The Podcast That Rocked for 9/15/21 ft. Joe Numbas of Wrestling Soup. Talk on MTV’s VMAs being the lowest watched ever but a huge success on social media, Issues with Machine Gun Kelly and if he will continue to succeed, Corey Taylor calling “Enter Sandman” our generations “Stairway To Heaven”, and more.
Do MTV VMA’s Matter Anymore?
The Podcast That Rocked on Spotify
Discussion Topics: -MTV’s VMA’s happened and while poorly watched, it has people talking. -Machine Gun Kelly is awful. -Corey Taylor refers to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” as our generation’s “Stairway to Heaven”. -Ozzy Osbourne to undergo major spinal/neck surgery with hopes of returning to touring soon. -Minor notes about Blue Ridge Rock Fest. -Billboard Mainstream Rock Top 3, more.
Going to be trying recording on Twitch only and then posting on YouTube the morning after for a bit. Twitch has a thing about content exclusivity so I need to see if this will work. Please join us on Twitch every Tuesday at 8PM EST. Also, join us for New Music Night every Sunday on Twitch at 7PM EST.
Rock Podcast, Metal Podcast, MTV VMA’s, Wrestling Soup, Wrestling Soup Rocked, Corey Taylor Metallica, Corey Taylor Holier Than Thou, Ozzy Osbourne Surgery, Billboard Mainstream Rock, machine Gun Kelly, Machine Gun Kelly Born With Horns
Halestorm proved they were busy during the pandemic with planning out their upcoming album and co-headline tour with Evanescence later this year. Now that the road is starting to open up and bands are allowed to perform live, Halestorm came to Virginia and closed out the URW stage on day one at Blue Ridge Rock Fest.
The opening day of the festival was a shock to many attendees at Blue Ridge but the group stepped things up for their live show. Lzzy Hale and company are back from the dead zone that was 18 months of sitting at home, writing, and planning. Now, Halestorm is able to continue what they do best: playing live. I have been selling music fans the notion that Halestorm will win you over once you see them perform. It’s been that way for years and Blue Ridge Rock Fest was no different.
Click below to see photos and video of the band’s performance at Blue Ridge Rock Fest, and scroll below to hear the new song “Back From The Dead”.
Blue Ridge Rock Fest was a unique experience in that while the festival had several infrastructure and organizational issues, the bands that performed gave every stage audience what they wanted. On day four of the festival, it was Starset that truly woke the crowd up for the rest of the final day. The band’s set started with a tired and sore crowd calming watching, to an endless sea of crowd surfers coming to the barricade by the end with thousands of people screaming as they watched.
Click below to open each photo and scroll below to hear music from the upcoming album HORIZONS.
Along with Starset’s major hits, the band performed new music from their upcoming album Horizons due later this Fall. Starset has also announced its Fall 2021 U.S. demonstrations. All dates and locations are below. Tickets and VIP upgrades are available here.
The band will also embark on a massive global tour in February 2022 that includes Europe and Russia and runs through April. Dates for those demonstrations are here.
Monolord, “the towering doom trio that’s torn its way through the international heavy-music circuit over the last several years” (Bandcamp), return with their enthusiastically-awaited fifth album, Your Time To Shine, on Oct. 29 via Relapse Records.
A preview of the 5-song, 39-minute collection, which was recorded by drummer Esben Willems in his newly founded recording space, Studio Beserk, arrives today via the soaring, fist-raising album opener, “The Weary”. “’The Weary’ is us telling a story to future generations that we are sorry but we fucked it all up,” explains guitar player Thomas Jäger.
Never ones to shy away from sharp social commentary, whether it’s about the global climate crisis, the destructive nature of religion, or the isolation endured during the pandemic, Willems says of the new collection: “To me, it’s an honest representation of how I feel about the current state of humanity.”
Musically, the album sees the Swedish trio cultivating the elements that take their monstrous, heavy riffing to new heights with a darker edge. A five-track journey that spans across crushing doom rock to more spacey, groove laden opuses, Your Time to Shine is Monolord at their most unfiltered and focused.
