Author Archives: Odyssey

About Odyssey

I have had a life-long love of music, but from the first time I heard Kiss and Black Sabbath with my landlord's son in Nicholasville, KY in the mid 70's, I have been hooked on Hard Rock and Metal. While my tastes in music have done nothing but expand since then, Metal remains closest to my heart. In addition, I have played bass, still play guitar and have literally 1000's of CDs/MP3s, so my knowledge is long steeped and honest. I don't buy the whole splintered, sub-genres thing and choose to like bands and music based solely on individual merits. Obviously, this is always colored by my mood, what I need at any given point and time and what is generally pleasing to my ear. I also don't like to rip any music or band, instead having an open mind and ear for it all because I have a passion for it all. It is completely subjective and in a constant state of flux. Consider me a music "nerd" not a music "snob". As an extension of this love, I hope to share this passion with everyone here and learn from your passion as well! - Odyssey -

State of the Art: Oregon – Sacrifice to Survive

By | |
Comments Off on State of the Art: Oregon – Sacrifice to Survive

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

This month’s State is Oregon!

Man. Can hardly believe it is already May. With that we move from Pennsylvania on the East Coast to the West Coast to hit Oregon, our new state for our State of the Art series. Having a capital of Salem and being bordered by Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California and the Pacific Ocean, Oregon became the 33rd state in the U.S. February 14th, 1859. Taking up some 98,000 square miles and having a population of about 4,000,000 residents, Oregon is the ninth largest state and the 33rd most populated, respectively. Within its boundaries lies a wide variety of geography including volcanoes, large bodies of water, dense forests, high deserts, semi-arid shrublands and beaches; driving Oregon’s economy powered by agriculture, fishing, hydroelectric power, timber and cutting edge technology. Nike, FLIR Systems, Portland General Electric and Columbia Sportswear are just a few international corporations that call Oregon home [Wiki]. In addition, the state has spawned a large number of notable bands such as Red Fang, Black ‘n Blue, Toxic Holocaust, Whermact, among many others. For my first Oregon SOTA band this month I would like to shine the spotlight on Sacrifice to Survive.

Continue reading →

Interview With Central Florida’s Own Southern Fried Genocide In Prep For Best Fest VI: Against the Grain!

By | |
Comments Off on Interview With Central Florida’s Own Southern Fried Genocide In Prep For Best Fest VI: Against the Grain!

Southern Fried Genocide is:

Steven – vocals
Matt a.k.a. Bama – guitar
Wes – guitar
Stoo – bass
Greg – drums

Southern Fried Genocide was a featured band in our coverage of the 2016 Mayfest show in Central Florida. As they prepare for the headlining spot at the April 29th, 2017, Best Fest VI: Against the Grain show at Ashley’s Sports Page in Satellite Beach, FL, we got the pleasure of interviewing Steven, the vocalist for this uniquely killer band. Throwing any sense of convention to the wind, SFG takes bits and pieces of Punk, Hardcore, Grunge, Blues and Hip–Hop, adds their own special mixture of classic, southern guitar riffs and Doom/Stoner Arizona desert grooves, and bakes it together over the hot flames of one of the best rhythm sections in the business (if you need a taste, check out the full stream of Electric Mayhem at the end of the interview). Lyrically, we are challenged, as listeners, to question authority, our belief systems and morality from a completely pragmatic and honest point of view. How’s that for flying in the face of the status quo? If you live in the area, this is definitely a show you don’t want to miss. If not, you really need to check out Southern Fried Genocide. Killer freakin’ band and worthy of any music collection!

Continue reading →

State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Chronostasis

By | |
Comments Off on State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Chronostasis

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

So, with this week, our State of the Art: Pennsylvania series is comes to a close. So much good music to choose from and from a scene that is bursting at the seams with new ideas, creative concepts not heard anywhere else and a diversity that is nothing short of stunning. Finding interesting and engaging bands was never a problem but choosing among such a large swath of sounds did become a rather daunting task; and this week was no exception. I was down to three or four bands that fit my bill this week until I came upon Chronostasis. This is exactly what I was looking for. Once I got my chin out of my lap, bought their debut CD and got over my initial shock and awe, I got to work.

Continue reading →

Review of Night Demon’s Killer, Band Defining “Darkness Remains”

By | |
Comments Off on Review of Night Demon’s Killer, Band Defining “Darkness Remains”

Night Demon is:

Jarvis Leatherby: vocals and bass guitar

Armand John Anthony: guitar

Dusty Squires: drums

Night Demon has been a universal favorite among our staff members for quite some time now. When I was fortunate to see them for the first time with Anvil and Graveshadow last month (Review), I was simply blown away. I loved their music before, but after seeing them, Night Demon has damned near become an obsession that eventually landed us a copy of Darkness Remains, to be released April 21st, 2017 on the Century Media record label. Needless to say, this CD has been worn… the… hell… out!

