EXCLUSIVE: Watch Miss May I Discuss New Album Shadows Inside


Metalcore kings Miss May I are dropping their new album Shadows Inside on June 2nd via Sharptone Records. The album is the bands sixth, and marks a new chapter in the band’s storied career. In an exclusive sneak peek for Ghost Cult, watch the band break down working with Drew Faulk (Motionless In White, Emmure, Crown the Empire), who co-produced with Nick Sampson, as well as Andrew Wade (A Day To Remember, The Word Alive, Neck Deep), who mixed the album.Continue reading


Miss May I Release Music Video – Shadows Inside


Metalcore leaders Miss May I have released a new music video for the title track of their new album, Shadows Inside, due out June 2nd via Sharptone Records. You can see it below. Continue reading


Miss May I Debuts New Video – Lost In The Grey


Miss May I will be releasing Shadows Inside on June 2nd via SharpTone Records, and they’ve just unveiled the first video off of the new record. Continue reading


Loathe – Prepare Consume Proceed


Loathe - Prepare Consume Proceed ep cover ghostcultmag

Prepare Consume Proceed (SharpTone Records) is the latest EP from Liverpool UK’s Loathe. But it’s not really the latest as it’s a reissue of an EP of the same name that was released, brace yourselves, October of last year. Better yet, if you lose all the filler interlude bullshit and intro track you’re only really left with four songs or just shy of 16 minutes of music.

I’m assuming the decision to reissue Prepare Consume Proceed so hastily was because it would function as SharpTone Record’s coming out party. Yes, this EP serves as the tip of the spear for a label that was officially launched less than a month ago. The brainchild of Nuclear Blast CEO Markus Staiger and former Sumerian Records vice-president Shawn Keith, SharpTone was rolled out to the motto of: “A new era of music begins…” With a roster including such luminaries as Attila, We Came as Romans, and World War Me all SharpTone looks and sounds like to me is Sumerian Lite. It’s what crawled out of the Van’s Warped Tour primordial ooze.

But label confusion aside, I am tasked with reviewing this EP. It’s worth mentioning that I walked in totally cold as Loathe’s website and social media pages are more devoid of useful information than a Fox News broadcast. But if you must know the band is comprised of members with names such as, I shit you not, DRT, SNK, MWL, NIL and frontman DRK.

So we didn’t start on the right foot, but hey, I’ve still got the music. The artwork and logos recall Unsane and Godflesh’s astethic rather than anything else on their label, but push play and what you get is an amalgamation of Structures djent and Suicide Silence grade deathcore. Competent enough, but less than memorable extreme metal. ‘In Death’ and ‘Solace; in Soil’ have pummeling groove and decent rhythm changes, but everything else is straight out of the djent playbook. You still get your cold electronics to spruce up the palm-muted slabs of sound and the occasional sung hook.

It’s just hard to get excited for music this by-the-numbers when you have acts like Textures and Periphery exploring lots of interesting areas within the genre. And do me a favor, drop the stage costumes and pseudonyms, its less edgy and more infantilizing than you think.

4.0/10

HANSEL LOPEZ


Summer Survival Guide: Levi Benton and Ryan Neff of Miss May I


miss may i warped crowd 2015

The start of the summer music festival season is here and Miss May I are no strangers to touring all summer, in a van or a bus. We met up with Levi Benton and Ryan Neff at The Rockin Derby in New York, and right before they headed to Europe for a tour. They also had stops at Rock On the Range, this weekend’s Amnesia Rock Fest, Chicago Open Air, and many more. We asked the guys how they survive the grind of the road in an interview with Ghost Cult.


Levi: For me, it’s been the front man, and trying to direct the crowd. Festival crowds are the easiest to direct. It’s a blast to have them do crazy, insane stuff that they can’t do at a venue. That’s my favorite.

Being touring veterans like you guys are, I’d love to ask the question what is your survival kit like? What do you need to take on tour for the summer, five things, a bag of things, specifically what is it that makes your touring experience bearable?

 


Ryan: We’re about to try and do the U.K. without suitcases, which is not normal for us. Normally, the tour is so long that you’ve got to have one. We’re about to do it backpack wise. I think it comes down to … You’re going to get soap everywhere, that sort of thing, you need a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and a phone charger.

Levi: Phone charger. A phone charger that works in the U.K.

Ryan: If things work … Yes, yes. If things work out for you there, then you’re going to be in good shape. You’ll probably get good luck. You find soap. You find all that sorts of stuff. I shave my head every couple of days, so maybe some razors for me, but you really don’t need that much because you’re going to run into … the venues are usually really generous to you, especially on the festivals, they’re sort you out with anything you need. A good attitude would probably be … if you can buy a good attitude, that would get you through a lot of tours.

Since the band has a big following already in the USA, we asked what they look forward to most when touring Europe. What is the bigger draw: sight seeing or the food?

Levi: Yes, the food.

