METALLOID: Recent Episodes
METALLOID
A music magazine bringing you all of the hard genres. Punk, Hardcore, Hard Rock, and all things Metal. Music and album reviews, tech reviews, interviews with bands and musicians, how to videos, and more.
Cranking out EP after EP, RBBP electrifies their audience with great heavy music and energy that I haven't seen on stage in years!
You can catch them in Austin, TX or on the road as these guys have a hefty show schedule for the rest of the year of 2021.
https://rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol.bandcamp.com/
Psychedelic doom, stoner rock, and rock n' roll from Northern California.
Solo project written and recorded by Sheafer McOmber. All albums on all streaming platforms, as well as YouTube.
Contact on Facebook and Instagram.
https://bloodshotbuffalo707.bandcamp.com/
NECROT releases their much-anticipated LP “Mortal”! Formed in 2011, NECROT shares pedigree from multiple bands in the Bay Area death metal scene. Relentless buzz saw guitars, blast beats, fitting leads, and vocals from the 7th realm of Hell. NECROT proves themselves once again as a formidable opponent in the death metal genre period.
“When we first started, our goal was to play death metal and put out some tapes,” elaborates vocalist/bassist Luca Indrio. “We always wanted to write an album that twenty years from now would be remembered as a true classic of the genre. With Blood Offerings, we may have done that but with Mortal we have done that. Time will prove us right.”
“Your Hell” kicks off the album ferociously with not giving you moment to breathe. My personal favorite “Stench Of Decay” just has a great beat and is seriously fun to listen to. “Sinister Will’ has a punk back bead with time changes and everything you’ve been hoping for with an intricate guitar solo mid-way, rolling into “Malevolent Intentions” rendering you useless to resist from banging your head. The entire album is well mixed and technically proficient, but not getting into the tech-death camp. NECROT is firmly planted into in your face death metal. “Blood Offerings” is a fantastic album and I think NECROT set out and accomplished producing an album that will stand the test of time.
If you like bands like Bolt Thrower, Grave, Asphex, and Mammoth Grinder, NECROT is a band certainly for you.
I got to talk with Chad about the album, music and influences that you can check out here:
NECROT:
Luca Indrio - bass, vocals
Sonny Reinhardt - guitars
Chad Gailey – drums
Support the band:
http://www.facebook.com/cyclesofpain
http://twitter.com/necrot_official
http://www.instagram.com/necrot_official
http://www.tankcrimes.com
http://www.facebook.com/tankcrimes
http://twitter.com/tankcrimes
http://www.instagram.com/tankcrimes
http://www.tankcrimes.merchtable.com
Terminal Nation comes in hot with “Holocene Extinction”. The album cover right off catches your eye with great artwork and a viney band logo, so instantly I was intrigued.
Not knowing their previously releases initially, I was extremely impressed with the band’s sound. Barking cavernous vocals, at times haunting guitar, brutal beats, Terminal Nation opens with a GREAT first track “Cognitive Dissonance’, giving you a taste of what to expect.
Terminal Nation is deeply seated within the Hardcore community and they bring their punk sounds and format with them as essentially the entire band shares vocals at times, while they take a few more steps into the Death Metal camp and other sub-genres.
‘Expired Utopia” channels some major doom vibes by slowing down, fuzz, and atmospheric drums, rolling right into another brutal track ‘Death For Profit”
While listening, I REALLY want to see these guys in concert. You can really hear that they put their all into the recordings and I can only imagine they will leave it all on the table live.
This album is a great example of multiple influences coming together cohesively, creating an absolutely brutal album.
