A Little Q and A To Metal Up Your Day [Interview With ACID DEATH!]

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Acid Death, Live in Germany. (Photo credit unknown)

 

About a month ago, I wrote a little piece for Metal Nexus in regards to the unearthing of the long lost debut album of Grecian prog/tech metal innovators, Acid Death.  (Click here to check it out if you’re so inclined.)  Not long after the publication of that article, I was in contact with Savvas Bettinis (vox and bassist for AD) about a possible interview with the band and after consideration, we decided on a more Q & A style due to differences in scheduling and time zones.  What follows is the results of that exchange, Continue reading →

Take A Chance On This Chalice of Suffering Contest!

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Hailing from twin-city-to-St.Paul Minneapolis, Chalice of Doom have thus far shared one solo album of exemplary funeral doom with the world so far, with plans for their sophomoric release sometime SOON.  While we anxiously await for that album to drop (and if you haven’t already, check what my duderus Fist had to say about their debut here), these pallbearers of funeral doom purveyors are giving away some sweet swag to TWO lucky winners via their Facebook page!  Continue reading →

Review: OF THE SUN – ‘Before A Human Path’ [Album Stream]

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Texas shredders Of The Sun have finally released their long awaited sophomore album ‘Before A Human Path’.  Their first release ‘A.M. Radio’ came out back in 2009 so long time fans have been left waiting for many years for this record. ‘Before A Human Path’ was self released by the band last Friday on April 14th. Describing themselves as “Southern Progressive Metal”, Of The Sun brings a creative new sound by being very experimental in the progressive and thrash genres while maintaining an extremely heavy groove in each track. The band has played with the likes of Intronaut, Devin Townsend, and Gorguts so you know they are serious. This 5 track album contains no filler and gets straight to the point of grabbing your attention. You can buy the record on Bandcamp or stream it below. See what the band had to say about the record below. Step into the world of Of The Sun now.

“With Before a Human Path, we pulled from personal extremes to convey a more colorful and varied storyline within the span of each song. Ultimately shunning conventional songwriting formula, we really dug in to unearth something we felt isn’t currently being done. We’re beyond excited to share it with you!.”

With only 5 tracks on ‘Before A Human Path’, the trio wastes no time diving into superb craftsmanship and songwriting with “The Tightrope Mile”. Several time changes are applied and trade offs between clean vocals and screams are transitioned flawlessly. The song will at times will be peaceful as if you are sitting on a beach before once again shooting you back into the slamming, tortured sounding verses in purgatory. “Nebulamorphous” begins with a beautifully composed shredding guitar intro from Patrick Duvall that could paint a song on its own. Of The Sun continues their large experimentation on the record here with several guitar effects and fervent drumming from Johnny Reed. David Duvall shows out with an equally impressive bass solo and keeps it flowing with the rest of the song. The groove that they bring while still being heavy as all can be is incredible and hard to find in metal. “Cantos” presents yet another side of the band with more clean vocals and creepy guitar melodies to give the listener another perspective of the band and how proficient they are at creating original material. The fourth track “A Soliloquy” is a rather angst-filled song with complicated rhythms. The song has several layers, constantly evolving and becoming heavier as it continues. I’m not usually a fan of breakdowns but Of The Sun makes it work here with the guitar and bass battling each other to produce an enormous sound. ‘Before A Human Path’ draws to a thunderous close with “The Limbless God”. This song holds massive weight on the record with the fierce riffage and impassioned screams from Duvall. Reed is unrelenting on the bass drum while David Duvall continues to grind out robust bass lines as we exit the world of Of The Sun. In just 5 tracks, this trio has proved they are here to stay in the metal universe and will wreck havoc at their shows. Be sure to check out the album below and to follow Of The Sun on Facebook.

