Comments Off on State Of The Art: Alabama’s BATTLING DELIRIUM [EP Stream]
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*
This month’s state is Alabama!
Battling Delirium are a progressive metal band that blends classic rock and other genres together to create a heavy psychedelic sound. Hailing from Daphne, Alabama, Battling Delirium are sure to make the world know why Alabama is a metal state! The members consist of Andrew Overstreet (Vocals), Marshall Mears (Guitars), Jae Ross (Guitars), Bassy Mcbassface (Bass), (what a cool ass name!), Jason Baldwin (Drums). If you like powerful guitar riffs, thunderous drums, thumping bass and very compelling vocals, Battling Delirium is for you! Continue reading →
Comments Off on State Of The Art : MARS [Album Stream]
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state*
This month’s state is Louisiana!
It’s Monday again and what better way to break your blues with some weed laced good stoner metal. Welcome back to my edition of State Of The Art segment, where today I am going to pass you a joint in the form of Louisiana’s stoner metal outfit MARS. Isn’t that a perfect name for a group of hippie stoner metallers? Like, who doesn’t wanna cash in for some good dark, gooey chocolate snack after you hit the greens? Just as good as Mars tastes in your mouth, the trio from New Orleans, Louisiana makes sure your aural desire gets served with full contentment.
Comments Off on State Of The Art: SPACE CADAVER [Album + Video Stream]
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*
This month’s state is Louisiana!
New Orleans’ Space Cadaver are a band that have fury and finesse, with a groove that stomps all over their songs. They have a sci-fi style and power to match the best in the universe. Guitarist/vocalist John Baleine, bassist Beto Arias and drummer Jason Meserole bring dark and light in equal measure. Formed in 2015, Space Cadaver have shared the stage with heavyweights such as Conan, Acid King and Ufomammut. Their message of spacey doom is spreading quickly!
Their debut self-titled album has been available since 2017. Guitarist/vocalist Baleine commented that “this album is a benchmark of 3 years of hard work and determination – an opportunity to grow…and have closure with a lot of dark things… It was a cleanse to purge the pent up frustrations around the suicide and murders of loved ones, drug addiction and the struggle to break free from the things that are no longer serving me.”
Space Cadaver have a sound that melds Death, Doom and Stoner in a rock hard package. Their self-titled debut album is a tour de force of genre-defying metal. They may only have a bass, guitar and drums to work from, but they know how to work that to make an amazing cinematic sound that sonically destroys everything in the mainstream metal world.
The album kicks off with the riffy ‘The Infinite Black Sun‘. This sets the band’s stall out, with Baleine’s growling vocals and thoughtful lyrics. The sound that a three piece make is genuinely impressive. The bass is high in the mix and the drums splatter through the fuzz storm of guitar. There are light passages that bring the sound into a different sphere and the dark parts take you to a back alley and mug you.
The guitar dominates “Day Ruiner“, as the groove is augmented by a superb guitar solo that is full of heart and power. “Storm” follows with the sound of hell coming out to play. A grunge-type melody lends the song a spirit that cannot be dismissed easily.
“Insufficient Reward” is a masterpiece in cinematic metal. It ebbs and flows with an approach that composers of movie scores love. I can imagine a video of someone escaping evil forces, running down dark corridors in space. The drumming is superb on this tune.
The commercially accessible “Clock Hoarder” continues with its fantastic bass/guitar interplay. It also manages to tip its hat to old school thrash. “Nowhere, Now Here” continues the album with a progressive, minor key insurgency. Once again, a cinematic sound, focusing on a picture in space of desolation and regret.
The closing two numbers, “Sword of the Lord” and “Draco’s Revenge” are urgent, epic sound songs that veer from blast beats to progressive jazz in the space of minutes.
Overall, Space Cadaver are a band that everyone should check out, before they check out (in space, naturally).
Comments Off on State Of The Art: Louisiana’s ORIFIST [Official Album Stream]
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*
This month’s state is Louisiana!
