Category Archives: Artist Showcase

Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight: GWAR

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*This is part of our “Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight” series where we  focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Louder Than Life Festival on Sept. 28th-30th.  This week, we’re checking out GWAR.*

One of the biggest surprises on this years Louder Than Life lineup for me was Gwar. These space aliens from Richmond, Virginia by way of another galaxy. In the past few years the band has seen some major changes when founder and vocalist Oderus Urungus / Dave Brockie passed away in 2014. Micheal Bishop aka Blothar stepped up and took over the vocal duties. He previously was in the band as bassist Beefcake the Mighty from 1987 –1993, and 1998–1999. Since their formation in 1984 the band has released 14 albums, comic books, trading cards, a board game, signature beers, barbecue sauces, e-liquids and in recent years even opened a restaurant and bar in Richmond simply called Gwarbar. ‘The Blood of Gods’ (2017) being their most recent album. Gwar also hosts and headlines their own yearly festival called Gwar-B-Q which has seen performances from acts like Goatwhore, Clutch, Down, Cancer Bats, and many others. Continue reading →

Aftershock 2018 Spotlight: VIZA [Video Stream]

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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 →

State Of The Art: APOTEMNOPHILIA!

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*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!

Today we are going to be talking about slammers Apotemnophilia! They are from Washington and are about to bring you some slam you have only dreamt off. Let’s get started!

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Rock Allegiance 2018 Spotlight: KNOCKED LOOSE

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Have you ever just been standing there, minding your own when someone jump kicks your teeth into your skull? That’s exactly what Knocked Loose sounds like. These riffs are so grimy and down tuned so low that the neck of the guitar might as well snap due to lack of tension. They make you want to take a bite out of the sidewalk.

Perhaps the heaviest thing that Kentucky has every produced, Knocked Loose has been cranking out filth since around 2012 with their current lineup. Lead by vocalist, Bryan Garris, Cole Crutchfield and Isaac Hale on guitars, Kevin Otten on bass and on drums, Kevin Kaine. Their metalcore/hardcore revival outfit is currently signed with Pure Noise Records, with one full length, “Laugh Tracks” that was released in the fall of 2016. It was masterfully produced by Will Putney of Fit For An Autopsy whose done work with Body Count, Every Time I Die, Thy Art is Murder, etc.

Knocked Loose is currently making their rounds on a select few dates of the last inception of Warped Tour. Their very first US headlining run was earlier this Spring, alongside Terror and Jesus Piece. This band has been turning heads in the scene ever since their LP dropped. These breakdowns are so heavy the floor nearly caves in. Vocalist Garris prefaces the “Counting Worms” breakdown by barking. This might be the best way to announce a breakdown since 2004 when Unearth called “BREAKDOWN” before it came down in “This Lying World.”

They are definitely one of the hardest bands on the 2018 lineup of Rock Allegiance and arguably one of the most important bands to check out at said festival. Do not leave your vans and dad hats at home.

Knocked Loose will be playing alongside Avenged Sevenfold, Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach on October 6th, in Camden, NJ.

Tickets for Rock Allegiance are on sale right here and VIP packages are still available.

Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight: ISLANDER [Official Videos]

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*This is part of our “Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight” series where we  focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Louder Than Life Festival on Sept. 28th-30th.  This week, we’re checking out Islander.*

Islander are Louder Than Life veterans having played the festival in its inaugural year (2014). The South Carolina based band even got Sonny from P.O.D. up on stage with them to sing a song. Islander heralds a nu metal style and lyrical content that can connect with any fan base. The bands first big hit was “Coconut Dracula”. I’ll be honest the first couple times I heard the song I couldn’t get into it, but after giving it a few chances I loved the song. It’s filled with groove and catchy as hell. You may even be more familiar with Islander after the past few weeks. The band was slated to perform on the final national run of the Van’s Warped Tour. While the band is a nu metal band you could say they have a punk like attitude on stage and put out tons of energy. On the first date of the tour vocalist Mikey Carvajal was being his energetic self and in the heat of the performance he damaged the drum kit on stage that didn’t belong to the band. Though the band stated they would have paid for the damage they were removed from the tour. He explained “We just wanted to say to anybody who was planning to come out to hangout with us on the Vans Warped Tour we’re not going to be able to be there unfortunately because we goofed up today,” Carvajal explains. “During the last song of our set, I dove into the drum kit,” he continues. “I didn’t even think about the fact that we were using a backline kit that didn’t belong to us.” One thing you can be sure of when the band has their own equipment on stage going forward they won’t hold back in their performance.

