PRIMUS, MASTODON, ALL THEM WITCHES In Nashville, TN [Review & Photo Gallery]

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Primus

The city of Nashville, Tennessee has always been a household name for famous music cities around the globe; as a matter of fact it may just be the music CAPITOL of the world. Legendary venues such as the Grand Ole Opry have hosted some of the most famous names in music like Johnny Cash and Chet Atkins, but there’s no shortage of Metal in the country music capitol of the world. On May 15th, 2018, the Primus rolled into town on their summer tour with support from Mastodon and All Them Witches at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. The tour started on May 6th in Denver, Colorado and ends on July 7th in Phoenix, Arizona.

All Them Witches

Getting the night started off the RIGHT way, All Them Witches didn’t hesitate to make their presence felt early. As an opening band, you don’t have a lot of room on stage to perform, but for these three gentlemen, space was not an issue. Sludgy, muddy guitar tones and thunderous drums roaring throughout the venue set the tone for the rest of what was an incredible bill to be a part of. Their set was incredibly well received for an opening band, and if you weren’t a fan going into the show, you definitely were when you left.

Mastodon

Rolling into the second performance, the mighty Mastodon showed Nashville why they are some of the masters of their craft. Intelligent songwriting, cut throat guitar and bass tones, and the bouncing vocals of all the members roar through the speakers and bring Nashville off their feet. Their set was diverse, containing songs from multiple records released through their storied career. From the ominous chimes on the intro of the opening song, “Sultan’s Curse,” to the heavy outro to the final song, “Steambreather,” both off their new record, ‘Emperor of Sand,’ Mastodon proved why hardships in their personal lives served as fuel for them to continue on to make music that pleases them and all their fans, and they proved it with a murky stage presence. Mastodon are veterans of the road and made sure Nashville left this concert with a new favorite artist.

Primus

The headliner of the evening, Primus, brought that of what you expect from a band of this stature. Opening their set with, “Too Many Puppies,” every voice in the auditorium was singing along with Les Claypool and moshing along to the complex rhythmic patterns of Primus’ music. At this point, it’s hard to not love this band, or at least heard of them. Technical difficulties on Ler’s end at one point couldn’t even stop them from performing. An impromptu bass solo from Claypool along with comedic stories kept Nashville enthused the entire night. The stage presence of Tim Alexander is astounding even behind his mountain of drums, along with in your face rhythms that are the core part of Primus’ music. All the fans were engaged throughout every song, and even at lower points of the evening, the cheery Nashville crowd were involved with every set, singing along, moshing and pushing, proving why their city is THE music capitol of the world even for this genre.

Live Review: DESERTFEST LONDON, UK 2018 – Day 1 [Photo Gallery]

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Zeke @ Koko. DesertFest London 2018

The UKs very own version of Roadburn took over London over the bank holiday weekend of 4th May – 6th May. The annual 3-day DesertFest London festival hosted over 70 bands including some of the biggest names in the stoner rock scene, at the most iconic venues in Londons Camden town – from the Roundhouse to Koko, The Underworld, The Black Heart and The Dev(onshire Arms). Camden was a hive for worshipers of the scene to congregate for the 7th edition of this fundamental tour, and with headliners that included Graveyard, Napalm Death, High On Fire, Hawkwind and Monster Magnet, this year has been it’s biggest and most diverse yet!

FRIDAY 4TH

Today saw the festival at it’s busiest for its opening day, with 26 artists across 5 stages, not to mention the thousands of tourists bustling about Camden town – famous for its vast array of boutique and quirky independent shops, amazing street food, and markets, weird and wonderful street performers and musicians, as well as being the absolute hot-spot for all kinds of sub-cultures to thrive. With the distinct smell of weed fresh in the air on a blisteringly hot day in the capital, I was ready for the beginning of what would be an epic weekend of (natural) highs from the outstanding line-up at DesertFest London 2018. (Full gallery follows article). Continue reading →

State Of The Art : MARS [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 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.

