About Rattlehead

Hi, Rattlehead here. I'm from India, and I'm obsessed with metal of all sub-genres but mostly into thrash and death. I also love other genres, like jazz, funk, rock, some punk, a bit of blues, some country, but well, metal is where I feel at home. I'm always on the run discovering new music. Fanboying Megadeth since I was 13. Love to talk about metal, sports and a little bit of everything here and there. I also love dissing your god, I love food, seeing metal gigs, traveling and also a metal merch and record collector. I hope you like what I write and the music I suggest you. Please do share if you like. Cheers and stay heavy \m/

EXCLUSIVE SINGLE PREMIERE: YouTube Sensation VIOLET ORLANDI Bursts Into Scene With New Album

Violet Orlandi

Brazil-based rock vocalist/instrumentalist VIOLET ORLANDI, has gained viral recognition with her precocious abilities and edgy renditions of heavy metal/grunge/dark/rock artists like NIRVANA, DISTURBED, NINE INCH NAILS, and more, garnering over 860k YouTube followers and 100 million views since beginning in 2016. Notably, her cover video of THE CRANBERRIESZombie‘ has received over 12 million views since it was uploaded back in 2018. She has been putting out new videos every Sunday, and most recently her take on “Ain’t No Sunshine,” featuring MELODICKA BROS, already has over 100k views since its release on March 7th. Now, Orlandi has written and recorded her original debut, ‘High Priest Daughter‘ (out 5/28/21), an intimate look at the most difficult times in the songwriter’s life.

She states, “High Priest Daughter was written over the darkest period of my life. I didn’t even know I was doing it but writing these songs definitely helped me exorcise some of the demons that were taking over my life at the time. I started writing the album a year before my mom passed away and finished it a year after her death. Even though the album doesn’t sound as depressing as it seems, it explores death and coming to terms with it, depression, trauma, and a healthy dose of nihilism.

The 26-year-old guitarist and singer, originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, has been singing since she could speak. Orlandi began taking singing and guitar lessons in her teens and fell in love with rock music. After a multitude of different bands and projects where she developed her identity as a singer-songwriter, and graduating high school, she went on to study abroad in London and lived there for 5 years, ultimately getting a degree in songwriting.

Stay tuned for more from Orlandi as she prepares to make a stamp on the rock world with ‘High Priest Daughter‘ and rises to the ranks of the artists who inspire her.

Meanwhile, check out her single ‘Kill Her‘, which is nothing short of special. With acoustic guitars setting the rhythm, the drums providing the stomp, and especially her towering and strong yet melodious voice, Violet manages to keep up the standard she has set for herself and also amongst the peers in the industry. It is a fresh new tune, a fresh new forthcoming album and an enigmatic artist that we all that we all need to keep an eye out for. We love the new tune, do you?

Check out her socials and other links below:
https://violetorlandi.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo3AxjxePfj6DHn03aiIhww
https://www.instagram.com/violet_orlandi/
https://www.facebook.com/violetorlandi/?ref=page_internal
https://twitter.com/VioletOrlandi

Indian Band LAST WALK Highlights Drugs & Alcohol Addiction In New Music Video, ‘Walking God’

LAST WALK

Indian band based out of Jaipur, Rajasthan has unleashed their all new music video, ‘Walking God‘, from their debut EP. The quartet has chosen to throw some much needed limelight on drug and alcohol addiction that society battles. To talk about an issue that is often left under the rug takes much courage and for that that the band deserves much respect and appreciation.

According to the band, here’s what they have to say about their new music video, “Walking God marks as our third single from our debut EP. It’s a story of a man struggling with addiction to drugs and alcohol. A series of event later on decides his fate making him clean from his addiction with the help of supernatural power. Walking God is written as a symbolism of end of the Kalyug by Lord Kalki, cleaning every evil deeds on Earth and resetting a new age of dawn.

The song begins with a calm and carries itself upward and onward to double bass drumming and power riffing, a crescendo you might call. It perfectly shows how traumatic and frustrating the ordeal of addiction can be. The song sort of goes up and down, building in the calm and breaking it down with heavy riff and complimenting amazing drumming. It has a very groovy, metalcore sort of break downs and the obvious melodic sections, something that new wave of American heavy metal known for and have inspired others such as LAST WALK as well.

Take a dig into their new video and also don’t forget to check out their new EP and follow them on facebook if you like their music. Cheers!

LAST WALK consists of:

  1. Drums: Vikas Sharma
  2. Guitars: Akhilesh Srivastav
  3. Bass: Snehashish Banerjee
  4. Vocals: rbbt

Album Review: ‘S/T’ – ABDUCTED

‘Self titled’ – ABDUCTED

What is up boys and girls and everyone on the gender spectrum? I hope the fall is treating you good. But if not, let me take care of that. And I shall do that today by throwing your way some bone crushing and ear shattering death metal from up north, Fairbanks, Alaska. Today, we bring to you the debut, full length record by ABDUCTED. There is some real deep connection with the icy cold north and death metal, isn’t it? Be it Swedish death metal, melodic death metal from Finland or the notorious first wave of black metal from Norway, an offshoot born out of death metal itself. No matter where they all fall on the wide array of the dissonant side of metal, they are exclusively special to itself and can kick abundant posers off the deck any day. And that is exactly what ABDUCTED successfully does on their debut offering, that is, mercilessly annihilate your petty ear drums. Let’s not beat around the bush and dissect this wonderful album.

