State Of The Art: MOON RATS [Album + Track Stream]

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state. This month’s state is Wisconsin.*

Moon Rats was formed in 2016 by members of Calliope and Sonic J. The hard hitting 5 piece is dedicated to psychedelic stoner rock that is out of this world. The band is comprised of  Al Kraemer  on vocals and guitar,
Victor Buell laying down riffs on lead guitar, Brendt Dondero behind the kit on drums, Myles Coyne on bass, and
Nathan Toth on organ. The bands first release came in the form of a single back in May of 2017 with the track “Motor Sword”. The track would also appear on the bands debut full length ‘Highway Lord’ which released on June 23rd 2017. The album was recorded in the remote northern woods of Wisconsin. It was written, produced and recorded by the band and mastered by Justin Perkins at The Mystery Room. The album was released on cassette via Gloss Records, however the band is an independent/unsigned band. ‘Highway Lord’ is by far one of the best debut albums I have heard in years. To think this band formed and recorded this album themselves within a year is an astounding feat that deserves attention. I believe their ability to record on their own and the added ambiance that recording in the remote Wisconsin woods helps the chemistry of the band and keeps their sound unique with no outside influence. Moon Rats have also proved they aren’t lazy and have already released a new single since their debut. The track ‘Ride Or Die’ released in February of this year and claims to be the first glimpse at Moon Rats’ second installment into the Highway Lord mythology, ‘Lonestar.’

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Review: CANCER – ‘Shadow Gripped’ [Track Stream]

Cancer was formed in 1988 by drummer Carl Stokes, guitarist John Walker and bassist Ian Buchanan. Not long after forming, the band released 2 demos (‘No Fuckin Cover’ and ‘Demo 2’) and toured with a variety of bands including Bolt Thrower and Charged GBH. During the 90’s, Cancer released the most material, however, it would be the first two of these albums that really gave the band a name in the Death Metal scene. ‘To the Gory End’ (1990) and ‘Death Shall Rise’ (1991) are relatively obscure releases even to many Metal fans, however, for those of us who have heard them we know they are classics of the genre! After being absent since 2005’s ‘Spirit in Flames’ Cancer have returned in 2018 with a new album! Available now via Peaceville Records ‘Shadow Gripped’ is an album that harkens back to the glory days of Death Metal! Continue reading

Behemoth, At The Gates, Wolves In The Throne Room Terrorize Charlotte! [Review & Photo Gallery]

Behemoth

The Ecclesia Diabolica America tour stopped at The Underground in Charlotte, NC, just a couple days before Halloween, and brought with it a three of the biggest names in the underground metal scene. Wolves In The Throne Room, At the Gates, and Behemoth brought the club to near capacity as the Carolinas showed that they appreciate a great tour when it comes through. Continue reading

MEGADETH Frontman Dave Mustaine Announces The Band Is Working On A New Album!

Image result for megadeth 2018

Did someone say new Megadeth album? SOMEONE SAID NEW MEGADETH ALBUM, and not just anyone, Dave Mustaine himself! Mustaine and drummer Dirk Verbeuren took to the studio today to begin work on the 16th studio album from the Metal titans. The band will once again be working with Grammy winning co-producer Chris Rakestraw, whom also worked on Dystopia, the previous effort Megadeth released to the world. No full details of the upcoming release have surfaced yet, all we know is that work has officially hit full swing and details should be revealed soon. The pioneers of our beloved genre are approaching their 35th anniversary, coming off of the Dystopia tour ending this year. The band will have two shows left on their iconic year of 2018, playing Rock In Rio, and capping off this year with the MEGACRUISE later this winter, featuring Dragonforce, Anthrax, Testament, and more. For all of your breaking Metal news, be sure to check out Metal Nexus!

The Bucketlist With AFTER THE CALM


*In this series we pose the age old questions 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*


Howdie?! It’s been really long since I published any piece here, but I have a breather now. Anyways, so here we are back again with another piece of bucketlist. Today we have a promising up and coming new rock band along the lines of pop punk, AFTER THE CALM from Phoenix, Arizona. Formed in 2014, the band consists of five members. Kody Rattler (Drums), David Nuñez (Guitar), and Henry Cota Jr.(Bass). Jonathan Habermacher (Guitar) joined the band shortly after the initial meeting. The search for a singer was long, but with the luck of a Craigslist ad, the band had added Logan Miracle (Vocals) as the final piece to their puzzle.

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John Cooper (Skillet/Fight The Fury) On Writing Process For ‘Still Breathing’ – “I Just Thought, Man, What Would METALLICA Do?”

