Yes, it's been a couple weeks since I had a brand new post for you guys, so I apologize that final exams are sucking the life out of me. But I do have a quick tidbit of sick news that will make up for everything.
Diamond Eye
NRN43 and Underground Takeover veterans Diamond Eye will be traveling to Los Angeles this summer to begin recording their debut full-length album with Grammy Award-winning producer Bob Kulick! Kulick's credentials range from production work the Motörhead (for which they won a Grammy in 2004), Dee Snider, Alice Cooper, KISS and more. I can't wait to hear what comes from these sessions. The Diamond Eye demo that I got my hands on a couple of years ago was certainly a promising start for this Australian powerhouse. Followed by the live DVD/CD Alive and Kicking, and more recently by the EP Sound of the Guns, the Diamond Eye demo, was my first peek into this band's inner core. Brace yourselves for a bombastic, octane-driven teleportation back to the glory days of metal. Diamond Eye are coming, there's no stopping these guys now!
You guys out there voted, and made your choices known. All the artists did amazing jobs raising votes, and just to let you know just how amazing all their efforts were, the hit count for NewRockNews43 jumped more than 7,000 hits in a matter of weeks! Though a little belated, the Pydromania winners are here finally! (And the reason for the slight wait? Not only new results, but brand new promos from a couple of the artists too!) From around the world, you guys all checked in and made sure that the artists you wanted walked away with the bragging rights of being the "Best of's" for another year. So without any further delay (as if you guys couldn't see the results yourself anyway haha), here are the 2011 Pydromania winners!! They are:
For 2011's Best Hard-Rock/Metal Artist:
Reapers Riddle
For 2011's Best Pop/Rock Artist:
Andy Gruhin
For 2011's Best Pop-Punk/Punk Artist:
Voted Most Random
For 2011's Best Electronic/Alternative Artist:
The Orkids
For 2011's Best Alternative-Rock Artist:
Fools For Rowan
Thank you to all the artists and fans who participated! This was an awesome contest, and you will definitely be hearing these groups getting massive airplay on my radio show, Underground Takeover! Who can't wait till next year, ha?!
It's been a couple months since we saw anything new from Tetrarch, but last night that changed. Just a few ours ago, the four-person metal force debuted a new video on Youtube to promote their new single "We Are the Hunters" off their most recent EP, The Will to Fight. The video promo, filmed by Chasing Squirrelz, Inc., and Tetrarch's first official release of 2012, provides some great background information on the band. Viewers will see where Tetrarch started, how they've been transforming over the years, and where they're going to go next, and all of this against the backdrop of some great shots of the band performing their song, "We Are the Hunters." Go check out this new promo guys, it's sick. We're definitely gonna see big things from Tetrarch in 2012!
Hey all, to mark the end of a great year for NewRockNews43, I decided to start a new little tradition. With all the amazing groups we've heard and discovered this year, who do you think is the absolute best?! I'm calling it the Pydromania "Best of" Contest because these artists are so hot, they're cool (figure that one out if you can, ha!). Five categories, over 30 bands and artists, and more amazing songs than I can count that have shaped this year for NewRockNews43 and my brand new radio show Underground Takeover, so which artists really rocked the hardest?! The winning artists of each category will get a promo of their choosing displayed on the front page of NewRockNews43 as one of the first posts of the new year. They also will receive bragging rights not only for the whole year as being voted the best and hardest-rocking, but will receive bragging rights for being the FIRST artists to ever win this brand new annual contest. Winners may also receive amped airplay on my show Underground Takeover in Boston, so who's looking for some airplay?? ;D Polls are on the right side of the pages, and voting closes in just under 2 weeks, so get listening, and get voting!!
The nominees are:
For Best Hard-Rock/Metal Artist of 2011:
Diamond Eye
Tetrarch
Reapers Riddle
All I Know
Homebrewe
Into the Night
Almost Kings
The Swear
For Best Pop/Rock Artist of 2011:
Andy Gruhin
Cloé Beaudoin
The Head
Ratham Stone
Aerials
The Heartshakes
For Best Pop-Punk/Punk Artist of 2011:
Darling Parade
The Lightweights
Minds Without Purpose
The Honesty
Voted Most Random
Versus the Robot!
Start Up 45
For Best Electronic/Alternative Artist of 2011:
Lost In Atlantis
The Orkids
The Blue Pages
For Best Alternative-Rock Artist of 2011:
49 Stones
WeSurrender
Season to Attack
The Riot Tapes
The Life Review
Radagun
Sound Express
Death is a Dialogue
Fit For Rivals
LOVELOUD
Fools For Rowan
There they are guys, so keep the votes coming, and we'll cap off this year with an explosive bang! More articles to come, and I have some awesome reviews, interviews and lists coming, so keep rocking and we'll make 2011 the best year NewRockNews43 has seen yet!