Your Time To Shine pre-orders are available now (physical & digital). The album is available in the following formats: standard vinyl (Kelly green), CD, cassette, and digitally, as well as a smörgåsbord of limited-edition vinyl variants:
Deluxe versions (available exclusively via Relapse.com):
· Deluxe mail order version (white, brown and olive green merge with splatter including a specially designed stand up church cutout display piece, and a high-quality Zippo lighter with screen print. 100 available)
· Deluxe mail order version (100 available – highlighter yellow/orange krush/highlighter yellow three color striped with splatter including a specially designed stand up church cutout display piece, and a high-quality Zippo lighter with screen print. 100 available)
· Deluxe mail order version (butterfly with splatter – 200 available)
Relapse.com exclusives:
· Grey inside clear with rainbow splatter – 300 available
· Yellow and mustard merge – 500 available
· Milky clear with brown, mustard and orange splatter – 500 available
Monolord.com exclusive:
· Olive green – 100 available
Retail exclusives:
· Mustard yellow – 200 available via Rough Trade UK
· Milky clear – 200 available, Swedish indie record store exclusive
· Grey – 300 available, UK indie record store exclusive
· Brown – 300 available, German indie record store exclusive
· Neon Orange – 500 available, North American indie record store exclusive
Monolord has simultaneously announced a U.S. tour, with the coast-to-coast run kicking off on March 3. The dates (listed below) are on-sale today at 10 am pacific/1 pm eastern with all performances supported by Firebreather. A European trek is slated for this November with Blackwater Holylight opening those dates.
Monolord tour dates:
November 6 Mexico City, MX Hipnosis Festival November 18 Oberhausen, DE Kulttempel November 19 Utrecht, NL dB’S SOLD OUT November 20 Nijmegen, NL Doornroosje November 22 Bristol, UK Exchange November 24 London, UK The Underworld November 25 Manchester, UK Soup November 26 Dunkerque, FR 4 Ecluses November 27 Paris, FR Petit Bain November 28 Toulouse, FR Rex November 30 Madrid, SP Caracol December 1 Barcelona, SP Bóveda December 2 Annecy, FR Le Brise Glace December 3 Aarau, CH KIFF December 4 Vienna, AT Arena December 5 Dresden, DE Chemiefabrik December 6 Berlin, DE Zukunft am Ostkreuz December 7 Hamburg, DE Bahnhof St. Pauli December 8 Copenhagen, DK Spillestedet Stengade December 9 Gothenburg, SE Pustervik December 10 Stockholm, SE Debaser December 11 Malmö, SE Babel December 12 Oslo, NO Youngs March 3 Berkeley, CA Cornerstone March 4 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s March 5 Portland, OR Dante’s March 6 Seattle, WA Chop Suey March 8 Salt Lake City, UT Metro March 9 Denver, CO Marquis Theater March 11 Chicago, IL Reggies March 12 Detroit, MI Sanctuary March 13 Buffalo, NY Town Ballroom March 15 Boston, MA Sonia March 16 New York, NY Le Poisson Rouge March 17 Philadelphia, PA Underground March 18 Cleveland, OH The Grog Shop March 19 Indianapolis, IN Black Circle March 20 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone March 21 New Orleans, LA Gasa Gasa March 22 Austin, TX Mohawk March 23 Denton, TX Thin Line Fest March 25 Phoenix, AZ Rebel Lounge March 26 San Diego, CA Brick by Brick March 27 Los Angeles, CA Teragram
Firebreather opens on all North American dates, Blackwater Holylight opens on all European dates.
