Playlist: Patrick Duvall from Of The Sun Rocks Hard

Of The Sun are a group of groove metal future stalwarts.

Patrick Duvall was willing to take some time for us to show you the kind of music he's really into and what's helped shaped the sound of his band. From this point forward, all words are his.

DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN - ONE OF US IS THE KILLER

Concert Review: Black Anvil, Inquisition and Mayhem at Metro in Chicago, January 23, 2017- photos and words by Danny Nichols

It was an epic night of black metal at Metro Chicago in the city's north side.

Black Anvil's Jeremy Sosville, Paul Delaney and Raeph Glicken

The bill started with New York's Black Anvil.  They stormed the stage like a biker gang from hell with their menacing presence, militaristic leather and ubiquitous tattoos.  Their sound reminded me of Children of Bodom, with vocals being mostly of the harsh traditional black metal variety with occasional interludes of clean vocals and discernible lyrics.

LP Review: "Slumbersong" by Sail

Slumbersong

Have you noticed the speeches and stories about my cooking for myself and my family?

It's my one avocation that really helps out my family as my wife isn't much on the cooking side. That is is why it's particularly annoying that our daughter prefers her simple dishes to my complex ones.....but anyway.

The only dish that I have personally created is my Tater-Tachos and it's a pretty easy thing. Deep fry frozen tater tots in vegetable oil and then pour on nacho trimmings, cheese, jalapenos, etc.

Mostly, what I have done is taken recipes given to me by others or stolen from bigger chefs and added my particular spin to them. Like consider Philly Cheese Steaks. Put some provel cheese in lieu of the provolone. Baste the inside of the hoagie roll with garlic butter. Bake your cheese steaks to crispy up the joint and bam.

Just try that stuff. You'll be Iron Cook in no time.

Vinyl Review: "Freedays" by Tall Tall Trees

Freedays

From the moment permanent settlements were established, in what Europeans called, The New World, we have been able to adapt and adjust to new surroundings, new challenges, and over the centuries, we as Americans have grown and prospered.

We're not going to discuss Roanoke or Croatoan OK? Because really, we all know that our forebears, well the people who would've been our forebears anyway, were kidnapped by the most ancient race of spacefaring villains...

The Romulans.

Yes, that's right, the Romulan Star Empire came to the Virginia Colony and kidnapped an entire settlement a full 500 years before what we will later know as First Contact.

Well...moving on.

Stream: "V1" by Adam TK

Swedish synth master Adam TK has a new album being released on 2/17 on Quiet Records.

Please check out the upcoming single, V1.

Enjoy!

LP Review: "Primordial Malignity" by Tomb Mold

Primordial Malignity

In the United States false adrenaline is big business.

There is a chain of Six Flags theme parks and hundreds of other theme parks around the United States.

Horror movies are everywhere, and we won't get into the pervasive creepiness of the American Horror Film genre....you know what I'm talking about.

Over the decades here, there's been a profound shift in the belief of the American Dream. We no longer  have the ability to raise a family on a factory job. We no longer have the time with our children we once did.

What does this do? It wears us down. So, we need to feel something. When we're feeling good though, there always seems to be something waiting around the corner or sneaking up on us from behind....

Stream:"Life Is No Way To Treat An Animal" by Czar

Tacoma, Washington's Czar has just released their record, Life Is No Way To Treat An Animal on Do It Yourself Records and it's available on Bandcamp. You can also check them out on the Facebook.

In a time when the world is fuzzy, let's fuzz out our brains and relax.

Interview: Shawn of Final Sign Finally Tells All

Final Sign

Final Sign is out there.

Certain, I'm not the only one who sees its writing on the walls or who fears what its messages portend?

Well, let's come to a simple conclusion. There is still a seedy underbelly of metal out there in the universe. Normally, it's spoken in hushed tones....Power Metal...

Shawn tells what he's so damned powerful....and more.

GM:Let's begin at the beginning. Tell me about the name of the group, Final Sign.

