Carolina Rebellion 2017 Day 2 Review [Photo Gallery]

Ready for day 2 of Carolina Rebellion. After an amazing first day everyone was pumped and ready to enter the show for day 2. The day was full of diverse bands from different generations and wide ranging genres. You can go from Tesla to Machine Gun Kelly, or Sum 41 to DED. Today’s lineup really had a little something for everyone.  The Saturday lineup was filled with a tremendous amount of new names in metal like DED, Cover Your Tracks, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes and many more. Of course those are then followed up by bands who have been around the block a few times now like In This Moment, Nothing More, All That Remains and Alter Bridge. Then you have bands that have been around for decades like Sum 41, In Flames, Tesla, Korn and Def Leppard. Saturday we spent a lot of time interviewing bands and didn’t get a chance to make it out to see every band, but the ones we did see blew our minds. The must see bands on our list for this day cane in the form of a veteran act Sum 41 and a brand new band DED. Being around for the glory years of Sum 41’s career made me want to experience them live for the first time. DED is an amazing up and coming band that is about to release their debut album and their single “Anti-Everything” has become an anthem to the troublesome times we live in today. Continue reading

An Interview With Sylar [Video]

Sylar have been dominating the music scene lately, not only with new tracks but also with their killer performances on stage. The band formed in 2011 and quickly started pumping out material. They released the EP ‘Cutting Ties’ in the same year as their formation, and followed it up with another EP in 2013 titled ‘Deadbeat’ produced by Caleb Shomo (of Attack Attack!). Sylar then released their debut album ‘To Whom It May Concern’ a year later via Razor & Tie. This is the album that truly got the bands feet firmly planted in the music world. With powerful and emotional tracks like “Prescription Meditation’ the band put a little bit of themselves in each track. The New Yorkers went on to sign with Hopeless Records and one up themselves releasing ‘Help’ in August of 2016. This would give them one of their biggest hits thus far in “Assume”. The album charted as high as 8th in Heatseekers Albums in September of 2016 on Billboard.  Continue reading

Zippo Sessions: OF MICE & MEN Acoustic Set @ Carolina Rebellion [Photos]

Concert attendees are known for holding a lighter up in the air and raising the flame in honor of the bands on stage. Don’t let your fire be extinguished and use a Zippo and it may just get you backstage for more great music…It’s always great when your favorite band has an encore right? Well imagine they had an acoustic encore set and you were one of only a couple dozen people allowed to attend. It doesn’t get any better than that. Zippo Sessions has been providing just that experience to concert goers for the last few years at some of the nation’s largest music festivals. The best thing about it also is you have no idea who exactly you will be seeing until they walk onto the stage. For the price of a Zippo, which is already great enough on its own, you get a special pass to see a performance.  Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: KYNG

Photo by @melhummel

*Every Tuesday and Thursday from now until Chicago Open Air gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*

Today’s artist is Kyng.

On Sunday, July 16th, three-piece rock band Kyng will be bringing their heavy sound to the masses all the way from California when they take the stage at Chicago Open Air at Toyota Park. The band formed in 2008 and released their first full length record in 2011 titled ‘Trampling Sun’. Following that record, the band was signed to Razor & Tie and has since dropped two albums on the label. ‘Burn the Serum’ was released in 2014 and put the band on the map thanks to some airplay of hits like “Burn the Serum” and “Electric Halo” on Sirius XM Octane and Liquid Metal. Judging by their sound, Kyng is largely influenced by the old school heavy metal and rock bands and will carry the torch of metal for years to come. Continue reading

An Interview With DED [Video]

DED released their first song in December of 2016 titled “FMFY”. The song instantly instantly lit a fire among nu-metal fans as they quickly fell in love with the band. They have that throwback nu metal sound that monopolized the metal scene in the 90’s and the incorporate a more modern rock sound to make for a catchy tune that will get stuck in your head. Secondly they released “Anti-Everything”. The video was actually directed by Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), and his vision actually amplified the song through visualization. “Anti-Everything” kicks off with an angsty rap and crunchy riff before ripping into an unforgettable chorus that has been receiving a ton of play on SiriusXM Octane.The band is playing various festivals this year including Carolina Rebellion, Chicago Open Air, Rocklahoma, Rock Allegiance and will also be on tour with Korn in July.. We were fortunate enough to catch up with them in Charlotte when they played Carolina Rebellion. We spoke to them about their new single that is becoming a fan favorite, working with Fred Durst and various other things. Continue reading