Of the Sun is:
Patrick Duvall – Lead Vocals/Guitar
David Duvall – Bass/Vocals
Johnny Reed – Drums

‘Before A Human Path’ Track List
01. The Tightrope Mile
02. Nebulamorphous
03. Cantos
04. A Soliloquy
05. The Limbless God

State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Tungsten

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

Week number three of our State of the Art: Pennsylvania series takes us back to Philadelphia where we find an extremely unusual band that pulls influences from all over the musical landscape: Metal, Psychedelia, Progressive Rock/Metal and everything in between to create a sound like no other. My spotlight band this week is Tungsten.

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SUFFOCATION Set To Release New Album In June [New Track Streaming]

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Artwork by Colin Marks

Brutal death metal pioneers Suffocation have announced they will be releasing their 10th studio album on June 9th. ‘…Of The Dark Light’ will be released via Nuclear Blast Records and it is the band’s first full length record since ‘Pinnacle of Bedlam’ in 2013.  You can check out a 360 video of the new single “Your Last Breaths” below. You can also view the track list and see what founding guitarist Terrance Hobbs has to say about the record. Suffocation begins a North American tour next month with Morbid Angel, Revocation, and Withered. Pre-order ‘…Of The Dark Light’ here. Continue reading →

Review: WOODHAWK – ‘Beyond The Sun’

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Artwork by Mark Kowalchuk

Just this Friday, Calgary, Alberta band Woodhawk released ‘Beyond the Sun’ independently. They dropped their first EP in 2014 and are now here with their first album. With slamming, groovy riffs, the band’s first full length record brings you back to the early 70s rock n roll sound with several different lyrical themes to keep it interesting. The trio recorded this album at Rain City Recorders in Vancouver BC. It was mixed by Jesse Gander, mastered by Brad Boatright, and produced by Gander and the band. The album artwork was created by Mark Kowalchuk. You can purchase ‘Beyond the Sun’ on Bandcamp or stream it below.

‘Beyond the Sun’ leads us in with a relaxed intro from the title track before taking off into a space-like dimension of riffs to prepare us for what is in store for the rest of the record. “The High Priest” (music video below) is a hard rock anthem filled with remarkable instrumentals and catchy choruses from Turner Midzain. Woodhawk continues to pack a huge punch in their sound with the thunderous “Living in the Sand”. This track features guest vocals from Kevin Keegan (Dead Quiet, ex-Mountain Dust, ex-Barn Burner). It’s a six minute epic with a full dose of 70s hard rock storming into your door with power and emotion overflooding your stereo.  “Magnetic North” is a slow tempo, bluesy with booming bass from Mike Badmington and is plentiful of riffs that will put the listener into a trance. The album picks its pace back up with “Lawless” shredding through with that classic rock sound with a psychedelic edge. “Quest For Clarity” has an marvelous bass intro before exploding into another musical adventure with splendid work behind the drum kit from Kevin Nelson. The more relaxed guitar solo near the end is a beautiful work of art and builds tension before roaring back into the chorus. “A New Hope” has a  neat guitar echo effect and obviously rotates around the theme of Star Wars. It doesn’t get much better than rock’n’roll about Star Wars! “Foresee the Future” is a slick two-minute instrumental with a desert-like tone to set the mood for the final song on the record. “Chrononaut” is definitely the most rifftastic song on the album with these huge sounds rushing to you at the speed of light. It takes a more mid-tempo turn towards the middle before closing out in dramatic fashion. Woodhawk has released a killer 9-track debut record not to be forgotten soon by fans of stoner rock. Make sure to follow Woodhawk on Facebook at the link below.

