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/

Exclusive Stream: ORISSA Release Title Track From ‘Resurrection’!

Progressive/cinematic rock project, Orissa, drops the title track from the upcoming album, ‘Resurrection’, due out November 3, 2017. Mixed by Sahaj Ticotin, (RA, Meytal Cohen, Adekain, September Mourning) and mastered by Paul Logus, (Stone Sour, Steel Panther, Shadows Fall) the LP showcases, “progressive metal that demonstrates remarkable mastery.” (Codifiers) Mastermind behind the project, David Dodini, graduated with honors from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and completed his masters at the Biella Conservatory’s Scuola Niccolo Paganini in Biella, Italy. Orissa’s live band is a roster of NYC’s finest musicians from Trans Siberian Orchestra, Neal Morse Band, Stratospheerius, Book Of Mormon, Dyed In Grey, Haakons Fault, Emergence and Astronaut Down.
Orissa was created in 2010 by Dodini, a virtuoso singer, guitarist and bassist, who writes, arranges and performs all the parts on Orissa’s records. Born out the of desire to explore inner creative space and create a distinctive, cathartic, deeply personal and therapeutic art, Dodini abandoned the strictly classical background and delved into his own songwriting, fusing his classical training with his love for jazz, balkan and other ancient rhythmic traditions; these styles translated into Dodini’s immersion into metal and progressive music, as the genres carry numerous parallels. Orissa released its debut EP, Omens in 2012; on which Dodini played all the instruments and was backed by Dan Walsh (drums). Omens was mixed by Stacey O’Dell, (Killcode, Panzie, Awaken), and mastered by Chris Muth of Taloowa. Orissa launched two additional singles in 2013 as, The Musical Offering. They were mixed and mastered by Patrick Derivaz, (Jon Scofield, Jeff Buckley, Meshell Ndegeocello), and released to support a Kickstarter Campaign. In turn, the Kickstarter raised over $20K to fund the upcoming album, ‘Resurrection’, which features Dodini’s vocal and instrumental arrangements and performances as well as drummer Jason Gianni, (Trans Siberian Orchestra, Neal Morse, Book Of Mormon). In 2016, Orissa brought the music from the studio to the stage when Dodini attracted the best musicians from NYC’s progressive, metal and rock communities.

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HELL OR HIGHWATER’S Joey Bradford “We Had To Fight For Every Fan We Got” [Video]

Hell Or Highwater was formed originally as a solo project by Atreyu vocalist/drummer Brandon Saller in 2011 when Atreyu went on a brief hiatus. This material is definitely more upbeat and rock’n’roll while Atreyu was on the darker, metalcore side for most of their career. Hell Or Highwater new album ‘Vista’ released on May 19th. Since forming 6 years ago, the band released their debut record the same year titled ‘Begin Again’ and featured guest vocals on “Go Alone” from M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold. One of the things that really stands out to me from this band is the great classic rock sounding guitar work from Joey Bradford and Jon Hoover. Saller is typically behind the kit but he is only fronting the band here while Kyle Rosa is killing it behind the drum kit. Nick Maldonado rounds out the lineup presenting big fills on the bass and works with the synth parts that the band has in certain songs like “Terrorized in the Night”. Continue reading

The Bucketlist With CROBOT’s Brandon Yeagley! [Video]

Crobot

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.

 

With only two widely released studio albums, Crobot already has a large array of hits in their catalogue to get the crowd moving quickly. I love every single song on ‘Something Supernatural’; it’s a record that demands to be listened from front to back when you spin it. Two songs that were largely played on the radio include the opening tracks on the record, “Nowhere to Hide” and “Legend of the Spaceborne Killer”. Just last year, the band released their second record via Wind-Up Records with ‘Welcome to Fat City’. Songs like “Not for Sale” and “Plague of the Mammoths” (an amazing show opener) became quick favorites. The band still showcased their strong mix of hard/stoner rock that makes you want to get up and move. Crobot has a throwback retro kinda sound that both modern music lovers and old school metalheads can enjoy.  Continue reading

FINAL DRIVE Announce Tour Dates!

