On the last day of January 2020 (which was hot as fuck), Stay Gold in Brunswick hosted the Bushfire Benifit Show. This event was headlined by the Slipknot cover band Surfacing with special guest performances by DriveTime Commute, Munt and Blight with all the proceeds from ticket sales going to Wildlife Victoria in order to support the rescue and recovery of Australian wildlife.
Going to this show was a no-brainer for the team at Everyday Metal as we are not only fans of all these bands, but we are big fans of animals and really, any night where Roscoe from DriveTime Commute is in attendance will almost always make for an entertaining night out.
This was an intimate gig, but a great crowd of diverse party-goers and dedicated Slipknot fans, which made for a fun atmosphere. Blight and Munt opened with intensity and DriveTime Commute got the crowd swinging their limbs around in a funky mess. Surfacing killed it with some classic Slipknot tunes with the audience singing along to every single track.
A raffle was also held during the night where a couple of lucky fans won some Slipknot masks, and with the bands also donating the proceeds of their merch sales to the cause the event ended up raising thousands of dollars. What a great night and even greater cause! Support the cause and Support Local Heavy Metal!
Returning with their sixth album release, Hollywood Undead graces us with New Empire, Vol.1 due for release 14th of February 2020. This project features what could be many of their best tracks yet! Heavy breaks and inspiring choruses are sure to have fans once again enjoying the nu-metal/electronic/rap concoction that is Hollywood Undead.
For the original fans and the early followers of the myspace era, this is an album you could have thoroughly enjoyed years ago. Hollywood Undead’s sound has matured over the years but now, they have revisited their roots, and with their refreshed sound it has resulted in a Hollywood Undead album that can be appreciated in full by all.
Johnny 3 Tears (vocals and guitar) describes the album as ‘reimagining Hollywood Undead, not just a new sound for this release, but a new sound for the band altogether.’ Partially achieving this, the album still maintains the style of past works, just executed better. Johnny goes on to explain ’Our goal from the outset was to make music that stands alone from our other albums, yet seamlessly fits with what we’ve made before. Building upon the old to create a new sound and a New Empire’. It is admirable that a band like this has remained true to their style for this long, and it seems they have achieved a distinguished identity.
The lead single released for this album, ‘Already Dead’ comes in at track #3 and is one of the more interesting tracks of the record. An uplifting song that begins with a dark sounding intro, it features a memorable chorus that is easy for listeners to catch on to and it also features some very interesting changes which includes some dope drums. Everything about this song is Hollywood Undead and that is one of the things you must respect them for, they do what they do. This track has everything from strange electronic manipulations, to screams and to melodic verses. Definitely worth a listen.
Another track that really stood out to me was track #8 titled ‘Second Chances’. The track features Benji Madden of Good Charlotte who’s rounded vocals and familiar voice provides a sense of nostalgia that I am sure Hollywood Undead’s older fans will relate to. But really, all-round the vocals are great on this one and the tasteful melodic transitions combined with some great electronic sounds create an exciting and interesting experience. Future listeners! Just wait until you hear that drop at the bridge. Thumbs up boys. You nailed this one!
The last track of the album titled ‘Nightmare’ begins with a refreshingly well-thought-out verse, finally exhibiting some skilled rhyme schemes and intricate rhymes which is something I feel this band has yet to explore further. This album definitely demonstrates an improvement on past rap flows, and this track especially shows their capabilities. However, I would have enjoyed this track more had it not been for the last witty line which sounded like an Eminem – ‘Rain Man’ rip off.
Although this is a relatively short album consisting of only nine tracks, many of them solidify the impression that in fact Hollywood Undead is alive and well.
New Empire Vol. 1 is due out on the 14th of February, you can pre-order your copy here and stay up to date with Hollywood Undead on social media.
On April 17 THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER will release ‘Verminous‘ their most dynamic, rousing and emotional record to date.
I think this is the biggest evolutionary leap we’ve ever taken from one album to the next. We stoked the creative fires with 2017’s ‘Nightbringers‘ and it’s gone much further now in ‘Verminous‘,” states vocalist Trevor Strnad. “It’s a very colorful, moody, and charismatic album that experiments with new sounds and ideas without losing the cutthroat Black Dahlia edge. There is a lot of minutiae to digest. Plenty of delicious little Easter eggs woven into the fabric of each song. Each one is a living, breathing entity that will stand on its own as some of the best music this band has ever created.”
In support of Verminous The Black Dahlia Murder will be heading to South Africa in April, before joining Testament for a North American tour featuring Municipal Waste and Meshiaak.
Presented my Metal Blade Records, you can pre-order Verminous here and keep up to date with the band on social media.