Providing a powerful boost of energy and creativity to old school death metal, is New Orleans own, Orifist. The trio consisting of Devin Jones (guitar/vocals), Matt Fogarty (lead vocals), and Dominick Mora (drums) present a murderous sound, reminiscent of the classics, with names like Suffocation, MorbidAngel, and Death immediately coming to mind. Continue reading →
Comments Off on The Bucketlist With: A GATHERING OF NONE
We’re back once again with one of my personal favorite segments, The Bucketlist, where we ask the age-old question: “What band(s) would you like to see before you die?” Everyone has their own bucket list and your favorite bands and musicians are no exception. In this segment, we aim to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the personal preferences of your favorite artists as well as artists you may not know – yet. Continue reading →
Comments Off on State Of The Art: Louisiana’s THE ARBITRARY [Track Stream]
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*
This month’s state is Louisiana!
Any fans of progressive instrumental are severely missing out if The Arbitrary is not a part of their lives. The New Orleans two-piece has been self-releasing since 2015. Together, Jeffrey Fisher (guitar) and Adam Sauter (drums) have continued to boggle the brains of prog fans, yet quench the thirst for musical excellence with their 2017 EP ‘Identity.’ It may only be four songs, but those four songs are all the listener needs. A touch a djent, a brush of tech; it’s about time for a Ph.D. in music theory. Continue reading →
Comments Off on State Of The Art: GREYLOTUS [EP + Video Stream]
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*
This month’s state is Maryland!
Welcome to the final installment of this months SOTA! I thought I would end this one with an artist that I believe will quite literally blow your mind. This is songwriting at its highest conceivable level, but what is most remarkable, is the fact that it is solely the work of one man! From Baltimore, Maryland, let me welcome the technical/blackened deathcore project Greylotus. January saw the release of the explosive debut EP ‘Savior’ which in my opinion is undoubtedly one of the most exciting releases of this year (up there with the likes of Inferi and Slugdge who have both dropped AOTY contenders) and forms the first part of a total 3 installments. Collectively the 3 EPs will form Greylotus’ debut full-length album, with work already underway on the second installement ‘Dawnfall’. Continue reading →
Comments Off on Who is Yayo “KISS GUY” Sanchez? [Video Stream]
If you’ve been following the internet recently, you most likely have come across a new viral video of Austin, Texas artist, Yayo Sanchez – or as Foo Fighters frontman, Dave Grohl dubbed him, “KISS guy.” The video shows the 25-year-old Sanchez performing “Monkey Wrench” onstage with his favorite band, Foo Fighters, while wearing full Gene Simmons’ “The Demon” face paint. In an interview with KVUE ABC following the event, Sanchez described the experience by saying, “It was nuts, man. That was definitely the best day of my life, hands down.” Continue reading →
Comments Off on Rock on the Range Spotlight: I PREVAIL
It’s almost that time, folks! Just a few more weeks and Rock on the Range will soon flood Columbus, OH with thousands upon thousands of rangers who are eagerly awaiting their chance to rock out with some of today’s hottest bands. In this segment, we’ve aimed to bring you up to speed on bands that are a little bit lower on the bill to get you familiar with their music so you won’t be completely lost by the time they hit the stage. In this installation, we’re going to focus on a band that most of you have heard of and a band that I’ve personally wanted to see live for a long time. I’m talking about Detroit, MI post-hardcore rockers, I Prevail. Continue reading →
Comments Off on State Of The Art : GATEWAY TO HELL [Album Stream]
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*
This month’s state is Maryland!
Hey there, to our frequent State Of The Art segment reader, and Hi to you if you’re new to this segment. Welcome to our weekly dose of State Of The Art where we put some much deserved light on the unheard and unknown, and bring them out from the caverns of underground onto your computer screen. In my edition of the last SOTA article, I featured CROWN OF SORROW, from Georgia. And now, continuing my tryst with exploring the unexplored, today I present before you an amazing doom/stoner metal band, GATEWAY TO HELL from Baltimore, Maryland. They absolutely rip!
Maryland has an extensive legion of doom/stoner rock and metal bands all across the state, from the legends like THE OBSESSED, the American version of Black Sabbath, PENTAGRAM, EARTHRIDE, to the lesser known but equally musically proficient and kick-ass bands such as GATEWAY TO HELL. Maryland has always been a hotbed for metal’s most veteran sub genre. Alright enough of blabbering, let’s get to know more of GATEWAY TO HELL, rightaway!