Review: Carolina Rebellion Day 1 [Photo Gallery]

Carolina Rebellion has not only some of the best headliners of the year but also one of the best undercards in the beginning of the festival season. Day 1 was filled with not only iconic bands but also some of the best up and coming bands in rock and metal. The only bad part of these festivals is that sometimes bands overlap and trying to choose between 2 of them can be one of the hardest things to do. With those schedules and overlapping sets we aren’t able to adequately cover every band but we want to provide you with a walk through of the festival. If you weren’t there you missed one epic weekend and if you was there maybe we were able to catch something you missed. Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: CODE ORANGE

*Every Thursday from now until Chicago Open Air gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*

This week’s artist is Code Orange.

One of the heaviest upcoming bands in the genre is coming to destroy the Chicago Open Air stage on Friday, July 14th at Toyota Park. If you are a fan of heavy music, you have probably already taken note of this band by now. Code Orange from Pittsburgh, PA stormed onto the scene with an incredible hardcore release in 2014 titled ‘I Am King’. This record was brutal, passionate, dark, and made a statement that the band had arrived. As a younger metalhead, this was one of the first records I listened to that got me into the extreme side of hardcore and metal. To kick off this year, the band dropped their third LP titled ‘Forever’, which was also well received by the metal community (check out out review here.) Their live shows bring some of the most violent pits around in recent years. It will be interesting to see how they transit their performance over to the festival stage. The band has played a few other Danny Wimmer Presents festivals including Rock on the Range and Carolina Rebellion. Most of their tour dates below are supporting System of a Down in Europe, including many of the large festivals. Continue reading

Interview With AJ Channing Of FIRE FROM THE GODS! [Video]

FIRE FROM THE GODS are truly hitting the ground running. Some are compelled to put a label on the band and often it doesn’t fit their unique sound. Rap metal, nu metal, hardcore, or a combination of all of the above still doesn’t define this undefinable band. The quintet’s unique approach to music delivers a familiar but original sound. Calling Austin, Texas home, the band has set out to bring a bigger, more important message to metal that they feel has been lacking. Lead vocalist AJ Channer had this to say about the upcoming record: Continue reading

Review: FIRE FROM THE GODS – ‘Narrative Retold’

Unlike any other band in recent memory, Fire From The Gods have springboarded onto the music scene with recognition all around the metal community. The quintet’s combination of rap, hardcore, and metalcore brews a familiar but original sound. From Austin, TX, the band has set out to bring a bigger, more important message to metal that they feel has been lacking. Lead vocalist AJ Channer had this to say about the upcoming record:

“This album is the personal narrative of a minority man living in major cities and being American, there’s a socio-economic theme throughout the whole record that carries from each song to song. It’s all about the underdog. We’ve all had to fight for everything we have in this band. The political climate in our country is quite racially and socially charged. There are a lot of issues and energy people are expressing along with misguided hate and anger. I want to channel this in music that can resonate. This is where we come from and who we are as a band.”

‘Narrative Retold’ is Fire From The God’s second record and their debut on major label Rise Records. The album drops this Friday on May 19th; you can pre-order the record here. They are already building a well-established fan base touring across the country while making stops at large festivals like Carolina Rebellion and Rock on the Range. Continue reading

The Bucketlist With Dylan And Steve Of I Prevail! [Video]

I PREVAIL has been taking over stages all across the country since their cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” went viral. That certainly isn’t the only thing the band has up their sleep either. Prior to the release of ‘Lifelines on October 21st, 2016 via Fearless Records the band released 3 incredible singles. “Scars”, “Stuck In Your Head” and the incredibly heavy track “Come And Get It”. Prior to that album releasing the band also got the news that their cover of “Blank Space” went gold. The band really has been able to showcase the power of the single, and have more original music as well to back it up. Since the release of the album the band has been on tour with Islander, Wage War, and also had a headlining tour supported by Starset, Vamps, and As Lions. After closing out the festival season last year at Louisville, Kentucky’s Louder Than Life Festival we was able to catch them early on the festival circuit this year at Carolina Rebellion. Again they shared the stage with numerous legendary acts like In Flames, Sum 41, Def Leppard, Rivals Sons and Dillinger Escape Plan. It’s easy to see that I Prevail get the opportunity to enjoy a wide array of bands while they are on tour across the globe. Continue reading