Continue reading →

Review of the Incredible “Building Castles in Air” by Lucid Fly

By | |
Comments Off on Review of the Incredible “Building Castles in Air” by Lucid Fly

Lucid Fly is:

Nikki Layne – vocals
Doug Mecca – guitar

Aaron Ficca – drums

Often described as a dark and epic cross between Evanescence and A Perfect Circle, Lucid Fly has been together since 2001. Founded by vocalist Nikki Layne and guitarist Doug Mecca in Orlando, FL, the band found its name, interestingly, from a headline in the paper, reading: “Lucid Flies Into The Record Books” that documented the record breaking time in space by astronaut Shannon Lucid. Once cementing their staying power in the Orlando music scene and growing their fan base, Lucid Fly released their debut LP entitled Adapting to Gravity in 2005. With almost universal acceptance and mounting acclaim, Lucid Fly continued to play in and around FL, but they had their sights set on a bigger prize and moved to the West Coast. Once landing in L.A., drummer Aaron Fica, who had been touring with Macy Gray, was given an honorary spot behind the kit. As a follow up to their 2009 release of The Escape Stage, a three song EP entitled Stasis was released in 2015. As their fan base has continuously expanded and critical acclaim has come in droves, demand for new music thrust the band, once again, into the studio. Once their successful crowdfunding campaign that raised in upwards of $13K for what would become Building Castles in Air, Lucid Fly, were one of only seventeen bands invited by Mike Portnoy to play at the 2014 Progressive Nation at Sea event along with other noteworthy bands including Periphery, Haken, Riverside and many others. After great care and thoughtful songwriting, Building Castles in Air was recently released in November, 2016 and is deserving a prominent spot in any music fans’ collection. Continue reading →

State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Tungsten

By | |
Comments Off on State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Tungsten

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

Week number three of our State of the Art: Pennsylvania series takes us back to Philadelphia where we find an extremely unusual band that pulls influences from all over the musical landscape: Metal, Psychedelia, Progressive Rock/Metal and everything in between to create a sound like no other. My spotlight band this week is Tungsten.

Continue reading →

Moonlight Prophecy Set to Release “Eternal Oblivion” on April 17th!

By | |
Comments Off on Moonlight Prophecy Set to Release “Eternal Oblivion” on April 17th!

Moonlight Prophecy is:

Lawrence Wallace: All instruments and composing
Mika Mage: bass

Being that we are covering the great state of Pennsylvania in our State of the Art series this month and it being International Guitar Month, I ran into a band in my search for talented, lesser known gems that I instantly fell in love with that needed to be covered outside of the normal Monday cycle and they have a brand new release set to drop on April 15th. From Philadelphia comes Moonlight Prophecy to abuse your ear drums with the, much anticipated, release of Eternal Oblivion!

Continue reading →

State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Gun Metal Gray

By | |
Comments Off on State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Gun Metal Gray

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

Week number two of the state that brought us bands like August Burns Red, Halestorm, Poison, Cinderella, Britney Fox, A Life Once Lost, Motionless in White brings us a kick ass Metal/Thrash band out of Pennsylvania’s capital of Harrisburg. Winning the QWIK Rock 105.9 Battle of the Bands at the Arena Bar and Grill in State College just a few weeks ago comes Gun Metal Gray.

Continue reading →

ANEWRAGE Redefines Themselves With “Life-Related Symptoms”

By | |
Comments Off on ANEWRAGE Redefines Themselves With “Life-Related Symptoms”

ANEWRAGE is:

Axel Capurro – Vocals/Guitars
Manuel Sanfilippo – Guitars/Backing Vocals
Simone Martin – Bass
Alessandro Ferrarese – Drums/Backing Vocals

Like our experiences with outstanding bands coming out of Greece comes yet another killer band out of Italy. Hailing from Milan, ANEWRAGE is a long standing band that describes themselves as a “powerful mix of Alternative Metal and Post–Grunge”. While this may give a general feel for what they are after, I definitely hear influences of Progressive and djent throughout as well; giving them a broad sound that is completely identifiable as their own. In 2014, ANEWRAGE released ANR which vaulted them above the fray and allowed them to play with international, bucket-list bands like Gamma Ray, Freak Kitchen, Dreamshad, Destrage, among others. The teaser for album alone also left them finalists for the SXSW Design Award in Austin, TX for inclusion in projects like Pacific Rim, The Lego Movie, The Last of Us, etc. Their radio friendly sound has also earned them spots in the rotation for RockTV Italy and A One Ukrainian Rock TV Channel, where their singles “Ape’s Legacy” and “Nina” are still being played. After all of the aforementioned attention, ANEWRAGE was picked up by Scarlet Records last year where they recorded “Nina”, produced by Matteo Magni (Rhyme, Audrey, Mellowtoy) and included on the “ANR – Deluxe Edition” re-release. Joining forces again with Metteo, ANEWRAGE is set to release their new album Life–Related Symptoms on April 7th, 2017 (be sure to check out the band release of the entire album on their Spotify channel linked at the bottom!).

Continue reading →

State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Assayer

By | |
Comments Off on State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Assayer

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

April takes our State of the Art series to Pennsylvania. One of the first thirteen colonies of the United States and becoming a state in 1681 and second to ratify the United States Constitution, Pennsylvania is bordered by Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario; being split in the center of the state by the Appalachian Mountains. Of the fifty states, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, 5th most populous (pop. 12,802,503) and is the 9th most densely populated. With its large population and density, Pennsylvania boasts the 5th highest gross state product of $644,000,000 and houses about fifty Fortune 500 companies. Named after William Penn, the state was originally organized as a Colony of New Sweden along with what is now Delaware. Pennsylvania covers some 46,055 square miles, 490 of which are covered by inland waters. While the capital is Harrisburg, I take you to the largest city of Philadelphia where we find one helluva destroyer band called Assayer. Continue reading →