Whitechapel I, Dementia Music Video!

Whitechapel have posted a new music video for the track 'I, Dementia' (which happens to be one of my favorites from the album.) The video itself is pretty trippy, and definitely reminiscent of The White Stripes video for 'Seven Nation Army'.

Good And Bad News Related To The Chariot.

I'll start with the good news, which I'm admittedly a bit late on. The Chariot released a new track from their upcoming album One Wing. It's hauntingly beautiful, and has a really awesome tone.

Born Of Osiris Cover System Of A Down!

Born Of Osiris have posted a cover of the System Of A Down song titled 'Science'! I Don't think people should try to think to deeply on this one. I don't believe this cover will imply any new direction for the band or any changes in sound or anything. So sit back relax, and enjoy the cover. When a real new song releases, then you can cast judgement.

New As I Lay Dying Song 'Cauterize'!

(Update: Go here to download the track! Hurry it's only free for today. Legitimately speaking anyways.)

Starting at midnight on June 25th there will be a free track available for download from As I Lay Dying's website. The track is entitled 'Cauterize' and although it's not yet available for download it would appear to have leaked and is on the internet.

Film Score Friday! Nathan Johnson - Brick

Brick, directed by Rian Johnson, was a rather unexpected kind of film for me when I saw it, but in the best possible way. For those who haven't seen it, Brick is a smart twist of film-noir set in modern times in which a high school student investigates the death of his ex-girlfriend. It's a fresh film that was wonderfully acted, espcially on Joseph Gordon-Levitts' part.

A Hero A Fake Studio Update!

I remember getting a copy of A Hero A Fake's previous album Let Oceans Lie and being pretty impressed with it. The band play a pretty solid style of progressive metalcore on par with many top tier metalcore bands. I have yet to check out their first release Volatile, but I will probably get around to it. None the less, the band have posted a studio update of the work they've done in the studio for their upcoming release The Future Again!

God Forbid 'Overcome' Bass/Guitars Playthrough!

God Forbid, who released their latest album Equilibrium recently, have posted a video playthrough of each guitar part on the song 'Overcome'. You can check it out here!

Killswitch Engage 'This Is Confrontation'! (Update!)

(Update: I meant to update this a few days ago, but anyhow, the track is actually called 'No End In Sight')

So as you've probably heard Killswitch Engage are making a new album with Jesse Leach. A new song from their upcoming album has been posted online. The song is titled 'This Is Confrontation'. I believe it's a pre-mastered version of the song, but I'm not entirely sure.

Actors Against Acting Athletes

So we've all seen it happen. Athletes who become megastars because of their sport, attempt to make a transition to movies. Rarely does this formula ever produce good results, and for good reason. These guys weren't trained to act. Gary Oldman however is taking a stand.

Look For Music From Chamber Soon

I was contacted by the band manager for Chamber to review their upcoming single 'City Of Seven Hills'. I'd never heard of Chamber before, but I'm glad I was sent this track as they are a rather impressive outfit! They  hail from Guwahati, India and are a six piece progressive rock/metal group akin to Dream Theater, Opeth, and Porcupine Tree.

Dr. Acula 'Ironic Enclosure' Video

Dr. Acula's new album Nation is set to release tomorrow. Thanks to that the band has released a music video for the single 'Ironic Enclosure'. The video itself is primarily of the band in different places, with a focus on the vocalists, but there is a hint of a story throughout. The vocalists look like they are rapping rather than screaming, which feels odd, but it's not crabcore dancing so I'm not really complaining.

Whitechapel - Whitechapel

Well it's here. My most anticipated album this year. I can easily say that Whitechapel are one of my favorite bands, and I'd also go as far as to say they are the best band Deathcore has to offer. I'm talking straight Deathcore. I'd personally say these guys are the best, but when you consider progressive deathcore bands the talent pool widens quite a bit. I was enjoyed This Is Exile, and to a lesser extent The Somatic Defilement, but Whitechapel really caught my attention with A New Era Of Corruption, which stands as one of my all time favorite records. So how does their fourth effort stand?

