The Reality Of Yourself is one of those bands you randomly find but instantly fall in love with. But what else can you expect from an act that has played with Korn, Skillet, Papa Roach, 12 Stones and Breaking Benjamin? They have been around since 2004 in the small town of Pleasent Hope MO and have released 3 albums so far. So with that in mind let’s move to the official music video of ”Wicked World”!
Underoath
After a whole year of waiting Carolina Rebellion 2018 has finally arrived. As the gates opened fans sprinted to stages all across the festival grounds in hopes to hang on to the rail at the stage their favorite band would be performing on. As we eagerly awaited tickets to go on sale, then for the lineup, and finally for the set times and keeping our fingers crossed our favorites bands don’t play at the same time. Another big thing most of us wait for is our first carton of Island Noodles of the festival season. We certainly wish we could cover every band that played this year but it just isn’t logistically possible with interviews, and other media related happenings. Friday was a day filled with great bands and if you wasn’t there you certainly missed an epic Carolina Rebellion. The day 1 lineup was pretty stacked with up and comers like Counterfeit and Dubé, then also those veteran acts like Sevendust and Stone Temple Pilots. Then you had some acts that are amazing we aren’t use to seeing in the festival circuit like Andrew W.K., and Power Trip. Then closing out the night you have Shinedown followed by the legends Alice In Chains. Friday wasn’t my favorite lineup of the festival but it certainly had a lot of talent hit the stages and some very impressive performances. Continue reading
Zeke @ Koko. DesertFest London 2018
The UKs very own version of Roadburn took over London over the bank holiday weekend of 4th May – 6th May. The annual 3-day DesertFest London festival hosted over 70 bands including some of the biggest names in the stoner rock scene, at the most iconic venues in Londons Camden town – from the Roundhouse to Koko, The Underworld, The Black Heart and The Dev(onshire Arms). Camden was a hive for worshipers of the scene to congregate for the 7th edition of this fundamental tour, and with headliners that included Graveyard, Napalm Death, High On Fire, Hawkwind and Monster Magnet, this year has been it’s biggest and most diverse yet!
FRIDAY 4TH
Today saw the festival at it’s busiest for its opening day, with 26 artists across 5 stages, not to mention the thousands of tourists bustling about Camden town – famous for its vast array of boutique and quirky independent shops, amazing street food, and markets, weird and wonderful street performers and musicians, as well as being the absolute hot-spot for all kinds of sub-cultures to thrive. With the distinct smell of weed fresh in the air on a blisteringly hot day in the capital, I was ready for the beginning of what would be an epic weekend of (natural) highs from the outstanding line-up at DesertFest London 2018. (Full gallery follows article). Continue reading
After the huge succes of the 2015 album ‘IRE’ Parkway Drive is back to destroy whatever is left with the dark and harsh vocals of Winston supported by the insane riffage of Jeff, Luke and Jia and the Earth crushing drums of Ben. So you better get ready to witness the end of the world!
Before we get into the new and stellar album ‘Reverence’ we need to dive into the deep and try to grasp the absolute beauty of their past records. Now if you have been a Parkway Drive or even a metalcore fan for a while you already know that they have held the throne from the beginning of time with the 2007 release of ‘Killing With A Smile’. This and several other past albums such as ‘Horizons’, ‘Deep Blue’ and ‘Atlas’ have all been of huge help to the metalcore world. For both musicians and for people who enjoy the music as much as I do. They have for sure set a near perfect example of how the core of metal should be delivered in its best ways. But before you come knocking on my door Parkway Drive has been released music before, they released 2 EPs which you have probably never heard of. They have done a split ep with I Killed The Prom Queen back in 2003 and the not so famous but spectacular 2004 EP ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’.
Los Angeles rockers Minus Knives, featuring former members of Factory 81 and Spineshank, have just released their debut, self-titled album, ‘Minus Knives’. The band features former Factory 81 guitarist Bill Schultz and bassist Kevin Lewis, along with Ex-Spineshank vocalist Brandon Espinoza. Preview the whole album below! Continue reading
The past few weeks saw the mighty kings of slam Ingested bring a full on aural assault across the UK on their headlining tour, giving it’s homeland fans what they have been waiting over 3 years for… a first glimpse at their upcoming 4th album and debut on Unique Leader records ‘The Level Above Human’*! In support of this career-defining album, their headline tour kicked off across various UK venues alongside the best in the UK metal scene, including Osiah, Abhorrent Decimation and Harbinger.