If you dig bands like Bolt Thrower, Creeping Death, Power Trip, Gatecreeper
I got to sit down with Stans and talk about the album and music. You can check it out here:
TERMINAL NATION:
Stan Liszewski – vocals
Tommy Robinson – guitar, vocals
Dalton Rail – guitar, vocals
Chase Davis – drums
Chase Turner – bass, vocals
Make sure to show the band some love with he album dropping August 7th, 2020
https://terminalnationhc.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/terminalnation
https://www.facebook.com/terminalnation
http://www.20buckspin.com
http://www.facebook.com/20buckspin
http://twitter.com/20buckspinlabel
https://www.instagram.com/20buckspinlabel
When I think of Detroit I think “tuff”, no bullshit, along with the extreme amount of talent form a myriad of sonic genres and gear manufacturers from the region. Checking out the line from Poltergeist Amplification and talking with Jason, the gear they provide is exactly that, tuff and no bullshit.
These hand crafted products have been tested out and engineered for the road hardened musician or the person who is wanting to step up their game with serious quality that will last you a lifetime.
Jason draws from true touring experience and his own journey of finding his guitar tone.
You get to reap the benefits of his experience to enjoy monstrous tones from a variety of cabinets.
I had the privilege to sit down and talk about the music industry, influences, the “tribe” that is music lovers, and more.
Check it out here and make sure to give Poltergeist a follow and holler:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/poltergeistamplification/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poltergeist_amplification/
Hailing from Denver, CO Earthdiver released their great EP “Leave Something Witchy” in 2019.
The much anticipated LP release has been out for a couple of months now and it hasn’t disappointed one bit. If you haven’t head, then I present to you “Lord of The Cosmos”
I instantly new I would like this band from their LP album cover alone with their psychedelic space Odin holding a charging Norman Crusader. There is as much going on when listening to the album as there is looking at the cover. Great distortion on the guitar and bass as the bass also punches through with cool time changes in tempo and vocals that sound like someones last screams in a cave.
It’s great, it’s wonderful, it’s fantastic.
With all of that said, the band draws influences from a wide gamut of music. At times tones of NOLA Sludge comes through, Sabbath-esk riffing and solos, with a dash hardcore/punk. Lyrics frequent politics, religion, the occult, history and mythology. The album comes in heavy with "Apparatus de Cultus" a stoner/doom single that anyone into the genre will love rolling into more of a fuzzed out in your face vibes with “Worlds Die Again”. The band gives you a touch of rest with a riffing jam “War Drums” that seamlessly transitions into “Cut The Bone Away” without you even knowing that you are listening to another track. Earthdiver revisits “Leave Something Witchy” and I honestly really like both renditions of this song from their EP and their LP. It’s a toss up on guitar tone, one sounds more like a Super Fuzz and the other sounds more Big Muff, both are great and it really just depends on the flavor you dig at the moment for me. I lean a little more toward the vocals from the LP version. They’re a little more unhinged, in a good way. “Blood Moon” starts out almost with a Jazzy feel then builds into a cacophony of fuzz for you to lean back and melt into your seat. “God of The Gallows” brings you back with Norse mythology and ending the whole experience with an 11 min track “Crusader” leading the charge into the abyss.
This album is a great listen, mixed well with lots of energy. Make sure to pick up a copy of the album! Vinyls are shipping soon on green vinyl with orange splatter with the stellar album cover art. You’ll want to see all of the details up close!
I got the chance to talk to Eric for a bit about music and the album.
Support the band:
Forbidden Records:https://forbiddenplacerecords.bandcamp.com/album/earthdiver-lord-of-the-cosmos
Bandcamp: https://earthdiverdenver.bandcamp.com/album/lord-of-the-cosmos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthdiverdenver/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/earthdiverdenver/ads/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4xXEcBVQyagAoA1ovdhW55?si=Fw_uyKjjQrGMwoBPGI0BSA
“We have summoned up this pale creature, a symbol of good old fun: hard rock, leather jackets, cigarettes and cemeteries. You may take the demon's hand for a full moon slow dance on the grave of modern civilization and take a step back in time when everyone at the rock show had long hair or at least a leather jacket and a record player at home. It's never too late to let your freak flag fly! Long live the Leather Demon," states LUCIFER frontwoman Johanna Sadonis.
