Rustyn Rose

White Wizzard – Infernal Overdrive

Record Label: M.Theory Audio

Release Date: January 12, 2018

White Wizzard has always been a bit disconcerting for fans. Every release has marked a different line-up, with only founder, bassist, and principal composer, Jon Leon as the group’s anchor. That said, White Wizzardhave never strayed away from their classic metal sound, and that is something the fans can…

PRIMAL FEAR back in the studio recording the ‘Apocalypse’

PRIMAL FEAR are back in the studio working on their upcoming new album, Apocalypse. 12 brand new crushing heavy metal tracks have been selected, out of 30 newly written tracks, which will be produced by PF’s own Mat Sinner and engineered & mixed by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios in Denmark. The album is tentatively scheduled for release in mid-2018.

New song titles include “Apocalypse”, “New…

ICE AGE Interview: Sabrina Kihlstrand ‘On Top of the World’ with long overdue debut ‘Breaking the Ice’

Three decades is a long time for a fan to wait for their favorite band’s debut album. It is perhaps even more torturous for the musicians that have to watch the band they created be torn apart on the cusp of a breakthrough and to sit dormant for a quarter century before finally getting to record their first record. That is the tragedy and triumph of Sweden’s Ice Age.

As I wrote in my recent review

Album Review: ICE AGE – Breaking the Ice

Ice Age – Breaking the Ice

Label: GMR Music

Release Date: October 20, 2017

Fans of Sweden’s Ice Age have waited three decades for the band’s debut album, but those long-suffering faithful have finally been rewarded. The Gothenburg-based quartet was founded as Rock Solid in 1985 by vocalist Sabrina Kihlstrand and guitarist Pia Nyström. The following year, as the unit’s sound shifted from power…

Video Premiere: A SOUND OF THUNDER wield the ‘Lifebringer’

Anticipation for A Sound of Thunder’s next studio album, It Was Metal, has been soaring of late. The quartet’s Kickstarter campaignfor the record is the band’s most successful to date, and there is still time for new fans to climb aboard. The album’s first single, “Els Segadors (The Reapers),” a metallized reimagining of the Catalonia National anthem, has placed the band squarely in the global…

Avatar, who released the best metal album of 2017 with Feathers & Flesh, kickstarted the event. The quintet fronted by Johannes Eckerstrom performed a 7-song set that included tracks from their three most recent albums; Black Waltz, Hail the Apocalypse, and the aforementioned, Feathers & Flesh. From the latter they played the hits, “New Land” and “The Eagle Has Landed.” The band opened the set with “Hail the Apocalypse,” and closed it out with fan favorites, “Let it Burn” and “Smells Like a Freak Show.” “Paint Me Red” and “Bloody Angel” were also in the set. Noticeably absent was the new single, “A Statue of the King” from their forthcoming new album, Avatar Country due January 12.

Of Mice & Men are touring in support of their most recent studio release, Cold World. It marked the band’s first Boise appearance with bassist Aaron Pauley handling lead vocals after the departure of Austin Carlile last year. The band opened up their 9-song set with a new track, “Unbreakable,” from their forthcoming as yet-to-be titled studio album. The group placed most of its focus on its 2014 Restoring Force album, playing five tracks from the record including;  “Would You Still Be There,” “Bones Exposed,” “Public Service Announcement,” “Never Giving Up,” and “You Make Me Sick.” The only performed one track, “Pain” from the most recent album, and two from 2011’s The Flood including show closer, “The depths.”

In This Moment has become the modern-day Alice Cooper, with constant set and wardrobe changes, a truckload of props and a cast of extras. Vocalist Maria Brink remains the primary focus of the show, and her incredible voice and stage presence never fail to pull the crowd into her embrace. The band opened with its mammoth hit, “Blood” and closed with another fan favorite, “Whore.” In between the group’s attention turned to its latest album, Ritual from which they delivered six tracks including; the hits “Oh Lord” and “Roots” as well as “Lay Your Gun Down,” “River of Fire,” “Black Wedding” and their cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” Midway through the set, Brink takes her leave while the guys kick out a monster jam of some classic covers including Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Also performed were the songs, “Sick Like Me,” “Burn,” and “Adrenalize.” Brink enthralled the crowd throughout, with the darkly menacing Chris Howorth (guitar), Randy Weitzel (guitar), Travis Johnson (bass), and Kent Diimmel (drums) serving force as her rhythmic metal minions.

