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Archive for February, 2014

MISS MAY I Releases Official Music Video for New Single ‘Gone’

Posted in All Metal, Artist Watch, New Music, News, Previews, Releases, Uncategorized with tags At Heart, For the Fallen Dreams, metal, metalcore, Miss May I, Monument, New Album, new music, Revolver Golden Gods, Rise of the Lion, Rock on the Range, Up close and personal tour. on February 28, 2014 by Randy

New Album ‘Rise Of The Lion’ Drops in North America on April 29, 2014 via Rise Records – Pre Order Today via www.MMIRiseOfTheLion.com

Upcoming “Up Close And Personal” Headline Tour Hits the U.S. East Coast in April/May 2014 with For The Fallen Dreams – Ticket Price Includes a Hard Copy CD!

MISS MAY I’s blistering new offering, Rise Of The Lion, is set to hit stores in North America on April 29, 2014 via Rise Records (April 28 in the UK, April 25 in Australia). This is MISS MAY I’s fourth album and the first to be produced by the legendary Terry Date (Pantera, Deftones, White Zombie, Bring Me The Horizon). The countless fan letters the band has received over the years are the inspiration for the tracks on Rise Of The Lion, and each track is written from the perspective of those fans or responses to them.

Today, the band slams out of the gate with a double dose of metal, offering up their brand new single ‘Gone’ along with its accompanying music video via the official Rise Of The Lion launch site, www.MMIRiseOfTheLion.com. Take a listen now and while visiting the site, check out the band’s three studio updates, as well as tour date information. Beginning today at the site, you can pre-order the album in digital, physical CD, and vinyl versions, as well as special pre-order packages including exclusive Rise Of The Lion shirts, necklaces, posters, and more!

“We wanted to release a video that showed the true bare bones of our band,” states frontman Levi Benton. “We really found ourselves on this new record and we felt we needed a video that had no bells and whistles and was just five guys jamming and thrashing. It also shows the creation of the album artwork, which is a real statement about MISS MAY I. The lion logo that is being tattooed represents our band as a whole.”

Levi adds, “‘Gone’ is about heartbreak and feeling like you are lost within that heartbreak. We know everyone has felt this, so as this record being letters back to our fans we wanted to address this. One too many times I have read a letter about someone feeling so broken they felt they felt like they couldn’t make it and that our music helped them find a way. This song is for them!”

The worldwide release of Rise Of The Lion will be supported by a brief headline tour of the United States this April and May, with support from For The Fallen Dreams. MISS MAY I’s “Up Close and Personal” Tour will stop in eight cities, including a closer in their home state of Ohio at Rock On The Range. Get this – each ticket price includes a copy of Rise Of The Lion hard copy CD!

MISS MAY I U.S. Tour Dates:

4/29 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen

4/30 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme

5/1 Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room at Crofoot Ballroom

5/2 Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose

5/3 New York, NY @ The Studio at Webster Hall

5/4 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar

5/6 Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary

5/18 Columbus, OH @ Rock On The Range

After the resounding underground success of their debut full-length release Monument, MISS MAY I took a step beyond the metalcore world they had grown up in with the release of their album At Heart in 2012. The record, produced by renowned record producer Machine (Lamb Of God), proved to be one of the strongest and most surprising metal records of the last few years, spawning huge singles in the songs ‘Hey Mister’ and ‘Day By Day’. Entering the Billboard Top 200 charts in its first week at #32, At Heart saw the band embrace a more mainstream metal approach to their music. During their 2012 Vans Warped Tour main stage onslaught, the At Heart campaign made massive leaps, seeing MISS MAY I nominated for ‘Best New Talent’ award at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards, as well as headlining the Alternative Press 2012 Tour, and picking up support at Active Rock Radio for the first time. On the live side, the band was hand-picked for tours with the likes of Five Finger Death Punch, Killswitch Engage and Bullet For My Valentine.

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Review: Chimaira at Altar Bar Pittsburgh, PA 2/5/2014

Posted in All Metal, Artist Watch, News, Photos, Reviews, Shows on February 20, 2014 by Randy

Regardless of the insanely low temperatures, there was one thing that pierced the air near the Strip District that Pittsburgh hadn’t experienced in quite some time: a hard hitting metal tour led by none other than the great Chimaira. The band kicked of 2014 by announcing their headlining “Celebrate the Chaos” tour, which includes some pretty chaotic bands on the bill as support. (Fit for an Autopsy, Reflections, Oceano, and I Wrestled a Bear Once)

The show opened up with two local bands playing, and well, let’s all be happy they weren’t a notion of things to come for the night. I’m not sure if it was ill preparation or just the pressure of opening for some stellar acts, but the locals dropped the ball on this one. They seemed to have problems of every sort…from instrument difficulties, to long stuttering pauses in between songs, and what seemed to be nerves in their voices, regardless if it was during clean vocals or demon like screams. The verdict? Weaksauce.

Following the openers, Reflections stepped up and took control of the venue and everyone in it. By the midway point of the opening song they managed to have the whole floor turn into a huge mosh pit full of flying elbows and spin kicks. Continuing the barrage were Fit for an Autopsy and Oceano…two very heavy metal bands who both put on a good show filled with hard hitting guitar riffs and demon like “pig squeal” vocals that really got the crowd out of their shell and into circle pit after circle pit. But let’s not forget to mention the two bands everyone came for, I Wrestled a Bear Once and Chimaira. If you haven’t seen IWABO live, put it on your bucket list because you are missing out on some technical guitar riffs, unique female vocals, and their ability to connect with every single person in the crowd during and in between songs.

