Review: FUNERAL FOR THE MASSES – ‘Pitch Black’ [Official Video]

 

When we are talking about brutal Finnish death metal we are talking about Funeral For The Masses. This band is currently unsigned but has been rising higher and higher, so watch out! They are from the northern city of Oulu, Finland and I can tell you that this is a band you can add to the good Finnish bands. The band was founded in the winter of 2014 by Eemeli Bodde & Teemu Halmetoja. They have one vocalist, Teemu Halmetoja, guitarists Eemeli Bodde and Juho Näppä, bassist  Aleksi Statsevich and on the drums we have Niko Väärälä.They recorded and produced everything themselves, it got mixed & mastered by Timfy James (Hacktavist, Old School Studios). They have done some tours in the past with one of the biggest metal festivals in Finland. The last years they have been busy finding their sound and this EP shows what they are trying to create, a brutal mix of dark vocals with a feeling of revenge and terror. If you are a fan of their 2 EP’s before this, ‘’Deal With The Devil’’ or ‘’Blood Donation’’, you will be running for this one.

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An Interview With Dan Briggs of BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME

I just recently had the chance to interview bassist/keyboardist Dan Briggs of Between the Buried and Me, Orbs, Trioscapes, and Nova Collective. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time as BtBaM are one of my favorite bands in the progressive genre. Briggs gives us the scoop on what to expect to see on the upcoming ‘Coma Ecliptic Live’ DVD, what we might hear on the next album, playing ‘Colors’ again later on this year, his new project titled Nova Collective and more. The ‘Coma Ecliptic Live’ DVD will be released via Metal Blade Records and Good Fight Entertainment on April 28th. You can pre-order it here. Continue reading

ENSLAVED To Release “Roadburn Live” On Record Store Day, April 22nd

 

Record Store Day 2017 is upon us! In just a few, short weeks, exclusive releases by artists – ranging from Johnny Cash to Warbringer – will be available for purchase in record stores across the globe. And it is confirmed that among the vinyl releases there will be a limited run of a special Enslaved LP coming on Saturday, April 22nd! The legendary, progressive black metal band’s first official live album, Roadburn Live, will chronicle Enslaved’s performance at Roadburn Festival 2015 in Tilburg, Netherlands. Continue reading

Carolina Rebellion 2017 Preview!

Carolina Rebellion has become one of the most anticipated festivals, not only this year but each and every year. Carolina Rebellion along with Welcome To Rockville are really the two events that kick off the festival season. Headliners this year at Rebellion are Sound Garden, A Perfect Circle, Def Leppard, Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, and The Offspring. Not on is the lineup strong but it is diverse both in the headliners and the lower bands on the bill. The festival returns on May 5th, 6th, and 7th at Rock City Campgrounds in Concord, North Carolina. Don’t waste anymore time and pick up your tickets here. Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: PIG DESTROYER

*Every Thursday from now until Chicago Open Air gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*

This week’s artist is Pig Destroyer.

On Saturday, July 15th, one of the heaviest bands on the planet is set to take the stage at Chicago Open Air in Bridgeview, IL. Pig Destroyer is a deathgrind five-piece hailing from the city of Alexandria, VA that was formed around 20 years ago by J.R. Hayes and the legendary Scott Hull. The music consists of a high mix of brutality and ferocity sure to annihilate anyone in its path. There are highly disturbing lyrics sure to appeal to any horror lover as the band blasts through a ton of songs on each record (there are 23 tracks on ‘Prowler in the Yard’ in under 40 minutes). Continue reading

ANEWRAGE Redefines Themselves With “Life-Related Symptoms”

ANEWRAGE is:

Axel Capurro Vocals/Guitars
Manuel Sanfilippo – Guitars/Backing Vocals
Simone Martin – Bass
Alessandro Ferrarese – Drums/Backing Vocals

Like our experiences with outstanding bands coming out of Greece comes yet another killer band out of Italy. Hailing from Milan, ANEWRAGE is a long standing band that describes themselves as a “powerful mix of Alternative Metal and PostGrunge”. While this may give a general feel for what they are after, I definitely hear influences of Progressive and djent throughout as well; giving them a broad sound that is completely identifiable as their own. In 2014, ANEWRAGE released ANR which vaulted them above the fray and allowed them to play with international, bucket-list bands like Gamma Ray, Freak Kitchen, Dreamshad, Destrage, among others. The teaser for album alone also left them finalists for the SXSW Design Award in Austin, TX for inclusion in projects like Pacific Rim, The Lego Movie, The Last of Us, etc. Their radio friendly sound has also earned them spots in the rotation for RockTV Italy and A One Ukrainian Rock TV Channel, where their singles “Ape’s Legacy” and “Nina” are still being played. After all of the aforementioned attention, ANEWRAGE was picked up by Scarlet Records last year where they recorded “Nina”, produced by Matteo Magni (Rhyme, Audrey, Mellowtoy) and included on the “ANRDeluxe Edition” re-release. Joining forces again with Metteo, ANEWRAGE is set to release their new album LifeRelated Symptoms on April 7th, 2017 (be sure to check out the band release of the entire album on their Spotify channel linked at the bottom!).

