Dream Theater – The Astonishing

While  The Astonishing , one of the most anticipated albums of the year, is certainly a departure from everything  Dream Theater has been giving us in the past few years, it’s also a return to several key sounds from the beginning and middle period of their career.

Even that departure requires an understanding of the bigger picture of their trajectory; to depart from something, you need to understand something. And so, the first thing that is immediately apparent when the first real track (that is, not the intro) of  The Astonishing begins to play is: this is a rock opera.

When the second track begins to play, something else becomes immediately apparent: the main touchstone for this album within the extensive Dream Theater discography is  Six Degrees of Inner  Turbulence . That spring in the step, that hopeful and cheery outlook, screams of that intricate album, the closest the band have come to a rock opera in the past. Yes, OK, but is it  a good album ? That’s what we’re all here to find out. In two words: yes and no. Read more »

Fleshgod Apocalypse – King

Italian symphonic death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse have gone through phases that encapsulate the entire careers of normal successful artists in less than a handful of releases. Their debut Oracles was raw and promising and the follow-up,  Agony, was a masterpiece that propelled them to the top of their game. However,  Labyrinth  didn’t take their music to the next level and some listeners were fatigued with their antics at that point, and their fourth album, King , is now anticipated but also slightly dreaded.

This is readily understandable, as it is expected to be the album that either breaks the fatigue or leans further into it. What can be heard from the band on King is very characteristically Fleshgod, but also very different from how we’re used to hearing them. Right off the bat, it’s pretty clear that, for better or for worse, King is a bit of a divergence from Fleshgod’s previous work. Not in terms of the band’s general sound but in how they approach that framework. Read more »

Catch Trees On Mars and Se’nam Palmer On The Wintour 2016 Or Your Life Is Forfeit

If you’re looking to get a good dose of prog and shred in your diet so early in the year, look no further than The Wintour 2016 , featuring prog’n’roll act Trees on Mars and the progressive jazz stylings of Se’nam Palmer ! “We’re very excited to get back on the road again and play a few places we’ve never been before!

We feel that our brand of prog & roll and Se’nam’s ethereal loops are a perfect match, so you won’t want to miss out,” said Hayden Graham of Trees On Mars. “This is my first tour ever,” Palmer said of the upcoming outing. “I would have never imagined that I would reach a point in my life where I’m ready to hit the road and share my music with you guys.

Come to the show, enjoy the music, give me a high five—do whatever you feel to enjoy Trees on Mars and me. I absolutely cannot wait to to see all of you amazing people. ?” Check the tour dates below to see if this tour is coming near you. Mark your calendars!

2/19 Raleigh, NC @ TBA 2/20 Charleston, SC @ The Vinyl Countown
2/21 Savannah, GA @ The Furnace 2/22 Orlando, FL @ Backbooth
2/23 Gainesville, Fl @ Loosey’s Downtown
2/24 Mobile, Al @ The Alchemy Tavern
2/25 Shreveport, LA @ H&H Lounge
2/26 Houston, TX @ Super Happy Fun Land
2/27 Austin, TX @ Dozen Street
2/28 Houston, TX @ Texas Rose Saloon
3/1 Houma, LA @ The Boxer and the Barrel
3/2 Hattiesburg, MS @ The Tavern
3/3 Birmingham, AL @ The Nick
3/4 Nashville,TN @ Spring Water Supper Club

Check out their music below! More importantly, if you’re near any of those stops, make sure to catch this tour! You won’t be disappointed. ?

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Catch Trees On Mars and Se’nam Palmer On The Wintour 2016 Or Your Life Is Forfeit

Intronaut Announce North American Headlining Tour With The Ocean As Support

A day for tours? A day for tours. In our second announcement for drool-worthy tours, we are proud to bring you another bomb with Intronaut taking North America by storm with Germany’s The Ocean as support. A long and progressive tale ties the two bands, as they have collective ly played nearly 100 shows together . This tour should push them over that landmark when the bands make their way across North America hitting major cities in the US and Canada.

Tour dates below!

03/15 Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy
03/16 San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
03/17 Mesa, AZ – Nile Underground
03/18 Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
03/19 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre
03/20 Lawrence, KS – Aftershock
03/21 Ft Worth, TX – Tomcats
03/22 Austin, TX – Dirty Dog
03/23 Houston, TX – Walters
03/24 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
03/25 Tampa, FL – Orpheum
03/26 Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall
03/27 Charlotte, NC – Rabbit Hole
03/28 Washington DC – Rock And Roll Hotel
03/29 New York, NY – Marlin Room at Webster Hall
03/30 Boston, MA – Middle East 03/31 Montreal, QC – Bar Le Ritz

04/01 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
04/02 Detroit, MI – Loving Touch
04/03 Chicago, IL – Reggies Rock Club
04/04 Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theatre
04/05 Winnipeg, MB – Goodwill
04/06 Regina, SK – Exchange
04/07 Edmonton, AB – Skylite
04/08 Calgary, AB – Dickens
04/09 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
04/11 Seattle, WA – Crocodile
04/12 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
04/13 San Francisco, CA – Bottom Of The Hill The Ocean will be playing songs from Pelagial , Transcendental , and Precambrian , while Intronaut will be playing The Direction of Last Things in its entirety, as well as some other tasty goodies. Don’t miss this tour. Do not.

