On November 3, 2019, the relatively quiet college town of New Haven, CT welcomed a five-part, earth-shaking line up to their prized venue, Toad’s Place. Back-to-back headbangers, Santa Cruz, Tempting Fate, He Is Legend and Whitechapel, all supported Atreyu on their 20th-anniversary tour and packed out the intimate venue. None of the “do not mosh” signs stood a chance against the excitable and enthusiastic fans who could not resist a circle pit.Continue reading
The lights came up… and it was all over.
This has been the scenario for thousands of shows I have seen. Maybe 6,000 plus shows that I have attended or performed in since I was a small child. The final bow, thunderous applause, and the blinding lights of the house coming on, our shared experience ending as we gather ourselves to go to the bar, or home. Except this was different. This was the last time I would ever see Slayer. It was definitely hitting me, long before the final notes of ‘Angel of Death’ rang out and the final jets of pyro screamed across the top of the band in a way that would excite Beavis and Butthead to no end. Continue reading
Exit 111 Festival, aptly named for the highway exit in Manchester TN, made its début October 11-13, 2019. Arriving in powers of three, it was three days of riffs, rock, and rowdiness. One part Metal, one part Rock, one Southern rock, and a whole lot of nostalgia, the event hosted three stages: the Rise Above Stage (honored suicide awareness and featured many of the Classic rock/Southern rock acts), Heaven Stage (the main stage and home to the headliners), and Hell Stage (spotlighted mainly heavy artists).Continue reading
When thinking of the power metal scene in general, you would be forgiven for not necessarily considering Britain an institution of it. Considering that Germany has offered the worldwide scene the likes of Helloween and Blind Guardian, and Finnish groups such as Stratovarius and Sonata Arctica, it is unsurprising that power metal shows in the UK come few and far between, despite the country’s roots in the highly influential NWOBHM genre.Continue reading
If you have read these web pages of Ghost Cult, you know one of our favorite albums of 2019 is the solo début album from William DuVall of Alice In Chains. While many know him for fronting that legendary band since their comeback in 2006. However, as discussed in our review of One Alone, Duvall’s lengthy career has traversed genres and time-space in a way that all great singer/songwriters can. The album is introspective, yet fiery and lends itself to this solo setting. With the artist doing a brief tour to promote the release, we were excited to see a new side of the man in person at Cutting Room in midtown east neighborhood of Manhattan. Continue reading
When Axl Rose waxed romantically about cold November rain in back in 1992, he clearly wasn’t singing about Leeds on a Saturday morning. A cold, depressing day darkened by oppressive black clouds showering their misery relentlessly from above, there is nothing romantic about Leeds city centre. However, above the sound of rain pelting against umbrella canopies, and cars splashing through ankle-high lakes of dirty water, there is hope. Somewhere out there is Damnation Festival.Continue reading
We were back at the Worcester Palladium for the massive fall tour co-headline tour of Municipal Waste and Napalm Death, with Sick Of It All and Take Offense as support! The venue had been home to the annual Rock and Shock all weekend, “3 days of Metal and Horror”. The weekend had already seen the likes of Korpiklanni, Eluveitie, Revocation, with locals like Vivisepulture, and Ice Giant (Day 1) and Day 2 was dominated by the folks over at Psychopathic Records with the Insane Clown Posse and all their friends as well, with a few local bands opening on the second stage upstairs.Continue reading
Like most metalheads, I’ve been to a lot of metal shows over the years. Over the hundreds of metal shows I’ve attended, never once did I think to myself “You know what would make this even better? Being trapped on a boat in the middle of the fucking ocean.” And yet, having taken some time to reflect on my experiences aboard the inaugural MegaCruise by Megadeth, I revel in the memories of experiencing choppy water while thrashing through the Pacific, convinced I’m going to die on a boat watching Dragonforce and being oddly ok with it. Continue reading
The bright blue paint job on The Sanctuary makes it the most inviting building on Cardiff Street. Nestled in the middle of Hamtramck, a pint-sized town in Detroit, The Sanctuary is actually one of the most inviting music venues in the whole city. The Canadian Death Metal act, Beyond Creation brought their proggy and technical goodness to Ham Town earlier this week. It was the second to last gig on a month-long tour with Fallujah, Arkaik, and Equipoise. The band has been promoting their most recent full-length album, Algorythm (Season of Mist) on this run and hearing it played in full made for a perfect Metal Monday. Continue reading
Music, throughout history, has had a way of influencing the social behavior and norms found in human societies. Music is a universal language that is capable of bridging the gap between disparate people and entire social classes, cultures, and continents. Music can also be a tremendously personal thing, a song that has certain significance to one person may hold no meaning for the next. The current immeasurable dissonance in the social climate that spans the entire globe seems to push lost souls to seek comfort in music. In my humble Skullgurl opinion, that reason alone is why the world needs more bands like the four I saw on the second day of October 2019.Continue reading