Right off the hook, the band throws at you a massive, heavy and head-banging breakdown riff. Something in the range of slow tempo, that is perfect for building up the adrenaline as a prelude to the next songs. It is an absolute banger, it gets your feet stomping, and neck swaying in unison. Although, groovy, chugging or breakdowns get flak sometimes, they do get your head banging. I would say ABDUCTED perfectly nails the kick-off to this album. It sets the mood for a perfect incoming onslaught.

Second song titled, ‘Aberration‘ makes no excuses, no time for bull shitting around, and it just goes ‘BAM’! It’s like a charged up bull unleashed from its barn satiating its soaring adrenaline levels. You can immediately hear those double bass kicks going in hard, complimented by the hard crashing cymbals and not to mention the savory and grinding riff. Apart from the band’s vocalist doing a tremendous job on this one, we have our own homeboy Tyler Byrum laying down some sick, thick and morbid growls featuring as the first guest vocalist on the album. And he has done a great job filling that guest vocals spot, I think he has melded his vocals pretty well into the song. At about 2:54, everything just comes to a standstill for a second, and you know there’s something wicked the band had been brewing up for this next groove fest. And oh boy, what a juicy riff! You know I have a penchant for them grooves, the huge chuggs and breakdowns. And its not even halfway into the second song and ABDUCTED throws in my favorite gnarly, nasty and filthiest riff on the album. Drop tuned earth shattering guitars, that crash cymbal, coupled with the double bass and hard snare, each woven perfectly into each other, with the perfect timing results in a mouth watering section, that I would call my favourite in the album. The track then progresses into a frenzy fiesta and then fades into this another fist pumping breakdown.

There’s one really good trait that this album holds is that it is a very well balanced concoction of groove along the modern metal lines, some fierce and fast paced riffing as seen in songs like ‘Kerrigan‘, ‘Deadite‘ and ‘The Twin Princes‘ to name a few. A few guitar solos are also thrown in songs like ‘Indoctrination‘. The riff transitions in the album are also very well curated, they are swift, crisp and they all fit into the song perfectly, without any part in the song left out feeling like it doesn’t belong in the puzzle. And that, is what makes this album interesting. I believe more often that not, what modern/deathcore/djent bands end up doing is fail to meticulously cook the perfect broth. It is either too much of riff based chugs, or too much of just palm muted djent, or just enough of groove, and that’s what makes me yawn by the end of the album. Art in whatever form, I feel, should be well balanced, just like a diet. Like, I don’t wanna feed my ears 40 minutes of palm muted riffs, you know what I am saying.

ABDUCTED features some very thick growls, spawned directly from the crypts of hell. And as stated before, the vocalist manages to balance it out. Its not always the thick and dense growls but also the high pitched borderline screeching as well. Major props to second guest on vocals featured in ‘The Twin Princes‘, as he manages to not sway so much in vocal range and depth of his growls in the album from the band’s vocalist, so as to feel that the song doesn’t belong in the album. I must add that the vocals in the album fit perfectly in terms of the depth and heaviness when it comes to complimenting the riffing. I believe this is something very important in death metal. If your vocals sound like you’re just into puberty but your guitars are monstrous, then I might as well go ahead and just say that is pretty much bollocks.

The drumming in the album has been intense as well. The meandering nature of the drums from groove, to machine gun double bass to the cymbal work have been immaculate. The snare sound is just absolute favorite for my ears and to my liking. It’s crisp and hits hard. All in all, the band manages to tweak every aspect of their sound in this album to perfection. The guitars, vocals, drums and bass all match each other in terms of how much they compliment each other. Each ingredient has been perfectly engineered in the desired ratio to produce this beast of a debut record.

Stream the album down below. And if you like them enough, support them by giving yourself some really cool death metal on their bandcamp page and merch store.

EXCLUSIVE TRACK PREMIERE: ‘Let Them Come’ – KALEN CHASE [Lyric Video]

Photo Credit: Ginger de Vegh

KALEN CHASE, whom you might have come across from his work with VIMIC and KORN has released a brand new track from his solo venture, titled, ‘Let Them Come‘. A departure from the hard rock and metal vocal style, this one brings on the board some really melodic, sing along clean vocals that I am sure the softer side of the metal fans would cling on to. Listen to it below.

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Watch OVTLIER’s All New Groovy, Melodic And Harrowing Music Video, ‘Spineless’

OVTLIER from Rochester, New York are one of the most talked about new metalcore bands in town. It is justified that the sick yet amazing music that they create makes them worthy of all the attention that they are thrown at. OVTLIER has just released a new single that goes by the name, ‘Spineless‘ and oh boy, the music video is intense. The video contains disturbing imagery, so proceed with caution.

