:
- Ltd. Digipak (The limited 2-CD Digipak contains the bonus CD "Live in Atlanta" from the band's ProgPower USA performance on September 10, 2016)
- exclusive acoustic CD "First Light" - only available in this boxset
- witchboard with planchette (exclusive design)
- 22 tarot cards (exclusive design)
- Listener's companion written by Urban breed
- certificate of authenticity
The track listing for "Magic" is:
1. With a Tip of the Hat
2. Binary Magic
3. Burn! Witches Burn! (song streaming here)
4. Lone Gunman Rule
5. Now You’ll Never Know
6. I Can Do Magic
7. Serious Black Magic
8. Skeletons on Parade
9. Mr. Nightmist
10. The Witch of Caldwell Town
11. True Love is Blind
12. Just Kill Me
13. Newfound Freedom
14. One Final Song
Check out the clip here: More...
Serious Black Streams "Burn! Witches Burn!"
Serious Black - featuring ex-Tad Morose vocalist Urban Breed, ex-Rhapsody of Fire drummer Alex Holzwarth and Emergency Gate bassist Mario Lochert and Edenbridge guitarist Dominik Sebastian among its ranks - is streaming the new song "Burn! Witches Burn!" The song appears on the band's new album "Magic," which is set to drop on August 25th via AFM Records.
"Magic" will be released in following Editions: Standard Jewel case, 2CD digipak edition (including "Live in Atlanta"), special Fan Box (limited to 500 copies) and black and white vinyl (limited to 250 copies each)
The Fan Box will contain:
- Ltd. Digipak (The limited 2-CD Digipak contains the bonus CD "Live in Atlanta" from the band's ProgPower USA performance on September 10, 2016)
- exclusive acoustic CD "First Light" - only available in this boxset
- witchboard with planchette (exclusive design)
- 22 tarot cards (exclusive design)
- Listener's companion written by Urban breed
- certificate of authenticity
The track listing for "Magic" is:
1. With a Tip of the Hat
2. Binary Magic
3. Burn! Witches Burn!
4. Lone Gunman Rule
5. Now You’ll Never Know
6. I Can Do Magic
7. Serious Black Magic
8. Skeletons on Parade
9. Mr. Nightmist
10. The Witch of Caldwell Town
11. True Love is Blind
12. Just Kill Me
13. Newfound Freedom
14. One Final Song More...
Serious Black Wields "Castor Skies" Music Video
Melodic power metal act Serious Black - featuring ex-Tad Morose vocalist Urban Breed - has released a music video for the new song "Castor Skies." The song appears on the sophomore album "Mirrorworld," which is set for release on September 9th via AFM Records.
The track list for the album is:
1. Breaking the Surface
2. As Long As I'm Alive (song streaming here)
3. Castor Skies
4. Heartbroken Soul
5. Dying Hearts
6. You're Not Alone
7. Mirrorworld
8. State of My Despair
9. The Unborn Never Die
Check out "Castor Skies" here: More...
Serious Black Posts Album Trailer
Following debut album "As Daylight Breaks" and extensive tours with HammerFall and later Gamma Ray, melodic power metal hopefuls Serious Black return with sophomore album "Mirrorworld."
The new album will drop on September 9th via AFM Records and today you can check out the "Mirrorworld" trailer teaser below. The track list for the album is:
1. Breaking the Surface
2. As Long As I'm Alive (streaming here)
3. Castor Skies
4. Heartbroken Soul
5. Dying Hearts
6. You're Not Alone
7. Mirrorworld
8. State of My Despair
9. The Unborn Never Die More...
Serious Black Streams "As Long As I'm Alive"
Serious Black - featuring ex-Tad Morose vocalist Urban Breed and Firewind's Bob Katsionis on guitar - released a lyric video for the new track "As Long As I'm Alive." The song is the first single from the new album "Mirrorworld," which is set to drop via AFM Records on September 9th.
The band will make its U.S. live debut at the sold out ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, September 10, 2016.
The track list for the album is:
1. Breaking the Surface
2. As Long As I'm Alive
3. Castor Skies
4. Heartbroken Soul
5. Dying Hearts
6. You're Not Alone
7. Mirrorworld
8. State of My Despair
9. The Unborn Never Die
Check out "As Long As I'm Alive" here: More...