Skillet

Vocalist/bassist, John Cooper (Skillet, Fight the Fury) speaks with Joshua Toomey for an interview on an episode of Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast. They talk about the writing process for the recently released debut EP, ‘Still Breathing’ from Cooper’s newest metal side project, Fight the Fury. Among other topics, they discuss upcoming tour plans, how Cooper discovered bass-playing, his wide range of musical influences, and much more. As co-founder of the Christian rock band, Skillet, Cooper also assures fans that he will never lose his faith, but has decided to branch outside of his religious focus to pursue more riff-driven metal with Fight the Fury. Continue reading

HARM’S WAY Kick Off US Tour Supporting CANNIBAL CORPSE! [Tour Dates]

Chicago hardcore unit Harm’s Way will kick off a US tour supporting death metal icons and Metal Blade labelmates Cannibal Corpse tomorrow night, continuing to support their devastating new album ‘Posthuman’! Beginning at The Senate in Columbia, South Carolina, the tour will tear its way through over two-dozen cities before concluding on December 6th at The Culture Room – Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Read on for full dates!

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Review: AUDIOTOPSY – ‘The Real Now’ [Track Stream]

 

The band comprised of several hard hitting late 90’s early 2000’s bands known as Audiotopsy has released the first taste of what we can expect from their forthcoming album entitled ‘Natural Causes’. The album will be released via Napalm Records on August 28th. The members of the band are guitarist Greg Tribbet formerly of Mudvayne and Hellyeah, ex-Skrape vocalist Billy Keeton, Matt McDonough former drummer of Mudvayne and bassist Perry Stern. The album was self-produced by the band at The Porch Studio in Orlando. The band is planning an extensive debut tour which should coincide with the album release. Audiotopsy are now releasing their second full-length release, ‘The Real Now’, on November 2, 2018 via Megaforce Records. Self-produced with vocal production and mixing completed by Dave Fortman (Evanescence, Slipknot, Mudvayne). According to the band, ‘The Real Now’ explores the journey of life. Guitarist Greg Tribbett states, “This album deals with life – from addiction to depression to death. Life is a journey of unforeseen experiences.”

‘The Real Now’ is available for pre-order now via Amazon, and will be available via more digital retailers very soon.

 

 

 

 

 

‘The Real Now’ kicks things off with the heavy yet melodic track “War”. If you recall the way in which Billy sang with his previous band Skrape his vocals here are somewhat similar. You get these harsh screams followed by a melodic clean singing. It’s an amazing mixture of both. The guitar licks laid down by Greg are thick, heavy and exactly what we have been wanting from this band. After the first track this album is already super promising. The very next track “Hologram” chimes in immediately showing off Matt’s incredible drumming skills. His heavy pounding behind the kit is the heartbeat of this track and it goes from a thundering stampede of drumming to a more subtle beat during the chorus. The song also has this incredible chorus that I just can’t get out of my head after hearing it for the first time. The portion of the chorus starts out with Billy’s clean vocal style “Hologram… mirror mirror on the WALL” and when he gets to “Wall” he just lets out this gut wrenching scream that is just bone chilling. You can’t really say enough about Greg’s guitar tone, and Billy on rhythm guitar  and how they perfectly fit those riffs into the song. On the track “Hurt Down” the band slows things down a bit. The song showcases an amazing vocal harmony. Near the two minute mark the vocals become a little more harsh while still including a harmony. “Hurt Down” is what we would consider a ballad for Audiotopsy, it still has some heavier qualities but it does mellow out in comparison to the other tracks on the record. It’s still a good song and it changes the tempo of the record and keeps the album from being repetitive with heaviness. The album ends with the track “A Death Benefit”. The song has a heavy groove and Billy’s vocals anchor the song alongside the chugging riffs Greg lays down. This is probably one of the most complex songs on the album and it incorporates a lot of different styles. Billy has various vocal tones and on this track we hear each and every one of those and it works.

‘The Real Now’ is a huge step forward for Audiotopsy. I enjoyed the bands debut album ‘Natural Causes’ but felt like it was missing something. I think the band has now gelled and probably spent more time composing songs this time around and it shows. The album from open to close keeps you on your toes with the way the band can take their sound in various directions and it keeps you eager to hear the next track. No matter if you are a fan of their previous bands this is a killer record, that carries a new refreshing sound and pushes the limits of creativity.

 

SLIPKNOT Releases Brand New Track ”All Out Life” And It is Brutal!

After waiting for so many years Slipknot has finally released a new song and I can tell you that the wait was definitely worth it! Get right in to witness the gory music video of ”All Out Life”!

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ALL THEM WITCHES Interview [Video]

Since forming in 2012, All Them Witches has been bringing their awesome brand of psychedelic/stoner rock via prolific studio time and live performances. They have four full-length studio albums available – with their recently reviewed self-titled LP just released – plus multiple EP’s, live albums, and singles for fans to check out.  Their sound often has a retro quality and rawness that allows the music to breathe organically without the filter of flashy studio polish. Continue reading