LOTD! Astray Valley - Singularity

For a first listen, I'm quite impressed with this single. I randomly came across this track today as I was planning on checking out some new Death Metal on band camp. This isn't really death metal. It's more in the style of bands like Killswitch Engage and earlier All That Remains. It's a real nice combination of gothenburg influences mixed with some modern hardcore signature rhythms. The band hails from Spain and has a female vocalist who can really slay. Great production, heavy chugs, clean/harsh vocals and overall quality music.

I was so impressed I checked out their 2015 album, Dystopia and damn they really have it going on.

Just check out the breakdown on the track - "Conscience, The Architect"

LOTD! Isaurian - All the Darkness Looks Alive

Jesu worship from Brazil, where do I sign up? That's right this band not only touches upon some of the signatures of Jesu but they also remix one of their tracks with Jesu on this EP. It is quite funny that their take on this style does bring to mind how much Type O Negative's later albums closely relate to this shoe gazer style metal in ways I've never noticed before. If you're a fan of Jesu, Godflesh or even Type O, check out Isaurian.

LOTD! Elbrus - Elbrus

Today's LOTD! is brought to you by a Melbourne band that taps into the psychedelic, doom rock and metal genre very well. This is my first listen to Elbrus and it surely wont be my last. Sounds like a bit of Wolfmother slowed down.

LOTD! Mina Caputo's Love Hard

LOVE HARD

Mina Caputo

Today's LOTD! is Mina Caputo's (Life of Agony) latest album Love Hard. It's a really poignant and personal album. If you're a fan David Bowie and John Lennon you'll love it as much as I do. It was recently uploaded to her youtube channel and it's definitely an album I recommend you guys and gals picking up. Mina is currently touring Europe with Life of Agony which will be releasing a much anticipated album next year.

LOTD! - KHEMMIS ' HUNTED

 

HUNTED

KHEMMIS

Powerful album to close out the week. Clean vocals, incredible production and metal to pump your fist to.

LOTD! Energy's Apparition Sound

Apparition Sound

Energy

Energy have been delivering the punk rock goods over the years. Jason and company put together a sweet package of songs they recorded at Apparition Sound Studions in Thompson Ct. from 2012-15. They appropriately titled this collection Apparition Sound. This is a great place to start if you haven't heard them yet. At $7 digital download, $10 hard copy, this is a steal. This came out on the first of the year and I figure since the weather is warming up, I'd roll down the windows and rock out to this collection. 

p.s. don't forget to check out their cover of the Ramone's classic "Pet Semaary"

LOTD! SOTO's Weight of the World

Jeff Scott Soto has been around a long time and has fronted for some diverse bands. From Yngwie Malmsteen to Kryst the Conqueror(Post Misfits with Jerry Only & Doyle), Jeff seems to slay in every band. Now he's back with a recently released album, Divak. "Weight of the World" strikes me as a very good modern day heavy rock/metal track. The guy makes it look easy. Check it out and you may just wanna dig into some of his earlier solo efforts and extensive work with Talisman.

LOTD! SCOUR - Phil Anselmo returns with a Black Metal Supergroup of Underground players

Today's the 13th, Friday the fucking 13th and the perfect time to showcase the talents of the recently formed SCOUR. Judging from this track, their upcoming EP will make them heavy weight contenders for best new Black Metal EP of the year. Check it out for yourself. I can't stop listening to it.

LOTD! Mina Caputo "Life Line of a Stranger"

Mina Caputo has been a favorite of mine for years. She is the frontwoman of Life of Agony and has had cult success on her own. Check out her latest single now.

LOTD! SWAMPS - Mentally Imprisoned!!!!

What a great suprise as I opened my email after lunch and received a link to the brand new SWAMPS album MENTALLY IMPRISONED. You must check out this cd, SWAMPS are an amazing band that delivers on so many levels. They are exactly what I love about hardcore and they may have just topped their last album. That's a real chore in itself. Do it now. Listen to it.

LOTD! Saudade - Saudade

Epic sounding introduction to a band made up of members of Bad Brains, Deftones, Cro-Mags, Medeski(Medeski, Martin & Wood) & Crosses. Supergroup me bro, all day and all night, if it's gonna sound this epic. It's instrumental and I like it.

LOTD! Fear Factory's Expiration Date

Expiration Date (off the Genexus album)

Fear Factory

(Watch the Video here Now)

Fear Factory's latest album Genexus is definitely one I'd pick if you haven't yet. I enjoyed it from the very first listen. Seeing their new video for Expiration Date reminds me that I need to check back in with this album which has been rotated out of my regular listening schedule due to so many recent releases. This is probably the most melodic track on the album. It does have a retro feel and lends homage to the cult sci movie Blade Runner. They are currently on tour and doing a bang up job. Check out the video and buy the album. That's all I have to say.

LOTD! Iggy Pop - Break Into Your Heart

Hey we're back for a quickie. No time to lose the socks. Iggy Pop is making some news, he collaborated with Josh Homme (KYUSS/QOTSA) for his new Post Pop Depression album. After hearing two of the leaked tracks, I find it ironic that this new album's sound borrows strongly from the recently passed David Bowie's Berlin era. I've never been a Iggy Pop fanatic. I appreciate what he's done for music and how unique he is. Not unlike Bowie, his music has continued to be relevant for decades. He's not only a musician but also an actor. He's an enigma very much like Bowie as well. SO I really do dig this new offering by Iggy. Unintentionally, it pulls on the heart strings a bit more now that the spaceman has departed.

