KHEMMIS & CLOAK Kick Off North American Desolation Tour!

Khemmis, a stoner metal act hailing from Denver, whom have been tearing up stages since 2012, are on tour with the three piece doom metal act Cloak from Georgia.

 

Khemmis have inked a worldwide deal with Nuclear Blast. Their album ‘Desolation,’ came out in the US via 20 Buck Spin and Nuclear Blast in Europe, so the difference now is they’re a Nuclear Blast band, globally. Their second studio album ‘Hunted’ was named one of Rolling Stone’s 20 Best albums in 2016, and has been consistently ranked in the metal world as one of the best albums to come out in the past few years. Continue reading

THE GLASSPACK Emerge From Decade Long Hiatus; New Album & Show Announcement

Pictured: “Dirty” Dave Johnson and Brett “Cap’n” Holsclaw

After a near-decade-long silence, notorious Louisville, Kentucky based psychedelic punk unit, The Glasspack, will return to the stage and studio. Featuring core members, “Dirty” Dave Johnson (vocals, guitars), Brett “Cap’n” Holsclaw (mc, drums), and Nicholas Hall (guitars, keys), with Billy Lease (guitars, bass) and Rodney Roads (bass, guitar), the band feels it is once again time to jump start Louisville’s rock scene. Continue reading

Review: ROADSAW – ‘Tinnitus The Night’ [Album Stream]

The stoner rock trio known as Roadsaw formed in 1995, in my native Boston, Massachusetts. Their style is described as a strange trip through the British electric blues, down into the Southern Rock swamps and West through the heart of California’s psychedelic desert. Roadsaw recently delivered a highly anticipated album after 8 years on an “indefinite hiatus,” ‘Tinnitus The Night,’ was released just last month via Ripple Music. Prior to that the band had released 5 full length albums the most recent of which was their self titled release in 2011. ‘Tinnitus’ was produced by world renowned producer Benny Grotto (Aerosmith, Ben Folds, Dresden Dolls, Weird Al Yankovic) at his co-owned Mad Oak Studios in Allston, Massachusetts. Continue reading

Review: HIGH N’ HEAVY – ‘Warrior Queen’ [Album Stream]

High n’ Heavy are a four piece instrument of destruction out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Formed in late 2014 with The Stooges, Black Sabbath, and Motörhead in mind; their sound has evolved to perfectly embody all of their influences. Mostly playing shows in their native New England, High n’ Heavy has been picking up a handful of new fans every time they perform. The following is multiplying not only because of their talented musicianship but also because of their high energy live sets that create fandom simply by word of mouth. Their first 3 albums have shown the band to be at home playing everything from the most brutal of doom to the dirtiest of rock n’ roll. The electric circus that is High n’ Heavy consists of  Kris Fortin on vocals, John Steele on guitar and keys, Mike Dudley on bass, and drummer Nick Perrone. The New Bedford band have now released their 4th album ‘Warrior Queen’ (via Electric Valley Records): An album full of psychedelia, mysticism and killer airfare! ‘Warrior Queen was recorded & engineered by Trevor Vaughan, recorded at The Colosseum and produced by Trevor Vaughan and High n’ Heavy.

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COC, CROWBAR & More Get It On In Nashville [Review & Photo Gallery]

COC

Southern stoner metal juggernauts Corrosion of Conformity wrapped up a long and winding 30 date North American tour in Music City with sludgy brothers in arms Crowbar, Maryland doom metal veterans The Obsessed, and Dallas based trio Mothership stopping by The Cowan to fire up an already atypically warm February evening. Continue reading

Epicenter Festival Spotlight: HIGH ON FIRE [Official Videos]

*This is part of the Epicenter Festival Spotlight segment where we help you get to know some of the non-headlining bands performing at the festival. This week we introduce you to High On Fire!*

