SHINEDOWN, THREE DAYS GRACE & FROM ASHES TO NEW Light Up Minnesota [Review & Photo Gallery

Shinedown have been ripping through North America and the tour rolled into Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a venue that the band has made a consistent stop over the past few years, and a rabid fanbase once again welcomed them back. 

Before the headliner would take the stage, From Ashes to New, were tasked to warm-up the audience. The band began to take form in 2013 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and have dropped three records to date with album number four called ‘Blackout” on the way. The first single from upcoming release, “Nightmare,” opened the seven-song set. From the moment Danny Case stepped onto the stage he was in command. Belting out every word with emotion and conviction which gave me a whole new appreciation of the material. Matt Brandyberry also brought in his rap stylized vocals that played off Case giving the duo an entertaining dynamic which powered the songs. Guitarist Lance Dowdle, drummer Mat Madiro and touring guitarist Jimmy Bennett matched the vocalist energy as they played “Heartache,” “Hate Me Too,” “Crazy” and the bands first break-through single “Through It All” to close the set.  

Three Days Grace took the stage next to a tremendous response. Opening up the show with the cut “So Called Life” which also happens to kick off their latest album, ‘Explosions,’ which was released 2022. Vocalist Matt Walst is now three albums in after taking over for original vocalist Adam Gontier and has cemented himself among fans as a guy that values the past but continues to push the band forward and gain new fans with every show. The rest of the line-up included bassist Brad Walst, guitarist Barry Stock and Neil Sanderson on drums. The band is extremely tight with the material and songs became stronger and heavier than the album versions. Their music is classified in various different genres like post-grunge, alternative, hard rock and nu-metal but ultimately is just addictive catchy songs that have great melodies and memorable choruses that keep fans singing along and staying engaged in the music. With a forty-five-minute set they kept to many of the hits like “Animal I have Become,” “Pain” and “I Hate Everything About You.” The set ended with the rouser “Riot” with fans standing up and chanting riot with the band. 

The headliner, Shinedown, would attack the stage with the crusher “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom.)”  They wasted no time in unleashing the pyro as it shot over the band as the song kicked in. Dubbed the “Revolutions Live Tour” the band quickly took ahold of the arena and held it their hand throughout the entire set. They have really mastered the ideals of what makes a great rock show, lots of pyro and fire, great lighting, high-octane energy and getting the crowd fully engaged. Sonically the songs hit you square in the face. I have always felt the bands catalog translates much better live and when you put that stage show around those songs, it becomes a magical concert. The bands line-up has been solidified for over a decade now with Brent Smith on vocals, Barry Kerch on drums, guitarist Zach Myers and bassist Eric Bass. Shinedown have released seven studio albums with ‘Planet Zero’ being dropped in 2022. They pulled “Dead Don’t die” off that album for the second song of the night and it sounded fantastic. A piano dropped from the ceiling for the third song as Eric Bass sat down and played “I’ll Follow You” while guitarist Zach Meyers found a great perch to play on and climbed on top of it to play his parts. The night continued with some of the must plays like “Sound of Madness,” “Enemies,” “Bully,” “45” and the cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man.” The set came to a close with “Cut the Cord” and it once again, for my buck, solidified Shinedown as one of the must-see bands when they come through your town. They sound amazing, the songs grab you and you can’t help but engage into the music and the energy they bring to the stage every night. Shinedown believes in their audience and appreciates the people that show up and support them, a cool moment after the second song was Brent Smith giving hi-fives to every photographer in front of the stage, a very small moment in time but a meaningful and memorable experience for those photographers and it was a way of saying thanks to the people that help share their vision of what a rock concert should be. Once again, the Target Center in Minneapolis got a great show and I’m sure it will fill-up once again when they come back. 

SHINEDOWN & BADFLOWER Bring Their “Attention, Attention” To Chicago [Review & Photo Gallery]

On Sunday, July 14th, hard rockers ShinedownBadflowerDinosaur Pile-Up, and Broken Hands came together for an electric evening of rock music at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Chicago. Each band brought something unique to the bill while meshing together extremely well. Check out our review and photo gallery below.

The evening began with the first of two English rock bands on the bill with Broken Hands. The quintet from across the pond brought their heavy, riffing sound to the Tinley Park stage to get the crowd warmed up for the rest of the evening. Vocalist Dale Norton waltzed from each side of the stage to the other as they whipped through a six song set consisting of material from their first major label debut album, ‘Split In Two’. The album doesn’t drop until August 9th, but the singer was cool enough to throw out a copy of the album to a lucky member in the audience. The band closed the set with their freshly debuted track “Wrong Track” as the crowd began to fill in for the evening.

After Broken Hands, one of our favorite bands here at Metal Nexus, Dinosaur Pile-Up, took the stage to round out the British bands for the night. Dinosaur Pile-Up has been on our radar since playing Louder Than Life in 2016 when they showed off their dynamic garage/alternative rock sound that was blistered with energy during their life performance. “11:11” was a huge hit to kickstart their career in the states and they have grown quickly since then. Vocalist and guitarist Matt Bigland and bassist Jim Cratchley entered the stage each with a beer in their hand before ripping into “Arizona Waiting”, from their 2013 album ‘Nature Nature’.  Aside from that and “11:11”, the set was primarily material from the trio’s new album, ‘Celebrity Mansions’. Through a set filled with headbanging and slamming English riffs, Dinosaur Pile-Up delivered exactly what was expected from us, a great, energetic set that continued to raise the bar for the night.