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The Bucketlist With SILVER SNAKES Vocalist/Guitarist Alex Estrada!

Photo by Ted Daroski

Silver Snakes formed in 2011 in the city of angels, Los Angeles, California. The bands sophomore album ‘Year Of The Snake’ really put them on the map. After it’s release in 2014 the band has been obtaining fans at a substantial rate. Since then the band hasn’t let up. The year of the snake continues as the band has been steadily becoming a household name in the rock world. They followed up with the album ‘Saboteur’ in 2016. The album was released via Evil Ink records which is owned by Coheed & Cambria singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez. The album has been out since February of last year but it still on heavy rotation with fans. The album has true staying power, and we believe the band has a long career ahead of them. I was able to see them showcase their live sound at the inaugural Chicago Open Air festival. The band played the middle day of the festival along side other acts like Helmet, Pop Evil, Nothing More, Korn, and Gojira. On that day you could hear people constantly talking about Silver Snakes and the phenomenal set they played. The band releases amazing material on record and is able to reproduce the same sounds on stage with the same overall quality while putting on an energetic show. ‘Saboteur’ truly has staying power, the album is receiving heavy air play by fans even after it’s one year anniversary. It’s a dark record that doesn’t get old and only get better with each listen. If you haven’t had the opportunity to pick up this album yet I suggest you do so now…. Go ahead… We are waiting…  Continue reading

EXHUMED Enters Studio To Record Concept Album ‘Death Revenge’!

California extreme metal veterans EXHUMED formed in 1990, went on hiatus in 2005, and reformed in 2010. Since their reformation they have release two albums ‘All Guts, No Glory’ (2011) and ‘Necrocracy’ (2013). The band has now entered the studio to record their  sixth studio album and follow-up to 2013’s ‘Necrocracy’. Four years of waiting has certainly made this album one of the most highly anticipated albums releases of 2017. And for fans they can relax that the wait is almost over. The album will be entitled ‘Death Revenge’ and will see a late 2017 release via Relapse Records.

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Review: ADNA – ‘Closure’ [Official Video]

German based, and Swedish native ADNA delivers some melodic yet haunting styling. ADNA is not rock, nor metal. A genre really can’t contain her creativity, but I would call her music folk haunting. Some artists try to cram as much sound into a song as possible, but not ADNA. I believe in her music what isn’t there is just as important as what is there. Musically simple and lyrically complex, the vibe from her music comes across so delicate and peaceful. Her music is simply like a palate cleanser. The melancholy within her music washes away all your worries and truly soothes your soul. ADNA has released her new album ‘Closure’. The album was written, recorded and produced entirely by ADNA herself in her Berlin apartment. Closure is ADNA’s fourth release for the Despotz label (after two full length albums and an Ep) and has garnered over thirty million Spotify streams to date as well as getting sync placements with top tier television shows such as the American TV series Bones. The dark, alternative pop songstress, who has been compared favorably to Daughter and Bon Iver amongst others. Regarding the single, she says, ““The song “Closure” was the result of an anxious period of time, but I remember it as something beautiful, because it finally gave me the closure I had been longing for, and also the title of the album.” The best thing you can truly do is to allow her music to speak to you, and speak to you it will. Continue reading

Review: THE CHARM THE FURY – ‘The Sick, Dumb And Happy’ (Official Video)

The Charm The Fury is a metalband from Amsterdam, The Netherlands that doesn’t fit in 1 genre and that’s exactly why I like them as a band. They have melodic riffs with clean vocals as well as growling. This shows what Caroline Westendorp as a vocalist is capable of. They consist of 5 people. Vocalist Caroline Westendorp, bassist Lucas Arnoldussen, drummer Mathijs Tieken, guitarist Rolf Perdok and Martijn Slegtenhorst. It all started with their EP ‘The Social Meltdown’,This EP didn’t get by unnoticed, right after this EP they debuted with their first album called ‘A Shade Of My Former Self’. After this they played live on a lot of big festivals like Graspop, Download, Fortarock, Lowlands. They even played with Slipknot and Papa Roach, if this doesn’t get you hyped then I don’t know what will.

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