 

FINAL DRIVE just announced a new string of August tour dates accompanied by Shawshank Redeemed and Shinebright on select shows. Kicking off August 11th, FINAL DRIVE will join forces with Letters From The Fire for an anticipated St. Louis performance at The Firebird.

“There’s nothing like kicking off a tour in our hometown, we had the awesome luck of timing and lined up the show with Letters from the Fire! This will sure to get the run off to a killer start. Working on a few surprises as well, so come out, say hello, get down on some FYM! VIP upgrades available!” states vocalist Jordan Gaw on the upcoming run.

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SATYRICON Unveil Track List For New Album ‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’!

Nearly three years in the making, black metal legends SATYRICON have revealed their highly anticipated ninth studio album, ‘Deep Calleth Upon Deep’ is set for release on 22nd September via Napalm Records. The opus will be available in digital format, CD digipak and gatefold vinyl options and is now available for pre-order HERE!  The band recently unveiled initial album details and the album’s artwork, an obscure drawing from 1898 by perhaps the greatest Norwegian artist of all time, Edvard Munch.

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PIG DESTROYER’S JR Hayes “It’s Not Against The Law To Hurt Someone’s Feelings”! [Video]

Chicago Open Air 2017 – Photo: Jessica Stacy

 

Pig Destroyer is a deathgrind five-piece hailing from the city of Alexandria, VA that was formed around 20 years ago by J.R. Hayes and the legendary Scott Hull. The music consists of a high mix of brutality and ferocity sure to annihilate anyone in its path. There are highly disturbing lyrics sure to appeal to any horror lover as the band blasts through a ton of songs on each record (there are 23 tracks on ‘Prowler in the Yard’ in under 40 minutes). To begin their career, Pig Destroyer released their first demo ‘Explosions in Ward 6’ following the year of formation. Soon enough, they garnered attention from Relapse Records and signed with them in 2000. The next year, they released their first major full length in ‘Prowler in the Yard’ to come out absolutely dominating from the start. The relentless pace that Pig Destroyer brings to the table is an uncommon one. This album propelled them to mainstream success despite being one of the most extreme albums ever at the time. The band then got to play the likes of New England Metal and Hardcore Festival and a few Relapse Records showcases in 2002. They are truly one of the fastest bands in the world. Through the years Pig Destroyer grew to be legends of the genre and are still hailed as one of the best in extreme music. They also released a few EPs between records like ‘Natasha’ and ‘Mass & Volume’. After taking a somewhat slower, darker tone on the EPs, their most recent record ‘Book Burner’ returned to the absolutely slamming grind sound that band had become trademarked for in the early 2000s. “The Diplomat” has one of the more interesting video concepts in recent years with outer space monkeys ripping a human apart and soon each other right after with machine guns. It was created by Phil Mucci, who makes some of the most entertaining videos you will ever see.  Continue reading

Review: BLUES FUNERAL ‘Awakening’ [Exclusive Track Stream]

Blues Funeral formed in 2014 by Jan Kimmel (guitar), Cory Cousins (drums) and Maurice Eggenschwiler (guitar). All three of those guys were previously members of the band Sanctus Bellum. Blues Funeral is highly inspired by the 60’s and 70’s rock and metal scene and you can hear the influence in their sound. They added experienced upright bass player, Gabe Katz, who decided to kick his upright to the side and go electric with Blues Funeral. The band’s name is inspired by the 1969 Groundhogs cut, “Blues Obituary”, is an ode to many of the group’s influences including classic bands like: Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, Mountain, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and more. Blues Funeral’s goal is to explore some new musical territory and truly find their own sound. Their debut album ‘The Search’ is set to be released on July 30th. It was recorded at Lucky Run Studio in Houston, TX. The band composed, arranged and produced the album themselves and it was mastered by Collin Jordan at The Boiler Room in Chicago, IL. Collin Jordan has mastered albums for Blood Ceremony, Wovenhand, Eyehategod, and The Gates of Slumber. The bands debut album ‘The Search’ made #11 on my top 25 albums of 2016 (read here). Almost a year ago I stated “I assure you that there isn’t anything like this band on the market right now. They are truly a prototype for exactly what a lot of bands are trying to achieve and can’t” and I still believe this is true. Their sound and style is something that other bands won’t even attempt to duplicate. The band has now put the final touches on their sophomore album ‘Awakening’ which released August 25th. 

