IAPETUS – “The Long Road Home” Album Review (+Stream!)

Logo and Artwork by Xenoyr of Ne Obliviscaris!

It’s been awhile since I’ve reviewed a melodic death metal album on the site. Perhaps that is too long of a while, as the guys in Iapetus dropped a killer work of melodeath last month that only re-established my admiration for the beloved subgenre. The Long Road Home is the debut LP from Long Island duo, Matthew Cerami (vocals, guitars, bass) and Jordan Navarro (guitars, keys, drum programming), and it is a genuine trip into the cosmos. Weaving melodious death metal riffs into a dreamscape-like atmosphere, Iapetus is a band that fans of Be’Lakor, Dark Tranquility, or In Flames would be wise to keep on their radar. Continue reading

State Of The Art: Pennsylvania’s RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER [2017 Live Footage]

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

There is a secret underground crime syndicate called RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER. Though the word “grind” is in their name, don’t make the mistake of referring to the band as grindcore. RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER is a red-blooded thrash album with roots in crossover. Founded in 2002 the band has released 3 studio albums, 1 live album and 4 split albums. Their first studio album ‘Buried in the Front Yard’ dropped in 2005 via Relapse Records. This album seen Guitarists Matt Moore and Ryan Moll with their dueling riffs. Fiery fret work and precision riffage is abundant in all 8 tracks of their studio debut. Moll showcases his solo work throughout the album and Moore let’s his talents shine in a solo on “Stealing E.T.”. Needless to say the album almost comes off as a thrashing guitar clinic. Vocalist Eli Shaika and Bassist/vocalist Shawn Riley share the microphone at times. Riley adds his own string work on the bass but together they vocally encase the bands true thrash sound with a rapid vocal delivery. The harsh undertones of his they dispel perfectly bond with the conglomeration of riffs. Continue reading

State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Assayer

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

April takes our State of the Art series to Pennsylvania. One of the first thirteen colonies of the United States and becoming a state in 1681 and second to ratify the United States Constitution, Pennsylvania is bordered by Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario; being split in the center of the state by the Appalachian Mountains. Of the fifty states, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, 5th most populous (pop. 12,802,503) and is the 9th most densely populated. With its large population and density, Pennsylvania boasts the 5th highest gross state product of $644,000,000 and houses about fifty Fortune 500 companies. Named after William Penn, the state was originally organized as a Colony of New Sweden along with what is now Delaware. Pennsylvania covers some 46,055 square miles, 490 of which are covered by inland waters. While the capital is Harrisburg, I take you to the largest city of Philadelphia where we find one helluva destroyer band called Assayer. Continue reading

State Of The Art: Pennsylvania – BURIAL IN THE SKY

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

There was a plethora of great releases in the tech death realms last year. Obviously, not all of those technical death metal albums of 2016 were shown the love they deserve on Metal Nexus… With that said, I am currently kicking myself in the ass for not covering Burial In The Sky’s jaw-dropping debut LP last year. The absolute least I can do now is have Burial In The Sky as the first featured artist for this month’s State of the Art: Pennsylvania series! Since the band was birthed in 2013, they have only delivered solid material. Now – with a demo, EP, and full-length, under their belts – the future could not look any brighter for Burial In The Sky. The Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania natives, Will Okronglis (guitars, vocals), James Tomedi (guitars, bass) and Sam Stewart (drums), produce a unique brand of death metal with appeasing, technical guitar licks and a dreamy, celestial atmosphere.