SP: The name is respectfully lifted from "Children Of The Sea" by Black Sabbath.

I thought it was a fitting tribute to the amazing Ronnie James Dio, of whom we in the band are all great fans, and it's a nod to the founding fathers of heavy metal itself.

I also thought it sounded pretty damn cool. Haha!

LP Review: "Stone and Skin" by Thera Roya

Stone and Skin

During the holidays, and as of this writing the following statement is still applicable, there are mountains of leftovers.

In my family, there was Christmas Eve which is attended by nearly one hundred people, New Year's Eve, and we even had a special Boxing Day fancy dinner...my good twitter followers saw how that shaped up.

During this time of year, the Post-Holidays as it were, there's all those leftovers.

From December 25th to today, the number of meals my family's eaten of holiday leftovers....well that number is incalculable. In fact, my lunch today consisted of beef brisket, ham, and turkey on a hoagie roll that I wrapped up into a single sandwich. All of those meats were from a holiday party.

So, in the chubby, post-holidays, we eat and eat...and continue to eat. It's also conceivable that we're eating something that's a bit of a pile up.

Artist Playlist: Sail

We are Sail, and we listen to a whole bunch of different music.

We've got a lot of love for sludge and post-rock - this shows in the music we create - but our individual tastes spread far and wide.

The four of us come from different musical backgrounds and we've all got different favourites; here's a quick selection.

 Deep Purple - Burn


[Charlie] The song that made me want to pick up a guitar all those years ago.

The riff is fantastically simple and to-the-point, a real earworm and powerful as all hell. Deep Purple have such a cool progressive vibe whilst still writing grade A songs and I was instantly hooked.

I still remember when I first heard the track and listening to it now gives me exactly the same feeling as it did back then - a very important song indeed.

Concert Photography: Clutch at Pop's in Sauget, IL October 16, 2015 -photos by Danny Nichols

Clutch rocks Pop's in Sauget, Illinois

Vocalist Neil Fallon

LP Review: Self-Titled by Eufobia

Eufobia

The re-introduction.

What was that ad campaign from back in the day.... there's never a second chance to make a first impression?

Well, with my ex-wife's parents, I did, in fact, have to make up for my first impression. It was something that took years and years.

These days though, as my wife's parents seem to like me a little bit and their willful, intelligent, and artistic granddaughter, it's easy to see why.

What about bands?

What can a band do to reach new heights and make new friends? There's always the Ace in the Hole, should you have not played it..the self titled album. Our new Bulgarian friends have chosen to self-title their third album.

Vinyl Review: "Into the Kingdom of Graves" by Tyrants Blood

Into the Kingdom of Graves

In one of the greatest movies of all time, Cary Elwes uttered this famous line:

"Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something."

This allusion has come up in my introductions before, but in the United States are are looking at something we have never seen before.

What has happened before is the division, the strife, and the protests. The lines are clearly drawn. Where we go from there is anyone's guess.

What I remind myself everyday is that Jimi Hendrix wrote his arrangement of The Star Spangled Banner while Richard M. Nixon held the White House and in the backdrop of The Vietnam War. I have total faith that the artistic community will have loads of inspiration in the coming years.

LP Review: "Cast The First Stone" by Hour of Penance

Cast The First Stone

Here in the United States, the sentence we have heard over and over is "This is not normal." Donald Trump, soon to be the 45th President of the United States is not normal.

Where we are headed over the course of the next four years is also not normal.

As we are weeks away from the very abnormal coming true, the thing I'm craving most of all is normalcy.

Beef Stew, Ramen, and Hot Dogs will be a large part of my upcoming diet.

One of the things we can count on to fuel a need for normalcy is death metal. Death metal is a monolithic force that's been carrying on for nearly thirty years now. The growls, the blast beats, and the ripping guitar solos. They are what fans of extreme metal, like myself, live for.

Stream: "The Weight of Gold" by Sail

Remember when we talked to Sail last week?

Here's a preview of their upcoming record, Slumbersong. Check out this track and let us know what you think about it.

We want to know your thoughts!