Dr. Acula - Nation

I remember distinctly loading up previews from Dr. Acula's last album Slander and despising it. Time went on and I slowly forgot about the band but their album came up on a spotify playlist and I decided to give it a spin, to affirm my hatred for it. However I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the album. I'm not sure If I heard bad previews, or if I was just having a bad day, but Slander while not being anything particularly ground breaking, and definitely not flawless, was a fun album. Recently though, Victory records sent me their new album Nation and I was glad to see they have grown a bit from their last album.

Molotov Solution Is No More.

Well this is an unfortunate bit of news. Molotov Solution, who made one of my favorite albums last year, have decided to call it quits. The band reported that they've been struggling, like many other bands in the business, and it's gotten to be too much. They had a pretty solid run though.

Elitist Release 'Reshape | Reason'!

Elitist are a band I've heard talked about quite a bit, but I've never really given their small amount of work that much attention. However they are going to be releasing their debut LP Reshape | Reason this fall and I'm definitely going to have to check it out. They posted the title track for the album, and it's pretty awesome.

Chelsea Grin Evolve Previews!

Update: I hadn't checked this page in a while but thanks to a friend I learned the link was dead. So here's an update with the full EP stream in case you haven't heard it.

So since Jason Richardson left Born Of Osiris a while back and joined Chelsea Grin, both Chelsea Grin and Born Of Osiris got to work immediately on new material. Chelsea grin opted for an EP, and I believe Born Of Osiris is taking more time than them to put out another full length album. (I could be wrong about that though.) Anyhow, Chelsea Grin's EP is set to release next week and they posted a preview video for it. After the track 'Lilith' was released I have to say I was excited by the guitar work and dismayed a bit by the clean vocals. However it does seem that Jason's guitar playing a boosted this band quite a bit.

The Contortionist Posted 'Holomovement'!

So I'm kind of late on this one but in case you missed it, progressive deathcore band The Contortionist posted a song from their upcoming album Intrinsic! It's not their heaviest song and I'm still working on fully accepting the clean vocals in this track but it's still a pretty solid track.

New Baroness Song 'March To the Sea'!

Baroness have released a new track from their upcoming dual album Yellow & Green. Baroness have been slowly getting less metal with each release and are now pretty much a full on rock band with stoner metal styled vocals. However, it's still a pretty awesome song, and everyone loves Baroness.

Secrets Of A Psychopath Are Releasing A New Single!

Secrets Of A Psychopath, who about 6 months ago released their first EP Concept Of Failure, are going to be releasing a new single soon entitled 'A New Era'. From the preview, it sounds awesome.

Make Them Suffer - Neverbloom

I stumbled across Make Them Suffer last year when I was rummaging through Bandcamp. I was so taken with their Lord Of Woe EP and almost couldn't believe it was their first work. It was phenomenal and easily stands as one of my favorite EP's to date. I was incredibly excited to hear that they got signed to Roadrunner Records and were going to be releasing a full length album. Now their debut album Neverbloom is out and vying for your ear time. So how is it?

Film Score Friday! Danny Elfman - Men In Black 3

Men In Black returns after about 10 years since the last film. Everybody's thought were either of excitement or skepticism as to whether it would be at least as good as the first one. I can say that the second film, for me at least, was rather forgettable in every way. This new one however is pretty solid overall. There is a sense of Nostalgia that definitely gives this film a boost, but overall it actually is a pretty solid movie.

New Cardona Teaser!

If you are a fan of The Contortionist or Vildhjarta, you definitely need to check out Cardona! Their EP Seasons is pretty fantastic as well.

Norma Jean Album Update!

So a while back Norma Jean announced that they were writing and made plans to record a follow up to Meridional in January. Obviously that hasn't happened yet. however the band has posted an update on their website that explains the whole situation.

How Do Lesser Known Bands Survive?

