Category Archives: Artist Showcase

State Of The Art: Rhode Island’s THE LOW CARDS [Album Stream]

By | |
Comments Off on State Of The Art: Rhode Island’s THE LOW CARDS [Album Stream]

Photo Credit: LittleOutdoorGiants

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Rhode Island.*

Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, The Low Cards are a bluesy, swamp-rock three piece band led by frontman, singer/songwriter/guitarist Dan Baker. Baker has been writing music himself for some time; he has three solo albums where his first was released back in 2008. The Low Cards came to be when Baker joined up with bassist Brian Jablonski, who actually plays an upright bass, and drummer Matt Slobogan. Their debut, self-titled album dropped on November 29, 2017 and was recorded entirely live at Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket, RI. They did this with the intention to capture the raw intensity of their sound, and boy did they ever accomplish that. The audio was mastered together by West West Side Music out of New Windsor, New York. At first glance, The Low Cards have some musical resemblance to The Black Keys and in one track off the record I’m pretty sure they really wanted to be Johnny Cash, but the more you listen, the more you realize that these guys have a genuine sound of their own that I can’t seem to get enough of.
 Continue reading →

State Of The Art: Rhode Island’s WREAK [Album Stream]

By | |
Comments Off on State Of The Art: Rhode Island’s WREAK [Album Stream]

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Rhode Island.*

Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, Wreak have been bringing their unique brand of extreme music since January 2015. Just last month, the band released their second album ‘Perpetual Cycle of Uncertainty’ which contains six killer tracks. Sonically, Wreak is super intense while displaying strong influences of 80s thrash, grindcore, death, and anything else violent and insane you can think of. At times it’s a bit Morbid Angel or Pungent Stench, and at other times it’s got a bit more Napalm Death going on. When the blast beats and psychotic vocals really reach the extreme, their sound can enter into somewhat of an Anal Cunt vibe. Overall, Wreak is all about sheer destruction and their newest album is a great example of the fun and exciting intensity they bring to their performance. Continue reading →

State Of The Art: Florida’s CHOROSPHERE

By | |
Comments Off on State Of The Art: Florida’s CHOROSPHERE

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Florida.*

Groovy. Progressive. Symphonic. It sounds like it comes straight out of Scandinavia. However, this all comes from the brain of one man from Jacksonville, Florida. His name is Andrew Howington and his project is called Chorosphere. Howington plays every instrument, programs, writes, sings and probably gives exceptional life advice. The amount of depth and flavor in Chorosphere is akin to the orchestration done by Ayreon, Epica, Sonata Arctica and  Mayan.   Continue reading →

State Of The Art: Florida’s LEVIATHAN CROSS

By | |
Comments Off on State Of The Art: Florida’s LEVIATHAN CROSS

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Florida.*

“A country divided
A smeared reputation
The veil pulled back
To reveal the death machine” – All Is Dust

This month, I take a look at Leviathan Cross, the three piece band based out of Tampa, Florida who have “a fascination with the occult and the macabre.“

The band were formed in 2015 and have released two EPs to date, a self-titled in 2016 and ‘All Is Dust’ in August of this year. The band is comprised of James Herrholz on guitar/vocals, Kyle Weidner on bass/vocals and Brandon Thrift on drums. They have a dark sound, which stretches beyond the three piece format. There is an errie sense of menace in their grooves that would neatly fit into the soundtrack of a horror film.

The music, whilst distorted to some white noise limit on their self-titled EP, has evolved into a riffing maelstrom of monstrous proportion on ‘All Is Dust‘. They have cleaned the production and swabbed the sonic decks with the now crystal clear sound taking them into the stratosphere of Doom Metal.

The latest release really does bite at your ears from the off. It has a nasty claustrophobic vibe that also tingles your senses with aggressive distain. The band are tight and have more hooks than a butcher’s shop. They stretch muscles of music and infuse with spices beyond imagination.

The songs on ‘All Is Dust’ leap out and pull you into the weird layer of pain. sweetened by guitar nuggets and drums that paralyse with an urgency unknown by many who play in this dark arena.

“Ava” ushers in the EP with a choppy piece of alternative guitar and then smashes you with a riff that is a classic. The singing is clean, but emotional. This may be one thing that sets Leviathan Cross apart from many others in the genre. It is a unique sound, full of unexpected melodies and power. The voice should be slightly higher in the mix, but it still sounds fantastic. The fuzzbox distortion solo is great as well.

A bumping bass and drums opener sets off the NWOBHM inspired “Static Regime“. It is another killer riff and I can see these guys playing arenas with this tune.

“Beyond The Veil” sparkles with grinding diamonds in its life. “The Well” has some thundering bass drumming and a razor sharp riffing wall. The song speeds along, breaking into territory that was reserved for Speed Metal bands back in the day. This is not your standard Doom fare.

The penultimate track is “K Webster“, which is less of a success for me, as it hasn’t the tunefulness of the other compositions.

The EP finishes with the title track and this is a pretty political song, opening with some of President Trump’s soundbites. It is a call for greater unity and a discovery of division. It is also the only time when Death Metal vocals are used, to great effect. Awesome!

