Author Archives: Fist

About Fist

Greetings and salutations. Call me Fist, I'm a proud Kentuckian and I've used metal to help me get through the suffering of living in the bible belt. I am an encyclopedia of metal. I'm a fan of all types of metal. My main goal here is to help people find more music they will fall in love with. Hope you enjoy our words! \m/

Review: I WILL KILL CHITA (IWKC) – ‘Hladikarna’ [Album Stream]

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IWKC or I Will Kill Chita (the band’s name jokingly refers to fraternal tensions between members in the past) was formed in 2008 in Russia when the Samarin brothers, Nikita and Nikolai started a chaotic punk-garage band. The search for their own style as well as competent partner-performers has continued through almost three years. After some years spent experimenting with the sound and line-up the band consolidated finally as a septet of Nikolai Samarin (keyboards, guitars), Nikita Samarin (drums, electronics), Andrei Silin (keyboards, electronics), Alexander Ivanov (bass), and Artem Litvakovsky (cello), Denis Smirnov (french horn), Ksenia Pluzhnikova (violin). The band released their 3 track debut EP ‘Better Days’ in December of 2010. The following year they released another EP titled ‘Not A Dream’. On January 28, 2012 the band released their first full length ‘Urban Fears’. It was a conceptual album dedicated to Moscow’s industrial outskirts and was uniquely recorded in an abandoned industrial building in Moscow Suburbs. Since that time the band has has 5 additional releases and a brand new release ‘Hladikarna’ which dropped on May 2, 2017 . The album was recorded & mixed by Nick Samarin @ Orange Studio, produced by IWKC & Vlad “Smack” Ponomarenko and mastered by Vlad “Smack” Ponomarenko. The album also includes a vast amount of guest vocalists Valentin Berezin, Roman Karandaev (extreme vocals), Julia Mityashova, Nicolas Perrault (German vocals), Vlad “Smack” Ponomarenko & Smackapella Choir, Gennadiy Lavrentiev (tabla), Khyung Nagpo (Gyuke voices), Shonchulai Hovenmei, Medved Boris (Full Power), these are in addition of course to the vocals by guitarist and keyboardist Nick Samarin. The band has been formed almost a decade and has more releases than most average bands that have been formed the same amount of time. IWKC doesn’t sit around, they are constantly creating music, and ‘Hladikarna’ is just the latest creative output by the band.

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Review: THE SKY IS – ‘Telepathie’ [Album Stream]

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Photo Credit: Jan Daciuk

 

The Sky Is formed in 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. The band released their self titled debut on November 9, 2012. Their sound is comprised of several influences from various corners of the music world. You will hear some stoner rock, doom, sludge and even post hardcore sounds within their music. The band retains two original members that were on the debut which is Maximilian Herbst, and Robert Pełka. Herbst and Pelka share guitar duties in the band and are a shredding duo that is a delight to hear. Their style at times is minimalist, but yet again there are moments they crank it up and truly show off their abilities. The Sky Is has now released their most recent work entitled ‘Telepathie’. The EP features two new members of the band, Rafał Szmidt on bass and Jacek Łaziuk on drums. Of course you wouldn’t know they are new to the band by the output of their talents on this EP. The bass and drum parts are a huge gear in the machine known as The Sky Is. Though the band is instrumental it doesn’t leave you wanting vocals. They have a way of composing the music so that is stays fresh, vibrant and is constantly entertaining with constant break neck tempo changes. The album was recorded and mixed by Przemysław Wejmann at Perlazza Studio and mastered by Matt Lynch at Mysterious Mammal Recording. Continue reading →

Louder Than Life Spotlight: GRETA VAN FLEET

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L-R: Sam Kiszka, Josh Kiszka, Danny Wagner, Jake Kiszka

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

Today’s artist is Greta Van Fleet.

Greta Van Fleet – which took its name from one of the close-knit community’s town elders – is a hard rocking quartet whose creative ambitions and achievements reach far beyond the ages of the four band members, not all of them old enough to have voted in last November’s election. The band includes brothers Josh (vocals), Jake (guitar) and Sam Kiszka (bass, keyboards) and best friend drummer Danny Wagner – are dedicated to bringing real rock’n’roll back to the mainstream. The band delivers high-energy, sweaty, sexy rock’n’roll loaded with attitude and bravado that exemplifies each band member’s killer musical chops and Josh’s simply jaw-dropping voice. Greta Van Fleet bring back a throwback kind of sound that most old school metal heads thought was gone forever. Not only are they bringing it back in general but they are bringing this retro sound to the stage at Louder Than Life. Their four-song debut EP Black Smoke Rising was released on April 21, the group deftly straddles the line between timeless and future, sounding at once like many things you’ve heard before and also something you’ve never heard before. Some have even referred to the band as America’s next greatest rock band. The band doesn’t have an intense history or discography to tell you about as of right now. Greta Van Fleet is currently making their own history and you can be a part of the crowd when they take the stage in Louisville, Kentucky at Louder Than Life.  Continue reading →

Blaze Bayley Live In Baltimore! [Photo Gallery]

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Blaze Bayley

 

Last night I had my second consecutive fantastic Sunday night in Baltimore. I covered Blaze Bayley, a singer who was the former front man of the iconic metal legends Iron Maiden, one of the greatest metal bands the universe has ever seen. This is a tour many may not have paid the attention it well and truly deserves! Iron Maiden is my favorite heavy metal band, bar none. Well, I am one of those people who think his album ‘The X Factor’ with Iron Maiden is fantastic, albeit different from the Dickinson era Maiden. This is an album that had kept me company during my troubled and volatile years while riding down remote mountainous roads in India on my motorcycle. And not once during those days did I imagine Blaze Bayley shoving the microphone right in my face to sing “The Man on The Edge” with him, the way he did last night. Personally, the whole show was sort of a trip down memory lane. Fish Head Cantina, located in Baltimore, is the venue where I photographed my very first heavy metal show, the band on that occasion being the mighty influential NWOBHM band Diamond Head. And to cover another legend in Blaze Bayley was the fitting way to go back to where it all began as a concert photographer. Continue reading →

PRIMITIVE RACE Announce Release Of ‘Soul Pretender’ Via Metropolis Records!