Formed in Gothenburg in 2013, Monolord quickly burst onto the scene releasing three critically-acclaimed full-lengths in a four year span (Empress Rising, Vænir and Rust) on RidingEasy Records all while touring relentlessly around the globe. The band made their Relapse Records debut, unveiling the transcendent No Comfort in late 2019. Monolord is a rare breed: A band both encompassing and transcending genre; a vortex of heavy rock density that consumes all others. The band’s enveloping, syrupy sludge is a state of mind, with guitarist/vocalist Thomas Jäger, drummer Esben Willems and bassist Mika Häkki create a massive, dynamic sound with ultra-low frequencies serving as its fourth member.
Sweden’s iconic rock/metal titans OPETH will return to North America this fall for a tour with fellow masters of prog-metal MASTODON. Announced today, the bands will embark with special opening guests ZEAL & ARDOR on a two-week tour kicking off in Asheville, NC on November 16th and wrapping in Denver, CO on December 5th.
Tickets go onsale Friday September 17 at 10am local time. Check out the full confirmed itinerary below, including a handful of festival dates. Visit www.opeth.com/tour-dates for ticket and tour information.
Commenting on the impending tour, vocalist/guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt states:
”Well, we’re about to start up the ole machine again after our longest (involuntary) break ever. We’ve kept rather silent during all this time. We haven’t done much press or public appearances. No streaming shows and of course, no ”real” shows. We’ve kept to ourselves, biding our time. Coming back to North America will be a treat, even if there are conflicting emotions. We’ve become used to being out of sight. But playing live is such an integral part of being in this band. We need to get back out there to see if we still have it in us. Stepping out on a stage after all this time will surely be a nerve-wrecking experience, but we count on you to help us out. We’ll be traveling with familiar faces however. Together with our friends in Mastodon. But also with new acquaintances, Zeal & Ardor. Going on tour during these times means serious restrictions of course. It will be strange in so many ways. But once we’re up there we trust the power of music will take over and make us feel secure. We collectively look forward to this (with a slight touch of pure fear).
To wrap this up: Won’t see you in the pub (unfortunately), but we sincerely hope to see you through the limelight. For us, this coming tour is already memorable. Odd!”
Following the release of their latest, critically acclaimed record “In Cauda Venenum,” OPETH’s touring was unfortunately cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Two years later, the band will make their long awaited return to North American stages in support of the record and the upcoming release of “In Cauda Venenum (Connoisseur Edition),” which features a remastered version of the album transferred to magnetic tape and cut directly to vinyl with three unreleased bonus tracks.
“In Cauda Venenum (Connoisseur Edition)”is available as a separate 2LP (180g) version in Swedish and English that includes a 16-page booklet illustrated by internationally renowned Travis Smith. In addition, you can get a limited premium boxset featuring both versions, a 60x60cm poster, as well as an exclusive EP with three previously unreleased Opeth songs in two languages: “Pöbeln” / “The Mob”, “Cirkelns Riktning” / “Width of a Circle” as well as “Frihet & Tyranni” / “Freedom & Tyranny.”
OPETH’s “In Cauda Venenum (Connoisseur Edition)” will be available on November 19th in these formats:
2LP (black, 180g) – Swedish version in gatefold with 16p booklet 2LP (black, 180g) – English version in gatefold with 16p booklet Boxset (black or clear vinyl) incl. both versions, poster and exclusive 6-track EP in sleeve
Åkerfeldt adds:
“During the pandemic we’ve put together a vinyl remaster ”connoisseur” edition of our latest album, ‘In Cauda Venenum’ that features 3 (6 really, if you count both versions of each song) previously unreleased tracks from the sessions. These tracks have a high obscurity factor, but I’d like to think they are high quality. Quite different from the rest of the songs on the album, but quality nonetheless. Everything put together in a nice package, for your pleasure.”
