When a band member passes during the recording of an album, the original plans often go out the window and it becomes a memorial and tribute to that member. When that member is legendary drummer Vinnie Paul, and the band is Hellyeah, that’s exactly what happens and the record- now released-...

Resilience is a word that has become synonymous with Of Mice & Men and their last record- Defy– showed exactly that. Fast forward to 2019 and their second record with bassist Aaron Pauley on vocals- EARTHANDSKY is ready to unleash upon the world and it’s the perfect successor to...

Every few years Steel Panther return and remind us how deprived we’ve actually been from the world of real heavy metal and this year is no exception as they’ve returned with Heavy Metal Rules, which obliterates everything your earholes have heard this year.  “Zebraman” opens the...

While a band’s debut record is important for many reasons, their sophomore release is even more important on so many levels. If their debut is strong, it puts them on the map and raises expectations for the follow-up, which can raise their stock or completely break their career and make fans...

The Hÿss’ latest record- Sound- is one that’s guaranteed to appeal to stoner metal fans around the world.  With distorted guitars in the vein of Sleep and Clutch, the songs on Sound flow together well and no two songs sound the same. The tracks have the same style but each has their own...

An album or EP doesn’t have to be long to be powerful and that’s the case with Burial Party’s Please, Electric Move Slow. The EP- four tracks-long- is loaded with aggression, emotion, honesty and energy, all pulled into one, as well as punk and hardcore combined and it’s a pure...

Almost 3 years removed from The Damaged Ones, 9Electric has unleashed sophomore effort- Megalith and it’s the first record without Micah Electric and Casey Mahoney, who departed in 2017.  While a strong debut is important, an even better sophomore record is almost more vital as it can make...

Back for the first time since 2014’s Until We Meet EP, Black Dawn have returned with On Blackened Wings, and this five-track EP isn’t only a strong continuation of their previous work but also a nod to bands that have come before them.  “Help Me” kicks it off with killer riffs pounds...

Often times a third record is what makes a band. The first two are important but the third is where we see how the band has grown and if they have what it takes to make the leap from opener to headline status.  With Beasto Blanco’s third offering- We Are– they’ve done just that and...

A band’s debut album is more important than a lot of people realize. Not only does it set the stage for the rest of their career, but it’s the telling point for whether fans will want to come to the shows and, if a band doesn’t have a strong debut record, there’s zero chance fans will...

It’s been over three years since Dream Theater’s last release: the highly divisive and sprawling The Astonishing. Fans have been desperate for some classic Dream Theater since that album came out. For this record, the band secluded themselves in a studio in New York to write and record....

While She Sleeps is a metalcore band from the UK that has started to break into the scene over the last three to four years. The band has been around since 2006 and is preparing to release their fourth full length studio album So What? One of the highlights of So What? comes at the very end of...

I Prevail exploded out of nowhere a few years ago with a blistering cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space,” but they also set out to prove that they’re much more than just a Tswifty cover band. When they released their debut record- Lifelines they did exactly that and there was no...

Jinjer is an Ukranian metalcore outfit that has gained more and more popularity over the last half-decade or so. The band has released three full-length albums and the Micro EP is intended to tide fans over until they can finish work on their highly-anticipated fourth studio record. Micro is a...

King 810 have returned with their third full-length studio album in early 2019, Suicide King. This album sees the band as a two-piece after guitarists Jason Hale and Andrew Beal and drummer Jason Workman left the group rather unceremoniously. Those departures leave only vocalist David Gunn and...