If you are familiar with High On Fire you will be in agreement that it’s hard to believe they are billed earlier in the day on the inaugural Epicenter Festival lineup. The mastermind behind the band is of course Matt Pike known famously as one of the best doom guitarists ever from his work with his other band Sleep. He formed High On Fire in 1998. Pike is a talented musician that has a huge discography between his bands. With Sleep he has released 5 albums and one EP, and with High On Fire he has released 8 studio albums and 1 live album. He was also a part of the bands Asbestosdeath (which was was an early incarnation of Sleep) and Kalas who combined have released 2 EPs and 2 albums. The one area where High On Fire differs is that Matt Pike in addition to playing guitar also is the vocalist as well. His vocal style is gritty, raw, aggressive and it’s impossible to not thoroughly enjoy. The bands most recent album is ‘Electric Messiah’ which released in October via Eone Music and the album has been on nearly everyone’s best albums of the year list. In addition to that successful album High On Fire has also been nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. With the nomination they are joining some legendary past nominees like Metallica, Motörhead, Faith No More and TOOL, this is the first time the band has been nominated in their twenty-year career. In regards to their nomination the band had this to say: “We are so honored to be appreciated by our peers,” says vocalist and guitarist Matt Pike. “We love and live our art.” “It doesn’t matter whether we win or not,” says drummer Des Kensel. “It’s just an honor to be recognized for our hard work and sacrifice after devoting our whole lives to music.” Finally, bassist Jeff Matz adds, “This is pretty mind-blowing. We’re beyond thrilled about the nomination. We all put a lot of sweat and sleepless nights into writing and recording this album. It’s amazing that our efforts are being recognized in this way.” On February 10th High On Fire won that Best Metal Performance Grammy for  their album ‘Electric Messiah’ beating out other metal powerhouses Between The Buried And Me, Trivium, Deafheaven and Underoath. With that much talent in one category it certainly shows you the talent that High On Fire will bring to the Epicenter stage. Continue reading

Review: BWAK DWAGON – ‘Underground and Passed Around’ [Album Stream]

 

 

BWAK DWAGON was forged in the rock n roll town of Cleveland, Ohio. The three piece band is made up of Matthew Clement on drums and vocals, Dave Busch on guitar, and Jason Robinson on bass. Together, they mix heavy riffs with haunting tones and lyrics. This powerful trio has plenty to offer and though this band may be small in numbers they are big in sound. The band released their self-titled debut album in 2014 and was released independently by the band. It is also now available on vinyl via Gotta Groove Records, I might add. The debut was recorded by Paul Maccarrone (Obnox) at 71st Door in Cleveland, OH and mastered by Charlie Loudin (The Pistolettes) at My Other Car Is The Space Time Continuum in Kent, OH. The band of course has had a strong string of live performances in and around the Cleveland area and has quickly garnered attention for their heavy and haunting sound. Just 2 years later the band has released a follow up to their debut titled ‘Plum Island’ which released in September of 2016. The band coming off the heels of a successful first album again went to Paul Maccarrone for recording and Charlie Loudin for mastering. The lyrical content is one of the strongest points within the Bwak Dwagon sound and those words are brought to life on paper and in voice by Matthew Clement. It’s not often we get a chance to hear the drummer show off his pipes while also beating his drum kit to shreds but Clement is able to easily accomplish this. The band’s brand new release is ‘Underground and Passed Around’ which released on January 26, 2019. Bwak Dwagon recorded the new album again with local producer Paul Maccarronne and again locally based Gotta Groove Records to press the vinyl. However, this album includes 3-D glasses to enhance the album art. “The color scheme [of the album art] has a lot of red and blue to it,” Clement explained to CleveScene. “There happened to be a pair of 3-D glasses in the room, and when we tried them on, the artwork looked great, so we decided to include a pair with the album. We have a gimmick of some sort with each record.” ‘Underground and Passed Around’ includes 12 well thought out tracks. Continue reading

Review: Kings Destroy – ‘Fantasma Nera’ [Single Streaming]

It’s old and it’s new, it’s funky but familiar, Kings Destroys’ pseudo stoner melodic rock harkens a fresh taste of experimental riffage with slow-mo head bobbing. New York City dwellers they are and a hotbed of artistic exploration they inhabit since their 2010 formation. Gracing the shelves March 8th, “Fantasma Nera” is the bands upcoming fourth LP through Svart Records, a Finnish based label that is home to Acid King. Continue reading

State of the Art – Missouri’s SAVAGELAND [EP Stream]

Hungry and visceral with a hint of southern edge. SavageLand is a beautiful sip of aged bourbon, followed by a punch in the face. Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri they sound more like they are straight from the heart of New Orleans. The band was formed in 2016 and has since released one six song, self-titled EP, with tremendously impressive production value.

Picture groove riffs with guttural stoner vocals. Fans of Crowbar and Corrosion of Conformity meet fans of Baroness and also meet a calloused hard working slide guitar player by a campfire. The EP opens with said slide guitar, and a Mastodon quality riffs. SavageLand crafts these pseudo-stoner anthems with such ease. Down and Pantera influences, too, leak into the blueprints of their songwriting. “Animal Kingdom” has a wiry riff strung through the verses, swelling behind the chorus. The kind of jams to smoke a joint and enjoy a beer to. It’s aggressive but not disruptive.

SavageLand teased the early stages of new material mid 2018, after stating in 2017 they are inactive. Fingers crossed that 2019 will be the year the band gets in gear and releases some new music because this stuff is really something.