NYS Music 20​17

Category: Metal/Hard Rock/Punk

  • Hearing Aide: Suffocation ‘…Of The Dark Light’

    We all have heard of the many wonders of New York City. From the beautiful architecture of the towering skyscrapers to the world famous restaurants for those who desire nothing but the best in taste bud stimulation. But beneath the beauty of this majestic place lurks something ugly, distorted, and heavy; death metal! N.Y. has always been a generator of some of the best death metal bands since the birth of the genre. From bands like Immolation and Mortician, this city bleeds for it’s death metal community.  Now with the release of Suffocation’s latest blistering piece, ….of The Dark Light, it shows NYDM will never die!

    Suffocation Of The Dark Light…Of The Dark Light (via Nuclear Blast)  is the eighth studio album from the NYDM legends. This is a long awaited follow-up from the band’s crushing 2013’s album Pinnacle of Bedlam (via Nuclear Records). Recorded at Full Force Studio with the expertise of Joe Cinecotta, you can bet those walls were rattling like a crazy mother from those devastating sonic assaults. Just by looking at the magnificent artwork cover by Collin Mark, the design will catch your attention. It features a beautiful humanoid in a dark blacken blue abyss, slowly becoming one with the unknown. You can just feel the hairs stand on end when you look at this artwork, knowing it will be one hell of a journey. The album starts off on a highly aggressive and technical foot with the track “Clarity Through Deprivation.” You can hear the quick precision from both Terrance Hobbs and Charlie Errigo finger work all across this sonic barrage!  It proves the young bands still can learn a few things from their death metal ancestors in perfect timing and song construction.
    Like most old-school death metal fans, I need some deadly grooves to get my rotten corpse moving in the pit. Lucky for us, groove is not forgotten on this little gem! We have the track ‘Return To The Abyss’ to have you breaking some bones. This song is powered by the blood, sweat, and sacrifices of Eric Morotti (drums) and Derek Boyer (Bass) with their enriched flavor of rhythmic sauce! From the very start to the dreadful end, the track will make your neck muscles spasm and will cause one hell of a head rush. Prepare that icepack after blasting this beast!
    Frank Mullen’s vocals are still more intense and demonic than any singer I know in the death metal genre. His vocals all over this album are perfectly executed with so much testosterone and energy, especially on the tracks “…Of The Dark Light” and “Return To The Abyss,”  it will melt your face so much that even Leatherface will need a backup!
    With the legends in extreme metal going strong like Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, and Dying Fetus still vomitting out great albums, death metal will never die! I give this album 5 tombstones out of 5. Check out the band on tour right now and pick up this album at your local store or buy it through the official band site and to check out the tour dates for a show by you!
    Key Tracks: Clarity Through Deprivation, Your Last Breaths, …Of The Dark Light

  • Slipknot Documentary to Hit Theaters

    Maggots of the world get ready to see Slipknot in a different light. The bright lights to be exact. Well, sort of. Slipknot has announced that the band’s documentary, Day of the Gusano, will come to the big screen at the end of summer.

    slipknot documentaryThe documentary, produced by MusicScreen, and directed by Slipknot’s Shawn “Clown” Crahan, will hit over a thousand screens world-wide on a very limited ‘one night only’ showing on Sept. 6. Cities that will be lucky enough to hold screenings and ticket information will be announced sometime in July for the one day only event.

    Day Of The Gusano, features the band’s first ever visit to Mexico City in December 2015. The documentary consists of exclusive interviews with band members expressing how important Slipknots fan base is to them. The documentary also shares interactions with band members listening to stories from their fan base in Mexico City during the inaugural Knotfest.

    When talking about the upcoming documentary, Clown stated,”Slipknot still has dreams for itself. Finally playing Mexico was one of them. It’s been a surreal life of rock and roll for Slipknot and the fact that the dreams still go on for us is simply incredible. Thank you.”

    Guitarist Jim Root added,”We had such a great time at Knotfest Mexico… Not only with all the friends and bands that were there, but with the fans and the crowd we had to document it with. Now we get to share it with the world.”

    Slipknot has been nominated for several Grammy awards throughout its career, taking one home in 2006 for the song “Before I Forget.” Four of the band’s five studio albums, have reached platinum status by the RIAA, with the band’s debut album reaching two times platinum status. Slipknot has earned 13 platinum and 44 gold certifications from around the world with over 17 million unit sales.

    Slipknot is: Corey Taylor (vocals), Shawn”Clown” Crahan (custom percussion), Jim Root (guitar), Mick Thomson (guitar), Craig “133” Jones (samples, media, programming), Sid Wilson (turntables), Chris Fehn (custom percussion), Alessandro Venturella (bass), and Jay Weinberg (drums).

