Michael has always remained one of my favorite guitarists. He has taken part of bands like X-COPS and Death Piggy but he is mostly known for being the rhythm guitarist for the notorious Gwar. But, without further ago, let’s get right into this weeks’ Strings Of Kings!
While the Scandinavian music scene is one frequently revered and heavily romanticized, – particularly amongst heavy-metal listeners; – one particular group you might not have heard of is the blossoming figurehead of macabre synth-pop, PRIEST. The group, since their incarnation, have consistently sought to experiment with a diverse array of visual and musical stylings. Their upcoming debut album ‘New Flesh’ is scheduled for release on November 17 2017 via Lovely Records. The album was produced by Alpha (ex-GHOST) Continue reading
Tomorrow night (Fri 27th October), don’t miss your chance to experience the unforgettable, high energy, mosh-pit inducing, up-tempo music from Kings of Punk The Adicts. Fashioned in unparalleled Clockwork Orange Droog attire, the band is returning to the House of Blues of Anaheim for a very special Clockwork Orange County Halloween show. Joining the band are none other than Los Angeles based punkers, The Generators and L.A. sleaze-rockers, Dr. Boogie! Purchase your tickets for the show here and join them in raising hell on earth! (Scroll down for further tour dates).
To get you in the mood we’ve got the positively infectious new music video for “Picture The Scene” off their brand new full length album ‘And It was So!’ for your viewing pleasure. The artistically surreal Dali-esque motion voyage was skillfully directed by Bobby Hacker and produced by Luke “Ramone” Davison, and is an energetic visual feast infused with The Adicts classic Punk/Rock vibes. “Picture The Scene” is the first single to be released from their forthcoming album and is strictly limited to 1000 copies worldwide via 7” vinyl. Don’t delay! Order your own exclusive copy of “Picture The Scene” here!
Some crazy tour line-ups have just been announced, starting with a small tour consisting of Goatwhore, 1349 and Tombs that will later get followed up by a longer one with Sepultura, Obscura and deathcore act Fit For An Autopsy!
It is never too late to listen to a new song from one of the biggest and maybe even the greatest rock bands alive, Evanescence. Exactly one week ago they released the music video for ”Imperfection” from their upcoming album ‘Synthesis’. It is as expected very promising, get right in!
“The upstart rockers have a promising future and they are delivering one of the more intense and emotionally raw videos you’ll see this year…”– Loudwire
So Cal rockers The Black Hand have just dropped another emotionally charged video for the song “Where Are You Now?” the second to be taken from their debut ‘Self-titled’ album which is out now and available across all platforms. The Rick Gomez directed video features Michael Cudlitz, best known for his role as ‘Abraham’ in the hit television series The Walking Dead. Lead vocalist Chris Hughes describes, “Working on this video was heavy. Everyone involved left it all on the set. As soon as you walked in the room you felt it. Cudlitz is as real as it gets, a true artist who goes all in every time.” Watch the full video below. Continue reading
*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state*
This month’s state is Massachusetts’!
It’s time once again to shake off those Monday blues with an absolute earth-shaker of a band that are completely redefining the new-wave of technical death metal. Hailing from MA’s capital Boston are technical death metallers Replacire. Already described as “a new breath of life for the death metal genre”, Replacire have been taking the aggressiveness and complexity of modern death metal and infusing it with beautifully intricate progressive elements and technical complexity. Think of a masterminded cosmic mutation that would ensue from the intense atmosphere and progressiveness of Mikael Åkerfeldts Opeth, mixed with Obscuras and Beyond Creations technical virtuosity and death growls, with Katatonias haunting cleans and dynamacism. Whilst this may sound in print like it has been done to death (pun-intended), Replacire stand out from the sea of other technical metal artists and are certainly at the head of the pack. Who ever said that metal was dead clearly has no idea what they’re talking about, with young blood like this keeping death fresh and feeding our bloodthirsty desires, Replacire are redefining an already extensively innovative genre and they are certainly the ones to be keeping an eye on!
What the f**k just happened? Picture the scene: you’re walking along Brighton’s not-so sunny seafront, gulls are flying overhead looking for slim-pickings from unsuspecting tourists, and the usual retirees and students are basking along the pebbled beach without a single care in the world. Walking down the promenade, you are confronted by a sea of black t-shirts, all grinning and hyped up with an eager anticipation that feels infectious. All of a sudden you hear a colossal roar of distortion and demonic growls gurgling from deep within. Everyone in close vicinity turns and pauses in panic, children look to their parents, passers by freeze with bewilderment… “What is that?” they shriek… we reply, “The Mammoth has been unleashed!”
And what a beast it was! The team at Mammothfest produced an unbelievable feat across the weekend of Oct 6th-8th. Securing not just one, but four UK exclusives to delight metal-heads from across the country which included controversial Greek metallers Rotting Christ, avante-guard extreme titans Fleshgod Apocalypse, the uncompromising Noweigian true black metallers Tsjuder and post-metal doom act Amenra. Based in the UKs own traditional seaside town of Brighton at The Arch, over 50 bands glorified metal heads from around the country and a far, across 2 dedicated live stages. Founded in 2009, Mammothfest has fast become a household name and has played host to some formidable acts including Venom Inc, Textures, Onslaught, Entombed, Psycroptic, Breed 77 and Sylosis with the ambition of becoming “the largest rock and metal open air festival in the south”. Continue reading
Noise, angst, grit and melodrama are all undeniable qualities that compose and define the emerging new sound of West Virginia-based group LEFT BEHIND. Signed to Unbeaten Records, the group’s status is one of ambiguity for upon listening to them it’s incredibly easy to mistake them for a Southern Lord Records group. Their new LP, ‘Blessed by the Burn’ is in style analogous to contemporaries such as PRIMITIVE MAN and ALL PIGS MUST DIE, Continue reading
Over the past decade or so concerns have been raised amongst the metal community regarding a lack of homage to the groups that began it all. WILDESTARR are in many ways a group that exist to deny such criticisms seeing as they’re a modern group with a keen gravitation towards conventionality and tradition. Influenced by Eighties-spawned acts such as DIO, QUEENSRYCHE, and SAVATAGE yet coupled with their own touch of magic, the group are set to release their third studio album via Scarlet Records. The album is titled ‘Beyond the Rain’ and is a highly emotional work of heavily orchestrated rock coupled with a high sense of melodic sophistication and song-writing efficiency. The group consists of husband-and-wife duo Dave Starr (ex-VICIOUS RUMORS) Continue reading
