NYS Music 20​13

Category: Genres

  • A Look at One Last Shot

    As the frontman to Syracuse’s One Last Shot, the 23-year-old takes to those notebooks to find the words that will accompany the band’s music.  Together, it’s a matrimony between the ethereal world of his craft, and the driving force of the music.

    As a wordsmith, Jeremy Miller is a slave to every epiphany. At home, he has notebooks, napkins and spare scraps of paper, for each time he has been visited by his muse.

    “I have notebooks stacked with pages, and pages of lyrics and poems and random thoughts I quickly write down,” said Miller.

    “My notebook has turned into my cell phone notepad,” said Miller, “but if I have paper around and don’t think about my cell phone I’ll write down ideas quick.  (Laughs.)  If I don’t do that I could forget the idea as soon as I think of it.”

    One Last Shot carries the label of “local band”, one that calls Syracuse home as the band struggles to branch out farther.  They’ve played Buffalo and Rochester.  As one would expect, they aspire to do more.

    One Last Shot, out of Rochester, NY, includes Rikki Kemz, David Royal, Angelo Zinkovitch, Adam VVlassis and Jeremy Miller. (Photo credit: One Last Shot)
    One Last Shot, out of Syracuse, NY, includes Rikki Kemz, David Royal, Angelo Zinkovitch, Adam Vlassis and Jeremy Miller. (Photo credit: One Last Shot)

    Calling them a local band would be misleading.  They avoid the mistake of relating their sound to Metallica – is that before And Justice for All or after the Black Album when they went grunge?  Nah.

    “Our influence (musically) is based off of a lot of music,” said Miller. “We’re very musically diverse people.”

    This October, the band released Bastards of the Plague.  It’s a 12-song LP that clocks in a little over a half-an-hour.  No bombastic tracks on this one, as the longest track noses around the four-minute range.  The band’s musical diversity is most apparent as their sound transitions from metal to almost punk as one goes chronologically through the CD.

    “I was listening to a lot of Elvis, Smashing Pumpkins, Danzig and Every Time I Die,” said Miller. “[But}the band as a whole really is influenced by the post-hardcore of the early 2000’s. It’s when we really felt the scene was amazing.

    “Usually I close my eyes when listening to the guitars and drums and think of a story going on to the music. If it was a soundtrack to a movie, what would be going on in the scene? Then I see if I already have something I wrote forever ago that works… but usually I write new lyrics to the songs.”

    The soundtrack to Bastards of the Plague includes many action sequences.  “Hell’s Empty” is one of a few battle anthems that pits the protagonist against the forces of Hell itself.

     This is the moment to choose your sides

    Everyone’s got to pick

    If not you’re just born to die

    They’re coming

    We’re running

    But I refuse to feel the fire burn inside the Devil’s eyes

    Hell’s empty

    They walk among us tonight!

    “Bring Out the Dead” is another such anthem, one that showcases some of the precision of Rikki Kemz rapid drum play.  He brings the cadence to a feverish pace that accompanies the theme of the song nicely.

    The metal aspect of this LP ends with “A Lizard in Brenda.”  (Now, hardcore metal fans should not be concerned about this perceived shift in genres.  It’s subtle, if there at all.)  Matt Good of From First to Last contributes an eerily angelic voice to an otherwise graphic song describing vengeance in the most violent of ways.  Good’s addition provides depth and complexity that makes this track standout.  William Control (Aiden) also makes a noteworthy contribution on “Bury A Legend”, not only providing his pipes but his wordsmith talents as well.

    Brenda is followed by “Neon Gods” paying homage to the barroom brawlers of the world, and continues to impress from there.  Each of the remaining songs possess introductions that are reminiscent of The Offspring’s Smash.  The first few seconds of guitars , played by David Royal, Angelo Zinkovitch and Adam Vlassis (bass), play along with Kemz in a similar fashion to the legendary California punk rockers.

