Andrew Laumann
David Jacober
Zachary Utz
John Jones

review by Jacob Ray
@JRAY5280

Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, Dope Body is a noise rock band who are about to release their second full length album, Natural History on Drag City Records on May 22nd. Starting out as a band that was never supposed to play more than one show (fun fact, the album is named after the place where that one show happened, The Museum of Natural History), Dope Body have gained quite a following in their local Baltimore rock scene. Following a spot at this year’s annual South By Southwest festival in Austin, the highly anticipated release of Natural History is hopefully going to guarantee that these four dudes from Baltimore make an impact on the national rock scene this year.

Available May 22, 2012

Track Listing:

Shook
Road Dog
Beat
Twice The Life
Powder
Out Of My Mind
High Way
Weird Mirror
Lazy Slave
Alpha Punk (Bonus)

I’m going to start off by saying that I have never heard anything like Dope Body’s sophomore full length Natural History. “Noise rock” describes it perfectly. From the moment I pushed play until the end, there were many times where I had no idea what the fuck I was hearing. There were points where I wondered if they just played random notes with no writing or practicing in advance and then recorded it. In some cases this effect worked and I really enjoyed it, other times not so much.
The first song was not a song that I enjoyed at all. I feel like maybe I could have appreciated “Shook” more if I was on acid or something. It had a lot of screechy and annoying guitar parts and was too sludgy for my liking.

On the other hand, “Road Dog” kicks ass. It has this old school punk feel (Modern Lovers and the Stooges specifically) that I really dig and the screechy guitars actually work in this song. It’s a little more upbeat and just straight up rocks, in the most basic sense of the word. It gave me a lot of hope that the first song was going to be the only one that I disliked and that the rest of the album was going to be as good as “Road Dog.”

The next song smashed those hopes into a million pieces. “Beat” uses the same really heavy, repetitive riff over and over again and I could not wait for the song to be over. It’s just a little bit obnoxious. It is becoming to clear to me that I will either really love or really hate every song on Natural History. I really like upbeat rock Dope Body, but not sludgy repetitive Dope Body.
Proving my last point even more is how great the song “Twice the Life” is. First of all, I love the lyrics. The heavy parts in “Beat” that didn’t work, work really well in “Twice the Life”, because they don’t dominate the song. There is a good mix of guitar solos, cool riffs, and heavy parts in this song that keep Dope Body’s sound from getting stale.

I like a couple of other songs on the record as well, however, most of them have certain things about them that bug me, however, I still consider them listenable. “Powder” is just kind of there. I like the metal-ish guitar but the rest of it is kind of unremarkable in my mind. I like “Out Of My Mind”, except for the really annoying cricket sound that is constant throughout the song. Like I said, it’s something little that just bugs the shit out of me. The rest of the song is pretty cool. The screaming cricket is back on “High Way” which other than that, I like it. The vocals during the chorus remind me of radio metal like Godsmack or Drowning Pool, but in a good, less corny way. “Weird Mirror” is a another hard rock song that I really like, except for the obnoxious intro. “Lazy Slave” might be the worst song on the album. It’s really primal sounding, but so was the really shitty garage band that I played in when I was in 8th grade. The word “primal” doesn’t necessarily mean “good” and this song is proof of that. “Alpha Punk” is a 58 second punk song about elitists in the punk music scene. Just like “Road Dog” it has that old school punk sound, which I really dig and I wish that Dope Body did more songs like this on Natural History.

If nothing else, Dope Body does something different on Natural History, and I can respect that. Some of the different things that they tried worked really well, and others did not. Maybe I am just not artsy enough to appreciate entire songs of spastic chords and incoherent screaming. What I can appreciate are good, heavy rock songs, and there are plenty of those on Natural History, enough to make up for the songs that aren’t so good. I will probably listen to several of the songs off of this album pretty frequently for a long time. On the other hand, I hope that songs like “Shook” and “Lazy Slave” never violate my eardrums ever again. If you want to listen to something pretty off the wall, definitely go pick up Natural History, if it is anything, it is unique.