You’ve been living under a rock if you haven’t heard of LUCIFER. Releasing their third
album “Lucifer III”, the band brings you more great 70’s inspired hard rock/heavy metal with a vive of the darker side of things. LUCIFER paints a great picture of who they are as a band and reminds me of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers “Last Dance With MaryJane” music video while Johanna’s vocals remind me of a macabre Heart with a strong kickoff to the album with “Ghosts” making you want to put your fist in the air and great power ballads like “Leather Demon” and “Cemetery Eyes”. Throughout the album you’ll hear the influences of the greats like Black Sabbath, Heart, Joan Jett, and more as the band oozes 70’s and 80’s swagger.
I was able to chat with Johanna as we talked about influences, recording, new releases and more.
LUCIFER is Johanna Sadonis (vocals), Nicke Andersson (drums), Harald Göthblad (bass), Martin Nordin (guitar), Linus Björklund (guitar)
Albums and march: https://centurymedia.store/dept/lucifer?cp=102832_103046_103066
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5FRzeDyVg2GXn6QeOTwrMS?si=KtTGFzm7STC5GaqDjwtzEg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lucifertheband/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luciferofficial
Riding Reaper Records: https://www.facebook.com/ridingreaperrecords/?ref=page_internal
There’s something so satisfying and exhilarating about finding new music. For music lovers when you find a band you can get into at any level, in any genre it touches the soul.
The Heavy Eyes is a band when I first heard “One Hand On The Buffalo” I had to go down the rabbit hole in finding out more. Oozing swagger from the early days of fuzzed out Rock n’ Roll of the late 60s, early 70s, The Heavy Eyes have much more to offer than only an homage to earlier music. Hailing from Memphis, TN, the band draws from their Delta Blues / Rock influences and fuse a nice combination of heavy music. I have a personal playlist of The Heavy Eyes, Wet Nuns, The Black Keys, The Sword, Dan Auerbach, and Clutch, giving nice swells, fuzz for days and a “kick the door in” attitude that is listenable all day.
Celebrating their 10th year in 2020 as a band, The Heavy Eyes is a band when I discovered them, I wish I had earlier.
Their latest release “Love Like Machines” gives you everything you’re hoping for while showing some maturity from the band. The album itself brings nice peaks and valleys to the structure of their songs, giving you a trip through what the band has created.
The album starts out super chill with an acoustic guitar and cavernous clean vocals from Tripp Shumake. Once settling into the tempo of the intro the first track “Anabasis” crashes into great drums and guitar, rolling into a fantastic beat laid out by Eric Garcia on their 2nd track “Made for the Age” Wally Anderson brings you fat bass and Matt Qualls rounds off the quartet with more fuzzed out guitar. To me a quartet is a perfect lineup, creating a fullness and dynamic range that brings the most out of every instrument. I also really like how The Heavy Eyes keep it simple by leaving space within the songs and album in its entirety. “Love Like Machines” reminds me of moments you could hear from Eagles of Death Metal or Queens of The Stone Age with the way they handle some of their arrangements as the band plays with different guitar tones, great drum mixes, treatments on vocals, and more giving you an experience.
It’s difficult to nail down a “favorite” track, but it I had to I would land on “Late Night” with the cool way the song kicks off with what sounds like a heel stomp and a pencil tapping on a glass to keep time, opening up to immense fuzz and a great sound to a punchy kick drum.
“Love Like Machines” is a great rock album that should be heard by many.
I sat down with Tripp and Eric to talk some about the band’s history, influences, and their new album.
You can check it out here:
Support the band:
Website:
https://www.theheavyeyes.com/
Bandcamp:
https://theheavyeyesmemphis.bandcamp.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/theheavyeyes/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TheHeavyEyes/
Photos provided by: The Heavy Eyes
Icelandic Black Metal has an interesting history as a scene and musically. The musicianship along with their ability to capture frigid endless tundras sonically is more than appealing if you are a fan of extreme metal. Helfró is no acceptation with their debut release “Helfró”
Bringing you the brutality you expect with nice influences of death metal in arrangement at times and especially the mix. While I love old school Norwegian Black Metal, you can gain some ear fatigue from the purposely poor quality of the mixes.