So recently Shane Blay of Oh, Sleeper went to the webs to talk about how Mid-Level bands make no money. The statement surfed the internet a while and helped open the eyes of some people. In case you missed it, here is his statement:

“Hey Everyone,
For the past 5 years my brothers in Oh, Sleeper and myself have sacrificed our lives, our time, relationships, birthdays, holidays, health(haha) to travel around and play shows for our fans. Not to say that isn’t been a fun ride!
I would just like to bring a few things to our fans attention:

I would like to show you guys an average day in finances for a “mid-level” band like us. I;m going to breakdown the average monetary in and outs of a day on tour.
On tour bands have two ways to make money. Guaranties, and Merchandise.
On tour bands have big bills. The biggest are: Managers, Booking agent, Merch Rates, Merch bills, Food, and of course.. the Gas bill.
Our last headliner tour was an east coast run with 3 other bands. The average guaranty per band was 300$ per band, and around 300$ in merch. This was the average for all 4 bands, for the entire tour.
So we have a 600$ gross income per night. Now lets break this down.
Merchandise is bough, printed, and shipped on the bands dollar. We print most our shirts on American Apparel. They obviously offer the best fitting shirts, and kids are smart about looking good now days. They wont sell unless you have slim fitting, soft shirts. The demand for better quality shirts from bands is higher in last few years.
American Apparel shirts are very pricey to print. usually $7.50 a shirt. More for v-necks, 3/4 sleeve shirts, etc.
We sell our shirts for 15$ at our shows, UNLESS we are on tour with a headliner that demands we price match them.
SO $15 – $7.50 = $7.50. So half is profit. So out of the 300$ the band made in merch, they owe 150$ to the printer.
BUT HOLD ON! Merch rates!
Most nice venues have merch rates, we have seen them be as high 32% gross. Usually they are 25%.
—–
So out of the initial $300 in merch the band made. 25% goes to venue. Thats $75.
$300(gross) – $150(merch cost) – $75(merch venue rate) = $75 (Net profit for the band.)
BUT the breakdown doesnt stop there. If the band has a manager, he takes 15% of Net profit of merch.
SO MERCH TOTAL PER NIGHT:
$75 X .15 = $11.25
$75 – $11.15 = $63.75( TOTAL Net profit in merch for the band.)
——–
Guaranties:
The breakdown in deductions from this money is: 15% to Manager, 10% to booking agent.
$300(gross guaranty) – $45(managers cut 15%) – $30(booking agents cut 10%) = $225
Average Gas bill is around $150. some days way better some days way worse. We have done 17 hour drives..leaveing show and showing up to next one right before we play…many times. Those are a bit more expensive. Most west coast tours we do the average gas bill is around 200-250…but ill use 150 for this example.
$225(guaranty after manage and agent deductions) – $150(gas bill) = $75
We have 6 people on tour, our 5 Guys, and our merch guy “The maze”. We give everyone $10 bucks a day to eat on. (This isnt enough when your 6 4 and 200lbs like micah and i by the way)
6 people x $10 = $60
$75 – $60 = $15
$15 Total net profit in Guaranties.
——-
$63.75(Net merch) + $15(Net guaranty) =
$78.75 for the band for the night. out of $600 gross.
if you divide that 6 ways its $13.12 a day per band member.
——-
This doesnt include hotel costs. which are usually 50-60 bucks. Most bands dont get hotels or shower to save money to pay for phone bills.
This does not include Tires/Van payment/Oil changes/Van upkeep registration bla bla/Trailer tires/Gear/etc.
This doesnt include taxes. This doesnt include ROAD TOLLS. Which in the northeast can add up to 20-40bucks a day.
Thanks for reading.
MERCH RATES HAVE TO GO.
STOP STEALING OUR CDs PLEASE.
WE DONT MAKE MONEY WHEN YOU BUY IT FROM STORES, COME TO SHOWS.
WE DONT MAKE MONEY FROM LABELS.
BUY MERCH FROM US AT SHOWS IF YOU LIKE WHAT WERE DOING.”

So, that sort of erases the dream of making money from making music.

