The Underground, Inc. Documentary Presents: An Interview With Failure Drummer Kellii Scott!

Inspired by the underground music of the 90’s, award winning Australian Director/Producer Shaun Katz (Sleeping in Blood City) has set off on a huge undertaking to document this historic musical era in the upcoming Underground Inc: The Unsung Story Of Alternative Rock. With the help of Co-Editor/Co-Producer and Animator, JB Sapienza, prize winning Editor/Co-Director of the documentary, My Name Is Jonah, regular collaborator, Writer/Producer Adam Lovett (also of Sleeping in Blood City notoriety) and the combined musical genius’ of Grammy nominated Peter Mengede (Helmet, KRSOne, Handsome), Grammy nominated record producer Alex Newport (Mars Volta, Bloc Party, At The DriveIn) and Mark Bardridge covering the documentary scoring have their dreams set on bringing Underground, Inc. to fruition. Interviews on what promises to be one of the most important music documentaries of this decade will include members of Queens Of The Stone Age, Failure, White Zombie, Stone Sour, Primus, Helmet, Bad Religion, Ministry, Quicksand, Jawbox, Filter, A Perfect Circle, Down, Revolting Cocks, Corrosion Of Conformity, Jets To Brazil, Rocket From The Crypt, Clutch, Red Fang, …Trail Of Dead, The Sword, Sugartooth, Steve Albini (producer – Nirvana, Pixies), Matt Wallace (producer – Faith No More, Deftones), Only Living Witness, Alex Newport (producer – At The Drive In, Bloc Party), Public Image Ltd, Sepultura, Agnostic Front, Biohazard, Texas Is The Reason, Killing Joke, Monster Magnet, Handsome, Stegosaurus, Brad, Cop Shoot Cop, Course Of Empire, Fishbone, My Head, Sense Field, Trouble, Downset, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Skrew and many others!

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Review: DECONBRIO – ‘Hail To The Liars Throne’ [Stream]

Deconbrio is a Coldwave / Industrial Rock band from Knoxville, Tennessee headed by frontman Danny Rendo. The vocalist also writes, produces and records the music. Since the band’s last release they have added some new members to the already talented group. Second guitarist Wolfegang and new bassist Kevin Humler have rounded out their live lineup while the band recently unveiled their latest release ‘Hail To The Liars Throne’ which was issued on November 9, 2016. The album is a slight change from the band’s 2012 EP “Voyeur” which showcased ample amounts of anger within the music. While ‘Hail To The Liars Throne’ does carry with it an aggressive tone, it takes you through a wide range of emotions from the time the track begins and ends. It’s a roller coaster ride of emotionally filled industrial rock that you are sure to enjoy.  Continue reading

Review Of Scenario II’s Upcoming Release Of “A New Dawn”, Due Out February 17, 2017

Scenario II is:

Mark van Doren – (Songwriter/Guitars, Synths)
Simone van Straten – (Live Guitars) also Sisters of Suffocation
Bas van den Boom – (Drums/Technician)
Myrthe van Beest – (Female Vocals)
Bas de Kruyff – (Vocals)
Liza Hoek – (Bass)

 

From Eindgoven, The Netherlands, Scenario II started life under the name of Aura way back in 1991. After a number singles and EPs, the band finally released their official, full-length debut in 2006 entitled (you guessed it) Scendario II; naming it for the polar perspectives of the outcome of an apocalypse: doomsday or new beginning. Soon after the release, songwriter, guitarist and synth player Mark van Doren razed the band and started over with a new band and a new direction. With many band member changes and sound experimentation in the coming years, Scenario II was able to release Uniforms of Death in 2009, the lineup including Mark, Martijn Luppens on bass, Matthieu Boer on drums, Dani Lopez on guitar, Maarten Vloon on keys and Bas de Esch covering vocals. Almost eight years later, the influences of bands like Soilwork, In Flames, Arch Enemy, At the Gates, Dark Tranquility, Moonspell, Muse, Dimension Zero, Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir and Amorphis have distilled themselves into something altogether unique and cool, coming together to create A New Dawn, due out on February 17, 2017 with the above members on the Hysteria Music label.

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State of the Art: Idaho – Wolvserpent

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

This month’s State is Idaho!

Unfortunately, today closes our State of the Art: Idaho series. Such a diverse and truly spectacular Metal scene has allowed us all a plethora of incredible choices to spotlight. When searching for bands I ran across so many deserving bands and even had one land in my lap after they read an article posted about one of their contemporaries the week before. Good stuff! Really have to admire the apparent friendly rapport and unity among bands. Not to denigrate any of the fine bands covered this month, I saved my de facto favorite for last. This week’s spotlight goes to the first band I picked up this month called Wolvserpent.