  • Hearing Aide: Danzig ‘Black Laden Crown’

    You find yourself in bed with the wind screaming outside your bedroom window like a banshee. Shadows dancing and morphing into sinister shapes upon the walls . Indeed the world is different once the warm embrace of the sun abandons us in the hands of the unknown abyss. Demons both of man and out of this world come out to play. Seducing  the weak and creating nightmares that no man should ever experience, but there will always be some who seek out these dreaded apparitions. For them there is a soundtrack that catches the beauty of the night, I am speaking of Danzig’s 2017 release Black Laden Crown (released via Evilive Records). Here is another album review for those who love all things metal and dark!

    Black Laden Crown is Danzig’s first original album since 2010’s release of Deth Red Sabaoth. The album features Glenn on vocals as usual and Tommy Victor behind the devil’s axe. You have Johnny Kelly, Joey Castillo, Karl  Rokfist, and Dirk Verbeuren featured on this release for drumming sessions on the album. Recorded at East West Studios in Hollywood, California, Danzig once again generated his own brand of metal mixed with blues with the help from the undead! The track that really sets the mood for the album is the first single, “Devil On Hwy 9,” which first premiered on Full Metal Jackie’s show Whiplash on April 02, 2017. This song starts with a strong, straight for the throat blues-induced attack. The guitar solo by Victor and the slow bass playing really creates that sense of becoming dangerous for the listener. The drumming on this track by Castillo is a savage skull beating, which no man can help but feel the tribal need to go out on a hunt. With the lyrics being so simple and addicting, fans will imagine themselves behind the wheel on a forbidden highway with demons flying by and cursing through the night. With Glenn’s vocals being so raw and deeply disturbing, it gives the track a real element of morbid obsession.  A perfect song to drive late at night. Just make sure you keep your eyes on the line!

    With “Devil On Hwy 9” being such a direct approach of pure danger and blood boiling elements, we see this element in some other songs like “But A Nightmare” (Dirk on drums). Now we all do love Danzig for his slower stuff as well. I am a blues and a metal fan at heart, but sometimes the slower songs can be much heavier in terms of approach compared to the aggressive counterparts. With the second single “Last Ride,” it has that eerie sensation running down your spine as if death is waiting for you to greet him in your blacken room. It is very much in the veins of Black Sabbath and The Doors with the slow bass line and  a wall of sound from the experienced mixing hand of Chris Rakestraw, which helps develops the vibe of the track.  You see this same direction on the final track on the album, “Pull The Sun.” These two songs contain so much dismay and loathing  you will find yourself drinking to these tunes at the bar with your friends. Pray that it is not your last drink my friend!

    This album is a solid release from start to finish. This album is perfect for both metal fans and blues fans. With so much influence from past and new releases, this album is in my top ten of favorite albums to be released  halfway through 2017. This album gets 4.5 out of 5 stars in terms of production, lyrics, and imagery. If you haven’t picked this beauty up, then you are missing out on something that is both dark and beautiful. Pick it up now through the  Danzig official site.

    Key Tracks: Last Ride, Devil On Hwy 9, Pull The Sun

  • Metallica Hits Nassau Coliseum for the Only Hardwired Tour Arena Show

    Metallica brought their Hardwired World Tour for the second of two stops in the New York Metro area on May 17 at the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

    Volbeat kicked the night off with several of their new songs from Seal The Deal & Let’s Boogie along with a few of their previously released tunes. This wasn’t Volbeat’s first time supporting Metallica on tour either and their set was a treat for those who beat the Long Island rush hour traffic to get to the Barn before Metallica’s set.

    Metallica Nassau ColiseumMetallica’s Hardwired World Tour is entirely at large stadiums, except for the Nassau Coliseum show. While the stadiums certainly have their appeal for a monster show, nothing compares to catching one of the world’s biggest metal bands at a comparatively small indoor area (although their private fan club show at the 1,500-seat Webster Hall this past September might have this beat).

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BUOT4toFdv1/?taken-by=spm222photo

    The setlist had a tasty mix of what could be fit in a nearly two and a half hour show with just enough to tease their latest release Hardwired…To Self-Destruct and to satisfy the palate of the old school fans. Not to mention that the pick of songs was somewhat different than the MetLife Stadium show just a few nights prior.

    Metallica has been playing together for 36 years now, which is a well-seasoned career mark not every band sees. After the last sustained note of “Enter Sandman” and some stage banter, Hetfield noted that it was the eleventh time Metallica had played the Nassau Coliseum…and won’t be the last.