In confirmation of this, Alissa White-Gluz vocalist for The Agonist made this statement:

“Here’s a little insider info just to clarify, since a lot of people don’t understand how the industry now works. We would feel bad divulging this kind of info and shattering the dream, but a lot of metal musicians seem to be doing it nowadays so I think we’re ok to do so as well.
Why are we asking you to buy the album? We don’t see money from album sales. We have never seen a single royalty penny. BUT – if your band is known to sell a lot of albums, especially in the first week of release, you get more offers for tours, therefore making it more possible to play to more fans.
Ticket money: As an opener, we do not see any money from ticket sales or have any control over ticket price. As a headliner we rarely see any money from ticket sales as well.
Youtube: If you think we are making money off of YouTube plays, check out who’s channel our videos are on. hint: It ain’t our channel! ; ) Again, we’ve never seen a penny from Youtube plays.
Merch:
Cd sales: To get our albums shipped out to us we need to pay about 10$. We sell them for 15$. Venue takes about 15% usually, manager takes 10%. Therefore, we are left with about 1.25$ profit per cd. T-shirts, they cost about 10$ to create and ship, we sell them for 20$, again you can do the math. So we have a few dollars profit per item sold, but about 200$ -300$ in gas per show, plus the expense of work visas (about 4000$ for the USA), vehicle and trailer leasing, and all the other expenses that go into touring.
We sleep in the van, don’t eat, don’t get to bathe. We hire no crew. We get maybe 20$ or 30$ a day to get food or save up to pay rent. We invested years of our lives into this and some had to take time off work to record this album. And this is not just our band. We can safely say that this applies to every opening metal act we have ever toured with.
Sorry to shatter the rockstar fantasy but the truth is, we all work 9-5 as soon as we get home from tour, if our jobs are gracious enough to allow us to leave and return. Otherwise we scramble to find even the most menial jobs just to cover our bills in between tours.
So – taking our project without paying for it is STEALING. But, if you repay us by spreading the word about the band, getting your friends to come out to our shows, buying our merch, giving us a place to stay or some other form of support, you’ve paid us back. Nobody wants to go to work and not get their salary, but bands do it ALL THE TIME. So, have some respect for the work they do and support in whatever way you can.
Hope that clarified everything! Enjoy PRISONERS!”

There are two things I take away from these statements. Both these bands are rather popular and do fairly well album sales wise, but if they aren't seeing any of that money and aren't loaded for being apart of a metalcore band, all the elitest douches out there have lost a 'point' in their argument that metalcore is a sellout genre. Who would have thought bands in a popular genre still have a hard time?

The other thing I took away from this is that since the bands aren't making any money from thier music, is that not enough prove that this is entirely a labor of love? If they didn't love what they were doing even though it was really only costing them money, would they still be in it? The fact that they continue to do so makes me appreciate the music more and I would hope it would drive people to go see their shows and buy the album at the show.

Anyhow, I know it won't stop pirating, but if word gets around more that bands aren't making money even when you buy their album, maybe it will boost show attendance, and merch sales at show.

Bottom line, if you love a band support them.

Project For A Better Dream - It's Just In My Head

Metalcore as any fan of metal knows, is a genre full of love and hate, good and bad, and a lot of 'samey' music. Project For A Better Dream doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but no band really does this on their first release, let alone an EP. However Project For A Better Dream takes inspiration from the best bands in metalcore and combines those sources to make some solid music. Their latest EP It's Just In My Head absolutely sums this up.

New I Declare War Coming?

So Jamie Hanks and Chris Fugate recently got together and put a made a new song for waht's been deemed as a possible new studio project. I'm not sure if they are planning on making a new I Declare War album or if the two of them are making their own project that'll just sound a lot like I Declare War. The song itself is pretty straight forward deathcore, but it's got this awesome dark atmosphere thanks to these small electronic elements in the background.

Periphery 'Make Total Destroy'!

Periphery's new album Periphery II is due out next month, which is coming up pretty fast! The band posted their first single today entitled 'Make Total Destroy'! It's a really solid song that any fan of Periphery will be down for.

Son Of Aurelius Posted A Pre-Production Video!

When it comes to bands who just know how to shred, Son Of Aurelius are towards the top of that list. Their guitar talent is pretty immense. And their first release, The Farthest Reaches was pretty much a masterpiece and a phenomenal debut album. So it's pretty exciting to hear that they are in writing mode and will hopefully be working on recording a follow up soon.