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Intronaut Announce North American Headlining Tour With The Ocean As Support

Between The Buried And Me Announce Co-Headlining Tour With August Burns Red; Good Tiger And The Faceless Supporting

Between the Buried and Me is proud to announce a co-headlining tour with friends August Burns Red ! After extensively touring for Coma Ecliptic [ review ] in 2015, the ride isn’t slowing down in 2016 as the North Carolina band will embark on a fourth North American leg in support of their most recent release. As support, we have the tumultuous The Faceless —who recently solidified a lineup Brandon Giffin on bass, Derek “Demon Carcass” Rydquist on vocals, and Justin McKinney on guitar to support Michael Keene—and the very strong-out-of-the-gate favorites Good Tiger !

If you’re not familiar with Good Tiger, make sure to check out our review of their debut, A Head Full of Moonlight , because it’s excellent and you should really be jamming it. Tour dates below!

Between The Buried And Me | August Burns Red co-headline tour dates w/ The Faceless & Good Tiger

Mar. 4 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
Mar. 5 – Richmond, VA @ The National
Mar. 7 – Ft Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
Mar. 8 – Tampa, FL @ Jannus Landing
Mar. 9 – Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
Mar. 10 – Mobile, AL @ Soul Kitchen
Mar. 11 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Theater
Mar. 12 – St Louis, MO @ Pageant
Mar. 14 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
Mar. 15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Complex
Mar. 16 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
Mar. 17 – Tucson, AZ @ Rialto
Mar. 18 – San Diego, CA @ House Of Blues
Mar. 19 – San Bernardino, CA @ Self Help Festival | NOS Event Center
Mar. 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency
Mar. 22 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Mar. 23 – Portland, OR @ Roseland
Mar. 24 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
Mar. 25 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory
Mar. 26 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue
Mar. 28 – Edmonton, AB @ Union Hall
Mar. 29 – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall
Mar. 30 – Saskatoon, SK @ O’Brians Event Centre

Apr. 1 – Winnipeg, MB @ Garrick
Apr. 2 – Minneapolis, MN @ Skyway Theatre
Apr. 3 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s
Apr. 5 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
Apr. 6 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
Apr. 7 – Peoria, IL @ Limelight Eventplex
Apr. 8 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Apr. 9 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
Apr. 10 – Guelph, ON @ Guelph Concert Theatre
Apr. 12 – Quebec City, QC @ Imperial
Apr. 13 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre
Apr. 14 – Providence, RI @ Lupos
Apr. 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Fillmore
Apr. 16 – Albany, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
Apr. 17 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall

May 6 – Concord, NC @ Carolina Rebellion
May 22 – Columbus, OH @ Rock on the Range

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Between The Buried And Me Announce Co-Headlining Tour With August Burns Red; Good Tiger And The Faceless Supporting

A Gift to Artwork: Megadeth

Last month we dove deep to explore the importance of cover artwork, namely through our analysis of two excellent pieces of artwork adorning the latest Caligula’s Horse records. This time we take a closer look at the covers of thrash titans Megadeth , starting with 1986’s iconic Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying?

Given its political nature, context is crucial to understanding the artwork and it was created during the latter stages of the Cold War, amidst escalated tensions between the world’s two foremost superpowers of the time, the USA and the Soviet Union/USSR. The world in this period of history was, at times, on the brink of a nuclear third world war, and it was only knowledge that such a cataclysmic event would bring about the Mutually Assured Destruction of both sides which prevented such horrors from occurring. Unfortunately, in the world of Megadeth, that appears to be exactly what has eventuated. Read more »

Protest The Hero want to cut out labels for good using Bandcamp’s new subscription service. But is it enough?

Protest The Hero

Since the closing of the Scurrilous tour cycle, it seems that Protest the Hero have reached an important decision: they are through with the middleman – by middleman, I of course mean the record label — and, after finding themselves in financial trouble after producing three top-tier albums, you can hardly blame them.

It was for this reason, then, that the band made the executive decision to forego the middleman almost entirely for their fourth album. To mixed reactions, the band announced the fourth album would be crowdfunded. Of course, as we now know, this decision was an extremely smart one. Volition , which was funded through an IndieGogo campaign that accumulated approximately $350,000, proved that the DIY method can be wildly successful.

Fast forward two years. Fans are itchin’ for some new tunes. Would it be entirely cliche to go the IndieGogo route once more? Maybe. Would it be as successful? That’s difficult to gauge. One thing is certain, however — Protest are much better off making music on their own terms. Read more »