Our Friends With Soften The Glare Release “Mission Possible” Video And Pledge Drive For Their New Album

After returning from their recent Mission Possible Tour, supergroup, Soften the Glare have just released their new single and associated video for “Mission Possible”, produced by Michael Hull!  While checking out their musical wizardry, please consider giving them a hand funding their new album to be released in March of 2017 or at least sharing the video around to all of your friends.  This is music of the highest caliber performed by some of the best in the business!  The Soften The Glare Pledge Site includes pre-orders for all kinds of goodies, including signed CDs, vinyls, posters, cards, shirt packages, guitar lessons from the master himself Bon Lozaga via Skype (!), a custom Framus Panthera Supreme guitar (this thing in absolutely gorgeous!), signed cymbals and drumsticks from Mitch Hull, a Warwick 1124 bass signed by Ryan Martinie (Holy Cow!), and many other packages with various and sundry, highly desirable swag.  So head over there and pick up what grabs you.  Prices are really reasonable and would make great Christmas gifts for your favorite music fan!  Heck, treat yourself too while you’re at it!

Soften the Glare is an instrumental super-group comprised of Jazz/Blues guitar great Bon Lozaga of Gong and TinyBoxes fame who has been featured with Allan Holdsworth, Kai Eckhardt, David Torn, David Fiuczynski among many others; Rock/Metal bass wizard Ryan Martinie from Mudvayne and Gongzilla/Staxx/Chemeleon/War 4Peace drummer Mitch Hull. The result of seemingly unrelated specialties is some of the most fun, complex and genre-bending music available anywhere! Jazz, Funk, Metal, Heavy Blues and Rockwith a touch of chaosas they say. With the depth of talent this trio bring to the table, rest assured that no one will find fault with Soften the Glare’s inspirationally fun vibe.

Check Soften the Glare out on Facebook for more information!

Naga “Sophia” Review and Stream: Emotional Math

Naga is:

Richard Park – guitar

Nick Popoawski – guitar

Luke Robinson – bass

Juan Franco – drums

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Naga:

(From Indian mythology) A member of a semi-divine race, part human and part cobra in form, usually associated with water and sometimes with mystical initiation.

A member of a group of peoples living in or near the Naga Hills of Burma (Myanmar) and northeastern India who practiced head-hunting until the early 20th century.

Any of the Tibeto-Burman languages of the Naga.

A Bhuanese war axe.

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New Song And Video For “Glacial Tranquility” From The Arbitrary

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Remember my review of The Arbitrary from New Orleans, LA a few month’s back (The Arbitrary)?  This brilliantly talented pair of young men, Jeffery Fisher and Adam Sauter, have just released a new single and associated video for “Glacial Tranquility“.  These masters of progressive, instrumental Metal never cease to amaze!  Unbelievably complex harmonies and melodies, woven together to create an intricate and uplifting sound that manages to be both beautiful and extremely heavy at the same time.  Definitely shows a polish and maturity well beyond the years these two gentlemen have behind them!  With the bar set this high, I cannot wait to hear what they will have in store for us next!  Enjoy! Continue reading

An Interview With BRIMSTONE COVEN Bassist Andrew D’Cagna! [Video]

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We were recently fortunate enough to attend the inaugural Doomed & Stoned Fest in Indianapolis, Indiana at the 5th Quarter Lounge. Over 20 bands played the two day festival. One of the most anticipated acts of the festival was Metal Blade recording artist and West Virginia natives Brimstone Coven. The occult rock band has been turning heads everywhere they play, and not too long ago even opened for the legendary Pentagram. That show was our first experience seeing the band and we haven’t been able to shut up about them since. Brimstone Coven have these three part harmonies that aren’t found anywhere else in the rock or metal world today. They bring to the table something that has been missing for quite a long time. The chemistry on stage within this band is something you can not only hear but also feel as they perform. We will be including much more about them in our upcoming review of the Doomed & Stoned Festival. In the meantime we were able to catch up with bassist Andrew D’Cagna prior to the band taking the stage and he was kind enough to sit down with us and talk about everything the band has going on. Continue reading

Review: Iron Age Mystics ‘Pride Before The Fall’

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Iron Age Mystics was formed in 2010, but their members are music veterans who have the battle scars to prove it. Formed of not only veteran musicians but also extremely talented individuals. Those individuals quickly became one, and what they have produces is a musical blend of dissonant yet melody driven rock beneath passionately intelligent lyrics. Their sound has a cornucopia of styles. Within their songs you will hear influence from rock, punk, grunge, metal, and funk. It’s not often a band can meld all these styles into one band and create a cohesive album. However, Iron Age Mystics has done just that. Their new self released album ‘Pride Before The Fall’. The band is currently not signed to a label, but we are certain labels will be beating on their doors soon enough.