    Hardwired Tour – Metallica w/s/g Volbeat, Nassau Coliseum, May 17, 2017

    Setlists:

    Volbeat: The Devil’s Bleeding Crown, Seal the Deal, Heaven nor Hell, Sad Man’s Tongue, Black Rose, Let It Burn, 16 Dollars, Hallelujah Goat, Lola Montez, Dead but Rising, Still Counting

    Metallica: Hardwired, Atlas, Rise!, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Ride the Lightning, The Unforgiven, Now That We’re Dead, Moth Into Flame, Harvester Of Sorrow, Welcome Home (Sanitarium), Kirk/Rob Guitar/Bass solos, The Four Horsemen. Sad But True, One, Master of Puppets, Fade to Black, Seek and Destroy, Blackened

    Encore: Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman

  • Godsmack Frontman Backpedals On 20th Anniversay Plans

    In a recent interview with Nivens from Kansas City rock radio station 98.9 The Rock, Godsmack frontman, Sully Erna, talks about working on the band’s seventh studio album, when fans can expect to hear new music from the new album, and back pedals a bit on his past comments regarding Godsmack’s plans to celebrate band’s 20th anniversary in 2018.

    After asking Erna if his statement about working on a new album was legit, Nivens asked when fans can expect new music from the band. Erna replied: “I’ve been working on it all year. Everyone’s been writing. That’s our main focus again right now – getting a new record out. Definitely next year. We’re gonna try to time this so we can drop the single right at the beginning of the year, January, and maybe drop the record by first week in April at the latest.”

    Blabbermouth reports that in a recent interview with Wisconsin radio station 93X, Erna back tracked on previous comments about the bands plans to tour and perform the bands self titled 1998 debut album in it’s entirety to celebrate the bands 20th anniversary. Erna stated: “We don’t know that yet. That’s been circulating, ’cause I opened my mouth a little bit soon, but as we get deeper into writing this new record, that may change. So we’re not making any promises on that yet.”

    In March, Erna told Houston radio station 94.5 what Godsmacks original plans were. Erna stated: “We’re gonna do a massive production. We’re gonna kind of base it around the theme of the first record. We’re even talking about coming out and doing the first record front to back to open the show.”

    Erna added the reason why the band has held off writng the new album until recently. Erna commented: “We wanted to do something this year, but we were just, like, ‘You know, let’s just wait another second, because if we release this at the top of 2018, it will be our 20th-year anniversary of the first record, and we wanna do something special.”

    Erna then added: “I have to write a really great record for us, and that’s the tough part.”

  • Coheed & Cambria Energize the Crowd at Terminal 5

    There are not too many rock bands anymore that pursue the art of the concept album. There are even fewer that have a concept across several albums. Enter the world of Coheed & Cambria – a science fiction prog rock band originally hailing from Nyack, New York. The band, getting its start in the early 2000’s put out some of it’s best records based on lead singer Claudio Sanchez’s Amory Wars comic book series. Coheed and Cambria’s tour through the US during April and May celebrated their third album Good Apollo: I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness. The record is a fan favorite, spawning some of the band’s most memorable songs such as “Welcome Home,” “Ten Speed (of God’s Blood & Burial)” and “The Suffering.”

    Coheed & CambriaWith Coheed and Cambria being a band originally from New York, the home crowd truly turned out with some of the most diehard fans I’ve ever seen for any kind of band ever. Coheed made it’s first NY stop of it’s tour on May 5, 2017 at Terminal 5 in Manhattan, NY. Terminal 5 has a very open lay out with most of the venue being general admission standing, and three levels above the main floor with a “mezzanine” type layout where people can spectate from above. The general admission floor and all of the mezzanine levels were packed to capacity with fans anxiously awaiting Coheed and Cambria to grace the stage. Opening for the main event was The Dear Hunter, a prog rock band from Providence, Rhode Island. Coheed fans showed much love to the prog rock stylings of The Dear Hunter performing a tight, groovin’ set with a good deal of energy.

    Coheed & CambriaWhile I’ve been to a couple of Coheed and Cambria shows I have not been to one that was quite as crazy as this show. I made the mistake of purchasing a beer and finding a good spot closer to the front of the venue. I will explain my “mistake” in a moment. The show began with the intro from Good Apollo: I’m Burning Star IV Vol 1 which is a violin lead overture. Claudio Sanchez then stepped on the stage and the crowd immediately went wild for him – he started with the acoustic performance of “Always and Never” (track 2 on the album) as the rest of the band got on the stage. Here’s where my mistake occurred – Coheed and Cambria really kicked off the show with the in-your-face fan favorite “Welcome Home” while I had a full beer in my hand. The crowd immediately went nuts to the intro riff and there was a sudden rush from the back of the crowd pushing everyone to the front. Most of my beer wound up all over myself and probably everyone within a four-foot radius of me. “Welcome Home” shows off Coheed and Cambria’s metal side with it’s prog rock elements so it makes sense the crowd went crazy.

