Swedish power metal champions, Sabaton and German thrash metal titans, Kreator team up for an epic North American co-headlining tour for early 2018. The Nuclear Blast label mates will be kicking off the outing on Thursday, February 8, 2018 at The Van Buren in Phoenix, Arizona and finally wrapping up at the Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Along the way, the two metal juggernauts will hit several other US and Canadian cities during the 24-date schedule. Continue reading
*In this series we pose the age-old question to a wide array of music lovers. As fans of music, most of us keep a mental list of active bands we want to see live that we haven’t yet seen. The Bucketlist brings to you those lists of your favorite artists and why those bands mean so much to them*
Former Still The Sky’s Limit frontman John Barthelmass, better known as ‘JB’ or Johnny B, has been quickly making waves in the music community with his solo career under the name Ten Two. The singer/songwriter uprooted himself from his home in Orange County, California and relocated 3,000 miles away to Orlando, FL to further pursue his music career and his upcoming solo debut release ‘Forth’ is slated for release January 5, 2018. According to the Ten Two Facebook page, “JB focuses not on what could have been but instead choosing to focus on the future—all that is and can be. It’s this mantra that he channels into his upcoming solo debut release Forth. Encompassing the loud, the calm, and everything in between, it is a two-sided album through which he explores a unique musical and emotional duality by juxtaposing his alt-rock past with his present as a budding acoustic singer/songwriter.” Sounds to me like the makings of some good quality songs, as I’m not too keen on focusing on the past myself – look to the future and make your own reality. Continue reading
OVERKILL songwriter and bassist DD Verni has plans to release his first solo CD in 2018. Currently, the group is looking for a label to call home. The record is a mix of all of Verni’s influences. Check out the lyric video for “Fire Up” below.
“There’s some metal, punk, and classic rock…..its all in there, from QUEEN to GREEN DAY to METALLICA, I think we covered all the basses!” declares DD.
The sludgsters Black Tundra formed in 2016 in Warsaw, Poland. Comprised of ex-Dopelord and Hidden Haze members, these fellows are by no means rookies in the world of metal. The band is made up of Dave and Tomek Sikora on guitars, Marcin Skarzyński on bass and vocals and Blond on drums. In January of 2017 the band got together and began to record what would eventually become the bands debut self titled album. The album was recorded, and mixed by Haldor Grunberg (Satanic Audio) at “Nebula Studio” and Mastered by Audiosiege.
Dinosaur Eyelids have been one of the most revered rock n roll bands in the New Jersey music scene since their formation in 2009. The bands goes about things in a true DIY way and have no released 5 albums. The advise that their musical influences range from Soundgarden to The Replacements to Ween. That is certainly a vast area of influence but so is this bands style and sound. It seems that about anything they set out to conquer they are able to do in stride. With around 100 shows under their belt Dinosaur Eyelids is not only refining their sound in the studio but on the stage as well. Their 2014 album ‘Bypass To Nowhere’ debuted at #1 on WRSU Rutgers Radio and their material has been played on 180 college radio stations across North America. They are like a mixture of Nirvana and Neil Young that creates heartbreaking love songs that sink you to lows and also life stories that uplift you. Dinosaur Eyelids is like the pendulum of life told through rock n roll.
When you think of “angry” music, what comes to mind? I have a few ideas – maybe some of mine are even the same as yours. Regardless of what you might be thinking “angry” music sounds like, this album will undoubtedly force you to rethink your definition. Philip H. Anselmo and the Illegals – ‘Choosing Mental Illness as a Virtue’ is, unquestionably, some angry fucking music.
Philip H. Anselmo is a name that might seem familiar – you can remove the “H” if it’s throwing you off. If you’re reading this review, you’re more than likely aware of a band called Down. You may even have heard of another band called Superjoint. You also might know that, in addition to fronting both of these great bands, Anselmo may very well be one of the most prolific names in metal today – as well as the most headlined recently. In between also being one of the most entertaining interviews in the biz, Phil has consistently been working on multiple side project bands including Arson Anthem, Christ Inversion, Southern Isolation, Viking Crown, Eibon, Scour, and En Minor; and running his own label, Housecore Records. On top of all this, his resume includes being the former lead singer of, arguably one of the most influential metal bands of all time – Pantera. Continue reading
There is a bit of sad news that is coming out of Finland’s folk metal band, ENSIFERUM, as their sole female member, the talented Netta Skog has decided to quit the band as she wants “to move on and focus on other things” and thus “head into new adventures.” Netta joined the band in 2016 and was a part of their most recent album, ‘Two Paths‘, she played the accordion and also toured with the band all over the world, even though her stay was short lived. This unfortunate but inevitable news hits us before the band sets itself into a mini Asian tour where they are slated to play three shows in China and two shows in Japan starting this New Year’s Eve. As per the band’s official statement, they “are not looking for a replacement” as of now, and will still go ahead and play all their scheduled gigs without Netta. The band promises to announce their future plans soon.
Classic rockers GRAVEYARD have entered Park Studios in Stockholm to record their yet untitled album that is scheduled for release late spring/early summer in 2018. The album is produced by Chips Kiesbye (THE HELLACOPTERS, MICHAEL MONROE, THE NOMADS) and engineered by Stefan Boman (BURT BACHARACH, ALICE COOPER, DEF LEPPARD & KENT to name a few).
Though he had quite the rough and scary exterior Rev. Jim Forrester was one of the nicest and most sincere people I ever had the pleasure of meeting. He and I bonded over our mutual love of Acid Bath at the inaugural Doomed & Stoned Festival in Indianapolis in 2016, where his band Foghound put on one hell of a show. The 43 year old bassist recently had battled back from some health issues. He had a blot clot in his liver and the music world all had him in our thoughts and the powerful man that he is battled back and took the stage again to do what he loved most, play music. In addition to playing bass for Foghound Jim also was a part of the band Serpents of Secrecy and played for Sixty Watt Shaman. Continue reading