DOPE BODY TOUR DATES:
Saturday, May 19 – Baltimore, MD @ Coward Shoe (RECORD RELEASE PARTY!)
Thursday, June 14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Public Assembly (NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL)
Friday, June 15 – New York, NY @ Cake Shop
Friday, June 22 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Tuesday, Sept. 7 – Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Festival

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Drag City Records

Dmitry Kostitsyn – vocals
Lyris Hung – electric violin
Evil Jon – guitar
Sam Roon – bass
Kenny Grohowski – drums

review by Shannah Tighe 
@Shannuhxo

Hung isn’t the cookie cutter metal band that fans have recently grown accustomed to over the past few years. Their self-titled debut, out May 8th, 2012 courtesy of The End Records is a vicious and punishing sonic attack, anchored by an electric violin and 7-string guitar. Hung’s sound is laced with aggressive, groove-laden riffs that is setting the new standard for what metal should be.

Reinforced with brutal vocal melodies, incredulous bass work and intricate rhythm patterns, Hung is comprised of some of New York City’s most talented musicians that have subsequently become a staple in the underground music scene. The band features electric violinist Lyris Hung formerly of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Hung is gearing up for an east coast tour and is set to take on the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival as a main stage act this year.

When I first heard that the violinist of HUNG was an ex member of the Transiberian Orchestra, I immediately got super excited. After hearing the Transiberian Orchestra in the past, I kinda already figured that this was going to be a super talented band. It’s not everyday that there is a violinist in a death metal band. But that’s not all that made this band talented. If you’re into bands like Dimmu Borgir and With Faith and Flames, then you should definitely give HUNGs debut album a listen.

1. Eos
2. Desert Of Sad 
3. Progeny 
4. Maria 
5. Left For The New Life 
6. Evil Tsar 
7. Inertia 
8. Infernal Redeemer 
9. Matter Of The Blood 
10. Sediment Of War

Judging by the intro song, Eos, you wouldn’t think that this is a metal band/album. 2 minutes and 44 seconds of nothing but acoustic guitars with the swelling of violins. I don’t think I’ve listened to an album with an intro song this long that didn’t have vocals. Definitely not a bad choice on their part, it’s a gorgeous song and definitely drew me in and left me curious to listen to the rest of the album.

Judging by the name of the next song, you’d probably think that this is a slow ballad. But it is in fact the opposite. The death metal vocals of Dmitry Kostitsyn in Desert of Sad flow extremely well with the fast paced drumming, guitar solos and the hint of violin throughout.

Now their next song, Progeny is a bit lengthy. A whole epic 9 minutes and 19 seconds that starts out with a 30 second guitar and violin solo topped off by some kick ass growls. Just when you think the song is over, a violin solo takes over with light drumming and hint of bass and guitar that doesn’t overpower the electric violin. It sounds beautiful and you just don’t want to turn it off. I usually dread longer songs because they get old, but this band knows how to keep your attention.

In my opinion, their fourth song Maria has the catchiest vocals off of the album. But their fifth song Evil Tsar has to be my favorite so far. I’m in love with the tone and epicness of Dmitry’s vocals at the beginning followed by the wicked fast paced guitars and drumming. It’s not too long and it’s not too short.

With Left For The New Life, it’s another lengthy song they slow things down a bit. In this case it’s not a bad thing. Their slow intro gives a lot of emotion with two guitars and very light drumming. This is the first song on the album that showcases Dmitry’s clean vocals. You can hear a bit of his accent in his singing which sounds really cool. The electric violin starts to pick up as well as Dmitry’s unexpected growling and the song continues as a fast death metal ballad for the next 9 minutes. I’m really enjoying the drumming in this song, too.

Inertia is a short intermission song which bums me out because it’s really damn good. It starts out with the electric violin and acoustic making a beautiful duet. No vocals in this one, but hey, no complaints here.

