Comments Off on MESHUGGAH & THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER Bring the Heavy To Nashville [Review & Photo Gallery]
Meshuggah
Swedish extreme metal innovators Meshuggah treated U.S. fans to a surprise when they announced they would hit the spring U.S. festival circuit and sprinkle in a handful of select cities across the states in between. In addition to Welcome to Rockville, the Epicenter Festival, the Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival, and the Chicago Open Air Festival, Meshuggah chose to destroy six other lucky cities as they traversed the southern and northeastern states before heading to Europe this summer. Joining them on these select dates were Detroit, MI death metal veterans The Black Dahlia Murder. Continue reading →
Comments Off on State of the Art: North Carolina’s AMERICAN EMPIRE [EP Stream]
Fans of old-school Epica and Within Temptation are going to lose their minds over North Carolina’s best kept secret; American Empire. North Carolina has bred some top notch metal over the years but nothing that sounds quite like this. With the exception of Kamelot, most North American symphonic metal bands just seem to be missing something. But think again, American Empire is packing some seriously fantastic Euro-sounding metal down in Durham. Continue reading →
Comments Off on State Of The Art: Hawaii’s NESTA [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 Hawaii.*
In the land of tropical paradise with its picturesque beaches, near perfect weather, and aloha vibes, it may be hard to imagine heavy music coming from the Hawaiian Islands. It was certainly no easy task finding metal amidst the vast sea of island reggae and ukuleles for this month’s SOTA, but this pick from the Honolulu underground is one I’m sure metal fans will enjoy. Hailing from Waianae, Hawaii, Nesta proves that their volcanic brand of metal can not only compete with its mainland contemporaries, but also push the envelope in some unexpected and highly innovative ways. Continue reading →
Comments Off on Review: THOMAS GILES – ‘Don’t Touch The Outside’ [Music Video Stream]
Thomas Giles Rogers Jr. has made a name for himself musically, there’s no doubt about that. His tenure with the mighty Between The Buried And Me may have already cemented his legacy as one of the pioneers of new-age progressive rock, however, outside of BTBAM’s extensive discography, there’s still much to be heard in the frontman’s arsenal. With the upcoming release of his fourth SOLO studio album, “Don’t Touch The Outside,” (via Sumerian Records) we have one of your first looks at the next chapter of his solo career, and, what an ambitious effort it is!
Between The Buried And Me are probably a step ahead of many bands in terms of songwriting, and Tommy doesn’t hit the brakes when it comes to his solo work either. Don’t Touch The Outside dives deeper into the frontman’s musical endeavors with music that will send chills down your spine from the into to the last song. His grand scheme of songwriting is a persistent wave of emotion that crosses all musical boundaries with no intent on slowing down. Songs like “Incomplet,” with spiraling guitar riffs from the start into melodies that will put you under a trance, underneath Tommy’s distant vocals that draw you to the edge of your seat while you’re listening. Heading into songs such as, “I Win,” featuring experimental vocalist, Carley Coma (Candria) with heavy synth-driven beats with Carley’s aggressive voice and rhyme schemes as the cherry on top. “Sway,” a song that stuck out with its drum-heavy backbeat, light-hearted vocals to make this an immersive listening experience.
For all of our readers that are fans of the elite musicality of Raleigh, North Carolina’s Between The Buried And Me, be sure to check out vocalist Tommy Giles’ impressive, mesmerizing fourth solo effort entitled, Don’t Touch The Outside, releasing this Friday (November 9th) via Sumerian Records.
It has been eight years since the release of their last full length, “The Great Escape,” so “highly anticipated” is an understatement for their fifth record.The Swedish, melodic and progressive metal phenomenon, Seventh Wonder are finally ready to grace the world with their latest musical endeavor from Frontiers Music s.r.l. One one hand, eight years is quite some time. But on the other hand, vocalist Tommy Karevik joined Kamelot in 2012. Perhaps that may be the greatest reason of all for such a delay. No longer must we wait though, as “Tiara” drops on October 12th.
Comments Off on Review: REVOCATION – ‘The Outer Ones’ [Tour Dates]
With all of the momentum of being in high gear for their last album, “Great Is Our Sin,” progressive death metal masters Revocation are back and screaming with a hellish, visceral vengeance with their latest chapter, “The Outer Ones.” The Boston extreme rockers are redefining and improving on the signature sound they’ve been crafting for years, with 5 genre-bending albums being released since 2005. Shane Frisby was the man behind the boards on this album to ensure the group got the most out of the tenacious and gut-wrenching death metal sound they were striving for. This amazing piece of work is being released under Metal Blade records on Friday, September 29th and we have your first look at it here. Continue reading →
Comments Off on State Of The Art: Florida’s CHOROSPHERE
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Florida.*
Groovy. Progressive. Symphonic. It sounds like it comes straight out of Scandinavia. However, this all comes from the brain of one man from Jacksonville, Florida. His name is Andrew Howington and his project is called Chorosphere. Howington plays every instrument, programs, writes, sings and probably gives exceptional life advice. The amount of depth and flavor in Chorosphere is akin to the orchestration done by Ayreon, Epica, Sonata Arctica and Mayan. Continue reading →
Comments Off on State of the Art: West Virginia’s ASTRAEUS
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 →
Comments Off on Review: BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME – ‘Automata II’
Between the Buried and Me are undeniably, the premier act of the progressive metal subgenre. They have spent the past 15+ years honing their expertise on their respective instruments and rewriting what is musically possible. It has been scientifically proven that one’s IQ increases after listening to a BTBAM record. Continue reading →
Comments Off on Review: THE ELEPHANT PARALLAX – ‘Loam & Sky’ [Tracks Streaming]
“Loam & Sky,” the forthcoming release by San Fernando Valley, California prog outlet, THE ELEPHANT PARALLAX, is the follow up to their May 2010 self titled release. This EP ‘Loam & Sky’ is taking all of the elements of their first release and maximizing them in prolific fashion; combining aspects of funk, sludge, and progressive instrumentals, THE ELEPHANT PARALLAX aim to bring genre defying, mind opening melodies that will have you at attention the entire twenty four minutes you listen to it.
