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Holding the ‘Rock Block’ Captive: Royal Thunder headlines The End in Nashville

By Rosie Walker

October 13th 2017, The End, Nashville TN: There was a chill in the air last Friday night in Nashville, Tennessee. Autumn had finally arrived in The South. Folks traded in their denim vests for jean jackets to hit the rock ‘n roll show that evening. Just west of downtown Nashville, there is a small bundle of buildings known as the ‘Rock Block’. Every night you can hear punk or rock music pouring out from various doors residing on this street. The two legendary venues in this cluster, Exit/In and The End, are spaces that have catered to alternative music for decades. This past, brisk, Friday evening, proved that they still do. Continue reading “Holding the ‘Rock Block’ Captive: Royal Thunder headlines The End in Nashville”

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Album Review: Gothminister – The Other Side

By Ryan Falla

Since 2003, Gothminister has been blowing the music world away with their trippy sense of industrial metal. Now it’s time for the release of their new album ‘The Other Side’, and like all Gothminister albums before, this record drives a heavy industrial groove that carves out a strong identity rather than slip into the flow of overt familiarity. You wouldn’t be surprised to know they’re based out of Norway, given the familiar European industrial flow of the record. Continue reading “Album Review: Gothminister – The Other Side”

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Spectacular & Spellbinding: Evanescence performs ‘Synthesis’ with full Orchestra at Greek Theatre

By Andrew Bansal

October 15th 2017, Greek Theatre, Los Angeles CA: When their debut album ‘Fallen’ hit airwaves worldwide in 2003, the gothic rock/metal band Evanescence was all the rage. Over the course of the subsequent decade, they followed it up with two successful albums ‘The Open Door’ (2006) and the self-titled effort (2011). Due to a variety of reasons, releases have come few and far between for this band, but in 2017, they have returned with their most ambitious effort yet, ‘Synthesis’, an assortment of previous material reworked with orchestral arrangements, plus two new songs. While this album still awaits its November 10 release, the band has begun touring North America to recreate it live with a full orchestra. For its second show, the tour arrived at a sold-out Greek Theatre in Los Angeles last Sunday October 15th, and as it turned out, the concert made for more than a mere nostalgia trip for those that know of Evanescence from that 2003 album. Continue reading “Spectacular & Spellbinding: Evanescence performs ‘Synthesis’ with full Orchestra at Greek Theatre”

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Album Review: The Haxans – Party Monsters

By Ryan Falla

There’s something very special about The Haxans and their debut record ‘Party Monsters’. A power-duo featuring Ash Costello (New Years Day) and Matt Montgomery a.k.a. Piggy D (Rob Zombie), this is a band that describes themselves as “goth pop”. Delving into their debut record, it comes as no surprise that The Haxans have tinges of Rob Zombie-esque sound work given their goth-pop musicality and ties to Rob Zombie. There’s a lot in ‘Party Monsters’ that creates a unique sound that is The Haxans, as they very much do their own thing with this foundation. Continue reading “Album Review: The Haxans – Party Monsters”

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Ticket Giveaway: Russian Circles @ Observatory OC

Chicago instrumental post rock/metal experts Russian Circles are in the midst of a massive North American fall tour supporting Mastodon and Eagles Of Death Metal, but are also doing an off-day headline show at the Constellation Room inside The Observatory Orange County in Santa Ana CA on Friday October 20th, along with support act Mustard Gas & Roses. Continue reading “Ticket Giveaway: Russian Circles @ Observatory OC”

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Album Review: Belphegor – Totenritual

By Rosie Walker

Named after one of the seven princes of Hell, the band Belphegor likes to push boundaries of what is socially acceptable. With startling aesthetics and evil lyrics, Belphegor is one of the most popular modern black metal bands in the world. Conjured in 1991, these Austrian fellas are always evolving and developing their dark, sinister sound. Things really picked up for the band in the mid 2000s, when the extreme European metal scene started to pay attention to the band’s commitment and dedication to their craft. They released their eleventh full-length album, ‘Totenritual’, through Nuclear Blast Records on September 15, and the anticipation was high. Continue reading “Album Review: Belphegor – Totenritual”