Category Archives: Artist Showcase

State of The Art: Delirium Tremors

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Alaska!

Delirium Tremors was actually born in Colorado as a recording project by singer/guitarist Jamie. The band since then has seen some location changes and is now based in Anchorage, Alaska. It’s not only mountain men living in The Last Frontier, Delirium Tremors unleash some hard hitting metal with a mixture of both harsh and melodic vocals. They have recently shared the stage with Sick Puppies and Mos Generator and competed in the Van’s Warped Tour Battle of the Bands. The band has an upbeat tempo pace and perfect melting pot of sounds. You want some in your face lead guitar parts? You got it. The well timed drum beats are well placed leading into and out of the chorus. The song writing encased in these tracks show that the band is experienced in both composing and performing. It’s not often I’m only able to hear 2 tracks from a band an then compelled to write about them. However, the songs “Witness” and “Shimmer” are great examples of what I think Delirium Tremors really does well. They have a throwback sort of sound kind of melding alternative, hardcore and nu-metal all together. While those genres may not be appealing to you when isolated by themselves, I can assure you this is something you will want to listen to. Some of the best bands out there right now are trying to fight the right median between clean vocals and harsh and find a contrast or mixture that work. What Delirium Tremors has here is find the answer to what a lot of bands attempt to do and can’t never seem to get it right. I certainly look forward to hearing more from what this amazing Alaskan releases as I’m sure it will be impressive.

Check out their music on Reverb Nation and follow them on Facebook!

State of the Art: DECEPTICIDE

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Alaska!

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For my first State of the Art from Alaska, I bring you DECEPTICIDE. They are 4 piece Thrash/Death Metal band that formed in 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska. Currently the band has 3 original members and a Bassist who joined the band later on. The members include: Enzo Montana (Guitar), Brian Harris (Drums), Ryan Hull (Vocals) and Kev Stevenson(Bass). Their music has an amazing mix of sounds that really come together for a bad ass sound. The amazing guitar riffs played by Enzo really sets the tone for their music. The explosive raspy vocals by Ryan really take their sound to the next level and gives the band an overall killer vibe. The members are all super talented and their skills are displayed throughout their music. I’m certainly looking forward to hearing anything new from these guys and I’m sure you will be too!

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State of the Art: Griffith

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Alaska!

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So, on we move to our next state for July: Alaska. Our northern most state is home to a remarkable amount of really good Metal. Hidden gems that have yet to make it out of our northern-most and most sparsely populated state. Look up Metal bands on Wikipedia and you get precisely one. Spend about five minutes going a little deeper and this lack of interesting music becomes an instant misconception. One good band after another emerges. Maybe being isolated from the rest of the continental United States limits the ability to get past the borders but these bands are way too good to remain so. One such band that was actually chosen by a couple of our staff this week is Griffith.

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State Of The Art: Hatred Alive

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Maine!

Take one listen and you may guess that this band comes from sunny Florida…. no sir… Hatred Alive comes to you from the great north. Rumford, Maine to be exact. Hatred Alive are one of those bands that is just so damn heavy it makes your jaw drop. Sometimes with extremely heavy music there is a major lack of creativity. That isn’t the case here. The very first introduction I had to the band was the track “God Hates Country Music”. The song begins with some old school country music and then suddenly delves into some skull crushing heaviness. “Fuck you and fuck the horse you rode in on” is just a little taste of the lyrics. Need I say more? I’m sure being a Kentucky native and surrounded by country music all the time makes this song appeal to me more so than some, but this music is for any fan of any style. While this particular song is what led me to this band I’ve been able to find other songs that show more proof that this band is exactly what metal heads crave. As of May the band was working on tracking some vocals for new material, which we are more than anxious to hear. Another amazing track “No Mercy” proves that the band is no one trick pony, as they perfect their death and groove style. If you are a fan of old school death metal then this is going to give you the hard on of a lifetime. The band is rounded out with amazing musicians that each add something special to the band. Chugging guitar riffs from Shannon Bates, sinister vocals and screams by Jeremy St. Peter, those thundering bass lines by  Rob Bates and the amazing double bass drum kicks and beats by Nick Graham. If you are in/around Maine and have the opportunity to support this band live then i suggest you do so. If they are ever in my neck of the woods you can bet your sweet ass i’ll be there.

Follow them on Facebook here.

State of the Art: RC.Budaka

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Maine!