Rising quickly in the ranks of mainstream rock radio, Badflower has already made their way to the direct support slot for Shinedown. This is extremely impressive when you really put it into perspective. They’ve only just put out their debut album and they’re already almost at the top of the genre. They also just announced their first large headlining tour in the United States. Badflower has always been known for putting everything they have into their live performances, and their show at Chicago was no exception. Firing on all cylinders, the California quartet decimated the crowd with “x ANA x”, one of their heaviest songs to date. It’s a great crowd pleaser and really set the tone for the rest of their set. Vocalist/Guitarist Josh Katz glided across the stage on his back while strumming through the end of the song. The drive and emotion that pours out of these guys during their shows is amazing to witness. The band made sure to play all of their more popular songs throughout the set like the recent single “Promise Me”, “The Jester”, and “Heroin”. They saved their biggest songs for last as Josh hopped into the crowd and surfed across everyone in the pit during “Animal”. While he was out in the crowd, guitarist of Shinedown, Zach Myers, was kind enough to step in for guitar duties while Josh explored the crowd. After that, he made his way back to the stage to close out the evening with their most popular song to date, “Ghost”. The band puts on an electrifying, memorable set that will build a fan base for a lifetime. I highly recommend getting out to see these guys on their fall tour with Weathers and Dead Poet Society.

Over the last few years, Shinedown has grown to be one of the biggest bands in rock music today. Headlining several music festivals in the US, the band has solidified themselves as strong performers and crowd-pleasers. Their stage production has grown immensely since the last time I saw them in 2016. With fireworks, pyrotechnics, and large screens, the band delivers a live spectacle that is now bigger than just their music. The band kicked off their set with a curtain drop and sent the crowd into a frenzy with “Devil”, one of three singles from their 2018 album ‘ATTENTION ATTENTION’. Fitting the theme of their new album, the band also had screens in the shape of exclamation marks on the stage behind them. Along with the pyro and curtain drop, this made for quite the introduction. As expected, the band fully delivered the “boom” for “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)”. After finishing that song, vocalist Brent Smith encouraged all of us in the crowd to shake hands with one another to get to know our seat neighbors. He followed suit with this as well by shaking hands with all of the photographers in the pit. At a Shinedown show, the band makes it a priority to make the crowd feel like a big family. Once we all got familiar with each other, the band gave us a throwback track to ‘Amaryllis’ with “Enemies”. The band then played their current hit on the radio right now, “Monsters”. The crowd roared with applause as they executed it to perfection. Whether you like their music or not, you can’t deny how close Shinedown sounds to their records when performing live.

After playing a few more songs on the main stage, the band made their way out to the crowd, each playing in different quadrants under the pavilion. They played four songs out in the crowd, including “Amaryllis”, “Second Chance”, and even “Save Me” for the old school Shinedown fans that are still supporting the band to this day. Once they made their way back to the stage, they began to bring the night to a close with their world famous cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Simple Man”. They brought the dynamic energy (along with some sick laser lights) back into the venue with “Cut The Cord”. Everyone in the venue made sure to hold up their lighters for “Get Up”. The atmosphere was nothing short of incredible, almost breath-taking with the calm piano and Brent‘s powerful voice. To close off the evening, Shinedown sent everyone home happy by giving them the “Sound of Madness” followed by “Brilliant” from their new album. “Brilliant” was kind of strange for a closer but they made it work in a way that only Shinedown could.

Everyone should’ve went home happy with an incredible performance from an artist they know and love while also discovering some new rock music as well. With three newcomers in the rock scene and an established headlining act, this was a tour that couldn’t be missed. Check out these bands the next time they’re out on the road near you. Be sure to check out our photo gallery below. Follow us on Facebook for more coverage of all things rock and metal.

SHINEDOWN’s Attention Attention World Tour Strikes Minneapolis [Review & Photos]

 

Shinedown brought their ATTENTION ATTENTION World Tour to the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota for an explosive night of music. Close to eleven thousand people not only rocked out to Shinedown, but also got great shows from Papa Roach and Asking Alexandria as well. Continue reading

Wessel’s Top 10 Albums Of 2018!

Metal has yet again spoken beautifully with metalcore records such as Erra & Ice Nine Kills or even the highly praised Aborted piece. And if those albums weren’t exactly for you then the long awaited Underoath will for sure do you right. It doesn’t matter how you put it, 2018 has been a fantastic year for metal!