Can I just say that Infernal Redeemer starts out with some awesome bass lines and drumming. It doesn’t sound like the band at first or like it should be on the album but later in the song they redeem themselves. Dmitry’s vocals seem a bit out of place during parts of the song and his growls later in the song make it a bit sound a bit choppy. If you’re into the slow turned semi-chaotic kind of song, then this (as well as a couple of others from this album) are the kind of songs for you; just not my cup of tea.

Matter of Blood starts out slow again and more clean vocals but towards the end of the song, they pick it up but it’s not as fast and chaotic as some of their previous songs. You almost don’t notice the violin in this song even though it’s right in front of your face but it blends so perfectly with everything else. It kind of makes you think that every death metal band should have some violin; just seems natural. It’s the second to last song on the album and you can tell because they start to bring you down carefully from their previous intense songs.

Their last song on the album, Sediment of War does the same. It starts out slow with every instrument playing but then quickens up a bit faster than some of their other songs have. The ending of this song gets a bit intense and kind of leaves you hanging waiting for the next song but you’re thinking, “Shit. That’s the end!’

All in all, this band is way talented. It’s a really well done debut album and the violinist doesn’t seem out of place one bit. As mentioned, some songs can be a bit choppy and I prefer catchier songs but I definitely have to give credit where credit is due.

Hung Official

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The Ex Senators “Start a Fight”

MARDUK “Souls For Belial”

Ringworm “Used Up Spit Out”

Make Do and Mend “Lucky”

PWV interview with Make Do and Mend

photo by Mayhem Fest

by Alicia Walker

As a punk music connoisseur, perhaps you have attended some great shows and wondered about what it takes be a concert promoter. The music business is a very competitive environment. However, there some steps you can take to breaking into the field. Here are some guidelines on how to become a concert promoter.

Develop Your Skills

Find out as much information you can about the concert promotion profession and take note of successful concert promoters. Talk to concert promoters directly and ask them what they did to become successful in their job. Take note of their attributes and skills and try to develop yourself so that you can be successful as a concert promoter. One of the best ways to develop your skills in concert promotion, particularly the marketing component, is to pursue a Master of Business Administration. For more information on educational opportunities for helping you become a concert promoter, click here.

Concert Promotion Company

One of the most common ways to become a concert promoter is to work for a large concert promotion company, such as AEG or Live Nation. The large concert promotion companies promote big name acts, tours, events, and festivals. Some may also handle all of the promotion for a specific venue location. You may need to start off in a smaller entry-level role at a concert promotion company and work your way up the ranks. This includes doing such things as handing out promotion fliers, or doing some other supporting role, such as in administration or advertising.

The advantages of working for a concert promotion company are that it can be very lucrative, there is usually minimal personal financial risk, and you get the chance to work for big name events. The disadvantages are that it can be difficult to get a job for a concert promotion company and it can take a long to climb up the ranks. You may also have to work with music and musicians that you don’t like.

Work for Yourself 

The alternative to working for a large independent concert promotion company is to work for yourself or an indie concert promoter. You can start of small and start booking your own show. Gradually, over time, you can build up a reputation and network so that you can promote larger shows and events. The advantage of this path is that you can choose your own music acts and you can be your own boss. The disadvantages are that there is greater financial risk and it can be very time and energy consuming with all of the responsibilities of promoting your own shows.

photo by Mayhem Fest

Sources

About.com (2012)

eHow (2012)

Ken Conte – Lead Vocals
Jim Blowers  - Guitar
Rob Ramos – Guitar/Vocals 
Chris Del Rio – Bass/Vocals
Chris Dalley – Drums

Despite having a compiled member list of guys from successful bands such as Strung Out, Pulley and Ten Foot Pole, I don’t recommend calling Implants a supergroup because their tunes speaks for itself. They don’t need to rely on their music resumes to gain fans in this industry, this classic, 90′s pop punk shit is awesome enough on its own! Managed by Strung Out’s very own resident drum man, Jordan Burns, I see great things in the future for these fellas.