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An Interview With The Viral Sensation DUBÉ [Video]

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Founded in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 2006 the three brothers known by their surname Dubé have found themselves the center of a wide spread and viral meme throughout Canada. There was an article about them within the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test which was given to 10th grade students in Ontario. The article was essentially a reading comprehension test and they had to answer questions about the article and band afterwards. Memes of the band then went viral causing the band to become drastically more popular within their home country, with many students saying it was their favorite part of the test. Dubé once also opened for The Beach Boys as they previously has a very clean image. Dubé’s sudden change from opening for The Beach Boys to smoking up in their video for “Alien” caught the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) off guard. The EQAO oversees the OSSLT and said the reading selection went through a three-year vetting process, but after the article was last vetted in September 2017, the band radically changed its image. In their video for “Alien” it depicts the band smoking a joint rolled up with a page from the bible. Not only their image but their music has also changed drastically, and for the better I might add. The brothers now have a much more heavy and faster paced alternative punk rock sound that is also sure to become a viral sensation for fans. Don’t think for a minute that these guys are selfish and that their rock and roll ambitions are for themselves alone. Their mother passed away after a battle with cancer and the brothers took to the streets busking as well as recording covers to raise money for charity. They subsequently raised mega-bucks for charity on the streets of Ottawa – they staged a drive that sent a whopping $150,000 to Haitian orphans after the 2010 earthquake. The band deserves a tremendous amount of respect for the work they have put in as well as for the risk they took in changing their image. The band has been on tour with English punk rockers Counterfeit here in the U.S. doing a cost to cost stage takeover. Continue reading →

TRIVIUM & 68′ Display Flawless Performances In Lexington, KY [Review & Photo Gallery]

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Trivium

In Early May I got to catch my very first Trivium Concert at Manchester Music Hall in Lexington KY. If you aren’t familiar with Manchester Music Hall, first let me say that its one of, if not the best small concert venues in Central, Kentucky. Prior to this concert, I did a little research on the band. I had heard of the band over the years and had checked out the radio-friendly cuts but I had never really dug into any of the album tracks. One thing I love about listening to tracks off a bands albums 24 hrs before going to see the band really makes me appreciate the hard work, blood sweat, and tears musicians put into making an album. Most bands track songs just for studio cuts while others track just how they would be on stage as if they were performing the songs live. Being a musician myself I can certainly say that in my many years of stage experience less means more. The more backing tracks and other electronic gear you bring to a live show other than whats necessary raises the chances for more shit to go wrong. Continue reading →

Album Review: DEAD CROSS – Dead Cross (Ipecac Recordings)

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Dead Cross are an American hardcore/progressive metal group, formed in Southern California. The band consists of guitarist Mike Crain (Retox), bassist Justin Pearson (the Locust, Head Wound City and Retox), drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer and Fantômas) and vocalist Mike Patton (currently of Faith No More and Fantômas).  They released their debut album in August 2017 and then, seemingly out of nowhere, released released a further self-titled EP containing two new songs and two remixes from their previous album.

Their sound is sophistocated, yet brutal.  They are not what would be expected of a hardcore-based outfit and that is Mike Patton’s calling card.  While others dare not progress, Patton constantly wants to evolve and grow.  His voice is as varied on Dead Cross songs as any of his other projects, whether it be snarling, screaming or singing, it is still his very own.  The signature drumming of Lombardo also is very prominent and complements the ferocious guitar work of Crain and the understated bass of Pearson.

The E.P. is four songs of pure adrenaline, being pumped into the black heart of society.  There are two new songs, “Skin Of A Redneck” and “My Perfect Prisoner“.  Both of these are bangers, with a blunt trauma sound that stabs at you without mercy.  There is anger here, directed at the whole world.  It is like a two punch being delivered in the first moments of a boxing match.  The blood is still dripping from your face, whilst the champion is dropping you onto the canvas.

The second part of the E.P. is where the band get experimental.  They take two songs from their album and let the remixing re-imagine the sound.

“Shillelagh – Panicker Remix” is an EDM hardcore fusion, with multiple keyboards, beeps and electronica.   It completely changes the tone from the original hardcore ripper that appeared on the debut.  It works superbly well, as it takes the cadaver and fills it with new sonics.  This is probably my favorite track on this E.P.

The final song is “Church of the Motherf*ckers – Planet B Remix” and this is a more restrained remix, but keeps the electronica elements to fill out the sound.  Patton explores every element of his voice on this, whilst Lombardo is strangely muted until the blast beat fills, augmented by drum machines.  A brave song, for sure.

The E.P. is a finely crafted exercise in keeping fans connected to the band whilst they start to tour.  It is a worthwhile addition to their catalogue and shows progression.

