Doro Pesch is the epitome of a metal repping lifer. Not just one of the nicest people in metal who regularly remembers everyone’s birthday and a constant genre cheerleader, but also one of the greatest front-people to ever hype up a crowd. Her heartfelt and classic albums have stood the test of time and embodies “True Heavy Metal” just as much as a masculine landmark like Manowar‘s ‘Louder Than Hell’.
In 2020, Ensiferum released their critically acclaimed full-length, Thalassic, via Metal Blade Records. Ensiferum has now booked a short headline tour through Central Europe for next spring!
Although the brand of epic European power metal that Crystal Viper performs is most definitely up my street, I must preclude this review by admitting that aside from hearing the odd song here and there, I have had no real exposure to them on a studio album level. The Cult, is the Polish act’s eighth full-length release in a legacy that has thus far lasted eighteen years. At face value, a band that maintains that level of consistency would have me assume they have nailed down a singular style and were comfortable releasing records in said style without a whole lot of variation. It is therefore with a great sense of irony that my first review of their noise is of a disc which caught me completely off guard by occupying a different scene entirely. The sweetly epic elements the band is known for are certainly present in The Cult, but the power metal is largely downplayed in favour of a more classic but simultaneously epic style of heavy metal, one that calls back to the days of bands like Accept and Saxon without ever sounding derivative of either.
It feels rather redundant to preface this year’s celebration of the music that got us through what was annus horribilis maximus unprecedentius with much of a narrative of 2020 because we were all affected. We all lived through it. Some of us in un-splendid isolation. Some of us irreversibly overhauling the way we live, work, and support our dependents. Some of us welcomed changes we had to make while mourning the root cause behind them and that each and every person on this planet we call home was affected, impacted, and touched in a negative way by the events of a global pandemic and high-profile political situations.Continue reading
The Palladium, Worcester, MA 11/22/19
An Indiegogo campaign has been launched to support the employees of both The Worcester Palladium and Webster theatre, two venues in New England that have been hosts to thousands of metal, hardcore, and rock shows and countless other events for decades. Both venues are operated by Mass Concerts, and the fundraiser is to bring relief aid to their workers due to the cancellation from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition to hosting now retired events such as The New England Metal and Hardcore Festival and the Rock N Shock Convention, last years amazing Self Help Fest by A Day To Remember the venues have hosted bands such as Blink-182, Bring Me The Horizon, Chelsea Grin, Ensiferum, Evanescence, Eyes on Satellites, Fall Out Boy, Fathom Farewell, Four Year Strong, Gov’t Mule, Gwar, Hatebreed, Ice Nine Kills, In Honor Of, Jerry Garcia Band, Jimmy Eat World, Kanye West, King Diamond, Korn, Logic, Motionless in White, My Chemical Romance, Nightwish, Of Mice & Men, Periphery, Protest the Hero, Reveille, Rob Zombie, Senses Fail, Sic Vita, Slayer, Sonata Arctica, Soundgarden, Straight Line Stitch, Suicide Silence, Twelve Foot Ninja, Twenty One Pilots, Tyler The Creator, Whitechapel, Wiz Khalifa, and Years Since the Storm. Please donate if you can and read a statement from the venues management below. Continue reading
Brutal Assault 2019 has added another bunch of bands for the next edition of the festival! New bands added include Parkway Drive, Azusa, Nordjevel, Combichrist, Caspian, Violent Magic Orchestra, Caspian, Déluge, Frog Leap, and Hexis. the bill with more to come. One-hundred and thirty bands will play in the ancient and legendary Josefov Fortress castle on four stages all weekend from 7 -10 August 2019. The full list of bands so far can be seen below and tickets are on sale now from the event page.
10/27/18, LPR X, NYC. www.ghostcultmag.com
Brutal Assault 2019 has added another bunch of bands for the next edition of the festival Soilwork, Monster Magnet, Triumph of Death, Coven, Demolition Hammer, Wall Of Jericho, The Arson Project, The Contortionist, Vampilla, and Skeletal Remains to join the bill with more to come. One-hundred and thirty bands will play in the ancient and legendary Josefov Fortress castle on four stages all weekend from 7 -10 August 2019. The full list of bands so far can be seen below and tickets are on sale now from the event page.
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Brutal Assault 2019 has added another badass batch of bands for the next edition of the festival. Joining an incredible bill that already features greats such as Dimmu Borgir, Godflesh, Anthrax, Meshuggah, Carcass, Sacred Reich, and Carpenter Brut, new additions to the fest include Sodom, Sick Of It All, Therion, EyeHateGod, Gost, Wormed, and Vulvodynia. One-hundred and thirty bands will play in the ancient and legendary Josefov Fortress castle on four stages all weekend from 7 -10 August 2019. The full list of bands so far can be seen below and tickets are on sale now from the event page.Continue reading
Seven days into 2019 and I had my first of many shows for the year. The “Two Paths” Tour with Ensiferum, Septicflesh, and Arsis. When this tour got announced, I immediately got excited, as Arsis is always a good time and I just saw them a few months prior on the Bloodletting Tour back in October. Septicflesh has always been one of those bands that I love but never actively think about, but they are always a band that I could sit and listen to for hours. Ensiferum is just an all around good time. That being said, this tour is also a bit of a mixed bag of styles, Arsis is a band that used to regularly tour with the likes of Cattle Decapitation, Dying Fetus, and Misery Index. So seeing them on a tour bill with Greek Symphonic Death Metal (Septicflesh) and Finnish Folk Metal (Ensiferum), I knew this was going to be an interesting and worthwhile show… so let’s jump right into this bad Larry!Continue reading