‘Beyond the Sun’ Tracklist
1. Beyond The Sun (3:57)
2. The High Priest (4:46)
3. Living In The Sand (6:03)
4. Magnetic North (4:13)
5. Lawless (3:06)
6. Quest For Clarity (4:14)
7. A New Hope (4:49)
8. Foresee The Future (2:12)
9. Chrononaut (5:19)

Woodhawk is:
Turner Midzain – Vocals/Guitar
Mike Badmington – Bass/Vocals
Kevin Nelson – Drums


 

Review: THREE LANE ROAD – S/T [Single Streaming]

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Three Lane Road don’t care if you call them a classic rock, an 80’s band or hair metal. They aren’t worried about labels at all. The Texas based rockers are happy with their sound and want to spread it to the masses. The band formed in 2015 and have been chugging along ever since. Melodic vocal lines sang by Wayne Brito coupled together with tastefully driven guitar leads with both Allan Davis and Wayne Brito bring to life a nostalgic rock feel. It certainly drives home the old school feel of rock and the goose bumps are included at no additional charge. The bottom end rhythm section of bassist Steve Musket and drummer Chuck Geisel sear together the sound that is Three Lane Road collectively. The band draws inspiration from bands like Journey, Dokken and Skid Row. Like their influences the band doesn’t only create amazing music, but they capture your soul with their lyrics. Three Lane Road have released their self-titled debut. Recorded at Empire Sound Recording Studio in Carrollton, Texas and was produced by Alex Gerst. It was mastered by Derek Taylor at Milo Studio. Continue reading →

Review: ENTERPRISE EARTH – ‘Embodiment’ [Official Video]

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Photo Credits: Through It All Photography

Enterprise Earth got its name after researching the Illuminati and conspiracy theories. It got researched by the band’s frontman named Dan Watson. He was the former vocalist of one of the most brutal bands we know, Infant Annihilator. Byron Sampson plays the guitar as well as Yusef Johnsen, Gordon McPherson does bass and Aaron O’Toole is the drummer. After the band was finished with the vocalist of Attila they moved to his record label Stay Sick Recordings, leaving former label We Are Triumphant behind. ‘’XXIII’’ is the name of their first ever EP which has been a big hit. As stated by the band itself “Spread like wild fire on the internet and quickly became very talked about”. 1 year later they released their first album ‘’Patient 0’’. On the 14th of April they spit out this massive chunk of heaviness we know as ‘’Embodiment”, mixed/produced and mastered by Buster at Impact Studios.

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Plague Throat Release “Fallible Transgression”[Official Video]

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So, today’s news is something brutal. Yes, presenting you the new video release by Indian death metal band Plague Throat. So, Plague Throat are a death metal band from India, hailing from the city of Shillong, Meghalaya nestled beautifully on the peaceful hills of the North Eastern India. They rapidly rose to fame right after their highly acclaimed EP release back in 2013, entitled, ‘An Exordium To Contagion’, which set the ball rolling, especially creating havoc in the national underground scene. More success followed when they went on to represent India at the Wacken Open Air, 2014 edition, after triumphing in the national wacken metal battle finals. And ever since then, they haven’t turned back, but only continued to pulverize the fans here in India and abroad as well with their music and decimating live performances. I know cause I have had the honor of watching them live once when they shared the stage with the mighty Cannibal Corpse and deathcore stalwarts Suicide Silence in India. They have also opened for international hotshots like Dying Fetus, Carcass, Sikth, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Hacktivist. Continue reading →

Review: CUSTOM BLACK – ‘Smoke Shall Rise’ [Album Stream]

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Custom Black is a heavy doom rock trio from the plains of Kansas City. One thing that instantly let’s you know a band is good is when artist David Paul Seymour is involved. The renowned artist created the bands logo. He has done album art or logos for various bands like Wofat, Bastard Lord, Clouds Taste Satanic, and Stone Machine Electric. This of course puts their artwork in competition with some well known bands in the realm of stoner and doom music. Although often times the artwork is enough to entice you to purchase the album, Custom Black have something much greater inside the packaging. On February 21st the band released their debut album ‘Smoke Shall Rise’. The album which was self-released was recorded and mixed by Justin Mantooth at Westend Recording Studios and mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. Their style is full of mouth watering riffs, copiousness amounts of groove and classic breathtaking doom vocal tones.  Continue reading →