Artistes
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Line-up
Jesse Hasek / Lead Vocals
Matt Wantland / Guitar
Brian Vodinh / Guitar
Chad Huff / Bass
Kyle Mayer / DrumsSometimes when band members reunite, it's as if no time has passed and nothing has changed. That couldn't be further from the truth for 10 Years. And, that's a good thing. When guitarist/drummer Brian Vodinh and guitarist Matt Wantland returned to the Knoxville, Tennessee alt-metal/post-grunge band for their eighth album and Mascot Records debut, (how to live) AS GHOSTS, they burst through their comfort zones to create something new. Something better. Something career-defining.
'It's funny, I named our last record, [2015's] From Birth to Burial, because I thought it was our final record because it just didn't feel like 10 Years without Brian and Matt. But having them back is really a reunion of the core writing team and this new record actually feels like a real rebirth for the band,' says singer Jesse Hasek.
While Vodinh handled drums and guitar on the new album, he's switching to just guitar for the live shows, moving Chad Huff from guitar to bass, while Kyle Mayer stays on drums. 'We're bringing it back the way they should be,' says Vodinh, who left the band due to family commitments in 2013. 'It feels great to be back with these guys and we're in such a better place musically and creatively than ever before.'
That better place stems, in part, from a more collaborative writing process. 'It used to be that just Jesse and I would write the full song, and the other guys would add a little spice to it. This time, we're starting the writing process as a full band. Sometimes it starts with a riff. Sometimes it starts with a vocal. Our formula is no formula, and it kind of works. And, we work together in a more constructive and healthier environment now,' explains Vodinh.
The sixth collaborator was Grammy award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz (Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Deftones). 'Nick made us step outside our comfort zone,' explains Hasek. 'It made for a different sounding record. The one thing we never wanted to do is recreate the same thing over and over. We have always been musicians that love to explore and venture into new horizons.'
It wasn't easy, the band admits. 'Nick threw us curve-balls and challenged us to re-write stuff and do things we normally wouldn't have done. He helped us cut away the fat and really get to the meat and potatoes of each song. He pushed us and was challenging at times, but it helped us grow.'
The result is 10 Years' most dynamic and multi-dimensional record to date. Raskulinecz encouraged the band to strip away some of the vocal production they've grown accustomed to in order to reveal a more intimate side of Hasek. 'Historically, we like to orchestrate a lot of vocal parts. We'll have harmonies and layers. This time around, Nick had us strip a lot of that away. There are a lot of moments where the only vocal is just Jesse, and not this big freaking epic thing. It makes Jesse more human. And I think the more human Jesse comes across, the more relatable his lyrics are,' says Vodinh.
Raskulinecz also helped Hasek be more straightforward in his lyrics and message. 'In the past, I've written a lot of songs that were pretty ambiguous. But on this record, I'm more comfortable being direct and talking about things that are important to me. I'm older and find myself reflecting on the world more especially after having traveled the world and talk to people and really see what's going on,' says Hasek.
The title track, 'Ghosts,' is one such song. 'After traveling the world and seeing all the political, social, and religious turmoil, it had me thinking about how many people are judging and preparing for death, but are actually missing life. And, instead of using spirituality for good, a lot of people use it to point fingers and judge. Instead of worrying where we end up in the end, we need to focus on the now and the humanity.'
'Burnout' is another observation on mankind. 'It's about a person that's right there in the limelight, has every opportunity to see the greatest things in life that are right in front of them, but they are too inside themselves to see it,' says Hasek.
'Blood Red Sky' was originally from a solo EP Vodinh had recorded. 'The song grabbed my ear the first time I heard it because it had such a different vibe,' says Hasek, 'but I had a different vocal idea for it so we changed it up. It's about the struggle of maintaining everyday life and how fast your existence just flashes before your eyes. But, it also says that we are surviving and will make it through — that we will always fight through.'
On the first single, 'Novacaine,' Hasek looks inward. 'Six albums and a hundred songs in, I wondered if I've already written my best stuff,' he admits. 'But at some point, you start to get real adult problems. Life has such a numbing to it. You see people go from such optimism in their 20s to having life just beat them down later. I think we all kind of get desensitized and numb to life on some level. That's what this song is about.'
10 Years has come a long way since their inception in 1999. The band landed a deal with Universal/Republic Records on the strength of their two independent releases, 2001's Into the Half Moon and 2004's Killing All That Holds You. Their major label debut, 2005's The Autumn Effect, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Album chart thanks to their breakthrough hit, 'Wasteland,' which topped Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, and 'Through the Iris,' which hit No. 20 on Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks.