Recently, I sat down with Jim Blowers (guitar) and Ken Conte (vocals) in one of the most intimate interview settings…. Jim’s living room. Check it out and don’t forget to check their links below to hear what I’m talking about!

Don’t be a lazy son of a bitch and forget to actually follow their links to check them out (below). Every person I’ve personally showed this band to has been pleasantly surprised. They aren’t playing what they think will do well, they’re playing the music they want to play so for the old schoolers, this will resonate with you and hopefully it brings out that nostalgic 90′s feeling like it does for me. DAWWWWW.

Implants Facebook

Implants Twitter

Implants on Soundcloud

Thomas Borboa- Guitar
Ryan Cano- Guitar
Andrew Slane- Drums
Calvan Christ- Bass
Clay Nevels- Vocals

review by Jacob Ray
@JRAY5280

I, Omega is a progressive metal band, in the same vein as bands like Protest The Hero and Periphery, out of Los Angeles, California. They are releasing their first EP entitled The Ravenous on May 15th, 2012 via Bullet Tooth records. The band has been playing a ton of shows all over Southern California and are really excited to be working with Bullet Tooth. The bands mission is to play technically proficient metal that is at the same time digestible and widely accessible.

Available 5.15.12

Tracklist

1. Butchers
2. Cannibals
3. Heretics
4. Martyrs
5. The Ravenous

Whenever I hear the term “progressive metal” I get a little nervous. I think that I will hear super long guitar solos, even longer and more unnecessary synthesizer parts, and too much focus on things like wacky time signatures that, as someone who isn’t a musician, I just can’t bring myself to care about. The one band from the prog- metal genre that I have always really liked is Protest The Hero, so I was really excited when I saw that Protest The Hero was cited as an influence for the new I, Omega EP The Ravenous.

The Ravenous sounds nothing like a debut EP. “Butcher”s, the opening track, introduces the listener to a band that is already very comfortable with their sound. I, Omega’s vocalist, Clay Clevens, kind of sounds like a hybrid of Trevor Phipps (Unearth), Josh McManness (formerly of August Burns Red) and Rody Walker (Protest The Hero). He boasts a really impressive range and balances his clean vocals and his screaming very well.

The second song, “Cannibals” made me do a double take. It is really fucking good. The opening riff is coupled with some insane drum fills and it kind of reminds me of early Avenged Sevenfold, but in a good way. There is a breakdown in this song, but I, Omega reminds us that breakdowns can actually still be good and surprising if the breakdown is not the entire focus of the song. In this way, I, Omega sets themselves apart from many of their contemporaries in the metal scene.

I can see people who are really into bands like I See Stars enjoying the song “Heretics” because it is super heavy and the chorus is kind of danceable in a way, but not in a corny obnoxious way that would turn off people who don’t like that kind of electro-fused metal (like myself). The fact that I, Omega can achieve this effect without a sweet dubstep breakdown (I would like my sarcasm to be noted) is another example of them being able to fit into the metal genre without giving into some of the shitty trends that are present in the metal today.

The best example on The Ravenous of I,Omega balancing heavy and technical metal parts and less heavy, poppy parts is the fourth song, “Martyrs”. This song has some of my favorite guitar parts on the album, including the guitar solo, which is awesome. The bass part on this song is also pretty great, and the impressiveness of this song is amplified by the fact that this is I, Omega’s first release. They sound too well polished instrumentally to be a new band.
I’ve always liked listening to debut EP’s. EP’s force a band to show you everything about them in 5 songs. I, Omega does exactly that. The Ravenous shows that they can utilize a good variety of sounds, and utilize them well. You probably noticed that I compared I, Omega to a lot of different bands during the review, and I did that because I believe that this band can appeal to a wide variety people who listen to a wide variety of sub genres. The thing that I respect about this band the most is that they play metal that is modern and relevant, while still retaining the integrity not to adopt some of the horrible trends that are out there. If that can be said about a band after one EP, that’s pretty damn impressive. Due to their accessibility and the quality of The Ravenous, I can’t wait to see what I, Omega does in the future.

