LOUDER THAN LIFE 2019: Saturday [Review & Photo Gallery]

Halestorm

After being forced into a flood-induced sabbatical last year, LOUDER THAN LIFE 2019 roared back to life the last weekend of September. Over 50 artists and nearly 130,000 fans descended on Louisville, Kentucky’s Fair and Exposition Center, making Derby City the undisputed capital of the hard rock world (for at least a couple days). Your intrepid METAL NEXUS away team braved the teeming throngs and the suffocatingly oppressive heat, chasing slivers of shade while soaking in the sights and sounds in order to bring you these dispatches from the front lines of the biggest rock festival in America. Continue reading

LOUDER THAN LIFE 2019: Dissecting The Daily Schedules

We’re a scant week-and-a-half from the return of LOUDER THAN LIFE, one of the nation’s premiere hard rock/heavy metal events. After flooding cruelly scuttled last year’s festivities, Danny Wimmer Presents worked with the city of Louisville to find a new home for the festival, settling on the Kentucky Expo Center’s Highland Festival Grounds (with “highland” being, hopefully, the operative word). 2019’s potent lineup packs some major firepower, with headliners GUNS N’ ROSES, SLIPKNOT, and DISTURBED alongside an array of current acts like HALESTORM, A DAY TO REMEMBER, and IN THIS MOMENT, rising stars such as DIRTY HONEY and CROWN LANDS, and metal mainstays like ROB ZOMBIE, GODSMACK, and MARILYN MANSON. A lineup of this magnitude will invariably force punters to make some hard choices between this band on that stage and that band on this stage; after poring over this year’s daily schedules, here are some of the weekend’s biggest scheduling snafus and how your intrepid reporter plans to unravel them.

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Review: BURN THE PRIEST – ‘Legion: XX’ [Official Video]

 

Over the past few months Burn The Priest has been giving us a little taste of their roots with singles from their upcoming record ‘Legion: XX’. Burn The Priest, usually known by their second name, Lamb Of God, released a full-length record paying homage to the artists that influence them. Since the mid 90’s, Burn The Priest/Lamb Of God have reached a global audience with their guttural yet thrashy brand of metal. Comprised of Randy Blythe on vocals, Mark Morton and Willie Adler on guitars, John Campbell on bass, and Chris Adler on drums they began their conquest of the world in Richmond, VA. This album is paying tribute to their first label, Legion Records (Philadelphia) and its founder the late Michael “Mikey” Brosnan. Blythe announced the release of the album on his Gimme Radio show, like a late-night punk rock college radio show. It is refreshing to see these guys who are now considered mainstream doing this release with a DIY attitude. Continue reading

LOW FLYING HAWKS (Feat. Members Of MELVINS) Premiere “Smile” [Streaming]

Shoegazy doom outfit LOW FLYING HAWKS will release their new album, Genkaku, on August 25th via Magnetic Eye Records.

Featuring drummer Dale Crover (THE MELVINS) and bassist Trevor Dunn (MR. BUNGLE) alongside songwriters and multi-instrumentalists EHA and AAL, Genkaku is the follow-up to LOW FLYING HAWKS‘ 2016 debut, ‘Kōfuku, a record lauded by many critics and all alike.

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DALE CROVER (The Melvins) Premieres Solo Track “Hillbilly Math”!

Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez

As the release of Dale Crover’s (Melvins) debut solo album, ‘The Fickle Finger of Fate’ (Aug. 4, ), gets closer, the legendary drummer shares a second new song from the 20-track album, “Hillbilly Math,” The album which releases August 4th via Joyful Noise Recordings was co-produced by Crover and longtime partner-in-crime Toshi Kasai. Crover played the bulk of the instruments on the collection (guitar, keyboards, drums) as well as vocals. Guests include Redd Kross’ Steven McDonald, Dan Southwick (Altamont) and Crover’s adorable 11-year-old daughter Scarlett who assists with violin, percussion and vocals. Continue reading