“In Cauda Venenum” Track Listing: 1. Livet’s Trädgård / Garden Of Earthly Delights 2. Svekets Prins / Dignity 3. Hjärtat Vet Vad Handen Gör / Heart In Hand 4. De Närmast Sörjande / Next Of Kin 5. Minnets Yta / Lovelorn Crime 6. Charlatan 7. Ingen Sanning Är Allas / Universal Truth 8. Banemannen / The Garroter 9. Kontinuerlig Drift / Continuum 10. Allting Tar Slut / All Things Will Pass
OPETH Co-headline w/ MASTODON: Nov 16 – Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena Nov 18 – Boston, MA – The Wang Theatre Nov 19 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre Nov 20 – New York City – Hammerstein Ballroom Nov 21 – Washington, DC – The Anthem Nov 23 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium Nov 24 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern Nov 26 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater Nov 27 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom Nov 28 – Sugar Land, TX – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land Nov 30 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Amphitheatre Dec 01 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium Dec 02 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater Dec 04 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union Dec 05 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom
Florida hard rock quintet WAGE WAR — Briton Bond [lead vocals], Cody Quistad [rhythm guitar, clean vocals], Seth Blake [lead guitar], Chris Gaylord [bass], and Stephen Kluesener [drums] — have shared the new song “Teeth.” It’s quite a rager.
“Teeth” appears on the band’s fourth full-length Manic, due out October 1 on Fearless Records. Pre-order it here.
“‘Teeth’ is the first taste of some of the new sonic territory on Manic,” the band says. “We wanted to experiment with some different sounds and production and see what we could do. ‘Teeth’ is simply about a toxic, one-sided relationship. We’ve all had them — and this is [about] a cutting of those ties.”
On Manic, the band masterfully strikes a delicate and well-crafted balance of grooves, riffs, melodies, and electronic flourishes.
After amassing nearly 300 million streams and receiving widespread acclaim from Billboard, Loudwire, Modern Drummer,American Songwriter, Alternative Press, and more, the group delivered 11 anthems meant to connect through turbulence.
“Manic encompasses everything we’ve gone through as musicians in the last year-and-a-half,” says Kluesener. “The whole industry halted, and we technically lost our jobs. Our scene was among the first to leave and the last to come back. The album captures the whole period.”
Quistad pulls back the curtain even more, saying, “Mania is a wild emotion. The last year was all severe highs and lows. We had some victories, but we’ve also had so many low points. We’ve built this thing for the last 10 years and put all of our chips into it. We’ve missed birthdays and funerals, but we’ve done some extraordinary things. Last year, we found ourselves wondering if it would ever come back. That’s really what the album is about.”
Ultimately, Manic is a triumph and a definitive artistic statement for Wage War. It represents the apex of an intense creative journey. They built a diehard audience with Blueprints [2015] and Deadweight [2017] and through incessant touring. 2019’s Pressure exploded right out of the gate. “Low” piled on 24.9 million Spotify streams with “Who I Am” at 10.7 million Spotify streams and “Me Against Myself” at 8.4 million Spotify streams. Beyond bringing their total stream tally past a-quarter-of-a-billion, it landed on Loudwire’s “50 Best Metal Albums of 2019,”while Billboard praised the album’s levity. American Songwriter called attention to the evolution of the band’s songwriting and sound, while New Noise Magazine awarded it 4-out-of-5 stars. Elsewhere, Alternative Press raved, “Wage War are unapologetically changing the game on all fronts on Pressure.”
Wage War will hit the road this summer with Beartooth and Dragged Under. All dates are below.
MANIC TRACK LISTING: “Relapse” “Teeth” “Manic” “High Horse“ “Circle the Drain“ “Godspeed” “Death Roll” “Slow Burn” “Never Said Goodbye” “True Colors” “If Tomorrow Never Comes”
WAGE WAR ON TOUR: WITH BEARTOOTH + DRAGGED UNDER: 9/15 — New York, NY — Terminal 5 9/17 — Worcester, MA — Palladium 9/18 — Baltimore, MD — Sound Stage 9/19 — New Haven, CT — Toad’s Place 9/20 — Pittsburgh, PA — Stage AE 9/22 — Chicago, IL — House of Blues 9/24 — Detroit, MI — St. Andrews Hall 9/25 — Grand Rapids, MI — 20 Monroe Live
In the hills of Danville, Virginia, the independently run Fan Driven Experience “Blue Ridge Rock Fest” returned for a massive four-day festival filled with national and local rock and metal groups. On paper, this is a dream come true after the pandemic to have an enormous six-stage event with on-site camping.
