• Week 144 – Oct 1  –  Jungle Rot – Thrash/Death Metal – Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
• Week 143 – Sep 24 – Lifechanger – Melodic Rock – Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Week 142 – Sep 17 – Testament – Thrash Metal – Berkeley, California
• Week 141 – Sep 10 – Bleed From Within – Heavy Metal – Glasgow, Scotland
• Week 140 – Sept 3  – At The Gates – Death Metal & More – Gothenburg, Sweden
• Week 139 – Aug 27 – The Soul Of Bushido – Thrash Metalcore – Lorraine, France
• Week 138 – Aug 20 – WoR – Aggressive Groove Metal – North Carolina, USA
• Week 137 – July 3 – Wolves In The Throne Room – Atmospheric Black Metal – Olympia, Washington
• Week 136 -June  26 – Deathbale – Postapocalyptic Viking Death Metal  – Germany
• Week 135 – June 19 – Repaid in Blood – Pure Fking Geek Metal Revisited – San Jose, Calif
• Week 134 –  June 5 – Wardruna – Dark Folk Metal – Bergen, Norway
• Week 133 – May 28 – Rotting Christ – Black Metal – Athens, Greece
• Week 132 – May 21 – Carmilla – Metal – Sverige, Sweden
• Week 131 – May 14 – Wake Up Frankie – Thrash/Rock/Metal – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 130 – May 7  – Disquiet – Melodic Death/Thrash – Utrecht, Netherlands
• Week 129 – Apr 30 – Thanatos – Extreme Thrash/Death Metal – Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Week 128 – Apr 23  – Arched Fire – Heavy Speed Metal – Lapland, Finland
• Week 127 – Apr 16 – The Haunted – Heavy/Melodic Death Metal – Gothenburg, Sweden
• Week 126 – Apr 9 –  Updates 
• Week 125 – Apr 2  –  All Taken – Hard Rock with a little Grunge – Los Angeles, California
• Week 124 – Mar 26 – Aeon Of Awareness – Melodic Death Metal – Germany (Song Review)
• Week 124 – Mar 25 – Scythian Fate – Dark Prog Thrash – Sydney/Melbourne – Australia
• Week 124 – Mar 24 – Hate & Deceit – Danish Melodic Death Metal – Slagelse, Denmark
• Week 123 – Mar 21 – Beyond the Pale – Dutch Metal – Utrecht, Netherlands
• Week 122 – Mar 12 – Thy Kingdom Will Burn – Melodic Death Metal – Kouvola, Suomi
• Week 121 – Mar 5 –  H.E.A.T. –  Hard Rock/Heavy Metal – Uppsland Väsby, Sweden              
• Week 120 – Feb 26 – Temple Balls – Hard Rock – Finland
• Week 119 – Feb 19 – Aeon of Awareness – Melodic Death Metal – Germany
• Week 118 – Feb 12 – Vreid – Black Metal / Black n Roll – Sogndal, Norway
• Week 117 – Feb 5 – Artilharia – Heavy/Melodic/Speed/Thrash Metal – Brazil
• Week 116 – Jan 29 – This week was for Alexi, COB, Rip my dear HeadBanger
• Week 115 – Jan 22 – Paradise Lost – Death/Doom/Gothic Metal – Halifax, West Yorkshire
• Week 114 – Jan 15 – Wintersun – Power/Folk/Melodic Death Metal – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 113 – Jan 1 – Dark Tranquillity – Melodic Death Metal – Gothenburg, Sweden
• Week 112 – Dec 25 – SepticFlesh – Greek Symphonic Metal – Athens, Greece
• Week 111 – Dec 18 – Die From Sorrow – Melodic Death Metal – Beijing, China
• Week 110 – Dec 11 – Fireproven – Progressive Metal – Finland
• Week 109 – Dec 4 – Wolfheart – Winter Metal – Myrskylä, Finland
• Week 108 – Nov 27 – Angelus Apatrida – Thrash – Albacete, Spain
• Week 107 – Nov 20 – Gojira – Heavy Metal – Bayonne, France
• Week 106 – Nov 13 – Enslaved – Prog/Black/Viking Metal – Sveio, Norway
• Week 105 – Nov 6 –  Like A Storm – Metal – Auckland, New Zealand

• Week 104 – Oct 30 – Firewind – Power/Heavy Metal – Thessaloniki, Greece
• Week 103 – Oct 23 – Shiraz Lane – Rock – Vantaa, Finland
• Week 102 – Oct 16 – The Agonist – Metal – Montreal, Canada

• Week 101 – Oct 9 – Butcher Babies – Heavy Metal – Los Angeles, CA
• Week 100 – Oct 3 – BaYaT – Alternative Rock – Novi Sad, Serbia 
• Week 98 –  Sept 25 – Dirt – Rock – Heksinki, Finland
• Week 98 –  Sept 18 – Unearth – MetalCore – Boston, Massachusetts
• Week 97 –  Sept 11 – Stratovarius – Power Metal – Finland
• Week 96 –  Sept 4 – SynlakrosS – Mel Death Metal – Valencia, Spain

