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/

The Bucketlist With MIRRORED IMAGE! [Video]

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In this series we pose the age old questions to a wide array of music lovers. As fans of music most of us keep a mental list of active bands we want to see live that we haven’t yet seen. The Bucketlist brings to you those lists of your favorite artists and why those bands mean so much to them.

 

Mirrored Image is a 4 piece band based in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky. There isn’t a huge rock scene in the area that is better known for country and bluegrass artists, but Mirrored Image is looking to change that. The Kentuckians boast a true alt rock sound with amazing melodic vocals. The band has a sound that the music world has truly been missing. They have a 90’s alt rock inspired sound but with their own modern twist. Mirrored Image is made up of vocalist and songwriter Dylan Belcher, guitarist and backing vocalist Mark Chaney, drummer Evan Compton and bassist Elijah Purvis. Mirrored Image’s debut album ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ released in April and the band has been making a name for themselves ever since. The easiest way to describe their sound is to say its 1 part Oasis, 1 part Nirvana, and 1 part Blur and then shake forcefully. They have the songwriting power and vocal harmonies of Oasis, the rawness of Nirvana and the explosive energy of Blur. The band’s debut album kicks off with the song “Mask” and its an incredible starting place for the band showing off everything they have to offer in one track that ends with incredible intensity. They mix things up and every track stands out for a different reason. Though they may remind you of iconic rock bands from the past they truly have their own unique style of music and writing. Several of the tracks on this album quickly get stuck in your head and you have to revisit them just to sing along. This debut by Mirrored Image will leave a lasting reflection on you. Continue reading →

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: METAL CHURCH

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*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 METAL CHURCH.

 

There are various legendary metal bands playing this years Chicago Open Air. One of those acts have been creating head banging riffs and incredible hooks for over 3 decades. That’s right Metal Church one of the most iconic and legendary bands in heavy metal will be playing Saturday at this years Chicago Open Air Festival. Metal Church first formed in 1980 in San Francisco, California. The band has a strong traditional heavy metal sound that also included some thrash elements which became more prevalent later on in their career. It wasn’t long however before they packed up and headed north to Aberdeen, Washington the following year. During a brief time after moving they also played under the name Shrapnel. If you think about the two words “metal” and “church” its the two things a lot of people find comfort in. Those of us that are die hard metal heads consider live shows, festival grounds and hole in the wall venues to be our personal church. The bands namesake is really what metal is all about. The band has released 11 studio albums. The founding members vocalist David Wayne, guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, drummer Kirk Arrington, bassist Duke Erickson, and guitarist Craig Wells released the bands self-titled debut album in 1984. It was first released independently through Ground Zero Records and because of how successful the album was it re-release via Elektra Records a year later. “Beyond The Black” was the opener on the album and one of the standout songs. In 1986 the band released their sophomore album ‘The Dark’. In 2005, the album was ranked number 389 in Rock Hard magazine’s book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.  Continue reading →

DALE CROVER (The Melvins) Premieres Solo Track “Hillbilly Math”!

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Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

As the release of Dale Crover’s (Melvins) debut solo album, ‘The Fickle Finger of Fate’ (Aug. 4, ), gets closer, the legendary drummer shares a second new song from the 20-track album, “Hillbilly Math,” The album which releases August 4th via Joyful Noise Recordings was co-produced by Crover and longtime partner-in-crime Toshi Kasai. Crover played the bulk of the instruments on the collection (guitar, keyboards, drums) as well as vocals. Guests include Redd Kross’ Steven McDonald, Dan Southwick (Altamont) and Crover’s adorable 11-year-old daughter Scarlett who assists with violin, percussion and vocals. Continue reading →

WOVENWAR Launches New Video For “Cascade”!

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Wovenwar started their career in 2013 in sunny Southern California. The band is comprised of three members of As I Lay Dying Nick Hipa on lead guitar, Josh Gilbert on bass and vocals, and drummer Jordan Mancino. Shane Blay from Oh, Sleeper was brought in as the vocalist and rhythm guitarist. The bands most recent album ‘Honor Is Dead ‘ also features Phil Sgrosso who was also a member of As I Lay Dying, but he left Wovenwar last year. The members formed Wovenwar after As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis was arrested for soliciting the murder of his wife.  Continue reading →

State Of The Art: ALEPH NAUGHT [EP Stream]

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*

This month’s state is North Carolina!

 

Raleigh, North Carolina is home to the newly formed Aleph Naught. The band was formed in Feburary of 2016 by vocalist/guitarist David Sanchez and drummer Brandon Smith. David also contributes vocals and guitar to the Raleigh based melodic black metal band Grēves. No stranger to the music scene, Brandon was formerly the drummer of Suppresive Fire. With just these two member intact they recorded a 3 track demo on September 17th, 2016 which would be used to establish their sound and help recruit members to complete the bands lineup. That process worked as well. The lineup would be completed with Robin Foster on guitar, and Brandon was also reunited with his former bandmate in Suppresive Fire with the addition of bassist Aaron Schmidt. The band is described as New melo-death, but they do have a strong blackened death metal style. David incorporated some very Swedish metal style riffs to the band’s sound that gives their blackened sound an outside the box element truly making them unique to the style of music they play. Brandon adds an immense talent behind the drum kit and his pounding double bass beats are one of the core elements in the bands overall sound. The band was initially started out of a project that didn’t truly come together. However, their musical talents just on the three tracks they have recorded thus far prove that the members of Aleph Naught are destined for success with this lineup. Continue reading →

DEAD EARTH POLITICS Part Ways With Drummer!

