Photo Credit: Derek Carr
March is National Women’s Month, and we have decided to celebrate some our favorite women in metal. Every Saturday during March we will honor some of the most respected women in the metal and hard rock world. Continue reading
March is National Women’s Month, and we have decided to celebrate some our favorite women in metal. Every week during March we will honor some of the most respected women in the metal and hard rock world.
Today we focus on the stunning and amazingly talented, Tatiana Shmaylyuk – lead vocalist of Ukrainian prog metal band, Jinjer. Having joined the group in 2010, Shmaylyuk has been essential in propelling them to reach accolades that include being named Best Ukrainian Metal Act of 2013 and 2016, and Best Metal Video for “I Speak Astronomy” in 2016. As a frontwoman in the primarily male-dominated world of metal, Shmaylyuk’s vocal ability, range, and stage command put her not only in a class of her own, but in a position to rival some of the best men in the game. 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 Georgia!
Hey there! Welcome to this week’s edition of State Of The Art, where we help rupture your virginity about the unknown and the underground. We visit Georgia this month, yes! Home of Grammy winners MASTODON, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS, R.E.M. etc. It’s evident that Georgia houses some incredibly talented musicians spanning all genres of music. I normally feature thrash, death bands when my turn on this segment comes. But today, just to break this monotony I chose to feature symphonic folk metal band CROWN OF SORROW from Fayetteville. Among the very few symphonic bands like those of DEVILWRAITH, KYLE MORRISON, AMIDST THE WITHERING, ETHIRIA etc. in the state of Georgia, today’s featured band CROWN OF SORROW is really working it’s way up the ranks of Georgia’s metal scene. It is really good and satisfying to see a band bring back the lost glory of good old classical and folk metal, in an age where thrash and death metal have been enjoying the throne for a bit long.
CROWN OF SORROW is a symphonic folk metal band that has a tinge of doom metal and surplus western classical elements in it, making it feel like a fine old wine. They are a fairly young outfit having released their first demo just in 2013, which featured three songs. With the demo working out for them, they released their debut full length record in 2015 titled, ‘Exile‘. Before all of this, the band was earlier named The Blasted Heath. What we know today as CROWN OF SORROW is a reincarnation that sought life when the former burned out in 2012 after hanging in on there since 2006. Let’s take a look at CROWN OF SORROW, shall we? Continue reading
March is National Women’s Month, and we have decided to celebrate some our favorite women in metal. Every Saturday during March we will honor some of the most respected women in the metal and hard rock world.
It’s been twenty years since Mercedes Lander started the Canadian metal band Kittie (with sister Morgan and original bandmates Fallon Bowman and Tanya Candler) in London, Ontario. They brought one of the heaviest and most fierce acts we had seen to date, and this is for all bands not just girl bands. There was a thing or two the guys could have learned from the harsh anguish they brought to their music, and I’m sure plenty of their male counterparts took notes and learned from Kittie’s quick rise to stardom in the metal world. Their debut album ‘Spit’ was what got everything started in 2000. The album still to this day is highly regarded as one of the best metal albums of that era. ‘Spit’ was was certified gold by the RIAA and sold at least 600,000 copies in the United States. Keep in mind when ‘Spit’ was recorded the members of the band were only 15-18 years of age. Kittie went on to release their sophomore record ‘Oracle’ in 2001. It was also in 2001 that guitarist and backing vocalist Fallon Bowman left the band. Her infamous growls on the song “Brackish” instantly made her a fan favorite. They followed ‘Oracle’ with the release of ‘Until the End’ in 2004. Continue reading
*Every Wednesday from now until Rock On The Range and Carolina Rebellion we will be showcasing an artist playing the festivals to help you get to know them a little better. This week, we’re checking out Turnstile – a hardcore quintet from Baltimore, MD!*
The running theme so far for this year’s upcoming summer festivals is that May is going to be the loudest month of the year, and with some really unbelievable lineups that statement is sure to be true. However, the loudest month of the year wouldn’t be complete without giving the hardcore kids something to move to! Well fear not, ladies and gentlemen, and prepare to throw down with Turnstile at Rock on the Range and Carolina Rebellion! With a fresh album release, ‘Time & Space’, these guys are primed to destroy the stage and throw one up for the hardcore scene. Continue reading
*This is part of the “World’s Loudest Month” segment where we branch out and focus on bands that fans can see at the year’s biggest music festivals during the month of May 2018! This week, we introduce Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, a blues-rock quartet from “Music City” Nashville, TN who will be seeing a lot of stage time this Summer at Rock on the Range, Rockville, and more!*
I’m a firm believer that no matter your music preference, whether it be metal, rap, pop, or techno, everyone loves the blues in some form or another. It’s also my belief that this, paired with the know-how and musical ability to create incredible music compositions, has played a major role in the rising success of Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown. The band is the epitome of soulful, genuine songs of rhythmic blues-infused rock and roll and have proven themselves so much as to be privileged enough to share the stage with music giants like ZZ Top, Eric Clapton, AC/DC, and Guns N’ Roses. Continue reading
*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state*
This month’s State is Georgia!
