Author Archives: Fist

About Fist

Greetings and salutations. Call me Fist, I'm a proud Kentuckian and I've used metal to help me get through the suffering of living in the bible belt. I am an encyclopedia of metal. I'm a fan of all types of metal. My main goal here is to help people find more music they will fall in love with. Hope you enjoy our words! \m/

State Of The Art: TORO [EP Stream + Official Video]

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*This is a part of our State of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*

This month’s state is Georgia!

Georgia is a state that is rich with music history, not specifically metal but music in general. Some big names that changed music emerged from the Peach State like Ray Charles, R.E.M., The Allman Brothers, Mastodon, and various others. A band that I think will become just as iconic as the bands that came prior to them is Atlanta, Georgia’s Toro. The band is still relatively new as they formed in 2015. The band formed with Zackery M. Hembree – vocals, Adam Mitchell – guitars and vocals, Pablo Davila – guitars, Bruno Segovia – bass and Jason Belisha – drums. They have been getting their name out their in the local scene and playing quite a bit within the city of Atlanta. They have opened for some killer metal bands like Mothership, The Obsessed, Lazer/Wulf, and Double Ferrari. 

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World’s Loudest Month Spotlight: BAD WOLVES [Tracks Streaming]

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You could say that Bad Wolves is a new band, the name is new but the musicians that make up the band are industry veterans that have been around the block and have been an integral part of successful bands. Bad Wolves includes Tommy Vext on vocals who is no stranger to the spotlight. The singer recently filled in for Ivan Moody on one of Five Finger Death Punch’s recent tours and was also a member of Divine Heresy with Fear Factory’s Dino Cazares, the reunion of Snot reunion, Westfield Massacre, and even formed his namesake group Vext. The remaining members of the band are just as iconic including drummer John Boecklin formerly of Devildriver and I Of Tongues which essentially has become Bad Wolves, guitarist Doc Coyle of ex-God Forbid and Vagus Nerve which he started in 2015. Doc Coyle has also been a hired gun and filled in for various bands like Lamb Of God, Trivium, Darkest Hour, Unearth and also Westfield Massacre. In addition to adding his skills on stringed instruments Doc has also aided bands like Hatebreed and Body Count with songwriting. Chris Cain also on guitar who is from Bury Your Dead. Rounding out the band is ex-In This Moment, Vimic bassist Kyle Konkiel. In all likelihood you have probably seen some of these tenured rockers perform in the past. Now they are all entangled together creating this beast of a group named Bad Wolves. The band recently took the top spot for the #1 rock song on Apple Music and topped the Billboard charts with their cover of The Cranberries “Zombie”. The song was released just days after The Cranberries vocalist Dolores O’Riordan passed away. Initially Dolores was supposed to be featured on the track as well, but her life ended tragically before that could happen. The band is also donating all proceeds of the songs profits to O’Riordan’s children in her honor. In addition to that cover the band has also released the single “Toast to the Ghost” which will be on the bands debut album which is set to release in the summer of this year. Continue reading →

An Interview With Joshua Toomey (Talk Toomey Podcast / PRIMER 55)

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Most of you are some time or another have heard something that Joshua Toomey has created, whether it be his music with the Nu-Metal legends Primer 55, or his Nashville based band 12 Volt Negative Earth, or his popular podcast Talk Toomey. The bass player turned podcaster was originally from the Nashville area, but moved to the Bluegrass state in order to join Primer 55. From 2002–2007 Toomey was the bands bassist and toured both near and far with the band. Prior to Primer 55 Toomey was a member of the band 12 Volt Negative Earth. I happened to see the band live and their sound was incredible and a band that should have went much further than they did. When Toomey left 12v to join Primer 55 he was replaced by another bassist you may know, Chris Kael now famously known as the bass player for Five Finger Death Punch. When Toomey left the stage and started a family (who are adorable by the way) he still had that creative itch, and was inspired by other podcasters like Jamey Jasta. He felt like he had something to say in a creative manner so Talk Toomey was born. His last name which I’m sure has been a headache at times was finally put to some good use and it didn’t take long before a vast amount of fans were familiar with the name. After speaking at the Louder Than Life festival in 2016 and 2017 Toomey and I (Fist – Editor & Founder of Metal Nexus) decided to join forces bringing together Talk Toomey’s incredible conversations, already established fan base, guests and insight with the hard working Metal Nexus staff and our fans. The partnership was instantly a hit and Metal Nexus is incredibly happy to have Talk Toomey as part of the Metal Nexus family. This interview was an opportunity to allow you – the fans to get to know the man behind the mic a little better, and also for two friends to just shoot the shit.

