Review: KRANE – ‘Pleonexia’ [Album Stream]

    

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

DANCE GAVIN DANCE, PERIPHERY And More Light Up Chicago [Review & Photo Gallery]

Dance Gavin Dance

Last Friday, post-hardcore titans Dance Gavin Dance took the House of Blues stage by storm for a second consecutive night in Chicago. The night provided a wide array of metal and rock across many subgenres with support from Periphery, Don Broco, Hail the Sun, and Covet. Anyone that knows these artists can understand why they were able to sell out two consecutive nights at the venue within less than a week of their respective on sale dates. Check out our photo gallery from Kayla Gray along with our show review below!
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State of the Art: West Virginia’s ASTRAEUS

 

Smart, yet intoxicating riffs travel through the speakers as an easy brush of arpeggios lift one into another world where all things are neatly and perfectly packaged into sonic bites of progressive wonder. Charleston, West Virginia is the homeland of Astraeus. If you can’t already tell, they are excellent. Continue reading

State Of The Art: Louisiana’s THE ARBITRARY [Track Stream]

*This is a part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured state.*

This month’s state is Louisiana!

Any fans of progressive instrumental are severely missing out if The Arbitrary is not a part of their lives. The New Orleans two-piece has been self-releasing since 2015. Together, Jeffrey Fisher (guitar) and Adam Sauter (drums) have continued to boggle the brains of prog fans, yet quench the thirst for musical excellence with their 2017 EP ‘Identity.’ It may only be four songs, but those four songs are all the listener needs. A touch a djent, a brush of tech; it’s about time for a Ph.D. in music theory. Continue reading

Review: VOID GENERATOR – ‘Prodromi’ [EP Stream]

Void Generator claim they were born ten million years ago by extending the diagonal of the quadrilateral
of Pegasus up to b- Sirrah. The band is comprised of Gianmarco Iantaffi – Guitar, Sonia Caporossi – Guitar,  Enrico Cosimi – Synth and Devil’s machines, and Marco Cenci – Drums. Void Generator debuted their first release in in 2004 with a self-titled EP. Then in January 2006 came ‘We Have Found The Space’ which contained 10 unique tracks. The follow up to the debut full length would take the band 4 years to release, but in 2010 they released the EP ‘Phantom Hell And Soar Angelic’. Void Generator have a sound that isn’t easy to pinpoint to a specific genre. The band draws influences from a wide variety of different musical styles across a number of genres. Their sound ranges from heavy 1970’s blues and rock to indie British rock and also to psychedelic or stoner rock. Void Generator aren’t trying to be a carbon copy of anything else that is out there. They are creative to a point that it’s hard to describe. The bands remaining discography includes 2011’s ‘Collision’ EP, the album ‘Supersound’ in 2014, and now the band has released their latest material in the form of an EP. The EP titled ‘Prodromi’ contains 4 tracks of unique appeal and it was released on September 30, 2017.

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State Of The Art: RIFT! [Album Streams]

*This is part of our State Of The Art series, showcasing bands every Monday from the featured State*

This month’s State is Nebraska!

Coming all the way from Nebraska is the 2 piece instrumental doom metal act Rift. With just 2 complete studio records and 1 live record they make it seem so easy to write and produce 3 stellar pieces in a row!

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State Of The Art – RUSSIAN CIRCLES

Welcome to this week’s state of the art! I’m proud to introduce you to the Chicago, Illinois instrumental metal band RUSSIAN CIRCLES: a metal outfit that isn’t constrained by the conventional rules many other metal bands religiously adhere to. Where most metal musicians try to pummel the listener with heavy riffs and pure aggression, instrumental trio RUSSIAN CIRCLES (which formed in 2004 and consists of guitarist Mike Sullivan, bassist Brian Cooke, and drummer Dave Turncrantz) opt for the more subtle and nuanced approach of creating music that emphasizes atmospherics over pure brutality, and the result is emotionally stirring heavy metal that ferries the listener on a musical journey through spiritual highs and lows.

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MARTY FRIEDMAN’s New Track “Miracle” Will Evoke Ultimate Euphoria In You!

There can never be a guitarist as good and diverse than MARTY FRIEDMAN, period! This new song is just another testament to this long standing fact. I am just spellbound, and awestruck!

MARTY FRIEDMAN is going out all guns blazing on his new upcoming record, Wall Of Sound‘, to be released on August 4, 2017 via Prosthetic Records. The ones following Marty closely already know that he has not wasted a pinch of time in releasing two mind numbing tracks already from the upcoming album, and if you haven’t checked those out already you are seriously missing out something major happening. ‘Self Pollution‘ and ‘Whiteworm‘ are the two already out for you to take dibs and bask in the glory and awe of Marty‘s soulful and technical fretboard work. Today, Marty follows up with another soaring new track, “Miracle“, posted alongside an interview with Billboard Magazine

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THE NUCLEAR POWER TRIO (Members of ALLEGAEON, HAVOK, CEPHALIC CARNAGE, JOB FOR A COWBOY) Release Music Video

Just an hour ago, something legendary was released. For the last week, Havok and Allegaeon have been teasing something with satirical political photos with Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un, and Mike Tyson. The wait has finally ended and we get to see what it’s all about. Members from Allegaeon, Havok, Cephalic Carnage, and Job For A Cowboy all gathered together for the ultimate side project, The Nuclear Power Trio. Kim Jong Un is shredding on guitar, Donald Trump creating funky basslines, and Mike Tyson shredding on the drum kit. What is seen in the video below can’t be unseen. I’m hoping that this is just the start and there will be more music to come. See what the band members have to say and check out the instrumental jam below and be on the lookout for more music from The Nuclear Power Trio. Check out the masks created by Landon Meier at http://www.hyperflesh.com. Continue reading

MARTY FRIEDMAN’s New Song “Self Pollution” Is A Shred Fest

Grammy nominated guitar god and ex-Megadeth member Marty Friedman is back with a new song, “Self Pollution” from his forthcoming studio album, ‘Wall Of Sound‘ that awaits it’s release on August 4, 2017. Prosthetic Records will be helping Marty Friedman release his latest installment of a record. ‘Wall Of Sound‘ happens to be his much awaited release after his 2014 Billboard charting record, ‘Inferno‘. The guitar virtuoso who now lives in Japan and takes part in their culture will see him dish forth 11 brand new tracks in the record, that also features a wide range of diverse artists as guests : Jinxx (Black Veil Brides), Shiv Mehra (Deafheaven) and Jorgen Munkeby (Shining). Marty Friedman has time and again pushed the envelope when it comes to instrumental music, especially his guitar playing abilities, and I am sure ‘Wall Of Sound‘ will breathe the same music of epic proportions, creating the best what he is always known for.  Continue reading