Atlanta-based Guillotine offers bass-heavy, blackened death/doom metal with heavy doses of groove. Weaved seamlessly into the band’s sound are a unique blend of musical influences such as old school American death metal, Scandinavian black metal, and Southern sludge. Their songs often bounce between slow/doomy evilness to mid-tempo aggression. While typically never delving into super high-velocity thrashing speeds or blast beats, alternately their use of grooving riffs and double-bass rhythms gives Guillotine a signature sound of their own that is equally dark and punishing. 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 Georgia!
Georgia is a state that is rich with music history, not specifically metal but music in general. Some big names that changed music emerged from the Peach State like Ray Charles, R.E.M., The Allman Brothers, Mastodon, and various others. A band that I think will become just as iconic as the bands that came prior to them is Atlanta, Georgia’s Toro. The band is still relatively new as they formed in 2015. The band formed with Zackery M. Hembree – vocals, Adam Mitchell – guitars and vocals, Pablo Davila – guitars, Bruno Segovia – bass and Jason Belisha – drums. They have been getting their name out their in the local scene and playing quite a bit within the city of Atlanta. They have opened for some killer metal bands like Mothership, The Obsessed, Lazer/Wulf, and Double Ferrari.
You could say that Bad Wolves is a new band, the name is new but the musicians that make up the band are industry veterans that have been around the block and have been an integral part of successful bands. Bad Wolves includes Tommy Vext on vocals who is no stranger to the spotlight. The singer recently filled in for Ivan Moody on one of Five Finger Death Punch’s recent tours and was also a member of Divine Heresy with Fear Factory’s Dino Cazares, the reunion of Snot reunion, Westfield Massacre, and even formed his namesake group Vext. The remaining members of the band are just as iconic including drummer John Boecklin formerly of Devildriver and I Of Tongues which essentially has become Bad Wolves, guitarist Doc Coyle of ex-God Forbid and Vagus Nerve which he started in 2015. Doc Coyle has also been a hired gun and filled in for various bands like Lamb Of God, Trivium, Darkest Hour, Unearth and also Westfield Massacre. In addition to adding his skills on stringed instruments Doc has also aided bands like Hatebreed and Body Count with songwriting. Chris Cain also on guitar who is from Bury Your Dead. Rounding out the band is ex-In This Moment, Vimic bassist Kyle Konkiel. In all likelihood you have probably seen some of these tenured rockers perform in the past. Now they are all entangled together creating this beast of a group named Bad Wolves. The band recently took the top spot for the #1 rock song on Apple Music and topped the Billboard charts with their cover of The Cranberries “Zombie”. The song was released just days after The Cranberries vocalist Dolores O’Riordan passed away. Initially Dolores was supposed to be featured on the track as well, but her life ended tragically before that could happen. The band is also donating all proceeds of the songs profits to O’Riordan’s children in her honor. In addition to that cover the band has also released the single “Toast to the Ghost” which will be on the bands debut album which is set to release in the summer of this year. 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 Vermont!
Death metal lives on from Brattleboro, Vermont as BARISHI continue their way up in the metal world. Vern Davidson (vocals), Graham Brooks (guitar), Jonathon Kelley (bass), and Dylan Blake (drums) started BARISHI back in high school in 2012, pulling Vern from another local band at the time, Vaporizer, mixing elements of death metal and prog metal into what they are now (And it’s a pretty cool mix to listen to-Check it out) Continue reading
