Covet’s latest American tour in support of their latest album Catharsis, started in April in Portland, OR, and recently came to a successful close this May in Santa Cruz, CA. I was able to experience Covet for the first time along with supporting acts ScaryPoolParty and Alto Palo in Phoenix, AZ, during which I was excited and curious to see how each of these bands would blend together.
Check out our preview of the Rock and Metal new album releases dropping this week, on 5-19-2023:
Johan Lenox kicked off the night at the O2 Ritz venue, and even for the opening act of a two-band bill, the venue was already pretty full and the atmosphere positively electric. Right from the start, Johan’s performance was a sublime mixture of classical and hip-hop, highlighted by his absolutely divine voice. The audience and I include myself in that, was mesmerized, and the sea of phone lights only added to the visual impact.
This experimental Chicago band has been toying with the dark sonic corners for over twenty years. It’s been eleven of those years since we have had a new album from Yakuza, and it is good to dive back into their land of twisted shadows. The focus has shifted to a more deliberate brand of heavy, that places them not far from the sonic zip code of older Mastodon. The differences are fewer guitar pyrotechnics and a much darker trajectory than the Atlanta progsters. Bruce Lamont’s baritone moan carries a hint of anger as the opening track is framed with dissonance.
Check out our preview of the Rock and Metal new album releases dropping this week, on 5-19-2023:
After a seven-year wait, psychedelic rockers Blood Ceremony are back with their new album The Old Ways Remain (Rise Above Records). This is their fifth record and it sees the Canadian quartet successfully add Folk, Pop, and Jazz elements to their already multifaceted, woozy psychedelic rock.
As someone who also tours, it is always a treat when a familiar band is playing in the city you are in when you happen to be on your day off. This time it was Cult of Luna, in Stuttgart, Germany. And to say that I was lucky on this, would be an understatement, as Cult of Luna delivered and learning of the existence of Svalbard UK was an extra treat.
Crown Lands claim the crown with this truly fearless album. Which crown? The crown of the New Kings of Progressive Rock. This virtuoso, exciting and engaging Canadian duo – guitarist/bassist/keys player Kevin Comeau and singer/drummer Cody Bowles – have delivered a record that, if you hold any prog in your soul, will leave you smiling from sated ear to sated ear. It’s also a record full of ideas, that will make you think, that fulfills its promise, and is well worth the wait – how many albums can we say that about? As Bowles sings on ‘Context’: “If life is a wheel/ Please let it spin/ And doors that may open/ Please let me in …” You’re in guys, you’re in.
Ihsahn is a true living musical legend who helped shaped the modern symphonic sound of Black Metal with his work across the four albums Emperor produced between 1994 and 2001, particularly with their debut In The Nightside Eclipse which is perhaps the quintessential release of the genre. And although Emperor are still of course touring and Ihsahn has in the 2000’s released music with his Thou Shalt Suffer and Peccatum projects, the focus for the Norwegian musician has undoubtedly been on developing his solo career.
Thirteen years since the release of their debut self-titled album, Periphery have made a name for themselves as one of the leading forces in the progressive metal world. Utilising a vast array of influences and genres into their own sound to create something unique with each release.Continue reading