Black Crown Initiate Robbed In St. Louis!

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Photo Credit: Trevor Sweeney Media

Photo Credit: Trevor Sweeney Media

Modern progressive death metal master minds Black Crown Initiate have been robbed tonight while in St. Louis. The band had been touring in support of their new album ‘Selves We Cannot Forgive’. It has become all too common that bands that barely scrape by are having their gear and personal items stolen by heartless thieves. Unfortunately one of the things that was stolen was their passports; The tragedy couldn’t have happened at a worse time as the band is about to head out for a European tour in 3 weeks with Volumes, Veil of Maya and Born of Osiris. In addition to the passports $5,000 in cash they had earned on their most recent tour was also stolen along with their personal computers. The band used Facebook to announce the bad news. Continue reading →

Review Of ‘No Lives Matter’ By Napalm Strike

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NSNoLivesMatter

Napalm Strike came to the attention of our staff recently after the release of their latest EP, No Lives Matter on June 15th. I took one listen to the release and snapped it up before anyone else could stake claim on the review of this ass-kicking, Thrash release.

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DIVIDED WE STAND Release Music Video for “New Era”!

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Photo Credit: NVK Photography

A few months ago we were fortunate enough to see Divided We Stand at the Summer Slam Festival in Johnson City, Tennessee. The band has a unique and melodic style that is appealing to almost any ear. The beautiful melodic vocals by singer Joseph Turner is surrounded by amazing musicians playing their instruments with the greatest precision. The Knoxville based band has just released a music video for their song “New Era”. The song is the newest release by the band who last released ‘Civil Unrest’ back in 2011. The song could certainly standalone without any visualization, but the video makes it all that much more appealing. Both in the video and in a live setting you can see and feel the passion the band has for their music. You will often see a smile on their face. They not only make great music but they have some of the best on stage chemistry you will ever see. The video was made possible by Spider Studios and Post Retro Productions who put together an amazing quality music video that has great cinematography and keeps viewer’s attention. Enjoy the video and make sure to follow Divided We Stand online so you won’t miss anything this up and coming band has going on. Continue reading →

State of the Art: Mind Vice

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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 Washington!

MVLogo4

Not looking for the normal fare this week. I was looking for something different, but couldn’t quite put my finger on what specifically I was looking for. When I heard it, I would know, right? Washington has, so far, provided a bevy of super music, so I figured it couldn’t be too difficult. Two hours later I found EXACTLY what I was looking for. Heart of 70’s Rock with elements of Funk and fuzzy Psych they have termed as “Head Banging, Ass Shaking, Molten–Hot–Sludgefunk”. I’ll buy that. Saves me the trouble of trying to categorize them and sounds much cooler than anything I would have come up with anyway. So, without further ado, let’s check out what makes Mind Vice such a kick ass band.

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New Music From FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY!

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Thy_Art_Is_Murder_The_Acacia_Strain_depression_sessions

One of my favorite death core bands, Fit For An Autopsy, have a split album coming out tomorrow, August 12. In anticipation of this release, they have graced us with one of the two tracks that they have recorded for the split “The Depression Sessions“, which also features tracks by The Acacia Strain and Thy Art Is Murder.

It’s a pretty killer track and sits strongly alongside the tracks already released by TAS and TAIM. If you like it, make sure to snag a copy HERE.

Virtuosity Defined – Raiju

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Illustration by Chasing Photons

Illustration by Chasing Photons

According to Wikipedia:

Raijū (雷獣,”thunder animal” or “thunder beast”) is a legendary creature from Japanese mythology. Its body is composed of lightning and may be in the shape of a cat, fox, weasel, or wolf. The form of a white and blue wolf (or even a wolf wrapped in lightning) is also common. It may also fly about as a ball of lightning (in fact, the creature may be an attempt to explain the phenomenon of lightning). Its cry sounds like thunder.

Raiju is the companion of Raijin, the Shinto god of lightning. While the beast is generally calm and harmless, during thunderstorms it becomes agitated and leaps about in trees, fields, and even buildings (trees that have been struck by lightning are said to have been scratched by Raiju’s claws).

Another of Raiju’s peculiar behaviors is sleeping in human navels. This prompts Raijin to shoot lightning arrows at Raiju to wake the creature up, and thus harms the person in whose belly the demon is resting. Superstitious people therefore often sleep on their stomachs during bad weather, but other legends say that Raiju will only hide in the navels of people who sleep outdoors.

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Having Words With Angerhead!

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Angerhead logo

Recently I was given the opportunity to interview San Jose, California’s own Angerhead. Beginning their quest in February of 2011, they have developed a very cool mix of Thrash Metal and Punk that harkens back to days of real music played by real musicians. Keeping up the tradition for over five years now, they have played with Exodus, Testament, Kittie, Loudness, Quiet Riot and a host of other national touring acts. Check out what they had to say and put them on your list of “must listen to bands” list. Turn it up and hang on for the ride!

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State of the Art: Burning Witch

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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 Washington!

burning witch 1

Featuring two of Washington (and metal’s) most prolific artists, the short lived doom/sludge cult known as Burning Witch stunned and repulsed with their strange Continue reading →

Chicago Open Air: Day 1 Review

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Butcher Babies!

Butcher Babies!

Chicago Open Air was by far the most exciting lineup of bands I had seen in a long time. Danny Wimmer Presents always has a great list of bands at all their festivals like Rock On The Range, Carolina Rebellion, Rocklahoma, Louder Than Life and more. However, this lineup put all the others to shame. All it really took to get me excited was Rammstein. At first that was the only band announced, and it would be their only U.S. date in 2016. They had long been at the top of my must see bucket list. Once the remainder of bands was added I was more than excited. Continue reading →