Alright. I goofed again, but in a good way. Our current State of the Art is spotlighting bands from Maine. In my early search I mistakenly thought Order of Nine was from Maine, when, in fact they are from Pittsburgh, PA. Simply put: they are way too damned good not to cover, so here you go!
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*
This month’s State is Maine!
So June’s State of the Art starts with Maine. Where does the time go? Half way through 2016 already. So many great bands discovered over our great country already. This is why I really love this series. Find interesting music where I would not normally look and share it. What could be more Metal than that? Grass roots head banging at its best. Well, my first band jumped up in about thirty seconds of searching. A real no-brainer to write about. If you are not from the upper, east coast, you may not have ever heard of them. If you are, however, you already know who I am talking about. That’s right. It could only be Dead Season. This is a “holy-shit” good band!
My lovely daughter took me to The Big Ticket festival here in Jacksonville, FL a couple of months ago. The line, of course, was blocks long to get in and not moving. As is typical in the festival atmosphere, everyone was friendly and socializing with those around them in line, discussing who they were waiting to see, who they had seen before and finding out who was going to future concerts in the area. There were also many out-of-towners with so many bands playing at one venue. After waiting for about five minutes, we were approached by Jack White, promoting his band: Hall of the Elders. We struck up and easy conversation about his band and music in general. Of course, I am always on the lookout for new tunes and emerging bands to throw my support behind! Jack is a very cool guy with a wide variety of tastes in music. We exchanged information and eventually got back in touch so that I could take a closer listen to Hall of the Elders. Consider me very impressed… Continue reading
After covering Conquest in a recent article, I had the unique opportunity to talk with Derrick Brumley, lead singer and guitarist for this killer band. I found him very friendly, intelligent, open and extremely conversant about his band and how it fits into the music business. If you have not heard of Conquest, you have now. What are you waiting for? Go check them out! But first, a conversation with the man himself…
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*
This month’s State is Arkansas!
I have to say that Arkansas has been one of the easiest states to find good, Metal bands to cover for our State of the Art series. All types of Metal have been represented over the course of the month as well: Traditional, Thrash, Christian, Bluesy, Sludge and Doom. As a matter of fact, it took all but a single search to pick out four of my Arkansas bands. Collectively, none of us can read a calender and were getting ready to move onto our next state this week when BloodRoseRed pointed out that we still had one more week in Arkansas. Boneheads. I humorously felt like a complete idiot. Meh. Shit happens. Moving on… I again, had zero difficulty finding another unique band to cover so his week I give you Iron Iris.
Being a veteran along with both of my grandfathers (WWII), my Dad (during Vietnam), two of my brothers and two of my cousins, Memorial Day holds a very sacred and special place in my heart. I know first-hand that the blood of my Brothers and Sisters in Arms have paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we, as a country, so often take for granted. It is painfully difficult to put into words what this sacred day truly means. Respect. Honor. Pride. Resilience. Espris de corps. Retrospect. All common and terribly inadequate descriptors for the precious value of human life bartered in the name of our country’s independence.
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*
This month’s State is Arkansas!
I have always had the opinion that there is no sense fixing what ain’t broken. As those that know me and readers of my articles know, I am an old guy that has grown up listening to all types of music and have a passion for all things Metal: new stuff, old stuff, super heavy stuff, melodic stuff; I don’t care and I simply love it all. Truth be told though, if I am looking for something guaranteed to please, however, I drop back into music that never seems to get old: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, Metal Church, Savatage, Flotsam and Jetsam, Overkill, Slayer; and on and on. These are the bands of my formative years that help keep me in a youthful state-of-mind. Again, if ain’t broken…
We at Metal Nexus always pay attention to those that are watching what we are doing and writing and converse with those that choose to leave comments and messages for us. This is a big reason we do what we do. We love the music and those that have our same interests. A huge labor of love, shall we say. Well, every now and again, something that crosses our paths here unexpectedly. I was reviewing some of our posts and seeing if there were any band members watching our articles and came across William Lloyd Walker III, rhythm guitarist for Graveshadow. After about five minutes of poking around their website and Facebook page, I started listening to their music. Blown away. Simply floored. After contacting Mr. Walker, I was allowed access to their latest release “Nocturnal Resurrection”. After listening to it on a loop for the better part of three days, this band is deserving our readers’ attention as well.
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*
This month’s State is Arkansas!
Looking for some new, wicked Metal for your ears? Digging Metalcore’s uber-heavy, stuttering, modern rhythms with 808 hits that you feel in your chest and crush your skull when played at the proper, too loud volume? Ready for something driving that reflects frustration of the world around us that drives straight to your soul? How about also offering solutions to said frustration for a change? If this is you, like it is for me; and, well, minus the “wicked” part, you NEED to check out Little Rock’s Becoming Saints! BOOM!
Metal Nexus Interview: Source
Ben Gleason – Vocals and guitar
Georges Octobous – Drums
Dan Crisafulli – Bass
After my recent “State of the Art” showcase of Source, I was fortunate enough to be contacted by band manager Brent Boutte and offered an interview with this unbelievably good band. I had a great sit down with them and managed to ask them about everything I wanted to. We talk about how the band formed, how they learnt how to play their instruments, and much more. Geoges made a joke after the interview about how much easier it is for people to learn instruments now that the internet exists. He would have loved to go onto a site like Drumming Review and see all these reviews and tips – it would have saved him a lot of money on some bad equipment he’s bought in the past! Anyway, onto the interview:
