Metal Riot

Judas Priest, heavy metal icons of the highest order, have released a lyric video for “Never The Heroes”. The band’s new album Firepower touches down to scorch the Earth on March 9th, but here is another molten taste for ya. The song opens with unmistakeable Priestly arena-worthy swagger before Halford’s iconic voice eases in like a pure natural to seize the reigns. And it only gets more metal from there.

Priest has reunited with producer Tom Allom for this record (the man behind the board for all of the band’s releases from 1979-1988, including such stellar classics as Unleashed in the East, British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith) and with Grammy Award-winning producer Andy Sneap also helping to raise the sonic bar even higher.

Chaostar continue to humble the listener with their towering skill and passionate emotional control and release on new track “Tazama Jua”. Taken from March’s pending The Undivided Light, the track confirms that this is indeed still the 2018 release I am most excited for thus far. We have seen some amazing records already in the time we have breifly waded into the waters of this somewhat new year (The Atlas Moth, Machine Head or Legend Of The Seagullmen come to mind off the top of my head), but this Chaostar record commands my full attention with unparalleled operatic complexity, a sophisticated theatrical emotional range and nonetheless a direct sense of the real that touches the spirit. Some of it is even catchy, hahaha.

Pre-orders for the album are available at the Season of Mist E-Shop.

Rivers Of Nihil are justly being praised for their steady growth and driven, rage infused masterful modern death. Three albums in and if the new material we have heard so far is any indicator the band are well on the way to securing their legacy and never being forgotten as an important death metal act of note, but it sounds like they also have a LOT of surprises in store for us as well. The newest record is said to draw from a LOT more influences than the band previously has.

Today RoN made a huge announcement about their 3rd LP that has fans drooling:

On March 16th, we will release our third full-length, “Where Owls Know My Name”, via Metal Blade Records. “Whereas The Conscious Seed of Light” (2013) and “Monarchy” (2015) were thematically centered around spring and summer, respectively, “Where Owls Know My Name” represents the fall.

Check out the album’s second track, “The Silent Life.”. Pre-order bundles are available at: http://metalblade.com/riversofnihil/

Read MORE BELOW.

Ronny and his wife J. Von Hughes Munroe

Ronny Munroe (Ex-Metal Church, Munroe’s Thunder) is an awesome dude. I got into the guy’s work late after he played a drunken rock n roll rathole called The Basement that I used to help book shows at about half a decade ago now (time flies). My friend Drew who writes for us here sometimes as well is a HUGE Metal Church fan, maybe the biggest I know. He loves the Ronny-era and made buttons for him for awhile. I still have one that I rock pretty regularly still on one of my favorite hoodies.

Anyway, Ronny and his wife and manager J. Von Hughes Munroe have had it rough of late. J. Von Hughes has been enduring a very personal battle with stage 3 Mullerian Ovarian Cancer.

First off, cancer is so terrible. My father died of complications from it and my heart goes out to the couple. You can see the love between them in the photo above.

Now to some happier tidings. BELTFED WEAPON‘s Frank Hetzel is a friend of Ronny’s and wanted to help. As such the two have teamed up on a new song “P.O.W.” we are featuring today to help get the word out. Let’s show them some metal love, everyone!

“P.O.W” features Ronny Munroe on vocals, Frank Hetzel on rhythm guitar, Dean Sternberg on bass, Daryl Williams on drums and guest solos by Andy Beech and Adon Fanion.  “P.O.W.”  was produced by BELTFED WEAPON, mixed and mastered by Aaron Smith / Envisage Audio (Jeff Loomis, Ghost Ship Octavious, Binary Code) who also engineered BELTFED WEAPON’sprevious releases RAINING PLAGUE and PEACEKEEPER.  Frank Dooley created the artwork, Russ Knudsen provided the promotional clip seen BELOW.

Party rocking optimism enthusiast Andrew W.K. picks us up during the best and worst of times. Dude is just always on his own frequency and it is usually infectious and inspiring. If you need proof he still has it, check out the recent material from latest party rock record “You’re Not Alone’.

“They made me think I was crazy/that the pain was here to say, but now that I’ve found the answers/I’m never ever gonna lose my way…ever again!”

Andrew W.K. embraces overcoming struggles with the kind of insistence that we can still have good outcomes we could surely use these days. It is refreshing again to hear his new stuff in a time when it is so fucking easy to get discouraged, and the new songs rock! “Music Is Worth Living For” was anthem as fuck! And the new song “Ever Again” also rages with the utmost joy of being alive. It can be heard below. Crack one open (or not) and hug your homies.

photo by rennie elliot

We have been stans of Insect Ark for awhile now , the Dana Schechter  (M. Gira’s Angels Of Light, Wrekmeister Harmonies, Zeal & Ardor, Gnaw) founded project which expanded to a duo featuring Ashley Spungin (Taurus, Purple Rhinestone Eagle) to enhance a powerful creative drive. If there were animated gifs of them we would retweet them at people to show them we mean business. Anyway, my dorkery aside…the band has an awesome dynamic and their material is killer. Super great news is that Profound Lore will release their newest full length on Feb. 23rd. Entitled Marrow Hymns, it is one of our most anticipated early 2018 must hear records.

Revolver is showcasing the band’s new song “Sea Harps” now right HERE.

Says Schechter, “‘Sea Harps,’ a favorite in our live sets, is loosely based on the Greek myth of the Sirens. Broadcasting an ominous and lonely call into the night, the Sirens’ song was irresistible to all who heard it, luring sailors to an untimely and violent death.”

The latest song has a marvelous dirgy quality and an insanely textural physicality. The atmosphere of the early songs is expanded on this track into an intense whirl of lap steel, bass and repetitive drum patterns, like climbing up a very tall stone staircase in the fog to finally break free and get a wide view for miles and miles of nature surpassing our falling cities ambivalently. The song wins without losing any of the alienation or restless wanderlust that made the old songs so compelling. I can see why it reminds Dana of someone being pulled through a turbulent sea towards the rocks.