• Week 95 – Aug 28 – Striker – New Wave Heavy Metal , Canada
• Week 94 – Aug 21 – Turisas – Metal –  Hämeenlinna, Finland
• Week 93 – Aug 14 – Tyr – Metal – Faroe Islands (Part of Denmark)
• Week 92 – Aug 7 –  After Release of EP – Interview with WuF, Kasperi Merilainen
• Week 91 – July 24 – Review of EP – Wake Up Frankie – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 90 – July 17 –  SPECIAL ON THRASH METAL BANDS
• Week 89 – July 13 – SPECIAL ON MELODIC DEATH METAL BANDS
• Week 88 – July 10 –  Hinayana Band – Melodic Death/Doom – Austin, Texas
• Week 87 –  July 3 –   Viikate – Rock/Metal – Kouvola, Finland
• Week 86 – June 26 – Lumberhead – Metal – Leipzig, Saxony (Germany)
• Week 85 – June 19 – Nidhoeggr – Pagan Death Metal – Bern, Switzerland
• Week 84 – June 12 – Aetherian – Dark Melodic Death Metal – Athens, Greece
• Week 83 – June 5 – Frosttide – Epic Dark Folk Metal – Jyväskylä, Finland
• Week 82 – May 29 – Amthrya – Advantgarde Death Black Metal – Italy
• Week 81 – May 22 – Suicidal Angels – Trash – Athens, Greece
• Week 80 – May 15 – Heart of Jordan – Alter Metal – Lansing, Michigan
• Week 79 – May 8 – Parasite, Inc. – Melodic Death Metal – Aalen, Germany
• Week 78 – May 1 – Wake Up Frankie – Grove/Trash/Rock – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 77 – Apr 24 – Abbath – Black Metal – Bergen, Norway
• Week 76 – Apr 17 – Entombed – Dark/Rock Death/Metal – Stockholm, Sweden
• Week 75 – Apr 10 – Cruish-Nir – Gothic/Doom – Romania
• Week 74 – Apr 3 – [Amatory] – MetalCore – St. Petersburg, Russia
• Week 73 – Mar 27 – Njord – Viking Rock – Sandviken, Sweden
• Week 72 – Mar 20 – Mystic Prophecy – Metal – Dortmund, Germany
• Week 71 – Mar 13 – Astralborne  – Melodic Death Metal – Toledo, Ohio
• Week 70 – Mar 6 –  Shakra – HardRock/Metal – Trub, Switzerland
• Week 69 – Feb 28 –  The Browning – Metal – Kansas City, Missouri
• Week 68 – Feb 21 –  Tempting Fate – Hard Rock/Metal – Los Angeles, California
• Week 67 – Feb 14 –  Dynazty – Hard Rock/Metal – Stockholm, Sweden
• Week 66 – Feb 7  –  Dreyelands – Melodic Progressive Metal – Budapest, Hungary
• Week 65 – Jan 31 – HoundWolf – Heavy Metal – Witten, Germany
• Week 64 – Jan 24 – Shadecrown – Melodic Death/Doom/Thrash Metal – Finland
• Week 63 – Jan 17 – Sea of Treachery – Heavy Metal – Cincinnati, OH
• Week 62 – Dec 21 – Immersed in Darkness – Black Metal – Brownsville, Texas
• Week 61 – Dec 14 – Skälmöld – Metal – Reykjavík, Iceland
• Week 60 – Dec 7  –  The Local Band – Rock – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 59 – Nov 30 – Re-Armed – Melodic Death/Thrash Metal – Kerava, Finland
• Week 58 – Nov 23 – Ashen Crown – Metal – West Midlands, UK
• Week 57 – Nov 16 – FEJD –  Swedish Folk – Trollhattan, Sweden
• Week 56 – Nov 9 – Forever Still – Hard Rock/Metal – Copenhagen, Denmark – This is where it all started.  ONE YEAR AGO, THEY WERE THE FIRST LET’S REVISIT
• Week 55 – Nov 2  –  Krigere Wolf – Black Death Metal – Catania, Sicily
• Week 54 – Oct 26 – Aephanemer – Melodic Death Metal – Toulouse, France
• Week 53 – Oct 19 – Infected Rain – Nu Metal/Nu Metalcore – Chișinău, Moldova
• Week 52 – Oct 12 – The Veer Union – Hard Rock/NuMetal – Vancouver, BC
• Week 51 – Oct 5 – Ligature Marks – Metal – Portland, Oregon
• Week 50 – Sept 28 – AEolian – Metal – Palma, Spain
• Week 49 – Sept 21 – Smorrah – Thrash/Death Metal – Gelsenkirchen, Germany
• Week 48 – Sept 14 – Beyond the Styx – Hardcore Metal – Tours, France
• Week 47 – Sept 7 – Brackish Tide –  Metal – Somerset County, MD
• Week 46 –  August 31 – Kryptos – Old School Heavy Metal – Bangalore, India
• Week 45 – August 24 – Spyder Volt – Alternative Rock – Laredo, Texas
• Week 44 –  August 17 – Descent of The ArchAngel – Underground Metalcore – US
• Week 43 –  August 10 – Dark Messiah – Heavy Metal – Winnipeg, Canada
• Week 42 –   August 3 – Arcsin -Modern Melodic Progressive Metal – Miami, FL 
• Week 41 –  July 27 –  Methane Metal – Southern Thrash Metal – Sweden/Jersey
• Week 40 –  July 20 –  Bloodred Hourglass – Melodic Death/Thrash – Mikkeli, FI
• Week 39 –  July 13 –  Atarka – Metal – Birmingham, UK. 
• Week 38 –  July 6   –  Silverbullet Band – Symp Heavy Metal – Riihimaki, Suomi
• Week 37 –  June 29 –  Hammer Down Hard – New Age Hard Rock/Metal
• Week 36 – June 22 –  Syth Glasgow – Old School Metal – Glasgow, Scotland
• Week 35 –  June 15  – Virtues – Metalcore – Brisbane, Australia
• Week 34 –  June 8  –  Vovkulaka  – Dark Angry Evil Metal – Odessa, Ukraine
• Week 33 –  June 1  –  Executioner  – Hardcore Thrash – San Antonio, Texas
• Week 32 – May 25 – Night Shadow – Power/Speed Metal – San Diego, California
• Week 31 – May 18 – Primitive Machine – Rock, Dublin City, Ireland
• Week 30 – May 11 – Daggerplay – Punk, R&R, Power Pop, Helsinki, Finland
• Week 29 – May 4 –  Kalmo – Finnish Doom Metal – Kerava, Finland
• Week 28 – April 27 – Repaid in Blood – Pure Fucking Geek Metal – San Jose, CA     

• Week 27 – April 20 – Arch Enemy – Melodic Death Metal – Halmstad, Sweden 
• Week 26 – April 13 – Falling Into Red – Hard Alter Rock – Pittsburg, PA
• Week 25 – April 6 – Tulsadoom – Evil Barbaric Heavy Thrash – Vienna, Austria 
• Week 24 – March 30 – Dream Troll – Old School Rock – Leeds, England
• Week 23 – March 23 – The 69 Eyes – Goth & Roll – Helsinki Finland
• Week 22 – March 16 – Ghost Season – Alternative Metal – Athens, Greece
• Week 21 – March 9 – Vane – Pirate Melodeath Metal – Poland
• Week 20 – March 2 – Ravenscroft – Rock – Orange, California
• Week 19 – Feb 23 –  Love Machine – Heavy Rock – Milano, Italy
• Week 18 – Feb 16 – Children of Bodom – Melodic Death Metal – Espoo, Finland
• Week 17 – Feb 9 – 10 Gauge – Hard Rock – England, UK
• Week 16 – Feb 2 – Everlit – Hard Rock – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Week 15 – Jan 26 – Victim of Illusion – Progressive Rock – Turin, Italy
• Week 14 – Jan 19 – September Sky – Alternative Metal – Indianapolis, Indiana
• Week 13 – Jan 12 – The Edge of Reason – Post Hardcore – Regensburg, Germany
• Week 12 – January 1, 2019 New Years Day – The HU BAND – MONGOLIA
• Week 11 – Dec 29 – Apocalyptica – Rock/Metal – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 10 – Dec 22 – Hidden Scars – Prog/Indus Metal – Las Vegas, Nevada
• Week  9 –  Dec 15 – In Hell – Black Death Metal – Lille, France
• Week  8 –  Dec 08 – Fireproven – Prog Death Metal – Tampere, Finland
• Week  7 – Nov 30 – Amon Amarth – Death Metal – Tumba, Sweden
• Week  6 – Nov 23 – Chernobyls Uterus – Grindcore Metal – Pripyat, Ukraine
• Week  5 – Nov 17 – Five Finger Death Punch – Metal – Las Vegas, Nevada
• Week  4 – Nov 10 – Universal Theory – Gothic Metal – Madrid, Spain
• Week  3 – Nov 03 – Mawcore – Hard Rock/Metal – Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
• Week  2 – Oct 27 – Sin7 Band – Heavy Metal – Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Week  1 – Oct 20 – Forever Still – Hard Rock/Metal – Copenhagen, Denmark

 

My HeadBangers welcome from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the Melodic/Hard Rock Band:

Lifechanger

“Information Overload”

Let’s take a look at how this band started given to me by Wouter Smit:

Lifechanger started in 2017 as a music project by Wouter Smit (main composer and lead guitarist) and Peter Moltmaker (lead vocalist).