While the best of intentions were meant from the staff running the festival, the scope offered was near impossible to be met with massive camping and parking issues, lacking security, food and water waiting lines, technical difficulties, and many other grievances being filed.
Beyond all the chaos, however, something amazing happened: Bands returned live to their first festival since the pandemic. Some bands even had their first performance in almost two years at Blue Ridge. As wild as this sounds, the vast majority of bands that performed absolutely delivered to the sell-out crowd every day.
Headlined by Breaking Benjamin, Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, and Shinedown, the music was the main positive on the pro/con list for Blue Ridge’s biggest event ever. I dare say that if not for the excellent performances across the board on all four days, a true riot would have resulted after the extreme circumstances all festival attendees were under.
While conditions and logistics were rough and there were many attendees who did not return after their first day, Blue Ridge Rock Festival continued on and for thousands, it was exactly what was needed. The music delivered for the fans, and the fan-driven experience pushed forward.
As of now, the independently run program will be aiming for a 2022 event at the same venue in Virginia. Time will tell if we will see another huge lineup and if the festival promoters are able to learn from the mistakes made, while also keeping previous ticket buyers interested in returning. Regardless, the bands and artists proved they could finally return to a massive live audience.
Multi-platinum selling industrial music icons Static-X will bring more of their self-proclaimed “Evil Disco” to the masses with their Rise Of The Machine North American Tour 2022. The 37-date run, produced by Live Nation, kicks off on February 21st in Portland, OR and runs over 5 weeks wrapping up on April 3rd in San Francisco, CA. General tickets go on sale starting Friday, September 17 at 10am LOCAL. .” More information on tickets, meet & greets and other VIP experiences for the Rise Of The Machine tour can be found at: www.Static-X.com.
The tour will celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the band’s RIAA Gold-certified sophomore album Machine which is being re-released next year and will serve as a continuation of their memorial tribute to honor their late singer Wayne Static. Joining the touring Static-X lineup of Tony Campos, Koichi Fukuda, Ken Jay, and Xer0, will be fellow industrial metal pioneers Fear Factory and Dope, along with special guests Mushroomhead and Twiztid (appearing on select dates). The Rise Of The Machine tour will also celebrate career anniversaries for both Fear Factory and Dope with Fear Factory celebrating their 30th anniversary as a band and Dope celebrating the 20th anniversary of their cult metal anthem “Die MF Die.”
“We are so excited to finally get back out on the road. We plan to play most of the songs off of both Machine and Wisconsin Death Trip, as well a number of nice surprises that are being incorporated into the set list. It is going to be awesome to have Fear Factory, Dope, & Mushroomhead back out on the road with us to share in all of this nostalgic insanity. All in all, this package is going to be one for the ages and we can’t wait to get out there and celebrate 20 years of our Machine record, while we continue to remember all of the good times that we had with Wayne and to share it live and loud with all of our fans night after night,” explains Static-X.
“I’m beyond excited to finally turn the Fear Factory machine back on and start crushing stages alongside our longtime friends in Static X,” adds Dino Cazares of Fear Factory.
“We are honored to be part of this tour. Static-X, Fear Factory, & Dope toured together back in 1999. It was the first time that we all met, and it laid the foundation for all of the tours that Dope and Static have done together. I can’t wait to get back out there and get crazy with all the fans!” exclaims Edsel Dope.
