AFTERSHOCK: Friday [Review & Photo Gallery]

Following a sold-out crowd of 60,000 last year, the Aftershock Festival expanded to three full days for 2019 with attendance reaching an unheard of 97,500 this year. The eighth annual edition of the Northern California rock festival, produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, took place on Friday October 11th, Saturday, October 12th, and Sunday, October 13th at Sacramento’s Discovery Park. The massive lineup of over 50 bands was headlined by Tool, who debuted music from their chart-topping new album ‘Fear Inoculum.’ blink-182, who headlined the second night, made their Danny Wimmer Presents debut in support of their new album ‘Nine.’ Slipknot, whose new release ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ has been burning up the Billboard 200 album chart, headlined day one. Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Saturday: SYSTEM OF A DOWN & More [Review and Photo Gallery]

System Of A Down

Last year in mid July I saw down at my house without much to do. It was sad knowing that the same weekend over the previous two years was spent catching several fantastic acts like Rammstein, Gojira, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and more at the Chicago Open Air festival. When the news came that the festival wouldn’t be happening in 2018, I was devastated. I had made several friends and memories both years at the festival and was really looking forward to it again. It was promised to return in 2019 but many people were unsure that it would actually happen. In September, it was announced that Chicago Open Air would be returning, but it was weirdly worded. It was said that it would now be titled “A Day In The Park” and would take place the same weekend as the new Danny Wimmer Presents festival, Sonic Temple. Many of us were unsure what this meant exactly, but we knew that the festival definitely was not going to be the same. Eventually the lineup was rolled out in January, and the “A Day In The Park” vision never really happened. Instead, the event was two days with only one stage. This was different compared to the previous years as it was three days with two stages. Despite being a small lineup, there were several killer acts on it to keep me happy like System of a DownToolThe ProdigyGojira, and ten more acts. Continue reading

Epicenter Festival Friday Review & Photo Gallery

Korn

The inaugural Epicenter Festival that was held in Rockingham, North Carolina earlier this month was, to most, a major success. Others will disagree, pointing out flaws in traffic congestion for the first two days and the Day 2 headliners, Tool and Judas Priest, among others being canceled due to severe weather. Which I agree was a little inconvenient, but when you understand anything can happen during a festival, especially a festival’s first year as well as a new venue, you take it as it comes. Although there were a few hiccups throughout the weekend (nothing major that would warrant the degree of dissatisfaction that a lot of individuals have expressed) the majority of the festival-goers got their money’s worth and really enjoyed yet another amazing weekend hosted by the Danny Wimmer Presents crew. Continue reading

Adam Cox’s Top 10 Albums Of 2018!

My memories of 2018 are inextricably linked to amazing music.  Life has been fairly unremarkable, but for the sonic highways I have followed which led to me writing for the great Metal Nexus site. Thank you Fist, for taking me on and for the whole team being like family. I am blessed that I can creatively vent through this fantastic site.

This year has seen my love for Metal music being well and truly filled. It has been another bumper year and I hope my top album picks make for interesting reading and lead to people listening to the albums.  Whatever you do, please support the artists and I look forward to even more great music in 2019.

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Jeff Kunze Top 10 Albums Of 2018

 

I thought 2018 was impressive year for releases in metal music. I didn’t matter what genre of metal was your particular taste, there was something for everybody. Every year shows us some promising young talent, bands continuing to climb the ladder, and musical veterans still proving their value in metal hierarchy. This list was extremely difficult as I left out some great stuff by bands like Avatar, Underoath, and Parkway Drive. They say there is Black Sheep in every family, and my list just might be that lost black sheep of the Metal Nexus family. However, I live in Minnesota and wool is a fiber of warmth, and its cold outside, so I’ll deal with it. Continue reading

Beartooth, Sylar, Knocked Loose Pack The Fillmore In Charlotte [Review + Photo Gallery]

Sylar

Metal fans packed The Fillmore in Charlotte, NC for an emotional night as Beartooth’s Disease tour stopped in the city. With the headliner bringing along Sylar and Knocked Loose on this tour the crowed was instore for some pretty awesome performances. Continue reading

Rock Allegiance Artist Showcase: SYLAR

From Queens, New York, Sylar brings a head-bobbing groove to this year’s Rock Allegiance festival. Their current sound reflects a fusion of rap-rock with heavy modern riffs harkens back to the early 2000’s influences that nu-metal brought to the table. Sylar came to fruition by the hands of singer Jayson Panesso and drummer Thomas Veroutis. Currently signed to Hopeless Records, they are set to release their third full length, “Seasons,” on October 5th.

Their first EP, “Deadbeat” will likely appeal more to a more hardcore audience and two full lengths in between bridge the gap to where the band currently is. Early material was produced by Beartooth frontman, Caleb Shomo, whom Sylar will tour with this fall, one of the stops being Rock Allegiance in Camden, New Jersey. You can check out our previous interview with the band here.

Sylar do an excellent job in paying homage to a major influence, Linkin Park in 2017 when they released a single of their cover of “Points of Authority.” Heavy, aggressive and sometimes unforgiving, Sylar find the perfect balance between chaos and composure. Panesso’s vocals carry a tune that glazes the beatdown riffs with something sweet.

October 6th, in Camden, NJ, Sylar will be a part of the fourth annual Rock Allegiance festival. Tickets are still for sale and can be purchased here, with some fabulous VIP options as well.


Louder Than Life 2017 – Louisville, KY DAY 2 REVIEW

With Day 1 in the books, the morning of Day 2 greeted everyone with clear blue skies, terrible hangovers, and the excitement the see just how it could be any better than Day 1.  My wife and I had a few friends over at our campsite for some pre-show breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and hot coffee (not bad, right?).  Afterwards, we all ventured to the camp showers where I was extremely impressed with how well maintained the facilities were and how easy and quick it was to get in and out.  With a hot shower and our bellies full, we all headed to the entrance where Black Map was already tearing it up with a loud wakeup to open Day 2 taking the place of Biters, who were unable to make it, as the day’s opener.  The band hit the crowd with early-morning performances of “Octavia”, “No Color”, and “Run Rabbit Run”, among others.  Our very own Metal Nexus founder, Fist, got a chance to sit down with Ben Flanagan of Black Map for an insightful interview at the festival, which you can watch HERE. Continue reading

STONE SOUR, SEETHER, IN THIS MOMENT, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY & More Added To ShipRocked 2018 Lineup

After having sold out in record time earlier for this year’s ShipRocked 2017, featuring headliners BREAKING BENJAMIN, ALTERBRIDGE, SEVENDUST, PAPA ROACH and many more which was a hit, ShipRocked is back already with the first batch of headliners added to the list for next year’s line up, i.e. ShipRocked 2018. Set to sail off from Port Canaveral, Florida to Nassau and the private island of Half Moon Cay in The Bahamas, this truly is “The Greatest Vacation On Earth” to every sense of the word. 

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Carolina Rebellion! Line-Up Announcement & Must See Bands!

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Soundgarden (Friday), Def Leppard (Saturday) and Avenged Sevenfold (Sunday) will headline the 7th annual Monster Energy Carolina Rebellion May 5, 6 and 7 at Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC. Carolina Rebellion presale tickets and layaway packages, as well as hotel, camping and VIP packages, are on sale now at www.CarolinaRebellion.com. In 2016, Monster Energy Carolina Rebellion had another record breaking year with over 90,000 fans in attendance, so fans are encouraged to buy early and save and to be sure to secure a ticket for 2017. Continue reading