Alaska, The Last Frontier. Home to savage elements and captivating landscapes, but also home to a bleak Black Metal Underground, and by underground I mean you basically need to venture out into the tundra with a shovel to find some of these bands. Thankfully Alaska is also the place I call home so I’m here to shed some light on an otherwise dark and unseen niche. Continue reading
Swing Low are a 4 piece Hardcore band from Fargo, North Dakota. These guys would make any old school hardcore fan proud with the music they have created. They include the basic elements of hardcore, but they also include their own spin and a modern take as well making them more unique than your average hardcore band. Fargo is one lucky city to have these guys playing shows around that area. Swing Low released their debut EP ‘MMXIV’ on September 21, 2014. The album was recorded at Howl Street Recordings by Shane Hochstetler (Satan’s Dealer, Corpse Donor, Speed Freaks). They followed that up with another EP titled ‘Learned Ignorace’ which released January 25, 2016. This time the band recorded with Aric Ficek at Winterland Studios. The next release by the band came on July 10, 2017 in the form of a split with the band War Prayer. Swing Low contributed two songs to the split including “Malice” and “Regression.” When the band was in the studio recording for the split they also recorded an additional track which they held onto for 6 months and released on January 6, 2018. The single was a cover of Disembodied’s “Gone.” Disembodied is a hardcore punk band that formed in 1995 in Minnesota. They reunited in 2008 and 2 of the founding members also formed Martyr A.D. when the band originally broke up. Last May Swing Low released 2 tracks on what they called the ‘Summer Promo.’ The two tracks include “Death Tax” and “Built From Shame” and is the most recent release from the band. One thing to note is that the band has recorded every release in a different studio and producer/mixer. I believe this has aided in keeping their music fresh and allows them to let their music progress. Continue reading
Swiss Metal act KRANE bring instrumental darkness across their 2017 sophomore effort, ‘Pleonexia.’ Combining elements of droning guitar efforts and driving drum rhythms to compile towards a sound that is both unique and dark all together, it’s a hopeful ambition that KRANE continue to make music that fulfills listening pleasure to fans across the world apart from their Russian home audience. Deriving elements from their three members styles to incorporate and eerie sound unlike most things that many bands in their genre can achieve, while thus continuing their efforts from their first release in 2013, it’s no secret as to how simply talented these guys are just by simply listening to the music. Continue reading
Bury Tomorrow
Bury Tomorrow are a British metalcore band formed in 2006 in Southampton, Hampshire, England. The band is composed of five members; lead vocalist Daniel Winter-Bates, rhythm guitarist and singer Jason Cameron, bassist Davyd Winter-Bates, drummer Adam Jackson and lead guitarist Kristan Dawson, who replaced founding guitarist Mehdi Vismara in 2013. Bury Tomorrow have released five studio albums, their most recent being ‘Black Flame’, released on 13 July 2018.
Photo Credit: Joy Slaprez
Rusty Shipp is one of the most unique bands that you will ever hear. The band is based in the land locked city of Nashville, but they are a nautical rock band. Formed in 2014 the band has released ‘Mortal Ghost’ which was seen by many to be one of the top albums of 2017 and the band has much more to offer. They plan on releasing a few more singles prior to putting out another record. Once you hear the groove and intelligent lyrics that put in their songs you will instantly become a fan.
Whilst the Devin Townsend Project may be on hiatus for the foreseeable future, with the man himself, the big ‘D’ following other musical pursuits. What better way to fill the void then with a brand new band featuring members from Devin’s past and present, the Devin Townsend Project and ex-members of Strapping Young Lad! Continue reading
*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*
Hogan’s Goat is named after a tale from Scottish folklore. The band initially formed in late 2014. As the story goes, a farmer (Hogan) owned a goat rumored to have an odor said to travel miles away. The goat’s been described as having patchy fur, an eye out of socket, and flies abound. For the band, this perfectly symbolized their unorthodox style, that which is anything but unnoticeable. They couldn’t have picked a better fable for their namesake. More like a powerful mountain ram the band roams through various styles of music never staying in one place too long. Their first show (at SXSW, on the rooftop of The Blind Pig) was part of an all Nashville (non-country) showcase. Soon after, Hogan’s Goat returned to Nashville, they competed in BMI’s “Road To Bonnaroo” (winning the fan vote) and played many other shows around the Nashville area. While most people think Nashville is only a country town, there is a vibrant rock and metal scene there as well. Hogan’s Goat has hoofed their way out of sea of country music to spread their music to the masses. While the band is based in Nashville it’s members migrated from all around the country like Billings, Montana, Denton, Texas , Southern Pines, North Carolina as well as Nashville. Like their music their roots run further than the eye can see. In March of 2016, Hogan’s Goat began recording their first LP, ‘Hogan’s Goat’ which released July 18th, 2017. The album was self-produced, mixed by Alex Gilson and Nathan Zensen at Gold Cassette and mastered by Tommy Dorsey. The band looks to tour regionally, nationally, and globally. Their album was one of my favorite albums of the year and would likely be in the top 20 albums I heard last year. However, the stand out track “Shitkicker” from the album stayed in my listening rotation from the moment I heard the track until this very day. While that was one of the strongest tracks on the album the rest of the album is just as good including their most recent single they released a video for “Annie Off The Rails”. This isn’t your run of the mill Nashville band, forget about Nashville being the home of the Ryman, Nashville hot chicken and country music legends, Hogan’s Goat stands out more than those combined. Continue reading
