Polish prog metallers VOTUM recently confirmed their appearances at this year’s edition of the Metal Hammer Festival in Poland alongside Katatonia, Opeth, Pain Of Salvation, Riverside and headliners Korn (with one band still to be announced). The event will take place on August 27 at Spodek Hall in Katowice. VOTUM formed in Warsaw in 2003. The band will unleash their second full-length, Metafiction, in the US on August 3 via…
Norwegian guitarist and vocalist, singer and songwriter Ane Brun returns to the US in November, playing a very special NYC show with Ani DiFranco at Town Hall. This year saw Ane Brun release FOUR albums stateside for the first time: Spending Time with Morgan, Duets, Sketches and Live in Scandanvia Ane Brun Returns to the US Nov 19 – Town Hall – NY, NY w/ Ani DiFranco Spending Time with…
After spending the past month igniting stages across Europe with Bullet For My Valentine and Atreyu, the CANCER BATS return home this summer to bring their mountainous grooves and explosive blend of punk and metal to venues across Canada. Since releasing their third studio album Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones in April, the Juno nominated CANCER BATS have graced the pages of Eye Weekly, Revolver, Kerrang!, Alternative Press, and countless…
With a rejuvenated energy, metal-heads everywhere anticipate the hardcore tour-de-force set to hit their city this summer – metalcore-moguls HATEBREED embark on a string of Canadian dates in September, treating fans to a block of eight shows in nine days. E1 Music label-mates Straight Line Stitch support HATEBREED’s Canadian stretch as the opening band. Heralded for their boot-to-teeth trademark style, HATEBREED kicks off their visit to Canada following an action-packed…
Lagwagon has been around for tons of years (older than most of their fans, since they started in 1988). There is a comparable chunk of Lagwagon’s sound to The Vandals, in that a number of their tracks have the same style of hair-metal guitars. Couple that with a chunky bass that plays a major role in a number of tracks (especially “Automatic”) and one has theformula for a sold, spastic…
Not really what I could categorize as emo rock, Long Since Forgotten mixes acts like Jimmy Eat World with the Goo Goo Dolls, using rich recording to mesh the two sounds without any discernible seams. All and all, the tracks go by incredibly fast, working just as well as incidental music as front-level driving music. Josh’s vocals on every track are ultimately clear and act in different capacities, creating something…
U.S. Tour Dates: 7/6 – The Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA 7/8 – Popscene – San Francisco, CA 7/10 – Lilith Fair – Irvine, CA The Family Jewels available now www.marinaandthediamonds.com www.myspace.com/marinaandthediamonds
With the best recording of anything to come out of Greencastle, Lagging Leftward’s style of Led Zepplin and Lynyrd Skynyrd-like rock is also a bold step in a direction that was previously untouched by the whole of Greencastle music. One thing that hampers the band would be the length of each track on this demo, with the shortest track averaging out at over 4 minutes. Repetition is the key for…
Underground hardcore punk injected rock n’ rollers ENGRAINED , who have built up a massive live following in their native Germany since their inception in the early 90′ are ready to release a brand new 5 track EP entitled “Anger, Roots & Rock n’Roll”, on SPV/Steamhammer July 13th in North America. ENGRAINED was born in Sarstedt (Rock City) near Hannover/Germany in the early nineties as a three headed hardcore band.…
Willamette Week is thrilled to announce the addition of Panda Bear to the lineup for MusicfestNW, now in its 10th year of showcasing the finest in national and regional music in one of the most compelling urban areas anywhere. Panda Bear (of Animal Collective fame) kicks-off this year’s MusicfestNW with a special performance on Wednesday, September 8th at the Crystal Ballroom, in what promises to be the first of 5…
Patti LaBelle is one of those artists that I know was big in the past, but has not really done anything earthshaking since I became cognizant of music. For those that do not know, LaBelle started out as a singer for the Bluebelles, changed their name to Labelle, and then broke free from the rest of the pack starting in 1976. From 1962 to 1993, LaBelle charted tens of songs,…
With odds stacked against its existence as a band since day one, Omaha, Nebraska’s Landing On The Moon has risen above the circumstances. This quintet could easily be perceived as unlikely suspects to thrive in the current era of rock ‘n roll, but the band carries itself with the confidence of an underdog. The bond is tight with this outfit, consisting of a set of siblings, a pair of spouses,…
The opening piano to “He Was There” should be reminiscent to listeners to Des’ree’s “Kissing You”. In fact, the general style of “He Was There” is tracked alongside that song, even if the act adds a considerable amount of gospel influence to the mix. The decision to put the longest track at the beginning of the disc is an interesting one; this gambit has sunk many a band when they…
Tooth & Nail Records would like to welcome Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Swimming With Dolphins to their artist roster. Formerly of Owl City, frontman Austin Tofte has created ambient electronica pop inspired by the ocean and fond childhood memories of America’s largest lakes. The band will head into the studio this summer to record their Tooth & Nail debut. “I’m more than excited to announce Tooth & Nail as the home of…
New Jersey folk metal horde WINDFAERER — M. Gonçalves [Vocals, Guitars, Bass], JP Andrade [Percussion] and Valèek [Violin] — recently posted two new tracks to their official MySpace page. “These Walls (Frozen In Time)” and “This Beautiful Death” (which features bagpipe work by Sevan Kirder, formerly of Eluveitie) come off the trio’s debut full-length, Tribus. Check out the tracks here: http://www.myspace.com/windfaerer. Tribus was recorded and mixed at Frightbox Recording (Clifton,…
I like how all of the band’s album titles have dealt with illegal immigration. This is not the next Manic Hispanic, but rather an interesting band that starts off their “We Came To Take Your Jobs Away” with a track that blends together a They Might Be Giants sound with a more Middle Eastern sound. While Kultur Shock is confident that their song will never be on the radio during…
The Extremities is an incredibly fitting name for the latest project, courtesy of Toronto’s producer Fresh Kils (sampler/keyboard) and Halifax’s Uncle Fester (turntable). Simply put, there’s just so much happening on The Mint Condition, the collaboration’s newest record set for release this September, that it’s impossible not to hop on board with their groovy, eclectic brand of lounge-inspired hip-hop. Now, don’t assume so quickly that The Mint Condition is a…
The raw exuberance that Woven Bones seethes from its tightly-wound inner coil of turmoil isn’t exactly the stuff daydreams are made of, but as their menacing presence has been culminating over the past couple of years, it’s now clear as daylight that their finest efforts would come together on this, their debut LP. As they’ve effectively dragged the shards of their tattered souls with building ferocity on each of their…
There is a tremendous comparison available here in Kronowitt’s case, in which Kronowitt sets eirself to be the inheritor of the Elvis Costello mantle; the heavily-vocal opening to “Elements” really subjugates the instrumental side of things to Kronowitt’s emotive voice. The first real hit on this album is “Ballad of Pete & Heather”; the pitch-shifting aspect of Kronowitt’s vocals taking on a Marc Schultz tone at times. The Spanish-infused guitar…
King of The Beach, originally slated for an Aug. 3 release date, will now be available via iTunes exclusively on July 1, all other digital outlets on July 13 and the physical street date (CD / LP) remains Aug. 3. Bio: In the life of Nathan Williams, the year of 2009 will go down as both a highlight reel and a total shit show. Meteorically, feverishly and somewhat improbably, two…