    Steve Sopchak, who has produced and mixed for larger acts like, The Venetia Fair, Ice Nine Kills, The Ataris, and Such Gold, adds a professional touch that does not allow the vocals or any one instrument overpower the rest.  Should you have the opportunity to see One Last Shot, take that opportunity.  A CD purchase would also not be regrettable. Bastards of the Plague is a well-polished showcase of a local band that is deserving of more attention.

    CDs can be purchased by visiting http://onelastshot.storenvy.com/.

  • ‘The Hard Working Americans’ – A New Band Brought Together by Todd Snider

    “I know we don’t look like poster children for anybody’s political campaign, but we’re all about taking patriotism back for the silly and the absurd, the broken and the bleeding, the subversives and the stoned. Patriotism shouldn’t belong to the rigid structures of the airport security line or the football field. My favorite patriot is Yankee Doodle, and that guy stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni. Long, strange trip, indeed.”

    Hardworking Americans

    Singer Todd Snider has recently addressed fans in a letter regarding a new band he has formed – The Hard Working Americans are quite simply a ‘band of friends from all across America‘, says Snider. Snider goes on to say that he formed the band because he wanted to be in a band that wanted to be great, whatever that meant.

    Todd Snider is known for his off the wall lyrics and show antics, with lyrics like – “They say 92 percent of everything you learned in school was just bullshit you’ll never need”, how can you not love his music. Snider plays festivals and mingles with members of the jam band scene and with these pool of talented friends, Snider has comprised a group of – the best songwriters from the Americana world and the best musicians from the jam band scene.

    Joining together, Dave Schools of Widespread Panic, Neal Casal of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Duane Trucks and Chad Staehly of Great American Taxi – Snider has formed the Hard Working Americans. Snider says,

    “We aren’t a side project. When we’re together, this is our main thing. We mean to do what we’re doing. The other guys in the band told me I was in charge, so I ordered everyone to do exactly what they wanted. They wanted to play.”

    Hard Working Americans self-titled debut, out January 21 via Melvin Records/Thirty Tigers – EPK: Hard Working Americans Clip. Upcoming Tour Dates: http://thehardworkingamericans.com/#Shows

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  • No details on Joey Jordison Slipknot split

    News of Joey Jordison’s departure as drummer from Slipknot was striking the Internet late last night, soon after the band released the following statement.

    SlipknotNow, 24 hours after the announcement, fans of the heavy metal rockers out of Iowa, are still seeking answers as to why?

    The band’s announcement left much to be desired for details. The 38-year-old drummer, and co-song writer, has been with the band since their inception in 1995.

    In August 2010 Jordison was voted the best drummer of the past 25 years by readers of Rhythm Magazine. He was selected over a field of drummesr that included Mike Portnoy, Neil Peart, Phil Collins, and Dave Grohl. Jordison was humbled in his response.

    “I’m at a loss for words,” he had said. “This is beyond unbelievable. Something like this reminds me every day why I continue to do this.”

    The band had promised to release more details at a later time. But, for now, fans are left to speculate as to the reason behind the split; not to mention what kind of future remains in store for the band.

    Slipknot last released an album with All Hope Is Gone in 2008. Their last tour was the 2012 Knotfest, a two-day event that launched out of Iowa and finished in Wisconsin. It was intended to be an annual event, but no such show took place this past year.

    In addition to announcing Jordison’s departure, Slipknot stated plans to release new material sometime in 2014.

  • Trivium and DevilDriver Slayed on Black Friday

    An Upstate Concert Hall crowd of 300-plus decided taking in a show – instead of shopping and burning off Thanksgiving food throughout all of Albany – was the appropriate thing to do on Black Friday. Trivium headlined a 60-minute set to promote their new album Vengeance Falls with DevilDriver co-headlining a 60-minute set of their own to promote Winter Kills – In my opinion  one of the best metal releases of 2013.

    Fans were also treated to a killer 30-minute set from After The Burial and a small set from Thy Will Be Done, who’s garnering recognition from the likes of Metallica, Shadows Fall, and DevilDriver.