Wouter had been a guitarist in several local hardrock bands (Overlord, Wild Vinx) and wrote several songs.  Wouter: “As a writer, composer and guitar player I am influenced by different bands like Thin Lizzy, Queensryche, Whitesnake, Symphony X, Threshold, and guitar players like Eddie van Halen, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Sykes, Tony MacAlpine, Vito Bratta, Greg Howe, Nuno Bettencourt, and Dan Huff, among others.”

Peter had starred in several musical theater productions and had worked with Arjen Lucassen of Ayreon on the Theater Equation project, starring James Labrie (Dream Theater), Marcela Bovio (stream of Passion), Irene Jansen (Star One) Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering), Joost van den Broek (After Forever), Marcel Coenen ( Sun Caged)  and many others.

Together they started recording the songs Wouter had written and also wrote some songs together, resulting in the first Lifechanger Album, that was released in 2017. The album got great reviews on the debut CD like this one: https://www.decibelgeek.com/lifechanger-lifechanger-album-review/  where they had a lot of great remarks, quote: ” The opening track “Information Overload” immediately hits you with this incredible piercing guitar tone that highlights the awesome production.  Great vocal overall, but would be a radio hit if it had those big Def Leppard backing vocals.  Excellent epic sounding opener.”

The band got great reactions of melodic rock and hardrock fans, and in 2019 they recorded their first music video for the song “Sara”.

“Sara”

Because the song “Information Overload” got a lot of reactions from fans, a video was created for that song too in 2020:
https://youtu.be/uWE3RwJH3us

Meanwhile the band began writing new songs for a follow-up album, with more metal-style songs, some epic songs and some songs leaning more towards melodic hardrock.

But then in 2020 the pandemic started, which was the cause of gigs being cancelled, and of several band members getting other priorities.  At this moment (September 2021) the songwriting is mainly done by founder Wouter Smit, and he will also write new songs together with Peter Moltmaker in the near future.  Songs are currently recorded as demo versions.

Let’s meet the band:

Peter Moltmaker is the lead singer of the Lifechanger Band. Peter gained his experience as a singer in several theater productions, among which “The Theater Equation” by Ayreon.  Peter’s own words: “I began singing at an early age. My family stimulated me to follow singing lessons at the age of 17. As a classically trained singer, I have participated in many opera productions. As a former member of a musical group, I have given a number of solo performances in the theater. My musical interest however is broader. As a singer I am mostly influenced by (progressive) metal singers like Russel Allen, Jorn Lande, Geoff Tate and James Labrie, among others.”

Wouter Smit is guitarist in the Lifechanger Band. Together with Peter Moltmaker he wrote the songs for the first Lifechanger CD, producing and recording the band’s first demo’s in the process. Wouter’s own words: “After I got classical guitar lessons at age 11, my first live performances were as a guitarist in punk rock bands at age 16. Soon I started playing different hardrock and metal styles. After several years playing in different hardrock bands and doing some studio work, I wanted to create my own songs and compositions. As a writer, composer and guitar player I am influenced by different bands like Thin Lizzy, Queensryche, Whitespace, Symphony X, Threshold, and guitar players like Eddie van Halen, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Sykes, Tony MacAlpine, Vito Bratta, Greg Howe, Nuno Bettencourt, and Dan Huff, among others.”

Daan van Zelm is guitarist in the Lifechanger Band. Before Lifechanger he has played with several bands and projects like Avalanche, Anne Groen and InPetto. With this he has gained a lot of live experience in various rooms including the Milky Way, P3 Purmerend and Patronaat Haarlem. Furthermore, his band Avalanche has an EP and a number of self-recorded demos with works written largely by Daan. Music he is listening to is 80’s rock bands like Iron Maiden, Queensryche and Bon Jovi. Also, records from Tool, Gojira and Pink Floyd are played gray. With Lifechanger, Daan has found a new band for extensive live performances, and to contribute his own musical stuff to any new work of Lifechanger.

Miguel Corrales is the bass guitar player in Lifechanger. Miguel picked bass inspired by his brother in law and joined some friends to form a band called Herejes when he was 17 in Southern Spain. After a long break due to course of life came back to music scene in Amsterdam where he played original music of Herr Blitz and T.U.B.T. alongside 90’s Rock cover projects like Sunday Eve of The Conservatives.  By joining Lifechanger he has renewed his love for Hard Rock and Heavy Metal and rejoined the inspiration of his earlier influences like Iron Maiden, Dio, Whitesnake and of course Barón Rojo (Volumen Brutal is a must-know album to understand Heavy Rock in Spain in the 80’s).

Arjen van Alphen is the drummer of Lifechanger.

My Thoughts:

I love the story of how this band started, unlike guys that start in the garage at 16, they were in the adult world at jobs like most of us.  Two people meet and with the love of the music and some hard work have made a band.  Then bam 2020 and Covid, the world as we know it stops, everything changes, bands have no gigs.  But with this down time most bands have retreated to their inspirational places and begin to write new songs.  When gigs start back up totally again we my HeadBangers will be in for a world of new music.  Until then we wait and listen to everything we can, and some old favorites.  In the meantime, my job is to find bands you haven’t heard of and bring them to you.  So here we are, listen and enjoy.  I’ll keep you updated with any news or new music I hear.

That’s it for this week my HeadBangers.  Join me next week for another band and another song.  Until then don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..

 

My HeadBangers welcome from Oakland, California; the Thrash Metal Band:

TESTAMENT

“Rockpalast”

“Pol’and’Rock Festival 2019

OMG another band that I just found out about, yes I know sacrilege, for a band that’s been around since 1983, well we live and learn don’t we my HeadBangers.  That’s why I’m here, finding my way through all the bands this planet has to offer.  This Thrash Band has really gotten my attention.  38 years on the stage and I am totally captured by this band and the high energy performances they continue to give.  These are some hard core men my HeadBangers.  And I love my men hard core and rough around the edges, please what else is there FFS.  Now let’s look at some bio on these guys.

Testament is an American Thrash band from Oakland, California.   The band was formed in 1983 under the name Legacy, the band’s current lineup comprises guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, lead vocalist Chuck Billy, drummer Gene Hoglan, and bassist Steve Di Giorgio. Testament has experienced many lineup changes over the years, with Peterson being the only remaining original member, though they have since been rejoined by one of its songwriters Skolnick, who was out of the band from 1992 to 2005. Billy replaced original singer Steve Souza who left the band in 1986, prior to the recording of their first studio album, The Legacy, and has been a member of the band since. He and Peterson are the only members to appear on all of Testament’s studio albums, with the latter being the only constant member overall.

