Review of Seven Kingdoms “Decennium”: Some Of The Best European Power Metal Now Comes From Florida

By | |
Comments Off on Review of Seven Kingdoms “Decennium”: Some Of The Best European Power Metal Now Comes From Florida

Seven Kingdoms is:

Sabrina Valentine – Vocals
Camden Cruz – Guitar
Kevin Byrd – Guitar
Keith Byrd – Drums
Aaron Sluss – Bass

Fans of European style Power Metal have a lot to look forward at the end of the month; especially for those that, like me, love female fronted Metal of any type! There is just something about the timber of the female voice that runs straight through me, especially when they as good as the mighty pipes of lovely little Ms. Sabrina Valentine Cruz (not meant to be cute, she is really tiny!). I have listened to Seven Kingdoms for some time now and recently covered their killer show at The Haven in Winter Park, FL (Show Review). Simply stunning! Not only are they album perfect live, but bring such a fun and energetic persona to the stage. The furious and adroit abilities of guitarists Camden Cruz and Kevin Byrd effortlessly flow at ridiculous speeds while the rhythms and shared leads of Aaron Sluss’ bass lines are driven by the bedrock foundation of Keith Byrd’s blasting drums. Not to fault any of these killer players, Sabrina’s vocals are what hooked me a couple of years ago after first hearing The Fire Is Mine from 2012. Her voice emotes beautifully with such sparkling power and purity. Truly the voice of an angel and helps make Seven Kingdoms a damned addiction.

Continue reading →

Australian Thrashers Alkira: “Klotho” Review and Stream

By | |
Comments Off on Australian Thrashers Alkira: “Klotho” Review and Stream

Alkira is:


Gregory Challis – Lead guitar/Vocals
Kyle Simpson – Rhythm guitar
Sean Grubel – Bass guitar
Ryan Quarrington – Drums


Artwork by: Aaron Schirmer

There are tons of really good, notable Metal bands that have originated down-under in Australia like Parkway Drive, Destroyer 666, AC/DC, Psycroptic, Mortal Sin, Airbourne, Karnivool, Wolfmother and many others over the years. With a wide variety of styles and sounds, there has apparently never been a shortage of pit worthy music to choose from. With a soul of technical Thrash and Punk, you can now add Alkira to that lauded list…

Continue reading →

State of the Art: Idaho – Vault7

By | |
Comments Off on State of the Art: Idaho – Vault7

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

This month’s State is Idaho!

Week number two with our State of the Art: Idaho series brings us again to the capital city of Boise. This Hard Rock/Metal outfit has graced the stage with bands like Anthrax, Trapt, Zoso, Death Angel, Cover Your Tracks, Righteous Vendetta, Like a Storm and many, many others in their two year history. That’s right, only two years and they already playing with these legendary acts! Sounds like history in the making to me. The band, my friends, is Vault7!

Continue reading →

Review: TRITA – S/T EP [STREAM]

By | |
Comments Off on Review: TRITA – S/T EP [STREAM]

Minneapolis, Minnesota prog rockers TRITA have recently released a brand new self-titled EP. The three piece band claims they have ripped out elements of various bands who have inspired them and piece them together cohesively into their own signature sound. The band also recently embarked on a 2 week national tour in support of the recent EP. The EP was recorded by Adam Tucker (Bastard Saint, Hate Beast, Ambassador Gun) at Signature Tone Recording in Minneapolis. This 3 track EP is short, but sweet, and just makes the anticipation for an LP even greater. Continue reading →

2017’s Most Anticipated Albums!

By | |
1 Comment

With 2016 just barely behind us we are looking at the upcoming releases in 2017. Some of these albums already have specific release dates and titles and some haven’t been announced yet. These albums are not only by bands that we like but a release in which the band is reuniting or hasn’t released an album in a while, or just an album we think will have a huge impact on the band’s career. The albums that follow are in no specific order and our staff has all had input on the albums in which they think are the most anticipated of 2017.

Continue reading →

World Premiere Of 3 Kisses “Dead Man’s Hand”!

