Review Of Allegaeon’s “Proponent For Sentience”

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Allegaeon is:

Riley McShane: Vocals
Greg Burgess: Guitar
Michael Stancel: Guitar
Corey Archuleta: Bass
Brandon Park: Drums

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Being a huge fan of Technical Death Metal, I have been listening to Allegaeon since they released Fragments of Form and Function back in 2010. Simply awestruck. I continued to follow them through Formshifter in 2012 and Elements of the Infinite in 2014 as they progressively pushed the bounds of their craft. Their playing and songwriting abilities appear to have no limit. When given the opportunity to review Proponent For Sentience, due out September 23rd, 2016, I immediately got dibs before someone else snatched it from grasp. Thank goodness, because Proponent For Sentience is devastatingly good!

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State of the Art: Maeth

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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 Minnesota!

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Not in the mood for my norm this week. Just not feeling it. Need something different to clean my palette. Something out of my comfort zone. Black Metal? Nah. With a few exceptions, I just shut down. Maybe some good Death Metal then? I found a ton of good bands but I am not really in a bad mood, just tired. Good Death usually calms me down, allowing me to let all the frustration out through the aggressive music. Again, not feeling it. Look long enough and am am sure to find something that strikes the right chord (pun intended), so I continue. Then, bang, in drops St. Paul’s Maeth to save the day.

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Album Review: THUNDERBIRD “Heavyweight”

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Hailing from the great white north THUNDERBIRD has a refreshing sound that harkens back to the glory days of hard rock music with a spirit out of the 70’s and 80’s.  They have the a rhythmic feel that would make any AC/DC fan happy.  But amazingly they pair it with vocals that are very comparable to the legendary PAUL STANLEY of KISS.  Originally formed in 2003 the band consists of Marc Lafrance (Vocals), Rod Coogan (Guitar), Kelly Stodola (Drums) also Tim Rath and Rob Becker (Bass). The group disbanded after their 2006 release “What’s The Word?”.  A decade later the rockers are back with vengeance supporting their all new 2016 release “Heavyweight”.  Continue reading →

Your Chance To Die Sign On With EMP: Underground!

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It has just been announced that Technical/Melodic Death Metal veterans Your Chance To Die have joined forces with EMP Label Group (EMP: Underground) and have released “Shadown and Flame” on EMP: Underground Volume One (Sampler). The new song was mixed and mastered by Jamie King with executive production covered by Thom Hazaert and none other than Megadeth’s David Ellefson! The sampler is available now at EMP. With a new album on the near horizon (Ex–Nihilo due out in Spring 2017), Your Chance To Die has a very promising future ahead of them!

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REVIEW: In Death… “The Devil Speaks”

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logo-red I’m no stranger to the Australian Metal scene that has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years. From the ungodly slams of Disentomb, to the chugging breakdowns of Thy Art Is Murder, to even the melodies of The Amity Affliction, Australia has been churning out some seriously good metal over the past decade or so. Continue reading →

Interview With Poltergeist As They Prepare To Unleash “Back To Haunt”

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Poltergeist was formed in 1988 and released three Thrash albums that remain cult classics to this day: Depression (1989), Behind My Mask (1989) and Nothing Lasts Forever (1993). After over 20 years, Poltergeist has returned and are set to unleash their much anticipated Back to Haunt due out October 21, 2016 on the Pure Steel Record label! We here at MN have the pre-release and it is a serious kick in the ass! While Dragon staked quick claim on the album review (soon to be published) I got the true honor of an interview with this legendary master of old school Thrash! Freakin’ stoked about this one!

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Armada Gets Serious With Their Debut Release: “Of An Ocean”

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Unfortunately, good bands come and go no matter how big they become all the time. Personal conflicts, outside responsibilities, frustration with the industry, among countless other things all take their toll on performing musicians. While fans often lift them up as super-human, they are not. Most musicians I know, big or small, share a single, what should be obvious goal: to share a piece of themselves through their undying passion for music. The Hollywood glitz and glamor media crowd would have you believe it to be driven by money, fame, girls or whatever other vice fascinates the artist being the driving factor.

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Review Of Denmark Power Metal Gods: Iron Fire, ‘Among The Dead’

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Due out this Friday, September 16th from Demark’s premier Power Metal outfit Iron Fire is their release of Among the Dead. After sixteen years and seven albums, the authors of Power Metal’s cult classic Thunderstorm, On the Edge in 2001, Speed Metal inspired Revenge in 2006, Blade of Triuph (2007), To the Grave in 2009, Metalmorphosized (2010) and Voyage of the Damned in 2012 still have the hunger they had back at the turn of the millennium until today. After a number of line-up and sound changes over the years, original founding members Martin Steene on vocals and bass and Kirk Backarach on guitars are joined again by their original drummer Gunnar Olsen who rejoined the band back in 2015 after a fifteen year hiatus and are going back to their roots. The resulting CD is exceptionally good Power Metal that will be felt everywhere when this beast drops!

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FREYA Release “Gnawing From Inside” from Upcoming Album Grim! [Streaming]

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Photo Credit: Shada Gale Photography

 Syracuse-based metal outfit FREYA have unleashed the track “Gnawing From Inside” from the band’s impending fifth full-length, Grim. The new single is like a delicacy that music fans will love. The album nears release at the end of the month. The band has issued the early single for public consumption, and it certainly should make fans even more anxious for the release. The song is pleasing to the ear with the vast sounds and styles this track showcases. “Gnawing From Inside” is just a small tease of what to expect from the full length, and their is plenty more to come. Make sure to pick up a copy, you won’t regret it.

Fast Break! Records will release Grim on September 30th on digipak CD and all digital platforms. Multiple new preorder packages have been posted at THIS LOCATION

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State of the Art: Eternal Voyager

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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 Minnesota!

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Coincidence, fate or just good timing, it is funny how things work out sometimes. While we are having no difficulties finding good Metal in Minnesota, a band was brought to my attention just before the state was chosen for this month’s State of the Art series. Heavy Power Metal (which, incidentally, is one of my favorite types of Metal) analogous to legendary bands like Iron Maiden, Hammerfall, Blind Guardian, Amon Amarth and Iced Earth. This week I give you Eternal Voyager.

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