Labeled as one of the “big six” of the 1980s Bay Area thrash metal scene,  Testament is often credited as one of the most popular and influential bands of the thrash metal scene, as well as one of the leaders of the second wave of the genre in the late 1980s. They have also been referred to as one of the “big eight” of thrash metal, along with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Overkill and Death Angel.

The band has sold over 1.4 million albums in the United States since the beginning of the SoundScan era and over 14 million copies worldwide. To date, Testament has released thirteen studio albums (one of which is a Collection of re-recorded songs), four live albums, five compilation albums, twelve singles and three DVDs. After signing to Atlantic Records in 1986, and changing their name from Legacy to Testament, they released their debut album The Legacy in 1987, followed a year later by The New Order (1988); both albums were acclaimed by critics and the press, including heavy metal-related publications. The band achieved mainstream popularity with its third album Practice What You Preach (1989), which was Testament’s first album to climb up the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart.

A string of more successful albums were released during the early-to-mid-1990s, including Souls of Black (1990),  The Ritual (1992) and Low (1994), with the first two also entering the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart. After Atlantic dropped the band in 1995, Testament (who had at this point had begun to experiment with a death metal-influenced sound) continued to record and perform until their temporary hiatus in 2001, when Billy was diagnosed with cancer. By 2005, his cancer was in remission and Testament had resumed activity, which briefly saw a reunion of The Legacy lineup and member changes in the interim.

Since Skolnick’s return to the band, Testament has experienced a resurgence of popularity, with two of their studio albums—Dark Roots of Earth (2012) and Brotherhood of the Snake (2016)—entering the Top 20 on the Billboard 200, and they have continued to tour consistently.  The band released their latest studio album, Titans of Creation, on April 3, 2020. They are working on new material for their next studio album as of 2021.

The band, along with Exodus and Death Angel, took part in The Bay Strikes Back tour of Europe in February and March 2020. Following the tour, Chuck Billy and his wife Tiffany tested positive for COVID-19, making him the third person to have contracted the virus during the tour following Will Carroll of Death Angel and Gary Holt of Exodus. Bassist Steve Di Giorgio was later diagnosed with COVID-19, becoming the second member of Testament to have tested positive for the condition.

So as you can see Covid can get anyone at anytime, and it is everywhere.

“Practice What You Preach – 1989”

Let’s meet the band:

 

Eric Peterson – guitars, backing vocals (1983-present)

Chuck Billy – lead vocals (1986-present)

Alex Skolnick – guitars, backing vocals (1983-1992, 2005-present)

Gene Hoglan – drums (1996-1997, 2011-present)

Steve Di Giorgio – bass (1998-2005, 2014-present), backing vocals (2014-present)

My Thoughts:

As a true metalhead, headbanger, hardrocker, do you ever hear a band for the first time and ask yourself “How the hell have I never heard this band before??”  That’s how I feel about these guys.  In my defense there’s no way I could listen to every band at once.  Every band on the blog gets a week of my life, I breathe, eat, and sleep them.  This is why I do what I do.  It’s so interesting looking behind the scenes of a band.  There’s always so much more than just the music, even though that’s all most people care about.  There are good times, bad times, times they struggle with that one song to make it right, band mates leaving and new ones coming, struggles with money, and personalities just like the rest of us.  However, they have the talent, drive, and desire to put all that emotion into a sound that sends us HeadBangers into the fire!  That’s what this band does to me, I’m standing really close to the fire.    The vocals, the energy and pure excitement on all their faces when they are on stage doing their thing, you can feel it.  I’m so glad they have stuck with it over almost 4 decades, and they are still tearing that stage up.  They really are the heart of Thrash and I absolutely love it.  Keep banging it out guys and I’ll be listening.

That’s it for this week my HeadBangers.  Join me next week for another band and another song.  Until then don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..

 

My HeadBangers, welcome from Glasgow, Scotland the Heavy Metal Band:

BLEED FROM WITHIN

“Into Nothing”

“Crown Of Misery”

Let’s look at some bio on these guys, 

Bleed from Within is a Scottish Heavy Metal band from Glasgow, Scotland, formed in 2005. The band has released five studio albums and three EPs, with their latest “Fracture” released on 29 May 2020 through Century Media Records.

That’s the short version, but you know I like to dig a little into the back ground from the beginning so here we go.

The band formed in Glasgow where they met at a youth club where they would cover Lamb of God songs.^] The first tour that brought them large scale exposure was in 2010 when they supported Sylosis and While She Sleeps on the Metal Hammer Razor Tour.  Early in their career, Bleed from Within also toured with  Soilwork, All That Remains, Suicide Silence and Rise to Remain, among others.

In August 2012, the band signed to Century Media Records. Their talks with the label started when they were approached after their performance at the 2011 Graspop festival in Belgium, where they were called up as a replacement.  After its announcement Bleed From Within issued a very positive statement about their opportunity to join the label’s roster: “Century Media have always been a powerhouse in bringing cutting edge new music to the world and we will endeavor to live up to the name.” Between September and November 2012, the band supported While She Sleeps across the UK and co-headlined a tour around Europe with Bury Tomorrow. They supported Moss May I,  on their UK tour in November/December, before starting their studio sessions.

In March 2013, the band completed their first tour of the year, supporting Testament in mainland Europe. Singer Scott Kennedy commented on the difficulty of performing to Testament’s crowd citing the older average age of the audience and their lack of familiarity with Bleed from Within’s music, but also stated that he felt the band had won over the crowd eventually.

Well we will take a look at TESTAMENT, next week.  Every band has it’s hardcore fans.  I can see where a newer band would feel like this.  So come back next week and we will see the difference in these 2 bands.

On 25 March 2013, Bleed from Within’s third studio album “Uprising” was released on Century Media. Kennedy, when commenting on the album, said that “While it’s angry, it’s still positive. It’s about looking to the light and realizing that you’re the only person who can make a difference in your life.” The drums and vocals were recorded with producer Romesh Dodangoda and guitars and bass with Adam Getgood of Periphery. Uprising had two music videos; one for the album’s lead single “It Lives in Me” and another for the title track. The album was later made available as a stream prior to its release. It also charted in the United Kingdom at number 13 on the UK Rock Chart. Critically, the album was well received and praised for its improved production and improved songwriting but was also criticized for offering very little in the way of innovation. To promote the album, the band embarked on a headlining tour of the UK.

In June 2013, Bleed from Within supported “Megadeth” on their four date tour of the United Kingdom. The band stated their excitement about the opportunity to support Megadeth, with Kennedy commenting “As a metal band, to go and support any of the Big 4 is something I never, ever though would happen”.  Their performances with Megadeth were met with widespread critical acclaim despite reports of ambivalent crowd reactions with English music journalist Malcolm Dome commenting that “You have to feel sorry for Bleed From Within, they get no more than polite attention from the crowd, and they deserve more”. Later in the month, the band was awarded British publication ‘Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods Awards for ‘Best New Band’.

