Comments Off on Max Cavalera On ‘Ritual’ “Marc [Rizzo] Channeled His Best Impersonation Of Fast Eddy Clark (Motorhead)”
There are some of the guys in this heavy metal music industry who are nothing short of mega massive walking icons for the heavy metal. we are of course talking about one of the legends who has helped pioneer many genre defining bands, especially SEPULTURA. Yes, the spotlight is on our Brazilian brother, Max Cavalera.
This one man army has single handedly led the charge for the extreme metal genre way too many times now. Juggling three to four active bands all at the same time is something Max does without even the slightest sense of nervousness or failure. Max Cavalera after having departed from SEPULTURA in 1996, re-channeled his passion for heavy music in the form of bands like SOULFLY which is an incarnation as close to SEPULTURA it can be, KILLER BE KILLED is a super-group formed in 2011 with the members ofTHE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and MASTODON, and lastly CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, which Max fronts along with his brother Igor. Cavalera was also involved in a short-lived side project called NAILBOMB. So there you can see, it’s evident that this Brazilian bad ass is surely a jack of all trades.
Comments Off on Album Review : GRAVEYARD – Peace [Album Stream]
From the ashes of Swedish Doom / Stoner band NORRSKEN rose two new bands. Whilst some of the band formed WITCHCRAFT, the rest formed the classic retro-modern GRAVEYARD. They strode into the spotlight with a steely stare and a sense of purpose.
After forming, the band were swift to record a two track demo and played a total of three shows, before planning for a full-length album. Their self-titled debut album was recorded by Don Ahlsterberg and released in early 2008. On the recording sessions’ completion, Truls Mörck was replaced by guitarist Jonatan Ramm.
GRAVEYARD then toured with label mates WITCH. In the fall of 2008, they also toured with CLUTCH. In 2009, they toured with the rock band CKY and released their second album in spring of 2011. Touring followed, with the likes of SOUNDGARDEN. However, bass player and co-founder Rikard Edlund then left the band to “pursue other musical ventures“. In September 2015, the band released the ‘Innocence & Decadence’ record through Nuclear Blast.
On 23 September 2016, the band announced they had broken up, citing, “all so classic reasons.” This hiatus lasted only until 2017, when the band announced their reunion, albeit with a new drummer as Axel Sjöberg decided to stay with his new band.
The album ‘Peace’ is the reunion tentpole. It was produced by Chips Kiesbye and is released via Nuclear Blast. It combined elements of Stoner/Doom, but with many more references to 60’s and 70’s artists. The warm, yet somewhat retro production, gives it a sound that is very welcome in the cold age of digital perfection.
The songs shift around your consciousness and I have generally been impressed by the thoughtfulness of songs such as “Walk On” and “Del Manic”. The sound is propelled by guitarist/vocalist Joakim Nilsson’s fantastically rich vocals and the jazzy content on some songs makes this record a genuine treat to fall into. Like a feather coated beartrap – you initially feel comfortable until the teeth chomp on your leg.
There is a feeling of a band genuinely understanding the pulls of the musical universe and who are acutely aware of their place in the patheon of chaos. They seem to be stretching out on an aural adventure in an effort to put distance between them and their somewhat tumultous past. However, it is a solid album with great tunes such as “A Sign Of Peace” and the opener “It Ain’t Over Yet”.
If your bag is thoughtful, grooving Stoner rock with a warm retro feel, then GRAVEYARD is a band for you to check out.
Comments Off on PARADISE LOST Discuss Being Finally At Peace With ‘Believe In Nothing’
On June 29th, British cult metallers PARADISE LOST will release a remixed and remastered version of their eighth full-length album Believe In Nothing. Initially released back in 2000, the artwork and production of the album never lived up to the expectations of the band. The quintet now present a freshly reworked version of the album with more appropriate, gloomy artwork. Continue reading →
Comments Off on THE VINTAGE CARAVAN Announce 2018 ‘Gateways’ European Tour
Icelandic classic rock trio THE VINTAGE CARAVAN recently announced the release of their upcoming 4th studio album ‘Gateways‘ (August 31st, 2018 through Nuclear Blast). The included tracks need to be presented live on the world’s stages, of course. That’s why the band is pleased to announce their supporting ‘2018 Gateways Tour’ today. Leading THE VINTAGE CARAVAN through 25 cities in 10 European countries, the run stretches from mid October to early December. Get ready to go full retro with the new tunes on the upcoming tour. The full itinerary can be found below.
Comments Off on WOODY WEATHERMAN (Corrosion Of Conformity) Talks About James Hetfield Contributing Lyrics To C.O.C.