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Since this is the last week of our State of the Art: Maine series, I wanted something special. Something different. Something spectacularly good. I won’t lie. It took me hours upon hours to find what I was looking for. Hell, at more than one point I was about ready to give up and use others that were good, but not what I was looking for. So glad I kept looking because what I found is the best Roots Rock band I have heard in years. Brilliant guitar, soulful and emotive vocals; all done with the true feeling associated with 70’s Rock and Hard Rock that is all too often lost today and so hard to emulate. RC.Budaka is that band and their recently released debut CD “Right Hear Right Now” is way too damned good to be any band’s first album. Continue reading →

State of the Art: The Fall of Babylon

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*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Maine!

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For this week’s State of the Art, I’m focusing on a four piece Thrash Metal band hailing from Biddeford, Maine. The Fall of Babylon has a sound that is truly their own. The members include lead Vocalist Arnold Labrack, Guitarist Alex Reed, Bassist Nick Mininni and Gavin Crespin on drums. The band has an astonishing gritty sound to their music that really draws you in and leaves you craving for more. The band is currently working on an album that they hope to release sometime later this year. The band is very diverse and their music really comes together. Music has always been a big part of the band members lives and they really strive to have a sound that people enjoy to hear. Their live shows are something you want to be sure to check out. As I have not experienced one first hand but from watching videos they definitely enjoy what they are doing and put a lot of effort in to making sure the crowd is enjoying the show too!

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TILT “Hinterland”: Progressive Rock Classic, Now!

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Progressive Rock fans rejoice! Steve Vantsis, David Stewart, PJ Dourley, Paul Humphreys and Robin Boult along with John Beck and John Mitchell have joined forces to create TILT. For the uninitiated, Vartisis, Stewart and Boult are better known for recording, writing and touring with legendary FISH for years. Yes, THAT FISH! Steve Vantisis was also the primary songwriter for FISH’s “13th Star” and “Feast of Consequences”. With augmentation by It Bites keyboardist John Beck and guitarist John Mitchell (Lonely Robot, Kino, Arena and It Bites), expectations are extremely high with their much anticipated release of “Hinterland” on June 30th, 2016. Metal Nexus recently obtained a copy of it from Mr. Vantsis, and let me tell you, it is simply amazing!

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State of the Art: RipFence

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 *This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Maine!

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Lewiston, Maine. North of Portland, South of Augusta and Bangor. It is the second largest city in Maine with a population just South of 40,000. Only about 92 square miles and sits squarely in the middle of Androscoggin County. A quaint, historic town founded in 1854. Sigh. That is until you start digging around. Back in the corner, where the dust and cobwebs reside (and what is that aweful smell?!?) and it is found that this town is not immune from a brutal form of Melodic Death Metal outfit called RipFence.

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State Of The Art: DEAD SEASON

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This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State.

This month’s State is Maine!

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Formed in 2003 DEAD SEASON was Founded by brothers Matt and Ian Truman. Ian is the lead vocalist for the group while Matt plays guitar and does backing vocals. They were later joined by bassist Steven Church (2007) and drummer Dustin Fitzpatrick (2014). DEAD SEASON has sold over 25,000 cd’s, an amazing feat considering the band has done it all on their own w/out the help of a record label. The group hail from Paris, ME and have held their own with some of the biggest names in hard rock history. In their 13 year history they have managed to score gigs on the “ROCKSTAR MAYHEM FESTIVAL” and DISTURBED’S “MUSIC AS A WEAPON TOUR” to name only a few. They have also played gigs with and shared the bill with rock icons like SLIPKNOT, AVENEGED SEVENFOLD, GODSMACK, KORN, MEGADETH and MOTORHEAD. Trust me, that was the short list. These guys have played with everyone.

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3Eighty3: “Raw F*ckin’ Power”!

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Remember the Hard Rock and emerging Metal bands in the 70’s and early 80’s? Hard driving, guitar based Heavy Blues with straight attitude and catchy, clever lyrics. Dance, bang your head, fist in the air, good times, Rock n’ Roll. Did you start to loose interest when the glitz, glam and cheese took over? Did you get a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when MTV told you that Guns N’ Roses and the up and coming Grunge bands were the future of Metal? Did you breathe a sigh of relief when Pantera dropped “Cowboys From Hell” and quickly dispelled all that nonsense? Yeah, me too. Funny thing is, that I still love the sound of the first wave of Hard Rock here and the British Invasion from overseas. Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, early Motley Crue, Cinderella and Triumph. Well, I recently discovered a band that has its roots deep in this era of our beloved music. If you have not heard of them, let me introduce you to Alvarado, Texas’ 3Eighty3. Continue reading →