www.Facebook.com/IOmegaBand
www.Twitter.com/IOmegaMusic
www.KillerTours.com/IOmega
www.YouTube.com/IOmegaMusic

PWV Interview with I, Omega

Chris Barnes- Vocals
Rob Arnold- Guitar
Steve Swanson- Guitar
Jeff Hughell- Bass
Kevin Talley- Drums

review by Jacob Ray
@JRAY5280

Six Feet Under is a death metal band out of Tampa, Florida that was initially the side project of then Cannibal Corpse vocalist Chris Barnes in 1993. Fast forward nine years and Six Feet Under is set to release their ninth full length album Undead on Metal Blade Records on May 22nd. Undead is shaping up to be the band’s strongest release yet thanks to new guitarist Rob Arnold (formerly of Chimaira), bassist Jeff Hughell and new drummer Kevin Talley, whose impressive resume includes blasting beats for Chimaira, Dying Fetus and Misery Index. Six Feet Under’s new lineup is being brought to life on this new album by producer Mark Lewis (Deicide, Devildriver) and mixer Jason Suecof. The new lineup and production team has given Six Feet Under a positive lease on life (well, at least as positive as it gets for a death metal band) and Undead is going to be one of the biggest must- owns of the metal genre this year.

Tracklist:
Frozen at the Moment of Death
Formaldehyde
18 Days
Molest Dead
Blood On My Hands
Missing Victims
Reckless
Near Death Experience
Delayed Combustion Device
The Scar
Vampire Apocalypse
The Depths of Depravity

The album starts off with “Frozen at the Moment of Death” which has a very dark tone to it. The guitar parts at the beginning of the song are so deep that it’s almost like hearing a cello, which I think is actually pretty cool. Barnes delivers his vocal parts in a monosyllabic cookie monster- like style, which, while not exactly eloquent, achieves the desired effect of sounding like a barbaric demon.

The second track “Formaldehyde” kicks off with an absolutely ridiculous drum intro and moves into Chris Barnes’ most guttural and snarling vocal delivery of the whole record. The whole song is very dark and features some of the best and most natural guitar contrasts on the album. For almost the whole song, one guitar is doing the aforementioned cello-esque thing while the other plays a heavier, more chord based riff and the two mix quite nicely.

One of the best things about Undead is how naturally Six Feet Under transitions from a faster tempo to a slower one, or vice-a-versa. Songs like “18 Days” start off slower and gradually get a little faster and then slow back down again all while retaining the same instrumental theme. It makes not only the songs, but the whole album flow very naturally.

As far as lyrical content goes, Chris Barnes sticks to a path thoroughly trodden. All the usual death metal thematic material is explored including, murder, dead people, despair, and reflections on how much people. “Molest Dead” has lyrics that are just as tasteful as the title of the song and from what I could decipher, “Blood On My Knees” is a graphic account of a murder. As much as I wanted it to be, “Vampire Apocalypse” is unfortunately not about the Twilight world coming to a dramatic and violent end (maybe on the next album). “Reckless” which is probably my favorite track on the album, gives an almost anthemic description of how reckless Chris Barnes is. This song almost has a fist pumping, sing-a-long quality to it and can even be described as “catchy” at some points. Everything lyrically that you could want or expect from a death metal album is covered on Undead.

Another fantastic example of Six Feet Under fluidly transitioning from a slow, gloomy part into violent, unadulterated fury is the song “Near Death Experience”. This song also features one of the best riffs on the album. I think that death metal as a genre often shoots itself in the foot in a way because more often than nought, all of the songs on an album sound more or less the same, simply because of the vocalist. This is not the case on Undead. There are so many very distinct melodies, choruses and guitar riffs on this album. It speaks volumes about not only the virtuosity of the individual musicians, but the composing skills of the band as a whole.

