STRYPER Rocks The Congregation In Louisville, Kentucky [Review & Photo Gallery]

Stryper

I don’t need much of a reason to go see Stryper. They are one of my favorite bands of all time, but when I read that the “History Tour” is featuring nothing but greatest hits and covers I’m all over it. Now mind you the last three albums ‘No More Hell To Pay,’ ‘Fallen’ and ‘God Damn Evil’ are phenomenal albums and hold up to and sometimes surpass anything they’ve ever done, but when it boils right down to it I am a child of the 80’s. So when you’re talking Stryper greatest hits ‘Soldiers Under Command,’ ‘To Hell With The Devil’ and ‘In God We Trust’ is where I go. Those three albums are where a lot of tonight’s set list came from, but I getting ahead of myself. Continue reading

Matty (Memphis May Fire) “People Picketing Shows Like This, I Think They Are Ignorant”

Memphis May Fire formed in 2006 in Denton, Texas with an energetic metalcore sound that also delivered a positive message. The band currently consists of lead guitarist Kellen McGregor, lead vocalist Matty Mullins, bassist Cory Elder, and drummer Jake Garland. The four piece has released six studio albums and two EPs to date. Memphis May Fire has released all their records since 2011’s ‘The Hollow’ via Rise Records.  The most recent record is ‘Broken’ which released in November of 2018. ‘Broken’ was produced by Kane Churko who has worked with legendary acts like Ozzy Osbourne, Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, In This Moment, and Hellyeah. The band took a step away from their metalcore sound and ‘Broken’ is much more of a straight forward rock record. In addition to the release of the album the band has also since released a cover of Linkin Park’s “Faint” in April of this year. The band has recently been on tour with Pop Evil and Messer.

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City Rockfest Tour Brings Christian Rock To Pikeville, Kentucky! [Review & Photo Gallery]

Seventh Day Slumber

This is the fifth year of the City Rockfest Tour but the first time the tour came to Pikeville, Kentucky at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center. A tour featuring some of Christian rock/metals biggest names. With Seventh Day Slumber heading up an all-star group of bands this was lining up to be a killer night of music. Continue reading

Exclusive: POETIC DECENT Release “Pariah” Official Video Featuring Joel Holycross!

 

Poetic Descent is an Alt Metal band founded in 2018 in Dayton, Ohio featuring former members of Mayfly. Poetic Decent is the duo of Jared Lacey (vocals, guitar, bass) and Adam Thompson (drums). The pair entered Darkroom Recording Studio (Piqua, OH) to record six songs with Justin Moore shortly after Mayfly announced its end in March of 2017. Their music blends a lot of different elements that allows them to truly stand out. Poetic Descent isn’t your run of the mill Alternative metal band. Adam Thompson’s drumming often shows flashes of punk, thrash, rock, and hardcore influences. The same really goes for Jared Lacey’s vocal approach in the band as well. While he has a more melodic singing voice at times he can instantly belt out some harsh screams that immediately garners your attention.

Lyrically, his songs touch on topics such as the existence of God, addiction, his mother’s death, domestic abuse, martyrdom and homosexuality. These songs were released as singles online on all major streaming and download sites starting in March of 2018 with the final song being released in June of 2018. Since then, their debut single, “Close Encounter,” has had much success on the radio. In November of 2018, the duo re-entered the studio with Jake Bryant (former guitarist for Dangerkids) and Shaun O’Shaughnessy (Encore Recording Studios in Dayton, OH) to record a new single titled “Pariah” which the the band recently released the audio for. Today the band is releasing an accompanying video to go with the track which also includes guest vocals from Joel Holycross who was also previously a member of Mayfly with Jared and Adam. The video was directed by Jake Wisecup of Wiseup Entertainment.

 

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John Cooper (Skillet/Fight The Fury) On Writing Process For ‘Still Breathing’ – “I Just Thought, Man, What Would METALLICA Do?”