    Coheed & CambriaConsequently, after Coheed played their next song “Ten Speed,” I found myself near the stage looking up at Claudio Sanchez going nuts on his guitar. As he delivered his signature high pitched, charismatic and unique vocals over a punk rock-ish chorus, his famous long puffy hair was flying in all sorts of directions. As Coheed and Cambria played through the album, there wasn’t a song fans couldn’t recite. About halfway through the set, while guitarist Travis Stever was swapping guitars, Claudio took a back seat to his band’s ever impressive rhythm section of Josh Eppard on drums and Zach Cooper on bass. The jam broke down first into one of the dopest bass solos I’ve heard in a while – in fact, how often do you hear a bass solo? Then, Josh Eppard got into a super tight, high energy drum solo for which the crowd made a ton of noise. Playing the style of music that they do, each band member holds their own as an extraordinary musician.

    The night of excellent music was closed out by an encore of three of my favorite Coheed songs – the first being “Island” off their 2015 release The Color Before the Sun. When the album was coming out it was announced that this would be the band’s first album not connected to Claudio Sanchez’s Amory Wars comic book series but would instead reflect on the band’s personal lives. Claudio tied this in by giving some back story to the song and his family that was in the audience who the song related to. He also stated that the band has been performing while having the flu and required some assistance from the crowd. Who would have known anyone in the band was sick with all of the energy they put out? The night ended with “Delirium Trigger” and “Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3” which is the title track of the album preceding Good Apollo I’m Burning IV Vol 1 (and my personal favorite album from Coheed and Cambria). In the universe of the Amory Wars, “Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3” tells the epic tale of one of the protagonists leading a resistance against a formidable space armada/army, with the battle cry “Man your battle stations!” being a big part of the chorus. It was insanely cool to hear a group of people chant something that epic as though we really were going into battle. Claudio Sanchez barely had to do much singing as the crowd really took charge of the lyrics on the final song of the night – you could even see a smile from Sanchez as though he was truly humbled by the fact that his art really resided in the hearts of a room full of people.

    Coheed & CambriaOverall, while I left the show soaked in probably everyone else’s sweat and I’m pretty sure someone’s shoe flew across the room and hit me, it was the most fun I’ve had at a rock concert in a long time. Coheed and Cambria has the blessing of having some of the most loyal fans in the world, especially in New York City. I left the show with more energy than I walked in the door with and Coheed played probably one of the tightest sets they could ever have played. They later returned to Terminal 5 on May 22, 2017, playing a similar setlist.

    Setlist: Keeping the Blade, Always and Never, Welcome Home, Ten Speed, Crossing the Frame, Apollo 1: The Writing Writer, Once Upon Your Dead Body, Wake Up, The Suffering, The Lying Lies & Dirty Secrets of Miss Erica Court, Mother May I, The Willing Well I: Fuel for the Feeding End, The Willing Well II: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth, The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut, Island Delirium Trigger, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3

  • Rock AM Ring Festival Resumes After Possible Terror Threat

    With the most recent tragedy at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England still fresh, authorities are taking every security threat very seriously. Germany’s annual rock festival, Rock AM Ring, had to be halted on it’s opening night Friday for what authorities called “concrete leads,” in a possible terror threat against the festival that police wanted to eliminate before the festival continued.

    With over 80,000 fans attending the festival over the weekend, authorities wanted to make sure that everything and everyone is safe. Friday’s lineup included headliners Rammstein, Five Finger Death Punch, In Flames, Clutch and many more.

    rock am ring festivalAfter the Ariana Grande concert bombing, Rock Am Ring disallowed back packs at the festival and beefed up security to 1000 officers. Festival promoters made the following statement to fans after they were informed by the police:

    Due to a terrorist threat, the police have advised us to interrupt the festival. We ask all festival visitors to leave the festival site in a calm and controlled manner towards the exits and camping grounds. We have to support the police investigations. All visitors will be kept informed about any developments on all Rock Am Ring social media channels, radio and the speakers. We hope that the festival will continue tomorrow. Thank you for your cooperation.