See people really just piss me off.  All bands have to go through being the “new band”.  They gain experience on the road and from bands that have been in the game for awhile.  Then see what happens they get an award for being “Best New Band”.  You grow as a band and with that comes change.  Change in techniques, vocals, and members.

In November 2013, Bleed from Within were one of four acts alongside Amon Amarth, Hell and Carcass for Metal Hammer’s Defenders Of The Faith IV tour.

See what I mean HeadBangers.

In 2017 it was announced that Steven Jones would join the band as a new guitarist, replacing Martyn Evans. It was later announced in December that Bleed from Within had finished working on a new studio album set for release in early 2018 and that the first single would be released in January 2018.

The band’s fourth album Era was released on 6 April 2018. The first single from the album, “Alive”, was released on 19 January 2018.

On 29 November 2019, the band released a new single “The End of All We Know” and also confirmed that the band was working on a new album, which was later titled Fracture and released on 29 May 2020 through Century Media Records.  Matt Heafy from Trivium performs a guest solo on “Night Crossing” from Fracture.

“Night Crossing feat. Matt Heafy”

Let’s meet the band:

 

Scott Kennedy – lead vocals (2005 – Present)

Ali Richardson – drums (2005 – Present)

Craig “Goonzi” Gowans – bass (2005-2009) ; lead guitar(2009 – Present) 

Davie Provan – bass (2009 – Present)

Steven “Snev” Jones – rhythm guitar, clean vocals (2017 – Present)

“The End Of All We Know”

My Thoughts:

I had to add that last song “The End Of All We Know”, what a great frontman, I love the interaction between singer and fans.  Let’s not forget that accent either…..  You know whether at a live concert or watching on UTube one thing that I love is there is no censoring in language, whether in the song or spoken word.  People may think that’s not a big deal but my HeadBangers it is, it so is.  Watching the news this week and everything that has happened in  Afghanistan, and hell we are still dealing with COVID.   But stop and think, do you think this song could be sung live there?  Hell women can’t even walk down the street alone.  I would be the first one to get my head chopped off, there’s no way my mouth could exist there.  Now the music, one thing great about the music, it will always live, whether played live or inside a room behind locked doors. No one can censor music.  People have tried before, remember in the US, years ago “Tipper Gore,” led a successful fight to have parental warning labels affixed to record albums that contained sexually explicit lyrics, portrayed excessive violence, or glorified drugs.  But still the labels did not stop the music.   One thing about us HeadBangers and our music, we cannot be silenced, or censored.  It is our nature to speak and sing what we feel.  Most bands have a message in their music, most pertain to things that are happening in our world today.  Bands have a power to influence us with their messages, let’s hope they never stop.  We need it, the world needs it…..

That’s it for this week my HeadBangers.  Join me next week for another band and another song.  Until then don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..

My HeadBangers welcome from Gothenburg, Sweden:

AT THE GATES

“Spectre Of Extinction”

“The Paradox”

My HeadBangers, ahh my ears are happy as that nordic sound flows into me, in 5 seconds I can tell where it comes from, it’s a sound that cannot be duplicated by any other part of the world.  It is distinct to me, it gives me a rush, goosebumps and makes me just want to not stop talking, but I know I have to lmfao.  Ok this band is more than just a Gothenburg black metal band check it:

At the Gates’ musical style has been described as melodic death metal and death metal. The band’s early work invented a “progressive, complex way of crafting songs of dextrous melodic fluidity and variation”, which would influence progressive death metal, but also the black metal of e.g. Darkthrone’s Transylvanian Hunger. Most of this material was composed by former member, Alf Svensson, who, according to guitarist Anders Björler, a former member,  fused the Swedish melancholy of Nordic folk music with death metal and classical music. 

What a combination of genres, but it truly works, and I love it.

Time for some bio on this band:

At the Gates were formed in late 1990 by former members of the death and black metal band Grotesque. They recorded a debut EP, “Gardens of Grief”, for the Dolores record label. The EP led the label Peaceville Records to sign the band, and they released their debut album, The Red in the Sky Is Ours in 1992.

After the recording of their second studio album, “With Fear I kiss the Burning Darkness”, founding member and guitarist Alf Svensson left the band in 1993, to pursue tattoo artistry, graphic novel illustration and his solo electronic-opera-black metal project, Oxiplegatz. He was soon replaced by former House of Usher guitarist Martin Larsson, who the band knew from underground tape trading. The band continued touring Europe, and were filmed for a Headbangers Ball special feature in Nottingham, England in July 1993.

In 1994, At the Gates released their third album, “Terminal Spirit Disease”, which was hailed as a breakthrough album.

The band continued touring and in 1995 released their most commercially and critically successful album: “Slaughter of the Soul”.  The album is regarded as their strongest death metal effort, compared to previous albums. This album firmly rooted the band as one of the leaders of the Swedish metal scene, the “Gothenburg sound” of melodic death metal. The band received international attention for the album, gaining them several U.S. tours and heavy rotation of the music video for “Blinded by Fear” on MTV in America, but despite this international success, the Björler brothers departed in 1996.  The remaining members decided it would be impossible to continue without them, so the band broke up.

“Blinded by Fear”

On 18 October 2007, At the Gates announced several reunion shows for mid-2008, including Getafe Electric Festival, Roskilde Festival, Wacken Open Air, Graspop Metal Meeting, Sweden Rock Festival, Gods of Metal, Hellfest Summer Open Air and Bloodstock Open Air, as well as a tour of Japan with The Dillinger Escape Plan, Into Eternity, Pig Destroyer, and Mayhem in May 2008. Throughout July 2008, they toured the US and Canada on what was dubbed the “Suicidal Final Tour”, and played their final UK show at Bloodstock Open Air on Sunday on 17 August 2008. They finished their last show in Athens, Greece, with guest The Ocean on 21 September 2008. The band’s performance at Wacken Open Air in 2008 is available on The Flames of the End DVD boxed set, which also includes clips of songs from other venues and a documentary that covers the history of the band in its entirety.

On 21 January 2014, At the Gates released a video on YouTube showing a distorted video with lines of text on it, followed by text saying “2014”, possibly hinting toward possible lyrics for an upcoming album. On 27 January, the band revealed on Facebook via a new cover photo and profile picture, that their confirmed fifth record would be titled At War With Reality and would be released in the fall of 2014 through Century Media.

When asked whether At War with Reality is At the Gates’ final album or if the band will continue recording, Tomas Lindberg replied, “We can’t say really. We have no plans of stopping but we’ve broken promises before so it’s best not to say anything.” In numerous recent interviews members of the band have expressed interest in doing a follow-up album. At the Gates concluded the touring cycle for At War with Reality in August 2016 with a festival appearance at Elb Riot in Hamburg, Germany.

On 8 March 2017, in an official statement released by the band, they announced that Anders Björler had departed from the band. Despite Anders’ departure, they went on to confirm that they were working on a follow-up to 2014’s At War with Reality, which they were aiming to record and release in 2018. In September 2017, Jonas Stålhammar was announced as the new guitarist to take the place of Björler on a permanent basis, but he had joined too late to be involved in the writing process of the new album. They entered the studio to begin recording the album in November 2017, titled “To Drink from the Night Itself”, which was released through Century Media Records on 18 May 2018.