The 20th anniversary release of Machine – scheduled for February 18, 2022 – features newly remastered audio by Ulrich Wild and features all 12 tracks from the original release, as well as 3 new bonus tracks: “Wisconsin Death Trip (Live 2019 Regeneration featuring Wayne Static),” “Sweat of the Bud (Live 2019 Xer0)” and “I’m With Stupid (Live 2019 Regeneration featuring Wayne Static).” Originally released in 2001, Machine would ultimately turn out to be the last album recorded by the 4 original members of Static-X. All of the lead vocals and guitars on Machine were performed by Wayne Static, while bass, backing vocals, drums, and programming contributions came from founding members Tony Campos, Ken Jay, & Koichi Fukuda. The limited-edition release will have packaging featuring fully reimagined artwork and will be available in multiple configurations including multiple color vinyl sequenced on 2 discs, with an etching of the Static-X Shock symbol on side D. Machine 20th anniversary is now available for pre-order at: www.Static-X.com.
Rise Of The Machine North American Tour 2022:
Feb 21 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater Feb 22 – Seattle, WA – Showbox^ Feb 23 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theater^ Feb 24 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory^ Feb 25 – Boise, ID – Revolution Concert Hall Feb 26 – Reno, NV – Virginia Street Brewhouse^ Feb 27 – Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades Mar 01 – Phoenix, AZ – Van Buren* Mar 02 – Albuquerque, NM – El Rey Theater^ Mar 03 – Oklahoma City, OK – Whiskey Nights^ Mar 04 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues* Mar 05 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater* Mar 06 – Houston, TX – House Of Blues* Mar 08 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theater* Mar 09 – Orlando, FL – Plaza Live^ Mar 10 – Charlotte, NC – Underground Mar 11 – Baltimore, MD – Soundstage* Mar 12 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live* Mar 13 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza* Mar 15 – Montreal, QC – Corona^ Mar 16 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix^ Mar 17 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall* Mar 18 – Ft. Wayne, IN – The Clyde* Mar 19 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave^ Mar 20 – Grand Rapids, MI – Intersection Mar 22 – Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues # Mar 23 – Philadelphia, PA – T.L.A.# Mar 24 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian# Mar 25 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts# Mar 26 – Chicago, IL – House Of Blues# Mar 27 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore# Mar 28 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theater# Mar 29 – Denver, CO – The Summit# Mar 31 – Las Vegas, NV – House Of Blues# Apr 01 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues# Apr 02 – Los Angeles, CA – Belasco Theater# Apr 03 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore#
Bullet For My Valentine have released “Shatter,” the third single from their forthcoming self-titled album Bullet For My Valentine, and it’s another absolute rager.
“We’re very excited for you all to hear our new track ‘Shatter,'” the band says. “It’s one of our personal favorites and we’re pretty sure it’ll be one of yours. It’s an absolute sledgehammer of a track with riffs for days. Let the head banging commence!”
The visualiser for “Shatter” is a visceral and instinctive moment in the new Bulletvisual era. For this project, frontman Matt Tuck collaborated with creative director Fiona Garden and her husband, artist Ben Ashton.
Using tactile optical elements, smashing endless panes of glass, and getting covered in oily black paint, Tuckworked hands-on with Garden and Ashton to create a physical mood that was both “cavernous and claustrophobic.”
Fiona Garden adds, “These hypnotic abstract visuals were then fed into the fearsome and instinctive creative machine behind ‘Knives’ and ‘Parasite’: editor Sara Faulkner and VFX artist Gabriel Thomas Ayache. The clip features, as always, the design edge of Carl Addy (ulcerboy.)”
Bullet For My Valentine will be released October 22 via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy.
“I think it’s the most ferocious side of Bullet For My Valentine that I’ve ever known,” says lead guitarist Michael “Padge” Paget. “It’s time for us to put out a really angry, heavy, aggressive record. I just can’t wait to grimace on stage!”
Tuck began writing the album in September 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic brought things screeching to a halt in early 2020. But in June 2020, Tuck and longtime producer, Carl Bown, who co-produced the band’s 2015 album, Venom, and produced and mixed Gravity, picked up the pace again. Together, they hunkered down at Treehouse Studio in Chesterfield, where the remainder of the album was written.
