The Bucketlist With AFTER THE CALM


*In this series we pose the age old questions to a wide array of music lovers. As fans of music most of us keep a mental list of active bands we want to see live that we haven’t yet seen. The Bucketlist brings to you those lists of your favorite artists and why those bands mean so much to them*


Howdie?! It’s been really long since I published any piece here, but I have a breather now. Anyways, so here we are back again with another piece of bucketlist. Today we have a promising up and coming new rock band along the lines of pop punk, AFTER THE CALM from Phoenix, Arizona. Formed in 2014, the band consists of five members. Kody Rattler (Drums), David Nuñez (Guitar), and Henry Cota Jr.(Bass). Jonathan Habermacher (Guitar) joined the band shortly after the initial meeting. The search for a singer was long, but with the luck of a Craigslist ad, the band had added Logan Miracle (Vocals) as the final piece to their puzzle.

Continue reading

John Cooper (Skillet/Fight The Fury) On Writing Process For ‘Still Breathing’ – “I Just Thought, Man, What Would METALLICA Do?”

Skillet

Vocalist/bassist, John Cooper (Skillet, Fight the Fury) speaks with Joshua Toomey for an interview on an episode of Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast. They talk about the writing process for the recently released debut EP, ‘Still Breathing’ from Cooper’s newest metal side project, Fight the Fury. Among other topics, they discuss upcoming tour plans, how Cooper discovered bass-playing, his wide range of musical influences, and much more. As co-founder of the Christian rock band, Skillet, Cooper also assures fans that he will never lose his faith, but has decided to branch outside of his religious focus to pursue more riff-driven metal with Fight the Fury. Continue reading

HARM’S WAY Kick Off US Tour Supporting CANNIBAL CORPSE! [Tour Dates]

Chicago hardcore unit Harm’s Way will kick off a US tour supporting death metal icons and Metal Blade labelmates Cannibal Corpse tomorrow night, continuing to support their devastating new album ‘Posthuman’! Beginning at The Senate in Columbia, South Carolina, the tour will tear its way through over two-dozen cities before concluding on December 6th at The Culture Room – Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Read on for full dates!

Continue reading

Review: AUDIOTOPSY – ‘The Real Now’ [Track Stream]

 

The band comprised of several hard hitting late 90’s early 2000’s bands known as Audiotopsy has released the first taste of what we can expect from their forthcoming album entitled ‘Natural Causes’. The album will be released via Napalm Records on August 28th. The members of the band are guitarist Greg Tribbet formerly of Mudvayne and Hellyeah, ex-Skrape vocalist Billy Keeton, Matt McDonough former drummer of Mudvayne and bassist Perry Stern. The album was self-produced by the band at The Porch Studio in Orlando. The band is planning an extensive debut tour which should coincide with the album release. Audiotopsy are now releasing their second full-length release, ‘The Real Now’, on November 2, 2018 via Megaforce Records. Self-produced with vocal production and mixing completed by Dave Fortman (Evanescence, Slipknot, Mudvayne). According to the band, ‘The Real Now’ explores the journey of life. Guitarist Greg Tribbett states, “This album deals with life – from addiction to depression to death. Life is a journey of unforeseen experiences.”

‘The Real Now’ is available for pre-order now via Amazon, and will be available via more digital retailers very soon.

 

 

 

 

 