At the Gates released their seventh studio album, “The Nightmare of Being”, on 2 July 2021. While the album remains rooted in the Gothenburg metal tradition, it also features a wider range of musical styles, influences, and instrumentation. The ideas in the album are influenced by the writings of horror philosophers such as Thomas Ligotti and Eugene Thacker.

At the Gates were nominated for a Swedish Grammy  for “Slaughter of the Soul in 1996, but didn’t win. They won the Swedish Grammy in February 2015 for the 2014 comeback album “At War With Reality. The band were also awarded the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Inspiration Award in June 2015.

So much life and changes in this band, and still they play on.  Let’s meet these Swedish Metal Men!!!

Tomas Lindberg – Vocals (1990-96, 2007-08, 2010-present)

Adrian Erlandsson – Drums (1990-96, 2007-08, 2010-present)

Jonas Bjöler – Bass (1990-92, 1993-96, 2007-08, 2010-present), Drums-1990

Martin Larsson – Rhythm Guitar (1993-96, 2007-08, 2010-present)

Jonas Stålhammar – Lead Guitar (2017-present)

And one more thing we don’t want to forget:

My Thoughts:

My HeadBangers, so much to read, so much to hear from this band.  Where do I start with all the feelings I feel right now?  I have nothing but respect for this band, to go through extreme highs and lows and back to highs, what a ride they have had, and still going, even have their own Scotch from Scotland!  It’s bands like these that keep me doing what I do.  There are times I feel like giving up, but then I look at the stories of these bands and realize we all go through things that can make or break us, never surrender never give up is my motto.  Really how could you we are all metal family.  Think if this band had just stopped, we would be missing some of the best music Sweden has to offer.  Since doing the blog I have had several band that quit and then come back, this shows you that the human spirit in those truly devoted to their music doesn’t go away, it comes back and when it does it’s stronger, louder, and cannot be stopped.  I bow my head to AT THE GATES, keep going never stop…..

That’s it for this week my HeadBangers.  Join me next week for another band and another song.  In the meantime don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..

My HeadBangers please welcome from Lorraine, France, the Trash Metalcore Band:

THE SOUL OF BUSHIDO

“Aftermath”

I can’t wait to tell you their story, in their words, so let’s just jump in:

About 1 year ago,  2019, I was going to see my friend Steph (guitar) to offer him to start a hardcore band. We hadn’t played in a band for over 10 years each. But now, quarantine is approaching and we have decided to have our crisis before!

Our goal: to get back on stage, to have fun, to feel emotions that we had forgotten … but not only! We realized that we needed to get together … I mean, between people sharing the same passions, the same tastes! Spending evenings together … getting out of the daily grind that is bit by bit gnawing at us.

So we started looking for a bass player and a drummer. We found Myk, who volunteered for the bass. Myk was a friend and a former reggae bassist … ahah Not really our style but hey, his personality is so great. This guy has a huge heart. So bingo, we’ll see what it will give!

Then we made an ad for a drummer, and after an interesting but inconclusive interview with a drummer, Vince was the second to answer us. Despite his young age, we found him to have quite an interesting potential! And after a very nice restaurant we decided to adopt it! (good on the other hand he hardly drinks alcohol … what is this sanitized generation!)

There were four of us, the machine was on, the rehearsals followed one another slowly but surely in search of a style of our own. Alcohol flowed freely, (except for one) between two rounds of Pro-Pain and Hatebreed.

Then, around July, we decided to take on a second guitarist. More more impact, more power, more fun !! (and especially because Steph doesn’t like to do solos and that I really like). As luck does things well, Steph met JM at work … and when 2 guitarists discuss between them … the chemistry took hold.

Here we are now in November … it’s been a little over a year now that I proposed to Steph to create a band. Where are we? 3 covers, 1 finished composition, 7 compositions to work on, to structure … it is progressing slowly but surely.

It’s gone for a second year, which we hope will be productive and allow us to go on stage !!

2020 HERE WE COME

This year is an important year for us because we had a lot of change at the end of 2019. We had to part with Myk, our bassist. Life is made up of unforeseen events, hardships, choices … Myk has made his own. He had no more time to devote to the group because there were too many projects on the side.  So we actively sought, and surprise: an old acquaintance!

Manu, the former bassist of seb in the group “Darwin’s Théory” was obvious to us. Indeed, Manu is the weight of age! manu is the experience of life, the experience of metal … more than 30 years in the service of metal. But it’s also the very kindness (well, you don’t have to heat it too much, eh!), Good humor, and the spirit of camaraderie! All we are looking for! Friends, sik, beers!  So here we are complete!   So here we are in January, 2 finished compositions, 2 in tweaking, 3 covers….

We can therefore hope to go on stage this year for possible first parts, and if all goes well the recording of an EP and the shooting of a clip why not!  

Our only enemy: time! Family life and our respective jobs prevent us from seeing each other regularly … but once the machine is on, it should be fine.

2020 FUCKING COVID

It all started so well this year, we were complete, we were chaining the compositions … and bim! In our ass the covid!

4 months without seeing each other, tried to compose each on our side … Some continuing to work in contact with the virus, others trapped at home without being able to go out … it hurt us. So much so that during the de-containment, we had more news from our lead guitarist. total nothingness!

Apparently his priorities have changed, and the group is no longer one of them.  We will therefore recruit a new guitarist, more motivated, more present!

But especially someone who has the same conception as us of what is called “a group”. We are therefore looking for a new member to complete our family! We’ll keep you posted!

2020 NO MORE FREEDOM

Fucking covid! fucking country! fucking government! Once again we are ruled by incompetent people …

Anyway, it makes you wonder if all this is not calculated. We are too many on earth … no more significant war … so a good purge by a virus! why not! in short, let’s not debate it.  Still, between confinement and curfew nothing is moving forward.

Festivals canceled, concerts canceled, we can’t even repeat. We’re just good at going to work (with the metro, the buses full of people … but the government doesn’t mind that!), Get home and above all shut up! In short, like all the other groups we are working at home on our album, we are moving slowly but surely, we record when possible …

We really have to be ready when all this bullshit is over.

Besides, I forgot to introduce you to our new guitarist Tiziano!

Welcome to you my friend. I’m writing this text but it’s been a long time since you arrived among us … and frankly it does it well! We can say it now, my brothers … The family is complete!

We have never advanced so far, we get along well, we really have a lot of fun playing together and I think it will get along on our lines. We finally find a musical identity that is unique to us.  We will therefore see what the future holds for us!

2021 Again And Again

Here we are, we are in 2021 … time does not stop, even during a period of confinement. Happy New Year everyone, good health to you and all your loved ones. Hoping one day to find freedom.

We are moving forward … Recordings of the first compositions, mastering, then the 1st in-house clip (covid obliges), a 2nd clip in preparation … that’s it, things are moving. We have a lot of projects and surprises in the works … including streaming interviews with our new compositions for you to discover. We can’t wait to hear from you. 

