hellfest site plan

Rock Hard \m/

The latest to come to my attention is Orchid‘s The Mouths of Madness, which is streaming in its entirety over at CVLT Nation.

The Mouths of Madness went on sale May 14th, so streaming it now is the perfect thing to do if you’re unsure about purchasing it. I have a feeling once you hear it though, you’re gonna want this. You’ll for sure appreciate how masterfully this young band handles the classic doom genre; the album is full of monstrous riffs, haunting vocals, insane lyrics, and wicked hooks. The album was mastered by Richard Whittaker and vocals were tracked at engineer Will Storkson’s home studio.

The Mouths of Madness track listing:

01. Mouths of Madness
02. Marching Dogs of War
03. Silent One
04. Nomad
05. Mountains of Steel
06. Leaving It All Behind
07. Loving Hand of God
08. Wizard of War
09. See You on the Other Side

Rock Hard \m/

Friday night party music at its finest. Dark Tranquillity is this week’s featured artist on Yell! Magazine’s Full Concert Series (perhaps spurned on by the upcoming release of Construct).

Without a doubt, this band is one of the best melodic death metal bands out there (although, the more recent stuff flirts with progressive melodic death metal). Formed in 1989 in Gothenberg, Sweden, Dark Tranquillity released its first album, Skydancer, in 1993. Yeah, that was 20 fucking 20 years ago, and In Flames‘ Anders Fridén was Dark Tranquillity’s vocalist on that album. Shortly after that album’s release, Anders left and founding member Mikael Stanne has held the mic since.

Dark Tranquillity has continued to evolve musically through the years, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are perhaps one of the most underrated bands in their genre. This Live in Milan video will undoubtedly convince you of that.

Whether or not you’re anxiously anticipated the release of Dark Tranquillity’s 10th studio effort, Construct, you need to check out this live show as the band promotes their 2007 album, Fiction - it absolutely rules.

Dark Tranquillity – Live in Milan Setlist:

1. The Treason Wall
2. The New Build
3. Focus Shift
4. The Lesser Faith
5. The Wonders At Your Feet
6. Lost To Apathy
7. Free Card
8. Inside The Particle Storm
9. Nothing To No One
10. Edenspring
11. Insanity’s Crescendo
12. Lethe
13. Dreamlore Degenerate
14. Misery’s Crown
15. Therein
16. My Negation
17. Yesterworld/Punish My Heaven
18. The Mundane And The Magic
19. Final Resistance
20. Terminus

Rock Hard \m/

tim lambesis

Obviously, Deputy District Attorney Claudia Grasso will likely argue for the bail amount to be maintained, but further details about the case could potentially be revealed as each side presents arguments.

Lambesis’ band, As I Lay Dying, were to tour with Killswitch Engage this summer, but in light of the current situation, that’s not gonna happen. In As I Lay Dying’s absence, KSE has announced that Official Darkest Hour and The Word Alive will join them on the Disarm the Descent 2013 US TOUR.

Rock Hard \m/

photo by Kmeron | Baroness Hit The Road In North America

UPDATE (May 16th) – Baroness have added the following tour dates to those listed below:

New Yellow & Green tour dates:
August 5 Columbus, OH – A&R Music Bar
August 7 Rochester, NY – Club @ Walter Street
August 9 Toronto, ON – Mod Club
August 11 Boston, MA – Royale
August 13 Providence, RI – Met Café
August 14 New York, NY – Irving Plaza
August 17 Champaign, IL – The Highdive
August 18 Columbia, MO – Mojo’s
August 20 Colorado Springs, CO – Black Sheep
August 21 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
August 23 Phoenix, AZ – Club Red
August 25 San Diego, CA – The Casbah
August 27 Tucson, AZ – The Rock
August 28 Las Vegas NV – Backstage Bar
August 30 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
September 2 Seattle, WA – Bumbershoot
September 4 Vancouver, BC – Venue

“It’s hard to find the words to express how excited we are to announce this tour,” explained guitar player Pete Adams. “Seven months ago, who knew when it would be or even if we could get back on the road. But here we are, picking right back up where we left off. A heartfelt thanks to everyone’s unconditional love and support for us through, let’s hope, the hardest time this band will ever see. We told you we’d be back, so let’s do this thing!”

