Anticipated Albums: Will Haven- Muerte

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One band that I’ve always thought of as totally underrated is Will Haven. They never fully got their due when they came out. Hailing from Sacramento just like thier friends in Far and Deftones, Will Haven took a more aggressive approach to their music. I truly thought that when their landmark album Carpe Diem was released in 2001, they would have finally got their due but, sadly that didn’t happen. Though that album is widely accepted today as one of the most underrated and influential albums since the turn of the century.

Today Will Haven released the first song from their upcoming album Muerte (out March 23rd… PRE-ORDER HERE). This song entitled “El Sol” is blistering, epic and features Stephen Carpenter from Deftones.

 

Will Haven- El Sol (featuring Stephen Carpenter):

 

Will Haven- Winds Of Change:

 

 

 

Upcoming Will Haven Dates:

03/23 Sacramento, CA – Holy Diver (album release show)
05/04 Fullerton, CA – Programme Skate & Sound
05/05 San Diego, CA – Brick by Brick
05/06 Hollywood, CA – The Viper Room
06/23 Portland OR – Star Theater

 

 

Beats Per Minute: Wolf & Raven

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The 80’s and synth driven music is coming back in a huge way. With the success of things like Stranger Things and EDM culture, it’s not surprising to see this new wave of 80’s influence peaking through. Let me introduce you to Wolf & Raven, a very 80’s synth driven group that seems perfectly stuck in the early mid 80’s. Their dreamscapes and pop sensible sound is reminiscent of something you might recognize from a movie like Real Genius or even Cloak and Dagger and dashes of the early era of M83. Wolf & Raven is made up of two brothers Chris and Anthony Greninger, who make up this dreamy synthwave group. Their new album Ace of Space, “was written with the idea to create a soundtrack that could have been used in an 80’s anime space opera; inspired by cartoons, video games, and movies, it has a wide array of influences to create an audible escape into a multi-layered musical world.” After hearing a few of the songs, this is a perfect description for what they are unleashing to the world. You can pre-order the album on vinyl HERE via Sofa King Vinyl.

 

Wolf & Raven- Ace Of Space:

Album Rank: A.F.I.

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I was going through my CD collection the other day and realized how many albums A.F.I. had. So naturally, I went on a listening binge of the ones I’ve always dug. Thus we are now at the point where I have made a ranking of all their albums (I’m not including EP’s or live albums) from worst to best. Let me know what your order would be.

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New Release: A Perfect Circle- TalkTalk

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I’m genuinely unsure as to what to think about any of the new songs from A Perfect Circle. This new song “TalkTalk” off their upcoming album Eat The Elephant (which comes out April 20, 2018), sounds like a rehashed song from Mer De Noms and a Puscifer song. The more I think about the return of the band, the more I think it took way too long for them to come back, granted this is just my opinion. I’m sure many people out there that listen to this song and all the others off their new album will really enjoy it.

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Band Of The Week: Void Vator

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What do you get when you cross 80’s metal a la Iron Maiden, Metallica and Megadeth and 90’s rock in the vain of Nirvana and Soundgarden? Well I’ll tell you, Void Vator is the end result. This four piece Los Angeles based band, is a melodic heavy rock group that is really starting to leave their mark on the scene. Their debut EP Dehumanized, was produced by Ulrich Wild (Deftones, Pantera, Static X, OneSideZero). The five songs on the EP, especially “Time Has Come” and “No Return,” are chock full of rock, riffs, and melody, which is exactly what this band is all about. Check out Void Vator for all your melodic heavy rock needs.

 

Void Vator- Dehumanized EP:

 

Time Has Come Video:

 

No Return Video:

New Release: Stone Temple Pilots- Roll Me Under

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Stone Temple Pilots have released another new song from their upcoming self titled album due out March 16. It’s very well known that no one will ever come close to Scott Weiland and his talent, melodies, and lyrics, that’s just irreplaceable. Stone Temple Pilots seem to have found the right guy for the job though. On the two songs released so far, “Meadow” and the new one “Roll Me Under” Jeff Gutt fits the profile of what the next singer of STP should sound like. He’s right in the range vocally of Scott so it won’t be a stretch for him to sing the older songs. The new song “Roll Me Under” sounds like a classic STP song. At least it’s not anything as bad as their work with Chester Bennington.

 

Roll Me Under:

 

Meadow:

End Of Album Songs: Baroness

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Baroness have long proved to be masters of epic songs. Each of their albums have gotten better and better as time goes on. Like Mastodon, Baroness have really carved out a niche within the heavy music community. It’s wonderful to watch a band grow over the years to craft something special and epic. Personally, I really dig on the closing song off their Purple album “If I Have To Wake Up.” That song is beyond beautiful.

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Album Debate: Dredg- El Cielo vs Catch Without Arms

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Dredg is one of the most underrated, artistic and intriguing bands of the last couple decades. They have been been one of the most consistent bands that chose art over the easy way out. During this time, Dredg have released 5 full length albums all of which stand on their own artistic integrity. There are 2 albums that I’d like to focus on. The bands second and third albums El Cielo and Catch Without Arms are not just artistically sound but also two albums that have helped to influence and inspire countless of other bands.

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That Was A Bad Idea: Motley Crue Staying As Motley With John Corabi

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After Vince Neil quit or was fired (depending on whose story you believe) from Motley Crue in 1992, Tommy, Nikki, and Mick regrouped and recruited singer/guitarist John Corabi to be the new singer for Motley Crue. Motley would go on to record only one album without Vince as their singer but, that one album they did with John Corabi is quite an underrated album. There are a ton of fans out there that want to disregard it but they really shouldn’t. Corabi brought in something else to the band that had been missing for sometime. John’s ability to write lyrics and guitar parts gave new life to Motley Crue. The album also saw them move past their “glam” image and sound to a more rock vibe a la 90’s rock and “grunge.”

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Band Of The Week: Glaare

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I love being a fan of different genres of music. It really is such a great feeling to hear bands from different realms and soak it all in. When you hear “that” band that just hits at the right time and place, you know it’s something special. I’d like to introduce you all to GLAARE. Soaked in post-punk, dark-wave and 90’s alternative, GLAARE deliver melancholy and melody with a sense of brightness through all the darkness. The bands latest album “To Deaf and Day” is the work of Rachael Pierce, Cameron Carlin (Black Mare) and Brandon Pierce (ex-Ancestors). This is the bands first full length album and it encapsulates everything you’d want from the genre and then some. Throughout the 8 songs on the album, you get to experience the beautiful darkness that lay inside GLAARE. They are definitely one band that deserves your undivided attention.

 

GLAARE- To Deaf and Day: