Receiving the Evcharist is our weekly feature where we pair choice albums with our favorite libations. Drink from the cup of heresy. This week’s offering: Twilight Fauna’s Where Birds Sing My Name and Lagunitas Brewing Company’s Cherry Jane. Continue reading
I hear we’re calling this stuff the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal. I’m always eager to embrace yet another nonsensical label, and await the inevitable usage of NWOTHM or whatever. Point is, you can label Fresno, CA band Haunt whatever you want if it helps you get through the night. Me? The band, their sound, and their killer debut fell length Burst Into Flame is simple heavy metal, and the world is better for its honesty in simply wanting to rock you hard and sweet. Continue reading
All the Satan news paused for a week out of respect for the Behemoth album announcement. However, the Bringer of Light was busy the last few days…
Out this week in black metal, Detroit’s Divine Ecstasy summons Mayhem and Master’s Hammer in its new album, Strange Passions, streaming here:
Speaking of that raw style, Ill Omen released The Grande Usurper this week. The Australian act put forth just under half an hour of fire on this:
Japan’s Abigail are out with a new album as well. Far East Black Metal Onslaught sees frontman Yasuyuki Suzuki going all out as always:
– EA
South London’s Gramma Vedetta wants you to understand that their mix of grunge, stoner metal and classic rock is up to date and ready for mass consumption. Checking out their back catalog via Bandcamp (links contained below) it’s immediately apparent that this strain of styles is paramount to the band and their sound. Particularly since we’re picking up some Mother Love Bone, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and slight Alice In Chains vibes but also a distant Kyuss. If all that sounds interesting, and it should, then definitely check out their latest single “Address Unknown” which was released back in June and with the stream below you’ve got no excuse not to. We had the chance to ask the band our set of Profile questions and in our typical fashion we’re just a bit late with them. No worries though, read on to see what they had to say. Continue reading
“But hey,” you ask. “Where do all those promos come from?”
They come from PR groups, my friends. Many, many PR groups. Inboxes get stuffed to the gills with pleas for some kind of coverage, whether its a review, interview, profile, track premiere…and as the release date for an album gets closer and the reminders come in, it can get even more overwhelming. But with so much music out there, having a good PR person in your corner can make the difference between selling your album to six of your friends and family, and getting exposure (any exposure) to an audience that can pick up and carry your work forward. I’d say PR groups are a necessary evil, except my experience as both a writer and a musician has found, for the most part, these dogged flag wavers to be anything but evil.
And so I thought for this edition of Nine Circles ov… I’d highlight the music that’s come to my attention via Jadd and the folks from Red Lead Media & PR. Focusing on punk and hard rock in a variety of styles (not to mention being the in-house PR division for Magnetic Eye Records) there’s a healthy variety of music below so keep cool and dig in. Who knows, maybe something will take your fancy…. Continue reading
