As band founder, guitarist, and vocalist Gabe Tachell puts it:

This is our very serious and professional video for our very serious viking metal song. Enjoy!

Order Rhine’s An Outsider here.

Rock Hard \m/

Pre-order The Art of Loss here.

Brian Cox directed “The Art of Loss” video, which can be viewed above, and has said:

It’s very easy to dwell on the past. To stew in pain, wishing you could get someone or something back that you may have lost. But in the end, you will always have yourself, no matter how much things might change. Nobody can ever take that from you and that’s the message I tried to convey with this video.

Rock Hard \m/

Melody and brutality mesh well throughout the entire album. It is rare to find a band blistering through technical progressions yet maintaining a melodic richness through all the chaos. The songs are rather complex, feeling like they combined eight minutes of movement into three- to four-minute spurts of harnessed energy. The strength of the screams from Justin Matthews provide enough energy for the rest of the band to rally behind. Not that they need to be rallying, however, because they could easily march to the tune of their own talent. From the frantic pacing to the harmonious guitar doodling, every piece of the rather jagged puzzle fits. Toothgrinder have a way of masking how technically abrasive their music is by focusing on keeping everything tightly wound. Their use of djent styled riffs shines on certain tracks, most notably “Blue” and “Schizophrenic Jubilee.” The choppy riffs wind together with a controlled drum tempo to keep the groove moving.

Upon making every listener brace for impact with their rather direct take on being heavy, their are some prettier moments fluttering on the record. Often clean vocals reminiscent of Killswitch Engage-styled operatic belts shine through the compositions backed by twisting guitar riffs, such as “Lace & Anchor;” which is just one battering of syncopated assault after another. “I Lie In Rain” starts off as a moody alt-acoustic track before unleashing a few heavier guitars in the chorus and one breakdown at the end. “Dance of Damsels” has a creeping guitar riff that backs an aware Matthews, crying out, “I’ve been dying to make this sound so every moment silent can be honest and proud.” If that was the goal of Toothgrinder on this record, they sure have made a lasting impression.

With the impending release of Infernal Machine this spring, the band has released “The Forever War,” which you can hear and watch in the player above. About the track, the band states:

This is a very sad song about leaving everyone you know and love behind to face something new, when everything is different but nothing really changes. It’s about the war inside each of us and the war we wage on each other while striving to create the life we want for ourselves

New Keepers of the Water Towers’ fourth album, Infernal Machine, is a concept album based on the classic sci-fi novel, The Forever War.

Infernal Machine Track Listing:

1. The Forever War
2. Tracks Over Carcosa
3. Tachyon Deep
4. Misantropin Kallar
5. Escape Aleph Minor
6. Jorden
7. This Infernal Machine

New Keepers of the Water Towers’ Infernal Machine will be available in North America on April 1, 2016, with pre-orders available here.

Rock Hard \m/

Los Angeles rockers Vampires Everywhere have just announced that they will be joining Filter, Orgy, and Death Valley High on an upcoming North American tour. The Make America Hate Again tour kicks off in San Francisco, California, on April 13th and will span across the U.S., with two Canadian dates, and circle back to the West Coast, wrapping up on May 12 in Los Angeles, California. A full list of dates can be seen below.

Vocalist Michael Orlando said:

Excited to be apart of Filter’s continued saga!! They have written some of my favorite jams over the years and [I’m] excited to see what they have cooked up for this tour. We have also been on the road with Orgy, and was some of my favorite times.. This tour is probably going to be nuts, and I’m stoked to be a part of it!

Vampires Everywhere will be out in support of their forthcoming album, Ritual, due out on March 18, 2016. Serving as the follow up to 2012’s Hellbound and Heartless, it was produced by Matt Good (From First To Last, DRUGS) and mixed by David Bendeth (Bring Me The Horizon, Paramore).

