Hatebreed
Hatebreed is an American hardcore metal band from Connecticut, formed in 1994. With unflinching tenacity, the impenetrable heavy metal hardcore factory that is HATEBREED has brought forth yet another iron cast, sonic weapon with Weight Of The False Self. It comes as no surprise that their eighth, full length album is the result of the usual sweat and blood that have cemented HATEBREED’s unique niche in the world of music for over two decades. Renowned for their ability to provide an intense and cathartic release for their fans, HATEBREED challenged their writing style through this album cycle in order to produce material that is exceptionally relatable in a contemporary world flooded with overstimulation, emotional dampening, and lack of social patience. “Weight Of The False Self’ is a perfect representation of HATEBREED in 2020, a fresh onslaught of soon to be classics with all the elements that led you here since day one,” explains guitarist Frank Novinec. A metaphorical weight is carried by almost every individual in regards to their emotional construct. Our experiences shape who we become and over time, gradually produce a heavy burden that we continue to lug along. For many of us, the weight becomes so much that we struggle to get out from underneath, let alone move. It is these struggles that are translated throughout Weight Of The False Self. “Seen or unseen, everyone is carrying a burden. The music we love helps us bear the weight” proclaims vocalist Jamey Jasta. Over the course of over 20 years and 8 albums, the writing process for a band like HATEBREED has stayed safe in its roots, but still reached out and grabbed for crisp and compelling pieces of progressive sound to add to the mix. There are waves of fresh sounds while the massive foundation that houses HATEBREED remains strongly held in place. “On this album I really pushed myself; made myself rewrite things until they were better, until it clicked. I pulled myself out of that comfort zone. In the age of legacy bands having to play so many hits from their catalogue at shows, we love to hear fans request new songs when we’re playing live,” explains Jasta, “we’ve really played into our strengths with this one.” “There’s no shortage of beefy-riffs and adrenaline-fueled-drums on this record. I’m proud to say that we will consistently provide a soundtrack to which you can mosh in your living room and destroy your apartment,” details drummer Matt Byrne. Recording the album once more with the help of ZEUSS, the band experienced a sense of challenge and breakthrough that enabled them to obtain a new level of sound. After working with the band for several years, and while normally spending his time with bands that have a fairly different sound, Zeuss is able to test HATEBREED and expand their already infamous vibration. “It was really great working with Zeuss again on this one. Love the way the guitars sound,” comments guitarist Wayne Lozinak. As time goes on, the quality of production technology only seems to get better and better, creating a safe and productive nest in which albums can evolve and end up with a much cleaner sound; Weight Of The False Self brings early 2000’s era HATEBREED into the new decade. Released on November 27th, 2020 via Nuclear Blast Records, Weight Of The False Self is noted as one of HATEBREED’s strongest, and most memorable albums.
Elijah
Wraith
Wraith – Wraith is a blackened speed metal band from Northwest Indiana, currently signed to Prosthetic Records. Known for their high-velocity sound, they blend elements of 80s thrash, punk, and black metal. https://wraith219.bandcamp.com/music WitchTrap – Witchtrap is a Colombian black/thrash metal band formed in 1992 in Medellín by brothers Burning Axe Ripper (vocals/guitar) and Witchhammer (drums). Originally “Dark Millennium,” they shifted to 80s-influenced speed/thrash metal. Known for raw, alcohol-fueled, and evil-themed metal, the trio has released multiple albums and runs Dirty Sound Records. https://witchtrap-official.bandcamp.com/ The Black Moriah – editious, malicious, fiends, the horde of highwaymen ride on! The Black Moriah is influenced by hymns buried deep beneath dried earth, T.B.M. drinks the spirits of past greats Bathory, Kreator, Motorhead, Slayer, Venom, and other Kings as they frequent dens of iniquity, homes of misfortune and girls of ill-repute. https://theblackmoriah.bandcamp.com/ Burial Oath – black/heavy metal est 2015 (ex members of Cloak/Uada) https://burialoath.bandcamp.com/music Ungoliant – Ungoliant is a 4-piece black metal band from Omaha, NE. Formed in 2018, they have been bringing an old-school black metal approach to venues across the Midwest, opening for bands such as Warbringer, Uada, Panzerfaust, Jungle Rot, Hulder, and more. https://ungoliantamerica.bandcamp.com/
