Dirty Honey Brings Sweet Tunes To Johnson City, Tennessee [Review & Photo Gallery]

The up and coming powerhouse that is Dirty Honey made a stop in Johnson City, Tennessee with their “Rolling 7’s tour,” they brought British rockers The Amazons along for the ride! Fans had traveled from far and wide to see what a superb night of music from two stellar rock bands! If you get a chance to see this astonishing tour, I would highly recommend you take the opportunity to see what Dirty Honey and The Amazons are about! One thing is for sure, I knew this night was going to be mind blowing! Continue reading

TOOL Spirals Out in Nashville [Review & Photo Gallery]

Four years and six days to the date since last descending upon Nashville, genre transcending and now three time Best Metal Performance Grammy winning band Tool returned to Music City to fascinate their ever loyal fan base and captivate the uninitiated. Along for the ride and opening was Author & Punisher, who, as with most Tool tours, was an eccentric choice that most Tool fans wouldn’t necessarily encounter when shuffling ‘Tool Radio’ on their streaming service of choice.
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EXIT 111 FESTIVAL 2019: Sunday [Review & Photo Gallery]

Days one and two of the inaugural Exit 111 Festival in Manchester, TN featured 30 bands and over 20 hours of southern rock, thrash, metalcore, alt rock and just about every other heavy music genre on one small farm in Middle Tennessee. Day three was poised to wrap things up with a bang, with another 15 bands and a scheduled three hour set from headliner and recently resurging late 80s rockers Guns N’ Roses. So pitter patter, let’s get at’er.

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EXIT 111 FESTIVAL 2019: Friday [Review & Photo Gallery]

One of the most anticipated music festivals of the summer and fall since its announcement in early April, the first ever Exit 111 Festival, planted its rock n’ roll roots deep in the farm that Bonnaroo made iconic just south of Nashville, Tennessee. The three-day experience which took place from Friday, October, 11th, through Sunday, October 13th at Great Stage Park in Manchester, Tennessee, featured a monster musical lineup including Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Slayer, Killswitch Engage, Anthrax, ZZ Top, Ghost, Mastodon, Deftones, Coheed and Cambria, Lamb of God, and many more. In addition to the top-notch musical roster, Exit 111 featured The Paranormal Cirque, a world of combined theatre, circus, and cabaret presented by Cirque Italia; The Red Bull Freestyle Motocross Experience, showcasing the insane talents of some of the best freestyle motocross riders in the world; the Mega Sports Bar, offering everything from college football and the NFL to baseball and hockey games in the biggest damn sports bar you’ve ever seen; and the Exit 111 Car Show, the first ever all makes, all models car show, free to all Exit 111 ticket-holders. Continue reading

MAC SABBATH, OKILLY DOKILLY & PLAYBOY MANBABY Bring the Cheese to Nashville [Review & Photo Gallery]

Mac Sabbath

Sunday night in the heart of the bible belt, about 400 family and friends were observing the Sabbath in one of Nashville’s most iconic places of worship, the Exit/In. Preaching the evils of the fast food industry, “drive thru metal” pioneers Mac Sabbath brought one of the most entertaining tour lineups to the stage that I’ve experienced in my 40+ years on this planet for the American Cheese Tour. Joined by Homer Simpson’s favorite Christian neighbor Ned Flanders, well the five Ned Flanders of Okilly Dokilly to be exact, and fun-loving punk outfit Playboy Manbaby, the mix of raucous comedy and iconic Black Sabbath riffs kept the heads banging and the pit swirling the entire night. Continue reading

Review: SKILLET – ‘Victorious’ [Track Stream]

Skillet is a Christian rock band that has been around ever since I can remember. They formed in 1996 in Memphis, Tennessee. For members, the current lineup consists of John Cooper (Frontman and Bassist), Korey Cooper (Rhythm Guitar, Keyboard, and Backing Vocals), Jen Ledger (Drums, Vocals), and Seth Morrison (Lead Guitar). Together, they have a chemistry unmatched by anyone. Continue reading

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

Red Sun Rising, Spirit Animal, & Dubé Rock Tennessee Crowd [Review & Photo Gallery]

Red Sun Rising

It was a great night, a great Sunday night for rock and roll in Johnson City, Tennessee at Capone’s. Red Sun Rising brought along Spirit Animal and dubé for their east Tennessee stop at one of the best venues in the Tri-Cities on the “Together We Are Thread” tour. Continue reading

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, BORN OF OSIRIS, CROWBAR, & DEATH RAY VISION Rage In Chattanooga

Killswitch Engage

After being forced to postpone a handful of dates back in the spring so lead vocalist Jesse Leach could undergo vocal cord surgery, Killswitch Engage was back with a vengeance for a quick ten date fall run (makeup dates plus a few bonus shows) that would see them finish out their US commitments in early December before heading overseas in early 2019. Joining in on the fun were one of Killswitch bass player Mike D’Antonio’s other bands Death Ray Vision, sludge metal kings the almighty Crowbar, and progressive metalcore quintet Born of Osiris. Continue reading

WHITECHAPEL Release “Black Bear” From Upcoming Album ‘The Valley’ [Song Stream]

 

On March 29th, Whitechapel will release their 7th full-length, ‘The Valley’, via Metal Blade Records. Mixed by David Castillo, mastered by Ted Jensen, and produced once again by Mark Lewis (Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder), ‘The Valley’ is a reference to the part of Hardin Valley (west of Knoxville, Tennessee) where vocalist Phil Bozeman grew up. Set against this backdrop, he approaches his subject matter unflinchingly, building upon everything that came before, making it clear that he has survived that which he was forced to endure and is not afraid to confront it. “Phil has been upfront in his lyrics in the past about hardships he endured in his life as a child, and I believe with this record we tried to paint a better picture of that,” says guitarist Alex Wade, who alongside his bandmates, stands 100% behind everything their vocalist has to say. “I feel our music is Phil’s release from his past, being able to get it out and speak about it, and hopefully anyone who hears it that may have gone through similar experiences can find some release in it as well.” This is the second track released from the upcoming album, the first of which was “Brimstone” which can be streamed here. Continue reading