This album gives you relentless full double bass drums along with a “machine gun” snare beat that won’t release you from it’s grip until it’s finished.
I also really dig the mixture of vocals provided by Ragnar S: Drums, Vocals, Simon Þ: Guitars, Bass, Vocals, and Gísli S: Clean Vocals with classic shrill black metal vocals, guttural barking death growls along with clean folk/monk style vocals.
This is an impressive example of what Iceland has to offer musically.
I had the privilege to to talk to Ragnar for a bit about the album and the Icelandic music scene.
Genre: Black metal
Line-up:Ragnar S: Composition, drums, vocals. Símon Þ: Arrangements, guitars, bass, vocals. Recording line-up:Ragnar S: Drums, Vocals Simon Þ: Guitars, Bass, Vocals Gísli S: Clean Vocals Recording studio: Studio EmissaryProducer / sound engineer: Stephen Lockhart / Simon Þ. Mixing studio and engineer: Stephen Lockhart Mastering studio and engineer: Stephen Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/HelfroIce/
https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/helfro-helfro
https://open.spotify.com/album/2STMrcXhxvWJgdqHdhk7HH?si=93Ni4b8QR9mPYYV_d6rLwQ
If you haven’t heard, get on the train of Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol!
This 3 piece from Austin, TX has a HUGE sound with an 8 string guitar a d4 string bass bringing you a mix of intense fuzz, raw groovy drums and vocals cutting right through.
With a rigorous touring schedule, these guys have been able to crank out EP after EP until the pandemic has forced them to stay in place producing their first LP scheduled for a summer 2020 release.
We’re really enjoying blasting their tunes at METALLOID HQ, particularly RBBP’s EP “Grease Beast”. The album brings you the intensity of stoner/doom we all love, with a groove beat that you can’t help but want to get up out of your chair and wiggle.
We’ll keep you posted on their single release and next album!
Website:
https://rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol.com/
Bandcamp:
https://rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol.bandcamp.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/rickshawbillieandtheboys/
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1iYDBcGNQxjwMivsLeg5vC?si=1-94tMzqTpmKHXNFoB4QWg
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlgpM5GgF0xv6RziE3KZog
Germany’s Earthbong released “Bong Rites” coming in hard with crashing cymbals then pumping the breaks to a glacial groove. These “Riff Worshipers” give you everything you’re expecting from a “Weedian” band with nods to Sleep, Bongzillia, Weedeater, andBelzebong. The vocals are a great mixture with a Leather Lung vibe along with crushing doom and a little bit of black metal sprinkled on top with shrill hopeless howling screams. Bottom line if you are into this genre of music, it’s wonderful.
The album clocks in at an hour long with 3 tracks total the third being 30 mins alone. This is an album in my humble opinion that you don’t want to be stuck in traffic with. You want to sit down, tune in, and drop out. The album actually has nice breathing room for essentially an hour long jam session that the band captured nicely.
If you are into stoner/doom, this is an album that will nestle nicely within the others.
Bandcamp:
https://earthbong.bandcamp.com/album/bong-rites
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/earthbong/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/earthbong_doom/
Blood. Sweat. Volume.
“Born in an Austin backyard in 2014 inspired by vintage and boutique design and heavy riffs. Custom built by musicians for musicians to stand up to heavy touring. Fiercely DIY and seeking to push boundaries by monolithic creations with an emphasis on unconventional builds like 4x15s, 6x12s and 2x18s. In addition to custom work Worshiper has provided backline support for Southwest Terror Fest, Austin Terror Fest, Northwest Terror Fest, Levitation Austin, Red River Family Fest and bands like High on Fire, Weedeater, Saviours and Acid King.”