    Reminiscent of Lamb of God, Thy Will Be Done’s sound is thrashy and groovy, with a wee-bit of metalcore thrown in. Unfortunately, the early crowd comprised of only a third of the ultimate total.  Nonetheless, I got the vibe that the crowd really dug them. These rockers out of Providence, R.I. moved through their set quicker than I would have hoped. However, they’re a relatively new band that doesn’t have a huge catalog to go through.  Still, as they promote their new EP Temple they’re receiving exposure both on the road, as well as plenty of air play on Liquid Metal (Sirus/XM). They will be a dominant force in Metal very soon. When I spoke to frontman, Jay Costa, he expressed how much fun they have had while on tour.

    ​After The Burial graced the stage with a 30-minute set. This was my first taste of this prog-death metal group out of Minneapolis, M.N., and I was really impressed. They have a flavor to them. They were the first band to get the crowd jumping. Very energetic. They treated the Clifton Park fans to four songs off of their upcoming album, Wolves Within, due sometime this month.

    The “California Groove Machine” was up next.

    After what seemed to be a long wait (well for me anyways because I am a die hard fan) DevilDriver came and wiped the floor with the crowd. My only complaint would be that the band was so loud on most songs it was hard to hear Dez’s vocals. I’ve seen DevilDriver play at Upstate Music Hall twice in the past. Back in 2011 opening for Danzig, and last year opening for Gwar. This time it seemed they had a slightly longer set and a bigger light show than they have in the past. Opening with “End of the Line”, DevilDriver’s set consisted of a few songs from their early collection like “I Could Care Less” and “Clouds Over California” but most of their set had a lot of material from their new album Winter Kills.

    Here’s what made the whole night memorable: Midway through the set you had a small group chanting out song names, which – let’s just say, Dez did not take kindly to that.  Anyone who knows the history of Dez on stage, whether it’s from Coal Chamber or DevilDriver, knows his reputation for his aggressive stage persona. Calling out the group, Dez yelled, “We play whatever fucking song we want!”

    (Laugh.) Some people never learn.

    Which then led to a rant about people who are not open to other genres of music. Which served as an appropriate segue to an Awolnation cover of “Sail.” Totally blew my mind when they played that. Throughout the entire set, body surfers were nonstop and the energy was very high. Security at Upstate Music Hall had their hands full. DevilDriver is the kind of band that would start a moshpit in a nursing home.
    ​So after a full hour set from DevilDriver, Trivium gave the crowd an extra jolt of adrenaline. This was my third time seeing Trivium. I caught them during the mess that was Trespass America tour when it stopped at Oswego Speedway last summer, and few years back during Mayhem Fest. But this time it was a totally different setting.

    To be able to see Trivium at such an intimate venue like Upstate Music Hall made it so much better than the typical outdoor arenas. Another thing I find fascinating about Trivium is they’re a relatively young band with a catalogue of songs a decade deep, and they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Trivium started their set with “Throes of Perdition” and “Down from the Sky” familiar to UFC fans as the introductory music for Mauricio “Shogun” Rau. Their sound was flawless. Props to the sound guy. Everything was clean sounding. Also all those guys have great chemistry on stage. You can tell they absolutely love what they do. They continued to play a couple more of Shogun before taking it back a almost decade ago by playing “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation” which I will say was the highlight of the set. Finally, they closed it out with “In Waves” and “Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr.”

    Overall it was a fantastic show. Shame on anyone who didn’t bother going because every band delivered. We are obviously approaching a slower touring season so I suggest getting to any metal show that’s out there right now and be sure to pick up all the new albums from Thy Will Be Done, After The Burial, DevilDriver, and Trivium.

    Stay metal.

  • Watertown is blown away by Halestorm

    The Grammy award-winning band, Halestorm, came to Watertown, N.Y. this past Saturday (November 30th) and rocked the thousands in attendance at Jefferson Community College.