Wage War
Leading with an emphasis on quality in everything they do, Nevertel – Jeremy Michael (vocalist), Raul Lopez (rapper/guitarist/producer) and Alec Davis (guitarist) – have honed a distinctly modern genre-blending sound that fuses elements of hip-hop, nu-metal and alternative rock. Touting influences from established acts such as Linkin Park and Bring Me The Horizon, the group draws in listeners with riveting melodic choruses, hip-hop infused verses and bombasticEDM-style breakdowns. Now, after two albums, two EPs, and a slew of singles out in the world, Nevertel has racked up over 60 million global streams to date (and over 900K a week) while fostering an online community of over 600K social media followers. A testament of their dedication to their craft and commitment to their fans, the band has performed at festivals like Welcome To Rockville, seen radio support from SiriusXM and earned recognition across all major DSPs, with a placement on Spotify’s All New Metal, Kickass Metal, and Hard Rock playlists. “Our mission is pretty simple: to make music that saves and inspires people to make great changes in their lives.” While they pour their hearts into their work, at the core of it all, they do it for the tight-knit group of childhood best friends they once were. “If we could inspire that same 13-year-old kid we once were to follow their dreams and chase their passions then I’d say our mission is being accomplished.” — What got out of Orthodox’s A Door Left Open was a capital M Monolithic Metal record, which accomplished its goal of approximating the dread one would feel coming home to a door ajar. The lack of subgenres attached to the overarching weight doesn’t mean there weren’t influences from heavy music’s history, rather that attempting to sum it up would be a hyphenated mess as chaotic as opener “Can You Save Me?” and far less pointed and poignant than the album-ending monologue making up the middle section of closer ‘Will You Hate Me?” Between the album’s poles—start-and-stop metallic hardcore ala Converge and relative calm, almost post- metal-esque diversity (see what we mean about those hyphens?)—the Nashville/Columbusbased quintet have made nu feel new again.It’s at the apex of the densest elements of innovative subgenres like nu metal and metalcore, both which added aggression to softening metals, that Orthodox craft their own take on “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe.” Similar to peers like Knocked Loose, Harms Way and Jesus Piece, the band mutate metal’s most groovy elements into a molten alloy as scalding as it is dense. (That they’re joined by Matt McDougal, Andrew Neufeld and Brann Dailor on guest vocals only adds to the oomph.) In the case of Orthodox, call it “Dread Weight” after the track of the same name, and be prepared to be crushed—as many have through tours with the likes of The Acacia Strain, Stick To Your Guns, Boundaries, Dying Wish and more.From the floor to a massive stage, from hardcore to metal, and everything in between, Orthodox have built a name on fervent, visceral live shows. With their most blunt album, both lyrically and musically, the wrecking ball that is Orthodox is coming to shatter expectations and minds of fans of metal and hardcore alike. Their powerful alloy ensures it doesn’t matter if there was, ahem, A Door Left Open or not, with their latest album, they’ve kicked theirs off its hinges—if not turned itinto dust.
Spiritworld
With Helldorado, the third installment of SPIRITWORLD’s death-western trifecta, chief hombre Stu Folsom takes the listener deeper into a world where the hot desert sun beats down on his singular vision of the American West as a gateway to hell. “It’s a different album than the past two,” says Folsom of the thematic and sonic journey that began with the Las Vegas band’s 2020’s Pagan Rhythms LP and continued with 2022’s Deathwestern. Now the story rides on in a cloud of dust and a spray of blood with his latest offering. Helldorado blasts the Mojave-born bloodlust and stomping, tomahawk riffs SPIRITWORLD won their brutal, horrific vision of the Old West with, while riding straight into macabre Americana. Helldorado not only tightens the reins on SPIRITWORLD’s riff-riding attack that has won the band “most played” stature at Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal, but also looks over its shoulder—cigarillo dangling from a sun-parched lip—at their punk-driven outlaw country origins. Folsom and his gang first assaulted Vegas Elks Lodges in 2017 on a