WEEDEATER Announce U.S. Headlining Tour With ASG & TOKE!

Weedeater was formed by front-man/bassist “Dixie” Dave Collins also formerly of Buzzoven. Following the release of their 2001 debut ‘…And Justice For Y’All’, Weedeater immediately established themselves as a force in the U.S. tour circuit and quickly gained notoriety in the American metal scene. In the time since, the band have released three critically-acclaimed albums: ‘Sixteen Tons’ (2002), ‘God Luck And Good Speed’ (2007), and ‘Jason… The Dragon’ (2011), and toured around the world with the likes of Down, Saint Vitus, High On Fire, The Melvins, Hank III, and more. The band has played prestigious festivals such as Maryland Deathfest, Hopscotch Festival, Stoned From The Underground, Asymmetry Festival, Roadburn Festival, Hellfest, and many more. Weedeater has sludged their way up the ranks from a underground band with a cult following to one of metal’s most sought after bands to see live. Frontman “Dixie” Dave is an all around entertainer when on stage with his puzzling looks and gravely pitch, combine that with the guitar shredding genius of  Dave “Shep” Shepherd and your night is bound to be a memory you won’t soon forget.  Continue reading

PARKWAY DRIVE, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, THY ART IS MURDER Dominate The UK [Review & Photo Gallery]

Parkway Drive may have only scheduled 4 dates for their UK tour but with the jaw dropping lineup of support acts they have bestowed upon us pure metal happiness. Kicking things off is Parkway Drive’s fellow Australian’s Thy Art Is Murder using their deathcore sound to get the crowd pumped right from the start, they are followed by metalcore royalty with Killswitch Engage who have been on a roll since original singer Jesse Leach re-joined the band. Then the proverbial cherry on top of course is Parkway Drive touring in support of their tremendous new record ‘Reverence.’ This tour February 1st stop in Cardiff at Motorpoint Arena was bound to be explosive.

Thy Art Is Murder

 

From the get go the lads in Thy Art Is Murder were not messing around whilst smashing straight in with “Dear Desolution” with its ultra fast double bass drum and fast runs and riffs on the guitars. Then CJ kicks in with his unique powerful screams, growls and shouts, the crowd went nuts. This is the first time I’ve witnessed them live and to see them grace a stage like this arena was amazing, they looked right at home. I can only imagine what a smaller show would be like (carnage) but then they played the fourth song on the setlist “Reign Of Darkness” and CJ asked the crowd to split for a wall of death. It was at least a 20 foot gap from the front of the arena to the back. Then bang the charge from the crowd and for the next two songs the crowd was going insane. Ending on “Puppet Master” was a great choice with that pounding snare hitting intro got the crowd banging their heads. As the momentum picked up they knew it was their last chance to dance so they went crazy for CJ and crew. I can’t wait to witness this again soon.

Killswitch Engage

Not gonna lie I’m a huge Killswitch Engage fan and have been since day one. Recently I witnessed them supporting Iron Maiden last year at the London o2 which was a phenomenal performance and to be fair it always is. Tonight people who had a ticket were in for a treat. They played 11 songs in total and a great mixture of old and new. You could tell they had a lot of fans in the audience due to the amount of singing going on and especially to “My Curse” and “My Last Serenade” the crowd were nearly drowning out the band they singing along so loud. I was hoping Guitarist Adam D was going to pop to the bar and order a couple shots mid song like he did at a recent show whilst still playing his guitar (We’ve all seen that video right?). I was waiting but sadly this didn’t happen (search for the video its awesome). Watching Adam’s quirky personality on stage is always amazing, the faces he pulls are great along with his jogging around the stage, he is in my eyes one of the best guitarists out there. Jesse Leach is just one of those flawless live vocalists, he sounded perfect in every way. I normally don’t say this but it was great vocal deliveries all night long. He delivers just as good as the album version live. He deserves a lot of respect, hats off to you sir! The pit was crazy from start to finish. I stood just out of the area and saw a random shoe on the ground and then another shoe made it to the stage. As Jesse asked who’s it was, well there was either one person with no shoes or two people with one shoe…ha ha ha. One more thing to look out for is a new album from Killswitch Engage this year and 2019 marks the 20 year anniversary of the band so I’m sure its going to be a banger of an album.