Melbourne rockers LOSER have dropped the final single ‘Lazy‘ ahead of the release of their debut record Mindless Joy on the 14th of February.
“This song is about being defeated by anxiety and being a lazy piece of shit because of it. Sometimes it’s really hard to get motivated no matter how good life is at the time and this song is an ode to feeling like that.” – Tim Maxwell – songwriter & guitarist
You can pre-order Mindless Joy here and keep up to date with LOSER on social media.
Twice Grammy-nominated progressive titans DREAM THEATER have announced the Australian leg of their “Evening With” tour cycle. This tour is not only in support of their latest record Distance Over Time it is also a celebration of 20 years since their milestone release Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory.
Presented in Australia by MJR Presents, DREAM THEATER will be heading to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide.
Tickets will be available from 10:00am AEDT Monday February 10th via MJR presents with special VIP packages available.
Thursday, April 23 at Brisbane’s QPAC Saturday, April 25 at Sydney’s ICC Sunday, April 26 at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre Monday, April 27 at Adelaide’s AEC Theatre
Melbourne’s STARVE are coming into 2020 hard with their latest single and video “Shiver“. Produced by Scottie Simpson the video shows STARVE what they do best, blasting out new age metalcore.
STARVE will no doubt be touring hard this year, so keep a close eye on their social media.
You can check out our coverage of STARVE supporting Deadlights on the Bathed In Venom tour here.
Everyday Metal‘s Benny G caught up with Frank Carter and DeanRichardson of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes to chat about life on the road and their current Australian tour.
Check out the full interview below and keep up to date with Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes on social media.
You can also subscribe to our brand new Everyday Metal Youtube channel for original and exclusive content.
To celebrate the 8 year anniversary of their album Bite Your Head Off, King Parrot released a Special Edition 8 Year Anniversary Reissue Vinyl and put together a night of gut-punching performances for their dedicated local fans at the intimate and grungy Collingwood venue, the Bendigo Hotel.
Abu Ghraib was the first up to entertain the keen punters, and always being early to every gig we go to, Everyday Metal was up at the front to take photos and watch the crowd being whipped into a frenzy. This was my first experience watching Abu Ghraib perform and I can safely say that I am now a fan. Describing themselves as Torture Death Grind, this 3 piece band offers some surprisingly full and brutal sounds with messy noise that was expertly contained in tightly coiled mayhem. I was completely mesmerized by the drummer’s speed, trying to focus on his sticks was like trying to focus on a hummingbird’s wings in flight, just a blur of majestic awesomeness. The second last song that played went for like 1 second and one clown from the audience hollowed ‘FASTER’ at the band, and with a smile the lead singer let us know that the last song would be plenty fast. Which it was, fast and hard.
Up next was Burn The Hostages who we first saw when they opened for Eyehategod last year at Max Watts. They always start off really slow and sludgy before they build to some speedier songs. I love their punk edge but I find their sludgy sound to be particularly cathartic, and I sensed that the rest of the room felt the same way as the crowd banged their heads in unison to the thunking guitars, the deep drumming and the screaming vocals that filled our ears with audible molasses.
King Parrot fans make for the best crowd, so friendly and all smiles and chilled vibes until it all kicks off and they go mental. I snuck through the tiny gaps to get to the front once King Parrot finally started their set, but it wasn’t easy. We were all packed in like sardines, it was the busiest I had ever seen this venue. Straight off the bat, the hardcore fans that were at the front spilled over onto the stage, banging their heads with such vigor that they collectively kept shifting the amps closer to the band, Youngy had to shove the amp back a few times to keep the fans from completely taking over the stage. They had only got through one song before the mosh was already out of control and Youngy grunted into the mic ‘Ah, it’s gonna be one of these fucking nights!’, and he was not wrong. Pints flew out of people’s hands creating drippy stalactites on the ceiling, shirts were off and crowd surfers were lifted high in the air. A good time was had by all, if you weren’t there – you missed out!
The godfathers of metalcore ATREYU are returning to Australia for the first time in over 3 years. Touring nationally this February, they will be hitting Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide.
Along for the ride as National Support are a band who are rising very quickly on the scene, Victorian metalcore act OCEAN SLEEPER.
Local supports for each city have also been confirmed, creating a triple bill of world-class acts each night!
Brisbane: From Crisis to Collapse Sydney: Bad Moon Born Melbourne: Chasing Lana Perth: Tempest Rising Adelaide: Zelorage
Tickets are on sale now via Silver Back Touring, check out the full tour dates below and stay up to date with ATREYU on social media.
Wednesday 26th February BRISBANE, The ZooThursday 27th February SYDNEY, Manning Bar Friday 28th February MELBOURNE, Max WattsSaturday 29th February PERTH, AmplifierSunday 1st March ADELAIDE, Jive