    Opening for Halestorm was local legends, Lake Effect Mud, promoting their album, Eyes Open Wide. They wasted no time in showing us why this small town band belongs on stage with big names like Halestorm.

    Lead vocalist, Jason Johnson, commanded attention from his audience with a powerful voice. He kept the energy alive and engaged the whole room. The fans loved him. Johnson’s vocals, combined with the incredible talent of Bryant Pignone, Kyle Pignone, and Jessie Hall, made Lake Effect Mud an unstoppable force. Personally, I can not wait to see what is next for them.

    Halestorm followed in the wake of Lake Effect Mud’s energy. I had previously heard nothing but wonderful things about Halestorm in concert, but even then I had no idea for what I was in store.

    The rockers from Pennsylvania opened the show with a few high energy songs like “Mz Hyde.” Immediately we can see what a powerhouse Lzzy Hale is. Between her vocals and incredible energy she is captivating. Joe Hottinger and Josh Smith compliment Lzzy very well with amazing talent and energy. Then we have Arejay Hale on the drums. I have found in many bands the drummer just fades into the background, not really seen, but not Hale. He is as much a part of the show as Lzzy is up front and center. You can see he really enjoys what he is doing, and we enjoy watching him do it. They continue the show with hits like “Dirty Work” and “Familiar Taste of Poison.” Then the guys exit the stage leaving Lzzy alone on the keyboards. She begins to play “Break In”, her voice is beautiful and haunting. Lzzy ends the song and we move onto Arejay’s drum solo.

    For five minutes you can’t look away as he plays his drums with a variety of tools – sticks, large sticks, and then just his hands; he doesn’t just play the drums, he puts on a show! If you don’t enjoy watching this man perform you are not paying attention. The band returned to the stage and closed the show with their hit “I Get Off.”

    Watertown experienced a night of music we wont soon forget. If you are a metal fan, or even just love live music, these are the bands to see. What an incredible night.

  • Syracuse marks the end to Pop Evil’s headlining tour at the Westcott Theater

    Syracuse was the last stop on Pop Evil’s most recent tour, which ended on Sunday, November 24.

    95X turned the band’s final show into an all-day event that began with a private acoustic performance and finished with Pop Evil’s grand finale after a four-band rock show.

    Pop Evil’s lead, Leigh Kakaty, and guitarist, Nick Fuelling, arrived at Revolutions (Destiny USA) to meet, greet, and perform for a small group of lucky contest winners. 95X awarded 10 winners (plus their guests) the opportunity to watch Kakaty and Fuelling perform a couple acoustic songs. The quiet performance of “Torn to Pieces” and “Monster You Made” were enhanced by some light commentary. Leigh explained that he wrote “Torn to Pieces” after the death of his father. It was not intended to become a Pop Evil song, but according to Kakaty, the band was so supportive of it that they included it on their newest album, Onyx, and are now regularly performing it. Kakaty encouraged the small group to sing along to “Monster You Made”, from the 2010 album, War of Angels, sharing that it’s “amazing to see fans singing your songs back to you.”

    Kakaty and Fuelling accepted some questions from the group before food was served — and, given that it was football Sunday — most of the talk turned to sports. Kakaty referred to Sundays at home as “Michigan blue-collar brutality” because Detroit Lions fans have had to repeatedly endure constant losses.

    After Kakaty and Fuelling left the stage they socialized and had photos taken with the guests. The private affair culminated with a bowling match between the band members and the ultimate contest winner.