mission to brand country music with a manic singalong energy cultivated over years in the local hardcore scene. “Dwight Yoakam probably meant as much to me growing up as Black Flag or Slayer did,” says Stu. With country in his soul and metal in his veins, Folsom yearned for the power of the riff. This found him teaming with producer/mixer Sam Pura, who has produced all three SPIRITWORLD records, to unleash Pagan Rhythms, first on the tiny independent label Safe Inside Records. The buzzed-about debut caught the eye of Century Media Records, who signed the band and issued the album worldwide a year later. The reaction to the record, which drew comparisons to the likes of Slayer and Integrity, was overwhelming. It was the purity of Folsom’s vision that won raves from the likes of Gary Holt and Max Cavalera of Soulfly, who praised the band on social media. Helldorado is the next chapter of Folsom’s cycle of Western weirdness, drawing inspiration from his own published literary work, Godlessness, a collection of short stories rooted in Lovecraftian horror and Louis L’Amour’s classic tales of the American West. “Stigmata Scars,” featuring additional guitar work by Frédéric Leclercq of Kreator, digs even deeper into SPIRITWORLD’s horrific lyrical vistas. SPIRITWORLD live is where the rubber meets the road for Stu Folsom and crew. Taking the stage in embroidered, rhinestone-studded jackets and Stetson hats, the energized fivesome is literally Elvis’ Wrecking Crew from hell. From their inaugural stint on Decibel Magazine’s branded tour with Obituary and Municipal Waste in early 2022, to North American runs including a co-headline tour with metal legends Kreator and Sepultura, as well as hardcore heroes Stick to Your Guns and European festival appearances at the UK’s Bloodstock Open Air and France’s Hellfest, the band has built a formidable live reputation. “The mentality on some of these tours is literally ripping a page from Ramones or Against Me!—don’t stop, no stage banter, just rip your songs.” One thing’s for sure: SPIRITWORLD is back with an album that is as much Sergio Leone as it is Slayer. When asked to sum up where it’s all going, Stu Folsom steps back, considers the question, and answers plainly: “Straight to hell, my friend. Straight to hell.”
Beyond Lobotomy
Beyond Lobotomy – an Omaha, Nebraska based 5-piece Metalcore/Hardcore band!https://www.instagram.com/beyondlobotomy/Shadow Hounds – hardcore / punk / metal / crossover from San Antonio, TX https://www.instagram.com/shadowhoundstxSexcult – metal / punk from Austin, TXhttps://www.instagram.com/sexcult_austin/Glass Trenches – hardcore / punk from Omaha (DEBUT SHOW!!!)https://glasstrenches.bandcamp.com/
NEQUIENT
NEQUIENT Grinding metallic hardcore chaos – Crust / dbeat / hardcore / punk from Chicago https://nequient.bandcamp.com/ BLACK CROSS HOTEL Black Cross Hotel’s brand of industrial-strength post-punk stands firmly on sweat-soaked leather and concrete floors. The five-piece’s aesthetic effortlessly blends raw aggression with nuanced atmospheric layers, drawing influences from the golden days of neon, mighty riffs, and “trax made of wax.” ebm / goth / horror / industrial from Chicago https://blackcrosshotel.bandcamp.com/ EPIMELIDES We draw in inspiration from gothic, melodic death, symphonic, doom and industrial music https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567600520062 MOON PIGEONS Goth Rock / Alt / Dark Wave band from Omaha https://www.instagram.com/moonpigeonsomaha/
WEEDEATER
The Koffin Kats
The Koffin Kats Koffin Kats are a psychobilly trio from Detroit, Michigan. Fusing the swing of classic rockabilly with the hot-wired energy and ghoulish imagery of Misfits, this band proves that high-octane psychobilly is still alive and kicking in the American midwest. Koffin Kats were formed in 2003 by lead singer and upright bassist Vic Victor and guitarist/vocalist Tommy Koffin, who had been part of the Motor City punk scene for some time before trying their hands at the doom-struck twang of their punk-rockabilly fusion. The trio released their first album, simply titled “Koffin Kats”, in 2004, and hit the road in support of the record. Since then, the Koffin Kats have maintained a busy tour schedule, frequently gigging on the West Coast as well as closer to home, and have released 10 full length albums and 2 EP’s, the latest of which was 2024’s “Higher Lows”. https://www.facebook.com/koffinkats/ The Rumours – (rock n roll / punk rock from Waterloo, IA) https://therumours.bandcamp.com/ Carrie Nation & the Speakeasy – (dark-psychedelic-speedfolk band from Wichita, KS) https://carrienationandthespeakeasy.bandcamp.com/
Blanket of M
