The very awesome and genre smashing, Genghis Tron, has returned with an upcoming new album , Signal Fire, and first single, “I Am All.” The bands previous album, 2021’s, Dream Weapon, was beyond a welcome back album. In fact it’s one of those albums that the more the years go by, certain aspects of that record have come true.
This new album though, shifts from the apocalyptic dreams of the previous album, and into a very unhinged and volatile new world. Like the last one with the lyrical themes becoming reality, Signal Fire delivers an urgency that is very direct and precise. “I Am All” is not just the first single but first track on the album. This song is heavy and punishing as well as quite the soundtrack to the end times.
Signal Fire arrives June 12 via Relapse Records! I’m very impatiently awaiting this release!
About a month as of this writing, the debut album from Held. will be released. Since the beginning of the year, Held. has been unveiling themselves via now three singles and three intense performance videos. The first single “New You Anthem” was right out of the gate a welcome introduction. The catchiness of the riff and the chorus, if that doesn’t strike you, there’s something wrong with you. Seriously, it’s heavy, melodic, packs quite punch to the gut. Then you add in Frank Iero’s guest vocal spot and how his voice hits the perfect counter balance to vocalist/guitarist Douglas Robinson. The second single “Constant Tension” (which of the three released is my favorite. When you get to the bridge of the song, you’ll know why), is a song that could’ve been released during the 90’s evolution of “emo” music. There’s a really cool Sunny Day Real Estate/Jawbox vibe mixed with a bit of a hardcore element. The rhythm section of Josh Eppard and Sal Mignano really shines here. They are beyond tight yet combustable in the best way. I can only imagine them on stage and this song is played. The lyrical connection here is real and very personal. The honesty is pure as you can hear in Douglas again here. “Knifepoint” is the one of the three released that hits the more “alternative” side of the band so far. The syncopated riff/rhythm has a cool push and pull that hits in a very striking way with the vocal as well as the guest spot from Graham Sayle of High Vis.
So here we are at three songs into their debut and it’s shaping up to be quite the explosive one. This combination of Douglas, Sal and Josh sounds even better than you’d think. As a fan of Josh’s playing, he really gets to go for it here in Held. That’s not to say he doesn’t in Coheed And Cambria, you can just hear a different excitement in his playing here. After Douglas left Night Verses, I was pretty bummed not to get to hear him as a part of that band. I really enjoyed the two albums they made and thought they were really on to something. The Ross Robinson produced second album, Into The Vanishing Light, is very underrated and has some truly deeply gritty vocal performances by Douglas. Getting to hear Sal in a different light than The Sleeping is a treat too. As a fan of that band too, you can hear where the roots come from. The sum of the parts here in Held. is going to be something special to see live. I look forward to what’s to come. And let’s just put a proper Los Angeles show out in the universe to happen soon!
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!”
It’s with great excitement to bring you the second episode of Audioeclectica Interviews with James Hammontree of the very awesome, Black Magnet! Their album Megamantra, is one of 2025’s best albums and is for sure in my top ten of the year. You can check out the review of this great album HERE! Black Magnet is one of the best industrial bands out today! I very much look forward to what’s to come from Black Magnet! Make sure you put them on your radar! Enjoy this very fun conversation and remember to “Listen Eclectically”
I have an interesting theory on title tracks. More often than not, the title track on an album is a deeper cut, towards the end of the album. My theory is that the “title track” is a bit of a summation of what the album encompasses. It could be musically, lyrically, thematic or the all around tonality of what the album is about. There are quite a few bands that do this on a consistent basis and I quite enjoy it. One of those bands is Tool. They have successfully done this three times (Undertow, Aenima and Lateralus). As much as I love “Lateralus” I really have to say “Undertow” might just be the best of the three. The song itself has a lot of different vibes to it. You have the heavy aspects, the syncopated rhythms, but the more progressive elements mixed with a bit of psychedelia puts this one over. “Undertow” is a song you can get lost in and it’s placement in the album sequence really lets the song become its own entity. I’m glad to see that “Undertow” made it back into the set list the past few years. More songs off of the album itself need to be played live. Less Fear Inoculum and more of the songs not played enough!!
This year the Cavalera brothers went on tour to celebrate their album, Chaos A.D. This is my all time favorite Sepultura album. I love this record. It’s heavy, brutal, full of great ear candy moments, and the mix on it is superb. I honestly thought when I was a kid and even today, that if Sepultura had kept expanding upon this sound and style by adding just a tinge of melody, they’d have been global giants! But that’s a topic and subject for a whole other time. Instead lets focus on track one of Chaos A.D. and that is “Refuse/Resist.” There are so many great track one’s and this song is definitely one of them. The groove on this song is beyond awesome. Interestingly, “Refuse/Resist” was the fourth single to be released from this album. It’s still a live staple to this day, even in Sepultura now, as well as with Max and Igor when they tour. Another fun tidbit is the beginning intro features the heartbeat of Max’s then unborn son, Zyon, who now plays with Max in Soulfly. You really can’t go wrong with Chaos A.D. and to have “Refuse/Resist” kick it off?! Now that’s a banger!
A couple weeks back the very awesome Black Magnet released “Endless,” the first single from their upcoming new album, Megamantra (out July 25 via Federal Prisoner). “Endless” was just the beginning though as Black Magnet have released another song, “Better Than Love.” If you thought “Endless” was a kick to the teeth, “Better Than Love” expands upon their already punishing industrial sound and adds a great left turn to their style that immediately pulls you in and doesn’t let go. I’m quite stoked for this new album. 2025 looks to be a great year for Black Magnet!!
AFI is a band that has gone through a lot of changes stylistically throughout their career. They started out as a punk band with hardcore roots, then shifted more to the Horror punk side of things. As time went on and the band evolved they found a balance of their roots of punk and added a more goth element to their music. So in 2003, AFI released their most ambitious album up till that point, Sing The Sorrow. Their die hard fans were caught off guard by the departure of their original sound, while at the same time finding a new audience. Sing the Sorrow was produced by Butch Vig and Jerry Finn, allowing the album to be more experimental. Lyrically, the album is darker and more poetic than their previous material. I for one, when I first heard the album wasn’t really in to it at all. It just wasn’t the AFI I was a fan of. Fast forward a few years and I revisited the album and really grew to love it. There is something truly intriguing about it. The depth of the songwriting really took things to another level for the band with the use of synths, strings and the all around lyrical content. Songs like “The Leaving Song Pts. I & II,” “Bleed Black,” “Death Of Seasons,” “But Home Is Nowhere,” really show the maturity of the guys in the band. There are some songs that are a little more radio friendly like “Girls Not Grey,” “Silver and Cold,” and “Dancing Through Sunday,” but that doesn’t change the fact that the songs are really good.
This is one of those albums that with time you really come to love. There is something about Sing The Sorrow that really hits home. Sure the production on it is a little too slick and AFI has completely changed from what they once were, but the growth on this album is truly astounding. Give it another shot if you gave up on them.
