Category Archives: News

Howard Jones Hanging With KILLSWITCH ENGAGE Recently “They Are Friends Who Saw Me At My Worst…It Was Good To See Them Again”

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Some of you may know Howard Jones from the legendary time he spend in Killswitch Engage. He spent 10 years in the band from 2002 – 2012.  The first album that Howard appeared on was 2004’s ‘The End of Heartache’. Howard replaced singer Jesse Leach that had fell into a depression and decided to quit the band telling the band via email right before they had some shows lined up. Killswitch quickly started looking for a replacement. The previous album ‘Alive Or Just Breathing’ was the last to feature Leach. The album had some critical response so the success of ‘The End Of Heartache’ sealed the deal that the band had made the right decision in selecting a new vocalist. The title track was nominated for Best Metal Performance for the 47th Annual Grammy Awards. The album also was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 7, 2007. Killswitch Engage was/is one of those bands that instantly grabbed the attention of most metal heads. Not just any band can cover Dio’s “Holy Diver” and still be accepted by the metal world. In 2012 Howard left the band 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 (Bleeding Through) – 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. Howard’s vocals are still brilliant and he carries that same perfect tone he made so famous in Killswitch. 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 will be out on March 30, 2018. The singles “Calm Before The Storm” and “Die Alone” has already been released from the album and if this is any indication the album is going to be a complete success.  Continue reading →

Indiana Doom Metallers THORR-AXE To Tour Western U.S. This April

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Wonder why their name is the way it is? Cause the doom they bring is as heavy as Thor’s hammer. Ok bad joke. Anyways, doom fanatics! THORR-AXE has got some really good news for you up its sleeve. The crusty Indiana doom metallers are all set to begin a voyage on the western side of America next month, alongside, ravaging eight cities this April 16-26 before ultimately concluding at Chicago Doomed & Stoned Festival this June.

“This is our longest run to date,” says longtime guitarist and vocalist Tucker Thomasson. Adding to a few details on the tour here’s what Tucker has to say,”We’re playing with a few awesome bands we’ve worked with before (Green Druid, Wizzerd, Green Altar) and we’re also looking forward to meeting and playing with some new bands as well. We hope to see a lot of people who’ve been following us for awhile out at some of these dates. See you out there!“

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EXTORTIONIST To Embark On A North American Tour With BY THE THOUSANDS

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Idaho deathcore act EXTORTIONIST have announced that they will be embarking on a brief North American tour this spring with BY THE THOUSANDS. The tour is slated to kick off April 22nd in Peoria, IL at The Rail II, and will conclude on April 27th in Salt Lake City, UT at The Loading Dock.

In addition to releasing their debut full-length ‘The Decline‘ last year, the band have recently unveiled a brand new single, “Absent Ones” (check it out, HERE). You can view the complete tour routing for the band’s run with BY THE THOUSANDS below, as well as additional tour dates the band will be taking on this spring.

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PRONG Unveils “Zero Days” 2018 West Coast Tour Dates With POWERFLO

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American Power Trio PRONG has announced the continuation of their Zero Days tour with a series of West Coast dates alongside POWERFLO. After a solid year of touring with the likes of TESTAMENT, OBITUARY, SEPULTURA, and EXODUS, as well as filling key slots on the European Summer Festival Circuit, the band now brings it back home to the states, including a highly coveted, co-headlining run with HELMET.

Are you ready for the mosh?

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INKCARCERATION Fest Feat. RISE AGAINST, LIFE OF AGONY, BUSH, CLUTCH & More

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Metal and tattoo, it’s a perfect marriage isn’t it? Yes; this July Inkcarceration Music and Tattoo Festival will bring to you the ultimate summer holiday getaway. It is a a one-of-a-kind destination event that presents to you heavy and hard rock music from over 30+ plus bands on two stages, with some big names from the industry, such as the likes of RISE AGAINST, A DAY TO REMEMBER, BUSH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, CLUTCH and many more. It’s a star studded line-up. Adding more to the festival’s appeal, it will also host a tattoo festival inside of one of the country’s most infamous prisons, plus so much more.

The inaugural Inkcarceration Music and Tattoo Festival will take place on a perfect sunny weekend,  July 13, 14 and 15 in Mansfield, Ohio. You might ask a prison for a venue? Why not? It’s metal to the bone after all. The venue is the Historic Ohio State Reformatory (100 Reformatory Rd), the massive, awe-inspiring locale is recognized primarily as one of the most haunted buildings in the country. Remember the Shawshank Prison used in the 1994 blockbuster “Shawshank Redemption“? It was this very location that was used as a filming location for the movie, starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. Mansfield sits directly between two major cities in Ohio, Columbus and Cleveland, and is under a five-hour drive from major cities such as Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Detroit, Louisville, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. So, pick out your band shirts now or your battle vest if so inclined because this is going to be one hell of a festival. 