Parkway Drive

 

So the time has come for the Australian lads in Parkway Drive to hit the stage. The lights dimmed and the band appeared at the back of the venue with four of their crew surrounding them with flame torches. They walked through the crowd to the stage with the intro to “Wishing Wells” before gracing the stage and continuing to deliver the rest of this tune from ‘Reverence’. Lights dimmed to an almighty roar, Parkway Drive officially warmed the crowd up together with the amount of pyros, explosions and flame throwers from all sides of stage.

The stand out tunes for me were “Carrion,” “Vice Grip” and “Wild Eyes.” To hear everyone in the crowd chanting to the riff like on the album version was incredible and vocalist Winston McCall looked like that gets him amped every night. Drummer Ben Gordon is a beast on the kit, he’s a drummer I’ve liked for a while now. If you wanna be a hard hitting drummer just watch this guy. He didn’t let up all night and had 17 tunes to play, just wish he had his drum cradle tonight but unfortunately some venues can’t accommodate everything in a bands production. To be fair, it did not matter as Parkway Drive let the music and performance do the talking. Winston McCall did say it felt like last week they were playing Merthyr Tydfil to 10 people and he couldn’t sing ha ha.

Well I was there in the early days and not so long ago when people used to turn up with inflatable boats and crowd surf in them, amazing times. However, to see this band progress into what they are now and to be doing arena tours is well deserved. I hope the momentum for them keeps growing. If you manage to get to a show you can expect explosions, flames, fire balls from all directions, a string section joining them and Winston McCall going to a little stage at the sound desk to join a cello player to perform with elevating platforms which Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling were lifted high up above the stage. I read an article saying there are no bands coming up to replace the legendary bands we are losing, well think again, they are here and they are called Parkway Drive. They have always been here and right now they are getting the recognition for their hard work over the last 16 years. So stadiums might be next on the agenda? I certainly hope so. I would like to wish every member of the band all the best for the future. We can only hope they help influence a new generation of bands that are even half as talented as they are.

 

AVATAR Announces Headline Tour Dates For North America!

The Swedish metal outfit, Avatar, have announced a return to North America for the “Avatar Country World Tour 2019”. The tour will begin in Buffalo, NY on May 16 and conclude in Las Vegas, NV on June 15.

Avatar released the concept album, ‘Avatar Country,’ in 2018 and has toured relentlessly to support it. Vocalist Johannes Eckerstrom stated that ‘Avatar Country’ is nearing the end of the road and this tour will be the last chance to see them in their Royal Glory in tribute to the king. Continue reading

CHILDREN OF BODOM Release Lyric Video For “This Road”!

 

Finland’s melodic death veterans, Children Of Bodom, will release their tenth album, ‘Hexed,’ on March 8, 2019 via Nuclear Blast Records. The band has just released the second single entitled, “This Road,” as a lyric video. Frontman guitarist and mastermind Alexi Laiho commented it was the last song written for the album but ended up being the opening track. He also stated it was one of his favorites and its different from anything they have done since ‘Follow The Reaper’. Continue reading

AVERSIONS CROWN Announce 2019 EU Tour With PSYCROPTIC, and More!

Another amazing tour coming your way. And this time from Aversions Crown & Psycroptic! They will be touring through Europe from the 1th of February till the 23th. But that’s not all. They are bringing a band that will slam your head off: Within Destruction! And if that wasn’t already enough for you to be getting that ticket Hollow World and Hadal Maw are also supporting!

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Ryan Wombacher (Bleeding Through/Light The Torch) “I Slept On Fuckin Kitty Litter”

In 2012 Howard Jones left Killswitch Engage to gain control of his diabetes, which had been hard to control while on tour. There wasn’t much time off for him as he almost immediately formed Devil You Know. The original lineup of the band was Howard on vocals, Francesco Artusato (All Shall Perish, Hiss of Atrocities) – guitars, Ryan Wombacher  who has been with Bleeding Through since 2002 – bass, backing vocals, Roy Lev-Ari (Hiss of Atrocities) – guitars and John Sankey (Divine Heresy, Fear Factory)– drums. Since then Roy Lev-Ari and John Sankey have left the band. The current drummer of the band is Mike Sciulara (Extinction A.D.). I was fortunate enough to see the band a couple times while on tour with Coal Chamber and on stage they put on an amazing show. Devil You Know released two albums ‘The Beauty of Destruction’ (2014) and ‘They Bleed Red’  (2015). The on July 26, 2017, the band announced via social media that they have changed their name to Light the Torch. The band in a way wanted a fresh start, and I believe the name has a better ring to it. The band is now set to release their debut under the name Light The Torch with ‘Revival’ which released on March 30, 2018.  Continue reading

Fit For An Autopsy Announce UK & EU 2019 Tour!