Serious Black Announces New Album
Serious Black's new album "Mirrorworld" is due to drop via AFM Records this coming September. The label comments:
"The year 2015 started more than promising for fans of high class melodic metal: Serious Black a so-called allstar band appeared on the scene and dropped their highly acclaimed debut album ‘As Daylight Breaks.’ Much to the surprise of many, the band indeed proved to be a real band and they kept their promise of rocking the stages wherever possible.
"So during only a year they not only successfully released a fantastic debut album, but also went on extensive European tours with HammerFall and later Gamma Ray. In addition, Serious Black was chosen to be special guest on Kamelot’s German Summer shows and also played numerous festivals in Europe.
"Being that active in the past 18 months, it’s surprising to see the band announcing a brand new studio album already. You’ll be even more surprise when 'Mirrorworld' sees its release: Serious Black have managed to outperform their excellent debut! Prepare for something special: the 'Mirrorworld' opens on September 9th…" More...
Serious Black Working On New Album
After tours with HammerFall and Gamma Ray in 2015 and the release of debut album "As Daylight Breaks" (which saw the band nominated in our "best newcomer" category at the end of the year) melodic metal group Serious Black is busy working on songs for an upcoming sophomore album.
The band now also has unveiled the dates for an impending first headlining tour (support acts will be Sinbreed and Messerschmitt). Full details are available below. More...
Headline News
The Best And Worst Of Metal In 2015
We've almost got another year in the bag, so it's time to take a look back at all that went down throughout 2015 in the world of heavy metal.
This was an uneven year featuring both highs and lows, and metal didn't escape the drama frequent in other styles of music at all in the last 12 months. Echoing previous schisms in famous black metal bands, Immortal finally took its turn imploding and split into two, and this was probably the worst year in recent memory for U.S. metal tours.
On the flip side of that, a solid number of amazing albums saw release, and metal also catapulted to the top of the charts with some major releases that made people outside the underground take notice.
After two solid years dominated by reunions and reboots, it looks like that craze is finally winding down. This year most notably we saw the return of Faith No More with “Sol Invictus,” but on the more underground end industrial black metal outfit Diabolicum also came back with a first album in 14 years. Although not quite on the same scale of time, Arcturus finally returned with a new full-length after a decade's waiting.
While there are less surprise reunions announced for the coming year, there is one classic outfit hitting the road to take note of, as Black Sabbath's “final” tour - dubbed The End - runs through most of 2016 across the globe. While we wait to see what's in store in the coming year, first we'll look back at everything that went down throughout 2015.
The Good: The Best Of Metal In 2015
Both Slayer and Lamb Of God ended up topping the charts with their latest albums (with Lamb Of God even getting nominated for a Grammy). It's not often a metal album hits #2 in the world, but Slayer managed to do it. While not everyone loved the album, the exposure alone is good for the genre overall.
But how was the more underground metal? Simply put: pretty killer, if you knew were to look. There was a solid mix of great albums from long time bands like Amorphis, Cattle Decapitation, Enslaved, and Soilwork, as well as excellent material from newer and less prolific groups like Alkaloid, Tribulation, and Lychgate.
The tried and true classic outfits from Cradle Of Filth to Iron Maiden to My Dying Bride made appearances, and there were some seriously ambitious undertakings (Swallow The Sun released a TRIPLE album). A handful of bands that were already solid managed to really outdo themselves with stellar material this year though, including Subterannean Masquerade, Code, Shining, and Melechesh. More...
ProgPower USA Announces 2016 Lineup
Glenn Harveston, promoter for the annual ProgPower USA Festival, announced the lineup for the 2016 edition of the Atlanta, Georgia event. Next year marks the 17th installment and will be headed by a U.S. exclusive performance by Fates Warning featuring original vocalist John Arch performing the 1986 classic "Awaken the Guardian" marking the 30th anniversary of the release.
