CAROUSEL KINGS Debut Music Video For ‘Monarch’, Announce Tour [Music Video]

Photo Credit: Dustin Smith

Carousel Kings have released a music video for their track “Monarch”, along with a tour announcement. The track is off their latest release Plus Ultra which is available now. “Monarch” is the third track off of Plus Ultra, following “Code Breaker (Smile)” and “Lock Meowt” respectively. The tour begins July 26 in their hometown of Lancaster, Pa in support of the new record. 

“ ‘Monarch’ is an anthem to keep pushing, to trust your inner voice and simply GO FOR IT!” explains Carousel Kings vocalist Dave Alexander. “Every day we all have to overcome adversity in some aspect, and this song was written to have the listener reach deep within themselves to erase any preconceived ideas you may not realize are holding you back from your dreams and living your life to its fullest potential. On the video, we wanted to showcase this angle, with a Muay Thai kickboxer training for his fight. His struggles in the ring mirror life’s struggles and adversities, and how perseverance is the only way to prevail.”

These Pennsylvania rockers are set to travel in the Northeast, and then hop West to Washington, California, etc. To keep up with all things Carousel Kings, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Victory Records.

CAROUSEL KINGS On Tour

July

26 – Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club

27 – Blossburg, PA @ Canyon Music Fest

28 – Lakewood, OH @ Foundry

August

5 – Spokane, WA @ The Pin

6 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile

7 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater

10 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill

11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Los Globos

13 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge

14 – Las Vegas, NV @ Bunk House

The Bucketlist with Phil Freeman of SMALL TOWN TITANS

*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*

The Small Town Titans are a power trio from York, PA who love to constantly create, as well as play live.  Gone is the notion that a rock band should only release 10 songs at a time every 2 years.  In a world where music fans crave new content constantly, the Small Town Titans aim to deliver their brand of art all the time, drawing inspiration from a new wave of rock bands such as Royal Blood to rock legends such as the Foo Fighters, Audioslave, and Deep Purple.  Thanks to their efforts at assembling their own studio in a basement, STT can create and release songs, podcasts, live online concerts, and more with no rules. Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Spotlight: CODE ORANGE

*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 Code Orange.

One of the heaviest upcoming bands in the genre is coming to destroy the Chicago Open Air stage on Friday, July 14th at Toyota Park. If you are a fan of heavy music, you have probably already taken note of this band by now. Code Orange from Pittsburgh, PA stormed onto the scene with an incredible hardcore release in 2014 titled ‘I Am King’. This record was brutal, passionate, dark, and made a statement that the band had arrived. As a younger metalhead, this was one of the first records I listened to that got me into the extreme side of hardcore and metal. To kick off this year, the band dropped their third LP titled ‘Forever’, which was also well received by the metal community (check out out review here.) Their live shows bring some of the most violent pits around in recent years. It will be interesting to see how they transit their performance over to the festival stage. The band has played a few other Danny Wimmer Presents festivals including Rock on the Range and Carolina Rebellion. Most of their tour dates below are supporting System of a Down in Europe, including many of the large festivals. Continue reading

State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Chronostasis

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

So, with this week, our State of the Art: Pennsylvania series is comes to a close. So much good music to choose from and from a scene that is bursting at the seams with new ideas, creative concepts not heard anywhere else and a diversity that is nothing short of stunning. Finding interesting and engaging bands was never a problem but choosing among such a large swath of sounds did become a rather daunting task; and this week was no exception. I was down to three or four bands that fit my bill this week until I came upon Chronostasis. This is exactly what I was looking for. Once I got my chin out of my lap, bought their debut CD and got over my initial shock and awe, I got to work.

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State of the Art: Pennsylvania – BLACK URN

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

 For those that have missed it for one reason or another, Monday marks the day that the staff here at Metal Nexus aims to shine a light on a previously unknown/undiscovered band from a certain state. Currently on Pennsylvania, I, your beloved Mstr, have got one hell of a find for YOU, our precious readers.  Hold on to your horses, my friends, because the boys in Black Urn are raring to have you drawn and quartered in the public square.  Hailing from the City of Brotherly Love, Black Urn are artists painting on a complementary canvas to counter that idealistic nickname (even though the nickname is just the literal Greek translation, and not a reference to the abundance of eros in Philly).  There’s a number of (insert sub genre category) metal to have emerged from the Keystone State, although sadly, in my eyes, the best of what it has to offer is often getting overlooked.  Continue reading

State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Tungsten

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

Week number three of our State of the Art: Pennsylvania series takes us back to Philadelphia where we find an extremely unusual band that pulls influences from all over the musical landscape: Metal, Psychedelia, Progressive Rock/Metal and everything in between to create a sound like no other. My spotlight band this week is Tungsten.

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State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Gun Metal Gray

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

Week number two of the state that brought us bands like August Burns Red, Halestorm, Poison, Cinderella, Britney Fox, A Life Once Lost, Motionless in White brings us a kick ass Metal/Thrash band out of Pennsylvania’s capital of Harrisburg. Winning the QWIK Rock 105.9 Battle of the Bands at the Arena Bar and Grill in State College just a few weeks ago comes Gun Metal Gray.

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State of the Art: Pennsylvania – Assayer

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

April takes our State of the Art series to Pennsylvania. One of the first thirteen colonies of the United States and becoming a state in 1681 and second to ratify the United States Constitution, Pennsylvania is bordered by Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario; being split in the center of the state by the Appalachian Mountains. Of the fifty states, Pennsylvania is the 33rd largest, 5th most populous (pop. 12,802,503) and is the 9th most densely populated. With its large population and density, Pennsylvania boasts the 5th highest gross state product of $644,000,000 and houses about fifty Fortune 500 companies. Named after William Penn, the state was originally organized as a Colony of New Sweden along with what is now Delaware. Pennsylvania covers some 46,055 square miles, 490 of which are covered by inland waters. While the capital is Harrisburg, I take you to the largest city of Philadelphia where we find one helluva destroyer band called Assayer. Continue reading

State Of The Art: Pennsylvania – BURIAL IN THE SKY

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

This month’s State is Pennsylvania!

There was a plethora of great releases in the tech death realms last year. Obviously, not all of those technical death metal albums of 2016 were shown the love they deserve on Metal Nexus… With that said, I am currently kicking myself in the ass for not covering Burial In The Sky’s jaw-dropping debut LP last year. The absolute least I can do now is have Burial In The Sky as the first featured artist for this month’s State of the Art: Pennsylvania series! Since the band was birthed in 2013, they have only delivered solid material. Now – with a demo, EP, and full-length, under their belts – the future could not look any brighter for Burial In The Sky. The Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania natives, Will Okronglis (guitars, vocals), James Tomedi (guitars, bass) and Sam Stewart (drums), produce a unique brand of death metal with appeasing, technical guitar licks and a dreamy, celestial atmosphere.

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