Ojayy of Ghost Cult caught up with Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying to discuss the new album from Austrian Death Machine, “Quad Brutal” out now from Napalm Records! Tim discussed his lifelong love of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his films, his influence on the worlds of pop culture and fitness, Tim’s approaches to writing and producing, the timeline for new AILD music and touring, his other projects, and more! Continue reading
Brought to you by Danny Wimmer Presents, the biggest presenter of Rock and Metal festivals in the USA, Inkcarceration Tattoo & Music Festival has released the full line-up for 2024. Taking place July 19th to the 21st at the Historic Ohio State Reformatory, the festival boasts headliners Breaking Benjamin, Godsmack, Shinedown, The Offspring, Halestorm, Bad Omens, Parkway Drive, as well as Killswitch Engage, Machine Head, Shadows Fall, Biohazard, As I Lay Dying and many more. Tickets are available at the link below. Continue reading
Everything is cyclical, isn’t it? These days I read numerous think pieces telling me how Nu-Metal is experiencing a revival. There are even young bands like Tetrarch and Tallah that openly identify themselves as being nu-metal acts. Would’ve never thought that possible ten years ago. No way. But yet here we are, and it seems like we all plan to attend the Coal Chamber show.
After their biggest year ever this year, Hellfest 2023 has booked headliners Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden, and Slipknot! Set to take place June 15-18, 2023 In Clisson, France, the bill also includes Def Leppard, Pantera, Porcupine Tree, Amon Amarth, Alter Bridge And Within Temptation, and more! Headliners for the 2022 edition of Hellfest included Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Judas Priest, Deftones, Ghost, Scorpions, and Korn over two long weekends to make up for the missed pandemic year of 2020.
Pantera, Disturbed, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, Architects, Behemoth, Kreator, Meshuggah, Gojira, Parkway Drive, Testament, Voivod are among the 103 artists who have been added to the 26th edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting, set to take place June 15-18, 2023 in Dessel, Belgium. Tickets are on sale tomorrow at the links below. Continue reading
God Forbid has revealed that Nick Hipa, formerly of As I Lay Dying will be the second guitarist at their reunion show at this year’s Blue Ridge Rock Festival. The announcement was made over social media, as the band has been posting rehearsal footage and pictures.
On Absolute (Rise Records), Kublai Khan ticks off a lot of the boxes I’m looking for in modern Metallic Hardcore or extreme music, but something isn’t quite passing state inspection. They’re blending equal parts Hardcore and Metal fury, have meaty breakdowns, occasional Thrash tempos and happen to be from Texas. I should like this. Or I should like this a bit more. Continue reading
I remember the great commercial Metalcore boom of the mid-aughts like it was yesterday. I was in the twilight years of high school, about 30 pounds lighter and with no useful insight into how to drive a car or pleasure a woman. I had it all figured out. You may not believe it, but I am wearing an As I Lay Dying tee as I type this. Heart of a Coward‘s The Disconnect (Arising Empire) takes me back to many an evening in 2004 hanging with the homies. Continue reading
As I Lay Dying front man Tim Lambesis was released from prison last December after spending roughly two years behind bars for his 2013 plot to have his then wife, Meggan Lambesis, murdered. Last night he broke his silence for the first time since his release with a lengthy apology on Facebook. Continue reading
Seeing that it is 2016, and it has been two years since Our Endless War, it seems that we are due for another studio album from Knoxville’s pride and joy, Whitechapel. And right on cue here it is in the form of Mark of the Blade (Metal Blade).
Young bands could stand to learn from that work ethic as it netted Whitechapel a Billboard Top 10 spot for Our Endless War. That’s a pretty awesome feat for a Metal Blade artist. If memory serves me right, the last time someone on that stable landed on such a lofty chart spot was As I Lay Dying. Yeah, that one didn’t end well.
Will Mark of the Blade spring the trick again? Yeah, probably. After all this is the album that’s been making headlines on metal news sites for containing clean vocals (‘Bring me Home,’ ‘Decennium’) and taking aim at elitists (uh, ‘Elitist Ones’).
Plus it follows the same game plan as Our Endless War and the self-titled before it. What’s that said game plan? It’s less deathcore or death metal and quickly making itself comfortable in the real estate that housed Devildriver for so long; “groove metal”. Who came up with that moniker? Hell, if I fucking know, but it’s certainly proved itself popular. To me it loosely translates to some kind of mutant post-thrash metal. I guess it became vogue in the aftermath of Pantera. If it truly is a subgenre, then its best albums are Burn My Eyes, Chaos A.D., and Wolverine Blues.
But you know what the funny part is? The best moments here are the non-groove bits. That’s not discounting tracks like ‘Dwell in the Shadows,’ ‘Venomous’ and the aptly titled ‘Tremors’ which will fit nicely along Whitechapel live staples like ‘The Saw is the Law.’ But what’s most impressive is that the clean vocals, albeit sparse, truly work. It’s not unlike in Lamb of God’s melodic turn in ‘Overlord.’ And the fact that they were feeling ballsy enough to try an instrumental in ‘Brotherhood’ that has some ‘The Call of Ktulu’ leanings to it.
So, it’s another solid release from Whitechapel, who will likely continue to forge onwards to decent sales and many a Summer tour. Groove metal be damned, there are plenty of cool moments here. I mean, I could do without ‘Mark of the Blade’ and ‘Elitist Ones,’ but there’s more than enough to make for those missteps. Now excuse me, I have to find more subgenres to dislike.
7.0/10
HANSEL LOPEZ
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