Boston metallers Unearth have embarked on a North American tour in support of their upcoming album Extinction(s).
Extinction(s) is due out on November 23 via Century Media Records.
They will be on the road with Fit For An Autopsy, The Agony Scene and Traitors.
Check out the tour dates here.
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Slew of music stories for you goblins today. First though, CW Supergirl is finally bringing Lex Luthor onto the show. Please write them and tell them to consider me for the role as I am bald enough (too many tats though).
The metal world was rocked by the sad news of Oli Herbert from All That Remains passing away unexpectedly, with many people expressing how nice he was and what a sad turn of events it is. I have definitely stopped being a fan of the band some time ago, but politics aside, this is a super sad situation for everyone involved and we wish them sincere condolences. Oli certainly was talented and was loved by a lot of people.
Some mourners below:
Oli Herbert was a unique personality and extraordinary talent. His kindness was felt every time we'd meet up on the road. The music world and metal community has lost one of its best. My condolences to the members of All That Remains, his friends, family and legacy of fans.
— Trevor Phipps (@TrevorPhipps) October 17, 2018
A kind, gentle guy. RIP Oli. https://t.co/ShiaiRHOBJ
— Mark Holcomb (@MarkPeriphery) October 17, 2018
We did our second tour ever in 2004 with Oli Herbert. He was an amazing person and guitarist. Rest In Peace Oli. pic.twitter.com/tS7hOtKj39
— Matthew kiichichaos Heafy (@matthewkheafy) October 18, 2018
Definitely shitty. That said and politics NOT aside, I waited a day to write that I ALSO wish sincere condolences to the families of children murdered in preventable gun nut school rampages almost daily which ARE mostly acted out by white supremacists who are all gassed up by toxic Info Wars who All That Remains’ singer Phil went on recently, so I hope if he doesn’t like death he reconsiders some of his horrible positions on poorly regulated gun access and shady outlets. It is genuinely sad that his friend died but I also don’t think helping Phil stay famous to spout whataboutisms, pretend “f-gg-t” isn’t a harmful word and other macho nonsense was the most awesome life choice for anyone in that band just because they got paid.
I have almost more dead friends than living at this point and so am by no means mocking the end of someone’s life, just hoping it will also cause the singer of this band to do some soul searching on the fleeting nature of time and how glorifying poor gun regulation and the NRA only brings more death to OTHER people’s family and friend groups. And how ANY right wing power leads to mental health care for depression and instability being put way on the backburner. Sorry if that’s “too soon” but that is the same thing Republicans say every time we ask for meaningful reform. I am beyond offended by anyone who is supporting or enabling their platforms in 2018 under Trump.
In other shitty news:
Hoping the talented @CCHELSEAWWOLFE and this excellent label seriously reconsiders this and drops off. Mjk “response” was dismissive “how dare you” Aggro machismo victim blaming culture whether guilty or not. https://t.co/xlYDzRbxRg
— MetalRiot.com (@MetalRiot) October 18, 2018
In WONDERFUL news, the WOMAN 2 Anti-Nazi comp had a super big first day:
WOMAN II raised /£1300/ on day one. That's 1400 euros, $1700 USD, $2222 CAD.
I am exceedingly proud of this community. Your generosity has brought medical aid to those who really need it.
Stay tuned, post-day one sales will be tallied and donated at the end of the month. pic.twitter.com/tAfKRzDatZ
— Blackened Death Richard (@PopeRichard) October 18, 2018
With album sales these days, that’s practically making the Billboard charts. https://t.co/XqiwS4plEO
— Ghoul (@GhoulOfficial) October 18, 2018
CASTLE by Matt Haines
Castle, still prob the band we have covered most on this site, remain unstoppably rad and a pitch perfect heavy metal band. The West Coast road warriors have a new album Deal They Fate streaming HERE today! Matt and Liz are the coolest. Hails!! Castle has also announced U.S. tour dates in support of Deal Thy Fate. The band will launch a two week West Coast trek on November 23. The just-announced live dates are as follows:
Castle U.S. tour dates:
November 23 Dunsmuir, CA Spirits
November 24 Portland, OR Tonic Bar
November 25 Bellingham, WA Shakedown
November 26 Salem, OR The Space
November 27 Seattle, WA Highline
November 28 Eugene, OR Old Nick’s
November 29 Oakland, CA Elbo Room
November 30 Sacramento, CA Blue Lamp
December 1 San Jose, CA Caravan
December 4 Phoenix, AZ Yucca Tap
December 5 Los Angeles, CA Resident
December 6 San Diego, CA Tower Bar
December 7 Ventura, CA The Garage
Deathcore action heroes Signs Of The Swarm are hungry, and I don’t just mean that they look like they could use a big helping of lasagna each. The group have been working hard to leave an impression and slam an impact crater into the surface of the scene. I always think about how fired up Korn was when they toured with Danzig years ago and wonder what new bands will come out blazing with similar desire to make crowds go crazy nowadays. Well, Signs Of The Swarm aint slouchin’ live, that’s for sure!