Now, the Mancunian death metal titans are in pursuit of global domination, bringing this game-changer of an album to 4 headline shows across Mexico, then North America with Bodysnatcher and Signs Of The Swarm. And then will embark on a ferocious stint at this years “Devastation On The Nation” tour alongside Aborted, Psycroptic, Disentomb, Arkaik, Vale of Pnath and more, including fellow brits Venom Prison who are embarking on their first ever North America tour! You do not want to miss this!
We caught up with Ingested at the sold-out London album launch show, which coincided with the first ever (and annual) Tone MGMT/Embedded Promotions showcase, at the club/venue Birthdays in Dalston, with the action taking place in the 200 capacity basement for a whole day of in-your-face brutality. Featuring the very best up-and-coming and rising artists across the spectrum of the UK death and tech metal scenes right now, the line-up was stacked with 8 bands as supports who are all causing a stir up and down the country, and should definitely be on your radar!
Here’s the low down! Continue reading
“[DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT is] the future of German Extreme-Metal” – Mille Petrozza, Kreator
German Black metal visionaries Der Weg Einer Freiheit have kicked off their European tour in support of their highly acclaimed and recently released album ‘Finisterre’. Alongside Primordial and Moonsorrow, the “Heathen Crusade 2018” tour will charge through multiple countries throughout the month and will showcase Der Weg Einer Freiheit at the height of their powers. A full list of confirmed dates are below, but be quick as these tickets are hot with the Paris show already sold-out! Continue reading
Arriving a half hour early to any gig is perhaps not the best idea, especially when it is freezing cold with snow in the air, but I wasn’t the only one keen to get into Londons iconic Koko in Camden town ahead of tonight’s monumental performance. On their headlining tour in support of their record ‘Machine Messiah’ that just so happens to coincide with vocalist Derrick Green marking 20 years with the band, the mighty Brazilian legends Sepultura. There was a decent crowd joining me already and the vocal topic of choice was the Cannibal Corpse gig happening right around the corner, but we were all in agreement that tonight’s line-up of Fit For An Autopsy, Goatwhore and Obscura as supports was far too appealing.
Londons Koko is perhaps one of the most beautiful venues I have been too. Formerly one of the largest theatres outside of Londons West End, the venue itself boasts numerous viewing platforms with many touches celebrating its mixed and magical past as a theatre, cinema and now as a dedicated music venue. Inside the lights were already dim with the stage illuminated red and blue spotlights gleaming across the lower floor. Many fans rushed to the pit barrier to claim their front row spot for the evening and within about 10 minutes the 2000+ capacity venue was already looking full. Continue reading
A scene that frequently gets shoved to the wayside by the heavy-metal community is the massively influential, thriving and certainly one-of-a-kind brand of underground music that was both a worldwide phenomenon commonly known as “Hardcore punk”, and more specifically in this context a significant subculture that had begun to emerge in the wake of Thatcher-era Britain, – indeed, “Hardcore punk” has now become a very generalised term yet it barely scratches the surface of what the community did for so many young people in an era of increasing economic crisis, political unrest and social inequality. This was a chance for young people’s voice to get heard amidst all of the unravelling chaos – yet it wasn’t always easy. Continue reading
The UK’s premier independent festival Desertfest London returns over the May bank holiday (May 4th-6th) with what can only be described, as unquestionably it’s most biggest and broadest line-up yet!
Now in its 7th year, the festivities will take place across multiple venues in London’s Camden Town including the famous Underworld and breathtaking Roundhouse. With over 70 acts announced across the whole metal spectrum, together with the biggest names in sludge, doom and psych!
Not only that, as par tradition Desertfest will be holding their annual pre-festival party at The Black Heart on May 3rd featuring a full headline set by North Carolina’s A.S.G and London’s own Flash House as support! (Pre-festival tickets here)
Read below for full headliners and bands that are not to be missed! (Full weekend line-up follows article. Weekend and day tickets available here). Continue reading