Click here to check "Break Into Your Heart" by Iggy Pop

LOTD! Motorhead "Thunder & Lightning"

Thunder & Lightning

Motorhead

Click here to Listen

Today's LOTD! comes via heaven or hell, wherever the spirits came from to help Lemmy and Company come up with this fine fairwell. More than fine. This album made me a believer. As hard as I tried to once again dismiss Motorhead as a one note heavy metal band, this album takes the band into numerous landscapes and territories. From fast as lightning to reflective, Motorhead left the fans, new and old, something they could bite their teeth into. Perhaps even leaving us wanting a whole lot more of the same. We shouldn't have expected anything less from Lemmy, a guy who's life embodied Heavy Metal and Rock and Roll. Thunder & Lightning is a autobiographical tale of what it takes to be Motorhead and what it takes away from you, being Motorhead. It's the yin & yang. Lemmy was a father who barely saw his son. His home away from the road was a dive bar where he drank and played gambling video games. His drink of choice, Jack & Coke is now being called the Lemmy. When Lemmy passed in December, Motorhead called it a day. Lemmy was Motorhead. He lived to play and played to live. When the day came and he could play no more, he settled up to the bar one more time and played his last hand. The landscape of Metal and Rock & Roll will be forever changed by Motorhead. Fortunately we have an incredible swan song to lean on. Especially for me who just really got into the band on this album. So enjoy Thunder & Lightning and listen to it's story.

"All of your dreams can really come true
All of your nightmares are waiting there, too"

BLEACH by Nirvana

Click here to listen

   Sitting in the office and just listening to some of the last interviews and film footage of Kurt Cobain today. I have a weird relationship with Nirvana's music. When Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit video first dropped, I digged it for breaking alot of barriers as far as the visual feel of it. The music was so harsh and dangerous at that time that I really respected it. It reminded me of the same feeling I had about Gun's and Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" video. Sadly, I didn't explore Nirvana any further than that. Sure the crazy interviews they did with Kurt Loder on MTV were much talked about ballyhoo. You could hardly ignore the band or the stories surrounding Kurt specifically. I didn't really take any of it too seriously. Not until that fateful day sitting in my car waiting to pick my mom up from her job at a factory and the news broke over the radio that Kurt was found dead of an apparent suicide. My heart crumbled a bit. It was like mourning a friend you hadn't seen in many years but knew that they were having a hard time of it. I literally had no real connection to the icon status of Kurt up to that point but I felt the world shift. Like suddenly the ocean had tilted just a bit too far to the left to correct itself. That weekend after the announcement of his death, the unplugged show featuring Nirvana played constantly on MTV. I was fixated by every expression and movement the band made during that show. I probably watched it several times that day. It seemed like I never stopped digging further into who Cobain was as an artist and a man.

BLEACH ERA - Channing, Novoselic, Cobain

   For many years now I've immersed myself in all things Nirvana. My sister picked me up a great book I cherish based on interviews with Cobain, his family members, friends and fans. The book includes reproductions of fliers, artwork Cobain created and the various oddities he collected throughout his life. I've drawn portraits of Kurt and his eyes continue to reach out from the pages all these years. As I've dealt with my own bouts of depression over the years I've come to identify a sort of kindred spirit in the real person behind the myth that is Cobain. As crazy as it sounds, he's almost claimed godfather status with me. Not someone I would necessarily pattern my behaviors after or even want to be like but someone I can learn from. So today, I go back to my favorite NIRVANA album, BLEACH. I recall picking this up at a used record store. It was calling to me from the shelf and I loved it so much for not being the overproduced and much admired classic "Nevermind". The raw heart and soul of Nirvana lies within the skin of Bleach. It's the music that they created during their most primal and desperate moments. Before the glitz and glamor. Before Dave, Courtney, magazines and tv cameras. Just listen to it again and again.

LOTD! Anthrax Evil Twin single

Today's LOTD! is the latest from Anthrax. It's early release single that I assume will be on their upcoming album in 2016. This fits with the style of their last album which was originally written with Dan Nelson in mind for the vocalist. We all know how that went when the band kicked him out and reinstated Joey Belladonna. I'm expecting an album that's a bit slower to match up with Belladonna's delivery. Give it a listen.

Also check out the new cover art for their upcoming cd. Alex Ross once again is the artist. 

LOTD! Sinister cover everybody!!!!

SINISTER - Dark Memorials

I've been listening to a non stop rotation of old school Sinister and this popped up on my radar. Sinister came out with a covers album and it's sick!!!! 

LOTD! The Adicts' Joker in the Pack

LOTD! Black Dahlia Murder

It's the first day of October, why not listen to some fast as hell, blast beating metal from Black Dahlia Murder. It seems while many bands that were around a few years ago have slowed down or switched up their content, BDM keep pushing the envelope. Nice to hear that these guys still have balls.

LOTD! Michale Graves' Supernatural

Today's LOTD! is an album that might've slipped past a few people's ears. Graves has been busy with various projects, tours, bands and albums since his departure from the Misfits. This album is a nice combination of all the styles Graves has worked in during his solo career. It's also a perfect fit for the Fall. Just check out Zombie or Last Man On Earth. Damnit just listen to this entire album. Also check him out when he's on tour. I missed him this past summer on his tour stops in New England but got great reviews from those who attended.

www.michalegraves.net