Category Archives: Artist Showcase

State Of The Art: Mississippi’s BEFORE I HANG [Album Stream]

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If you are under the impression that great punk only comes from New York City, Los Angeles or other major cities you couldn’t be more wrong. Hattiesburg, Mississippi punk rockers Before I Hang are the definition of old school sleazy punk rock and they stand before us and prove that even Mississippi can produce some major talent. The members of Before I Hang aren’t new to the game either, they have been grinding out punk rock hits for over 28 years. The band first played under the name Before I Hang in September of 1990 but didn’t become a complete 4 piece with committed members until March of 1991. The band has had the honor of playing along side other legendary acts like ANTiSEEN, Mondo Generator, Hookers and the infamous Murder Junkies led by Merl Allin the brother of the late great G.G. Allin. The band refers to themselves as “The longest running band in Mississippi punk history!” The band had multiple line up changes in the vocalist and drummer positions over the years but Joel Rivers (bass) and Walt Wheat (guitar) are the founding members. The current line up boasts Lee Hurst (vocals) and John Wayne Littlejohn (drums) has been solid for 10 years now and is by far the longest standing lineup.

 

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State Of The Art: Mississippi’s COSMIC ATROPHY [Album Stream]

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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 Mississippi.*

Taking technical death metal to otherworldly and demented limits is Biloxi, Mississippi’s Cosmic Atrophy. After a ten-year hiatus since releasing their debut ‘Codex Incubo,’ they returned last November with their latest full-length album, ‘The Void Engineers.’ The nine-track offering is an homage to 1950s-1970s pulp horror soundtracks with a Lovecraftian twist. In addition to its crushing riffage, the album features creatively inventive synth work, inspired by early German synth pioneers that add to its atmosphere of horrific alien experimentation and technological terror – a theme that is captured perfectly within the album’s cover artwork. Continue reading →

State Of The Art: Oklahoma’s AGGRAVATED NUISANCE [Album Stream]

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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 Oklahoma.*

The best part about this SOTA segment, for me, is the opportunity to discover gems in the world of underground music that I may have never come across otherwise. It’s like the equivalent of going to the record store back in the day and grabbing something purely based on the metalness of its album cover, popping it in the stereo, and then realizing you just randomly stumbled onto the sickest band that none of your friends know about yet – followed by the thrill of bragging about your discovery and blowing their minds with it. In this case, it’s Oklahoma City’s Aggravated Nuisance. Continue reading →

State of the Art: Oklahoma’s LOST EMPIRES [Tracks Streaming]

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Since 2011, Lost Empires have been fusing together a new breed of metalcore straight out of Oklahoma City, OK. One could say, fantasy metalcore? A healthy blend of sharp and tight traditional riffs with a power metal element, the melody along with the synthesizers. This is really something cool.

The five piece consists of Kilby and Brad on guitars, drummer Jeremy, Luke on bass and Lawrence on vocals. “Death, the Unveiling of Eternity” EP was released in 2016. It’s like God Forbid and Blind Guardian are dating. It’s a fabulously unique metalcore EP. The standout track is undoubtedly “Standing at Death’s Door.” Song structure is interesting, catchy and elaborate. The power metal elements really stand out on this particular track. Some cleans throw in the background really compliment the growls. Another favorite, “Hameln” has the eerie synth magic happening with a really evil and driving riff over top. It’s just a solid track. Fans of mid-2000’s metalcore will certainly be interested in Lost Empires, and power metal fans that don’t mind more aggressive vocals.

The band is pretty quiet on their socials, but after a bit of poking around it seems as they are taking a break at the moment but have future plans to write new material. Their 2016 EP is available for streaming on Spotify. 

State Of The Art: Oklahoma’s OUTSIDE THE SHADOWS [Album Stream]

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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 Oklahoma.*

Outside the Shadows was formed originally as a Praise and Worship band, but that band split up and in 2013.

They sweated blood and released the first album ‘Forgiveness’ in October of 2013. They then released their second album ‘Ignite’ in October 2015. They have played with some amazing bands such as Screaming for Silence, Sons of Texas, Sleep Signals, and so many more!

The band name means to shine a light from the outside into the darkness and share Jesus with every individual possible. Outside The Shadows is made up of Preston Bell (vocals/guitar), Randy Stroud(drums)and Sam Krempl (bass/vocals).