It talks about the horrors of the healthcare or drug industry. The new song is some thing nu metal fans can directly cling on to as there are sections the band goes out all guns blazing and then there are certain complimentary parts where they all even out the aggression by taking to clean vocals and anthem-esque melody. Both of the vibes go hand in hand pretty darn well.

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Indian Death Metallers GODLESS To Decimate Europe This September!

Indian metal has been on the rise on the global platform for quite a while lately now. There are more number of Indian bands touring Europe than ever before. 2019 has been phenonmenal when it comes to Indian bands taking a leap overseas and showcasing their prowess to the wider audiences to much applause. GODLESS has been one of the most technical, cut throat and brutal bands that have made a huge mark in the Indian scene for the past couple of years now. They have been professional, powerful and also have been successful in cementing themselves as rising force in both Indian and global death metal scene.

If I still don’t sound convincing go ahead and check them out while they’re out on the road starting this September 7th, making sure their blend of nerve wracking death metal takes no prisoners. The boys from Hyderabad will be touring  seven countries, playing 18 shows over a stretch of 23 days on their aptly named tour, ‘Swarm Over Europe‘. Fellow German death metal band DIVIDE shall be supporting them in the entire European conquest. Check the dates down below.

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LIVE & BUSH Extend The Alt-imate Tour!

 

LIVE and Bush are back on U.S. soil after a successful UK tour! And to top it all, it’s the original line-up of LIVE, featuring, Ed Kowalczyk (vocals, guitar), Chad Taylor (guitar, backing vocals), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass) and Chad Gracey (drums, percussion). The enough can’t be said about Bush who have been keeping ALT rock alive since the 90’s. Led by frontman Gavin Rossdale the band still sounds as good if not better than they did well over 2 decades ago.

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JUST IN: Dave Mustaine Of MEGADETH Diagnosed With Throat Cancer

Terrible news just coming in from the MEGADETH camp, where Dave Mustaine just confirmed that he has been diagnosed with throat cancer via his Twitter account. Here is what the official statement from MegaDave on the band’s website looks like,

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The Bucketlist With HELL & HOLLAR


*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*


We are half way through the week and sometimes the grind can get boring, so here we are at Metal Nexus willing to lighten up your mid week blues. Presenting to you another edition of The Bucketlist. This week we’re featuring HELL & HOLLAR a West Palm Beach, FL based Stoner Rock band. The band consists of Blake Burns on guitar and vocals, Nate Largent on drums, Johnny Dusko on bass and Mike McCleary who’s the multi instrumentalist. Drawing from their many influences that span the areas of blues and heavy stoner rock, they are developing a brand of rock all their own. Their heavy yet inviting sound is a refreshing straight forward rock music that anyone can have a good time with. This power trio has an old school heavy rock vibe with an open eye on the future.

Without much beating around the bush, let’s get to know which bands are on their bucketlist.

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The Bucketlist With AUTOPILOT


*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*


Hey there! It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these and its time to spin the bucketlist wheel again. Yes, bands consists of people like us and they also same the affinity for fellow bands or idols, so to speak. Today, we bring you our brothers from across the border up north. Hailing from Canada, AUTOPILOT has become a staple in the Sasktatoon Indie music scene. Known for their thoughtful lyrics, powerful hooks, dynamic stage show, and obsessive hard work, they somehow seem to effortlessly walk the line between passionate art and massive appeal. Over the course of 3 full-length records, and one EP, they’ve become road warriors, touring relentlessly across Canada and the US.

And today, we host them on our million dollar section of The Bucketlist. We ask them one simple question whose answers begs the metal idols they still haven’t had the privilege to check them out live. Some interesting answers await you, go find out and see if they match any of your idols.

  • METAL NEXUS:  “As a touring band/musician you get the chance to see a lot of bands up close and personal. A luxury not everyone has. A lot of music lovers keep a “Bucketlist” of bands that we want to see perform live. What are the top active bands you would like to see live (in order) and why?

AUTOPILOT:

RADIOHEAD
One of my favourite bands that I’ve never seen live. They are one of the most creative mainstream bands that have been around forever. They are amazing songwriters, but seeing video of their shows doesn’t do it justice. I imagine it would be a mind-altering experience kind of like the experience you have at a Flaming Lips show.

THE STROKES
Who knows if they will get it together long enough to put out another album and tour, but they have been a big influence on our band.

WILCO
One of my favourite albums is Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Our bass player, Jordan, saw Wilco a few years back in Chicago. I’m still hearing about how amazing the show was.

MARK LANEGAN
Perhaps the most under-rated musician that came out of the whole Seattle thing. After hearing him with Queens of the Stone Age and his album Bubblegum, I’ve always wanted to see him live. He puts out albums every few years still and we were too young to even know about the Screaming Trees at that time.

Meanwhile, the band has released the official music video for their single, “Undisguised.” Directed by Kevin Van Witt, “Undisguised” is off of the band’s latest album, ‘Afterglow. Go check that out down below.