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Review: HARLOTT – ‘Extinction’ [Song Stream]

Sounding like something straight out of the 80s thrash era, Melbourne band Harlott have produced yet another incredible record. There are not many thrash bands in any era of the genre that match up with the ferocity that these guys bring. There is no mixing in different genres, it’s just straight in-your-face, kick ass speed/thrash metal! The band formed in 2006 and has released 2 EPs and 2 full length albums aside from this new album. Harlott began writing for ‘Extinction’ last year in 2016 after coming off a tour with Annihilation in Europe. The end result is yet another contender for album of the year as the superfluous amount of shredding fills your ears. Prepare for 51 minutes of intrepid, ravishing heavy pleasure. ‘Extinction’ is Harlott‘s third studio album and was recorded at Monolith Studios and mastered by the legendary Jens Bogren (Opeth, Paradise Lost, Sepultura). The record drops this week on April 7th via Metal Blade Records and you can pre-order it here. Continue reading

Review of Screamking’s “Tyranny of the Sea”

Screamking is:

JoeScreamKingLawson – Lead Vocals
Rafael Hernandez – Guitar, Vocals
Clint Pagel – Bass, Vocals
Jason Michalik – Guitar, Vocals

Scott Rothchild – Drums

Artwork by Drake Mefestta

Screamking, from Michigan City, IN has been around for almost seven years now, having their first performance opening for legendary Metal gods, Anvil at Club Landing in South Bend, IN. Over the course of the next year the band spent diligently writing new material for what would become Evilibrium released in 2013, recorded at Divine Studios and spawning their first video for their “Deathwitch” single. Since its release, Screamking has continued to play with numerous notable acts like Anvil, DSG (David Shankle Group), Metal Church, Helstar and many, many others. Again, entering the Divine Studios in 2016, Screamking recorded Tyranny of the Sea, released at the beginning of March on their own Platinum Dungeon Entertainment label. Produced and mixed by guitarist Rafael Hernandez and vocalist Joe Lawson and mastered by Jon Scrip of Massive Mastering, the album hits extremely hard and sounds just as good as any A List band out there. No DIY sound from this killer band anywhere. Everything is balanced and expertly executed. In the end, this release simply cannot be picked apart. Great work from this, now veteran band!

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Review: GOD IN A CONE – ‘Obscurist’ [Track Stream]

Photo Credit – Ioannis Triantafyllou

GOD IN A CONE is based in Athens, Greece and surprisingly formed less than 8 months ago. The band is a one man project by Nikos Marinos. He adds Keyboards, vocals, programming, to the song and creates the percussion with a drum machine. A one man band can at times be incredibly hard with no one to bound ideas off of. However, Nikos doesn’t lack imagination. He has his sights set on something and he puts it in motion. GOD IN A CONE have just released the album ‘Obscurist’ which was produced, mixed and mastered at Studio 222 by Dimitris Delis who also arranged guitars on the record. Putting no genre tag on his music and setting no boundaries GOD IN A CONE can take you places that hasn’t yet been defined in music. Continue reading

Review: WARBRINGER – ‘Woe to the Vanquished’ [Song Stream]

This week in metal, highly praised thrash band Warbringer released their fifth full length album, ‘Woe to the Vanquished’. This was the quintet’s first release not on Century Media Records, instead they partnered with Napalm Records. This record debuts two new members (Jessie Sanchez on bass and Chase Becker on guitar) and it is the first Warbringer album without founding member John Laux. The 8 tracks leave no room for filler and kick your ass throughout the duration. You can buy ‘Woe to the Vanquished’ here. Continue reading

Review: AVERSIONS CROWN – ‘Xenocide’ [Official Video]

Aversions Crown is a death metal band from Brisbane, Australia. The 4 piece consists of vocalist Mark Poida, bassist Steve, drummer Jayden Mason, guitarists Chris Cougan and Kevin Butler. They first started out really strong with their debut album called ‘Servitude’ back in 2011. 3 years later they released their second album ‘Tyrant’. From this point on their releases come via Nuclear Blast. This has been a really big deal for the band because this is one of the top labels out there. It really stepped up their game big time. Beginning this year they released their third album ‘Xenocide’. This album features a new vocalist and he fits the band perfectly, the album theme is really important for the band so that has to show in the vocal style and I can assure you that he is doing a great job on it.

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