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Review: BROKENRAIL ‘Self-Titled EP’ [Video]

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Alabama rockers BrokenRail have set out on a journey to create their own signature style of music. BrokenRail sets themselves apart with their own blend of post-grunge rock and other various elements that make them unique. The band consists of four members: Blake Clawson (vocals), Nelson Rezek (guitar), Dick Black (bass), and Alex Hilton (drums). The band has been working hard and simply want their music to be heard and they have succeeded in that already in such a short period of time. BrokenRail’s music has been featured on ESPN, NBC Sports, and, most recently, Tony Hawk’s RIDE Channel. Reaching millions of viewers, the band has already attained fans around the globe and were also nominated in their home state in 2016 for the Alabama Music Awards “Rock Artist Of The Year”. They have already been awarded the state’s highest musical achievement and now they look to take on the world. Continue reading

A.U.R.A. Fest Announced For Savannah, Georgia!

 

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Coastal Rock Productions has announced the lineup for the upcoming A.U.R.A. Fest 2017 on February 18th, 2017. It will be taking place in Savannah, Georgia at the The Gardens at Ships of The Sea Maritime Museum. The festival boasts “All Underground Rock All Day.” It also will have food trucks, craft beer, art and fun activities. This would actually mark the 9th A.U.R.A. Fest. The festival ran yearly from 2001 – 2004, and then picked back up in 2015. We are certainly thankful that the festival has resurfaced and with such an amazing lineup of bands. The lineup includes: Unearth, ZAO, Oh, Sleeper, He Is Legend, Dark Sermon, I Set My Friends On Fire, Microwave, Tides of Man, SycAmour, The Bunny The BearArtifex PereoReckless SerenadeNative SunsMe And The TrinityVatican. We are certain that this will be an amazing festival. The addition of ZAO to the lineup makes the show a must see. The band have been on somewhat of a hiatus and recently released their first album in 7 years. The album ‘The Well-Intentioned Virus’ (read our review here) is a major comeback album for the band, and it’s everything we could have hoped for. The festival will be headlined by Unearth and Zao, but some of the other bands are also top tier must see bands as well. Oh, Sleeper, Dark Sermon and Artifex Pero are bands that will put on an amazing show. It’s not often a festival comes along and has a strong lineup from open to close, but this one does. For more information on the festival you can visit their site www.aurafestsavannah.com and you can also purchase tickets here for the incredibly fair price of $24.80.

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State Of The Art: Utah – Riksha

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

This month’s State is Utah!

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Last Monday of November signals the end of our State of the Art: Utah series unfortunately. This may have been the easiest state to choose killer bands to cover since being brought on with MN. All varieties of Metal represented, from humorous, to Punk, Progressive Rock, straight Metal all the way to the harshest of the harsh; blasting out from an obviously healthy scene. Must be something in the water. This week, let me offer a band out of Salt Lake City who call themselves Riksha. I call them bad-ass!

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FLAW Drummer Corey Sturgill Leaves Band…

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Corey Sturgill played his first show with Flaw almost 2 years ago on Jan. 9th, 2015. Corey was brought on board with the band at a time they were beginning their stride to put out an amazing new album after a long hiatus. Corey was a part of the band’s latest release which captured fans both old and new. The band released ‘Divided We Fall’ on August 19th, 2016, their first major release since 2004’s ‘Endangered Species’. Corey stepped up to the drum kit and immediately fit in and became a part of the Flaw Family.  The band has recently been touring heavily. They had a  headlining tour and also toured alongside Dope. The drummer recently showed his thanks and appreciation for the time he spent in the band but announced he was leaving to pursue other options and spend more time with family. While we are sad to see Corey go we certainly appreciate the music he helped create and also enjoyed the times we were able to see him perform live. There has been no official statement from the band, but Corey announced his departure via Facebook on Friday which you can see below. The band has some scheduled shows throughout December, the first of which is December 14th at Ground Zero in Spartanburg, South Carolina. So, Flaw will be on the hunt for a new drummer in the very near future or at least someone to fill the vacancy during those dates through to their New Years Eve show at Trixie’s Entertainment Complex in Louisville, KY.

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Review: SET BEFORE US ‘Enigmas’

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Album Artwork: Set Before Us – “Enigmas”

The out pour of fantastic Swedish metal bands continues! Set Before Us, from Stockholm Sweden, just recently put out their new EP ‘Enigmas’ on November 18, 2016. This is their second release, it is a follow up to their 2014 release, ‘Voyagers’. The new release was mixed and mastered by Venom Sounds. Having only formed in 2012, the band has a very polished sound. There is a strong influence of the early metalcore bands and it stands out on this EP! The band consists of Niklas Edström, Erik Tropp, Hampus Andersson, Jesper Nilsson, and Emanuel Borgefors. Continue reading