When you have hours upon hours in a dorm room to just listen to music, you often find a lot of bands as they’re introduced to the greater metal world. Namely, Torche’s Harmonicraft was a something special. The band’s third LP combined sludge metal and some catchy hooks to do something unique and different. Now, 2019 brings their fifth, Admission, and with it we see an aging band, coming forward once more with longevity in mind.
I’m not terribly well-versed in industrial metal, but I get the basics of it. Bands like Ministry, Fear Factory, and especially the early Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson albums are what I’ve been versed in over the years, so there’s some understanding there. Typically I’m not excited by the genre, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t putting this review off. Industrial is just a hit-or-miss thing, and there’s nothing I can really do about that because I love riffs and blast beats. Damned if I do, though, I will admit: 3Teeth are an enigma in this philosophy of mine. You might’ve heard about them, and they’re surely picking up steam in the past few months, and...
The Witcher is about to be one of Netflix’s flagship series. With critically acclaimed video games made in the past decade, as well as best selling books all over the world, the series is set to be adapted into a full series. If you’re already missing Game of Thrones, then you only have to wait a few months to fill that void.
Neurot Recordings is the gift that keeps on giving. Chrch have been at the grind for the past couple of years, but with each subsequent release have they come to the forefront of modern doom metal. Light Will Consume, the band’s second debut album, is a certified sludge-laden doom triumph that is just as massive in scale as it is with sheer grime and despair. If you’re on the west coast, then boy do I have some news for you.
Upping the ante on an annual SDCC tradition, IDW Publishing will host TWO industry legends – Stan Sakai (creator of the critically acclaimed Usagi Yojimbo) and Walter Simonson (legendary writer/artist of The Mighty Thor, Manhunter, and Ragnarök) for one very special dinner to which YOU are invited!
I‘m a simple man – I hear that Geoff Tate is playing Operation: Mindcrime in full, and I go. I’m not hard to please, and we’ve already been over the fact that I love this album and that getting to experience it in full is something special. Everyone know’s it’s perfect, right? In the event that it’s news to you, Operation: Mindcrime is kind of a big deal and is highly regarded as a classic by heavy metal/prog metal standards. Geoff Tate toured to celebrate the album’s 30th (!!!) anniversary last year and the party’s still going in 2019. In a time when everyone’s playing albums in full, rarely is it appropriate for an album of this significance to be performed.
Louisville’s FLAW has been a mainstay in the hard rock/metal scene for over twenty years. With Chris Volz at the helm, the band has been touring the country nonstop. FLAW’s latest release, VOL IV: Because of the Brave, hits hard with a heavy sound apt for headbanging. Amid the rocking hooks, the band offers songs with a mixture of personal, patriotic, and heartfelt lyrics. The new album drops on July 19, 2019, via Pavement Entertainment.
2019 marks the 30th anniversary of THE CULT‘s seminal album SONIC TEMPLE. To celebrate the anniversary, Beggars Arkive will release THE CULT: SONIC TEMPLE 30 on September 13. It will be released as a deluxe box set and a 5-CD set, plus the label will reissue a Sonic Temple on Double LP, which has been out of print for over 20 years.
In between writing sessions for a new album due in 2020, Anthrax – Joey Belladonna/vocals, Charlie Benante/drums, Scott Ian/guitars, Frank Bello/bass, and Jonathan Donias/guitars – have been traveling the world this first half of 2019, supporting Slayer on numerous dates of its Final World Tour, and playing major music festivals in Australia, South America, all parts of Europe, and Japan.