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Aftershock 2018 Spotlight: THE DOSE [Video Stream]

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*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 →

State Of The Art: BREEDING FILTH [Album Stream]

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*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!

Welcome back to another edition of State of the Art and today I go full tech death on you all. In a world where repetitive music is the orgasm for the masses, technical death metal turns that around viciously and sets an extreme example of high end, ground breaking musical dexterity. Taking on the same spirit and motive from Lafayette, Indiana, ruthless, brutal tech death group BREEDING FILTH, are our State Of The Art band this week. Formed in 2014, this ferocious quartet reek of intense and pretty technical riffs, pummeling drumming, low end thundering bass and nasty, dirty guttural vocals. All of these work in unison to produce the beast that BREEDING FILTH truly embodies, which has helped the band in reaching out to the masses and perform with big shots in a very short amount of time. Marching ahead with big strides this band is definitely the torch bearer of the Indiana underground death metal scene.

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State Of The Art: Indiana’s THE IRON GATES [EP Stream]

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*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!

It’s 2018 and yes, metalcore is still strong. The Iron Gates from Indianapolis, Indiana dropped their debut EP this past February and celebrated by playing with Darkest Hour. “The Story Thus Far” is a four song powerhouse that is reminiscent of the wonderful mid-2000’s east coast metal and hardcore crossover.

The Iron Gates formed in 2009, and their sound strongly reflects that; a statement given with respect, as the pinnacle of modern metalcore was among those surrounding years. Nailed by blast beats from drummer, Erik Flaskerud, and a taste of melodic European death metal and power metal riffs, the listener is quickly flooded with memories of perfected Shadows Fall licks and God Forbid-style uninhibited vocals by Dustin Savage. Early As I Lay Dying is channeled in track three, “The Huntress,” with a riff that drives the entirety of the song and a chorus doesn’t need clean vocals to be catchy. Guitar duo, Matt Strakis and Brian Nichols sound like they should be on the cover of Guitar World… tomorrow! The low end is incredibly tight and clean, courtesy of bassist, Brandon Lytle. Continue reading →

Rock Allegiance 2018 Spotlight: BAD OMENS

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Bad Omens is a Los Angeles based metalcore act that formed out of several different projects in 2013. Vocalist Noah Sabastian began writing music outside of the current band he was a member of in Richmond, Va. Noah then contacted his friends, guitarist Nicholas Ryan and bassist Vincent Riquier. They helped put the missing pieces together with Joakim “Jolly” Karlsson and Nick Folio.

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Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight: BLACKTOP MOJO [Official Videos]

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*This is part of our “Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight” series where we  focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Louder Than Life Festival on Sept. 28th-30th.  This week, we’re checking out Blacktop Mojo.*

 

Blacktop Mojo comes from the great state of Texas. The band had some of their roots in country music, but when forming decided to go with a more rock edge. The style in which they play combines elements of southern rock and 70’s classic rock, and they don’t forget the guitar solos either. Matt James provides the vocals within the band. He has a soulful sound that creates a overwhelming amount of passion within the songs. Though the band writes incredible original songs their covers is really what has helped propel their popularity. Blacktop Mojo covered Aerosmith’s classic song “Dream On” and it has climbed up the charts and impressed pretty much anyone that has heard it. The band has also covered songs by Phil Collins and Blind Melon. The Blind Melon cover of “No Rain” is what instantly made me a fan of the band.  Continue reading →