I was way stoked to see this video up of Tetrarch's own Diamond Rowe announcing new plans for the metal foursome in 2012. According to Rowe (and as you can see in the video update), Tetrarch are planning to record at Audiohammer Studios, a mecca for new metal artists. In addition to the announced six-song EP, I'm also jumping to see the newly announced Tetrarch music video debut which according to Rowe is set to arise sometime next spring. Get pumped guys, Tetrarch are coming back hard!! Check out Diamond Rowe's video update below!
I'm super stoked to be the one to bring you coverage of this new EP today because it is going to tear your head off and leave you shaking in the wind. And that's just for starters.
Diamond Eye's debut EP, Sound of the Guns
Australia's Diamond Eye have been a band on my radar since I came across them in late 2009. Since then, I've been keeping up with every new release of the band, and every big event they've taken down in their path. Back in late '09, I got my hands on a copy of a rough demo that Diamond Eye used to gain some attention in the Perth heavy metal scene. To give you an idea of how rough this demo was, all it said on the front was Diamond Eye and Demo. But rough doesn't mean bad, and the minute I threw that demo on I was instantly hit by tracks of a caliber that blew my mind. Rough, yes, but holding so much promise, and as I listened to tracks like "Waiting for Me," "Machine," and "Holding On," all I could imagine was what it must have felt like listening to a rough Metallica or Iron Maiden demo before they took off. Secretly, I hoped that those three songs would see new rerecordings as Diamond Eye gained more clout (perhaps not so secretly, as I told lead guitarist Greg Fawcett that "Waiting for Me" was a sparkling diamond in the rough).
Last year saw the release of Diamond Eye's debut live DVD/album Alive and Kicking which I also happened to be able to get my hands on. Though the album showed extreme promise with tracks like "Atlantis" and a live recording of "Machine," one track stood above the others as the song that could not be ignored: "Sound of the Guns."
Diamond Eye; From left: Geoff Keating, Will Kelly, Greg Fawcett, and Chase Cameron
Now, finally, Diamond Eye have returned with their newest studio effort, the EP so rightly titled Sound of the Guns. Yes, the title track is on here, and yes the studio recording is more than I could have dreamed of. Greg Fawcett's lead guitar burns with the rage and determination of an axe on a mission, and as his riffs pepper the rhythmic drumbeats of Geoff Keating and bass-blasts of Chase Cameron, Diamond Eye have reached a new level altogether. From the start, "Sound of the Guns" sounds like a Metallica-influenced song with the bluff and bluster of a Maiden-lead charge. Will Kelly's vocals have improved even more since Alive and Kicking, and now his octave vocal wails are high above Keating's drums as Fawcett pick-slides into an altogether new rhythm. The best part about this song is that is changes halfway through, and in one song there are two great parts mashed together to provide a shrill nitro-explosion to your brain. As Kelly leads out on his vocal highs, the rhythm section follows suit as Fawcett solos until the very last seconds of this song. There is no way this track could have been done any better, and with a single like this, Diamond Eye cement their image as one of Perth's hardest rocking bands. Sound of the Guns also sees rerecorded versions of "Waiting for Me" (a fucking brilliant rerecording by the way, filled with more balls and gusto than most groups can muster on a whole album), "Atlantis," and "Machine," as well as a new track, "Closer to the Sun." The rerecorded version of "Waiting for Me" has all the balls of the demo amped up to 11 (ha!) with the same sick guitar solo that melted my face off the first time I listened to the demo. This song has only gotten better, and is a completely and undeniably brilliant track. "Atlantis" and "Machine" are more robust than they were previously, and with the new "Closer to the Sun" to round it out, Sound of the Guns is an explosive triumph for Diamond Eye. This EP has to be at the top of your must-hear list. No exceptions.
Premiering two nights ago on October 16, 2001, on live Australian TV, Diamond Eye provided a rousing performance of their song "Sound of the Guns" for throngs of metal fans. With the brash stage presence of Will Kelly on lead vocals and Greg Fawcett on lead guitar, the axe-men are driven further by the rhythm team of Chase Cameron on bass and Geoff Keating on drums. Diamond Eye's Metallica-meets-Van Halen sound proves that real stadium metal is alive and well. Check it out: for a television debut, this is what every band strives for.
I opened Yahoo! the other to see this article title in the headlines: The Ten Worst Heavy Metal Albums of All Time!. So proudly was this title displayed that I assumed that the albums on such a list much be the scraped-off muck that comes from the bottom of the proverbial barrel only to clog up the web and draw attention away from real metal prowess. Now far be it from me to decide what albums would constitute such a description, but in my head the only such albums would be ones that suffer from terrible production, average instrumentation, or simply lack the vision and desire of such metal masterpieces like Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood, Hysteria, or Cowboys from Hell.
