Review: ANTIDOTE – ‘The Rock Years’

Antidote is part of the first wave of American hardcore, in 1983 they released the iconic ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’, there are only 1.000 copies of this record so if you have one you should consider yourself lucky. Just 3 years later they stopped being a band but 2 years later they reunited as a full blown hardcore band that consists of vocalist Drew Stone, guitarist Robb Nunzio, bassist Tristan Michael and drummer Rea Lem. About 3 years later, 1991 to be exact, they released their second album which is called ‘Viva Los Pendejos’ Together they make the most noticeble hardcore band this world has seen. After such a song time, and I mean a really long time, they have yet again reunited to create their new compilation album ‘The Rock Years’ that will get released on the 9th of June via Old School Metal Records. If you liked the widely known ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ record you will for sure enjoy this compilation album because it has those early hardcore vibes we are all looking for.

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Review: CKY Rise From The Ashes With ‘The Phoenix’

It seems CKY have a knack for delivering raw, authentic material with every release.  Since the early days of their skate-punk upbringing, they have continued to improve and impress with their upcoming album ‘The Phoenix’, set for release June 16, being no exception. CKY have gained quite a bit of notoriety with musical contributions to the CKY video series, as well as the TV show Jackass, launching their musical ventures to new heights.  They’ve grown to be known for their groove-ridden, octave-driven sound that any CKY (or Jackass) fan will immediately recognize.  Continue reading

An Interview With Kathir Aryaputra Of RUDRA

Kathir Aryaputra – Vocals and Bass(RUDRA)

Hailing from the island country of Singapore, RUDRA is one of the top titans in the Asian metal scene. Formed way back in 1992 RUDRA play an exquisite variety of extreme metal where they infuse Indian mythology and classical instruments to their songs, also being one of the first ever bands to do so, which have earned them the fame of being the creators of the ‘Vedic Metal‘ genre. Following suit, many other bands like fellow Asian counterparts DYING OUT FLAME of Nepal, and even in the western country of Czech Republic CULT OF FIRE has taken up this new genre, whose lyrics and theme revolve around ancient Hindu philosophical scriptures(Vedas) and the whole aesthetic of it. Blending indigenous cultural music and theme in the nerve of black and death metal has brought them to a significant global attention, with their albums sold in Europe and the US as well, much of which has been welcomed in a positive approach. RUDRA has successfully been a dominant force in this part of the world with a mass underground cult following. The band has released eight full length studio albums as of now, with their latest being ‘Enemy Of Duality‘ released back last winter in the month of December, 2016 out via Indian record label Transcending Obscurity. The album has seen a lot of positive reviews and has been an instant hit in the Asian metal circuit. You definitely need to check them out if you haven’t already, and maybe get yourself a copy of ‘Enemy of Dualityhere. Recently I have had the honour to chat with Kathir Aryaputra, the band’s frontman, who’s also the lead singer and bassist. It was a very cool opportunity to have this interview going because RUDRA is one of my favourite bands out there and definitely kicks ass. Here is how things went down with Kathir Aryaputra of RUDRA. Continue reading

Review: MUTOID MAN – ‘War Moans’ [Album Stream]

Artwork by Santos Illustration

Just this past Friday, the New York trio of Mutoid Man released their second full length record ‘War Moans’ to shred the faces off of the public. The record was released via Sargent House. It was mixed by Kurt Ballou of Converge and mastered by Brad Boatright. This band has been on my radar since releasing their masterful debut EP in 2013 titled ‘Helium Head’. The technicality, tenaciousness, and epic riffage of Mutoid Man immediately caught my attention. The constant onslaught of mind-boggling song compositions still stand out as much as the first time I heard them. The band continued to grow to be one of my favorite rock bands with their follow up (also their first full length record), ‘Bleeder’. Stephen Brodsky (Cave In) and Ben Koller (Converge) manage to combine their other band’s sounds along with Nick Cageao’s killer bass tone to create something unlike anything else you will here anywhere else. If you haven’t heard about this band, you will soon. You can stream the album below and then buy it here after having your face melted off. Continue reading

Review: FALLING IN REVERSE – ‘Coming Home’ [Album Stream]

Falling In Reverse was formed in 2008, the band was founded by former Escape The Fate lead singer, Ronnie Radke. Since then, the group has produced 3 albums such as ‘The Drug in Me is You’ in 2011, ‘Fashionably Late’ in 2013, and ‘Just Like You’ in 2015. All of the bands albums have been released via Epitaph Records. Fans flock to see Falling In Reverse perform live and they can often be seen gracing the stage at the Vans Warped tour as they have played the festival in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 and will be on the lineup again this year. Continue reading

Album Review: ENTRAILS ‘World Inferno’ [Offical Videos]

