An Interview with BALLPEIN

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A scene that frequently gets shoved to the wayside by the heavy-metal community is the massively influential, thriving and certainly one-of-a-kind brand of underground music that was both a worldwide phenomenon commonly known as “Hardcore punk”, and more specifically in this context a significant subculture that had begun to emerge in the wake of Thatcher-era Britain, – indeed, “Hardcore punk” has now become a very generalised term yet it barely scratches the surface of what the community did for so many young people in an era of increasing economic crisis, political unrest and social inequality. This was a chance for young people’s voice to get heard amidst all of the unravelling chaos – yet it wasn’t always easy. Continue reading →

State Of The Art : CROWN OF SORROW [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 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 →

Album Review: GUS G. – ‘Fearless’ [Official Video]

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Greek guitar virtuoso GUS G may be best known for his tenure as Ozzy Osbourne’s lead guitarist, but Gus has now forged his own path with his newest solo venture titled ‘ Fearless’! Available April 20th from AFM Records.  ‘Fearless’ is an out of the box, extremely varied album with everything from amazing straight up rockers, to shred-fest instrumentals and everything in between.

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Review: BLACK WIZARD – ‘Livin’ Oblivion’ [Official Video]

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‘Livin’ Oblivion’, the fourth release by Vancouver-based doom-sters Black Wizard (and the second release under the Listenable label), is a genre bending, heavy metal amalgam of Iron Maiden harmonies mixed with the aggression of old school Thrash Metal! My introduction to Black Wizard was through the album ‘New Waste’ (released in 2016). At first listen I knew this would be a band I’d like! Black Wizard take influence from bands like Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath but instead of rehashing riffs and being content with sounding like a throwback band, they have found a way to take all these old school elements and push them forward to new heights! Continue reading →

Women’s Month: Mercedes Lander of KITTIE / WHITE SWAN

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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 →

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, EVERY TIME I DIE, Dominate Sold Out Show In Lexington [Review & Photo Gallery]

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Motionless In White

 

It’s March in the Bluegrass which means everyone in the region has basketball on their minds. Although the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team is playing (which I listened to on the 2 hour drive north to Lexington) this day was about music. Not just any kind of music – Metal! Not just any normal volume – Very Loud! Continue reading →

Elijah Witt (CANE HILL) “Nickelback Is A Hit Machine”

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Cane Hill formed in 2011 in New Orleans. They took their time finding their sound and released their self titled debut in 2015, then released their first full length in 2016 titled ‘Smile’. This is the album that truly got fans to open their eyes. The band doesn’t just impress in the studio either. We had the opportunity to see Cane Hill at 2017’s Chicago Open Air and their performance was one of the most dominating of the weekend, which is saying a lot considering the lineup was packed with heavy metal icons like Slayer, Behemoth, Lamb Of God and Body Count. The band has announce they were releasing a new album titled ‘Too Far Gone’ in 2018. Everyone was excited for the album, but when it dropped they quickly brought on a fire storm of new bands. ‘Too Far Gone’ has been one of the most talked about albums this year. Elijah Witt stated about the album “A lot of these songs reference a time in our lives when we were really headstrong about what we were doing as far as drugs were concerned and believing we were invincible. It took this shift as we realized we were losing ourselves. I think it’s lucky we recognized that before it became a problem. We definitely went a little bit past our limit, and we’re coming to terms with those mistakes. We went too far gone with everything. The title encapsulates the entire era.” They are the fresh meat in the nu-metal genre and they are proving that newer bands can crank out material that can compete with the elder nu-metal that are still relevant today like Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot and Papa Roach. ‘Too Far Gone’ will likely be one of the best albums of the year for most people. The genre has only had a handful of bands still keeping the sound of the late 90’s and early 2000’s alive, but that has changed with Cane Hill turning heads and proving they can unleash an album that makes those veteran acts realize there is new competition in their genre.  Continue reading →

DESERTFEST LONDON Artist Preview – Full Line-Up Included!

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The UK’s premier independent festival Desertfest London returns over the May bank holiday (May 4th-6th) with what can only be described, as unquestionably it’s most biggest and broadest line-up yet!

Now in its 7th year, the festivities will take place across multiple venues in London’s Camden Town including the famous Underworld and breathtaking Roundhouse. With over 70 acts announced across the whole metal spectrum, together with the biggest names in sludge, doom and psych!

Not only that, as par tradition Desertfest will be holding their annual pre-festival party at The Black Heart on May 3rd featuring a full headline set by North Carolina’s A.S.G and London’s own Flash House as support! (Pre-festival tickets here)

Read below for full headliners and bands that are not to be missed! (Full weekend line-up follows article. Weekend and day tickets available here). Continue reading →

Album Review: EARTHLESS – Black Heaven (Song Stream)

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Earthless

Black Heaven

Nuclear Blast Records

Release Date: March 16, 2018

It’s been more than four years since the last Earthless album, the mammoth double LP From the Ages, and to say things are a little different now would be an understatement. Since the 2005 release of their debut album Sonic Prayer, the San Diego power trio have built their reputation on a repertoire of expansive, instrumental psych-rock explorations, side-long, many-movement mindfucks that split the difference between Amon Düül II and Black Sabbath. Black Heaven, their latest effort (and first under the Nuclear Blast banner), is a leaner, meaner affair that’s way more James Gang than Flower Travellin’ Band. The songwriting and structures have been tightened up and whittled down (the longest song on Black Heaven is slightly less than nine minutes, which for Earthless is practically a pop single), based more on refined guitar riffs than semi-improvised rhythm section interplay and trimmed of a lot of hallucinogenic fat. Perhaps most jarring for longtime listeners will be the introduction of the human voice into the Earthless equation; four of Black Heaven’s six tracks feature guitarist Isaiah Mitchell stepping into the vocal spotlight. Doubters and worrywarts can relax and unclench, though; this is still Earthless through and through, plenty trippy, plenty heavy, and more than capable of levelling even the most hardened of psychic warriors.

Continue reading →