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State Of The Art: COSMIC WOOL [Official Videos]

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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 Oklahoma.*

Cosmic Wool is straight from the Heartland Of America, Oklahoma City to be exact. The band formed in 2013 by brothers Nevada (Guitars/Backing Vocals) and Larado “Rado” Romo (Lead Vocals/Bass) who both are formerly of the band Anti Mortem and Nevada has been the guitarist for Texas Hippie Coalition since 2016. In 2018 Texas Hippie Coalition bassist and co-founder John Exall parted ways with the band, it was at that time Rado Romo joined his brother in the band and replaced Exall. I believe the Romo brothers being in 2 bands together allows them to constantly keep their chemistry alive and well both on stage and in writing new music. The remaining members of Cosmic Wool are John “Drew” Williams (Guitar/Keyboards) who met the brothers through a mutual friend, and Tom Frizzell (Drums) who responded to an ad by the band seeking a drummer. The band initially like most bands do started out as a jam band. Cosmic Wool was something for the Romo brothers to do with their breaks between tours. With the dissipation of Anti Mortem in 2014 it freed up more time and Cosmic Wool was moved up as a priority. The band first released a 3 track EP ‘Over Your Eyes’. The band tested their sound with local Oklahoma crowds and they seemed to love the direction the band was going in. The next step was to step further out of their region and see if the country was ready for the comforting sounds of Cosmic Wool. In 2016 the band released another EP titled ‘White.’ The band further developed their “cosmic” psychedelic sound and intertwined amazing melodic choruses within their newer songs creating the sound they have today. Cosmic Wool spent the spring of 2015 until the summer of 2017 writing and reworking the songs that would make up their debut full length, working with Chainsaw Kittens guitarist Trent Bell perfecting the sound they were looking for. The band has stated “We met Trent through another producer we’re friends with named Dustin “Provo” Provenzano who did the first Cosmic Wool demos as well as the Anti Mortem demos. Bell Sound is a huge facility,” points out Rado Romo, “so we took full advantage of that and recorded most of the guitar, bass and drum tracks together in the same room. We also experimented with state of the art synths and keyboards to round things out.” The bands sound has been described as various things, space rock, desert rock, psychedelic rock, groove metal, but one thing is for certain; the band has moved out of the hard rock genre and created a sound that is uniquely theirs. The bands debut self titled full length was released on December 19, 2017 and is available at most online music merchandisers. Pick up a copy on Amazon here, or check it out on spotify. Continue reading →

State of the Art: North Carolina’s AMERICAN EMPIRE [EP Stream]

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Fans of old-school Epica and Within Temptation are going to lose their minds over North Carolina’s best kept secret; American Empire. North Carolina has bred some top notch metal over the years but nothing that sounds quite like this. With the exception of Kamelot, most North American symphonic metal bands just seem to be missing something. But think again, American Empire is packing some seriously fantastic Euro-sounding metal down in Durham.  Continue reading →

State Of The Art: North Carolina’s STELLAR CIRCUITS [Album Stream]

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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 North Carolina.*

STELLAR CIRCUITS formed in 2015 in order to create progressively-minded music. The name “Stellar Circuits” is derived from the eight-circuit model of consciousness, a theory proposed in the 1970’s about expanding consciousness and understanding the process of our mind as it relates to existentialism.

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ROCKUSA Festival Spotlight: THE BLACK MOODS [Official Video]

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            *This is part of the Rock USA Spotlight segment where we help you get to know some of the non-headlining bands performing at the festival. Let us introduce you to The Black Moods.

The Black Moods are a three-piece rock-n-roll machine out of Tempe, Arizona. The name comes from a description in Jim Morrison’s biography where his melancholy moods were described as “black moods.” The unit is comprised of lead guitarist and vocalist Josh Kennedy, bassist Jordan Hoffman, and drummer Danny “Chico” Diaz. They have been able to bottle up the heat from the Sonoran desert and unleash it on stages across North America. They embrace the timeless sound of guitar-driven rock while not putting boundaries on the direction they may take it. The band is inspired from local heroes like Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers and the Gin Blossoms, who often have the band open for them. Continue reading →

State Of The Art: North Carolina’s MO’YNOQ [Album Stream]

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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 North Carolina.*

Hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina, Mo’ynoq delivers a blistering form of American black metal whose self-proclaimed influences include Immortal, Nachtmystium, and Wolves in the Throne Room. Their style, which competently pays homage to the greats, embodies a vast, darkened soundscape of gothic proportions and atmospheric tension that envelops its listener like a dense fog. Since their inception in 2016, Mo’ynoq has released a couple of EPs, and in January of this year, their debut full-length album entitled ‘Dreaming in a Dead Language.’ Continue reading →