There is a reason Chimaira have been around for Fifteen years and are still going strong. Not only did they have an innovative style that set them above every other band of the new wave American Metal, but they possess an array of songs that enable them to put on a clinic. From Mark Hunter’s (vocalist) intensity on stage to their ear piercing guitar riffs, they leave their presence known before the first song is over. While on this tour you can expect Chimaira to play songs off their most recent release “Crown of Phantoms,” to the old-school favorites “Resurrection,” “Power Trip,” and even “Pure Hatred.” This tour is still in its early stages so check out the dates when it comes to a city near you. Oh yeah, brush off your moshing boots and go to a show, because a tour this badass doesn’t come around very often!

Chimaira, a set by logan.rocktribune on Flickr.

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The 2014 ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL to Announce Cities and Venues Next Week

Posted in All Metal, News with tags 2014 Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, Mayhem Fest, Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest, tour dates on February 14, 2014 by Randy

The world’s biggest heavy music touring music festival is back and ready to pummel in 2014. The ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL is announcing this year’s cities and venues next Tuesday, February 18^th.

The ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL has listened to the fans and promises to answer the prayers of heavy metal crusaders everywhere, assuring the most bold and diverse line-up to date! Tune into www.rockstarmayhemfest.com on March 31^st for the announcement of this year’s highly-anticipated line-up of artists, as well as some additional special surprises.

Tickets for the ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL go on sale on April 5^th.

This year’s odyssey will include four stages of heavy music and 19 bands. Also, look for Freestyle Motocross and a Motorsports exhibition area, as well as many other surprises and attractions.

For more information, keep tuned in to www.rockstarmayhemfest.com.

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SPARTAN RECORDS SIGNS NORWEGIAN HARDCORE BAND BARREN WOMB;

Posted in Artist Watch, New Music, News, Previews, Releases with tags Barren Womb, Hardcore, Kill Hicks, Norwegian, Norwegian Hardcore, Spartan Records, The sun's not yellow it's chicken on February 14, 2014 by Randy

Stream Barren Womb’s Hard Hitting New Track “Kill Hicks” Today At BrooklynVegan.com

Seattle based indie label Spartan Records is proud to announce the signing of Norwegian hardcore band Barren Womb and the upcoming release of their debut full-length album, The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken, onMarch 11th . The record will be available digitally and on limited edition vinyl, which can be pre-ordered now athttp://spr.tn/barrenwomb.

In anticipation for the upcoming release, BrooklynVegan.com has premiered the first new track, “Kill Hicks,” today. Stream it now at http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2014/01/norwegian_hardc.html.

“”Kill Hicks” was one of the last songs we finished up for the record, and it came together fast,” says guitarist/vocalist Tony Gonzahl. “We had this kind of bluegrass influenced riff kicking about for a little while, but hadn’t really had the chance to do much with it. Then one day we started jamming and that riff came up. A couple of hours later we had the song pretty much done. Although there is a lot of beauty to humanity, I feel that right now the negative far outweighs the positive. This is not a holier-than-thou attitude, I most definitely see myself as part of the problem. Lyrically Kill Hicks deals with apathy and the bleak future ahead of us if we continue on this path.”

Formed late 2011 in Trondheim, Norway, the duo, featuring Gonzahl and Timo Silvola (drums), blends hardcore punk with elements of black metal, rock ‘n’ roll, and country to create a nasty swill all of their own, while recalling some of the greats before them like Refused, Turbonegro, The Bronx, Drive Like Jehu and The Hives. Sometimes it’s fast and intense, other times slow and pulsating. Seldom however is it quite like anything heard before, always keeping somewhat to the left of the beaten path.

After a handful of successful singles and EP’s, the Norwegian noise mongers are now set to unleash their first full length, entitled The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken, with their new label Spartan Records.

“We went to the top of the world to find our newest band and we couldn’t be more excited about releasing the debut full-length album from the Norway’s Barren Womb,” says Spartan Records’ label head John Frazier. As only a duo, they have written one of the most interesting heavy records of the year – a record that is diverse from beginning to end and ripe with some strong commentary about the current state of our world. We can’t wait for people to hear the record on March 11th!

From the first jangly chords of the opener “Kill Hicks,” The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken quickly becomes apparent how much the band has grown since their previous efforts. The dynamics are broader, the songwriting more focused and the sound is heavier – all topped off with the bleakest lyrics they’ve written to date.

Recorded by Ole Spangrud of Mørkemakt at Better Than Your Fucking Studio Studios and mixed by the band themselves, The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken features 13 blisteringly honest noise punk ditties, all set in the key of apocalypse. Look for it at digital outlets and on limited edition vinyl on March 11th on Seattle’s Spartan Records.

Follow Barren Womb now at https://www.facebook.com/barrenwomb for additional news and updates.

The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken Track Listing:

1. Kill Hicks

2. Will you be God’s art or Satan’s graffiti?

3. Evil prevails

4. Only Rain Man doesn’t change

5. Nábrók

6. Obi-Wan Chernobyl

7. From robot jobs to robot homes

8. Live fast, die.

9. Bong Aqua

10. Zombies never go out of style