Welcome back to our ongoing series of LOUDER THAN LIFE 2019 artist profiles, our weekly guide through the lineup of acts who’ll take the stage at Louisville, Kentucky’s Highland Festival Grounds at Kentucky Expo Center September 27-29 in what’s sure to be one of the biggest concert events of the year. This week, we’re taking a closer look at New Jersey hard rockers THE PARLOR MOB.
Time really does fly. It feels like just yesterday, watching the Headbangers Ball on MTV, and some band called Overkill comes on with the video “In Union We Stand.” The name glowed in green with a skull bat logo (please cease and desist Avenged Sevenfold) draped on each side of the drum riser. The song had speed but also a hook in the chorus that had me singing it the next morning. It’s been over three decades since that introduction and now I’m staring at their 19th full-length album titled ‘The Wings Of War.’ Overkill climbed out of the New Jersey gutters with a determination to succeed and has been resilient against the trends and changing climates of the music industry. This latest offering shows no signs that this green and black thrash machine will slow down anytime soon. The new caveat to the equation is the addition of drummer Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Flotsam and Jetsam, Stigmata), and he turns in a crushing performance. Throughout the songs you continually notice how lethal the drums are. His playing and energy provided the spark to ignite the fuse on this record. The album will be released on Nuclear Blast on February 22 and once again features a brilliant cover design done by Travis Smith (Nevermore, Opeth, Soilwork, Death). Continue reading
New Jersey heavy weights OVERKILL are just no where even in close proximity being done. They have a lot of unfinished business, and to take care of that the band has already announced its next studio album. The upcoming all new 19th studio record, ‘The Wings Of War‘ is dropping on February 22nd, 2019 via Nuclear Blast. And to get you a first taste of the oncoming thrash attack, Bobby Blitz and co. have their very first single in the form of a lyric video out from the album. It’s called, ‘Last Man Standing‘, and as intimidating as it sounds, it does stand up to its name for it is one hell of a typical thrash, true to its core attack. It’s a riff fiesta accompanied with satisfying fast and ruthless riffs, swift & technical drumming and of course, Bobby’s trademark raspy, awesome vocals.
With the rise of smart cars, smart phones, and smart speakers we are quickly descending down into a world George Orwell feared when he was writing his dystopian classic, 1984. This inspired metalcore band Pathetic Fallacy for their music video “2018”. Formed in New Jersey late 2017, Pathetic Fallacy released their first EP The New Years Tapes December 30 2017. After picking up steam on Spotify, they played their first show at Debonair Music Hall May 2 2018. Since then they have played venues such as Dingbatz, Boontunes, Publik House, among others. Their upcoming EP titled, Regicide, is due out December 8. Continue reading
*This is part of our “Louder Than Life 2018 Spotlight” series where we focus on some of the up-and-coming bands that fans can see at this year’s Louder Than Life Festival on Sept. 28th-30th. This week, we’re checking out Monster Magnet.*
1989 marks the year of birth of New Jersey’s spacerock legends Monster Magnet. Though this band isn’t one of the headliners of this years festival they have put in their time and are veterans of the rock and metal world. They have likely put in more hours on stage than most of the other early acts combined. The bands first demos titled ‘Forget About Life, I’m High on Dope’ and ‘I’m Stoned, What Ya Gonna Do About It?’ should pretty much tell you everything you need to know about the band, but there is much more you should know. The band released their official debut album ‘Spine Of God’ on Caroline Records in 1991 which became a full on genre classic literally in an instant. If you were ever looking for some stoner space rock look no further than the originators; Monster Magnet. Frontman Dave Wyndorf has expertly piloted the band through an asteroid belt of lineup changes and health scares, substance abuse and public opinion, emerging as something of a stoner rock elder statesman. The drug hazed heavy sound of the releases helped in cementing Monster Magnet‘s reputation of being the only legit descendants of the likes of psychedelic and stoner rock Godfathers Hawkwind, Black Sabbath, and their electrifying punk siblings in MC5.
New Jersey metalcore band, Monument of a Memory has just released the official music video for their single “Cold Eyes” from their January, 2018 EP, ‘Ex-Mortis.’ The song has a chilling, real life backstory that is captured brilliantly in the sonic intensity of the music and lyrics. Continue reading
*In this series we pose the age-old question to a wide array of music lovers. As fans of music, most of us keep a mental list of active bands we want to see live that we haven’t yet seen. The Bucketlist brings to you those lists of your favorite artists and why those bands mean so much to them*
Here at Metal Nexus, we always welcome newcomers to the music scene and love to hear new music from bands all over the world. When we first hear about a band, it’s pretty interesting to sort of follow the band’s career as they gain more and more success from playing local shows to playing some of the biggest music festivals. With that, New Jersey natives Drifter have been showing up in several independent media outlets in the recent months and one listen will have you understanding why. Continue reading
Dinosaur Eyelids have been one of the most revered rock n roll bands in the New Jersey music scene since their formation in 2009. The bands goes about things in a true DIY way and have no released 5 albums. The advise that their musical influences range from Soundgarden to The Replacements to Ween. That is certainly a vast area of influence but so is this bands style and sound. It seems that about anything they set out to conquer they are able to do in stride. With around 100 shows under their belt Dinosaur Eyelids is not only refining their sound in the studio but on the stage as well. Their 2014 album ‘Bypass To Nowhere’ debuted at #1 on WRSU Rutgers Radio and their material has been played on 180 college radio stations across North America. They are like a mixture of Nirvana and Neil Young that creates heartbreaking love songs that sink you to lows and also life stories that uplift you. Dinosaur Eyelids is like the pendulum of life told through rock n roll. Continue reading
New Jersey post-metal band, Vexes is set to release their exciting full-length debut album, ‘Ancient Geometry’ on February 23, 2018. The band originally formed in 2016, “from the ashes of A Life Once Lost, Vessl, Fury of Five, and Downstage,” according to their webpage. Their sound is modern but proudly pays homage to their 90’s influences including Deftones, Cave In, Thrice, and Helmet. For those of us who grew up in the era from where much of this music draws its inspiration, listening to this album will bring a warm sense of nostalgia as it transports you back into high school with your baggy jeans and Puma Suedes. For newcomers, expect a moody and oftentimes melancholic hard rock/metal experience with powerfully melodic choruses and crooning vocals. Continue reading
Dinosaur Eyelids have been one of the most revered rock n roll bands in the New Jersey music scene since their formation in 2009. The bands goes about things in a true DIY way and have no released 5 albums. The advise that their musical influences range from Soundgarden to The Replacements to Ween. That is certainly a vast area of influence but so is this bands style and sound. It seems that about anything they set out to conquer they are able to do in stride. With around 100 shows under their belt Dinosaur Eyelids is not only refining their sound in the studio but on the stage as well. Their 2014 album ‘Bypass To Nowhere’ debuted at #1 on WRSU Rutgers Radio and their material has been played on 180 college radio stations across North America. They are like a mixture of Nirvana and Neil Young that creates heartbreaking love songs that sink you to lows and also life stories that uplift you. Dinosaur Eyelids is like the pendulum of life told through rock n roll.