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My AFTERSHOCK FESTIVAL 2018 Experience, Part One [Review & Photo Gallery]

Deftones

This year was my third year in a row attending the Aftershock Festival at Sacramento, California’s Discovery Park with my wife. This time around, it was the first year I was not only attending as a regular fan but also had the great opportunity of experiencing VIP perks as part of the media for the show. I had a full schedule of bands to watch throughout the day and a couple of potential interviews. This was definitely going to be a new and exciting experience. Continue reading

Rock Allegiance 2018 Artist Showcase: STONE BROKEN

Stone Broken was formed in 2013 after one of frontman Rich Moss’ former bandmates tragically died. Almost abandoning music for 4 years, Moss would form Stone Broken with longtime friend Robyn Hancock on drums, Chris Davis on guitar, and Kieron Conway on bass. Their self-released and self-financed EP, The Crow Flies was released in 2014. They then hit the studio again with producer Romesh Dodangoda (Motörhead, Bring Me The Horizon,Twin Atlantic) to record their debut full length, All In Time. Gaining a local following their first full length, there fan base grew rapidly. With tracks like “Not Your Enemy” and “Wait For You” getting airtime on Kerrang! Radio and Planet Rock, the venues became larger and larger. Continue reading

SHINEDOWN Rocks Out In Riverside, California! [Review & Photo Gallery]

Shinedown

Shinedown played a special show at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium on Thursday, April 12, presented by KCAL 96.7! Fans young and old, from near and far, gathered for an awesome night of music from one of rock’s heaviest hitters! Joining Shinedown for this performance, as well as a few other dates on the tour, was Savage After Midnight, who warmed the crowd up perfectly.

Shinedown

Even before Shinedown took the stage, screams echoed in the loud auditorium, the fans eagerly awaiting the band’s arrival on stage. One thing that can be said about Shinedown’s fans is that they’re dedicated. There were two fans from Arizona, who were following the band to attend a few of the west coast dates. Their loyalty did not go unnoticed, as they walked away with a few mementos. The audience packed into the spacious venue, and sang all of the lyrics back to Brent Smith. It was obvious this is a band that truly appreciates their fans.

Shinedown

They were completely amped up for their performance, which started out strong with “The Sound of Madness.” A steady energy filled the room, as the band moved through their set, the crowd getting more enthusiastic with each song. Shinedown fed off of the energy of the audience, and gave their all throughout the entire performance. The band was energetic including constant movement around the stage and bassist Eric Bass was seen constantly jumping around while still hitting each note perfectly. They played favorites including “Bully,” “Enemies,” and “Unity.” The lights dimmed and there was a brief few moments of silence, then the spotlight shinned down on guitarist Zach Myers as he played the opening riff to “45” and immediately the silence was interrupted with applause for one of the bands biggest hits. Fans from front to back sang along, and Brent allowing them a few times to finish the chorus holding the mic out towards the crowd.

Shinedown

Shinedown is set to release their latest studio album, ‘Attention Attention’, on May 4, 2018, and treated fans to one of the new songs, closing with “Devil.” Later this year, the band is also set to tour with rock and metal vets, Five Finger Death Punch, Starset and Bad Wolves followed by a tour with the mighty Godsmack, and will also be making festival appearances at Fort Rock, Carolina Rebellion, and Aftershock,  Shinedown is still going strong, and continue to prove that they aren’t going anywhere any time soon!

 

 

AFTERSHOCK FESTIVAL Unveils Massive Lineup Feat. SYSTEM OF A DOWN, ALICE IN CHAINS, GODSMACK, DEFTONES & Many More!

All those “stand by” posts and teasers have finally been laid to grave today, as Monster Energy AFTERSHOCK FESTIVAL 2018 finally takes those curtains off the festival’s line-up. California’s biggest rock festival AFTERSHOCK 2018, returns for another year at the famous Discovery Park near downtown Sacramento, CA to be held this year on October 13th and 14th, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. With the fest posting a lot of teasers on their social media pages, fans put their thinking caps on and a lot of predictions were made. Some were right and some went wrong. Those who vouched in on their favourite bands give yourself a pat on your back as this year’s edition will be headlined by none other than SYSTEM OF A DOWN, who will be returning to the States after three years, as they celebrate the 20th anniversary of their landmark self-titled first album.

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Louder Than Life Spotlight: AS LIONS

*Every Tuesday and Thursday from now until Louder Than Life gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*

Today’s Artist is As Lions

Louisville, get ready for a well-deserved dose of pure hard rock when As Lions take the stage at Louder Than Life!  These London, England rockers have a good old fashioned rock sound that is, at times, blended with metal and some alternative, making for a good foundation to deliver a fantastic live performance.  If you’ve not gotten a chance to see this quintet live, Louder Than Life will be the perfect chance! Continue reading

Carolina Rebellion: Saturday Review & Photo Gallery

Red Sun Rising

Red Sun Rising

Day 2 (Saturday) was the day I was anticipating the most. The lineup for Saturday was chock full of heavier bands that I had been wanting to see or already seen and love very much. The first band I got to see was Red Sun Rising. The band had this amazing intro that started up and then came to a screeching halt before kicking back in, the crowd lovingly applauded. It was just barely noon and these guys had more energy than half the bands the day before. It was nonstop movement on the stage as they played their hit songs “The Otherside” and “Emotionless.” Vocalist Mike Protich took this stance or pose on stage while singing that reminded me of the late great Scott Weiland. Not only was Mike mesmerizing on stage but his vocals sounded just as good live as on the record. Continue reading