Six Feet Under brings Undead to a close with a couple of hate-filled gems, namely “Delayed Combustion Device” which has a badass riff that backs some of the most morbid lyrics of the album. The song is pretty much about a machine that literally kills thousands of people in the most horrific ways imaginable. Barnes has this vocal part during the bridge where he sounds like one of the Uruk-Kai in the Lord Of The Rings movies and it’s pretty terrifying considering you can clearly hear him talking about killing innocent people. A couple of cool riffs and bunch of sonic brutality later and Undead comes to an end with “The Depths of Depravity” which, surprisingly enough opens with an Indian folk instrument (the name of the instrument escapes me but you will clearly hear what I am talking about). The closing song is a little slower and is darker in tone than anything else on the album. Barnes leaves us with the following, “The undertow pulls me down, into the depths of insanity”, just in case you somehow didn’t get that feeling by listening to the album up to that point.

I’m not going to lie; death metal has never really been my thing. I have assumptions that I am going to hear the same cookie monster vocals backed by guitar parts, blast beat drums and a guitar solo or two over and over and over again. The unfortunate thing is that I’m usually right. Before listening to Six Feet Under’s latest album Undead, I had no idea who Six Feet Under was and I had my predictions about what the album was going to sound like. Taking my bias into regard, I was very impressed with the variety of song structures, melodies, and even vocal deliveries that the band was able to offer. And if nothing else, one has to give mad props to their musical abilities. From someone who isn’t big on the genre, if you like any kind of heavy music, definitely check Undead out. Chances are you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

Website
Facebook
Metal Blade

You can learn more about Perdition on their Facebook and be sure to check out their Bandcamp where you can check out their debut release, Hispaniola (out now on Dang! Records). Oh yes, and they’re also playing Fest 11 (oh fuck yes) in Florida this October so if you’re able to make that shit, do it! Tons of great bands are lined up including Lagwagon, Good Riddance, Red City Radio, Direct Hit, KarbomB, 7 Seconds, Banner Pilot and more!

Gunner Records

Dang! Records 

Resident mic-holder, Nick Woods, is doing a weekly tour blog for Alt Press that will also be posted on the Direct Hit facebook and all that social networking shit. You can also follow more real time:

REAL-TIME BULLSHIT: twitter.com/nickwoodswi
PHOTOS: pinterest.com/nickwoodswi
MOBILE: Instagram/@getpumped
VIDEO: directhitsucks.tumblr.com

The dates are listed below in that weird alternate month/day thing, so this are MAY not December. I didn’t feel like changing them all, your assumptions are accurate.

12.05.2012 – Herenthout (BEL) @ JH ‘t Verschil
13.05.2012 – Houthalen (BEL) @ Chiro
14.05.2012 – Roeselare (BEL) @ DieZie
15.05.2012 – Ghent(BEL) @ TBC*
16.05.2012 – Lille (F) @ Le Resto Soleil (Le Viziteur)
17.05.2012 – Swindon (UK) @ The Furnace
18.05.2012 – Nottingham (UK) @ Old Angel
19.05.2012 – Dundee (UK) @ Kage Nightclub
20.05.2012 – Glasgow (UK) @ 13th Note
21.05.2012 – Leeds (UK) @ The Warehouse Project
22.05.2012 – Cardiff (UK) @ The Moon Club
23.05.2012 – London (UK) @ The Black Heart
24.05.2012 – Basingstoke (UK) @ Bang Bar
25.05.2012 – Geel (BEL) @ Bacchus
26.05.2012 – Tessenderlo (BEL) @ Tesslo
27.05.2012 – Wiesbaden (GER) @ Sabot
28.05.2012 – Regensburg (GER) @ Rehearsal Room
29.05.2012 – Hannover (GER) @ Rehearsal Room
30.05.2012 – Osnabruck (GER) @ Substanz/Punkkneipe
31.05.2012 – Hollerich (LUX) @ Soul Kitchen
01.06.2012 – Rotterdam (NL) @ Roodkapje

*if you have any connects here, let the band know as they are still seeking to fill this date.

photo credit unknown

Direct Hit!

Architects

3 Inches of Blood

Adrenaline Mob

The Sheds

Sainthood Reps

Arch Enemy

H8