Album Review: CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL – Science Fiction (Kozmik Artifactz)

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Church of the Cosmic Skull

Science Fiction

Kozmik Artifactz/Septaphonic

 

The surest way to stand out in a bleak and dour world? Be a beacon of light. With their matching white outfits, recurring rainbow motifs, and a fully-formed and realized rock band-as-hippie love sect mythos, Nottingham-based occult rock septet Church of the Cosmic Skull have done a more-than-admirable job setting themselves apart from the seemingly endless parade of monsters and demons and scowling young men in varying shades of black that populate today’s heavy rock scene. Their aesthetic is so refined and so well-structured, in fact, that at first glance some folks may be inclined to immediately dismiss the group out of hand as a mere novelty act or an elaborate joke. Those folks would being doing themselves a grave disservice, however, because here’s the thing: Church of the Cosmic Skull is one of the best bands in the world of retro-rock, and with their absolutely breathtaking six-part harmonies, they may be the most singular unit out there. Nobody else sounds like this. Their debut album, 2016’s Is Satan Real?, is one of the best records I’ve heard since I started writing for Metal Nexus last summer. Their newest, Science Fiction, is even better.

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WOODY WEATHERMAN (Corrosion Of Conformity) Talks About James Hetfield Contributing Lyrics To C.O.C.

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With their first release being in 1984, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY is a band who has made significance impact in not one but two sub genres of music (Hardcore punk and Stoner rock). Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone at how excited the metal community was when it was announced that C.O.C. would be reuniting with Vocalist/ Guitarist Pepper Keenan for a new album! It’s been a dozen years since Corrosion of Conformity recorded new material with Keenan at the helm. Pepper made his exit to spend more time performing with his other band Down which has included Phillip H. Anselmo (Pantera, Superjoint), Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod), and Pat Bruders (Crowbar, Goatwhore) and also former members included Kirk Windstein (Crowbar, Kingdom Of Sorrow) and Rex Brown (Pantera). While Pepper was away Corrosion Of Conformity pumped out two albums with bassist Mike Dean taking over vocal duties the same as he did on 1985’s ‘Animosity’. The band has a sound that truly has no competition tip toeing into several genres like stoner rock, heavy metal, punk, crossover, southern rock and various others. In that time, there have been rumors, whispers, and outright allegations that the legendary southern rock outfit would reunite to blow the doors off the whole damn scene again. In 2015, after nearly a decade traversing the globe with Down, Keenan reconnected with the core Corrosion of Conformity trio of Woody Weatherman, Mike Dean, and Reed Mullin to hit the road hard. The band released their newest album ‘No Cross No Crown’ in January of this year via Nuclear Blast. the first to feature Pepper on vocals since 2005’s ‘In the Arms of God’. Corrosion Of Conformity’s chemistry was still there and the songs ring out as if there has been no days off since Pepper last fronted the band.

 

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Ep. 153 Woody Weatherman (Corrosion of Conformity) – Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast

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Woody Weatherman of the mighty Corrosion of Conformity joins the show this week. Woody talks about the latest COC album “No Cross, No Crown”. We also discuss touring with Black Label Society and some historic tours with Metallica and Megadeth. Woody tells us about the relationship between James Hetfield and Corrosion of Conformity. Woody also remembers a pre-White Zombie Sean Yseult. We end on a breakdown of a track off “No Cross, No Crown”. 

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Review: BLEEDING THROUGH – ‘Love Will Kill All’ [Official Videos]

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Formed in 1999, Bleeding Through have run the gamut of countries, labels, genre stylings and immense, genre-defining releases, influencing several generations of artists since their inception. This crushing Californian metal act seamlessly combine hardcore, symphonic and death metal in a maelstrom of magnificent aggression, weaving melody and mayhem together into a chaotic quilt. Dedicated to their craft in a way that has cast countless acts to shame, Bleeding Through are a band that many fans of extreme music may cite as one of their first truly “heavy” bands—and all these years later, they hold up just as strong, if not more so. While the band has been on a self imposed hiatus since 2104, reuniting in 2016 for a benefit show for The Ghost Inside following the bands horrific accident. As such the heavy metal landscape has changed a lot over the handful of years since the band called it a day. Metalcore has fallen out of favor with the mainstream, and theres been a sort of changing of the guard with “newer” bands like Bring Me The Horizon and A Day to Remember dominating the scene and heading in a more poppier direction.

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