Skillet

Vocalist/bassist, John Cooper (Skillet, Fight the Fury) speaks with Joshua Toomey for an interview on an episode of Talk Toomey: The Metal Nexus Podcast. They talk about the writing process for the recently released debut EP, ‘Still Breathing’ from Cooper’s newest metal side project, Fight the Fury. Among other topics, they discuss upcoming tour plans, how Cooper discovered bass-playing, his wide range of musical influences, and much more. As co-founder of the Christian rock band, Skillet, Cooper also assures fans that he will never lose his faith, but has decided to branch outside of his religious focus to pursue more riff-driven metal with Fight the Fury. Continue reading

Mike Williams (The Agony Scene) “We Feel The Gap Between The Myspace Era & Facebook Era”

Coming straight out of Tulsa, Oklahoma The Agony Scene was formed in 2000. Inspired by bands like  Zao and Overcome the band set out as a three piece, but soon added a fourth member to round out the band. The band released three albums, beginning with their self-titled album in 2003 on Solid State Records. The majority of bands on the Solid State label were Christian bands; However, The Agony Scene in a later interview explained they were not a Christian band. followed up by ‘The Darkest Red’ on Roadrunner Records, and ‘Get Damned’ on Century Media Records om 2007. It wasn’t long after that album’s release that vocalist Mike Williams confirmed on October 8, 2008,  that the band had broken up early in that year. After 8 years the band decided it was time to put The Agony Scene back together and in August of 2016 they announced plans to tour and release a new full length album. The band has now released that album titled ‘Tormentor’, as July 20, 2018 via Outerloop Records.  Continue reading

Brian “Head” Welch (KORN) “I Think I’m Traumatized From Trying To Keep Family Together.”

Bakersfield native and original Korn guitarist, Brian “Head” Welch is an artist who has undoubtedly battled his fair share of demons. In 2005, his demons, who took shape in the form of overwhelming drug addiction and discontent with road life, caused him to leave the band in search of a savior. He wouldn’t know it yet, but this would be the first step in his recovery before he began looking for a suitable rehab center in California. Realizing that he has a problem with drugs and doing something about it, is something that some people may never come to terms with. Acknowledgment can be really difficult. In fact, some families become so worried about their loved one’s addiction, that they make the decision to step in. Whether that’s through removing them from the situation or looking into services like this “drug testing near you in Durham NC“, both options could help the person realize that they need to change their lifestyle so that it doesn’t have fatal consequences. By quitting the band to search for a saviour, this is the best thing that Welch could have done. He took refuge in religion, became baptized, and devoted himself to Jesus Christ. Part of his decision for his abrupt change in life course was to protect his young daughter from the decadent rockstar lifestyle he was part of. During his departure from Korn, Welch focused on other creative outlets including a solo album, ‘Save Me from Myself’ in 2008, and multiple biographical books chronicling his life experiences. In 2012, he re-branded his solo project as Love and Death, under which name he has released an EP the same year entitled ‘Chemicals EP’ and an LP in 2013 called ‘Between Here & Lost.’ In May of 2013, a clean and sober Welch rejoined his former bandmates in Korn and has recorded two albums with the band since his return – ‘Paradigm Shift’ (2013) and ‘The Serenity of Suffering’ (2016).

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Wal-Mart Refusing To Sell STRYPER’s New Album!

 

Expressing concerns over the album title, the leading big box store Walmart has refused to carry Christian rocker band Stryper’s upcoming 10th studio album, ‘God Damn Evil’ — available April 20, 2018 from Frontiers Music SRL. Several Christian retail chains have also objected to the title and declined to carry ‘God Damn Evil’ in their stores. Continue reading

IMPENDING DOOM Announces New Lyric Video for “The Wretched and Godless” and Details for Upcoming LP [Video Stream]

California Christian deathcore veterans, Impending Doom announce brand new single, “The Wretched and Godless” along with official lyric video. The new track is off the band’s upcoming sixth full-length studio album entitled ‘The Sin and Doom Vol. II,’ set for release on June 22nd, 2018, via Entertainment One. It can be pre-ordered here. Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: DEMON HUNTER

*Every Tuesday and Thursday from now until Chicago Open Air gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*

Today’s artist is Demon Hunter.

It all began in the year 2000 in Seattle, Washington for the band Demon Hunter. Formed by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. Although the brothers created the band, only one remains, since Don Clark has left the band back in 2009. Demon Hunter is a Christian band that combines nu metal, groove and some metalcore to create their unique sound. The bands self titled debut was released in 2002 via the Christian record label Solid State and it was recorded entirely in drop c tuning. The debut was produced by Aaron Sprinkle (MxPx, New Found Glory). Every album the band has recorded has been released through Solid State. The label isn’t their only loyalty either, each release was also either produced or co-produced by Aaron Sprinkle. It shows that the band truly found a sound and process that works for them and they’ve stuck with it.  Continue reading