State Of The Art: New York – Born Of Scars

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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 New York!

This week we head over to East Meadow and Queens, New York, out in the bay on Long Island. Here we find a Modern Hard Rock outfit that has been around since around 2007 with current members being Pietro Sirianni on guitars, keyboards and vocals, Nicky G. on bass and vocals, Steve Papa covering drums and Victoria Parkin on lead vox who call themselves Born of Scars.

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Review Of NonHuman Era’s Self-Titled Debut!

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 ***** Review by guest contributor Roni Palmer *****

NonHuman Era is:

Pierre St–Jean – Vocals
Carlo Zappavigna – Guitars
Rick Dessi – Drums
Jean – Francois Vincenti – Bass
Marek Krowicki – Keys

Out of Montreal, NonHuman Era consists of founding members and cousins Rick Dessi [drums] and Carlo Zappavigna [guitar], along with Pierre St. Jean [vocals, guitar–Heaven’s Cry, Alcoholica (a Metallica tribute band)], Jean–Francois Vincenti [bass—Alcoholica] and Marek Krowicki [keyboards]. I gave this album a listen on the recommendation of a friend and my only regret is that I didn’t hear of it when it first came out in November of 2015. I’m completely blown away that they haven’t been picked up by a major label. A Progressive Metal band that’s a synergy of sound and energy reminiscent of Iron Maiden, Pantera, and Symphony X with a polish that you seldom hear on a first album.

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State of the Art: New York – CAR BOMB

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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 New York! 

If you’ve been keeping up with the heavy music scene, you’d know that Car Bomb is about to take it by storm. The experimental mathcore band from Long Island released what was widely considered one of the best released of 2016 in metal with ‘Meta’. The band has a very raw, but technologically advanced sound that very few bands have perfected. The forming of the band started as early as 2000 when two New York bands Neck and Spooge shared a studio together. Soon, two members from each band decided it was time for something new and Car Bomb was formed as a side project in 2002. Impressively, the band has managed to keep the same lineup throughout all these years. They build their own equipment which allows them to create a sound exactly how they want it. Car Bomb has definitely gotten some high recognition having played shows with the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan, Gojira, Meshuggah, Ion Dissonance, and Ulcerate. The quartet has slowly but surely made their way up and are ready to dominate 2017. Continue reading →

Review: Havok – ‘Conformicide’

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Havok

Havok is an American thrash metal band from the mile high city of Denver, Colorado. Since being formed in 2004 the band has been dominating the thrash scene. ‘Conformicide’ is Havok’s 4th studio album and it was done through Century Media Records. It’s the first album with bassist Nick Schendzielos as well as the first release via Century Media Records. This is also the longest gap between albums, coming 4 years from their last effort. ‘Conformicide’ will be released on March 10th 2017. Relatively speaking, Havok is “new” to the thrash scene. They have been around since 2004 but have really secured their place in the new wave of thrash metal. They drastically change their sound with every record and that keeps them interesting enough to stay on top of other bands coming through the thrash scene. This album is largely centered around politics with another big focus to the record being a religion.

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SOCIETY 1 Release “It’s Yours Now” Music Video (Featuring Sin Quirin of MINISTRY)