Yet the problem arises when compiling a "Worst of..." list because music is simply subjective, and what is so far out of the reach of understanding for some people makes perfect sense to others. Some of the best examples that come to mind are hardcore punk bands The Germs and Black Flag, post-punk bands The Slits and X-Ray Spex, and Riot Grrrl bands Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. I gotta say that Rob O'Connor, writer of Yahoo's List of the Day music blog has certainly lost all of my respect in one fell swoop. The number one rule in the music business (trust me, even if people won't admit it, it's true) is that it's imperative to be careful when describing just how something sounds and analyzing it. Many journalists chalk this up to questioning if it's "good" or not, but it's only through that thought process that they parade their ignorance. Music is art, and art has no right or wrong. Also living within the bounds of reality, when music journalists do this (and we've all seen Almost Famous, so it's clear how artists many times see music journalists) they risk alienating not only their die-hard fans, but would-be readers and the artists themselves.
Take a look and see for yourself. For me, Bob O'Connor's list is a perfect example of everything that's wrong with music journalism today.
Just yesterday Tetrarch posted a clip of a new song for their upcoming release. Check it out and see what you think! It's pretty heavy, but I can't wait to hear the whole thing!
A little bit after the fact with this update (and for that I do apologize), I've had it on my mental list to give you guys this review for a few months now. The last time Australian rockers Diamond Eye made headlines here, they were on track to open for Quiet Riot and Warrant (RIP Jani Lane) on their Australian metal tour last spring. Though it seems that those plans fell through as Quiet Riot and Warrant decided to cancel the planned tour, Diamond Eye charged ahead with their own projects, recording new material and playing tons of new shows. The result of such a dedicated effort came in the form of the band's first recording of live material, the live DVD album Alive and Kicking. Though it came out last winter, I've been listening (and watching) Alive and Kicking all spring and summer long, and I gotta say it rocks fucking hard.
With fan-favorites like "Machine" and "Waiting for Me" on the set-list, the band also debuted a number of new songs that have been on constant rotation in my library ever since I heard them. My favorite of the new tracks by far is "Sound of the Guns," a straight-up metal thrash-down that kicks up dust and whips it around through rhythm changes and true metal musicianship. Will Kelly's lead vocals on this track provide an anthemic rise to the song. Stadium-suited but not polished off of their gritty, street-smart attitude, Kelly's wails put fists in the air as the fans chant along with him. Just below his raging belts, Greg Fawcett's lead guitar shrieks make this the five-star track on the album. A melodic and catchy guitar progression turns to a nasty and sick sonic firestorm as the tempo of the song changes halfway through, and all of a sudden Fawcett's guitar thrusts out a new, edgy rhythm. With Chase Cameron and Geoff Keating following suit in hard-rock fashion on bass and drums respectively, Diamond Eye pull off a mental seizure of a song; I'm left brain-dead as the guitars and drums blast out, and the stage goes dark. Check out the teaser video for "Sound of the Guns" below.
Other new songs like "Atlantis" and "Last One Standing" also grace the album, and with a power like this, Diamond Eye's first live recording is a major success. But it's not just the audio that gets me. With the accompanying DVD, I can see Diamond Eye in real time, rocking forward and blasting through walls as they take the audience on balls-to-the-wall ride through true metal. Between the pyro explosions on stage and the presence of the band members, Diamond Eye make it clear that they know how to have a good time and give the people what they really want: a real rock show. Seeing them in their element with sound waves and pyros blasting around them, I'm reminded of the first time I ever saw a clip of KISS, Alice Cooper or Van Halen: just feel-good metal with real, abrasive stage presence. Alive and Kicking is Diamond Eye's first real strike at the metal underground. Well-produced, ballsy, and robust, Diamond Eye's first crack at a live album (a live DVD album, no less) is one to be championed by fans and scouts alike. Crystal clear from the raw energy that blasts from Diamond Eye's guns like raining cannon-fire, Alive and Kicking is only the first of edgy albums to be expected from these Australian rockers. Keep your eyes out and your ears open, and check out this incredible live DVD album. I have never seen or heard something so well-produced and fulfilling from any underground band before, and that's the truth.
Like a scene right out of Hitchcock's thriller Psycho, Marion Crane burst onto the Florida stage with razor-sharp fangs bared and blood dripping down. A not-so-subtle mix of hard-rock grit and alternative-metal sneer, Marion Crane are just what summer called for: a hard-edged blade rusted over with the sonic samples of insanity.
