KINGS OF STRINGS: Eugene Kostyuk From JINJER!

Photo Credits: Cristian Photography Lopez.

*In this segment we put guitarists and bassists from every metal genre you could imagine in the spotlight!*

Welcome to the first bassist that I will talk to you about today from our brand new segment Kings Of Strings, this will be a weekly segment that I will put out for you guys every friday. It main purpose will be to put the spotlight on a bassist or guitar player from every metal genre you could think of. This week will be all about bassist Eugene Kostyuk! 

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Chicago Open Air Spotlight: DEVILDRIVER

*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 DevilDriver.

On Sunday, July 16th, there will be Clouds Over Chicago as DevilDriver hits the BlackCraft Stage at 2:00 at Chicago Open Air. You’ll see in just about any live footage of DevilDriver that they bring ridiculously large mosh pits through their entire set. Dez Fafara is one of the best at making a crowd go crazy. There’s a reason they did two separate US tours with Hatebreed last year. Although he is the only original member left of the band, they still continue to put out fantastic material constantly. They took a short hiatus after releasing their first album via Napalm Record in 2013 (‘Winter Kills’) so Dez could focus on his other incredible band, Coal Chamber. Fafara has even mentioned bringing Coal Chamber material into DevilDriver sets. It would definitely be interesting to see a mix of both of his projects but we will more than likely only get DevilDriver material in Chicago. DevilDriver returned quickly in 2016 with their new album ‘Trust No One’ and have been touring since then. Sunday will include an abundance of moshing with bands like them, Lamb of God, Amon Amarth, and Slayer all hitting the two stages on the same day. Continue reading

SCATTERED HAMLET Announce Live Free Or Die Summer US Tour

Southern rock stars SCATTERED HAMLET who self describe their metal as “honky tonky metal” and are touring machines are back on the road for another “honky tonky” tour. Swamp Rebel Machine” was their latest effort and got released last year and they’re out yet again to give y’all some taste of their fine blended, tasty southern rock. The album was well received by Billboard Heatseeker Chart and critics. With videos from songs like ‘Swamp Rebel Machine‘ and ‘White Trash‘, they further solidify the fact that they’re the best at what they do always! The summer tour will feature a festival appearance at Wisconsin’s Rock Fest XVII. SCATTERED HAMLET will appear at Rockfest July 14, 2017 along with CLUTCH, TOM KEIFER, TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION and AVENGED SEVENFOLD.

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Review: MIRRORS OF OBSIDIAN – ‘From One Form’ [Album Stream]

Looking for extreme metal with groove influences from Dublin, Ireland? Mirrors Of Obsidian is your go to band! They have been reigning since 2009 and made 1 debut album and they just released their second one this year. Their debut album is called ‘Imminent Chaos Complete’ which got released on bandcamp in 2010, it is for sure worth checking out. It is free to listen to and it will definitely get you hooked! Click HERE to give it a listen. Their second and latest album ‘From One Form’ has also been released via bandcamp, on the 10th of May this year. It is extreme, violent and full of groovy moments. Mirrors Of Obsidian consists of 2 members, Ciaran Ennis and Eoin Ennis. Ciaran takes care of the brutal vocals that sound from another planet while his brother Eoin plays the guitar, drum and also the bass. Together they form the powerful duo that make this band.

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CAVALERA CONSPIRACY Working On New Album Set For A Fall Release

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY was formed eleven years back in 2006, when Igor Cavalera surprise called Max after a decade, during which they both remained without each other’s reach for a painstakingly long decade, after they both left their brainchild, Sepultura. What followed was Max’s invitation to Igor to come and play for a Soulfly gig, after which Max proposed to begin a new project with his brother to which Igor accepted. Yes, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY is back in the studio and is undergoing the recording process of their fourth new studio album, reportedly in Phoenix, Arizona.

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Review: OF THE SUN – ‘Before A Human Path’ [Album Stream]

Texas shredders Of The Sun have finally released their long awaited sophomore album ‘Before A Human Path’.  Their first release ‘A.M. Radio’ came out back in 2009 so long time fans have been left waiting for many years for this record. ‘Before A Human Path’ was self released by the band last Friday on April 14th. Describing themselves as “Southern Progressive Metal”, Of The Sun brings a creative new sound by being very experimental in the progressive and thrash genres while maintaining an extremely heavy groove in each track. The band has played with the likes of Intronaut, Devin Townsend, and Gorguts so you know they are serious. This 5 track album contains no filler and gets straight to the point of grabbing your attention. You can buy the record on Bandcamp or stream it below. See what the band had to say about the record below. Step into the world of Of The Sun now.

With Before a Human Path, we pulled from personal extremes to convey a more colorful and varied storyline within the span of each song. Ultimately shunning conventional songwriting formula, we really dug in to unearth something we felt isn’t currently being done. We’re beyond excited to share it with you!.”

With only 5 tracks on ‘Before A Human Path’, the trio wastes no time diving into superb craftsmanship and songwriting with “The Tightrope Mile”. Several time changes are applied and trade offs between clean vocals and screams are transitioned flawlessly. The song will at times will be peaceful as if you are sitting on a beach before once again shooting you back into the slamming, tortured sounding verses in purgatory. “Nebulamorphous” begins with a beautifully composed shredding guitar intro from Patrick Duvall that could paint a song on its own. Of The Sun continues their large experimentation on the record here with several guitar effects and fervent drumming from Johnny Reed. David Duvall shows out with an equally impressive bass solo and keeps it flowing with the rest of the song. The groove that they bring while still being heavy as all can be is incredible and hard to find in metal. “Cantos” presents yet another side of the band with more clean vocals and creepy guitar melodies to give the listener another perspective of the band and how proficient they are at creating original material. The fourth track “A Soliloquy” is a rather angst-filled song with complicated rhythms. The song has several layers, constantly evolving and becoming heavier as it continues. I’m not usually a fan of breakdowns but Of The Sun makes it work here with the guitar and bass battling each other to produce an enormous sound. ‘Before A Human Path’ draws to a thunderous close with “The Limbless God”. This song holds massive weight on the record with the fierce riffage and impassioned screams from Duvall. Reed is unrelenting on the bass drum while David Duvall continues to grind out robust bass lines as we exit the world of Of The Sun. In just 5 tracks, this trio has proved they are here to stay in the metal universe and will wreck havoc at their shows. Be sure to check out the album below and to follow Of The Sun on Facebook.

Of the Sun is:
Patrick Duvall – Lead Vocals/Guitar
David Duvall – Bass/Vocals
Johnny Reed – Drums

‘Before A Human Path’ Track List
01. The Tightrope Mile
02. Nebulamorphous
03. Cantos
04. A Soliloquy
05. The Limbless God

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: AVATAR

*Every 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.*

This week’s artist is Avatar!

Swedish metal band Avatar will be making their debut at Chicago Open Air to “steal the show” on July 15th. Forming in 2001, the band went through several lineup changes before releasing their first full length album, ‘Thoughts of No Tomorrow’ in 2006. ‘Schlact’ followed that in 2007 and then their self titled album was released in 2010. This was the start of the band’s rise to fame having been signed by Sony Music and releasing their biggest song yet “Queen of Blades”. The song received recognition from Blizzard Entertainment as it was about a character from the game Starcraft. Throughout these years they hit the road with many experienced bands like In Flames, Obituary, Helloween, and Dark Tranquility. Continue reading