Keefy and Don fill in for Nik and kick off a new series on Alice In Chains! We go deep on the history of that scene from Henadrix, Heart, Queensryche, Metal Church, Nevermore to the glam rock and proto grunge of Mother Love Bone, Skin Yard, Green River, Melvins, Screaming Trees, and more!
Sporting more fuzz than a Pomeranian, Pamplemousse‘s Porcelain (A Tant Rêver du Roi) shows its Grunge and Garage roots. Sporting heavy guitar distortion and ample drums (it’s a duo), these thirty-nine minutes cruise by.
Kalamazoo, Michigan is home to Bronson Arm (Blake Bickel – Guitar/Vocals, Garrett Yates – Drums) who are back with a new release a mere year after last year’s self-titled debut. The oddly titled Casket Schwagg (Learning Curve Records) is described as a politically charged album by Bickel despite the band not being politically charged themselves, whether this proves potentially off-putting to some remains to be seen. Continue reading
I wasn’t there to play, just to snap photos, but let me tell you, this show was fire. Filter opened for Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains), and as a concert photographer, I gotta say, it was like a dream combo. Raw energy, grunge legends, and a crowd that was just alive. It was a night to remember.Continue reading
The Velveteers will release their highly anticipated sophomore album A Million Knives. Recorded in collaboration with The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach, the new record will be released via Easy Eye Sound, Auerbach’s record label.Continue reading
Jerry Cantrell, he of Alice in Chains fame, has returned with I Want Blood (Double J Music). It is his fourth solo record and continues the Grunge flavoured Hard Rock and Metal he is known for with an array of famous friends popping in, including Duff McKagan (Guns N Roses), Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Better Lovers) and the production help of Joe Barresi (Slipknot, Clutch, Tool, Mastodon) amongst others. Continue reading
From the fuzzy Alt Rock and early Foo Fighters vibe of “Vienna,” German rockers Birds View’s second album House of Commando (Drakkar Entertainment) starts as it means to go on. Influenced by ‘90s alternative rock acts such as the aforementioned Foos, Soundgarden, and Queens of the Stone Age, HOC is primed with propulsive, straight-to-the-point songs that do not outstay their welcome. Continue reading
How can a certified metal guy explain to the reader how this album has gone from being the enemy to a close friend?Continue reading
How many times have you heard a band described as genuinely “unsettling” to listen to? In all honesty, this scribe in question has probably described a few in writing as such. Well, more than likely those acts cannot come even close to the nauseating realism, punishing content and sonic barrage of New York’s Couch Slut over the last few years.
A genre-striding quartet from Blackpool, Blanket are back with their latest album, Ceremonia (Church Road Records). It is their third record and sees them continue their emotive brand of Post-Rock and Shoegaze, with the metal influences from their previous album Modern Escapism replaced with nineties Alternative Rock. Continue reading