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Review: VOID GENERATOR – ‘Prodromi’ [EP Stream]

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Void Generator claim they were born ten million years ago by extending the diagonal of the quadrilateral
of Pegasus up to b- Sirrah. The band is comprised of Gianmarco Iantaffi – Guitar, Sonia Caporossi – Guitar,  Enrico Cosimi – Synth and Devil’s machines, and Marco Cenci – Drums. Void Generator debuted their first release in in 2004 with a self-titled EP. Then in January 2006 came ‘We Have Found The Space’ which contained 10 unique tracks. The follow up to the debut full length would take the band 4 years to release, but in 2010 they released the EP ‘Phantom Hell And Soar Angelic’. Void Generator have a sound that isn’t easy to pinpoint to a specific genre. The band draws influences from a wide variety of different musical styles across a number of genres. Their sound ranges from heavy 1970’s blues and rock to indie British rock and also to psychedelic or stoner rock. Void Generator aren’t trying to be a carbon copy of anything else that is out there. They are creative to a point that it’s hard to describe. The bands remaining discography includes 2011’s ‘Collision’ EP, the album ‘Supersound’ in 2014, and now the band has released their latest material in the form of an EP. The EP titled ‘Prodromi’ contains 4 tracks of unique appeal and it was released on September 30, 2017.

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The Bucketlist With HOGAN’S GOAT

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*In this series we pose the age old questions to a wide array of music lovers. As fans of music most of us keep a mental list of active bands we want to see live that we haven’t yet seen. The Bucketlist brings to you those lists of your favorite artists and why those bands mean so much to them*

 

Hogan’s Goat is named after a tale from Scottish folklore. The band initially formed in late 2014. As the story goes, a farmer (Hogan) owned a goat rumored to have an odor said to travel miles away. The goat’s been described as having patchy fur, an eye out of socket, and flies abound. For the band, this perfectly symbolized their unorthodox style, that which is anything but unnoticeable. They couldn’t have picked a better fable for their namesake. More like a powerful mountain ram the band roams through various styles of music never staying in one place too long. Their first show (at SXSW, on the rooftop of The Blind Pig) was part of an all Nashville (non-country) showcase. Soon after, Hogan’s Goat returned to Nashville, they competed in BMI’s “Road To Bonnaroo” (winning the fan vote) and played many other shows around the Nashville area. While most people think Nashville is only a country town, there is a vibrant rock and metal scene there as well. Hogan’s Goat has hoofed their way out of sea of country music to spread their music to the masses. While the band is based in Nashville it’s members migrated from all around the country like Billings, Montana, Denton, Texas , Southern Pines, North Carolina as well as Nashville. Like their music their roots run further than the eye can see. In March of 2016, Hogan’s Goat began recording their first LP, ‘Hogan’s Goat’ which released July 18th, 2017. The album was self-produced, mixed by Alex Gilson and Nathan Zensen at Gold Cassette and mastered by Tommy Dorsey. The band looks to tour regionally, nationally, and globally.  Their album was one of my favorite albums of the year and would likely be in the top 20 albums I heard last year. However, the stand out track “Shitkicker” from the album stayed in my listening rotation from the moment I heard the track until this very day. While that was one of the strongest tracks on the album the rest of the album is just as good including their most recent single they released a video for “Annie Off The Rails”. This isn’t your run of the mill Nashville band, forget about Nashville being the home of the Ryman, Nashville hot chicken and country music legends, Hogan’s Goat stands out more than those combined.  Continue reading →

State Of The Art: Vermont’s LIGHTCRUSHER [Album Stream]

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Photo Credit: Christian Buck

 

*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*

This month’s state is Vermont!

 

Combining elements of doom, death, sludge and black metal the Montpelier, Vermont based band Lightcrusher was formed in 2010. You could say that their lyrical themes tend to be more leaning towards the darker side of things with themes like nature, misanthropy, loss, and isolation. The band is comprised of 5 members including members and ex-members of bands like Chalice, Lord Gallows, The Demon Bell,  Sunder, Cruciferion, Limbwalker and others. Some of the members were actually in these bands together, so there was already a chemistry and bond created there that you can hear on the bands material. The members include M. Schrift on vocals, A. Sørensen on guitar and vocals, K. Emmons also on guitar, J. Elwert behind the drum kit and L. Gallows on the bass. The quintet released their first material in the form of a demo in September of 2015. Simply titled ‘Lightcrusher Demo’. The recording included five tracks. Fast forward to December 2016 and the band has now released a brand new EP titled ‘Forests of Unresolve’ which includes 5 blistering tracks of death doom and the bands signature duel vocal style. 

