Joining Joshua Toomey as this week’s interview guest for Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast is Mushroomhead founder/drummer Steve “Skinny” Felton. Their conversation covers a number of fascinating topics including the band’s open-door policy, the time-consuming process of mask-making, onstage theatrics, 90’s bands that should not be overlooked, and much more. Continue reading
Photo Credit: Andrew Stuart
With the almighty Slayer currently in the midst of their farewell tour, it seems only fitting to reminisce on what they’ve meant to me as a longtime metal fan, and to the metal community as a whole. My first experience with Slayer was when I was very young – probably around ten or eleven years old. At the risk of dating myself, the first Slayer record I ever heard was ‘Reign in Blood.’ At the time, I had just started getting into heavier music, having been first introduced to the more “hair band” type stuff like Mötley Crüe and Scorpions. Continue reading
Photo Credit: KaspaFótos
*This is part of our “Aftershock Festival 2018 Spotlight” where we branch out and focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Aftershock Festival on October 13th & 14th. This week, we’re checking out VIZA.*
Appearing along with such heavyweight headliners as System of a Down, Deftones, Alice in Chains, and Incubus at this year’s Aftershock Festival is L.A. international rock sextet, Viza. Since forming in 2000, they’ve managed to create quite an extensive catalogue of music, along with Volume I and II of ‘The Unorthodox Revival’ EP being released this year. Vocally, lead singer K’noup has a bit of a David Bowie quality to his tone and often incorporates lush vocal harmonies reminiscent of SOAD into the mix. Instrumentally, it’s a rich fusion of classic and alternative rock paired with Middle Eastern and Latin influences with a few splashes of metal to kick things up a notch. Having toured extensively with Serj Tankian in recent years, the man himself became quite impressed with their live performances, commenting, “Viza is one of the most unique and interesting bands I have ever encountered. Their live shows are energetic and fun.” Continue reading
*This is part of our “Aftershock Festival 2018 Spotlight” where we branch out and focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Aftershock Festival on October 13th & 14th. This week, we’re checking out The Dose.*
Along with an amazingly jampacked lineup, Los Angeles based, indie-rock duo, The Dose will be appearing onstage at this year’s Aftershock Festival. Metal Nexus recently covered the release of one of their latest singles, “Vervain” which you can check out here. The track is off their upcoming full-length debut album, anticipated for release later this year. Produced by Keith Nelson (Buckcherry) and mixed by Joe Baressi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Soundgarden), the single is an adrenaline-fueled grunge rocker with a nineties feel that fans of bands like Foo Fighters and Nirvana will surely want to check out. Continue reading
This week’s interview guest on Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast is none other than Powerman 5000 vocalist, Spider One. His conversation with host, Joshua Toomey covers a range of topics including opening for KISS, how The Go-Go’s indirectly helped inspire him to become a singer, the current state of rock radio, and much more. Continue reading
On Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast, Rob “Blasko” Nicholson (Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Sabbath) is Joshua Toomey’s bonus interview guest this week. Nicholson joins the show via phone during the late-night hours from Barcelona, Spain. He talks about the unveiling of the first bingeworthy ten episodes of his new podcast, “A New Level” (available now on major podcast platforms) – A project that uncovers the ins an outs and dos and don’ts of the music industry through one-on-one conversations with notable veterans of the business. Among other topics, they discuss the music business past and present, retirement plans, and fanzines. Continue reading
*This is part of our “Aftershock Festival 2018 Spotlight” where we branch out and focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Aftershock Festival on October 13th & 14th. This week, we’re checking out Slothrust.*
Earning a slot on the impressive roster for this year’s Aftershock Festival is Boston indie rock trio, Slothrust. Since the band’s formation in 2010, Leah Wellbaum (vocals/guitar), Kyle Bann (bass), and Will Gorin (drums) have been busy writing, recording, and playing their captivating brand of rock that also includes a 2017 EP (‘Show Me How You Want it to Be’) of wildly inventive cover versions of some well-known hits of the past. Be sure to check out their take on The Turtles “Happy Together” with its awesomely maniacal twist. Their original material is equally impressive on tracks like the brand-new single, “Peach.” The sound harkens back to a time of great female-fronted alt-rock of the nineties such as The Breeders and Veruca Salt. Continue reading
This Friday the 13th, St. Louis thrash metal quartet, Black Fast are set to release their third full-length LP entitled ‘Spectre of Ruin’ via eOne Music. Just like a machete to the jugular, this record is track after track of eviscerating ferocity, and for the listener, never a moment of sanctuary is offered. It’s just pure, balls-out metal in the form of blistering, technical, death-infused thrash with nuanced layers of gothic, black metal coldness that find a way to ooze into the music at just the perfect times. Continue reading
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*
This month’s state is Indiana!
What do you get when you mix equal parts ‘Master of Reality’-era Black Sabbath with ‘Stained Class’-era Judas Priest, and then add a few generous splashes of ‘Meantime’-era Helmet? Hailing from Richmond, Indiana, Wolftooth are delivering bluesy stoner metal through a fuzzy haze of modern freshness. Continue reading
Mikey Doling (Snot, Soulfly, Channel Zero) is Joshua Toomey’s interview guest for this week’s episode of Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast. Among other topics, their discussion puts to rest rumors that the ‘Strait Up’ tribute album consisted of songs originally intended to be the follow-up to Snot‘s debut album ‘Get Some.’ “We didn’t have any songs that were put together yet,” says Doling. “Some of the riffs on ‘Strait up’ are some of the riffs we were writing. But as far as songs go – not one of them.” Continue reading