Currently we are ready for the first parts, but by the time the concerts resume we will surely have released our album like many other bands. The competition is going to be tough!

The next step will therefore be the conclusion of our album as well as the search for a label.  We keep you up to speed, friends!  Stay Strong!

Let’s meet the band:

These are the best pics I could get, but there are pics on FB, Instagram, their website check them all out.

I do have info on all the guys so here we go:

Tiziano – Guitarist – joined 2020 – 20 years old

Manu – Bass – joined 2019 – 53 years old

Steph – Guitarist – joined 2018 – 39 years old

Vince – Drums – joined 2019 – 18 years old

Seb – Vocals – joined 2018 – 38 years old

“Bushido Code”

My Thoughts:

My HeadBangers there are times when I am looking for a band to put on the blog, that I run across one that just grabs me and no matter how long or short amount of time they have been in the business I have to bring them into our metal family.  So it is with “The Soul Of Bushido”.  Hearing this band and looking at the members, well, as I have said before this band spoke to me.  The one thing that really got to me was their ages.  I usually do not put that info on here, but this time I had to.  If only to prove a point that music unites us no matter our age or where we are from.  I love Thrash, well really I love all metal, but we all have our favorites don’t we.  I love Bushido’s sound, and like the rest of the world they have been caught up with COVID, which has really affected the music industry as far as live gigs.  Hopefully, fingers crossed, at some point gigs can resume.  Our human spirit will not accept sitting on our hands for very much longer.  We all do what we have to just to survive, but music, Covid can never stop the music.  It will go on even though there are bumps in the road one way or another it will be heard.  I also love the name they have chosen.   Years ago I read a book called:

Bushido: The Way of the Samurai 

It was written in the 18th century by Tsunetomo Yamamoto.  He created the Hagakure, a document that served as the basis for samurai warrior behavior.  There are 7 virtues of Bushido, they are:

GI – Justice or Integrity

YU – Courage

JIN – Mercy or Benevolence

REI – Respect

MAKOTO – Honesty

MEIYO – Honor

CHUGI – Loyalty

If only we all lived by these 7 virtues.  I have always admired warriors, whether Samurai, Viking, Indian, Roman Gladiators and this band I definitely would put in this category.  Oh and of course the growl vocals, whether English or French, it makes no difference to me, they are dark, deep, and a powerful sound that the singer pulls from his soul to bring a song to life.  What more can you expect from a metal band, nothing can stop us, we continue and always will.

That’s it for this week my HeadBangers.  Join me next week for another band and another song.  Who knows what I’ll find next.  In the mean time, don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..

My HeadBangers, yes I’m FINALLY back on the job!  I want to thank my HAPPINESS ENGINEER, NIGEL, at WordPress for getting all my blog back together.  THANK YOU NIGEL!!  I won’t forget to backup my blog from now on!!!!

Let’s welcome, from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, the Aggressive Grove Metal Band – WoR

“A New Era”

“Predator”

Well what do you think HeadBangers?

Let’s take a look at some bio on these guys, take from their site:

WoR is a groove metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina consisting of vocalist Bobby Demoss, guitarists Ben Kaiser and David Nisoff, bassist Phillip Funderburk, and drummer Dylan Jenkins. WoR was founded in 2018 by guitarist Ben Kaiser who at the time was finishing his college football career playing offensive line at NC State. WoR’s music combines aggressive riffs, harmonic leads, and tasteful breakdowns with infectious anti-authoritarian lyrics. Demoss’ unique screaming style combined with the aggressive guitar work and a dynamic rhythm section shape WoR’s definitive sound. 

By the spring of 2019, WoR had begun to debut their music at live shows throughout the southeast region of the United States playing with the likes of Upon A Burning Body, Atilla, and Warbringer just to name a few. In August of 2020, WoR released their debut album “Prisoners” via Bungalo Records/Universal Music Group. In 2021 and 2022, WoR has extensive tour dates scheduled to support “Prisoners” in addition to writing and recording their second album. 

“VI Kings”

Let’s meet the band:

 

Bobby Demoss, Vocals, was born in New York and spent a majority of his life growing up in the Bronx. He started his music career at the age of 17  performing as the vocalist in a local MetalCore band.  He joined the band in 2019.

Ben Kaiser, Guitar, was born in Boston, Massachusetts but spent the first five years of his childhood in Zürich, Switzerland. When he was  5 his family relocated to Los Angeles, California.  In 2016 Ben was recruited to play football at NC State University and settled in North Carolina. As his athletic career drew to an end, Ben dedicated more time to his love for music and founded the heavy metal band WoR.

David Nisoff, Guitar, was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. Exposed to music at an early age, David began avidly playing the guitar at the young age of 13. Inspired by classic metal bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, and Tool, David began to develop his own unique style of playing the guitar.  In 2017, David became the guitarist of Raleigh metal band Era Gone. For the past 3 years, David has been Era Gone’s lead guitarist. In December of 2019, David officially joined WoR, solidifying the bands lineup leading up to the release of their debut album “Prisoners”.

Phil Funderburk, Bass, was born and raised in Raleigh, NC. At 15, he taught himself bass via early 2000’s punk and alternative rock, with heavy influence from Mike Dirnt and Flea, both pick and finger style.  Phil brings a punchy, distorted low end to WoR’s sound, and is an unashamed sucker for any kind of breakdown. 

Dylan Jenkins, Drums,  was born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dylan has over 15 years of  experience playing the drums. He was initially inspired to pick up a pair of drumsticks after watching Joey Jordison perform early on in Slipknot.  Dylan joined WoR in the fall of 2020. His arrival brought a new intensity to WoR’s older songs in addition to kickstarting the writing process for a second album. 

These guys have a great website.  For more info on them click the link:

https://www.worband.com/?fbclid=IwAR1vZ1N0xxQp03JbGXTI-VldyyGyWxoGoG8yZjV152UjMEq8lSHBJMEqZRs

 

My Thoughts:

For a band that hasn’t been together for that long I have to give them a big thumbs up.  They blend together well and as you can see by their videos, their performance is very high energy.  Bobby has great growl vocals, which you all know is my thing.   In September they will be part of The Blue Ridge Rock Festival, in Danville, Virginia.  I cannot even begin to tell you the names of all the bands that will be performing there, 180 bands, 4 days, check their website for more details.  They do have other gigs coming up too.  I know people are going crazy this year and want to get back to gigs, just be careful out there.  Our nemesis is still crawling around out there.  I will be keeping and eye of these guys for any updates.  

That’s it for this week my HeadBangers.  Join me next week for another band and another song.  In the meantime don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..

 

My HeadBangers welcome from Olympia, Washington the “Atmospheric Dark Ambient Black Metal” Band:

Wolves In The Throne Room

“Born From The Serpent’s Eye”

Listen to that!  This is the first time in all my years of listening and blogging about Metal, that when I listened to this song, not knowing anything about the band, I assumed this was a black metal band from the Nordic part of the planet.  There is no way anyone could have told me different. They have that sound and my EAR was totally surprised, not to mention happy to have found them right here in the USA.  