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Review: GRAVE DIGGER – ‘Healed By Metal’

Artwork by Gyula Havancsák

After 36 years of touring and writing new music, Grave Digger is still at it putting out fantastic power metal anthems. Their new album, ‘Healed By Metal’ dropped on January 13th, 2017 on Napalm Records. It is their fourth release with the label and their 18th album overall. ‘Healed By Metal’ lives up to the big expectations following their previous, stellar release, ‘Return of the Reaper’ (2014). This record also features the debut of new keyboardist, Marcus Kniep. The rest of the band remains the same from the last album including Chris “Reaper” Boltendahl on the vocals, Stefan Arnold on drums, Jens Becker on bass, and Axel “Ironfinger” Ritt on the guitars. The German power metal band continues to put out strong material consistently almost every 2 years. You can buy ‘Healed By Metal’ on Amazon  or you can get it on iTunes. Continue reading

Review: RUDRA – ‘Enemy of Duality’ [Partial Album Stream]

You are about to bear witness to the heaviest band the country of Singapore has to offer. The ‘Vedic metal’ pioneers since the early ’90s return this year with their most ambitious album to date. Having worked hard over the years to forge a unique sound that’s a sublime blend of Indian classical music rooted in ancient spirituality and extreme metal encompassing death metal, black metal and thrash metal music. Rudra have influenced various bands both within their country and abroad, they have set standard for what fans what in regards to blackened thrash and death metal. The unheralded overlords of Asia, Rudra have a cult following that remains mysteriously loyal, as they hone a sound that’s probably unparalleled. Their latest album, again founded on the principles of Vedic spirituality. Indian classical instruments such as sitar, flute, tablas (Indian percussion) and even a didgeridoo are used for this album, to create a spiritual expression. Don’t let the idea of these unfamiliar instruments scare you away, it doesn’t get in the way at all of this band dominating in the genre where they have broken barriers and still remained true to the metal way. ‘Enemy of Duality’ released December 17, 2016 and is destined to be a landmark from the Orient, one that doesn’t abandon the ancient roots and blends the traditional sounds and philosophies seamlessly into music that’s at once challenging and hypnotic. Continue reading

Review And Full Stream Of Beyond My Eyes “One Way To The Future” Debut

Beyond My Eyes is the solo project of musical mastermind Mr. Erick Green. Now 39, Erick was born in Santa Marta, Magdalena, Columbia but spent much of his early life traveling all around this South American country. During his adolescence, he settled in Barranquilla, learning Cumbia (a dance-oriented genre of popular music throughout Latin America), Vallenato (a popular folk music of the Caribbean region of Columbia literally meaning “born in the valley”), Salsa, Rock and Metal. Starting off as a percussionist, Green remembers “banging on anything that could make a sound or [he] could beat with [his] hands and feet” before being given a guitar to noodle around with. With a big appetite for radio friendly Metal bands like Def Leppard, The Scorpions and Poison, Erick found his motivation to properly play the guitar from none other than Metallica. Being self-taught strictly by ear, he had to buckle down to nail the technique required to play these beloved tracks and eventually earning him the title “El Metallica” among friends. As his skill set expanded, so did his desire to play live, resulting in a band called Espina with friends Oscar and Johnny as well as another, collaborative local project called Risk.

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State Of The Art: Idaho – Traitors Gate, With Special, Debut Album Review!

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

This month’s State is Idaho

Traitors Gate is:

Ken Mansfield – Guitars
Tim Allan – Drums
Colby Dees – Bass
Mister Y– Vocals

Alright my Metalhead friends, I have a special treat for this week’s State of the Art: Idaho series. Not only do I have a killer band that you are sure to dig, but also am including a review of of their new, self-titled debut! I have never done this before but the opportunity presented itself and I sure as hell was going to take advantage of it! New band AND new music?!? Good stuff. Let’s get to it. This week, from Boise, ID, comes Traitors Gate.

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Review: INNER TEMPLE – ‘Captivity’ EP [Stream]

Photo Credit: Kristen Zarra

There is nothing more rewarding than stumbling across a band you haven’t heard of, giving it a listen and it blows your mind. That’s exactly what Inner Temple has done for me. The band is based out of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and formed in late 2013. The band released a 5 track EP titled ‘Captivity’ on October 28, 2016. The EP was Recorded/Mixed by former drummer Keeyan Zimmerman and Produced by Chris Castillo from the band The Greater Victory. ‘Captivity’ is the follow up to the 2 track EP ‘The Games We Play’ that the band released in February 2016. The band includes various elements in their music including alternative and hard rock with a heavy influence of grunge and some fuzzed out stoner qualities as well. The band is currently comprised of Dustin Schumacher on vocals/guitar and Kevin Schlosser on drums. The drumming on ‘Captivity’ was completed by former drummer Keeyan Zimmerman who has since left the band. Inner Temple is currently auditioning bassists to fill the final spot in their trio. The band’s debut EP released early in 2014 and is very rare to find, but it sparked a cult following of fans that have helped the band get the word out about their unique sound. Continue reading

Review: CULTURAL WARFARE – ‘Future Kill’ [Song Stream]

Artwork by Brian Lewis

From Oakland, California, Cultural Warfare are preparing to debut their first EP from M-Theory Audio, “Future Kill”. This thrashing release will drop this Friday on January 27, 2017. The band has undergone some lineup changes since forming in 2011 but has finally been solidified for their first release. The band consists of long time members Billy Garoutte on the guitars and Kevin Doughty on the drums. Joining the band will be members from the band Taunted, with Jacques Serrano on the vocals and Pete Aguilar on the bass guitar. The EP was produced by Juan Urteaga (Testament, Exodus, Vicious Rumors) and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Halford, Sepultura). The artwork of ‘Future Kill’ was done by Brian Lewis of Stone Design (DevilDriver, Black Label Society). Having been around since the formation of bay area thrash, the highly experienced members of Cultural Warfare are here in 2017 to conquer the world with their classic thrash sound.

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