- Worshiper Cabinets
Normally I don’t just “cut and paste”, however in this case it’s tuff not to. Worshiper Cabinets has the true backing of talent, attention to detail, and customer service. Worshiper’s builds are fully customizable creations to get you the rig you’ve been looking for. There’s a unique sense of satisfaction knowing you’re going to be taken care of as a customer, and knowing that these guys started out on their own journey of tone chasing to create a quality company.
Here at METALLOID we are proud to back companies like this.
Website:
http://www.worshipercabinets.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/worshipercabs/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/worshipercabinets/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/WorshiperCabs
Berserk Audio owned and operated by the talented Esben Willems - drummer for the crushingly heavy Swedish doom metal band Monolord.
I personally became aware of Esben’s handiwork discovering Monolord and learning that Berserk Audio tracked, mixed and mastered the albums.
Esben’s work shows off a lot of variety that will make you want to bob your head, tap your toe, chill and curl up or pin you to your seat.
We had the chance to catch up with Esben and talk about his recording techniques and more.
Check out his work in the links below and hit him up for your recording, mixing and mastering needs!
Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/berserkaudio
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/berserkaudio/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/berserkaudio/
Monolord Bandcamp:
monolord.bandcamp.com
Monolord Facebook:
facebook.com/MonolordSweden
Website:
monolord.com
Record labels:
http://relapse.com
https://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords/
https://www.ridingeasyrecs.com/
Bleed From Within’s fifth studio album “Fracture” drops tomorrow and the album is a heavy hitter. With their first single off of Fracture, “The End of All We Know” on Spotify has over 3.3 million streams alone.
Drawing influence from Nu Metal and The New Wave of American Heavy Metal, the band has stepped it up a notch with thought provoking lyrics based around toxic relationships with a mix that will leave you pinned to your seat.
With gravelly Slipknot style vocals from Scott Kennedy, technical guitar along with brutal chugs and great solos provided by Craig "Goonzi" Gowans and Steven Jones, a bass tone laying down a great foundation with some intense licks by Davie Provan, and drums that will knock you flat on your ass from Ali Richardson. The album starts off strong with “The End of All We Know” pushing you through the album with tech-death style guitar at times with some prog even sprinkled in. This album is not for the faint of heart, but they’re still some nice breaks throughout the metalcore/deathcore vocals and fast fingers. Their single “Fracture” slows the tempo a touch but keeps you going hard to my personal favorite “Night Crossing” giving you a Lamb of God vibe and EXPLODING into a relentless blast beat. “A Depth That No One Dares” finishes of “Fracture” with machine gun drum blasts and chugs mixed in with hardcore breakdowns and tech-death solos. Bleed From Within leaves you feeling good and exhausted from all that have packed into this album.
All in all, Bleed from Within’s “Fracture” is crushing with a touch of refinement to bring their skill levels and production up to another degree. I sat down with Goonzi to talk about the album and the upcoming livestream release party tomorrow!
Check it out here:
Support the band:
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZvwJikDgdP1PFU4PkAPVG?si=anLHI_FkRom_FRGYv4moiw
Website:
https://www.bleedfromwithin.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/bleedfromwithinband/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/bleedfromwithin/
“Super heavy tripped out old school stoner metal from Austin, TX” (quote from Duel’s bandcamp)
Duel is a band that tips their hat heavily to the greats of pure 70’s hard rock with great vocals, psychedelic fuzz distortion and lyrics evoking witchcraft, the occult, drugs and more. Their music is certainly rooted in old school hard rock, but with their own unique twist cranked up a few notches, with a dash of Southern Rock. This is a band that comes highly recommended from myself discovering them with their debut album Fears of the Dead and their first cut on the album also called Fears of the Dead with just a great introduction to their sound and vibe.