The complete lineup, which was revealed after Anathema's set this past Friday, September 11th, is as follows:
Friday (September 9, 2016):
Fates Warning (USA) "Awaken the Guardian" in its entirety with John Arch. - a U.S. Exclusive
Scar Symmetry (Sweden)
The Gentle Storm (Netherlands)
Freedom Call (Germany)
Vanishing Point (Australia)
Ascendia (Canada)
Saturday (September 10, 2016):
Devin Townsend (Canada) with special guest, Anneke van Giersbergen
Haken (UK)
Refuge (Germany)
Green Carnation (Norway) ("Light of Day, Day of Darkness" in its entirety. - a U.S. Exclusive)
Serious Black (Multinational)
Savage Messiah (UK)
In addition, 2016 will see the Midweek Mayhem and Kick Off Shows merge into the main festival, to be known as ProgPower USA Days 1-4. Going forward, Wednesday's show will be a joint presentation of Milton Mendonca of Infinity Concerts and Nathan Block of Swordlord Productions and Thursday will feature three bands, each a selection of the three promoters, all of which will be the caliber of band that could headline any day.
Tickets will be sold separately for the first two days (Wed/Thur) and then the second two days (shown above). The first ticket sales for Days 3-4 (lineup above) will go on sale via Ticketmaster on October 3, 2015. Tickets for Days 1-2 go on sale go on sale November 7th (more info coming). More...
Gamma Ray Announces "Best Of The Best" Tour
Gamma Ray will celebrate the "Best of the Best " compilation release with the "Best of the Best Party Tour" of Europe. In support will be Serious Black, Neonfly and Dragony.
Confirmed dates and venues are:
Wed, 28.10. Wilhelsmhaven + Pumpwerk
FRI, 30.10. Hamburg + Markthalle
SA, 31.10. Berlin + C-Club
Sun 01.11. Bochum + Zeche
Tues, 03.11. München + Backstage Werk
Wed 04.11. Prag + Meet Factory
FRI 06.11. Brno + KC Semilaso
SA 07.11. Lucenec + Sports Hall
Sun 08.11. Budapest + Club 202
Tues, 10.11. Graz + Explosiv
Wed 11.11. Milano + Forum
FRI 13.11. Pamplona + Totem
SA, 14.11. Santiago de Compostela + Capitol More...
Serious Black Gets "Older & Wiser"
Serious Black - featuring Trail of Murder/Project Arcadia vocalist Urban Breed, ex-Blind Guardian drummer Thomen Stauch and Firewind's Bob Katsionis - released a new music video for the track "Older & Wiser." The song appears on the band's debut release "As Daylight Breaks," which dropped earlier this year via AFM Records.
The video was filmed by Oliver Barth at the Brose Arena in Bamberg. It was edited by Bob Katsionis. Check it out here:
Serious Black Releases "High And Low" Music Video
Serious Black, the new supergroup featuring vocalist Urban Breed (Project: Arcadia/Trail of Murder), guitarist Roland Grapow (MasterPlan), guitarist Dominik Sebastian (Edenbridge), bassist Mario Lochert (Emergency Gate) and drummer Thomen Stauch (ex-Blind Guardian/Savage Circus), along with keyboardist Jan Vacik, posted a music video for the new song "High and Low." The song appears on the debut album "As Daylight Breaks," which is set for release on January 16th (EU) and January 20th (USA) via AFM Records.
The track list for the album is:
1. I Seek No Other Life (see lyric video here)
2. High and Low
3. Sealing My Fate
4. Temple of the Sun
5. Akhenaton
6. My Mystic Mind
7. Trail of Murder
8. As Daylight Breaks
9. Setting Fire to the Earth
10. Listen to the Storm
11. Older and Wiser
Check out "High and Low" here: More...
Serious Black Releases "Sealing My Fate" Preview
Serious Black, the new supergroup featuring vocalist Urban Breed (Project: Arcadia/Trail of Murder), guitarist Roland Grapow (MasterPlan), guitarist Dominik Sebastian (Edenbridge), bassist Mario Lochert (Emergency Gate) and drummer Thomen Stauch (ex-Blind Guardian/Savage Circus), along with keyboardist Jan Vacik, posted a preview clip for the debut album "As Daylight Breaks." The clip features parts of the new track "Sealing My Fate" along with interview and behind the scenes material. "As Daylight Breaks" is set for release on January 16th (EU) and January 20th (USA) via AFM Records.