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DINOSAUR EYELIDS Release Video For “Day Zero” [Video Streaming]

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Dinosaur Eyelids have been one of the most revered rock n roll bands in the New Jersey music scene since their formation in 2009. The bands goes about things in a true DIY way and have no released 5 albums. The advise that their musical influences range from Soundgarden to The Replacements to Ween. That is certainly a vast area of influence but so is this bands style and sound. It seems that about anything they set out to conquer they are able to do in stride. With around 100 shows under their belt Dinosaur Eyelids is not only refining their sound in the studio but on the stage as well. Their 2014 album ‘Bypass To Nowhere’ debuted at #1 on WRSU Rutgers Radio and their material has been played on 180 college radio stations across North America. They are like a mixture of Nirvana and Neil Young that creates heartbreaking love songs that sink you to lows and also life stories that uplift you. Dinosaur Eyelids is like the pendulum of life told through rock n roll. Continue reading →

Review: MELT – S/T [Album Stream + Live Performance Video]

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Melt hails from Toulouse, France. The band originally formed as a duo in 2007 when Charlotte and Olivier met. Charlotte at times has used several aliases including Shiro. Olivier adds about Charlotte “there would be no band without her.” They quickly recorded their first demos which they deemed as “a powerful and personal rock, finding its full emotional potential on stage.” Charlotte’s singing comes from a crisis during in which she went crazy and untied herself from the real world. Her lyrics are oniric, a mix of english and imaginary invented language, disconnected from the “real” world, again. Melt sought out additional members and the lineup currently consists of Olivier (guitar), Roméo (drums), Charlotte/Shiro (guitar and vocals) and Julien (Bass). The band’s music is an unexpected mix between metal and cold wave tragic melodies. The band released a self titled EP in 2015 consisting of 4 tracks “Stigmata”, “Cypher”, “Blast” and “Opikanoba”. Those tracks along with 4 additional tracks make up the bands debut album. Melt released their self titled debut album on December 3rd, 2017. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered in a small studio in Saint Antonin, France, the studio doesn’t really have a name, and it was the producers debut working with a band other than his own. So it turned out to be both a debut for the band and the producer. The album is self released by the band and you can hear it below or pick up a copy via bandcamp here.

 

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Ryan Phillips (STORY OF THE YEAR) “I Didn’t Really Realize That We Were A Big Band Until We Weren’t.”

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Photo Credit: Ruben Navarro

If you were alive and listening to music in the early 2000’s there’s a 98.9% chance that you have heard Story Of The Year played on the radio or you might have owned one of those old fashioned compact discs. Their mega hit single “Until The Day I Die” from their debut album ‘Page Avenue’ was released in 2003, It’s one of those songs that you can hear the first 5 seconds and you know immediately what song it is no matter how long it’s been since you heard it last. That album also heralded another massive single with “Anthem of Our Dying Day”. That album was one of the first post-hardcore albums to be certified Gold by the RIAA. Between the bands formation and 2011 they released 4 studio albums, toured the world and gained fans by the thousands. The members went on a hiatus and performed with and formed side projects some of which included Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows, The Fuck Off And Dies, and Greek Fire. The band spent a few years apart and in 2013 reunited for a ‘Page Avenue’ 10th anniversary tour. In September of 2014 the band announced they were working on a fifth album. The album would be titled ‘Wolves’ and after seven years since their last album, Story Of The Year the post-hardcore four-piece from the Show Me State returned with a new single, “Bang Bang,” from ‘Wolves’, that dropped on December 8th. Continue reading →

Review: ECHOLOT – ‘Volva’ [Album Stream & Official Video]

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 Switzerland based power trio Echolot was founded in 2014. The band consists of Lukas Fürer (Guitar),  Jonathan Schmidli (Drums) and Renato Matteucci (Bass). The band combines prog, stoner rock, doom and psychedelic rock all into one unique and complex sound. In April of 2016 Echolot released their first full length album titled ‘I’. They kicked things off with an album release party alongside the amazing Swedish stoner rockers Goatess. The bands fresh jams have these psychedelic eruptions that drive you from the depths of doom into a Pink-Floyd type lightness. On October 6th 2017 the band released ‘Volva’ their debut on their new label Czar Of Revelations. ‘Volva’ is a 4 track full length album that comes in with a run time of over 55 minutes. The band says of the album “it will contain moments of fragility, heavy riffing, epic solos and some truly unique jams!”

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