“The hardest time this band will ever see” refers to Baroness’ bus plunging off a viaduct near Bath, England, which left band members and tour crew with a variety of severe injuries. Presumably, as a result of the accident, drummer Allen Blickle and bass player Matt Maggioni will not be touring with the band. Baizley has confirmed that the pair’s departure is “not sensational” and “do[es] not come with hard feelings.” Baizley went on to add that the band has already found two musicians, Nick Jost (bass) and Sebastian Thomson (drums), “who can approach our music with passion and vitality.”

Yellow & Green tour dates:

May 24 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
May 25 Baltimore, MD – Ram’s Head Live
May 26 Norfolk, VA – Jewish Mother
May 28 Charleston, SC – The Music Farm
May 29 Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
May 31 Dallas, TX – Trees
June 1 Austin, TX – Chaos in Tejas (Mohawk)
June 2 Houston, TX – Free Press Summer Festival
June 4 Lawrence, KS – Granada Theatre
June 5 St. Louis, MO – The Firebird
June 8 Grand Rapids, MI – The Pyramid Scheme
June 9 Madison, WI – The Majestic Theatre
June 11 Indianapolis, IN – Deluxe @ Old National Centre
June 12 Cincinnati, OH – Taft Ballroom
June 14 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Small’s
June 15 Huntington, WV – V Club
June 13-16 Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo (performance date to be announced soon)
August 10–11 Montreal, QC – Heavy MTL (performance date to be announced soon)

Rock Hard \m/

While I find the video for this exceptional song incredibly boring, the band seems to be pretty happy about it:

“After the introspective ‘For Broken Words’ and the uptempo riffing of ‘The Science of Noise,’ it’s time to showcase the more anthemic aspects of the new album with the song ‘Uniformity.’ In contrast to the more experimental promo videos we made last year, we wanted the ‘Uniformity’ clip to be an intimate and genuine performance video. Nothing but the music itself and the band members playing in the rehearsal room. For this, we hired renowned director Patric Ullaeus, and we’re very happy to share the result with you. Stand up and be counted!”

If you’d like to check out more from Dark Tranquillity’s Construct, check out the following:

“For Broken Words”

“The Science Of Noise”

Dark Tranquillity Construct track-listing:

1. For Broken Words
2. The Science Of Noise
3. Uniformity
4. The Silence In Between
5. Apathetic
6. What Only You Know
7. Endtime Hearts
8. State Of Trust
9. Weight Of The End
10. None Becoming
11. Immemorial
12. Photon Dreams

Dark Tranquillity live:

6.1.2013–Germany, Geiselwind–Beastival Festival
6.7.2013–United Arab Emirates, Dubai–Rock Fest
6.28.2013–Czech Republic, Spalene Porici–Basinfire Festival
7.11.2013–Germany, Neukirchen Vluyn–Dong Open Air
7.12.2013–Germany, Ballenstedt–RockHarz Festival
8.23.2013–Germany, Wörrstedt–Neuborn Open Air
1.27.2014–USA, Miami–70000 Tons Of Metal

Rock Hard \m/

gwar-b-q

Tickets will be available in three different offers:

Standard: $30 Ticket – All day entry
Deluxe: $40 Ticket – All day entry and official GWAR-B-Q t-shirt
Premium: $100 Ticket (Limited Quantity 150)- All day entry, official GWAR-B-Q t-shirt and VIP Pass for Meet & Greet signing with GWAR and possible chance to appear on stage with GWAR.

