Aftershock 2018 Spotlight: AMIGO THE DEVIL [Video Stream]

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*This is part of our “Aftershock Festival 2018 Spotlight” where we branch out and focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Aftershock Festival on October 13th & 14th.  This week, we’re checking out AMIGO THE DEVIL.*

Adding a healthy dose of variety to the Aftershock lineup this year is acoustic folk artist Danny Kiranos, aka Amigo the Devil. For the most part Kiranos delivers a one-man unplugged performance with just his vocals along with a guitar/banjo. His musical style can range from tongue-in-cheek humored, singalong bar ballads such as “I Hope Your Husband Dies” to the dark and morbid, Harry Chapin-esque “Cocaine and Abel” while drawing inspiration from bluegrass, southern rock, and extreme music. The sonic depth and emotion of Amigo the Devil received a much-appreciated, unfiltered treatment in the studio via veteran mega-producer Ross Robinson (Korn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit) who produced the new album ‘Everything is Fine.’ It was recorded at Valentine Studios, which had been untouched since the seventies, with all original gear, straight to tape. With Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) overseeing the project, the record is exactly what Kiranos had always wanted, commenting, “It was the first process of recording that ever made complete sense with absolutely no filler or veil to compensate for the sounds … It was absolute and pure brutal honesty …” Continue reading →

State Of The Art: Florida’s ELEMENT OF ECLIPSE [Album Stream]

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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 Florida.*

Hailing from Tampa, Florida, Sin Scythe (Kevin Nichols) is the one-man mastermind behind the brutally dark and aggressive, blackened death metal project Element of Eclipse. On wax, you’d never know by the immense atmospheric sound that it was created and performed solely by one person. Scythe recorded his first demo for Element of Eclipse back in 2003 and has since released five full-length albums, with 2015’s ‘HeretiKvlt Manifesto’ being the most recent. The first album ‘Apocalyptic Life’ (2006) was an all-acoustic project with synth and vocals that began laying the groundwork for much heavier things to come. As a distinct evolution from his acoustic beginnings – and packed with high-speed, distorted riffing and blast beats – ‘HeretiKvlt Manifesto,’ is one of Scythe’s most refined and crushing works to date, improving upon the format that was solidified on the previous two records. With a sound that’s equal parts Immortal and ‘Alters of Madness’-era Morbid Angel, Element of Eclipse delivers powerful extreme metal with a well-executed and crisp production value that propels the music’s power and atmosphere to the limits. Continue reading →

Ep. 174 Ron Keel (The Metal Cowboy) – Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast

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The Metal Cowboy himself, Ron Keel, joins the Talk Toomey Podcast. This was a great interview recorded at the Nashville Rock N Pod Expo. Ron and I talk about his Nashville roots and the early days of Steeler. Ron talks about his transition from rock to country and back. We discuss his interviewing Garth Brooks and end with some Yngwie Malmsteen talk.

 

Review: SIXCIRCLES – ‘New Belief’ [Album Stream]

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Sixcircles came to light in the blinding heat of August 2017 in Italy. The Dark psychedelic rock group was formed by Sara B. (Messa, Restos Humanos) and Giorgio T. (Haemophagus, Assumption, Elevators to the Grateful Sky, Furious Georgie ). The duo composed, recorded, mixed and mastered its first full-length album in barely three months time. The first record is entitled ‘New Belief’ and it was released on March 1, 2018 by Phonosphera Records.

 

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GODLESS’ New Track “From Beyond” Is An Absolute Pulverizer; Unveils New Upcoming EP!

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As the name suggests, GODLESS are an unforgiving and ruthless death metal quartet from Hyderabad, India. Back after a short German tour, which also featured the band’s very first show at the mecca of metal, Wacken Open Air. The Wacken show left the crowd shouting for more wholesome Indian death metal. So here they are back quenching your thirst for more uptight, fearless and devastating death metal with a new single titled, “From Beyond” off of their upcoming EP, ‘Swarm‘. The sophomore EP is a follow up of the hugely successful debut EP, ‘Centuries of Decadence‘. The all new single is a blistering piece of aural assault, which will definitely leave the listener picking his jaws from the floor. High speed, technical and utter brute force, that is the new GODLESS track for you, if you wanna put it down in words, although they’re not enough to describe until you put on your headphones.

