For quite a while now, I’ve been heavily into the band Black Magnet. I absolutely love the way the industrial, punk, metal, and bits of post-punk are put together. The last two albums, Body Prophecy and Megamantra are modern industrial classics. What I have to share with you all today is the first of two new Black Magnet songs. “Room Full Of Hammers” was written as an outlier song during the Megamantra sessions. After working and focusing on a full length, James Hammontree wanted to write in a more free-form way without any lofty goals or in the focus of an album. The end result is bone crushing and pummeling. This song is very loose sounding but full of attitude and bite for days. There’s even a really fun punk energy to this song that feels like it’s straight out of Ministry circa 1988-1991. Make sure to crank your volume up loudly for “Room Full Of Hammers!”
Melodic heavy music is one of my favorite things to listen to. There is something about having heavy music and with vocals that you can hear and feel. That feeling you get listening to a band that has all the right parts is quite warming. That being said let me introduce you to the band of the week, Sapient Scar. This Los Angeles based five piece band is unapologetically coming for you. While they might not be reinventing the wheel here, Sapient Scar is pure raw energy mixed with an aggressive yet melodic sound. Fronted by VK Lynne (Vita Nova, stOrk, The Spider Accomplice), whose powerhouse vocals announce their arrival, Sapient Scar brings together an impressive lineup: Founder David Ruiz (Edge of Paradise) on guitar, John Chominsky (Edge of Paradise, SYNN, Final Gravity) on drums, Allie Kay (The Violent Hour, Jason Charles Miller (exGodhead), Herway to Hell) on guitar, and Brendan Flavin holding down the low end on bass. The sum of these parts has released two songs “Weak Is The Weapon” and “Pay Forever” both are hooky, heavy and hit that melodic aspect oh so well. I’m very much looking forward to what else is to come from Sapient Scar. You can also see them live at The Cobalt Presents/Audioeclectica show at Hotel Ziggy in Hollywood on Saturday February 28th! See you there and enjoy Sapient Scar!
When a band such as Converge releases a new album, it’s a big deal. For well over 30 years, Converge has been at the forefront of metal and hardcore. Their signature sound is unmistakable. The sheer intensity of the vocals and lyrics will make grown men cry. Musically the intricacies, riffs and pummeling rhythms are as devastating as the most powerful storm. Without Converge we wouldn’t have so many other great bands that we enjoy today.
Which brings me to their new album Love Is Not Enough. The past few albums have been rather epic in their nature. Blood Moon, The Dusk In Us and All We Love We Leave Behind are quite the records in their own right and have their own place within the catalog and genre. Over the course of the time since their release, each of those albums holds a certain place for me. What we have here on this new album is a very direct sense of impact. Not since their album, You Fail Me, have Converge made such an urgent blast of an album. Spanning just about thirty minutes, Love Is Not Enough grabs you by the throat the second the title track kicks off the record. Throughout the ten songs the listener is thrust into the whole career of Converge. Each song is a bit of a snapshot of the best of what Converge is and has done. For those clamoring for the more spastic and heavy fast paced songs, those are here for you and for the taking. There is a thematic level of darkness and gloominess that is a radiating aspect to the album. Which gives it a very profound feeling. There is a balance of both the heavy/dark and spastic/pummeling making, Love Is Not Enough that much more impactful. Even the middle song which is instrumental, this track gives you the moment to gather yourself before the onslaught continues. There is not a song on this album that feels like it shouldn’t be here.
Converge is Converge for a reason. Their music is a true testament to what moves them. An album like Love Is Not Enough might not be the be all end all of metalcore albums but, what this album does is show everyone else trying to cop this style that, this is the way to do it. Imitation can be a form of flattery at times but, don’t mess with it in hardcore and metal. The equal parts of Jacob Bannon, Kurt Ballou, Nate Newton and Ben Koller made one hell of an album here. One that should not only be listened loudly but, one that shows there is no letting up for these gents. The standard was set long ago by Converge and they just keep moving the bar higher for everyone else. I’m personally beyond stoked on their upcoming tour with Poison The Well. That decibel levels in the venues should register on richter scales.
With easy passing day, we are getting closer to the release of Poison The Well’s new album, Peace In Place. A couple of weeks back they released the first single, “Thoroughbreds” which definitely hit the mark. Now the second single has been released and it’s so damn good. “Everything Hurts” has that signature quiet/loud dynamic that is the right mood and melodic tinge that makes me love Poison The Well. To top it off too, “Everything Hurts” flows quite well out of the end of “Thoroughbreds.” I do believe we have another a Top Ten album of the year coming up with Peace In Place. March 20th can’t come soon enough! And the tour with Converge… I will see you there!