 

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The Bucketlist with Loudwire’s Graham Hartmann! [Video]

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.

Most of you are surely familiar with Graham Hartmann formerly known as Gruhammed from Loudwire.com. He has interviewed several big names in the music world some of those including Mastodon, Corey Taylor, Phil Anselmo, Paul Stanley, Megadeth, Slayer and various others. His unique segment Wikipedia Fact or Fiction had given fans around the world insight and information about their favorite artists for a long time now. Graham is not only a music journalist or the host of these interviews, he loves music and it courses through his veins. While both Metal Nexus and Graham were covering the recent Chicago Open Air festival we took the time to get together and talk bands that we wanted to see but hadn’t yet. Living in New York and also working for Loudwire offers Graham the opportunity to see various bands, but 5 bands have eluded him.  Continue reading

An Interview With ‘Nu-Metal: Resurgence’ Author Matt Karpe!

Nu Metal: Resurgence revisits the groundbreaking movement of the 90s/early 00s and goes bang up to date with the inclusion of a host of new bands, proving that Nu Metal is indeed here to stay. Passionately compiled by British music journalist Matt Karpe, Nu Metal: Resurgence documents the original movement with over 80 detailed band biographies which include exclusive contributions from members of Coal Chamber, Orgy, Spineshank, Taproot and more, before moving on to ‘The Nu Breed’; shining a light on the likes of Keychain, Frontstreet and Cane Hill, who are intent on bringing Nu Metal back to the masses. Also included is a foreword from Noah “Shark” Robertson (Zombie Shark Records, Motograter), essays on Nu Metal’s collaborations with hip-hop artists and monumental chart success, plus contributions from musicians who perform outside of the Nu Metal scope, yet their love for the movement remains unwavering.

“The last and most prominent book written on Nu Metal was released way back in 2002,” explains Matt, affiliated with UK print magazine Powerplay Rock & Metal. “When the book came out, Linkin Park had only released ‘Hybrid Theory’, Slipknot’s latest record was ‘Iowa’ and Papa Roach only had ‘Infest’; so 15 years on from that, I felt now was the right time to revisit the era and all of the amazing bands, plus open people’s eyes to the new talent that is emerging worldwide, who all share the same Nu Metal ethics and deserve to be noticed. I grew up with and witnessed the whole Nu Metal movement, so writing this book was a no-brainer.”

About the Author:

Matt Karpe is a British music journalist and writer, currently affiliated with print magazine Powerplay Rock & Metal. Over the years he has interviewed members from bands such as Korn, Seether, American Head Charge and Ratt to name just a few, and in 2016- he released his first book We Own the Night, which focused on the underground of the modern Amercian hard rock scene.

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WHORES: “How Are We Shoulder To Shoulder With Black Sabbath” [Video]

Throughout the years, Whores has grown grittier with attitude and crazier with their performances. The Atlanta noise rock trio formed in 2010. Lead singer and guitarist Christian Lembach brings forth his booming, screechy vocals that will make the lovers of underground music go crazy. The sludgy guitar tone is the most recognizable signature of the band created by a killer rig to make a gargantuan sound. Casey Maxwell sends fuzzy bass vibrations through your spine on his debut album with Whores on ‘Gold’. The resounding grooves are perfect for some hard moshing to excite the crowd. Donnie Adkinson, also making his debut on ‘Gold’, beats the hell out of the kit with lots of crashing cymbals and hard hitting on the snare. The band’s explosive sounds have took them out on the road with the likes of Red Fang, Melvins, Deafheaven, Kylesa, The Sword, and many more big names. Since the release of ‘Gold’ the band has seen a firestorm of media attention. Rolling Stone not only ranked ‘Gold’ as one of the top 20 albums of 2016 but also declared Whores a must see band. The band recently played the Chicago Open Air festival alongside bands like Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, Body Count, Korn and Behemoth. They dominated the stage and was one of the most talked about bands of the day.  Continue reading