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Photo Credit: Anabel DFlux

Southern California Industrial Metal band SOCIETY 1 have released a brand new music video for the song “It’s Yours Now” which features Ministry guitarist Sin Quirin. The song is from the bands upcoming album ‘Rise From The Dead’ scheduled for release this March on DSN Music. The video was directed by vocalist Lord Zane. SOCIETY 1 was founded in 1996 by the infamous Lord Zane on lead vocals, also features veteran guitarist Maxxxwell Carlisle, bassist Dirt Von Karloff, and drummer Iorden Mitev. “It feels good to be back at it again, like an old lover who fucked you better than anyone before or after” said Zane during a decadent signing party at the DSN Music complex in Malibu, CA. “Everyone has those moments when you resurrect and reinvent. This album Rise From The Dead is one of those moments.” The comeback for Zane follows a hiatus during which he established a successful Hollywood career as a music video director, working on projects with such acts as Zakk Wylde, John 5, Wayne Static, and Orgy. “For me this isn’t so much of a return for the band but more a return of my understanding of how necessary musical exploration is to my existence,” said Zane. The band is well known for their stage presence, especially Zane who sometimes inflicts pain on himself for the shock and amusement of fans. At Download Festival in 2005, Zane broke several records by performing the bands entire set suspended from 4 meat hooks through his back. While SOCIETY 1 us referenced as an industrial metal band this new track “It’s Yours Now” has much more of a groove filled grunge or 90’s rock sound. At times the song sounds hauntingly similar to the late Layne Staley fronted Alice In Chains. Though nothing can truly compare to seeing SOCIETY 1 in a live setting, this new video is a greatly directed piece of cinematography that showcases the band and a little bit of skin as an added bonus. Continue reading →

Review: SLOTH HERDER – ‘No Pity, No Sunrise’ [2 Tracks Streaming]

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Frederick, Maryland based four piece SLOTH HERDER have been working steady at distilling their sound since their formation in 2009. The band quickly released two EP’s in 2012, ‘Sluggard’ and ‘Abandon Pop Sensibility’. The later of the two has been noted as being very obscure but also receive critical acclaim throughout the metal community. SLOTH HERDER is a band that doesn’t just think outside the box, they break the box. Their unique style has varying moments of influence from a cast of different genres. You will hear a grindcore style for moments and then hints of black metal sprinkled in, and then out of nowhere you will get a faint taste of doom in their mix. SLOTH HERDER will not be barricaded to one genre and the simplest way to define their sound is extreme. In addition, do not let the word “Sloth” in their name deceive you. Unlike the Central and South American mammal in their name, nothing about this band is slow. The follow-up their 2012 EP, ‘Abandon Pop Sensibility’, SLOTH HERDER’s ‘No Pity, No Sunrise’ released via Marland based Grimoire Records presents a monstrous, fourteen-track attack in just over thirty-five minutes delivered by vocalist Josh Lyon, bassist Luke Ibach, drummer Sean Wilhide, and guitarist Nick Craggs, and additional sounds by Ryan Neal. An unhinged surge of extreme metal that will appeal to a wide range of acts, from Antigama to Pyrrhon, Yautja to Gaza. The album also includes some amazing imagery within the cover art as well. It would surely be one of those albums you buy on a whim just because of the album art. ‘No Pity, No Sunrise’ was recorded by Noel Mueller in the Fall of 2016, who also mixed and mastered the album. ‘No Pity, No Sunrise’ will be released on March 24th in several formats including CD, pro-cassette, and digital download. Grimoire Records’ Noel Mueller, who also handles the recording of the label’s releases stated, “We’ve been talking to SLOTH HERDER and trying to record/release an album with them ever since we started Grimoire Records back in 2013. So yeah, we couldn’t be more stoked that four years later, the band finally decided to step into the Grimoire studio and recorded their long anticipated full length with us. The payoff is that much sweeter given how long we’ve been waiting for this to happen.” Continue reading →

Review: DAMNATION PLAN – ‘Reality Illusion’ [Song Stream]

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Finnish progressive metal band Damnation Plan are here in 2017 to release a masterpiece for the masses. Damnation Plan formed in 2004 in Espoo, Finland. The band released their first EP in 2007, ‘Darker World’. They took a little bit of a hiatus after that but then regrouped in 2011 to begin work on their first full length album. In 2013, that album, ‘The Wakening’, was released on Coroner Records. The lineup of the band has not changed since 2012 and consists of: Tommy Tuovinen doing harsh and clean vocals, Asim Searah also on clean vocals, Antti Lauri and Kalle Niininen on guitars, Jukka Vehkamaa on bass, and Jarkko Lunnas on drums. Starting work on this new record almost two years ago, the time has finally come. Damnation Plan’s second full length album, ‘Reality Illusion’ will be dropping on March 10th 2017 on Inverse Records. The mixing was done by Dan Swanö at Unisound Studios. You can preorder ‘Reality Illusion’ here. Drummer Jarkko Lunnas had this to say about the new release: Continue reading →

