MINISTRY Perform To Packed House At SWX In Bristol, UK [Review & Photo Gallery]

Ministry

Let’s just start by saying the doors were meant to open at 7:00 PM but that’s when Ministry‘s tour bus arrived. I witnessed the whole crew frantically getting all the gear into the venue in record time and emptying two trailers being towed by the tour bus in minutes. The doors officially opened at about 7:20 PM but fans were ushered upstairs to the other bar and smaller venue whilst Ministry set up and did sound checks. The late arrival was due to flight problems as far as I’m aware. Continue reading

UNLEASH THE ARCHERS Reveal North American Tour Dates With STRIKER And HELION PRIME

Vancouver, Canada heavy melodic metallers UNLEASH THE ARCHERS are returning to North America.  The band will be out on the road supporting their latest effort entitled ‘Apex‘, that was released in summer of 2017 via Napalm Records.  They have enlisted fellow Canadian rockers STRIKER to provide direct support and HELION PRIME will open the shows.  The tour kicks off September 9th in Seattle, WA and runs through October 14th in Vancouver, BC.  More dates are expected to be added soon, and a complete list of confirmed dates can be found below.

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FLAW Release Video For “Conquer This Climb” Featuring Stephen Colbert!

 

 

Louisville, Kentucky’s nu-metal heroes Flaw have been dominating stages since before the release of their debut ‘Through The Eyes’ in 2001. The band is now revived and better than ever. Their comeback release ‘Divided We Fall’ proves the band hasn’t lost their touch. Chris Volz and the band have led the charge of a nu-metal resurgence over the past two years. Flaw have toured relentlessly playing both as a supporting act and as a headliner and even made numerous festival appearances including back to back performances at Louder Than Life in their hometown and also Ink In The Clink. Still on the heels of their full length release the band has now finished up a companion EP to ‘Divided We Fall’ and it’s titled ‘United We Stand’. The 6 track EP includes 4 brand new tracks and two live tracks. Both live songs are from the ‘Through The Eyes’ album and include “Payback” and “Only The Strong”. The EP was released September 1st via Pavement Entertainment. We spoke with Chris last September which you can see video interview here. Continue reading

SMASHING PUMPKINS Bring Perfection To Nashville [Review & Photo Gallery]

Smashing Pumpkins

For seven to eight months out of the year (depending on a playoff run), Bridgestone Arena and Nashville, TN are locally referred to as Smashville thanks to the success of a certain NHL hockey team known as the Nashville Predators.  But on the night of July 20, 2018 the name Smashville took on a new meaning as the Smashing Pumpkins brought their Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour to Nashville, the sixth stop on a massive US tour extending into September and heading to the UK and Italy in October. Continue reading

How SLAYER Defined Metal for Me & Why You Can’t Miss Their Farewell Tour

Photo Credit: Andrew Stuart

With the almighty Slayer currently in the midst of their farewell tour, it seems only fitting to reminisce on what they’ve meant to me as a longtime metal fan, and to the metal community as a whole. My first experience with Slayer was when I was very young – probably around ten or eleven years old. At the risk of dating myself, the first Slayer record I ever heard was ‘Reign in Blood.’ At the time, I had just started getting into heavier music, having been first introduced to the more “hair band” type stuff like Mötley Crüe and  Scorpions. Continue reading

Ep. 165 Skinny (Mushroomhead) – Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast


Skinny from Mushroomhead calls in this week to talk about their upcoming DVD release “Volume III”. Skinny and I also talk about the Cleveland music scene, water drums and the process of masking up a new member. Skinny also talks about the departure of Jeffrey Nothing. We discuss why Mushroomhead is not on Spotify and other streaming services and many more topics. PREORDER MUSHROOMHEAD VOLUME III HERE

I give a quick review of the recent Smashing Pumpkins show in Louisville.

Robb Rivera of nonpoint gives us his weekly Pick From The Kit and some updated nonpoint news.

Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight: GWAR

 

 

*This is part of our “Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight” series where we  focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Louder Than Life Festival on Sept. 28th-30th.  This week, we’re checking out GWAR.*

One of the biggest surprises on this years Louder Than Life lineup for me was Gwar. These space aliens from Richmond, Virginia by way of another galaxy. In the past few years the band has seen some major changes when founder and vocalist Oderus Urungus / Dave Brockie passed away in 2014. Micheal Bishop aka Blothar stepped up and took over the vocal duties. He previously was in the band as bassist Beefcake the Mighty from 1987 –1993, and 1998–1999. Since their formation in 1984 the band has released 14 albums, comic books, trading cards, a board game, signature beers, barbecue sauces, e-liquids and in recent years even opened a restaurant and bar in Richmond simply called Gwarbar. ‘The Blood of Gods’ (2017) being their most recent album. Gwar also hosts and headlines their own yearly festival called Gwar-B-Q which has seen performances from acts like Goatwhore, Clutch, Down, Cancer Bats, and many others. Continue reading

Watch JOURNEY Guitarist Neal Schon Dedicate Nightly Performance of “Lights” To Steve Perry

JOURNEY founder and only remaining original member Neal Schon, while on the current  JOURNEY & DEF LEPPARD 2018 Tour with wife Michaele Schon–who has been at the legendary guitarist’s side for his busy touring schedule for over 8 years and approximately 1000 shows–is paying tribute to former lead singer, Steve Perry, with a nightly dedication and moving performance of the band’s 1978 hit single, “Lights.” Co-written by Schon and Perry, “Lights” was featured on the band’s 4th full length album, ‘Infinity‘, and has become one of JOURNEY‘s most popular and easily recognizable songs.

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Aftershock 2018 Spotlight: VIZA [Video Stream]

Photo Credit: KaspaFótos

*This is part of our “Aftershock Festival 2018 Spotlight” where we branch out and focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Aftershock Festival on October 13th & 14th.  This week, we’re checking out VIZA.*

Appearing along with such heavyweight headliners as System of a Down, Deftones, Alice in Chains, and Incubus at this year’s Aftershock Festival is L.A. international rock sextet, Viza. Since forming in 2000, they’ve managed to create quite an extensive catalogue of music, along with Volume I and II of ‘The Unorthodox Revival’ EP being released this year. Vocally, lead singer K’noup has a bit of a David Bowie quality to his tone and often incorporates lush vocal harmonies reminiscent of SOAD into the mix. Instrumentally, it’s a rich fusion of classic and alternative rock paired with Middle Eastern and Latin influences with a few splashes of metal to kick things up a notch. Having toured extensively with Serj Tankian in recent years, the man himself became quite impressed with their live performances, commenting, Viza is one of the most unique and interesting bands I have ever encountered. Their live shows are energetic and fun.” Continue reading

State Of The Art: APOTEMNOPHILIA!

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

This month’s state is Indiana!

Today we are going to be talking about slammers Apotemnophilia! They are from Washington and are about to bring you some slam you have only dreamt off. Let’s get started!

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