Exploding in Free Music

My good friends at Exploding in Sound have released their new compilation Future Legendary and it is available for free! The compilation features songs from 19 up-and-coming bands including a great track from Boston's Junius. Speaking of Junius, their new album The Martyrdom of a Catastrophe which features such incredible songs as "Shoegazers & Gravediggers" has also generously been made available for the price of nothing! Who said people aren't generous these days?

A message from the band...

New Track Rundown

It's been awhile but it's time for another installment of the new track rundown. There's a lot of good stuff floating around the ol' 'net and this is the best of it. This time around I'm including a bunch of music videos because there are a lot of memorable ones such as the overtly psychedelic video for "Tooth Decay". The above image is the cover of the upcoming album by Converge entitled Axe to Fall which is due out on October 20, 2009.

Local Spotlight: Roman Traffic at the Middle East

On August 28, 2009, I had the pleasure of catching Roman Traffic (formally Gravehaven) at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA. I had known the guys in the band for awhile and while it is strange to think of them as anything but Gravehaven, the music is quality nonetheless. I first met the group when I did a review of their debut EP Perceptions for the Colorblind for Decoymusic which you can read here. After that I was fortunately enough to produce a track with them called "Breach" as a recording project for a class I took at Northeastern University. The guys were super nice as well as easy to work with and I am proud to say that the track came out great. As a little shameless promotion, I am including a link to it below. Be gentle, it was my first attempt at producing.

Local Spotlight: We Met Aliens at the Middle East

On August 25, 2009, I visited the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA to check out a showcase of local metal bands. It's been awhile since I've been to a metal show and it is always nice to check out what is going on at the local level. Unfortunately, I missed the first band The Arkham White but from what I've heard on their myspace, they seem like a solid mix of death metal and thrash. The first band that I was actually able to see was The Bathory Silence. The band played a very technical leaning combination of death metal and hardcore that contained some excellent breakdowns and guitar soloing. The drums were solid and kept the songs chugging at breakneck speed. The only complaint I had was that the songs sounded like more of a jumble of parts than cohesive structures. In this way, they reminded me a lot of Glass Casket.

The Suicide File Reunion Show at ICC

It's time to play catch-up on some shows I missed covering from August. The first and most significant would be The Suicide File reunion show with Bane that I was able to catch on August 13, 2009 at the ICC in Allston. I have been a fan of The Suicide File since their 2003 debut album Twilight and I never thought I would get a chance to see them live. I was stunned that they were playing a show and with Bane no less so I jumped at the opportunity to see these two classic hardcore bands on the same bill. The show was put together at the last second but they did a great job getting the word out because the place was absolutely packed. I guess in the rare instance that a great hardcore show does occur in Boston the entire community comes out to witness it.

Massive New Track Rundown

Here are the best new tracks currently floating around the internet. The above image is the cover of the upcoming album by Baroness called Blue Record which is due out on October 13, 2009.

All Points West Day 2: 8/1/09

The excitement leading up to All Points West has been building up for months before the concert. I purchased my ticket for Day 2 of the festival as soon as they went on sale. The opportunity to see Tool and My Bloody Valentine headline a fest was just too good to pass on. So of course when it came to the day of the show, there had to be multiple obstacles in my way. The first problem came when I went to print my ticket and it happened to be on the day that my printer decided to break. This meant that I had to drive somewhere to get it printed before the show resulting in my leaving of Boston almost 2 hours later than I wanted. The second big problem was that traffic on I95 was absolutely horrible around the New Haven, CT area where my roommate and I waited in bumper-to-bumper traffic for over an hour.

New Track Rundown

There are so many new tracks being posted everyday on the internet that it's damn near impossible to keep up. For this reason, I am going to compile all of the ones I have been enjoying over the last week here for your listening pleasure in a segment that I will hopefully continue on a weekly basis. For those interested, the above image is the cover of the upcoming double album by The Flaming Lips called Embryonic which is due out on September 29, 2009.

Local Spotlight On: Hazard Adams

Some days there is nothing better than some relaxing roots rock and that is exactly what I got when I saw Hazard Adams on July 26, 2009 at Church in Boston, MA. The band fronted by talented axeman Jesse Friedberg played an enjoyable set of alternative country tunes that would please fans of Wilco or Ryan Adams. Songs such as "I Don't Wanna Be Friends" and "Time to Be Wrong" had a nice balance between twang and bluesy jangle. Guitarist Chris Perry kept thing interesting by integrating some electric mandolin effectively into some of the songs. The rhythm section of Chris Franzen's shuffling drums and Pete D.W's robust bass created nice foundation for the songs to rest on and kept things moving at a moderate pace. The group held the attention of the modest crowd and by the end of the show everyone was bobbing their heads and enthusiastically applauding. Hear for yourself at the band's MySpace.

I’ve Got a Love for Harvey Milk

I'm not talking about openly gay politician who was unjustly assassinated by Dan White although I have much respect for the man. In this instance, I'm referring to stoner metal mainstays Harvey Milk who seized the opportunity to destroy my eardrums on July 25, 2009 at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA. The band is touring on their album Life… The Best Game in Town, which was one of the best albums of albums of 2008 and I'm not the only one who thinks so. They have been active since the early 90s and have helped shape the current state of stoner metal yet they still remain relatively unknown and underappreciated except by their most passionate fans.