With their first release being in 1984, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY is a band who has made significance impact in not one but two sub genres of music (Hardcore punk and Stoner rock). Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone at how excited the metal community was when it was announced that C.O.C. would be reuniting with Vocalist/ Guitarist Pepper Keenan for a new album! It’s been a dozen years since Corrosion of Conformity recorded new material with Keenan at the helm. Pepper made his exit to spend more time performing with his other band Down which has included Phillip H. Anselmo (Pantera, Superjoint), Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod), and Pat Bruders (Crowbar, Goatwhore) and also former members included Kirk Windstein (Crowbar, Kingdom Of Sorrow) and Rex Brown (Pantera). While Pepper was away Corrosion Of Conformity pumped out two albums with bassist Mike Dean taking over vocal duties the same as he did on 1985’s ‘Animosity’. The band has a sound that truly has no competition tip toeing into several genres like stoner rock, heavy metal, punk, crossover, southern rock and various others. In that time, there have been rumors, whispers, and outright allegations that the legendary southern rock outfit would reunite to blow the doors off the whole damn scene again. In 2015, after nearly a decade traversing the globe with Down, Keenan reconnected with the core Corrosion of Conformity trio of Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean, and Reed Mullin to hit the road hard. The band released their newest album ‘No Cross No Crown’ in January of this year via Nuclear Blast. the first to feature Pepper on vocals since 2005’s ‘In the Arms of God’. Corrosion Of Conformity’s chemistry was still there and the songs ring out as if there has been no days off since Pepper last fronted the band.
Comments Off on Album Review: OVERKILL – ‘Live In Overhausen’ (Nuclear Blast)
OVERKILL are a legendary thrash metal band, formed in 1980 in New Jersey. They have gone through many line-up changes, leaving bassist D. D. Verni and lead vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth as the only constant members. OVERKILL‘s current lineup also includes Dave Linsk on lead guitar, Derek Tailer on rhythm guitar and Jason Bittner on drums.
The band are masters of the crunchy thrash that the 1980’s spawned. They eat and drink metal music and Blitz is a renowned singer within the genre, being one of the godfathers of thrash, along with James Hetfield of METALLICA and Chuck Billy of TESTAMENT. They have a significant library of studio albums (nineteen in total), including the stone cold classics ‘Under The Influence’ (1988) and ‘Horrorscope’ (1999). Continue reading →
Comments Off on SABATON, KREATOR & CYHRA Dominate Silver Spring, MD [Review & Photo Gallery]
Kreator
Sabaton, Kreator and Cyhra recently kicked off their North American tour and finally it reached the Washington DC/Baltimore area last Wednesday night. This show in Silver Spring was one of the last ones of the North American tour, the wait was grueling. This is a tour I have been waiting to cover for a while, firstly because I am a huge fan of both bands, and secondly Sabaton is a great band to photograph. I haven’t attended any show since Trans Siberian Orchestra in November, so I was extremely excited to be surrounded by metal heads. Let me dive into the review now, you can check out the photo gallery at the bottom of the page.
Comments Off on MINISTRY Releases Awesome New Comic Book-Style Video For “Wargasm” [Video Stream]
Ministry drops their new music video for the song “Wargasm” today. It’s the second video, following “Antifa” last month, from their upcoming studio album ‘AmeriKKKant,’ scheduled for release March 9, 2018 on Nuclear Blast Records. On “Wargasm,” Uncle Al once again has a strong message to deliver, and this time, with the help of Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory, it’s focused on anti-war. Continue reading →
Comments Off on Review: MACHINE HEAD – ‘Catharsis’ [Official Video + Track Stream]
Throughout their 24 year career, the modern metal colossus that is Machine Head have seen their fair amount of love, hate and skepticism. A band who change with the times, not necessarily with the trends, they have shown especially interesting senses of progression most recently through adding string sections, choral chants and a bigger sense of scope to their crushing brand of metal. Fans have been kept on their toes in other words and the Machine Head brand is not easily painted into a corner. So when the band’s new record, ‘Catharsis’, was unveiled and its mission statement was to be a major statement for rock & metal music in 2018, one can’t help but let curiosity take over and see what the Cali boys have concocted this time. ‘Catharsis’ was recorded with Zack Ohren (Fallujah, All Shall Perish) at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California and will be released via Nuclear Blast on January 26th, 2018.
Comments Off on SABATON & KREATOR Announce North American Co-Headliner Tour!
Swedish power metal champions, Sabaton and German thrash metal titans, Kreator team up for an epic North American co-headlining tour for early 2018. The Nuclear Blast label mates will be kicking off the outing on Thursday, February 8, 2018 at The Van Buren in Phoenix, Arizona and finally wrapping up at the Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Along the way, the two metal juggernauts will hit several other US and Canadian cities during the 24-date schedule. Continue reading →
