The new Black Star Riders album Wrong Side of Paradise signals the end of one era and the start of a new one. After eight years with Nuclear Blast this, their fifth record, is their first with Earache Records, their first without co-founding guitarist Scott Gorham, and their first as a quartet.
Critics who claim Rock And Roll is dead have not listened to Wisconsin native Jared James Nichols’ self-titled third album (Black Hill Records) which is filled with twelve pieces of evidence to the contrary. Nichols is known for his signature pick-less style and is one of only four global ambassadors for Gibson Guitars, which certainly sets expectations high for what you are about to experience.Continue reading
Let’s be real—You don’t get to do a tour three times without it being a damn good tour. The Trinity Of Terror, comprised of horror metal icons Ice Nine Kills, Black Veil Brides, and Motionless In White, hit the road together for one more time.
Ghost Cult caught up with Classless Act at Aftershock festival! Derek, Franco, and Dane chatted with Keefy all about their experience touring with Motley Crue and Def Leppard all year, their collaborative nature as a group, what they are looking forward to in 2023, and their upcoming unplugged EP!
Chicago is renowned for being home to some of the country’s most acclaimed concert venues. Lincoln Hall resides just north of downtown and has been voted as one of the best spots for live music in the city by sites like Yelp and Foursquare. The owners of Schubas Tavern opened their second location in 2009 in a hundred-year-old building and have been hosting transcendent live appearances since. Soen picked well to make this their Midwest stop on their one-month-long North American tour.
We chatted with Mark Vollelunga of Nothing More, who just released their new album “Spirits” via their label Better Noise Music. Mark discussed the current state of the music industry, their new album “Spirits” – the nature of being more experimental for the first time in the bands’ career, the time and care spent on album production, how the band approaches songcraft, how to write an “arena rock song,” and much more! Continue reading
Having a father famous in the same field as you must be a blessing and a curse – being the son of Diego Maradonna, Michael Schumacher, Paul McCartney or Bob Dylan helps get your foot in the door but are hard acts to follow. Eddie Van Halen was the best of the best and after his untimely passing in 2020, his son Wolfgang focused his energies on his solo project Mammoth WVH. His self-titled debut came out a year later, with Wolfgang playing all the instruments himself.
This deluxe edition comes with three extra tracks, the best of which is ‘Talk and Walk’ – a stomping rocker with a smooth, AOR chorus. As for the album, as a whole, it is a decent offering of arena-friendly hard rock, with alternative, Foo Fighters, and Alter Bridge influences. It starts off with ‘Mr. Ed’, a glossy alt-rock bruiser with a sweet chorus and a 4/4 rhythm, a fiery tip of the hat to his dad.
With its seventy-minute runtime you certainly get your money’s worth, from the punchy swagger of ‘Horribly Right’ to the crunchy guitars, short and sweet solo, and thunderous drums of ‘You’ll Be The One’ there is plenty here to like. The best ones are ‘The Big Picture ‘ and ‘You’re To Blame’ – the former is a hefty slab of metal with a pounding riff and a consummately crafted chorus, the latter a sharp alt rocker made for radio with a fiery solo. Not far behind is ‘Feel’ – a lively, Foo Fighters-like track powered with a sprightly drum beat and a restless rhythm.
It is not all thrashing guitars and distortion, he lets his softer and poppier side out occasionally – the lush guitars and the soaring vocal harmonies of ballad ‘Resolve’ offers a sweetly struck bit of variety. Alas the other moments do not quite reach these heights, with ‘Circles’ sounding like a humdrum version of ‘How Soon is Now’ by The Smiths and the polished pop punk of ‘Think It Over” belongs on the soundtrack to some nameless mid ‘00s teen movie.
A mid-’00surs aside, Mammoth WVH (EX1) is a relentless album full of loving made, hard and heavy rockers with a commercial sheen. It is full of attitude and energy, and a big chorus or two, but its length and well-worn stylings means it gets a bit generic at times.
Buy the album here:
https://found.ee/MammothWVHDeluxe
7 / 10
THOMAS THROWER
It is hard to believe that the Swedish supergroup, Soen, has only been making music together for ten years. Their first full-length, Cognitive procured high praise for its progressive proficiency and emotional maturity. They have stood out for their Tool-like compelling intensity and wide range of sentiment. They have remarkably managed to expand on these ripened abilities with each album they release. Now this quintet is getting ready to celebrate their tin anniversary by releasing a concert film of their classic numbers and a cover with live orchestral accompaniment.
As the nights get darker, trees have lost their leaves and there’s a “nip” in the air, you could do worse than retreat into your man cave with a guitar and some whiskey, or even The Guitar & Whiskey Club’s new self-titled EP (Orchard / Sony).
Formed in a search for solace during the peak of the pandemic in 2020, punk colleagues Anthony Green (Circa Survive), Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), Travis Steever (Coheed and Cambria), and Tucker Rule and Tim Payne (Thursday) pulled themselves out of their isolation funks to make some hard rock lemonade. The sound of L.S. Dunes combines the styles each member is known for bringing to their respective bands while simultaneously creating something different and of its own.