The band followed that success with 2008's Division, featuring co-production work from Rick Parashar (Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam). The album peaked at No. 12 on The Billboard 200 and spawned the hit 'Beautiful,' which reached No. 6 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The momentum continued with 2010's Feeding the Wolves, which was produced by Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, 3 Doors Down) and bowed at No. 17 on The Billboard 200, while the single, 'Shoot It Out,' peaked at No. 6 on Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and spent 25 weeks on the chart.
The group, which toured the world with such rock greats at Linkin Park, Korn, and Deftones, went back to their indie roots with 2012's Minus the Machine on their own Palehorse Records, which was part of Warner Music Label Group. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Hard Rock Albums chart, No. 8 on the Top Rock Albums chart, and No. 26 on The Billboard 200.'We self-produced our last few records, so it was good to give the reigns over to someone else for the first time in awhile. We had to really let go and trust and I think in doing that, it opened us to new ideas and helped us stretch creatively,' says Hasek.
(how to live) AS GHOSTS might be the band's 8th album. But, to them, it feels like a new start. 'There was a heavier, darker tone to our last record because we weren't in a good place,' adds the singer. 'Ghosts has a brighter side to it because we're all in a really happy, optimistic, and excited place about music and life. We're ready to see how the world embraces it.'
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Line-up
King Diamond - Vocals,
Andy LaRocque - Guitar,
Mike Wead - Guitar,
Pontus Egberg - Bass Guitar,
Matt Thompson - Drums -
Line-up
Tom Englund (Vocals),
Nicolas van Dyk (Guitars and Keyboards),
Bernie Versailles (Guitars),
Sean Andrews (Bass Guitar),
Chris Quirarte (Drums),
Vikram Shankar (Keyboards)Metal Blade recording artists Redemption, from Los Angeles, is one of the leading progressive metal bands in the world today. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 2000 by guitarist / keyboardist / songwriter Nicolas van Dyk, the band features iconic vocalist Thomas England of Evergrey and the phenomenal rhythm section of Chris Quirarte (drums) and Sean Andrews (bass), as well as guitar work from the legendary Chris Poland (Megadeth, oHM) and Simone Mularoni (DGM).
First gaining notoriety with their sophomore release, 2005’s The Fullness of Time (which featured former vocalist Ray Alder of Fates Warning), the band released their third CD, The Origins of Ruin, in 2007 and followed with a tour of the US in support of progressive metal icons Dream Theater. They followed this up with a live CD/DVD of their performance at the Progpower festival, Frozen in the Moment, in 2008. In 2009 they released Snowfall on Judgment Day (which included a guest vocal performance from James LaBrie of Dream Theater), followed by 2011’s This Mortal Coil, after which they toured Europe for the first time and released their second live CD/DVD, Live from the Pit, in 2013. 2016 saw the release of The Art of Loss, the band’s first album for Metal Blade records, which features not only Chris Poland but also guitarists Marty Friedman and Chris Broderick, as well as guest performance from John Bush of Armored Saint. Following the departure of Alder in early 2017, the band joined forces with the formidable voice of Englund, and is set to release its seventh studio CD, Long Night’s Journey into Day, in 2018. The band will co-headline the 2018 edition of the Progpower festival in Atlanta, GA.Combining unapologetic melodies and hooks with technicality, complexity and thundering riffs, the band occupies a unique place with its powerful, heavy, intelligent and deeply emotional music. With its new vocalist and a new album, the band is thrilled to be bringing new music to you next year!
Through the band's first three studios CDs (2002's self-titled first release, 2005's The Fullness of Time, and 2007’s The Origins of Ruin), Redemption has gained a loyal fanbase and garnered rave reviews worldwide from critics, who describe Redemption's music as:
'one of the best progressive metal acts to emerge in the past decade' – DPRP
'magical aura and incredible songwriting' – BLABBERMOUTH
'it's powerful, catchy, enslaving, technical; it's the whole bunch' – LORDS OF METAL
'the new star on the US prog-metal sky' – SQUEALER ROCKSRedemption's combination of heaviness not usually found in progressive metal, irresistible melodies and emotional urgency has created a unique and resonant voice for this band that sets them apart from the many clones in the genre, and which has gained them the attention of fans, critics and musicians.
In the summer of 2007, the band was selected by the definitive Progressive Metal band, Dream Theater, as direct support for the entirety of Dream Theater's US tour. After performing 26 shows for tens of thousands of fans, Redemption capped off this tour with a performance at the 8th annual ProgPower festival in Atlanta.
