This was one of those tours that I could not, would not, miss. As soon as Gojira and Opeth revealed the dates for a co-headlining tour of the U.S., the plans for a trip to Indianapolis’s Egyptian Room on May 13th were set in motion. With none other than the Devin Townsend Project opening for the metal titans, this tour was destined to go down as the heaviest, prog-infused expedition that I have ever witnessed. Continue reading
Since the release of their debut LP, Narrative, last summer – Austin, Texas hardcore outfit, Fire From The Gods, have experienced a rapid surge in popularity. Attaining a record deal from Rise Records in the process, Fire From The Gods’ second album, Narrative Retold, is slated for a May 19th release. And the forecast could not look brighter for this young band’s sophomore LP, as the official music video for “The Voiceless”, revealed by Fire From The Gods last Friday, is an all-out slammer! Make sure and check out the music video above! “The Voiceless” is one of two tracks featured on Narrative Retold that were produced by none other than Jonathan Davis of Korn. Harnessing a genuine hardcore mentality with the perfect touch of melody, Fire From The Gods are bound to release one of the most solid albums of the year next month – that said based on this raw, powerful track alone. Continue reading
After many weeks of announcing individual bands that will be present at the festival, the guys behind Full Terror Assault Open Air have unveiled the entire lineup for the third annual metal fest in Cave-In-Rock, Illinois! This lineup is stacked with metal heavyweights – consisting of none other than Overkill, Venom Inc., Havok, Toxic Holocaust, Goatwhore, Crowbar and many more! With a total of 37 bands, ranging from all ends of the extreme metal spectrum, performing over three days… Full Terror Assault III is going to go down as one of the most ass-kicking festivals in the U.S. this year! This only further cements the open air festival’s growing reputation among extreme metal fests.
Photo Credit: Marc Duvollet
It was well publicized last year, when Soilwork’s drummer of twelve years – Dirk Verbeuren – departed from the Swedish melodic death metal band to join Megadeth. In response to Dirk’s exit, Soilwork enlisted young gun, Bastian Thusgaard, to fill in as touring drummer for the remainder of the band’s touring commitments during these last ten months. And now, the band has confirmed that Bastian is the permanent drummer for the band! Below is a statement issued by the band via the Soilwork Facebook page today, concerning Bastian Thusgaard’s addition to the lineup. Continue reading
Normally, I don’t cover music that is local to my region of central Illinois. BUT now is a very necessary exception, as Champaign’s Earth Witch (finally!) dropped their debut LP last month, entitled Out Of The Shallow. The trio of Ivan Catron (vocals, guitars), Derrin Coad (bass), and Nathan Landolt (drums) do more than harness the heavy on the album, delivering an untainted showcase of raw doom rock in all its riffing glory. Featuring percussive, bass grooves and powerful, gritty vocals – Out Of The Shallow is a must-listen for the blues rock enthusiast in 2017! Continue reading
Record Store Day 2017 is upon us! In just a few, short weeks, exclusive releases by artists – ranging from Johnny Cash to Warbringer – will be available for purchase in record stores across the globe. And it is confirmed that among the vinyl releases there will be a limited run of a special Enslaved LP coming on Saturday, April 22nd! The legendary, progressive black metal band’s first official live album, Roadburn Live, will chronicle Enslaved’s performance at Roadburn Festival 2015 in Tilburg, Netherlands. Continue reading
Logo and Artwork by Xenoyr of Ne Obliviscaris!
It’s been awhile since I’ve reviewed a melodic death metal album on the site. Perhaps that is too long of a while, as the guys in Iapetus dropped a killer work of melodeath last month that only re-established my admiration for the beloved subgenre. The Long Road Home is the debut LP from Long Island duo, Matthew Cerami (vocals, guitars, bass) and Jordan Navarro (guitars, keys, drum programming), and it is a genuine trip into the cosmos. Weaving melodious death metal riffs into a dreamscape-like atmosphere, Iapetus is a band that fans of Be’Lakor, Dark Tranquility, or In Flames would be wise to keep on their radar. Continue reading
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*
This month’s State is Pennsylvania!
There was a plethora of great releases in the tech death realms last year. Obviously, not all of those technical death metal albums of 2016 were shown the love they deserve on Metal Nexus… With that said, I am currently kicking myself in the ass for not covering Burial In The Sky’s jaw-dropping debut LP last year. The absolute least I can do now is have Burial In The Sky as the first featured artist for this month’s State of the Art: Pennsylvania series! Since the band was birthed in 2013, they have only delivered solid material. Now – with a demo, EP, and full-length, under their belts – the future could not look any brighter for Burial In The Sky. The Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania natives, Will Okronglis (guitars, vocals), James Tomedi (guitars, bass) and Sam Stewart (drums), produce a unique brand of death metal with appeasing, technical guitar licks and a dreamy, celestial atmosphere.
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*
This month’s State is Virginia!
Virginia’s tenure as our featured State of the Art concludes this week, as I present one more noteworthy artist hailing from the Old Dominion – Loincloth. With members in Richmond and Raleigh, perhaps the band could fit in the Virginia or North Carolina State of the Art series. Nevertheless, the instrumental prog trio is a hard-hitting powerhouse to be reckoned with, featuring concise, syncopated movements of progressive metal riffage and dissonance. Continue reading
Defeated Sanity’s Facebook page had hinted at a major announcement coming, but I did not expect anything as huge as this! Without a doubt, this has to be one of, if not THE, sickest North American tour happening this summer. And its official, folks – Gorguts will be trekking across the states with both Defeated Sanity and Exist! Perhaps Metal Nexus will be covering one of these shows??
Making their return to the Western hemisphere, Gorguts are fresh off the roads of Australia and New Zealand, having toured down under with Marduk throughout this month of March. Now before the tech death legends embark on this tour of the states, they will be heading out next month for some Canadian dates with Dysrhythmia, the prog metallers who share members with the reincarnated Gorguts. Ultimately, Luc Lemay and the gang will be headlining Covenant Montreal which takes place April 13th-15th – this festival is sister to Covenant Festival in Vancouver, both of which are weekend gatherings to celebrate the music of Death with performances by multiple extreme metal bands, comprising lineups that can be found here. After this tour of their homeland, Gorguts is state-bound, kicking things off in Syracuse at Lost Horizon on June 3rd. Rest assured, I think we can expect to hear some of the critically acclaimed Pleiades’ Dust EP performed on this tour! Continue reading