Entrails are a Swedish death metal band that was formed in 1991. With dreams to follow in the scene around Stockholm they were unsuccessful in recording any satisfactory sessions and in 1994, half the band decided to move onto other things. Jimmy Lundqvist (Guitar) kept writing until 1998 when even he decided to hang it up. Fast forward to 2008, when Entrails was resurrected. Lundqvist dug up some old recordings and decided they needed to be released through modern technology. And with that,  the first ever Entrails demos were finally recorded, ‘Reborn’ and ‘Human Decay’. Jocke Svensson took the helm at vocals in 2009. Following those two demos, they were signed to German label FDA Rekotz. Then Entrails released their debut album ‘Tales From The Morgue’ in 2010. The album featured tracks from both previous demos. Shortly after this release, the band welcomed Adde Mitroulis as their drummer at the time. Their follow up effort was in 2011 with ‘The Tomb Awaits’, which featured the rest of the songs from the demos along with a few older tracks and some new material. That winter they started working on a new deal with several record labels and ended with signing to Metal Blade Records in 2012. They started work in the fall of 2012 on their Metal Blade debut and released ‘Raging Death’ in 2013. This release also marks the departure of  Mathias Nilsson with Pontus Samuelsson replacing him on guitar. A new song was written and released on 7″, in early 2014, called ‘Berzerk‘. The B-side was a cover of Swedish heavy metal legends Heavy Load. Also in 2014, they released their old demos under  ‘Resurrected From The Grave-Demo Collection‘. 2015 saw the release of their 2nd full length under Metal Blade in ‘Obliteration’. After a few shows in 2015, Jocke Svensson (Vocals) and Adde Mitroulis (Drums) both parted ways with the band, on good terms, and were replaced by Tommy Carlsson (Bass/Vocals) and Martin Michaelsson (Drums). In 2016, they began work on their most recent effort ‘World Inferno’ and will be released June 16th, 2017 via Metal Blade Records. Continue reading

Review: MUNICIPAL WASTE – ‘Slime And Punishment’ [Official Music Videos]

Storming in back to business and stirring up the broth yet again, MUNICIPAL WASTE is back and ready to crush your skull against their wall of sound with full force like a German tank missile. Richmond, Virginia crossover thrash young bloods MUNICIPAL WASTE hits back after a five year gap with their latest and brand new record, ‘Slime And Punishment‘. It’s been well over a decade now and it won’t be wrong to bestow the moniker of ‘crossover kings’ to MUNICIPAL WASTE, as it’s what evidently time and again they’ve proved so far down their short and marvellous career so far. Perfectly matured and well executed punk and thrash metal riffs, combining hardcore elements, they have really upped the ante in their own genre, which is a laudable thing. Clocking in just shy of 30 minutes, and loaded with a blitkrieg of 14 tracks, MUNICIPAL WASTE takes no shit and proves yet again that this isn’t for the weak hearted. If you’re looking for anything short of fast, gritty and uncompromising thrash violence then you better look away. ‘Slime and Punishment‘ was recorded by the band themselves and sent to Bill Metoyer (known for his work with SLAYER, W.A.S.P., LIZZY BORDEN and DARK ANGEL) in Hollywood, CA to be professionally mixed. The album is not so far away from it’s release date and the flood gates would open on June 23rd, 2017, out via Nuclear Blast Records. Continue reading

Ex-Pantera REX BROWN Debuts New Single ‘Train Song’ Off Forthcoming Album[Official Music Video]

One of the most noted and famous heavy metal bassist of all time Rex Brown who is known to one and all as former Pantera member has chosen to go solo like many others in the business. The multi platinum selling artist has debuted a new single titled, ‘Train Song‘, exclusively via Loudwire, from his all new upcoming studio album, ‘Smoke On This…‘, which also happens to be his first as a solo artist. Directed by Justin Reich (Zakk Wylde, Ace Frehley), this is the first music video being released from Brown’s debut. ‘Train Song‘ is preceded by ‘Crossing Lines’, which dropped sometime around late April. Rex Brown will release ‘Smoke On This…‘ on July 28th, 2017 via Entertainment One Music (eOne Music).
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MARTY FRIEDMAN’s New Song “Self Pollution” Is A Shred Fest

Grammy nominated guitar god and ex-Megadeth member Marty Friedman is back with a new song, “Self Pollution” from his forthcoming studio album, ‘Wall Of Sound‘ that awaits it’s release on August 4, 2017. Prosthetic Records will be helping Marty Friedman release his latest installment of a record. ‘Wall Of Sound‘ happens to be his much awaited release after his 2014 Billboard charting record, ‘Inferno‘. The guitar virtuoso who now lives in Japan and takes part in their culture will see him dish forth 11 brand new tracks in the record, that also features a wide range of diverse artists as guests : Jinxx (Black Veil Brides), Shiv Mehra (Deafheaven) and Jorgen Munkeby (Shining). Marty Friedman has time and again pushed the envelope when it comes to instrumental music, especially his guitar playing abilities, and I am sure ‘Wall Of Sound‘ will breathe the same music of epic proportions, creating the best what he is always known for.  Continue reading

Review: RENDERED HELPLESS – ‘Entities Of Transdimensional Emergence’ [Official Album Stream]

Rendered Helpless is a brutal slamming death metal band from Christchurch, New Zealand. It’s a 1 man side project created by Alexander Paul. He does everything by himself besides the drums because those are programmed. He is the man behind the brutal vocals and the nasty guitar riffs. Alexander’s main band is Organectomy which he is the vocalist for. First his focus was on that band but after some time he came back to Rendered Helpless and gave birth to the filthiest album mankind has even known that goes by the name ‘Entities Of Transdimensional Emergence’, available on SLAMWORLDWIDE and on their bandcamp page. The main idea behind this side project was to practise vocals and instruments but after this album got released it became much more. Before making this album he released a few singles via soundcloud and some demos and compilations as well. Just last year he created his debut album ‘Unstoppable Parasites’ which will grab you by your throat and squeeze till it implodes. I’m glad he decided to focus on Rendered Helpless because this is for sure one of my favorites slam releases of this year!

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