This performance, to a sold-out house, was captured in a five camera shoot and in March 2009 was released as a live DVD / CD package entitled Frozen in the Moment: Live in Atlanta. Containing 67 minutes of music from the concert plus an unreleased instrumental song, behind the scenes tour footage, a video diary of the tour, and the official video for Bleed Me Dry, from The Origins of Ruin it is an essential addition to the music and video library of any fan of the band.
Throughout spring 2009 the band finalized its 4th studio-album, Snowfall On Judgment Day. Mixed by well-known producer Tommy Hansen (Helloween, Jorn Lande, Circus Maximus etc), the album features a more mature songwriting than ever before and shows the band taking several steps beyond the quality of their previous output, and standing out from the rest of the crowd in the progressive metal scene with their unique brand of heavy, melodic and emotionally powerful music.
From the opening song 'Peel' it is evident that Nick van Dyk and the band has something to say, and with the CD’s compelling single 'Walls', the powerful 'Another Day Dies' (featuring Dream Theater's James LaBrie in a high energy duet with Ray Alder) all the way through the closing notes of the progressive epic 'Love Kills Us All', Redemption has clearly delivered their best album to date – an album that will stand as a watermark for progressive metal for years to come.
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ENTERFIRE was created by NIKI B (Nicholas Nikoloudis) in 2017. It is a project which talks mostly about the time that is passing without mercy and the world which is changing continuously. The songs crafted meticulously combined with powerful lyrics have resulted in melodic metal with thrash influence. The vocals can change from clean to brutal, scream and distorted depending on the feel of the song.
The leader of the band, Niki B, was born in Wales, UK, but he was raised on a greek island. From a youngster he grew up in a musical environment thanks to the rock bar owned by his family. He was deeply inspired by all the metal gods he was listening to and it did not take long until he started to feel the attraction of guitars. During his teenage years he played lead guitar and vocals in different bands, performed in live shows and recorded albums.
He knew where his dreams would lead him from a young teenager and in 2014 he decided to move to London to study music in a professional environment. From the time he started to master the guitar professionally he had to learn different styles and genres of music which took his techniques to a different level. On gaining new skills he explored innovative ways to produce new material.
Always wanting to evolve as an artist, Niki B became interested in the field of music production. From the moment he produced his first song he gained knowledge and he developed himself, until nowadays he is composing, recording and mastering his own music in his music studio.
Kunal, the bassist of ENTERFIRE, remembers when his love for music began 'back to 1994, when my dad popped in Aerosmith’s - 'Get A Grip' into the car cassette player I was mesmerised by the gorgeous tones of a guitar through a Marshall Amplifier'. He started playing guitar in 2007 and followed a Pro Guitar course and a production and sound engineering course. He played bass for different bands, but also served as a producer and vocalist. 'My preferred genres are, Punk, Classic Rock and Heavy Metal. My influences include Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Motorhead, Anthrax, Kiss, Aerosmith, Guns N Roses, Pantera, Ozzy Osbourne, Blink 182, Sum 41.'
The rhythm guitarist, Ioakeim is the youngest member of the band and he discovered heavy metal, metalcore, thrash metal and death metal at the age of 12. By the age of 15 he was already playing in melodic death metal bands as a lead guitarist and bassist. In 2016 he moved to London to study guitar at the British Institute of Modern Music. He finds his inspiration in bands such as Pantera, Avenged Sevenfold, Death, Sodom, Venom, Rotting Christ, Amon Amarth, Lamb of God, Slayer, Megadeth and Judas Priest.
Nick started playing drums at the age of 8 and during high school he was rocking the bars with his band. He decided to move in the UK at 18 and joined a BA creative musicianship course at Bimm London. 'Through my time there I studied some interesting modules such as instrument technique , creative technology application and the basics of using Ableton and Logic software to create and record music.' His inspiration is coming from drummers such as John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) , Nicko Mcbrain (Iron Maiden), Mike Portnoy (ex Dream Theater).
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Line-up
Tom Whitty - Guitar & Vocals
Al Llewellyn - Bass & Vocals
Matt Unsworth - DrumsDyscarnate have long been flying the flag for UK death metal all over the world. Having toured across Australia, Europe, Indonesia, Israel, Russia and more, fans can expect to see the three piece powerhouse's dominance to spread even further in the coming year with the stellar release of 'With
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Line-up
Enrico Minelli - Vocals
Felipe Ruiz - Guitars
Bruno Solera - Guitars
Fabio Yamamoto - Bass
Thiago Biasoli - Drums -
RINGGO 5 – hailing from Jakarta, Indonesia, this young and energetic five-piece have gotten a lot of achievements under their belt within a year of being together. Formed on May 15th 2015 (15/5/15) this band consist of Nara Pawaka (Vocal), Rishad Marciano (Guitar), Robert Matthew (Bass), Gege Adita (Drums) and Rhein Michael (Guitar).