All photos © 2017 Katarzyna Cepek Photography

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CANNIBAL CORPSE kick off tour with POWER TRIP, GATECREEPER this week

CANNIBAL CORPSE will kick off their US headlining tour in support of their upcoming Red Before Black full-length this week. The tour will commence on November 3rd and run through December 8th with support provided by Power Trip and Gatecreeper. See all confirmed dates below.

Many words come to mind when you hear the name CANNIBAL CORPSE, but one truly defines the soon-to-be thirty-year death…

Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds came out with Eagles of Death Metal garbed in a  big curly wig to perform on their opening song, “I Only Want You.”  EoDM are touring in support of their 2015 release, Zipper Down. Included in the set along with their own trademark anthems were covers of Duran Duran‘s “Save a Prayer,” David Bowie‘s “Moonage Daydream,” and the Boots Electric classic, “Complexity.”

Chicago-based instrumental post metal trio, Russian Circles opened the show performing songs from their most recent studio album, Guidance and back catalog. Included in the short set were the tracks, “Afrika,” “309,” “Geneva,” and “Deficit.”

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All photos © 2017 Katarzyna Cepek Photography

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, ANTHRAX announce ‘KillThrax II’ Tour with HAVOK

‘Evil Dead II.’ ‘Dawn of the Dead.’ ‘The Godfather: Part 2.’ ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’ All sequels that are better than the original. Add ‘KillThrax II’ to that list. Back by popular demand, KillThrax is coming at ya again my friends.” — Scott Ian, Anthrax

What do you do when you’ve co-headlined one of the hottest metal touring packages of 2017? Well, like any rock band that cares about its…

Album Review: BABYLON A.D. – Revelation Highway

Babylon A.D. – Revelation Highway

Label: Frontiers Music

Release Date: November 3, 2017

I hold a special place in my heart for Babylon A.D. and their brand of soulful hard rock swagger. I grew up with these Bay Area boys plying their wares first as The Persuaders, and ultimately as Babylon A.D.I find it pretty impressive that these three decades later the crux of the original line-up remains…

Play kill or be killed with Dave Mustaine in Halloween Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!

Halloween is all about fear, fun, and so-bad-they’re-good horror movies. This year’s addition to the season is Halloween Pussy Trap Kill! Kill!. Think Rob Zombie meets Saw. The movie and accompanying soundtrack make for dark, cheesy fun. Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine shares film credit alongside Richard Grieco (21 Jump Street, If Looks Could Kill, A Night at the Roxbury), Sara Malakul Lane (Pernicious…

Album Review: IRIS DIVINE – The Static and the Noise

Iris Divine – The Static and the Noise

Label: Independent

Release Date: October 6, 2017

Iris Divine was founded nearly a decade ago in Centreville, Virginia by bassist Brian Dobbs, vocalist/guitarist Navid Rashid, and former members Tanvir Tomal and Farhad Hossain. The quartet released a self-titled EP in 2008, followed by its debut independently released full-length, Convergencein 2011. The…

PÄNZER Interview: SCHMIER talks good friends and good vibes on ‘Fatal Command’

Pänzer is back with its sophomore album, Fatal Command, and this time the guys have gone back to their early roots as fans to tap into the vibe of the NOWOBHM and traditional metal sound that influenced their own bands. Pänzer was born in 2014 when Destruction mastermind Schmier teamed up with former Accept members Stefan Schwarzmann and Herman Frank. The trio unleashed its debut album Send Them…

A SOUND OF THUNDER release tribute National Anthem for Catalonia

A SOUND OF THUNDER has released a metal version of the Catalonian national anthem “Els Segadors (The Reapers)” on Youtube in the form of an official lyric video. The lyric video can be viewed below.

“Els Segadors (The Reapers)” will appear on  A SOUND OF THUNDER’s  seventh studio album It Was Metal. The song was not originally planned for release ahead of the album, but the band has decided to…

ACT OF DEFIANCE Interview: SHAWN DROVER reveals ‘Old Scars New Wounds’

When drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick made their sudden departure from Megadeth in 2014, many thought they might have lost their minds, yet the duo knew exactly what they were doing. From that fateful decision, Act of Defiance was born. The two busied themselves with writing the music that would become their appropriately titled debut release, Birth and the Burial. In former…