Make America Hate Again Tour Dates:

w/ Filter, Orgy, Death Valley High
4/13 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
4/15- Portland, OR – Dante’s
4/16 – Vancouver, AB – Venue
4/17 – Seattle, WA – Studio Seven
4/20 – Minneapolis, MN – Mill City Nights
4/21 – Arlington Heights, IL – Home Bar
4/22 – Cleveland, OH – Agora
4/23 – Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot
4/24 – Toronto, ON – Opera House
4/26 – Philadelphia, PA – The TLA
4/27 – Boston, MA – The Middle East
4/28 – Amityville, NY – Revolution Music Hall
4/29 – Virginia Beach, VA – Shaka’s (*)
5/1 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade Hall
5/3 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theater
5/4 – Washington, DC – Howard Theater
5/5 – Knoxville, TN – The International
5/7 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theater
5/8 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In
5/10 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
5/11 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theater
5/12 – Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey
5/13 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
5/14 – Omaha, NE – Bourbon Theatre
5/15 – Denver, CO – Herman’s Hideaway
5/17 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee
5/18 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl
5/19 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
5/20 – Pomona, CA – The Glasshouse
5/12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy

* indicates Filter, Vampires Everywhere, Death Valley High only

Rock Hard \m/

German heavy metal giants, Mob Rules, are preparing to release their eighth studio album, Tales From Beyond, on March 18, 2016, and from the sounds of it, this will be an incredible album. After spending 10 months in the studio, Mob Rules promises a “deeply melodic mix of progressive and power metal.” And when it comes to their lyrics, the band “continues to go their own unmistakable path, influenced by historic events and inspired by literature.”

Tales From Beyond comes to us courtesy of Steamhammer/SPV as Digipak (includes one bonus track + poster), double colored vinyl LP, and digital download. In addition, there will be an extra iTunes version including an additional exclusive bonus track called “Ghost Town,” which has also been newly recorded.

April 2016 will see Mob Rules join Axel Rudi Pell as special guests on his extensive tour, presenting the songs from Tales From Beyond live for the first time.

Tales From Beyond Track Listing:

1.Dykemaster’s Tale 8:50
2. Somerled 5:56
3. Signs 5:21
4. On The Edge 6:00
5. My Kingdom Come 5:11
6. The Healer 4:29
7. Dust Of Vengeance 4:54
8. A Tale From Beyond (Part 1: Through The Eye Of The Storm) 5:48
9. A Tale From Beyond (Part 2: A Mirror Inside) 4:55
10. A Tale From Beyond (Part 3: Science Save Me!) 5:08
11. Bonus track DigiPak: Outer Space 3:29

Mob Rules Live 2016:

Exclusive Release Show
19.03. D-Oldenburg – Cadillac

On tour with AXEL RUDI PELL
01.04.16 D-Hamburg – Grosse Freiheit 36
02.04.16 D-Karlsruhe – Substage
03.04.16 D-Nürnberg – Hirsch
05.04.16 D-Munich – Backstage
06.04.16 D-Berlin – Huxleys
08.04.16 D-Osnabrück – Hyde Park
09.04.16 B-Vosselaar – Biebob
10.04.16 NL-Zwolle – Hedon
12.04.16 D-Cologne – Live Music Hall
13.04.16 D-Aschaffenburg – Colos-Saal
15.04.16 D-Erfurt – Stadtgarten
16.04.16 CH-Pratteln – Z7
17.04.16 CH-Pratteln – Z7

Rock Hard \m/

Seattle’s progressive death metal outfit, Rhine, has premiered their first single, “Paralyzed,” off their upcoming album, An Outsider, which is scheduled for release on February 5, 2016.

Commented vocalist/guitarist Gabe Tachell about the song:

The single ‘Paralyze’ by Rhine is all about tension and release. The theme is about personal experiences with sleep paralysis. This song gives people a well-rounded Rhine experience, showing both the dissonant and heavy as well as the light and pretty side of the music. It’s a very dynamic song that features a completely improvised solo plus a clean section that turns from sweet sounding finger picking into rock ‘n’ roll then back into an epic metal ending with a monotonous slow outro that represents the idea of being stuck in paralysis.