With Duel’s latest release Valley of Shadows, their 3rd studio release kicks off with an epic tale making you want to put your fist in the air dubbed Black Magic Summer. With a runtime of 37 mins the album moves along leaving you thinking “Oh!.. It’s already over?!” (in a good way)
A particular trait of Duel is that I can throughly enjoy putting on a Duel albums only playlist and enjoy it through its entirety. No tracks to speak of to skip as their music can swell and retract with no sign of letting up the heaviness. The band seems to really trim the fat with all of their albums and give you jams you can’t help but want to nod your head, hit the road, drink a beer or take a toke.
These fellas just rock.
I got to virtually sit down with the band and cover various topics of music, the band and looking forward to their livestream session coming at you Saturday, May 30th, @ 3pm American Central Standard.
Make sure to check is all out and support the band by purchasing music and merch.
Livestream:
https://www.facebook.com/events/684986822315514/
Bandcamp:
https://duel3.bandcamp.com/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/dueltexas/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DUELTEXAS/
Label:
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/index.html
From Gothenburg, Sweden, Firebreather’s latest album Under a Blood Moon has huge sludgy riffs that are like moving though tar. Mattias Nööjd’s gravelly vocals accompanied by thick licks from Kyle Pitcher on bass create a an almost visceral experience. Meanwhile, Axel Wittbeck’s drum groove gives visions of ironclad warriors on horseback galloping through a dark forest in slow motion.
The opening track, Dancing Flames is great for anytime in my “metalhead” opinion, but it doesn’t get much better than watching smoke rise from a fire under a star lit night. When you hear the track Firebreather, the pace kicks up a notch, but keeps the bone crushing fuzz created by Mattias and Kyle. I would say We Bleed is their “signature” track. It’s the single I personally send to my friends to turn them onto Firebreather, and sometimes it honestly becomes a tossup as to which track is better than the other. The album ends on a strong note with The Siren, a fitting end to a consistently hard-packed sophomore effort. Some albums give you room to breathe, and you need it to make it to the end. Firebreather’s Under a Blood Moon gives no sun relief but you find you’re grateful for the gasping.
All in all this is a GREAT album and if you are into grit, fuzz and a big sound, I highly recommend you give these guys a listen. You won’t be disappointed.
Haunting vocals, fuzz for days, drawing from the darkness.. Indigo Raven is doom to the core from Toulouse, France. Their self titled EP was recently released in April and it doesn’t disappoint.
Where do I begin with this record? I think bottom line it’s artistic. The album starts out in a unique way with some electronic music, slowly adding more and more layers appropriately called “Pretending Human”.
The production is full along with shimmering cymbals and vocals with a softness and assertiveness, giving you a witchy/shamanic vibe at times. The guitar tone is fantastic in “Barebones” especially and I REALLY like the mix on the snare reverb throughout the EP, it sounds like a shot down a train tunnel. I particularly dig the lyrics of this album, they are melancholy, strong and sexy, building each song. This is an album I really enjoy hearing from front to back. If you let album take you on a path, you come out of it feeling wanting more clocking innate 19 mins.
I was fortunate to chat with them about music, art, Texas and more.
Norwegian stoner/prog band Jaggu formed in 2018 and released their first album, Revenantian, in 2019. Revenantian is a conceptual album that carries you through Japanese folklore using heavy stoner vibe riffs, punchy drums and haunting vocals. This is a must hear if you are into bands such as High on Fire, Mastodon and Black Tusk.
This three piece has a lot to offer. Band members Gitario (zitar), Bassbjørn (Dirty Bass) and Nona (Wild Drums) share vocals and a unique sound where you can hear the numerous bands that have influenced their unique sound.
A fantastic death/doom band hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, Konvent recently dropped their first LP PURITAN MASOCHISM. The quartet pulls sounds from doom, death and black metal to make their unique, bold and thick sound that can only be described as the musical equivalent of attempting to run in a swimming pool. I had a chance to sit down with the group for a bit to chat about the current global affairs, music, concerts and appliances…