“Mountain Magick”

AND the sound just gets better and better.  These guys have got me going 120 in the 45 zone.  Let’s take a look at some bio on this band that has just floored me…..

The band was formed in 2003 in Olympia, Washington, by brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver. They have released six full-length albums, two live albums, and one EP to date. They have stated one of the founding concepts of the band to be channeling the “energies of the Pacific Northwest’s landscape” into musical form.

Their videos put me right in the middle of a primordial forest when druids ruled and everything was kissed by magic.

Aaron and Nathan Weaver formed the band in 2003.  Their first practice took place in a falling-down cabin located on the then-abandoned and overgrown Calliope Farm, which they had recently moved to. Nathan met Nick Paul at a local party and the three began to write material for their first demo. At the time, Nick was heavily influenced by thrash, speed, and death metal, citing bands like Death and Bolt Thrower, as well as post-punk and  gothic rock influences such as Swans, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Fields of the Nephilim. Aaron and Nathan’s musical style was more informed by crust, doom, Norwegian black metal and American black metal.

I knew my Nordic black metal was in there!

The band’s first release was their 2004 demo, a black CD-R wrapped in fur with moss inside the lyric sheet.  Nick Paul left the band soon after the first demo was recorded.

That my HeadBangers is one CD I would love to have gotten!

Richard Dalahn joined the band in early 2005. They then began working on material for a second demo, which would end up including 2 tracks off of their first studio album “Diadem of 12 Stars”.

“Diadem of 12 Stars” was their debut full-length album and was released in 2006 it was recorded with a budget of $1100 by Tim Green at Louder Studios in San Francisco.

The band played shows on the way down to San Francisco from Olympia to raise money for the project and borrowed equipment from local band Ludicra.  The album attracted the attention of Southern Lord Records, who signed the band, reissuing it on vinyl.

The band released their second full-length album Two Hunters in 2007, the first part of a trilogy of albums that was concluded with Celestial Lineage. Two Hunters would be the first time the band would with producer Randall Dunn, who produced later releases Black Cascade and Celestial Lineage. During the Two Hunters sessions, the band began to work with analog synthesizers such as the Korg Polysix and the Minimoog, which has become a crucial feature in the band’s sound. Persian classical singer Jessika Kenney performed vocals on the songs “Cleansing” and “I Will Lay Down my Bones Among The Rocks And Roots.”

“I Will Lay Down My Bones Among The Rocks And Roots”

Wolves in the Throne Room has not incorporated most of the traditional traits of black metal such as corpse paint, the use of pseudonyms and Satanic imagery.  Member Aaron Weaver has said, “Wolves in the Throne Room is not black metal, or, more accurately, we play black metal on our own terms, for our own reasons.” And unlike most modern metal bands, Wolves in the Throne Room always use vintage amplifiers and recording equipment.

And this my HeadBangers is why I have fallen for this band.  They do it on their own terms.  Much respect guys, and keep doing it that way.  Stand out and above the crowd.

Wolves in the Throne Room prefer their live concerts to be firelit, whether it be performing outdoors or in an indoor venue.

OK guys you have to come to Kansas City!!

Seriously let’s meet this band:

Nathan Weaver – guitar, lead vocals (2003 – present)

Aaron Weaver – drums, bass, synthesizers (2003 – present)

Kody Keyworth – guitar, vocals (2017 – present)

Wolves in the Throne Room has often cited American band Neurosis as a key inspiration because their music “operates on a deep and intense mythic level”.

My Thoughts:

Well my HeadBangers there are times when I don’t have a lot to say and then there are times when I have so much to say about a band.  Wolves in the Throne Room is one of those bands.  Everything they believe in comes across to me in their music.  Their videos are just so well done, I feel like I’m watching the story they are singing about.  As a lover of all things magical and dark, it can all be found in this band.  Like a story unfolding before my eyes I keep wanting more.  My spirit animal is the wolf, maybe that’s why I am drawn into their mystical world.  The forest, deep and dark but yet it offers peace at the same time.  

This is the first time in 3 years that a band has affected me in a way that is more than fire, it is the oneness with the wolf and the magic.  This band is SAVAGE…..

 

My HeadBangers, I cannot stand ads running on my blog, it takes away from the content.  10Degrees is now entering into year 3, if you like what I do any donation would be appreciated…..

https://www.paypal.com/donate?business=TK7JP33QHGYYA&no_recurring=0&currency_code=USD

 

My HeadBangers welcome from Bavaria, Germany the Post-Apocalyptic Viking Death Metal Band:

DEATHBALE

“As The Fog Is Gone”

PASKA HeadBangers listen to those growl vocals!!!!!!!

“Waves Of Numbness”

Let’s look at some bio (provided by the band) on these Viking Barbarians from the Forest of Bavaria:

DEATHBALE – Between Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy and Mad Max!

The world lies in ruins, dust blows across scorched earth while in the distance the ruins of a better time can be glimpsed. Through its ignorance and its hunger for power, mankind has conjured up its own Ragnarok and turned its once flourishing homeland into a desert. Deathbale scream out their rage.

Sometimes with the destructive brutality that made the earth tremble, sometimes melodic and engaging, like the world used to be. Between aggressiveness and melancholy, but always with the force of the old Norse gods going to war, Deathbale combine the old with the new.  With idols like Amon Amarth and Arch Enemy, they create something completely new:   Post-Apocalyptic Viking Metal!

The first EP of the quintet spread all over Europe “Guard yourself“ offers both fans as well as genre newcomers what modern death metal should offer: Brutality, aggressiveness, melodicism and technical skill at the highest level. Come with us to a lost world, where people have found their way back to the old gods, but something completely new emerges as soon as the fog is gone.

“Mimir”

Let’s meet these German Vikings:

“Behemoth Of Hate”

“My Thoughts”

First to fill my HeadBangers in on the band, they started in early 2019.  Also you know I did have to ask about the name, it always intrigues me when a band choses a name and takes time to be different.  Here is what the name means to the band:

“Deathbale is a fictional word.  For us it stands for the point in time where mankind finally messed up so bad that there is no turning back.  Bales means something like misery in an older english tongue.”

I don’t know what it is about German Bands but the minute I heard that guitar, I knew it was something I had to find out about.  Listen to “As The Fog Is Gone”, just a fantastic mix of instruments and that voice, kill me now!!  Hannes is in my top 5 voices for growl vocals.  You all know growl vocals are my thing.  He has a raw, deep sound that never changes through the song.  Do you know how hard it is to keep that going without missing one note through a song??   I  have found another band to add to my list.  A big thanks to a follower who sent me the link to Deathbale.  I want to say to all my followers THANK YOU, without you guys I would have never found some of the best bands, keep sending them my way.  I always listen to you guys, metal is family.  Check Deathbale out on Instagram and FB.  They are so worth the listen, and I look forward to more from them in the future.

That’s it for this week, join me next week for another band and another song.  In the meantime don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..