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Austin, Texas-based metal group Dead Earth Politics have been compared to the likes of Lamb of God, Iron Maiden, Pantera and other legends, this band strikes at many cores. The band has become one of the top bands in the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal. They have their roots in the thrash metal genre, but at times also show signs of influence from traditional metal and power metal as well. Dead Earth Politics perfectly blends melodic vocals and vicious harsh screaming. The band announced today they have parted ways with drummer Mason Evans. The drummer co-founded Dead Earth Politics in 2005 with vocalist Ven Scott and contributed heavily to the band’s meteoric rise through the Austin metal scene. Evans was an integral part of the band and was on all Dead Earth Politics’ 5 releases the most recent being ‘The Mobius Hammersmith’ which will be the last album Evans will make an appearance on.  Continue reading →

Carolina Rebellion 2017 Day 3 Review [Photo Gallery]

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The final day of Carolina Rebellion was upon us. Some people were completely wore down from the previous two days of non-stop metal, crowd surfing and moshing and others were sad that the weekend was coming to a close. Sunday’s lineup was headlined by Avenged Sevenfold, The Offspring, Volbeat, and Papa Roach. If this wasn’t already enough metal packed into one day we were also lucky enough to get a great group of undercard bands as well like Seether, Three Days Grace, Skillet, Coheed & Cambria, and Taking Back Sunday. Most of these second tier bands could headline a show on their own any night of the week. Fozzy of course was on Sunday’s lineup as well featuring WWE’s Chris Jericho. Then you have the amazing up and coming bands like Kyng who have already put their name on the map with their true trio power rock blend, Sylar who is one of the bands leading the nu-metal charge, Goodbye June, Fire From The Gods who is another nu-metal/hardcore kind of band that is picking up fans by the 100’s, Citizen Zero, Beartooth and Dutch metallars The Charm The Fury who have recently been compared to a female fronted version of Pantera. Sunday was truly one of the best lineups of the entire weekend. We didn’t get a chance to see everyone due to completing interviews and overlapping schedules. There was a few bands we missed that we really wanted to see, but we are hoping to catch most of these bands again in the near future. Continue reading →

MISERY SIGNALS’ Ryan Morgan Talks About “Yesterday Was Everything” Documentary!

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Photo Credit: Erika Astrid

Misery Signals are just a week away from releasing their documentary “Yesterday Was Everything” which was filmed and directed by Matt Mixon. Misery Signals was born out of tragedy. 7 Angels 7 Plagues was on tour with Hamartia and Compromise. Two members of Edmonton-based hardcore band Compromise were tragically killed in June of 2002 in a horrific automobile accident on Interstate 20 near Heflin, Alabama. Jordan Wodehouse, 19, and Daniel Langlois, 20, were killed. A drunk driver caused the accident that took their lives and injured others in the process, it was unfortunate for those who had passed but for the others injured, they were lucky enough to have a personal injury lawyer springfield il by their side through this difficult time. Compromise vocalist Jesse Zaraska and Kyle Johnson, Ryan Morgan of 7 Angels 7 Plagues went on to form Misery Signals. Ryan’s brother Branden Morgan was added as the drummer, and Stuart Ross on rhythm guitar. The band released their debut album ‘Of Malice and the Magnum Heart’ in 2004 and it was an instant hit among hardcore fans. To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the release the band embarked on a tour in 2014 with the original lineup of the band. The “Malice X Tour” consisted of 8 tour dates in both Canada and the U.S. It should also be noted that the director of the documentary Matt Mixon was the vocalist of 7 Angels 7 Plagues, his familiarity with the band and the circumstances the band was formed under made him the perfect person to not only film the reunion tour but also to pose questions to the band about the tragic accident and the circumstances in which Jesse left the band in 2006. The documentary certainly depicts the band in a very fragile state as the tour begins. It not only captures the current state of the band and touring with its original members but also reflects on the tragedy that first brought the band together. “Yesterday Was Everything” releases on June 30th and will be available for purchase or streaming on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon. This is a documentary that will rank very high not only for fans of Misery Signals but music fans in general. A great documentary that captures pure raw emotion, overcoming obstacles and a reigniting passion amongst musicians. Continue reading →

ReverbNation Wants Your Band To Play Chicago Open Air 2017!

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Every band has the dream of performing for a sea of fans on a massive stage right? Not only could those dreams come true but your band could also be the opening act for legends in the rock and metal world like Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne (Featuring Zakk Wylde), Korn, Slayer, Megadeth, Godsmack, Rob Zombie and Stone Sour. I mean seriously can a dream gig get any sweeter than that? This is all before even mentioning the slew of non-headlining acts playing this years 2nd annual Chicago Open Air Festival in Bridgeview, Illinois. ReverbNation is giving one band the chance to live out their dreams for at least one night. Last year the first-ever Chicago Open Air Festival brought more than 75,000 fans to Toyota Park. This show for an up and coming band could really spark something great and give them the ability to perform for tens of thousands of potential fans. The talent buyers of Chicago Open Air will select one 1 ReverbNation band to perform at this year’s festival at Toyota Park. Someone has to play…might as well be you.  Continue reading →

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: DEMON HUNTER

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*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 Demon Hunter.

It all began in the year 2000 in Seattle, Washington for the band Demon Hunter. Formed by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. Although the brothers created the band, only one remains, since Don Clark has left the band back in 2009. Demon Hunter is a Christian band that combines nu metal, groove and some metalcore to create their unique sound. The bands self titled debut was released in 2002 via the Christian record label Solid State and it was recorded entirely in drop c tuning. The debut was produced by Aaron Sprinkle (MxPx, New Found Glory). Every album the band has recorded has been released through Solid State. The label isn’t their only loyalty either, each release was also either produced or co-produced by Aaron Sprinkle. It shows that the band truly found a sound and process that works for them and they’ve stuck with it.  Continue reading →