    After bowling, we sat down with Joshua “Chachi Riot” Marunde, Pop Evil’s energetic drummer, he is reminiscent of the famous Muppet drummer, Animal.  Marunde has contributed a lot to the band’s stage presence and attraction. It was Chachi’s “insane” drumming that kept my focus on the band at Rock on the Range back in May (2013). Unlike many other drummers, Chachi is not content sitting in the background. He is actively involved in the entire performance. He prefers to stand while drumming and only sits when he has to use his feet to work. He hammers his head as forcefully as he beats the drums, makes gestures, and (even though he doesn’t have a mic) sings along to every song. His madness is intoxicating and while all the members of Pop Evil are energetic performers, Chachi is a RIOT to watch. Needless to say, I was eager to meet him. In addition to being very down to earth, he is also very articulate and super motivated. He shared with us that the band is a very tight unit, working really hard to “make it” in the rock ‘n roll scene. Their hard work is paying off though; when “Trenches” hit #1 on the Rock Charts in June (2013) while they were touring in Nebraska, the band tour manager, Chris Iteen, suggested the band take an uncharacteristic break and celebrate with a night of karaoke. Upstate Metal asked about Pop Evil’s future and Chachi was about bursting at the seams because of their 2014 plans, but couldn’t share (yet). Instead, he encouraged us to keep a close eye out for an upcoming announcement.

    <Since the interview last week we found out the big news is an upcoming tour with Stone Sour.>

    After leaving Chachi and the rest of Pop Evil to get ready for their show, we went to The Westcott Theater near Syracuse University. Built in 1919 as a cinema, The Westcott was retrofitted into a live music venue in 2008. The small venue hosted four bands, starting with local band, Pacinello , followed by The Letter Black, then Eve To Adam and finally Black Oxygen before Pop Evil took the stage around 10:30.

    Despite the “late” hour on a snowy Sunday, the crowd was pumped up and ready to take in the Pop Evil experience. The fans who had been spread throughout the venue crunched in to the stage to get a closer look when Pop Evil opened with “Deal with the Devil”, currently playing on Sirius’s Octane and local rock stations like 95X. I loved their clean and simple stage set, which allowed us to focus on the performers (I especially loved that that drum kit was elevated to get a better view of Chachi Riot’s raving performance). Next up on the set list was the song that sold me in Ohio, “Hero”, then 12 more songs before they rejuvenated the group with a partial cover of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”.

    You might have expected after a long tour for the band to drag a little. Not Pop Evil. They gave the same energy and quality to the couple hundred at the Westcott in late November as they did to tens of thousands at Rock on the Range in May. The band has often said that their songs are meant to send a message to their fans; one of inspiration. Many of their songs deal with loss, failure and (here’s the message) working hard to overcome adversity. Their final song, “Trenches”, speaks to just that, and Pop Evil gave it everything they had. The band left the stage expressing gratitude to 95X for supporting them, and to the fans for being a part of the tour’s last show.

    After their short 10 day break, Pop Evil will pick up the pace once again with at least 11 shows scheduled in the Midwest in December.

    Set List: Deal with the Devil, Hero, Flawed, Somebody Like You, 100 in a 55, Torn to Pieces, Goodbye My Friend, Sick Sense, Boss’s Daughter, Divide, Behind Closed Doors, Monster You Made, Last Man Standing, partial cover of Eye of the Tiger, and Trenches

  • Luck Of The Punk: An Upstate sit-down with Lucky33

    Listening to Lucky33 is like a day at the California beach. Sun shining, the salty sea breeze hitting you in the face, bombing down the concrete half-pipe and your hair whipping behind you.  Lucky33 is a four-piece punk band that hails from central New York, calling both Syracuse and Oswego home. They advertise a blend of old-school punk with an indie feel to create “our distinct sound.”  Upstate Metal’s own Steve Strader recently had the honor of chatting with the band’s bassist, Jared “Red”.

    So how long have you cats been around?

    “After a few line up changes, L33 as it is today has been together since April of 2011.”

    Any side projects or past projects?

    “Duff (lead guitarist) does all kinds of acoustic covers and posts them on YouTube and Facebook. One of his most popular ones is a Drake song. (Laughs). I’ve played in a bunch of bands. I’m much older than the other guys in the band. I started out in the ska/punk band Ill Nature, then the funkcore band Lost Soul Division in the ’90s and early 2000s. After that, I played in the metal band Adiel and most recently – before L33 – Damaged In Transit. While I was in DIT, I met Dustin while playing a show together at the Lost Horizon. He was in The Black Lockets. I eventually joined TBL while still in DIT, while they looked for a full time bass player. Shortly after that, Dustin left the Lockets and I left DIT. Dustin, Duff and Kyle all went to school together. They had started Lucky33 and I joined shortly after that.