GWAR is also proud to announce that they’re once again reuniting a classic band to play at the GWAR-B-Q, with the addition of the X-Cops! That’s right, the original lineup featuring Lt. Louie Scrapinetti (Mike Derks), Cadet Billy Club (Mike Dunn), Patrolman Cobb Knobbler (Dave Brockie), Sgt. Al Depantsia (Pete Lee), Sherriff Tubb Tucker (Casey Orr), Mountain Bike Officer Biff Buff (Brad Roberts), Sgt. Zypygski (Bob Gorman), and Detective Philip McRevis (Dave Musel) are reuniting for one night only at this year’s GWAR-B-Q! This will serve as the bands first show since 1996.

Also on the GWAR-B-Q bill are the following bands:

Wilson and Warbeast
Battlecross
Municipal Waste
Corrosion of Conformity
Pig Destroyer
Cannabis Corpse
Loincloth
Kung-Fu Dykes, and many more

GWAR-B-Q is scheduled to take place Saturday August 17th, 2013, at Hadad’s Water Park in Richmond, Virginia.

Rock Hard \m/

Cathedral’s vocalist, Lee Dorrian, explains that he feels “comfortable leaving The Last Spire as our legacy. The funeral of Cathedral has been a long but gratifying process. Deciding to end the band wasn’t an easy decision to make but we knew deep down in our hearts that it was the right thing to do.”

In early April, Cathedral launched their final music video, “Tower of Silence.” I know a lot of long-time fans are complaining about Dorrian’s vocals, and maybe they’re not what were used to, but I find them transcending, and that riff! That deep, heavy riff could release the Kraken.

The video was inspired by classic cult British film institutions such as Amicus and Hammer House of Horror, and was shot on location during the British Winter of 2012 at Gunnersbury Park Tower, London. It features a guest appearance from Purson’s Rosalie Cunningham, who places a symbolic black orchid on the tombstone of each member in the clip’s closing scenes. Directed by UK-based Paraffin City Productions, “Tower of Silence” will be the last full production promo video ever made by this British doom metal institution.

Rock Hard \m/

bornbroken

Stream “Anger of the Day” at: www.metalunderground.com

The Healing Powers of Hate drops on June 4th, and you can pre-order on BornBroken’s bandcamp page.

I’ve interviewed Tim Lambesis twice, once in person and a second time over the phone, and the guy seemed like the real deal. He’s down to earth, gracious, courteous, polite, calm, soft spoken – basically he’s the total opposite of the persona you see on stage when he performs. He’s more like the good Christian he professes to be. Most of me believes he is still this man. Most of me can’t believe that he would engage in such a conspiracy. But while most of me believes this and disbelieves that, there’s a trickle of doubt that has entered my thoughts.

But I won’t judge until there’s a verdict, and I certainly won’t let this affect my appreciation for his craft. I hope that you’ll do the same.

You probably already know the basics: Tim Lambesis was arrested on May 7th and arraigned on May 9th. At one point there was no bail set, but was set at $20 million and again to $3 million. Charges have also been reduced, but if the original charges had stuck, Lambesis would be facing life in prison instead of the nine he’s facing now.

As far as the story goes, take a listen to the following video for the DA’s (Clausio Grasso) take on the plot to kill Meggan Lambesis:

Lambesis has hired Anthony Salerno as his attorney, who has already done a lot of work in Lambesis’ favor. However, now Salerno is shifting the court’s focus, proposing that Lambesis was set up by the police, which is an indirect finger pointing at Meggan’s brother who happens to be a San Diego Sheriff’s deputy. It’s an interesting angle Salerno is going for; divorce and child custody and protecting your sister is a family affair.

Check out the video at the top for an interview with Salerno detailing the arrest, charges, and defense.

For the most part, we only have the prosecution’s side of this story, which makes it difficult to form an opinion. An easy and cheap way to look at this would be to blame Meggan. Another way to look at it is steroid use, which often comes with aggression as a side effect. And still another way to see things is that this looks like a messy divorce, a lot of fear about losing one’s children, and saying and doing things that you might not really mean.

If the documents, photos, information, and cash that Lambesis gave to the contact are real, the evidence looks detrimental to his case. If this is a setup, could that package be a plant? And what happened to the middleman at the gym: was he arrested and charged as well?

Rock Hard \m/