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Primitive Race, the hard rock/industrial hybrid helmed by Chris Kniker with core members Mark Gemini Thwaite (The Mission UK/Peter Murphy) and Erie Loch (Wiccid, Luxt), release their sophomore album, ‘Soul Pretender’, on Nov. 3 via Metropolis Records. Continue reading →

Vincent Price of BODY COUNT “We Don’t Have To Play Clubs” [Video]

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Body Count is an Los Angeles based metal band formed in 1990. The group is fronted by Ice-T, who co-founded the group with lead guitarist Ernie C . Ice-T first made his stamp on the music industry as a rapper and moved on to metal when he formed Body Count. The band released its self-titled debut album in 1992. The band encountered controversy over their track “Cop Killer”, which was thought to glamorize killing police officers. Because of this song Body Count was banned from playing anywhere in L.A. The band was already star studded but this news made them even more popular. Ernie C the man responsible for writing the bands music had an integral part of kick starting the careers of both Stone Temple Pilots and Rage Against The Machine as he helped produce their demos. Three out of the band’s original six members are deceased: D-Roc died from lymphoma, Beatmaster V from leukemia and Mooseman in a drive-by shooting. The band released 3 more albums before going on hiatus. ‘Born Dead’ (1994), ‘Violent Demise: The Last Days’ (1997), and then 9 years later released ‘Murder 4 Hire’ in 2006. In 2012 the band advised they were working on a new album and were quickly signed to Sumerian Records. The band released the album ‘Manslaughter’ in 2014 and also unveiled the single and video for ‘Institutionalized’. The single cemented Body Count’s rightful place in the metal world. In March of this year Body Count released their sixth studio album ‘Bloodlust’ via Century Media. The album has star studded guest appearances by appear on the album are Max Cavalera, Randy Blythe and Dave Mustaine. The band has played very few dates since the release of the album, but we were fortunate enough to see one of their only U.S. performances at this years Chicago Open Air. 

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Review: SATAN’S DEALER – ‘Dealer Of The Gods’ [Album Stream]

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 Satan’s Dealer was formed in 2013 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band was formerly known as Harbinger of the Apocalypse. This duo is made up of guitarist/ vocalist Jim Powell    (Sexual Atrocities, ex-Harbinger of the Apocalypse, ex-Screaming Afterbirth, Infliction Rate), and drummer Neil Pesch (Asatta, ex-Harbinger of the Apocalypse). The band first released a demo ‘Witch Fucker’ in 2013, this demo with songs like ‘Sex, Drugs, Rock n’ Satan’ and ‘Iron Sabbath (Black Maiden)’ proved the band’s sound was much larger than any run of the mill two man band. Like their name may hint Satan’s Dealer has lyrical content that is centered around  occult darkness, satan and drugs. When it comes to the bands instrumentation and vocals they incorporate influences from several different genres. You will hear some doom, stoner rock and even some thrash elements from the band. All of these with some other unique additions create the bands own personal style that has been forged over time. Satan’s Dealer has now released a follow up to their demo titled ‘Dealer Of The Gods’ which was released on June 1, 2017.

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Review: THE MATCH – ‘Just Burn’ [Select Tracks Streaming]

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The Match was officially formed November 22, 2013 in Turin. In this short span of time, the band has involved in special and crucial events: the beginning of cooperation with Agitoriu (management, booking, promotion), open act for The Philm of Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), participation in Ritmika Festival, tours (Italy, California) participation in the NAMM SHOW (Anaheim, CA) but, above all, the creation and release of their first official album titled ‘JUST BURN’ (produced by The Match and Agitoriu) out on March 9, 2017. The Match is an extension of the decennial project Eleven Prime, founded by bassist / singer Francesco “The GrooVster” Gallo.  Continue reading →

The Bucketlist With DED! [Video]

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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 Joe and David in Charlotte when they played Carolina Rebellion, you can see that interview here.  Continue reading →

Review: BWAK DWAGON – ‘Plum Island’ [Album Stream]

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Photo Credit: JBradley

BWAK DWAGON was forged in the rock n roll town of Cleveland, Ohio. The three piece band is made up of Matthew Clement on drums and vocals, Dave Busch on guitar, and Jason Robinson on bass. Together, they mix heavy riffs with haunting tones and lyrics. This powerful trio has plenty to offer and though this band may be small in numbers they are big in sound. The band released their self-titled debut album in 2014 and was released independently by the band. It is also now available on vinyl via Gotta Groove Records I might add. The debut was recorded by Paul Maccarrone (Obnox) at 71st Door in Cleveland, OH and mastered by Charlie Loudin (The Pistolettes) at My Other Car Is The Space Time Continuum in Kent, OH. The band of course has had a strong string of live performances in and around the Cleveland area and has quickly drawn attention to their heavy and haunting sound. Just 2 years later the band has released a follow up to their debut titled ‘Plum Island’ which released in September of 2016. The band coming off the heels of a successful first album again went to Paul Maccarrone for recording and Charlie Loudin for mastering. The lyrical content is one of the strongest points within the Bwak Dwagon sound and those words are brought to life on paper and in voice by Matthew Clement. It’s not often we get a chance to hear the drummer show off his pipes while also beating his drum kit to shreds but Clement is able to easily accomplish this.

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