This fall, the Philadelphia area welcomes back the fourth edition of the Rock Allegiance festival. The BB&T Pavilion and Wiggins Waterfront Park in Camden, New Jersey, will be home to single day event for the second year in a row. Experience some of Philadelphia’s best food and some of the countries’ best brews, all while rocking out to your favorite band. Continue reading
Fast Eddy & The Doc, the incredible rock and talk podcast has put together a showcase of bands on Thursday May 17th to pacify fans until Rock On The Range kicks off on Friday in Columbus, Ohio at Mapfre Stadium “Where Rock Lives”! The pre-party will include performances by 6 bands starting at 7pm on Thursday. The show will take place at Jack’s Corner Pub at 2480 Summit Street in Columbus. The pre-party is absolutely free but donations at the door are certainly appreciated. As music fans the count down to the gates opening for our favorite festival is a very very slow process. Fast Eddy & The Doc have put together this show to provide some rock and metal into our bloodstreams until we finally get through those gates and into the stadium. Continue reading
The 2nd annual Rock N Pod Expo will take place on August 25th in Nashville, Tennessee at The Nashville Palace. In this modern era of music local radio stations are routinely playing the same artists over and over or only spinning those well established bands that have been dominating the airwaves for years. That’s where the podcasts come in; the majority of these podcast hosts started their show simply because they were passionate about music. These podcasts also provide a platform to promote up and coming bands. The Nashville Rock n Pod Expo will feature over 25 participating podcasts that have combined downloads exceeding ten million. The Nashville Rock n Pod Expo is like the Comic Con of podcasts and it features much more than simply the hosts of these shows, there will be a variety of jaw dropping guests who will be appearing at the event as well. Now in its second year, the Nashville Rock n Pod Expo is a one-day event that celebrates all things rock, metal and podcasting. Continue reading
LA Hard Rock Band VYCES has released the official music video for their single, “Thin Luck“. The music video was directed by was directed by Ron Thunderwood.
Los Angeles based hard rock band VYCES started in the summer of 2014 when Chicago native Dave Naruszewicz was looking to work on a new project following the disbandment of his former group HEART-SET SELF-DESTRUCT. After years of touring with such bands as FILTER, HELL YEAH, VOLBEAT, POP EVIL, etc., he realized it was time for change. He spent time working with other musicians in the Chicago music scene looking to feed his passion as an artist but he did not find what he was looking for. Dave’s vision was not deterred, so he decided to reach out to longtime friend and drummer, Russell Ray (formerly of OLD FASHIONED BEATDOWN).
The much talked about Freddie Mercury and QUEEN biopic, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, yes the one starring Rami Malek as Freddie himself, has its trailer out today. November 2 will see the movie hitting the theaters on its release day as scores of rock & roll fans will throng to their nearest multiplex screens, to witness the legend’s story unfold to the masses for the very first time.
The one of a kind biopic on probably the best noted rock star of the bygone years, depicts the journey of Farokh Bulsara, a.k.a. Freddie Mercury and of his band mates in QUEEN, from the time they formed in 1970 to their greatest live performances which includes the legendary Live Aid, the ups and downs in the band. The film written by Anthony McCarten, follows QUEEN as they produce hit after hit, topping the charts while constantly evolving their sound. Through disparate songs like “Killer Queen“, “Bohemian Rhapsody“, “We Are the Champions“, “We Will Rock You” and countless others, the band reaches unparalleled success and Freddie becomes one of the most beloved entertainers on the planet.
This is something straight outta the 70s. From the big hair, the fashion and their hook driven retro sound Black Coffee is putting a retro twist on modern rock. The music is definitely a throwback to rock and roll’s most formative years, it’s just that the production is much more cleaner and the sound is substantially more heavy. The band has a sound that makes you feel like you are blowing the dust off one of your favorite vinyls.
Black Coffee formed in early 2017 after drummer Tommy McCullough introduced singer/bassist, Ehab Omran, to guitarist Justin Young. Within the first few days, these artists began songwriting and the chemistry was overwhelmingly apparent. With the release of Black Coffee’s debut album, ‘Take One’, on April 21st, the Columbus, Ohio rockers definitely possess the sound, style, confidence and work ethic that created legends in music in the previous few decades.
