Metal playlists from the underground
New Hampshire quintet Gravehaven are a prog rock meets post punk troupe along the likes of Cave In or Dredg whose latest seven-track affair is an overwhelming effort chock full of bells and whistles. But don’t let the band’s adventurous overtones a la Rush or Muse deter you, as CALICO contains just as many memorable […]
Queensrÿche is back with the conceptual release American Soldier,which fuses some awkward modern rock elements (“Middle of Hell”) with their progressive hard rock edge (“If I Were King”). Many of the tracks begin with or contain interludes of army veterans telling their war stories. The highlights of the record consist of the dramatic ballad “Home […]
Swedish melodic death metal such as At the Gates undeniably had a profound effect on Ohio quintet Brother Von Doom judging by their 10-track release RELENTLESS. Properly titling this debut effort, there’s no question this squad maintains a firm grip on producing technically sound songs completed by an ample array of blistering riffs and pounding […]
After waiting in line at Game Stop, with 16 other metal geeks, for the stroke of midnight, Guitar Hero Metallica for the Nintendo Wii was finally in my hands. Following reckless speeding, hours of late night gaming, bleeding, sweating, and joyous tearing, it became clear that this is the best of the franchise to date. […]
Last night’s episode of That Metal Show, starring hard rock DJ Eddie Trunk, and comedians Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson, featured special guests, Rob and Lips of Anvil. The hosts discussed the degree of cheesiness of hair metal bands, and provided a comparitive analysis to today’s hip-hop and pop music, which ended with a fiery […]
Presenting their first new album in almost six years, the German metal troupe Sinner bust through the gates with CRASH AND BURN. This 11-track offering renders a no-nonsense fist-pumping heavy metal vibe that falls somewhere in between fellow countrymen Accept and Scorpions in terms of fluidity and tenacity. Tracks such as “Revolution” adds a touch […]
By Mike SOS Self-professed proprietors of “dirt rock,” three out of the four members of Long Island rock unit John Wilkes Booth (vocalist Kerry Merkle, drummer Christian Horstmann and guitarist Jason Beickert) sounded off on a number of topics, from how they chose their intriguing moniker to their new disc SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS, to where […]
Oklahoma City, OK act Bleed the Sky implement the emotions of enduring the endless rigors of being in a fledgling metal band just scraping by into an explosive 12-track album MURDER THE DANCE. Crossing metalcore anthem choruses with jagged shards of pummeling metal (“Sullivan,” “Slavior”), this act falls somewhere between Strapping Young Lad, VOD, Deftones […]
One of the greatest rock and roll bands from the early 90’s is undoubtedly Pearl Jam, featuring frontman Eddie Vedder, lead guitarist Mike McCreedy, the rhythm guitars of Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, and drummer Matt Cameron. As part of their upcoming 20 year anniversary celebration, the Seattle rockers recently re-released their landmark record Ten Deluxe […]
Prepare to blast off into the galaxy with Elder and their eponymous five-track jaunt that reaches to infinity and beyond. Capturing the space rock vibe down to each throbbing bass note, stabilizing scrawl of feedback, and cosmic guitar riff, this nubile Massachusetts trio mold themselves after bands like Sleep and Electric Wizard, imbibing the magic […]