‘The Real Now’ kicks things off with the heavy yet melodic track “War”. If you recall the way in which Billy sang with his previous band Skrape his vocals here are somewhat similar. You get these harsh screams followed by a melodic clean singing. It’s an amazing mixture of both. The guitar licks laid down by Greg are thick, heavy and exactly what we have been wanting from this band. After the first track this album is already super promising. The very next track “Hologram” chimes in immediately showing off Matt’s incredible drumming skills. His heavy pounding behind the kit is the heartbeat of this track and it goes from a thundering stampede of drumming to a more subtle beat during the chorus. The song also has this incredible chorus that I just can’t get out of my head after hearing it for the first time. The portion of the chorus starts out with Billy’s clean vocal style “Hologram… mirror mirror on the WALL” and when he gets to “Wall” he just lets out this gut wrenching scream that is just bone chilling. You can’t really say enough about Greg’s guitar tone, and Billy on rhythm guitar  and how they perfectly fit those riffs into the song. On the track “Hurt Down” the band slows things down a bit. The song showcases an amazing vocal harmony. Near the two minute mark the vocals become a little more harsh while still including a harmony. “Hurt Down” is what we would consider a ballad for Audiotopsy, it still has some heavier qualities but it does mellow out in comparison to the other tracks on the record. It’s still a good song and it changes the tempo of the record and keeps the album from being repetitive with heaviness. The album ends with the track “A Death Benefit”. The song has a heavy groove and Billy’s vocals anchor the song alongside the chugging riffs Greg lays down. This is probably one of the most complex songs on the album and it incorporates a lot of different styles. Billy has various vocal tones and on this track we hear each and every one of those and it works.

‘The Real Now’ is a huge step forward for Audiotopsy. I enjoyed the bands debut album ‘Natural Causes’ but felt like it was missing something. I think the band has now gelled and probably spent more time composing songs this time around and it shows. The album from open to close keeps you on your toes with the way the band can take their sound in various directions and it keeps you eager to hear the next track. No matter if you are a fan of their previous bands this is a killer record, that carries a new refreshing sound and pushes the limits of creativity.

 

SLIPKNOT Releases Brand New Track ”All Out Life” And It is Brutal!

After waiting for so many years Slipknot has finally released a new song and I can tell you that the wait was definitely worth it! Get right in to witness the gory music video of ”All Out Life”!

Continue reading

ALL THEM WITCHES Interview [Video]

Since forming in 2012, All Them Witches has been bringing their awesome brand of psychedelic/stoner rock via prolific studio time and live performances. They have four full-length studio albums available – with their recently reviewed self-titled LP just released – plus multiple EP’s, live albums, and singles for fans to check out.  Their sound often has a retro quality and rawness that allows the music to breathe organically without the filter of flashy studio polish. Continue reading

My AFTERSHOCK FESTIVAL 2018 Experience, Part One [Review & Photo Gallery]

Deftones

This year was my third year in a row attending the Aftershock Festival at Sacramento, California’s Discovery Park with my wife. This time around, it was the first year I was not only attending as a regular fan but also had the great opportunity of experiencing VIP perks as part of the media for the show. I had a full schedule of bands to watch throughout the day and a couple of potential interviews. This was definitely going to be a new and exciting experience. Continue reading

THRICE, THE BRONX, TEENAGE WRIST Rock Nashville [Review & Photo Gallery]

Thrice

Wrapping up the first half of their fall US tour in support of the September 2018 release ‘Palms,’ post-hardcore group Thrice stopped by Marathon Music Works on a rainy Sunday night in Nashville for an evening of melody, angst and, most importantly, rock. In support for this tour which starts up again on Nov. 2nd in San Francisco are label mates Teenage Wrist and Los Angeles punk rockers The Bronx. Continue reading

My Last Time Seeing Oli Herbert Perform With ALL THAT REMAINS [Photo Gallery]

All That Remains

 

I was writing the review for this show when I heard the news of All That Remains guitarist Oli Herbert’s passing. I had a full review almost completed but after the recent tragic news it was like my whole memory of the night was washed away and all I could recall was Oli shredding away under the lights on stage.  Continue reading

State of the Art: Rhode Island’s GOLDENHALL [Track Stream]

 

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Rhode Island.*

Rhode Island may be one of the last places that comes to mind when pondering anthemic, symphonic metal. Goldenhall, however is about to change that entirely. Since their formation in 2014 by way of numerous local bands, they have lent credence to idea that Rhode Island has been a hidden hotbed for heavy music. Started by guitarists Ryan Spahr and Greg Rosche, formerly of Condolence; it did not take long before recruiting Nico Cannella (Acerose) and Matt Young from Chaos Before Creation, on bass and drums, respectively. Goldenhall is fronted by classically trained vocalist, Jason Shealy. All of the music is recorded and produced by this independent band. Continue reading