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AT THE GATES Debuts All New Music Video, “To Drink From The Night Itself” Off Upcoming Album

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Swedish death metal flag bearers AT THE GATES recently let the news out that they will be releasing their upcoming full length album, ‘To Drink From The Night Itself‘, thus marking their comeback to fresh new music after 2014’s celebrated ‘At War With Reality‘. The all new upcoming studio effort hits the stores this May 18 via Century Media Records. That buzzsaw sound is coming back!

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UNDERØATH Reveal NØ FIX North American Tour Dates For This Spring!

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UNDERØATH, who surprised fans last week with the announcement of a new album, ‘Erase Me‘ (April 6, Fearless Records), have also confirmed a Spring trek across the U.S., dubbed the Nø Fix Tour. Every ticket purchased for the upcoming tour will include a digital download of the new album.

“We cannot wait to play songs off Erase Me live,” said the band about the upcoming dates. “This record means so much to us and we just wanna share that with all of you guys. Can’t wait to get back on the road and play some music, new and old!”

The five-week tour includes festival appearances at Las Rageous, Welcome to Rockville, Fort Rock, Rock on the Range and Rocklahoma. Several international festivals are also confirmed for this Summer including Reading, Leeds, Download, Heavy Montreal and Graspop.

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EXCLUSIVE VIDEO PREMIERE: SEVEN DAY SLEEP – “Down” [Official Music Video]

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Hey y’all! We thought it’d be great if we could dawn another premiere on you folks. Where all things are flashy, posh and life moves faster than the speed of light, Los Angeles certainly holds an unique as well as an appealing status to it. Similarly, the music that comes out of this world class city is in no different league. Today, we bring to you another Metal Nexus exclusive music video premiere of the LA based alternative gothic/metal trio, SEVEN DAY SLEEP. The quartet are premiering their all new music video, “Down“, which is a cover of alternative/indie or dance/electronic duo of Marian Hill from Philadelphia. The music video was filmed during the band’s official EP release party for ‘Home For Disgusting Fairies‘, and it incorporates the haunted fairy tale themes that the album revolves around.

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Latest News About MONSTRANCE (Ex-Members of CARCASS, MY DYING BRIDE, MALEDICTION)

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This is the latest news about MONSTRANCE, a metal supergroup that have began to accumulate a steady following over the past few months. In a recent statement, founding guitarist Carlo Regadas said of the band..

Not many know that, by the time I got rushed into hospital on 3rd September with severe necrotising pancreatitis and splenic vein thrombosis, I’d nearly lost my entire band, due to personal commitments and logistics. I lost my bass player whilst I was in hospital and that left only myself and Steven Hargraves. The departure of the previous members was purely amicable and we’re all still great friends who wish each other success and happiness in our respective lives. From my hospital bed I was able to put a new lineup together and we now have a lineup that is able to play gigs, record and tour. The new lineup is not only dynamic and highly musically proficient, it also has a lot of quality, pedigree and experience in extreme metal over the last 30 years, it’s also the most stable lineup this band has had, we all live close enough to rehearse regularly etc. I now have a clean bill of health and I now look forward to making some seriously earth-shattering heavy metal with these lads.”

The new lineup is as follows:

Carlo Regadas (ex-CARCASS) – Lead / Rhythm Guitars                                                                                                    Steven Hargraves (BALLPEIN) – Rhythm Guitar                                                                                                              Rich Mumford (GODTHRYMM, ex-MALEDICTION) – Bass Guitar                                                                           Rik Simpson (AUSTERYMN) – Vocals                                                                                                                                  Dan Mullins (BLASPHEMER, ex-MY DYING BRIDE, ex-BAL-SAGOTH) – Drums

This line up will be recording the ‘Injustice for All’ EP for Cosmic Key Creations on limited edition black and gold 12” vinyl and Transcending Records on CD and all digital platforms.

The band’s first live performance will be Eradication Festival in Cardiff, with WOMBBATH, HECATE, ENTHRONED, MERCYLESS and more on 20 May!

Stay tuned for more information regarding the release of the EP.


Aftershock Festival Tease SYSTEM OF A DOWN, Announce Lineup Reveal Date!

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Just announced – The Monster Energy Aftershock Festival 2018 will be held Saturday, October 13th and Sunday, October 14th.  The complete 2018 lineup is scheduled to be announced on April 9th, 2018, however, there is a strong indication that System of a Down will be amongst this year’s surprise headliners, due to the placement of a sound clip of their track, “Prison Song” in the teaser video seen below. Continue reading →