Now the group have released pro shot live footage from their stint on this year’s Devastation on the Nation Tour, which saw them performing alongside Aborted, Psycroptic, Ingested, Disentomb, Arkaik, and Venom Prison. The set was filmed by Matti Way (From The North Films) at the tour’s stop in Mesa, Az date.
Watch the video HERE.
Physical order bundles for SIGNS OF THE SWARM‘s Unique Leader debut The Disfigurement of Existence are available HERE.
Digital bundles are available HERE.
\m/
Good luck to this band. Let’s support new acts and help metal’s future stay strong.
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Just a reminder that the new one In Our Wake from blood sucking metalcore bruisers Atreyu hits streets October 12th and it is a winner. Here is the title track “In Our Wake” in case ya missed it. Much higher production value video than the early days, lol. Brandon still grand slams those catchy cleans to the moon. We stan. Like Thrice, it is good they have embraced their grandest ambitions because the songs aren’t held back and the emotion can come through without being self-conscious.
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Photo Credit: Spinesplitter
In the eleventh hour, I bring you my September wrap-up. Holy fucking shit September was one hell of a month. Fortunately, the new music has been good inside and outside of metal. Whether you’ve been trying to avoid Supreme Court-Senate-Nomination-Bullshit, or you’ve been raising all the hell about it you can, whether you’ve been working with survivors in an emotional time of need, or doing your best to survive on your own, whether you’ve been writing to cope, or just playing your show to get through – September was rough as shit.
I’m glad to come back at the end of every month, especially on months that this is the only post I write for Metal Riot, and share with y’all what I thought was really cool throughout the month.
Check out the four albums I enjoy the most this month here.
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Chicago hardcore unit HARM’S WAY will join Terror on their North American headlining tour beginning tomorrow, September 28th in San Diego, California. The trek will run through October 16th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with additional support to be provided by Backtrack, Year Of The Knife, and Candy. From there, HARM’S WAY will take a short break before joining Cannibal Corpse and Hate Eternal for a US tour that will stretch from November 2nd through December 6th. See all confirmed dates below.
Band photo by Sarah Dunn
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Dustin Kensrue and the Thrice boys lead the pack for me this month. It was my favorite hard rock record of September, even though it also has some very quiet moments. I know there was a lot of super good heavier stuff out this month (Pig Destroyer, Bangladeafy and the proggy, great new Voivod or rowdy Clutch releases of course deserve a tip of the hat) but pound for pound I think Thrice’s first release for Epitaph is a fantastic release and probably my favorite from the band since way back around The Artist In The Ambulance. That is not to say they haven’t released anything good since then, far from it. I just happened to really connect with these new songs and think it is a damn fine rock album, as great a release from a band ten albums into their celebrated career of expectation upturning as you are ever likely to hear.
I can remember around the time of The Illusion Of Safety or maybe Artist when they were working with Island that there was chatter in the press they were gonna be the next Metallica. I thought that was a bit much of an expectation to hoist on the dudes and people should prob just let them do their own thing and develop. In 2018 a song like “Everything Belongs” might make you think they are the next Coldplay. I for one love Coldplay but that would also be kind of ambitious. Not to say Thrice can’t still sell a buttload of records. This album has plenty of room for hit material, but also makes interesting statements and musically is an excellent balance between accessible and far from bland artistry. Heck, Emma Ruth Rundle is even on it and everything she touches is amazing.