Ryan: They’ve got different food than we do.

Levi: I’m trying to think. Food, big thing. There are other things … I love the shopping there.

Levi: The stores they have. It’s really weird, like the Nike store, or anywhere else there, it’s different stuff than you see in the U.S. It’s awesome because it doesn’t cost any different, but you get that there, and then you come home, and everyone is like “Where did you get that?” You just giggle because you know they can’t get it. It’s pretty … I love the shopping over there.

Ryan: Yeah. Man, the Wagamamas and Nandos, two of my absolute favorite foods.

Levi: Two more days!

 

Ryan: Yeah. We’ve been counting down. There’s only two Nandos in the entire country, I’m pretty sure, here in America, and you go over there, and you find them every five minutes.

Levi: They have Wok To Wok will be everywhere.

Ryan: Wok To Wok. That’s another one. Loads of them.

 

KE_MMI_08 Miss May I


We next asked about essential tour bus music:

Ryan: We are very eclectic. We are very eclectic as a group. Different guys like different things, like I go CD obsession. I don’t go song obsession. I go CD obsession until the CD is just so played out that I can’t even stand it.

Levi: I think Jared, our drummer, is the DJ of the bus.

Ryan: Yeah. He always, he finds goofy songs or like happy songs, like he just … The most outrageous things, and he always will grab the chord. No matter where we’re at, if he hears something playing that’s ridiculous, he’s over there giggling with his iPhone playing it.

 


Describe ridiculous.

Ryan: I don’t know if you’ve heard of … Group X is one.

Levi: Group X. Turquoise Jeep.

Ryan: Turquoise Jeep is one.

Levi: That’s a band with these two like rapper dudes.

Ryan: A lot of goofy stuff.

Levi: Talk about fertilizing some eggs. Yeah, so that’s the stuff we listen to.

 

turquoise jeep

KEITH CHACHKES

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Slipknot, Disturbed, Korn, FFDP, Chevelle, Meshuggah, And More Join Chicago Open Air


chicagoopenairdisturbedposter

Chicago Open Air, buoyed by naming Rammstein as their inaugural headline act, has now added a plethora of bands including Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch, Chicagoans like Disturbed, Chevelle, and Ministry, plus Meshuggah, Of Mice and Men,In This Moment, Hollywood Undead, Trivium, Carcass, Hatebreed, Periphery, Drowning Pool, Butcher Babies, Through Fire, Breaking Benjamin, Pop Evil, Gojira, Deafheaven, The Devil Wears Prada, Helmet, Nothing More, Saint Asonia, Miss May I, Beartooth, Silver Snakes, City Of The Weak, Marilyn Manson, Bullet For My Valentine, Killswitch Engage, Babymetal, Asking Alexandria, Corrosion Of Conformity, Letlive. All That Remains, We Came As Romans, Jim Breuer & The Regulators, Upon A Burning Body, Gemini Syndrome and more. With this incredible lineup of talent as well as craft beer and “Gourmet Man Food”, Chicago Open Air from the very outset is vying to become the premiere American music festival.

Disturbed released a statement about playing the festival in their hometown:

“It is long overdue that one of the greatest rock cities in the world has a festival of its own. We are honored and excited to be one of the headliners at the inaugural Chicago Open Air festival in our hometown of Chicago.”

Daily band lineups (subject to change)

Friday, July 15:

Rammstein
Chevelle
Ministry
Of Mice & Men
Meshuggah
In This Moment
Hollywood Undead
Trivium
Carcass
Hatebreed
Periphery
Drowning Pool
Butcher Babies
Through Fire

Saturday, July 16:

Disturbed
Korn
Breaking Benjamin
Pop Evil
Gojira
Deafheaven
The Devil Wears Prada
Helmet
Nothing More
Saint Asonia
Miss May I
Beartooth
Silver Snakes
City Of The Weak

Sunday, July 17:

Slipknot
Five Finger Death Punch
Marilyn Manson
Bullet For My Valentine
Killswitch Engage
Babymetal
Asking Alexandria
Corrosion Of Conformity
Letlive.
All That Remains
We Came As Romans
Jim Breuer & The Regulators
Upon A Burning Body
Gemini Syndrome

General Admission and VIP tickets are on sale now at ChicagoOpenAir.com.

Weekend GA Field: $219.50
Weekend GA Bowl: $119.50
Weekend VIP: $399.50
Weekend VIP 2-Packs: $860.00
Single Day GA Bowl: $49.50

All VIP tickets include: VIP entrance lanes into the event, access to a VIP lounge area featuring dedicated food and beverage offerings (for additional purchase), field and stadium level viewing areas of the main stage, dedicated restroom facilities, and a commemorative Chicago Open Air VIP-only laminate.