EVERYBODY PANIC! Release Live Video for “Our Last Goodbye”

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EVERYBODY PANIC! is a highly charged rock band hailing from Oklahoma City, OK by way of Seattle, WA. A powerful four piece, consisting of Ty (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt) on vocals, Provo (Skinlab/Rikets) on guitars, Tony on bass, and Levi (Anti-Mortem) on drums, formed in 2012 and released its first self-produced EP independently in February of 2013. The band supported the release with high profile dates with the likes of Five Finger Death Punch, Godsmack, Deftones, and many others. That release would go on to sell over 3,000 copies through digital retailers. The video for “Our Last Goodbye” was shot while out on tour with the band Mushroomhead and is just a live video. It really showcases the band’s stage presence and energy while performing. Continue reading →

Review: XIBALBA – ‘Diablo, Con Amor.. Adios’ [Full Stream]

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XIBALBA is one of the most violent and fierce acts I have ever witnessed in person. The band formed in 2007 in Pomona, California. The band’s sophomore release and Southern Lord Records debut ‘Hasta la Muerte’ (2012) is still one of the most influential hardcore albums released in the last decade. It was during their tour in support of that album that I was able to see them in what used to be a United States Post Office in the small town of Whitesburg, Kentucky. The city has a population of less than 2,500 people, and it just goes to show the band is willing to play anywhere that their music is wanted. They followed up ‘Hasta la Muerte’ with their 2015 release ‘Tierra y Libertad’. On that album XIBALBA demonstrated their ability to progress their aggressive sound from one album to the next. It’s been one year since the release of ‘Tierra Y Libertad’, XIBALBA now returns with three vicious new tracks of hard hitting hardcore on ‘Diablo, Con Amor.. Adios’ via Closed Casket Activities. The EP is a continuation of the bands gritty, raw, downtuned, metallic grooves. As with their prior titles, ‘Diablo, Con Amor.. Adios’ was recorded at The Pit Recording Studio with longtime cohort Taylor Young (Nails, Twitching Tongues, Disgrace) and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Integrity, Nails, Harm’s Way), XIBABLA also once again secured artwork from Dan Seagrave (Dismember, Entombed, Suffocation) to visually depict the wrath of these three relentless tracks. XIBALBA has climbed their way to the top in regards to hardcore bands and the new EP is the proof that they have earned their rightful place at the top. Continue reading →

Croatia’s DRONE HUNTER Release Video For “Wine Dick”!

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Photo Credit: Patrick Kreling

Croatian instrumental trio DRONE HUNTER have released a video for the song “Wine Dick” which is from their November 15, 2016 release ‘Welcome To The Hole’. The album was recorded and mixed by Tomislav ‘Tompa’ Novosel at E Minor Studio in Varaždin, Croatia during the summer of 2016. Mastered by Igor ‘Meister’ Malečić at Meisterwerk Productions Studios in Zagreb, Croatia in November 2016. The footage was filmed throughout the year 2016 and covers DRONE HUNTER’s tours and journeys in Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Malta. The video is like seeing through the eyes of the band as they make their way through various countries. It comes across like a tourist video and includes amazing sites from the various cities that they visited along their tour stops. The music is a stellar soundtrack to the video and pairs well. DRONE HUNTER’s “Wine Dick” creates varying grooves, stoner rock elements and truly worship the. If you are a fan of riffs and especially instrumental bands look no further, DRONE HUNTER has arrived. Continue reading →