    One of the concerns involved a person who helped erect and organize the security fencing for the event. The Koblenz police released a statement about the possible threats:

    Because of the last attack on a concert in Manchester, the security concept for Rock Am Ring was modified in advance and the number of security officers was significantly increased to around 1,200… Since a threat could not be ruled out, all necessary measures were taken immediately. We cannot provide any further details on the background information. We take all tips and suspicious incidents extremely seriously and investigate closely.

    Rock AM Ring resumed early Saturday in Nurburg, once promoters got word that everything was clear. Festival organizers released a statement telling fans the festival would indeed resume, “After intensive searches and sweeps of the complete festival site by the police, the suspicion of a potential terrorist threat has not been confirmed.”

  • Photo Gallery: Tool Thrills in Rochester

    It was an incredible night on Tuesday, May 30, at the Blue Cross Arena. Tool made a stop in Rochester and was nothing short of incredible and a visual masterpiece as one would expect!! They brought with them the jazzy and trippy Oakland, CA based band Once and Future. It was a very visually and musically intense show to which Tool are masters of. Some of the high points of the show would definitely be them playing some tracks I have not heard live probably in close to fifteen years. “Opiate,” “Third Eye,” and a really deep cut off their debut album “Sweat.” Please enjoy the selection of photos below from this show.

    Tool – Blue Cross Arena – Rochester – Tuesday, May 30, 2017

    Set 1: The Grudge, Parabol, Parabola, Schism, Opiate, Ænema, Descending, Jambi, Third Eye, Forty Six & 2

    Set 2: Chocolate Chip Trip, Vicarious, Sweat, (-) Ions, Stinkfist

    tool rochester
    tool rochester
    tool rochester
    tool rochester
    tool rochester
    tool rochester

  • I Prevail Part Ways with Drummer

    Detroit rockers I Prevail have announced on social media that they have mutually parted ways with drummer Lee Runestad. No word was given as to the reasons for Runestad’s departure from the band, just a statement by remaining members on social media that read “Life an unpredictable journey that takes us all down different paths.”

    Fans who had VIP meet and greets with the band during the band’s most current headline tour, started to speculate if something was going on, as Runestad was absent from the fan interactions, hinting at a possible falling out.

    I Prevail’s full social media statement:

    ATTENTION I PREVAIL FAMILY: We have mutually parted ways with our drummer Lee Runestad. We wish him and his family all the best. Life is an unpredictable journey that takes us all down different paths, but the important thing is to value every step along the way.
    That said, we are stoked to have our talented brothers Gabe Helguera (drums) and Eli Clark (bass) joining us as touring members going forward.
    Things have never been more exciting in the world of I Prevail and we have TONS of awesome stuff coming your way soon. Stay tuned.
    See you at Warped Tour this summer.
    -Brian, Eric, Steve and Dylan

    Runestad, took to his personal social media page and posted the following brief statement about his departure:

    Hey guys. It was a difficult decision, but I Prevail and I have decided to amicably part ways. I enjoyed my time in the band and wish I Prevail luck in its future endeavors.

    I Prevail has just wrapped up their own headline tour, which featured an amazing performance in the Capital Region at Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park in early May. I Prevail will head back out on the road this summer as part of the annual, Vans Warped Tour, performing on the Journey’s Left Foot stage.

  • Long Island’s the Nightmare Police Touring in Advance of New Release “Losing The Light”

    The Nightmare Police are not waiting until their official June 9 release date to start touring in support of their new EP  Losing the Light. The punk pop outfit from Long Island sets off on a tour of the Northeast this week, with stops in Mechanicville on May 28, Buffalo on May 29, and Smithtown on June 3.

    The hometown tour closer at Katie’s of Smithtown, Long Island will also include performances by Check Engine Light, A Story Told, Gutterlife, and This Crooked Home.

    The Nightmare Police create anthemic tunes packed with catchy choruses, rowdy guitar riffs, and driving beats. Members Ian Washington (guitar/ vocals), Joe Berti (bass/vocals) and Jesus Arancibia (drums) cite their influences as Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, and A Day to Remember. Losing the Light is their second EP, and was produced by Frank Laudicina and Brett Romnes. Head to Bandcamp to preorder the EP and to preview two singles, “Medicine Cabinet” and “Where Were You.”

    Tour Dates:

    5/26 – Mystic, CT – The German Club
    5/27 – Boston, MA – TBA
    5/28 – Mechanicville, NY – Our Place
    5/29 – Buffalo, NY – Sugar City
    5/31 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fire
    6/1 – Baltimore, MD – The Sidebar
    6/2 – Boonton, NJ – BoonTunes
    6/3 – Smithtown, NY – Katie’s of Smithtown *

    *with Check Engine Light, A Story Told, Gutterlife, and This Crooked Home