Special bundle options are available, including a unique clipping from the backdrop used on the bands Venom world tour from 2015-2017, t-shirts, hoodies, gold and silver cassettes, and limited vinyl.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE TRACK LISTING:“Parasite” “Knives” “My Reverie” “No Happy Ever After” “Can’t Escape The Waves” “Bastards” “Rainbow Veins” “Shatter” “Paralysed” “Death By a Thousand Cuts”
Bullet For My Valentine recently made history by headlining the Download Festival Pilot event at Donington Park just last month. Kerrang! summed their performance up perfectly, saying, “Sharp, slick, and with every shredding solo sounding immense, they nail a full-stop onto the weekend with confidence and power.”
Black Map, the Bay Area trio Metal Hammer dubbed as a “progressive supergroup” and All Music described as “a muscular post-hardcore trio with an impressive pedigree,” return with their first album in over four years, setting a Nov. 5 release date for Melodoria (via Minus Head Records).
A preview of the 10-song album comes with today’s Consequence premiere of “Chasms” a song that reflects the distance experienced throughout this pandemic.
Album pre-orders are on-sale now with the collection available on both standard white vinyl and a limited-edition white vinyl with black and yellow splatter, CD and digitally with various limited-edition merch.
“Music and art, to me, has always been a kind of human binding agent,” singer/bass player Ben Flanagan explains of the album the band co-produced with Zach Ohren (Chelsea Grin, Machine Head). “Even amidst the pure chaos of our world, here is this thing that’s there to excite us, to comfort us, and to help us get through it.”
“We went for a very direct approach early on with the tunes on the first album (… And We Explode). The natural progression into In Droves was to branch out into other areas of our influences and music we enjoy,” explains guitar player Mark Engles. “Melodoria is yet another step out onto different limbs of our tastes and abilities.”
Following the 2017 release of In Droves, a sophomore slump-defying set which furthered the group’s incursion into rock radio without sacrificing an ounce of musical integrity, Black Map married themselves to the road. Major festivals extended invitations, resulting in head-turning sets at Chicago Open Air, Aftershock, Rock Allegiance, and Louder Than Life, plus a “Best New Artist” nomination at the first-ever Loudwire Music Awards in Los Angeles.
The trio will spend the bulk of their Fall on tour, with headlining shows planned in Los Angeles and San Diego leading into an appearance at this year’s highly-anticipated return of the Aftershock Festival. Following that, a month long run supporting Chevelle is on sale with shows in 2022 to be announced soon.
Black Map tour dates:
September 28 Los Angeles, CA The Whiskey September 29 San Diego, CA Brick By Brick October 8 Sacramento, CA Aftershock Festival
With Chevelle: November 4 Milwaukee, WI The Rave/Eagles Club November 5 Ft. Wayne, IN Clyde Theatre November 6 Columbus, OH Express Live! November 9 Raleigh, NC The Ritz November 10 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre November 13 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues Myrtle Beach November 14 Greensboro, NC Piedmont Hall November 16 Charlotte, NC The Filmore Charlotte November 17 Richmond, VA The National November 19 Norfolk, VA The Norva November 20 Newport, KY Promowest Pavilion at Ovation November 21 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
Melodoria tracklist: Chasms Super Deluxe Nothing Over Me Capture the Flag Madness Witching Hour Left For Dead In The Wires Burnout (Do You Mind) Melodoria
Black Map formed in 2013, releasing a pair of full-length albums: In Droves (2017) and …And We Explode (2014) as well as two EPs: Trace The Path (2018) and Driver ( 2014). Alternative Press compared the band’s early EP to “Antenna-era Cave In” and “pure Quicksand-esque gold,” while Metal Injection called out the trio’s “interesting composition techniques,” calling Black Map’s music “compelling” and “powerful.” Engles, Flanagan and Robyn have spent the last several years touring internationally, both as an opener (Chevelle, Bush, Circa Survive), performing on a variety of festivals (Louder than Life, Rise Above Fest, Carolina Rebellion, and Aftershock), and headlining hundreds of their own dates.