Ringgo 5 released their first EP called, “Tell Me”. The 4-track EP was ranked 9th on iTunes Indonesia for several weeks. From this record emerged the first ever Ringgo 5 single “Tell Me”, released onto YouTube and received amazing reactions from the PartyCrashers and positive reception – a triumph that saw the band a huge recognition within the wide Indonesian scene. The band believes that they can reach their goals together and will always create even better material, showing the world more of what the band has to offer.
On August 25 2017, Ringgo 5 released their debut album. 'Emotion' is built with the lads' love towards pop-rock culture. The album demonstrates teenage love stories and youthful habits. With up-beat breakup song like 'Best Heartbreak'. On the other side, you'll hear the post melancholy 'Promise' as well as the youth love anthem 'It's You'.
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https://www.instagram.com/somethingtodoband/
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Liquid State are a hurricane of sound that show no shame in bringing down walls with their soul shaking music. The powerful foursome from Bristol, UK promise huge, dirty riffs; soaring, unapologetic vocals and grit-filled, rumbling bass lines that perfectly compliment some of the fullest drum grooves in the scene. In other words, Liquid State capture the sweat drenched energy of the mosh pit and spew it back directly into your face. The group take influences from artists such as Periphery, Marmozets and Arcane Roots, which becomes obvious as soon as you hear the in-your-face attitude that screams out of the music they produce. After being crowned the winners of Bristol’s biggest Battle of the Bands competition, The Underdog, in September 2017, Liquid State have been steadily building a reputation as a band that could fill the largest of cathedrals with their exhilaratingly loud presence. “We’ve put everything into the band and the music we make comes entirely from the heart, so it feels so good to finally be recognised and approached by people who want us to play their events” reveals the bands front woman, Keren. Liquid State have big plans in the pipeline for the coming year including delving into the depths of the UK for a run of relentless live shows.
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Line-up
Al Ravage - Vocals
Eli Firicano- Guitar
Nick Izzo - Guitar
Derek Jay - Drums
Tommy G - BassThe heavy metal band Ravage began as the idea of two young brothers from Boston MA, USA. The two, whom fans would come to know as Al Ravage and Eli, wished to form a band that could bring bombastic heavy metal back to prominence and crush the insipid alterna-grunge music craze of the mid-90's. Though the barely-highschool aged rockers had mighty ambitions when they played their first gig in 1996, they quickly learned that Rome was not built in a day, and Ravage had to endure endless line-up changes while honing their sound and forging their way through the local underground metal scene. Rough demos, bootlegs and countless shows began to pay some dividends as the band gained a cult following. Ravage soon reached a level of international acclaim with the self-release of their 2003 'Curse Of Heaven' EP. The EP sold out quickly, and the band was signed to Germany's Karthago Records to release their first full-length album in 2005. Monetary issues, further line-up problems and internal strife plagued the self-financed recording which was well received by some for it's strong songs, but was often overlooked for it's weak production value. Following the release, Al, Eli, and long-time guitarist Nick Izzo (who had joined the band in 2001), put together a new line-up with local bass basher Howie 'The Mosh Pig' Snow, and drum smasher GTB who had been working with Eli on a side-project. The new line-up was invited to play at Germany's Swordbrother's festival in 2006 where the band put on a raucous display for thrilled fans who came from all over Europe. Upon their return home, the band began recording their second full-length album 'The End Of Tomorrow'. The next two years would see the band in and out of the studio as they completed 17 tracks including a cover of Warlock's 'Cold Cold World' which was released on a Warlock Tribute album by Pure Steel Records. Ravage chose 6 of the other songs to comprise the 'Freedom Fighter' EP which the band self-released in order to find a new label. With the new recording evidencing musical leaps and bounds in both song-writing and production, Ravage set out to find a cover artist who would do justice to their work. The band soon announced that they had secured the talents of the one and only master of metal cover art Ed Repka - best known for his work with MEGADETH and DEATH. Ravage then signed with California-based Metal Blade Records to release the new CD. Ravage's new album seamlessly intertwines the sounds of New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, late 80's American Thrash Metal and late 90's European Powermetal to showcase the band's signature style. The album is sure to be enjoyed by metal maniacs young and old as it blends the soaring vocal and guitar melodies of Iron Maiden and Helloween with the raw power of thrashers like Testament and Kreator, presented in a crisply modern production-style courtesy of producer Peter Rutcho, the mastermind behind the band VOMITRON. 'The End Of Tomorrow' was released on August 18th, 2009 and is available in stores!