What can I write to paint an accurate picture of the band Black Ridge? Can I tell you what they sound like? What style of music they play? What their performance can be compared to? No. I really can’t. They sound like Black Ridge. They play their own style of music. Their performance is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. What I can tell you, is that no matter who you are or what you’re...
RFL Records and SamBones Promos present the newest record from long-time melodic rockers Playhouse and it is a gem! Darker and more “Americana” than some of their previous work, the aptly titled Dancing at Funerals is a fun, celebratory romp set against the backdrop of the dying American Dream, outfitted with what should always come first in music-creation; songwriting. Opening track, “Requiem” sets the stage with melancholy piano that sinks you right into the beer...
I’d heard OF Traverse the Abyss before but I’d never HEARD them, so when the powers that be over at FAM told me to check ‘em out I was delighted to oblige. Based out of Scranton, PA (home of The Office, I bet no one’s ever mentioned that before) they started in the scene in 2016. I aimlessly scrolled through all their Facebook photos, and they seem like a lot of fun (it’s not weird, this...
Pittsburgh favorite Prime 8 just dropped their new album, Gods of the Anthropiods, on all streaming services. Of course I had to give it a little lookie-loo, and I’m here to share my findings with the class. This album starts off with a really cool synth track called “Misdirection” that’s both dancey and dark. The metal vocal samples were the perfect match to the electronic groove, and it was a great intro for what’s to...
The work on the official soundtrack to the upcoming film Overnight produced by Solunar Records has been very fruitful indeed. On May 31st, the fourth single dropped, this time it is a solo effort from Caleb Straus’s new musical project The Death of Zenith. It is a cover of the song “Sun and Moon” originally performed by a band called Above and Beyond. Where the original song was peppy and dance-centric, this version is more...
Blood of the Beloved has released its latest brain-shocking, grunge track featuring The Death of Zenith on April 29. “Haunted” is another addition to the various genres that the group has explored through its singles and band features in other works. A dark, soul-searching vibrato is accompanied by weighty instrumentals and horror-esque synths in this five-minute song. It gives listeners a fresh look at how Blood of the Beloved can conquer any style of the...
When it was announced that Sam Astaroth would be collaborating with Kristof Bathory, who is the front man of Dawn of Ashes, I knew it would be a match made in Hell. After listening to their latest track “Dualism“, I ended up being right on the nose. Sam Astaroth has that vocal style can match with nearly any genre, but he feels right at home in the aggrotech universe that Kristof has to offer. In...
Lo isn’t sure he wants fame. He’s put off by the idea of everyone knowing who he is, and he’s not shy about admitting that. That being said, he’s still keen on finding a way to share his gift of gab with the world. After a brief hiatus and reassessment, Lo is back with new single “Skatin'”, a remix/reboot of the song “Ain’t I” by Yung LA. Lo follows a long-standing hip hop tradition by...
Pressure, the Swedish Melodic-Rock band from SamBone Promotions / Xing Records return with a new conceptual double-single, “Just Undress” and “Barb Wire Love”, the story of the “perfect couple” who secretly have lost all their magic and are both secretly pining for the girl in the apartment across the street from them. The sounds of these two songs are in line with what you’ve come to expect from the band if you’ve heard them before,...
Released in early February, Winter’s Descent comes out swinging again with an even heavier hitting single, “Black Magic Symphony” that showcases so many strands of growth from these Pittsburgh native headbangers. The track starts off with a killer bass and cymbal groove that washes into the main riff, and you’re instantly on the ride of a life time. Crunchy guitar, hard hitting drums riddle the verses with drive and intent, and if that wasn’t enough,...