    So what band is your favorite?

    “By far mine is L33, and I know the other guys agree! I’ve never been in a band with guys like this! We have great chemistry and energy. We get along great and we’re best buds outside of the band. The song writing is very easy and comes quick. Usually Duff writes something on the acoustic and brings it to us and we go from there. That kid can write a catchy song! After playing for over 15 years, I’m enjoying playing more than I ever have.”

    How’s the pro-bono new logo coming along?

    “(Laughs.) We got a few people making some. I was only half serious, [I did it} more to get people conversing with us.”

    How’s the Guitar Center “Get Out of the Garage” contest coming along?

    “It ended a while back, did it to get more exposure basically.”

    If L33 were to be sponsored by a guitar company who would it be?

    “Gibson, hands down.”

    Anything coming out of the L33 compound we should be looking forward to?

    “We’re going to start recording a full length [album] this winter, so keep a look out for that!  Hopefully some merch, once the logo is done. We’re gonna hit up the guys in SRT to do the shirts. Tons of shows for the New Year, I’d like to do a split EP with our bro’s in High Dive Horse.”

    Any last words?

    “You rock Stevo! Thanks for the interview and the support. See you in January for the Entropy show.”

    For more information on the band, go visit their Facebook account.

  • Upstate’s own Maria Brink & In This Moment Headline the Best Buy Theater in NYC

    What do you get when you mix glam, sex, blonde bombshell Maria Brink, and perfect choreography with a drum beat that alters your heartbeat, screaming guitars, and voices full of power? You get heavy metal that’s not only awesome to listen to but one hell of a performance.

    On November 10th, the Best Buy Theater near Times Square welcomed a couple thousand metal-heads for The Hellpop Tour. The venue, originally the Astor Plaza movie theater, was designed to easily move people. The only lines that existed were those that were formed by the fans waiting for the doors to open – once inside, getting drinks, visiting the restroom, and even checking out merch were super easy. Oh, and it had some pretty classy features, like the glass chandeliers – check them out if you go.

    All Hail the Yeti stepped on stage first, offering intense and loud vocals, synchronized head banging, and drums that seemed to take control of my heartbeat. Up next was Kyng — although the vocals were harsh in the beginning, they sounded great in the end and the crowd was really impressed when they sincerely thanked their family for their support. Motionless in White was up next; this group, as always, drew tons of fans with their Gothic image and great sound. In addition to all three bands fitting perfectly into the typical heavy metal persona, they all noted, with surprise, how QUIET the NYC crowd was.

    That all changed once In This Moment appeared on stage – as it should have. The music was awesome; on top of the totally synced metal, the vocals were powerful, and the lyrics were pretty commanding too. Unlike the three bands before them, In This Moment, is NOT your typical metal band. Their show is all about their lead, Maria Brink, and her very theatrical production. It is REALLY hard see/hear past the performance though. When you have two sexy dancers writhing next to the super hot Brink for 75 minutes, you do not want to focus on anything else.

    The crowd loved the set list; most songs came from the last two albums, A Star Crossed Wasteland and Blood. But they were just as excited when the band performed their “old school” stuff from 2006. The Nine Inch Nails cover of “Closer” was pretty perfect. Seems appropriate to pair this song, which is all about raw animal sex, with the heavy metal band that is totally playing on the female sexy.  I only wonder why Brink kept the “Closer” lyrics PG-13? Why say “I wanna LOVE you like an animal” when “fuck” is used pretty loosely the rest of the night? That aside, it was a great cover.

    In This Moment finished their captivating performance with “Whore”, then “Blood” for their encore. After that, the 2,000 metal heads “quietly” (and without waiting in line) made their way above ground to the Times Square lights.