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Ep. 173 Korn’s Follow The Leader with Toby Wright – Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast

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Producer Toby Wright returns to the podcast to talk all things Follow the Leader. Follow the Leader is the 20 year old landmark album by Korn. Toby discusses the recording process, the web series that was revolutionary at the time and the response to the album. If you are a fan of the record, you must check out this episode. Thanks again to the Nashville Rock N Pod Expo for the interview. 

Ep. 172 Craig Gass // Thom Hazaert – Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast

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The Nashville Rock N Pod episodes roll on with Craig Gass and Thom Hazaert.

First up I talk to Craig Gass. Craig and I talk about his love of Tesla and hanging out in the men’s room with their drummer. Craig talks about hanging with Rudy Sarzo in the 1987 and beyond. We also talk about our love of Canadians and sports. Then he finishes with a hilarious Tracy Morgan impression and story.

Next up is Thom Hazaert. Thom is a friend of the show and great to see in person. Thom and I discuss the origins of his relationship with David Ellefson of Megadeth. We talk about his promoting of a Primer 55 show and releasing a Primer 55 album on his label. Thom tells us about the future of EMP Label Group and so much more.

Rock Allegiance Artist Showcase: SYLAR

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From Queens, New York, Sylar brings a head-bobbing groove to this year’s Rock Allegiance festival. Their current sound reflects a fusion of rap-rock with heavy modern riffs harkens back to the early 2000’s influences that nu-metal brought to the table. Sylar came to fruition by the hands of singer Jayson Panesso and drummer Thomas Veroutis. Currently signed to Hopeless Records, they are set to release their third full length, “Seasons,” on October 5th.

Their first EP, “Deadbeat” will likely appeal more to a more hardcore audience and two full lengths in between bridge the gap to where the band currently is. Early material was produced by Beartooth frontman, Caleb Shomo, whom Sylar will tour with this fall, one of the stops being Rock Allegiance in Camden, New Jersey. You can check out our previous interview with the band here.

Sylar do an excellent job in paying homage to a major influence, Linkin Park in 2017 when they released a single of their cover of “Points of Authority.” Heavy, aggressive and sometimes unforgiving, Sylar find the perfect balance between chaos and composure. Panesso’s vocals carry a tune that glazes the beatdown riffs with something sweet.

October 6th, in Camden, NJ, Sylar will be a part of the fourth annual Rock Allegiance festival. Tickets are still for sale and can be purchased here, with some fabulous VIP options as well.


State of the Art: West Virginia’s ASTRAEUS

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Smart, yet intoxicating riffs travel through the speakers as an easy brush of arpeggios lift one into another world where all things are neatly and perfectly packaged into sonic bites of progressive wonder. Charleston, West Virginia is the homeland of Astraeus. If you can’t already tell, they are excellent. Continue reading →

Eerie Von (DANZIG, SAMHAIN) “If I Never Have to Play [‘Mother’] Again It’ll Be Too Soon”

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Photo by Tom Begrowits

Eerie Von has been in various bands including Rosemary’s Babies, Samhain, and most well known as the original bassist for Danzig. In addition to his history as a musician he is also talented behind the camera as well and was a photographer/archivist for the Misfits. Although mostly known as a bassist during his time in Rosemary’s Babies he played drums. The band was active from 1980–1983. It was soon after Eerie and Misfits frontman Glenn Danzig formed Samhain. Eerie started out on drums in the band but quickly switched to bass. He remained in the band until 1987 the same year that Danzig formed. Eerie was the original bassist in Danzig and remained in the band until 1997. He appeared on ‘Danzig’ (1988), ‘Danzig II: Lucifuge’ (1990),  ‘Danzig III: How the Gods Kill’ (1992), ‘Danzig 4’ (1994) and portions of ‘Live on the Black Hand Side’. In addition to his accomplishments as a musician Eerie published his first book Misery Obscura in 2009. The book gives us a view into some never before seen photos of the early punk days.  Continue reading →