Read more BELOW.
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Baltimore metalcore faithful VELA have delivered a video for their song “Cult Of The Mountain” which we are happy to premiere for you today. They have an early 00’s metalcore influence (like so many acts, as that was a very influential era) but also cite more heavy metal or progressive metalcore hybrid bands like Trivium and Born Of Osiris as influences on their heavy sound. A full length album is intended for 2o19 with details to be announced in the future. I gotta say, it is hard to get sick of dueling guitars and some steadfast rabid kick drum devotion. I dug this track, though it does not stray far out of the general genre lines until the very cool and more experimental bridge. That isn’t always a bad thing. This song has a few dizzying guitar moments to boast of and roars down doors.
With this single and our upcoming album, we really want to take what made 2000’s era metalcore so great and evolve that into a modern sound. All the members of our band love that era of music and are constantly inspired by bands like Trivium, Killswitch Engage, and August Burns Red. Lyrically, the song is about the Aum Shinrikyo in Japan who conducted sarin gas attacks to cleanse the world of humanity. Our song was actually released on the day the leader of the cult was executed for his crimes completely by coincidence! – Eric Ferguson – Guitarist for Vela
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Credit: Captured By Corinne
Each month seems to start off nice and slow and then by the time it’s over I wonder where it’s gone. The past three weeks I’ve been wrapped up in the whirlwind of starting my second year of grad school (stay out of school, kids).
Here are the four albums that got me through this month, while I was reading like my life depended on it.
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We Came As Romans announced earlier today on their Twitter that their vocalist, Kyle Pavone, has passed away.
They write:
“Today music lost another great with the passing of Kyle Pavone of We Came as Romans. Kyle’s tragic loss came too early in his life and those of his bandmates. All are devastated by his passing. We will miss his smiles, his sincerity, his concern for others, and his impressive musical talent. In lieu of flowers, we will be providing information regarding charity donations this coming week. The family and the band wish to thank their fans and the music community for all their love and support as they navigate their grief.
Will I Be Remembered or Will I Be Lost in Loving Eyes?”
— We Came As Romans (@wecameasromans) August 25, 2018
Pavone provided vocals as well as keyboards, piano and synthesizer on five of the band’s albums.
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July was a hectic month for me. I spent a week out of town, I finished up a summer class, and the past few days I’ve been playing a lot of Crash Bandicoot. But as always, I’ve tried to compile a list of the albums that I thought were the best of the best for the month. This month’s list was a little harder to get together than previous months, there were some misses I wasn’t expecting to miss, and not as many ones I hitting that I didn’t expect to make up for it. The following list is in no particular order.
1. First on the list, the one that was a surprise for me, is Bongripper’s Terminal. In the age of sludge, grunge, post-, noise doom metal it’s always nice to hear something truly, seismically heavy and slow. The two songs on this album are “Slow” and “Death” and they have a combined playtime of 43 minutes. As I prepare for another hectic academic year of getting my ass kicked by grad school, I’m excited that in moments when I need to slow down, I’ll have Terminal to drag me along. All the better with fall imminent. Head over to Bongripper’s Bandcamp to stream Terminal, where you can download it at “name your own price.”
2. Any list I make isn’t going to be complete without at least one -core album, and this one will have three! The first is Bury Tomorrow‘s Black Flame. This album is pretty standard metalcore fare, chugging and riffing along, interchanging between clean and growled vocals. The title track probably stands out the most for me.
3. Next on the list is Chelsea Grin‘s Eternal Nightmare. Ever since Suicide Silence’s self-titled album last year, I’ve been hungry for good deathcore stylings (not that this is a stab at Suicide Silence, I always support bands pursuing the sounds they want to go for, it just wasn’t for me). Chelsea Grin offer pretty great deathcore with this album. Though this album features an iteration of Chelsea Grin without any of the founding members, former Lorna Shore vocalist, Tom Barber, the newest edition to the band, brings a fantastic performance. My favorite track off the album is “See You Soon.”
4. Last on the list is Within The Ruins‘ World Undone EP. This two song EP follows the band’s release last year of Halfway Human. Within The Ruins’ style of proggy metalcore is about the only way I get into prog metal. Check out the EP’s title track.