The track list for the album is:
1. I Seek No Other Life (see lyric video here)
2. High and Low
3. Sealing My Fate
4. Temple of the Sun
5. Akhenaton
6. My Mystic Mind
7. Trail of Murder
8. As Daylight Breaks
9. Setting Fire to the Earth
10. Listen to the Storm
11. Older and Wiser
Check out the preview clip here: More...
Serious Black Posts Lyric Video For First Single
Serious Black, the union of vocalist Urban Breed (Project: Arcadia/Trail of Murder), guitarist Roland Grapow (MasterPlan), guitarist Dominik Sebastian (Edenbridge), bassist Mario Lochert (Emergency Gate) and drummer Thomen Stauch (ex-Blind Guardian/Savage Circus), along with keyboardist Jan Vacik, has dropped the very first single "I Seek No Other Life." The song appears on the upcoming debut album "As Daylight Breaks," which will be released on January 16th (EU) and January 20th (USA) via AFM Records.
Check out "I Seek No Other Life" here:
Serious Black Reveals Album Artwork
Serious Black is gearing up to drop "As Daylight Breaks" on January 20th, 2015. Today the band reveals the cover artwork, created by Dani Hofer from Archetype Design, which can be seen below. Serious Black is:
Urban breed (vocals)
Roland Grapow (guitars)
Dominik Sebastian (guitars)
Mario Lochert (bass)
Jan Vacik (keyboards & orchestra)
Thomen Stauch (drums & percussion) More...
HammerFall Announces European Tour
HammerFall announced a string of European tour dates in early 2015 in support of the band's upcoming new album "(r)Evolution" (see review here). In support will be German power metal act Orden Ogan (currently working on a new release) and new super group Serious Black (feat. Roland Grapow, Thomen Stauch, Urban Breed and more).
Dubbed the "World Wide (r)Evolution" tour, the confirmed dates are as follows:
Fri 16.01.15 Bremen - Aladin
Sat 17.01.15 Oberhausen - Turbinenhalle
Sun 18.01.15 Köln - Essigfabrik
Mon 19.01.15 Tilburg - O13
Tue 20.01.15 Antwerpen - TRIX
Thu 22.01.15 Stuttgart - Longhorn
Fri 23.01.15 Kaufbeuren - All KartHalle
Sat 24.01.15 Pratteln - Z7
Sun 25.01.15 Pratteln - Z7
Mon 26.01.15 München - Backstage
Wed 28.01.15 Mailand - Live Club
Thu 29.01.15 Lyon - Ninkasi Kao
Fri 30.01.15 Barcelona - Razzmatazz 2
Sat 31.01.15 Madrid - Shoko
Sun 01.02.15 Bilbao - Kafe Antzokia
Tue 03.02.15 Paris - Trabendo
Wed 04.02.15 Langen/Frankfurt - Stadthalle
Thu 05.02.15 Saarbrücken - Garage
Fri 06.02.15 Prag - Meet Factory Prague
Sat 07.02.15 Bamberg - brose Arena
Mon 09.02.15 Graz - PPC
Tue 10.02.15 Wien - Arena
Thu 12.02.15 Berlin - Huxleys Neue Welt
Fri 13.02.15 Hamburg - Markthalle
Sat 14.02.15 Fulda - Wartenberg Oval More...
New Act Serious Black To Feature Breed/Grapow
Serious Black, the new supergroup featuring Roland Grapow (Guitar/Masterplan, Ex-Helloween), Thomen Stauch (Drums/Savage Circus, Ex-Blind Guardian), Mario Lochert (Bass/Emergency Gate), Jan Vacik (Keyboards, Ex-Dreamscape) and Dominik Sebastian (Guitar/Edenbridge), along with vocalist Urban Breed (Trail of Murder/ex-Tad Morose), is set to release a debut album via AFM in the beginning of 2015.
More information on the release is expect shortly, but a trailer can be heard in the player below. The band will perform an abundance of live shows on the upcoming Hammerfall tour along with various festivals already confirmed for 2015.
Check out the trailer clip here: More...