BLACKTOP MOJO Release Video For “Prodigal”

Texas hard rockers Blacktop Mojo have released a video for “Prodigal”, off their 2017 LP, Burn The Ships. Blending elements of country and 70s hard rock, Blacktop Mojo has a timeless sound that pairs well with any drink you got in your hand. Formed in 2012 by frontman Matt James and drummer Natan Gillis, the band eventually became a 5-piece with Matt Curtis on bass and Ryan Kiefer and Chuck Wepfer on guitars. After releasing I Am in 2014, they hit the road sharing the stage with acts like Bon Jovi, Sammy Hagar, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Black Stone Cherry, Drowning Pool, and many others.

With their sophomore album, Burn The Ships, they went into the studio with Muscle Shoals producer Jimmy Johnson. Released via their label Cuhmon Records the album received critical acclaim, hitting the Top 40 Billboard Active Rock Chart with singles “Where The Wind Blows” (#27) and the band’s cover of Aerosmith classic, “Dream On” (#31).

As for the video, according to frontman Matt James, the band had a good time with the video: “We had fun making the video with some of our good friends from our hometown acting out the main parts. We felt like the father-son dynamic in the video really reflected the song’s theme. The song is sort of autobiographical. It’s about the experience of growing up in a small town and always talking about ‘getting out’ one day. No matter where or how far you go, though, you always have a little bit of where you came from that you take with you.” This is the band’s second video from their successful sophomore release.

Blacktop Mojo spent most of their 2017/2018 touring, writing, and recording in “The Mojo Mansion” in their hometown of Palestine, Texas. While playing a show at Rock Allegiance 2018, frontman Matt James sat down with Metal Nexus to talk everything Blacktop Mojo. You can find that interview here. To keep up to date on Blacktop Mojo follow them on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.

ROCK USA Announces 2019 Lineup!

ROCK USA in Oshkosh, Wisconsin announced their lineup today and has shown they are one of the top festivals in the Midwest with their powerful lineup in comparison to some recent lack luster lineups. The festival takes place July 18-20th Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Your top headliners of the 3 nights in order are Five Finger Death Punch, Rob Zombie, and Disturbed. If that isn’t enough their immediate support each night in order is Breaking Benjamin, Marilyn Manson and Mastodon Continue reading

INCITE Release New Single “Poisoned By Power” Featuring Chris Barnes of SIX FEET UNDER

Image Courtesy of Jeremy Saffer

Heavy metal frontrunners INCITE – led by frontman Richie Cavalera – are set to release their upcoming fifth full-length album, ‘Built To Destroy’, on January 25, 2019.  You can check out a more detailed and insightful look at the album in a previously released article by our very own Steve Savage HERE. Produced by Steve Evetts (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Suicide Silence) and mastered by Zeuss (Rob Zombie, Hatebreed), ‘Built to Destroy’ is a visceral, urgent, voracious distillation of modern metal with reverence for the past, and boasts a progressed, matured sound for INCITE. Continue reading

AVERSIONS CROWN Announce 2019 EU Tour With PSYCROPTIC, and More!

Another amazing tour coming your way. And this time from Aversions Crown & Psycroptic! They will be touring through Europe from the 1th of February till the 23th. But that’s not all. They are bringing a band that will slam your head off: Within Destruction! And if that wasn’t already enough for you to be getting that ticket Hollow World and Hadal Maw are also supporting!

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INKCARCERATION Festival 2019 Announces Lineup!

 

The wait is over! The INKCARCERATION Music and Tattoo Festival has announced the massive line-up scheduled to perform at its second annual event, set to feature colossal rock headliners. Quickly becoming one of the nation’s premier rock festivals, INKCARCERATION – taking place this year on July 12, 13 and 14 at the historic Ohio State Reformatory, a.k.a. Shawshank Prison, in Mansfield, OH – will feature over 30 bands on two outdoor stages, 70 tattoo artists, reformatory tours, gourmet food trucks, the best drinks and for the first time, the haunted house attraction, Escape from Blood Prison!This years lineup revs up the engines adding some huge headliners and a packed house of amazing bands. The top headliners are Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, Live, Godsmack, Taking Back Sunday, Seether and Skillet. All of which put on an amazing show that is worthy of admission costs on their own… But wait there’s more… Continue reading

Ryan Wombacher (Bleeding Through/Light The Torch) “I Slept On Fuckin Kitty Litter”

