CONCERT REVIEW: Lacuna Coil – Blind Channel Live at Manchester Academy


 

Finnish Nu-Metal outfit Blind Channel are our warm-up act for the night with their energetic and eclectic mix of music styles and song choices keeping the set fresh and intriguing throughout. I’m sure many attendees didn’t have a heavy metal interpretation of “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys on their bingo card for tonight. However, when the classic bop is deployed towards the tail end of the set it’s met with a thunderous reception. Mix this with a mid-set encore that sees one-half of the vocal duo land a brief solo rap session directly followed up with a version of System of a Down’s “B.Y.O.B.”Continue reading


INTERVIEW: Brett Campbell of Pallbearer Chats About “Mind Burns Alive”


Photo by Hillarie Jason Photography

In this episode, Ghost Cult’s Keefy welcomes back Brett Campbell of Pallbearer! We chatted about their new album Mind Burns Alive – out now via Nuclear Blast Records! Brett chatted about the changing sounds of the bands, fan reactions, touring, and much more!  Continue reading


FESTIVAL REVIEW: Louder Than Life – Live at Highlands Festival Fair Grounds


KORN_LTL24-03@FogAgain-67

Photo Credit – KORN_LTL24-03@FogAgain-67

Danny Wimmer Presents is an acclaimed music festival production company that hosts some of the top entertainment experiences in the country. The pride and joy of their collection is Kentucky’s Louder Than Life Festival. The first one was presented in Louisville ten years ago and has flourished since then. With over 170,000 attendees at last year’s event and even more this year, it has grown to be one of the biggest rock festivals in the United States. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, they pulled out all the stops for this monumental milestone. With nearly one hundred acts performing over the course of the four-day event was a mammoth undertaking and well worth it.Continue reading


CONCERT REVIEW: KK’s Priest – Accept Live at Ace of Spades


What do you get when it’s all leather and zero lace? KK’s Priest! You know what you are about to experience and for me… It was my first time seeing KK Downing (KK) in action and I wasn’t disappointed in the least. As for the beast of a vocalist, Tim “Ripper” Owens (Ripper)… He is part of the Judas Priest history, despite the fact you can’t find those albums as easily or online… Ripper was chosen as the rightful heir to the legacy that Rob Halford, established decades ago, back in the nineties, because he could do what most mortal men cannot… He not only sang those classic tracks he created his own chapter and when you close your eyes… Ripper Owens… Owns your ears.Continue reading


INTERVIEW: Gabriel Franco of Unto Others Discusses Their New Album “Never, Neverland,”  Major Labels, and More


In this episode, Ghost Cult Keefy chatted with Gabriel Franco of Unto Others all bout their new album Never, Neverland, out now via Century Media! Gabriel discussed making the new album with Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Killing Joke, The Cult, etc.), working with a new label, songwriting, not liking the tag “Goth,” life in Portland, and much more!   

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CLASSIC ALBUMS REVISITED: Korn’s Influential Debut Album Turns 30 

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Around the 48-second mark of album opener “Blind” Jonathan Davis screams “Are you ready?” Looking back at 30 years of history and an ever-shifting heavy music landscape, holy shit, Davis could not have realized how impactful of a statement that would become. Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Wind Rose – Trollslayer


On paper, a band from Italy dubbed as “Dwarf Metal” may have you scratching your head. Yet when you listen to Wind Rose, it just works and it just makes sense. The quintet from the Tuscany region takes the festive feel of Folk Metal and the playfulness from Power Metal to create this fantastical new genre. Their unique merry-making is greatly contagious and explains why they are rapidly growing in popularity. They are now getting ready to release their sixth full-length record, Trollslayer (Napalm Records) that advances the band’s well-known jovial sound. They have managed to take all their best features, importantly multiple songs about beer, and compiled it all into this new album.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Swamp Coffin – Drowning Glory


An entire anthropological study could be done on how the region a band comes from affects the sound of any given genre. Continue reading


INTERVIEW: Niels Löffler of Orden Ogan on “The Order Of Fear” Album and If The Band Power Metal, or Not


In this episode, Ghost Cult’s chief Keefy chatted with guitarist Niels Löffler of Orden Ogan to discuss their new album The Order Of Fear out now via Reigning Phoenix Music! They chatted about the album, the history of the band, and if the band is truly “power metal!”

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