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Turkish heavy metallers Sails of Serenity have recently signed to Famined Records and have today released the music video for their song “Left Behind.”
“Left Behind” comes from the band’s upcoming album The Crossing which is due out August 17.
The song features vocals from Başer Çelebi of Furtherial.
Sails of Serenity had this to say about “Left Behind” and signing to Famined Records:
“Inspired by Captain Ahab’s story from Moby Dick, ‘Left Behind’ tells us about a man, estranged to himself by his convictions; a man left behind in a sense. This is symbolized in the music video as a man left alone in an island. Being a part of the Famined Records family is a new and exciting step for us. With ‘Left Behind’ and our upcoming album The Crossing, we believe that we will achieve our main goal to make our music heard by people all around the world.”
The Crossing was mixed and mastered by Gabor Toth (Harmed) at Ghostship Recordings (Beyond Deviation, Swallowed Alive, Bloodbather) and the opening piece on the album will include orchestration by Eren Başbuğ (Dream Theater).
Check out the video for “Left Behind” here.
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Big news today as Metal Blade Records is proud to welcome Killswitch Engage to their roster! Partnering with Sony Music Entertainment outside of North America, the band will be releasing their upcoming album in 2019 worldwide. I love all their records but consistently rock Disarm The Descent and As Daylight Dies in my car the most often these days. Whatever they do though always has the drive, passion and depth that fans know and love. And of course…RIIIIFFFS!
Man, with this in the works and the new effort from Exmortus coming out this week, we are having a jubilantly thrash-corian week, huh? Yes, I just wrote that. I will hang my head in shame now…or, bang it?
Metal Blade’s CEO/founder Brian Slagel comments: “I have been a huge fan and friend of Killswitch for a long time, so it is truly an honor to be able to work with them. So happy to welcome them to the Metal Blade family.”
Jesse Leach (vocals): “I’m beyond stoked to sign with the legendary Metal Blade Records and Columbia/Sony Music. It’s clear they truly understand and believe in what we do as a band, and we’re psyched to have them on our side. It’s an exciting new chapter for KSE and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Adam Dutkiewicz (guitar): “I’m very excited to say that Killswitch Engage will be joining forces with Metal Blade Records and Columbia/Sony Music! Super stoked to join the ranks with a long list of many epic metal acts, as well as a team of excellent human beings who truly have a genuine love for metal music. Here’s to an awesome future with awesome labels!”
Benjamin Voss, Senior A&R Manager Columbia/Sony Music Germany: “I am very happy and proud to work with such an amazing band like Killswitch Engage in the future. We are absolutely excited about releasing their new album on Sony Music outside North America.”
Currently finishing work on their upcoming album, Killswitch Engage have taken a break from recording to embark on a summer European tour with Iron Maiden. The trek will also see the band appear at various premier festivals (Sweden Rock, Graspop Metal Meeting, Hellfest, etc.), along with a few special headlining shows. Then in the fall, the band will be touring across Australia with Parkway Drive. See below for all dates!
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How is it already June, folks?! Sorry for the delay, but I am prepared to let y’all know about my four favorite albums from the month of May.
Check them out here.
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Metalcore vets and proud pit starters Sworn Enemy are touring the 15th anniversary of As Real As It Gets with one of my favorite live acts in thrash, Thy Will Be Done, along for the trip. Fans of East Coast motivational metal need to get fired up and represent!
Dates BELOW.
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Blues punks The Bobby Lees (Sam Quartin , Kendall Wind , Macky Bowman, Nick Casa) have been tearing it up on stages in Upstate, NY and around the country. While you may recognize Quartin from movie roles like the (forthcoming) Run With The Hunted and Let Me Make You A Martyr , this band is not a novelty project but a full fledged rock n rollercoaster. They totally scorch the stage with a howling sense of purpose and poetic sting, capturing a primal and at times even fun energy on Beauty Pageant . Feral animals and ghosts hiding in the trees agree that this band is the shit. This record and group truly deserve to be heard, so head to their Bandcamp and blast "Deem Em Dead" now. You can say you knew 'em when.