Composed of S. Thomas Crane (lead vocals and guitar), Chris Stanton (lead guitar and vocals), Henry Black (bass and vocals), and Adam Tillis (drums), Marion Crane are a frost-bitten hand reaching up from beneath the bedrock of fear and darkness to grip your very soul before shaking you with a power and fury that seems won't be ignored. Metallic in their instrumental execution and grunge-laden in their vocal presentation, Marion Crane prove from the start that they have something to say as they open up every scar we have and show what lies just beneath the surface.
With guitar work by Jasper Judge, Marion Crane's debut album Kamikaze graced the sound systems of hard-rockers everywhere starting in April on last year. The 2010 release is something that floors me, because as I listen to tracks like "DNR," "Bullet" and the title-track, this sounds like a sophomore follow-up that was carefully crafted to blast the doors open after a debut got their foot just in the door. Both the instrumentation and the production on Kamikaze (courtesy of Stan Martell, who engineered the recording, mixing, and production of the album), are clean and clear, are hard-hitting in the best ways. Yet the track on the album that really stands out to me, besides the title-track, is "Illegitimate," a balls-gripping song that acts as dynamite stick in the nuclear reactor for Marion Crane's career.
Blasting forth in a brash firestorm of notes and chords, "Illegitimate" has clearly got to be Marion Crane's first single. A stew of S. Thomas Crane's serrated vocals and the blasting rhythm partnership of Henry Black's bass and Adam Tillis's drums, "Illegitimate" takes me to all-new heights when Judge's chords rip through the speakers to stab me through the heart with a force and power I can't help but embrace. If the sick music video isn't enough to convince you that these guys mean business, then Crane's half screaming/half growling vocals will prove that Marion Crane are on their way to the top of the post-grunge/alternative circuit. The best parts of "Illegitimate" are tied up together: as Crane's shakes all sense from my head with his fierce growls, Tillis is pounding that stake further through my heart with his bone-breaking beats as Black's bass crushes my head in a rusted vice. If there is one stand-out track on Kamikaze (and personally I think there are two, as the title-track is pretty core too), "Illegitimate" takes the cake in a fury that is frightening in power. Kamikaze, though, is just Marion Crane's first number, as since its release, two more soul-crushing songs have appeared in the Crane catalog: "M.M.M." and "The New Religion." "M.M.M.," like "Illegitimate" and "Kamikaze," comes with its own stitch-splitting music video directed by S. Thomas Crane and filmed by Henry Black. One of the things that stands out on the two new tracks is the guitar work, now in the hands of Chris Stanton. Crystal clear on "M.M.M.," Stanton is determined to stamp his own mark on the already rising Marion Crane legacy. Relying on crunching chords and a biting note progression, Stanton drives Marion Crane's sound to new heights as Tillis goes apocalyptic on his drums with Black following suit on bass. Crane's vocals brush up against the walls, scraping for release from their insane asylum in a pseudo-whispered haunting tone that throws back to Marilyn Manson and Layne Staley from Alice in Chains. Perhaps more like Staley than Manson, though, Crane's vocal execution dances over the Pixies' loud-quiet-loud dynamic, growing from a creepy growl during the verses to a full-fledged roar at the beginning of each chorus. That roar launches Marion Crane into a stinging guitar solo played out by Stanton, and in a matter of mere minutes, "M.M.M." is solidified in the Marion Crane catalog forever after.
But Marion Crane have a couple more tricks up their sleeve, and one of the best ones is called "The New Religion." A slightly more driven track than "M.M.M.," Stanton handles guitar work on this one as well. From the start, one of the best things about this song is the dynamic between the vocals and rhythm section. Black's bass is on point, screwing nuts and bolts into my skull as Tillis pushes full-throttle on his kit and kicks me home with a simple, but oh-so-grinding beat. With Stanton and Crane (whose vocals are the epitome of post-grunge/alternative-metal choice) shredding up their frets and strings in hard-rock fashion, "The New Religion" is the new target for all aspiring alternative-metal bands (and is the music isn't enough to drive you over the edge, the lyrics will rip right through you).
Over and over again, Marion Crane have proved that they mean business, and with the singles "The New Religion," "M.M.M.," "Illegitimate," and "Kamikaze," (not to mention the hardcore music videos for the last three), it's clear that these guys are not ones you would wanna meet in a dark alley at night. Like the lines in "The New Religion" go, I've "found the new addiction," and that new addiction's name is Marion Crane. Insane and psychotic like only the best hard-rock bands can be, Marion Crane is completely unhinged, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't think they would either.
Sounds Like: Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Three Days Grace, Staind, Chevelle
Key Tracks from Kamikaze, and Other Singles (Respectively): "Illegitimate," "Kamikaze," "M.M.M.," "The New Religion"
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