Fit For An Autopsy are back with another great tour and this time it is with the great Justice For The Damned & Venom Prison. And to make it even better, it features the most gross act alive: Vulvodynia! They are covering many UK and EU countries so be sure to check this beautiful mess out!

Guitarist and death metal producer Will Putney had the following to say about the run

 “Excited to announce this Europe/UK headliner! Lots of cities we love with some excellent support bands in tow on this one. Come bang your head.”

Fit For An Autopsy 2019 UK & EU tour dates:

17.05 DE Karlsruhe – Weiße Rose
18.05 DE Leipzig – Naumanns
19.05 DE Berlin – Musik & Frieden
20.05 AT Vienna – Viper Room
21.05 DE Munich – Backstage
22.05 IT Milano – Circolo Svolta
23.05 CH Aarau – Kiff
24.05 DE Bochum – Matrix
25.05 DE Hamburg – Hafenklang
26.05 NL Den Bosch – Willem 2
27.05 BE Antwerp – Kavka
28.05 FR Paris – Gibus
29.05 UK Birmingham – Mama Roux
30.05 UK Bristol – Exchange
31.05 UK London – Underworld
01.06 UK Leeds – Key Club
02.06 UK Manchester – Rebellion

LORDS OF THE TRIDENT Announce Tour With A SOUND OF THUNDER!

 

Lords Of The Trident was forged 10 years ago in Madison, Wisconsin. For the last decade the warriors that make up the band have been battling their way to stages all over the country. Lords Of The Trident is made up of Master Hercule “Herc” Schlagzeuger (Lead Drums), Baron Taurean Helleshaar (Lead Guitar), Fang VonWrathenstein (Lead Vocals), Asian Metal (Lead Guitar) and Pontifex Mortis (Lead Bass). They are in the process of soldiering their way to a stage near you as the band announces their first quest of 2019 will be for “The Metal, Spikes, And Chicken-Fried Steak Tour” with A Sound Of Thunder. The metal warriors will be performing four dates kicking off the first in Cincinnati on January 17th and wrapping up the crusade in Atlanta on January 20th. The tour is in support of Lords Of The Trident‘s 7th studio album ‘Shadows From The Past’ released this past August. Album stream can be heard on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Youtube. Continue reading

Fireball – Fuelling The Fire Euro Tour: FLOGGING MOLLY, THE BRONX & More

 

Friday 2nd November 2018; Tickets for the hottest punk rock tour in town are selling fast! The first of two nights in London and the Bristol leg of the tour are now SOLD OUT, and the bands are gearing up for an explosive 10 date tour when they hit the road next month.

Hitting the road throughout December 2018, the ‘Fireball – Fuelling The Fire Tour’ will feature a star studded lineup of the best in punk music, with The Bronx recently joining previously announced headliners in Celtic-punk legends Flogging Molly, So Cal punk veterans Face to Face, and the Glasgow pop-punks from Fireball’s Hottest Band 2018 Lost in Stereo. Tour favorite and friend of Fireball, DJ Matt Stocks, will also return again this year, providing the soundtrack between acts.

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Never Say Die! Tour: Northlane, Currents, Alazka & Polar [Review & Photo Gallery]

Northlane

Well, here it is again – the Never Say Die! Tour. it’s a metalcore festival which tours European cities every autumn. It’s officially named ‘Impericon NSD,’ after the retail store Impericon who also organize another tour called Impericon Festival every spring. The NSD tour started in 2008 and since then have seen the likes of Parkway Drive, Unearth, Architecs, Protest the Hero, and many others. And this year’s tour with Northlane headlining is set to be a beauty. Continue reading