  • Ozzy guitarist Gus G. to strike it solo with Century Media

    Century Media Records announced today that they have signed Kostas Karamitroudis, most commonly known as guitar virtuoso Gus G., to a worldwide solo deal.
    Well known in rock and metal circles for his work as Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist and as leader of his own band Firewind, Gus G. will make his solo debut with the release of ‘I Am The Fire’ in Spring 2014.
    “Loyalty is a very important thing in the music business, and for me it just felt natural to trust my first solo effort to the hands of the record company that has been loyal, supportive, and has helped build my career for more than 11 years now,” said Gus G. “[Century Media Records is] a label that I truly feel as a family. Thank you Robert Kampf, Leif Jensen, Antje Lange, Don Robertson, Steve Joh, Jens Prueter, Nasrin Vahdani, Paul Gargano and the rest of the Century family! I truly feel blessed to be a part of CM history and look forward to exploring new territories with this new album!”
    Century Media founder and owner Robert Kampf adds: “‘I Am The Fire’ is going to be another display of the amazing talent Gus G. possesses. We at Century Media are proud to work with a player and songwriter of his class and status, as well as the fantastic new album that Gus has crafted. Horns up!”
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    “I Am The Fire” was mixed by Jay Ruston [Anthrax, Stone Sour, Steel Panther] and was recorded between Los Angeles and Gus’ home country of Greece through the latter half of 2013. A few of the album’s tracks include “Eyes Wide Open,” “Redemption,” “End Of The Line” and “Blame It On Me.” The album showcases a well-balanced mix of active rock, classic hard rock, traditional metal and guitar-driven instrumentals, taking listeners on a diverse journey and opening doors to GUS G.’s soulful playing. Guest musicians and vocalists will be revealed in the coming weeks.
    Gus G.. has had an amazing rise within the worldwide rock and metal scenes and has amassed an impressive body of work, both in studio and touring. He emerged as an up-and-coming talent with the groups Dream Evil[Sweden], Mystic Prophecy[German] and Nightrage[Greece], but it is his work with his own band Firewind(who have released seven studio albums and two live releases) and as a member of Ozzy Osbourne’s band that have helped him emerge as one of the world’s top metal and rock guitarists. His work on Osborne’s ‘Scream’ album led to a Grammy nomination in 2010, and his list of accolades includes Guitar Player Magazine’s Best Metal Guitarist, the Dimebag Darrell Shredder award at the Metal Hammer UK Golden Gods Awards, and Metal Hammer Greece Best Guitarist on three separate occasions.

  • A Day To Remember releases “Common Courtesy”

    ADTR-CC

    A Day To Remember’s new album Common Courtesy is available everywhere as of this morning.

    Lead singer Jeremy McKinnon commented on finally being able to release the album: “It still doesn’t feel real to me. I can’t wait to just be able to go into a store and actually pick it up myself! It’ll be the first time I’ll have actually held the album.”

    The physical release of Common Courtesy will feature three additional tracks bringing the total number of songs to 16. The CD version also includes the hilarious four episodes (originally premiered at adtr.com) of A Day To Remember’s creative process in creating Common Courtesy.

    The band’s last album What Separates Me From You was a major breakthrough for A Day To Remember. Upon its release the album debuted at #11 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and has now sold over 300,000 units. A Day To Remember’s entire catalog is now well over a million units combined.

    Anyone who bought the digital 13 track original early release album from the band directly at adtr.com will get the three songs for free.

    20130518-ADayToRemember

    Since their formation in 2003, Ocala, Florida’s A Day To Remember have grown from a small band with a dedicated local fan-base into a worldwide phenomenon, gaining the respect and adoration from their peers as much as their fans. This hasn’t been an overnight success story – A Day To Remember have worked hard to win over every fan they’ve made. Over the course of the bands career, the band has sold out entire continental tours, landed two Top 25 Billboard debuts and topped the Billboard Indie Albums Chart.

    For More Information:
    www.adtr.com
    twitter.com/whereisadtr