There you have it – Florida produces yet another top band, destined to be remembered in years to come as a serious player. Check them out!

State Of The Art: 100 WATT VIPERS [Official Video & Album Stream]

By | |
Comments Off on State Of The Art: 100 WATT VIPERS [Official Video & Album Stream]

 

Florida is rich in music. You can hear it throughout the state. Sure, most of what’s being played now is no where near what is once was. One band is set to change that. 100 Watt Vipers is a two piece group made up of DJ Riddick banging the drums and taking vocal duties and Paul Joesph riffing the guitar. Formed in 2013 by the two friends, 100 Watt Vipers have released 3 D.I.Y. Albums; ‘Something Wicked Comes This Way’, ‘Cold Sunday Blues’, and 2016’s release of ‘Hellhound Train Rollin’. Continue reading →

State Of The Art: HORSEWHIP [EP Stream]

By | |
Comments Off on State Of The Art: HORSEWHIP [EP Stream]

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Florida.*

St Petersburg, Florida’s grinding hardcore/screamo outfit Horsewhip, founded by musicians with connections to Combatwoundedveteran, Reversal Of Man, Early Grace, Order Of Importance, Sutek Conspiracy, and more. Horsewhip includes vocalist Mike Grantham, guitaris Shaun Drees, Jeff Howe on bass and drummer Alex Bonds. Having played heavily throughout Florida over the past year including shows with Portrayal Of Guilt earlier this year, Horsewhip is booking gigs and hopefully will break outside the confines of Florida and bring their grinding hardcore sounds to surrounding states. Horsewhip just released their self-titled debut EP a few days ago on September 14th. It was released via Financial Ruin w/ exclusive distribution through Dead Tank Records. It was recorded by Dan Byers at Rock Garden Recording and was mixed by Jeremy SH Griffith at Printups Studios. The EP contains 7 blistering tracks that is sure to help the band gain stampedes of new fans.

Continue reading →

Aftershock 2018 Spotlight: ALL THEM WITCHES [Video Stream]

By | |
Comments Off on Aftershock 2018 Spotlight: ALL THEM WITCHES [Video Stream]

*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 ALL THEM WITCHES.*

Bringing their awesome brand of psychedelic/stoner rock to the stage at this year’s Aftershock Festival is Nashville’s own All Them Witches. Since forming in 2012, the band has been quite prolific with recording. They have four full-length studio albums released – with their recently reviewed self-titled LP set to drop later this month – plus multiple EP’s, live albums, and singles for fans to check out.  Their sound often has a retro quality and rawness that allows the music to breathe organically without the filter of flashy studio polish. The stony vibe will have you reaching to turn on your lava lamp and blacklight as you trip out to The Doors-esque, groovy keyboard jams on tracks such as “Fishbelly 86 Onions” from the band’s upcoming album. Continue reading →

State Of The Art: FEAR THE CONCEPT [EP Stream & Official Video]

By | |
Comments Off on State Of The Art: FEAR THE CONCEPT [EP Stream & Official Video]

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Florida.*

The state of Florida is home to a thriving underground Metal scene, with up and coming bands from all different sub-genres. In this installment of State Of The Art, we will be taking a look at newcomer Metalcore outlet, Fear The Concept; there’s definitely something special with these younger bands that are just getting their starts, and this Florida quintet. The ambition these young guys bring within their recordings is a nothing short of a youthful display of aggression and energy that ensures they’re here to stay for a long time. The group was founded in June 2011 out of Orlando, Florida, and, despite some roster changes over the years they have successfully found a group that is sure to continue making music for their fans’ listening pleasure and experience. With one EP release since 2015, they are steadily and surely progressing their careers into a more mature and established group, and we are excited to see what their future is gonna bring. Continue reading →

Aftershock 2018 Spotlight: AMIGO THE DEVIL [Video Stream]

By | |
Comments Off on Aftershock 2018 Spotlight: AMIGO THE DEVIL [Video Stream]

*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 AMIGO THE DEVIL.*

Adding a healthy dose of variety to the Aftershock lineup this year is acoustic folk artist Danny Kiranos, aka Amigo the Devil. For the most part Kiranos delivers a one-man unplugged performance with just his vocals along with a guitar/banjo. His musical style can range from tongue-in-cheek humored, singalong bar ballads such as “I Hope Your Husband Dies” to the dark and morbid, Harry Chapin-esque “Cocaine and Abel” while drawing inspiration from bluegrass, southern rock, and extreme music. The sonic depth and emotion of Amigo the Devil received a much-appreciated, unfiltered treatment in the studio via veteran mega-producer Ross Robinson (Korn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit) who produced the new album ‘Everything is Fine.’ It was recorded at Valentine Studios, which had been untouched since the seventies, with all original gear, straight to tape. With Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave) overseeing the project, the record is exactly what Kiranos had always wanted, commenting, “It was the first process of recording that ever made complete sense with absolutely no filler or veil to compensate for the sounds … It was absolute and pure brutal honesty …” Continue reading →