Former Mötley Crüe members, Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee are back in the studio working on a mystery project. The bassist and drummer haven’t worked together since the end of the Crüe in 2015. Continue reading
In the first of a series of Rock N Pod Expo interviews, I speak with the legendary Eerie Von. Eerie was the original bass player of Danzig and Samhain. Eerie and I discuss the backstory to the debut Danzig album. Eerie talks about the formation of the band, the recording of the album and their punk and metal backgrounds. Truly an honor to speak with Eerie.
Downtrend formed in 2004 and has went through a few lineup changes since then. The band retains founding members Josh Crum and Jeremy Chaney. Long time member drummer J.D. Hall takes his seat behind the drum kit adding his style and showmanship to the band. Hall and Chaney were also formerly bandmates in the crushingly heavy group Voices Of Aggression. The chemistry among these three gents is amazing, which can be heard in their music and seen live when they take the stage. Mike Jackson has been the longtime voice of the band, after a brief departure from the band he has returned to his home behind the microphone. In the bands 10+ years their sound has changed and progressed but the biggest thing about the band is the heart and passion they have for music. The bands most recent release is ‘Southern Fried Hell Ride: Live’ was recorded in West Virginia and truly captures the bands ability to perform live. Downtrend with over a decade of live performance experience the band has been the opening act for various legends in rock and metal. Some include Adema, Nonpoint, Sevendust, 10 Years, Otherwise, Lynch Mob, Jake E. Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel, and various others. In addition to these past shows the band also has upcoming shows schedule with Devildriver and Jinjer in Lexington, Kentucky at Manchester Music Hall on October 30th, and with Doyle on November 15th in Huntington, West Virginia at The V Club. You can message the band directly for ticket info. Continue reading
Last week, Gene Hoglan (Testament) joined Joshua Toomey for an in-depth interview on an episode of Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast. The conversation covered a wide range of topics including playing as a session drummer for some of the biggest names in metal, the inspiration for creating his own artwork, weight loss, and much more. Continue reading
*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 WAGE WAR.*
Wage War are slotted to bring their unique form of melodic metalcore to the Northern California stage at this year’s Aftershock Festival. The band has been bringing the heaviness since their inception in 2013 in Ocala, Florida. The lineup for the quintet includes Cody Quistad (vocals/guitar), Briton Bond (vocals), Seth Blake (guitar), Chris Gaylord (bass), and Stephen Kluesener (drums). Signed to the Fearless label, Wage War has two full length records under their belt – ‘Blueprints’ (2015) and ‘Deadweight’ (2017), which are both produced by Andrew Wade (Neck Deep, Motionless in White) and Jeremy McKinnon (A Day to Remember). They are currently in the process of working on new material that they discuss, among other topics, during their recent interview with Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast – which you can check out here. Continue reading
Napalm Death
Napalm Death have been creating thought provoking grind core classics since the mid 1980’s. In most everyone’s eyes they are the kings of grindcore and are responsible for inspiring bands all over the world. Their lyrical content usually written by vocalist Barney Greenway is often complex and gives listeners ideals to chew on and come to their own conclusion. Napalm Death is currently supporting Slayer on their final world tour. We was able to catch up with vocalist Barney Greenway after their performance in Nashville at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium on August 12th. I must add that speaking with Barney was a pleasure, one of the most easy going and pleasant people I’ve ever interviewed. We are grateful for his time in conducting the interview. Continue reading
The 5th annual Louder Than Life festival announces massive music lineup for 2018 including Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, Godsmack, and Deftones. The World’s Largest Rock n’ Roll Whiskey Festival has expanded to three days – Friday, September 28th; Saturday, September 29th; and Sunday, September 30th – at Champions Park in Louisville, Kentucky. Louder Than Life features a selection of award-winning bourbons, whiskey, spirits, craft beer, and some of the best food Louisville has to offer; along with a powerful music lineup of rock legends and breaking talent performing on three stages. The festival celebrates the bourbon culture and culinary heritage of this unique American city. Continue reading
ZEROKING
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is West Virginia.*
ZEROKING is a four piece Hard Rock outfit hailing from the city of Charleston WV. Formed in 2004 by guitarist Shane Day and drummer Chris Webb. The band’s core lineup was finalized in September of that year with the addition of vocalist Andy Haught. The next two years saw the group writing original material and performing anywhere and everywhere they could. After writing only a few songs together it was clearly defined which direction the sound of the band would go in for years to come. Mid-2006 saw the release of their debut EP ‘The Sweet Sale of Excess’. After a few personnel changes on bass over the course of the two years, ZEROKING finally added bass player Paul First to the fold. This lineup would prove to be the classic lineup. More shows and writing followed over the course of the next several years. The band saw itself billed with some of the biggest names in the rock world, playing shows with major artists such as DROWNING POOL, BLACK STONE CHERRY and POPEVIL to name a few. All the while the foursome feverishly strived to improve their sound and complete songs for their first full-length album.
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is West Virginia.*
When you think off West Virginia, the first thing that comes to mind is some good old backwoods bluegrass and country music. What you don’t expect is that deep within the hollers, there’s a band who’s music sounds will take you back to the beginning’s of punk with the fusion of the horror genre into their image. Ghost Road is a punk rock horror band that’s based out of Morgantown, WV and they will take you out of the stereotypes of West Virginia music. Continue reading
*This is part of our “Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight” series where we focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Louder Than Life Festival on Sept. 28th-30th. This week, we’re checking out Turnstile.*
Formed in 2010, Turnstile are Brendan Yates, Franz Lyons, Daniel Fang, Pat McCrory and Brady Ebert. Over the years, they’ve made their name as an innovative, one-to-watch hardcore act with the release of EPs, ‘Pressure to Succeed’ and ‘Step 2 Rhythm’, and a debut album, ‘Nonstop Feeling’. Turnstile puts on some of those classic hardcore shows where you see fans getting on stage with the band, diving from the stage and just all out chaos going on. Of course; we won’t see this happening at Louder Than Life with the large security presence but it has to make you respect the band even more knowing they are use to working under chaotic circumstances and still perform flawlessly. With the exception of Pat McCrory the rest of the band is original members and that is one thing that also contributes to the bands amazing chemistry both on the stage and in the studio.