In 2012 Howard Jones left Killswitch Engage to gain control of his diabetes, which had been hard to control while on tour. There wasn’t much time off for him as he almost immediately formed Devil You Know. The original lineup of the band was Howard on vocals, Francesco Artusato (All Shall Perish, Hiss of Atrocities) – guitars, Ryan Wombacher  who has been with Bleeding Through since 2002 – bass, backing vocals, Roy Lev-Ari (Hiss of Atrocities) – guitars and John Sankey (Divine Heresy, Fear Factory)– drums. Since then Roy Lev-Ari and John Sankey have left the band. The current drummer of the band is Mike Sciulara (Extinction A.D.). I was fortunate enough to see the band a couple times while on tour with Coal Chamber and on stage they put on an amazing show. Devil You Know released two albums ‘The Beauty of Destruction’ (2014) and ‘They Bleed Red’  (2015). The on July 26, 2017, the band announced via social media that they have changed their name to Light the Torch. The band in a way wanted a fresh start, and I believe the name has a better ring to it. The band is now set to release their debut under the name Light The Torch with ‘Revival’ which released on March 30, 2018.  Continue reading

Fit For An Autopsy Announce UK & EU 2019 Tour!

Fit For An Autopsy are back with another great tour and this time it is with the great Justice For The Damned & Venom Prison. And to make it even better, it features the most gross act alive: Vulvodynia! They are covering many UK and EU countries so be sure to check this beautiful mess out!

Guitarist and death metal producer Will Putney had the following to say about the run

 “Excited to announce this Europe/UK headliner! Lots of cities we love with some excellent support bands in tow on this one. Come bang your head.”

Fit For An Autopsy 2019 UK & EU tour dates:

17.05 DE Karlsruhe – Weiße Rose
18.05 DE Leipzig – Naumanns
19.05 DE Berlin – Musik & Frieden
20.05 AT Vienna – Viper Room
21.05 DE Munich – Backstage
22.05 IT Milano – Circolo Svolta
23.05 CH Aarau – Kiff
24.05 DE Bochum – Matrix
25.05 DE Hamburg – Hafenklang
26.05 NL Den Bosch – Willem 2
27.05 BE Antwerp – Kavka
28.05 FR Paris – Gibus
29.05 UK Birmingham – Mama Roux
30.05 UK Bristol – Exchange
31.05 UK London – Underworld
01.06 UK Leeds – Key Club
02.06 UK Manchester – Rebellion

ROTTING OUT Debuts New Song, “Reaper” And It Sounds Ruthless AF!

ROTTING OUT from Los Angeles have recently debuted an all new, energetic music video for “Reaper“, that absolutely rips through your eardrums. The furious new track comes just ahead of two California shows going down this weekend, including a hometown gig at Space 1720 in Los Angeles on Saturday, followed by a performance at 924 Gilman in Berkeley on Sunday. Tickets are on sale now.

The new single, also marks the band’s first new music since their EP, ‘Reconing, which was released by Pure Noise Records in 2015. The band reunited back in 2018 for their first shows in years and are expected to release more music and announce additional touring this year.

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Watch BEHEMOTH’s New Video For ‘Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica’!

Extreme death metallers from Poland, BEHEMOTH, spearheaded by front man Nergal have released a fresh new music video that goes by the name of “Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica“, from their recent album, ‘I Loved You At Your Darkest‘, which was released back in October to widespread acclaim. Grupa 13 has been working with BEHEMOTH for a long time now, and continues to awe the fans on this video as well.

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Mark’s Top Ten Albums Of 2018!

 

It was a year of good metal, it was a year of fake metal. Each year metal becomes more and more diverse culturally, aesthetically, and sonically. Whether it is blending elements of black metal and crust punk to create something beautiful, or sticking to something that still sounds good, metal can go in so many directions. With the rise of streaming services, bands from across the world can literally release their music for all the world to hear. Even with the tape trading days long behind us, that thirst to find every great band is stronger than ever. With websites like Bandcamp, we have quick access to anything an artist has to offer be it mp3 downloads, LPs, or pins. Something that was recorded in a West Virginia basement can now be found in India thanks to the internet. Us at Metal Nexus even make it an effort with our State of The Art pieces that deep dive into bands from different states you might not have known about yesterday. I was able to discover so many fantastic bands this year because of streaming services. A lot of the bands on this list I discovered this year and their music became lodged in my brain so I had to add some of them to this year’s album list. The metal community’s driven passion for the music cannot be wasted on just talking about the new record. Listen to the record. Buy the record. Go to the show. Buy a t-shirt at the show. I am going to try my best and do the same in 2019.   Continue reading