BLACKLITE DISTRICT Announce Tour Dates With FLAW And THE CROWNED

Spearfish, SD based electronic alternative rock act BLACKLITE DISTRICT has announced that they will be joining Flaw as direct support on their North American tour run. Launching this Valentine’s Day in Colorado Springs, the tour winds through the Midwest and West Coast, winding up in Omaha on March 3rd. Isn’t that such a great way to celebrate Valentine’s day with the love of your life?

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Show Review of John 5 and The Creatures In Jacksonville, FL

What can be said about John 5 that has not been said a thousand times by ten thousand different people since his meteoric rise in the music business started way back when he moved to Los Angeles from Michigan at the ripe old age of 17? Hell, his resume reads like a veritable who’s who in a wide variety of genres, playing and writing with the likes of Rudy Sarzo, David Lee Roth, Paul Stanley, Marilyn Manson, Rob Halford, Rob Zombie all the way to John Wetton (Asia), SaltNPepa, Ricky Martin, k.d. lang, Meat Loaf, Lynyrd Skynyrd and many, many others. One hot commodity, to say the least! Now, guitarist friends and I might say that it is his guitar playing that makes him stand apart from the rest of the crowd. Big surprise with influences like Malmsteen, Satch, Vai, Hendrix, Page, Albert Lee, Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Paul Gilbert, Bumblefoot, Jim Root, Buckethead and Eric Johnson. Others may think that it is the company that he keeps and the bands that he has played and written for that makes him great. Still others may hold the opinion that he is just plain fun to watch live. Well, I am here to tell you that all three apply to this wizard of six-string sorcery, especially having just recently been initiated into John 5 and The Creatures live show at 1904 Music Hall here in Jacksonville, FL.

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BLACK MAP Announce Surprise EP, ‘Trace The Path’ And New Music Video, “Let Me Out” [Video Stream]

San Francisco alternative hard rock group, Black Map, releases a surprise EP today titled, ‘Trace the Path’ on Entertainment One. Off of the EP, the band also drops a brand-new music video for the opening track, “Let Me Out,” directed by Anthony J Garay.  Vocalist and bassist, Ben Flannagan comments about the sentimental and historical location chosen for the video, “We shot this video in the backroom of a bar called Homestead in San Francisco which was first opened all the way back in 1902. Five years ago, Mark and I were having beers at this very bar and decided that we should start a band together, so this space was kind of the inception of Black Map. We thought that it would be fitting to return to that spot and film the video for ‘Let me Out.'” Continue reading

EXCLUSIVE SONG PREMIERE: TIAVARA – “When Silence Reigns” [Song Stream]

Hey there! Today we’re helping Russian sextet TIAVARA premiere their absolutely amazing single “When Silence Reigns“, from their upcoming album, ‘Delusional Tales of Grand Intentions‘, due out on April 27, 2018. That is right! So TIAVARA are a six piece melodic metal outfit hailing from the freezing north of Korolev, a town nestled in Moscow, Russia, Mother Russia as they would like to say. If you aren’t familiar with this band, let me tell you they are one of the rising underground bands who are absolutely crushing it down to the bone. How do I know that? Well the answer is right below you in the track stream. They are melodic, groovy and do not shy away from mixing ambience, melody along with alternative elements into a carefully crafted piece of heavy metal art.

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KREATOR Reissue Four Classic 90’s-Era Albums On Colored Vinyl/Deluxe CD

Kreator reissue four classic nineties-era albums to be released on deluxe CD, colored vinyl, and digital/streaming. The US release dates for ‘Coma of Souls’ and ‘Renewal’ will be Friday, March 2nd, 2018; and ‘Cause for Conflict’ and ‘Outcast’ will be released on Friday, March 9th, 2018. North American tour dates confirmed for mid-February to mid-March, 2018. If you are a fan of Kreator, you are definitely in for a treat, especially if you managed to get your hands on a copy of their album back in the 90s. Having an album for that length of time probably brings back a lot of memories for the collector. Hopefully it is still in the same condition if was when you first brought it. You might even consider having it duplicated by the VDC group to preserve it. But if not, you shouldn’t worry. There are online businesses that supply equipment such as Phono Preamps that you can purchase to help restore the sound of your old Kreator albums. If this is something you are considering, go to the store and find the solution. Or you could just wait until the band release the reissued versions.

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Album Review: FU MANCHU – Clone of the Universe

 

Fu Manchu

Clone of the Universe

At the Dojo Records

Release Date: February 9, 2018

Southern California fuzz mavens Fu Manchu may be the closest thing stoner rock has to an institution. Since 1990, honcho Scott Hill and his bandmates have been cranking out high-octane, revved-up power rock that’s served as a veritable musical template for countless heshmongers and bongrattlers that have followed in their skunky wake. And not unlike their fellow institutions The Ramones and AC/DC, since song one/side one of their debut album Fu Manchu have by and large stuck to the strengths that brought them to the dance in the first place: solid, steady grooves, razor-sharp hooks, and riff after riff after motherfucking riff, three miles thick and stacked on top of each other straight up into the sky. Their first release since 2014, Clone of the Universe (released via the band’s own At the Dojo Records), mostly hews to their tried-and-true practices, but with just enough twists and tweaks to avoid repetition and fatigue. The time signatures and song structures skew a little more prog than normal (in one instance, a lot more), and lyrically and thematically they’ve swapped out skateboards for starcruisers, but it’s really just a different picture airbrushed on the side of the tricked-out Fu Manchu custom van.

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Review: IRON REAGAN & GATECREEPER Split LP [Track Stream]

Relapse Records is set to release a devastating split LP of epically retro proportions featuring hardcore-punk crossover thrashers, Iron Reagan, and old school death metal beasts, Gatecreeper on March 2nd, 2018. Split LP’s like this, and similarly compilation albums, have always been exciting for fans of underground music. Not only are they a way to conveniently add immediate variety to a playlist, but at the same time, become exposed to multiple bands at once. It’s a win-win situation. Iron Reagan & Gatecreeper are here to deliver exactly what fans look forward to, with a potent eight tracks of ferocity; the likes of which will transport you into the adrenaline-filled violence of an eighties crossover thrash moshpit, and then straight away into the high-intensity evil of early nineties death metal. Continue reading

Dave Navarro’s Contributions To Show Business!

When you think about the great guitarist Dave Navarro, the first and utmost thing that comes to mind is Jane’s Addiction. For less informed fans it could even be the only thing associated with him. While Navarro has surely much more to offer, both in terms of contribution to music, as well as in other areas, today’s audience might have a little distorted image of his true talent and musical potential. Continue reading

John Boecklin (BAD WOLVES) “There Is Some Controversial Stuff On The Record”!

 

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

BLACKTOP MOJO’s Acoustic Video “Underneath” Will Definitely Feed Your Soul!

Normally a fierce hard rock/grunge group out of Palestine, Texas, BLACKTOP MOJO has put out a new and refreshing soft acoustic single, called “Underneath“. Treading the path of what majority of grunge rock bands do, that is, release a soft and heart touching number amidst the heavy hitting characteristic sound, the quintet has managed to pull off an excellent emotional single. Despite it being the norm, the song is definitely not just another brick in the wall(you see what I did there!). The song is about personal suffering and damage and it perfectly encapsulates the message it brings forth. Here’s drummer Nathan breaking down the meaning of the song for you,

I’ve seen firsthand how bitterness and anger can destroy a person from the inside out. This song is about that, but also saying “I understand what happened, and I’m sorry you went through the painful things that brought you to this point” Keep your heart free , forgive people even if they don’t deserve it.

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