By | |
1 Comment

In July, we covered Alaska for our State of the Art series, where we discovered a little gem of a band called 3 Kisses and immediately got behind them just prior to their killer release of Angels Bleed Black.  Primarily known as a fun, Punk/Alt-Hard Rock band, 3 Kisses has begun a slide into the heavier side of things with this, their latest release.  Shortly after our review, we were contacted by this stellar group of musicians and offered a behind-the-scenes, exclusive listen to their upcoming, 2017 album for our thoughts.  Damn!  Just, freakin’ damn!  All stops have been pulled out with this fiery album and is assuredly the most hard hitting and passionate albums to date (they now have nine, kick-ass releases since 2004, so these are big words)!  With zero throw-aways, this album rolls the dice with a new direction and proves that 3 Kisses can do anything they damned well please and do it astoundingly well.  When we were preparing our list of The Most Anticipated Albums of 2017, 3 Kisses simply had to be included based on what we had already heard and asked the band if we could include one of the tracks in our article, which they generously agreed to.  So, without further ado, it is with great pleasure that we are able to premiere 3 Kisses “Dead Man’s Hand” off of their upcoming, 2017 album!  Enjoy and just wait until you hear the rest of this album!  H…O…L…Y… Cow!

More on 3 Kisses can be found on:

Web  Twitter  Facebook  ReverbNation  Soundcloud  YouTube  MySpace

Review: Lowercase Gods – When The Serpent Sings [Stream]

By | |
Comments Off on Review: Lowercase Gods – When The Serpent Sings [Stream]

Lowercase Gods hail from Columbia, South Carolina and was formed in 2010. The band has their footing in the old school metal world, but it’s new age technology that we should praise for the bands formation. Guitarist/songwriter John Huiett was based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, bassist Scott Kimmell and drummer Markus Unum based out of South Carolina. Distance wasn’t about to stop this band however. The band made many trips back and forth and then in 2012 found their powerful voice in singer Web Hulon. With his voice leading the charge Lowercase Gods was destined to bring old school metal back to its rightful place in the music world. Lowercase Gods debut album, ‘Pull the Trigger’, was released in September 2013 to international praise. The spring of 2016 saw the band re-enter the Jam Room with Matheson to record seven additional songs. In September OF 2016, Lowercase Gods released their second full-length album, ‘When The Serpent Sings’. The vocalist commented on the album saying “I see the album like the muscle cars that they’re making now,” Hulon says. “They’re based on the classic models, with familiar styling and lots of power, but with updated features and new technology and engineering. And you can’t help but to want to take it for a spin.” He is dead on, this album is like a muscle car made of 100% American made steel with the octane to take you on a fast and furious musical road trip. Continue reading →

Review: CODE ORANGE – ‘Forever’ [Song Stream]

By | |
1 Comment

Critically acclaimed hardcore band Code Orange are set to release their 3rd LP, ‘Forever’ next week on January 13th, 2017. ‘Forever’ will be the band’s first release on major label Roadrunner Records. Their previous 2 records were released on Deathwish. It will be the follow up to their highly praised album ‘I Am King’ which was released in 2014. In my opinion, ‘I Am King’ was one of the best hardcore records in the last 10 years, so topping the record is going to be considered a huge challenge by many. The band formed in 2008 in Pittsburgh, PA. The lineup has changed a few times but has been consistent since 2012, the current members of the band are Eric Balderose on guitar and vocals, Reba Meyers also on guitar and vocals, Jami Morgan on the drums and vocals, and Joe Goldman on the bass. They changed their name from Code Orange Kids to Code Orange in 2014. You can pre-order the new album here. Continue reading →

Review of The Caveat’s Absolutely Brilliant, Self-Titled Debut

By | |
1 Comment

The Caveat is:

Michael Stancel – Lead Guitar

Kyle Neeley, Guitar

Nik Schafer – Bass

Paul Christiansen – Drums

Artwork by Mikey Stancel

After recently reviewing The Caveat (Review) I was given the opportunity to get my hands on a signed, pre-release copy by the generosity of the band. I have listened to the singles extensively since being introduced to this killer band by my friend Ben Gleason, the guitarist/vocalist for my number one spot on last year’s best album, Return to Nothing by Source, but was not quite prepared for the difference that organizing the singles into a cohesive CD makes. The singles are obviously good by themselves and stand strong individually but as a full album, they are nothing short of amazing! This is already a peremptory favorite for Best of 2017! There must be something in the water in Colorado…

Continue reading →

I PREVAIL Announces Dates W/ ISLANDER, WAGE WAR, And ASSUMING WE SURVIVE

By | |
Comments Off on I PREVAIL Announces Dates W/ ISLANDER, WAGE WAR, And ASSUMING WE SURVIVE

I believe that I Prevail is currently one of the hardest working bands out there right now. They have constantly been out on the road promoting their new material from their debut album ‘Lifelines’. The headlining tour also features up and coming post-hardcore band Islander, a heavy metalcore band in Wage War, and pop punk band Assuming We Survive. You can see the dates below. Continue reading →