The man doesn’t lie. This is an absolute beaut of a song! So head over to puregrainaudio.com and enjoy the purity of this masterfully crafted song.

An Outsider is the follow up to Rhine’s 2011 debut, Duality, which was first a solo effort by band founder Gabriel Tachell (guitar and vocals) whom is now joined by Alex Smolin on guitar (ex-Metameric), James Porter on bass (Ideofone), and Carlos Delgado (Inferion, ex-Death Crowned King) to collaborate on this project.

Pre-order An Outsider here.

Rock Hard \m/

Deals with the painful acknowledgment that you have reached the end of a circle on your life path. And in order to move on, you have no other choice than to dive deep into yourself, accepting your pain to be cleansed and reborn. All is left to see. There’s a storm coming and Hell follows in its wake; my vessel capsized; waves come rolling and all is set loose. Beneath a raging light, into the darkness from whence I came…

Catch the performance video in the player above. The video was captured while the band performed at Discouraged Festival in Umeå, Sweden in 2014.

“Seventh Circle” can be found on the freshly released All Is Left To See. Order the album here.

Rock Hard \m/

Dissona explains the track, “Odium”:

‘Odium’ is a metaphorical character profile of a being with little to no regard for the preservation of life. From a musical standpoint, the song develops and builds through several rhythmic and melodic changes until reaching an immense climax. All the while, maintaining a dark, exotic atmosphere.

Paleopneumatic can be pre-ordered via Dissona’s Bandcamp page.

Paleopneumatic Track Listing:

1. Another Sky
2. Fire-Bellied
3. Outside the Skin
4. Breach
5. Totality
6. Odium
7. Anastomosis
8. Lysis
9. The Last Resistance
10. Sunderance

Dissona Is:

David Dubenic – Vocals
Matt Motto – Guitars
Craig Hamburger – Bass
Drew Goddard – Drums/Percussion

Rock Hard \m/

The top of the track is a bit strange, almost invoking some sort of avant-garde jazz-infused metalcore (a genre which this is not). But just a few short moments later it turns into a cathartic purging so visceral you’ll want to scream along with guest vocalist Patrick Auclair (ex Taken By The Sun).

Today, Chicago-based metal act, Scientist, have revealed the latest track from their forthcoming album, 10100II00101. Head on over to Cvlt Nation to stream the new song, “Physician Heal Thyself.”

10100II00101 will be released on CD and digitally via the band’s official BandCamp page on December 11, 2015, and on double LP via Hell Comes Home Records at a later date.

About the album, Scientist’s founding guitarist/vocalist Eric Plonka (ex Yakuza) says:

Stavros recorded his vocals at home and turned them in on the deadline date. True to form, we didn’t hear his parts until the CD was finished! It’s one of our more cryptic undertakings with fuzz jutted guitars, crunchy bass and interestingly strange drum patterns. It’s built around the concept of this: before attempting to correct others, make sure that you aren’t guilty of the same faults.

10100II00101 is Scientist’s 11 track follow-up to their lauded self-titled debut. Tracked at Minbal Studio, engineered by Sanford Parker (Minsk, Corrections House, Buried At Sea) and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod, etc.) at The Boiler Room, the eclectic production boasts a variety of guest vocal appearances Andre Almarez of Pale Horseman, Anthony Cwan of Without Waves, and James Clayton Bowman, as well as a lap slide guitar cameo from Jeff Lyman of Dance Bullies.

As a precursor to its official unveiling, the band will play a special record release show on their home turf alongside Yakuza, Sanford Parker’s Two From the Eye and Mars Williams’ (The Psychedelic Furs) XmarsX this Saturday at The Empty Bottle in Chicago with additional live exhibitions in their plotting stages.

Rock Hard \m/