New York Hardcore legends, Madball are back and bringing another 13 rounds of face-pummeling power with their upcoming album, ‘For the Cause,’ – scheduled for release June 15th, 2018 on Nuclear Blast Records. The new record features appearances from such notable names as Sick Jacken (Psycho Realm) on the track “Rev Up;” Steve Whale (The Business) and producer/vocalist Tim Armstrong (Rancid) on “The Fog;” and the legendary rapper and Body Count frontman, Ice-T on the track, “Evil Ways.” From violent aggression to anthemic, fist-pumping groove, this record delivers on all fronts – Or as bassist, Hoya Roc states, “It feels like the movie Pulp Fiction. We’ve got every style of hardcore in there.” Continue reading
The hype man is alive and well in the metal community, and his name is John f**king Goblikon. If you aren’t listening to Los Angeles, California’s melodic death metal jesters NEKROGOBLIKON yet you are seriously missing out on one of the best acts to grace the stages of the United States. Nicky “Scorpion” Calonne (Lead Vocals, Keyboard) Alex “Goldberg” Alereza (Guitar, Backing Vocals), Aaron “Raptor” Minich (Keyboard, Backing Vocals), Aaron “Zoot” VanZutphen. NEKROGOBLIKON has released 3 full albums ‘Goblin Island’, ‘Stench’, and ‘Heavy Meta’ as well as one solid E.P. ‘Power’ since they crawled out of some smelly hole in California back in 2006, and now they’ve dropped another one on our heads titled ‘Welcome To Bonkers’ which released on Friday, April 13th 2018 courtesy of Seek And Strike Records. Continue reading
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*
This month’s state is Louisiana!
New Orleans’ Space Cadaver are a band that have fury and finesse, with a groove that stomps all over their songs. They have a sci-fi style and power to match the best in the universe. Guitarist/vocalist John Baleine, bassist Beto Arias and drummer Jason Meserole bring dark and light in equal measure. Formed in 2015, Space Cadaver have shared the stage with heavyweights such as Conan, Acid King and Ufomammut. Their message of spacey doom is spreading quickly!
Their debut self-titled album has been available since 2017. Guitarist/vocalist Baleine commented that “this album is a benchmark of 3 years of hard work and determination – an opportunity to grow…and have closure with a lot of dark things… It was a cleanse to purge the pent up frustrations around the suicide and murders of loved ones, drug addiction and the struggle to break free from the things that are no longer serving me.”
Space Cadaver have a sound that melds Death, Doom and Stoner in a rock hard package. Their self-titled debut album is a tour de force of genre-defying metal. They may only have a bass, guitar and drums to work from, but they know how to work that to make an amazing cinematic sound that sonically destroys everything in the mainstream metal world.
The album kicks off with the riffy ‘The Infinite Black Sun‘. This sets the band’s stall out, with Baleine’s growling vocals and thoughtful lyrics. The sound that a three piece make is genuinely impressive. The bass is high in the mix and the drums splatter through the fuzz storm of guitar. There are light passages that bring the sound into a different sphere and the dark parts take you to a back alley and mug you.
The guitar dominates “Day Ruiner“, as the groove is augmented by a superb guitar solo that is full of heart and power. “Storm” follows with the sound of hell coming out to play. A grunge-type melody lends the song a spirit that cannot be dismissed easily.
“Insufficient Reward” is a masterpiece in cinematic metal. It ebbs and flows with an approach that composers of movie scores love. I can imagine a video of someone escaping evil forces, running down dark corridors in space. The drumming is superb on this tune.
The commercially accessible “Clock Hoarder” continues with its fantastic bass/guitar interplay. It also manages to tip its hat to old school thrash. “Nowhere, Now Here” continues the album with a progressive, minor key insurgency. Once again, a cinematic sound, focusing on a picture in space of desolation and regret.
The closing two numbers, “Sword of the Lord” and “Draco’s Revenge” are urgent, epic sound songs that veer from blast beats to progressive jazz in the space of minutes.
Overall, Space Cadaver are a band that everyone should check out, before they check out (in space, naturally).
It’s been a couple weeks since Foo Fighters rolled through (or should I say rolled OVER) Lexington, KY, and my ears are still ringing. The city’s famed Rupp Arena hosted the eleven-time Grammy-winning legends earlier this month after their original stop in the Bluegrass state was canceled last October due to a family emergency which frontman, Dave Grohl addressed mid-set with “There’s only one thing I love more than Foo Fighters, and that’s my mama! And when my mama gets sick, f*ck all you motherf*ckers!” causing the crowd to erupt in cheers. For well over 3 hours, the band entranced a nearly sold-out crowd with a slew of everyone’s favorite Foo Fighters tunes, as well as new material from their latest release, ‘Concrete & Gold’. To call this show “just another rock show” would be an incredibly understated observation. For me, personally, this single night had more heart, emotion, energy, and fan-to-artist connection than most shows I’ve seen. Continue reading