Festival doors open at 11:00 a.m. each day and the show ends at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 10:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Chicago Open Air online

Chicago Open Air on Facebook

Chicago Open Air on Twitter

Chicago Open Air on Instagram


News: Blessthefall, Miss May I, The Plot In You, etc Confirmed For Upcoming Tour


blessedthefall drop the gloves tour 2016

Blessthefall will headline the Drop The Gloves Tour in February and March with Miss May I, The Plot In You, Sirens & Sailors and A War Within as support.

Feb 20: The Catalyst – Santa Cruz, CA
Feb 21: The Glass House – Pomona, CA
Feb 22: The Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Feb 23: Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
Feb 24: Neumos – Seattle, WA
Feb 26: The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 27: Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
Feb 29: Mill City Nights – Minneapolis, MN
Mar 01: Metro – Chicago, IL
Mar 02: St Andrews Hall – Detroit, MI
Mar 03: Phoenix Concert Theatre – Toronto, ON
Mar 04: Virgin Mobile Corona Theater – Montreal, QC
Mar 05: Webster Hall – New York, NY
Mar 06: TBA – Boston, MA
Mar 07: Theatre Of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
Mar 08: Rams Head Live – Baltimore, MD
Mar 10: The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Mar 11: The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
Mar 13: The Plaza Live – Orlando, FL
Mar 14: Vinyl Music Hall – Pensacola, FL
Mar 17: Alamo City Music Hall – San Antonio, TX
Mar 18: Warehouse Live – Houston, TX
Mar 19: So What?! Festival – Dallas, TX
Mar 20: Farmers Public Market – Oklahoma City, OK
Mar 21: Sunshine Theatre – Albuquerque, NM

We’re excited to announce the Drop The Gloves Tour featuring Miss May I, THE PLOT IN YOU, Sirens and Sailors, and A War…

Posted by Blessthefall on Tuesday


Album Stream: Set To Stun – Set To Stun and The Desperado Undead


set to stun promohr1

Set To Stun is streaming their new album Set To Stun and The Desperado Undead below. The album was self produced with Jordan Griffin and was mixed and mastered by Joey Sturgis (Asking Alexandria, Attila, Miss May I). They will be hitting the road on the BAT2BAT tour with Vampires Everywhere and Consider Me Dead.

bat 2 bat tour STS_8

Nov 30: Nile Theater – Mesa, AZ
Dec 01: The Co-Op – Albuquerque, NM
Dec 02: Tomcats West – Fort Worth, TX
Dec 03: The Korova – San Antonio, TX
Dec 04: Crossroads – Tyler, TX
Dec 05: The Tavern – Hattiesburg, MS
Dec 06: Longbranch Saloon – Knoxville, TN
Dec 07: Emerson Theater – Indianapolis, IN
Dec 08: The Canal Club – Richmond, VA
Dec 09: Santos – New York, NY
Dec 10: Firehouse 13: Providence, RI
Dec 11: The OutPost – Kent, OH
Dec 13: The Abbey – Chicago, IL
Dec 14: Skyway Theatre – Minneapolis, MN
Dec 15: Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA
Dec 16: Marquis Theatre – Denver, CO
Dec 18: The Music Garage – Salt Lake City, UT


Miss May I – Deathless


Miss-May-I-deathless

Despite possessing one of the least pernicious of names imaginable, indeed one that summons memories of primary school lavatorial permission-seeking  (could their moniker imply anything less metal if they tried…?), metalcore quintet Miss May I have been around long enough to use the facilities of their own free will, with Deathless already their fifth album (all Rise Records) in seven short recording years.

Stacking up against its predecessor, the anaemic Rise of the Lion, it was imperative that Miss May I brought the thrash, aggression, groove and above all conviction to banish their previous misstep. And, thus, lo, and ye-gads, they do, as crushing ‘I.H.E.’ (I Hate Everyone/thing) makes the required statement of intent from the off, seguing from a dark build up to hit thrashing triplets and a feral almost black metal howl to one slab of a breakdown. It might not be the most progressive move they could have made, but there’s something about doing what you do, and doing it well, that a lot of bands would be served paying attention to.

It has to be said, most of Deathless could be glibly dismissed as metalcore 101, but to do so would be to deprive yourself of what is close to a masterclass in the art. Roll up, roll up, for we have Avenged Sevenfold melodic twin guitars, we have breakdowns, we have ‘core throat vocals, we have clean choruses (that either pick a track up and take it to sing-along town, or provide a darker twist) and we have Adam Dutkiewicz inspired post-classic metal entwined with thrash riffery, but what we also have is the sound of a band who have returned to their roots to show that they can smoke the opposition when it comes to metalcore.

Most bands, at their core, are genuinely best doing one thing and while there is often a rush to abandon a sound or style because it’s not “cool”, anymore, there will always be those who want to hear their favourite style performed well.  There is no denying Miss May I are convincing and amongst the best of the current second wave of American metalcore acts. There may not be any need to abandon ship if they keep delivering the goods.

 

7.0/10

 

STEVE TOVEY