I’m beyond excited about this. New FAILURE has arrived! “The Air’s On Fire” is the first single off their upcoming new album, Location Lost, which arrives April 24th!!! This upcoming new album will be the bands seventh studio album and features nine new songs including one with a guest spot from Paramore’s Hayley Williams. The song “The Air’s On Fire” has been unveiled as the first single from this new offering and is now streaming below. “The Air’s On Fire” is a track that was directly influenced by a back injury that vocalist/guitarist, etc. Ken Andrews suffered and a challenging recovery process that ensued from the resulting surgery. Speaking on the song, Ken said “That song is directly about my surgery and waking up. I basically coded. Everything was spinning. I kept saying, ‘Turn the air on. I’m fine—just take me home.’ I was definitely not fine.” Leave it to Failure to make an epic song from this. Failure will be touring shortly after the albums release. I highly recommend you see Failure live. It will change your life!
This is quite a fun and exciting interview to present to you all. It’s with great excitement that Audioeclectica shares this very in depth interview with Ryan Stuber from the band Tredici. You might also know Ryan from the band Shuvel, and if you’ve been to the Roxy Theatre in the last fifteen plus years, you saw Ryan there as he was the manager! We go into all the details of Shuvel, their time on Ozzfest 2000, tour stories, time working at the Roxy, musical projects through the years leading up to his new band, Tredici. So, get to your favorite place to listen, grab your favorite beverage and listen to this great interview with Audioeclectica and Ryan.
AUDIOECLECTICA INTERVIEWS: RYAN STUBER (Tredici, ex Shuvel):
I’ve been impatiently waiting for new music from Futurelust and it’s finally here! Futurelust has been hard at work on new songs for an upcoming release. This new song “Stray” continues on their cinematic rock style with soaring melodic vocals. There’s something really cool and intriguing about this band. It’s really great to hear a band that cares so much about writing great songs. Their debut album is chock full of stellar songs. As well as the couple stand alone singles. I’ve had the pleasure of booking Futurelust on a couple shows over the last few years and they fast became one of my favorite new bands. Though they recently relocated to the Nashville area, I don’t doubt, they will be leaving their mark on the music scene out there! And if you are out in their are when they are playing a show, go see them! I personally can’t wait to hear more! Way to go gents!
The list of bands that were ahead of their time is quite criminal. When you go back and just look at the time period between 1995 and 1999, the bands that formed then or began releasing albums, helped to change the musical landscape be it the alternative genres or heavy genres. Back in 1995 after guitarist Peter Mengede and Helmet parted ways he laid the foundation for what was to become the band, Handsome. The way Handsome incorporated heavy music with these type of melodic vocals would unknowingly be part of a new sub-genre, post-hardcore.
We all know 1994 was a tragic yet amazing year for music. The albums that came out this year are still some of the best of all time even thirty plus years later. One of the albums that came out at this time that still gets a lot of flack is Hole’s, Live Through This. I remember buying it when I was a kid and thinking it was pretty damn good. And to this day I still think that. Seriously, if you haven’t listened to Live Through This in a long time, put it on and enjoy it! Now, back in 1994, while Hole was riding high off the release of their breakthrough album, they were asked to play on Saturday Night Live. On December 17, 1994 with legendary boxer George Foreman hosting, Hole would take the SNL stage and perform “Doll Parts” and “Violet.”
New Corrosion Of Conformity is here!! The band has officially released “Gimme Some Moore” from their upcoming new album, Good God / Baad Man, which is a double album, that will arrive on April 03, 2026 via Nuclear Blast. Yep that’s right a double album featuring fourteen songs!! Vocalist/Guitarist Pepper Keenan said of the album “Our producer, Warren Riker, kept calling it Dark Side Of The Doom. In my head, it’s a weird love letter to all things rock ‘n’ roll. We used that for the freedom to go in different directions. Each album is its own tiny universe and has its own identity. Good God leans toward the heavier/pissed end of the spectrum. Baad Man is more on the throwdown rock scope. As we went along, it became clear which songs went on which album.” The lineup for Corrosion Of Conformity these days includes Pepper Keenan (Vocals/Guitar), Woody Weatherman (Guitar), Stanton Moore (Drums) and Bobby Landgraf (Bass). Very much looking forward to this album. Pepper has quite the year ahead of him with COC and New DOWN!!!
