Aviana Japan Tour 2019 Recap – Part 1 Aviana Japan Tour 2019 Recap – Part 2 The Questions is answered by Joel Holmqvist, Vocalist of Aviana. Other bandmembers as follow: Niclas Bergström – Drums Sebastian Colque – Bass Marcus Heffler – Guitar Hailing from the infamous Metaltown on the Swedish West Coast, the Gothenburg sons in Aviana has made one of the most succesful debut releases in Scandinavian modern history with ‘Polarize’ (2017) via Rambo Music (GAIN/Sony Music Entertainment). The album release featuring the hit single ‘Solar’ and crossover Metalcore ballad ‘Canvas’been streamed more ..read more

Of Mice & Men // Earth and Sky Released: September 27, 2019 Genre: Metalcore, Metal For fans of: As I Lay Dying, Jamie’s Elsewhere, Trivium Is it good? It’s their best album since The Flood. Of Mice & Men have officially returned to heavy music and I couldn’t be more excited. After hating their last three albums so much that I refused to even talk about them, I am stoked to welcome these guys back. I had my doubts to be sure; almost every big former metalcore band releases a decently heavy single, only to follow it up with underwhelming garbage. Even as OM&M put out heavy single af ..read more

The Devil Wears Prada // The Act Released: October 11, 2019 Genre: Metalcore, Metal For fans of: Underoath, Oh Sleeper, Greeley Estates Is it good? It’s their most dynamic, exciting material since ‘Dead Throne’. Let me start off by emphasizing that ‘The Act’ is a phenomenal album. It’s a massive departure from The Devil Wears Prada’s previous sound but it fits them perfectly. It’s the inevitable end-state of the sound they’ve been developing over the last decade, and they couldn’t have grown into it any better. In recent years the members have been vocal about not liking their earlier albums a ..read more

Varials // In Darkness Released: October 11, 2019 Genre: Metalcore For fans of: Deftones, For The Fallen Dreams, Loathe Is it good? It’s ten thousand times better than everything else they’ve ever made. This is one of the most surprising albums of 2019 for me. I haven’t enjoyed beatdown/down tempo bands in a long time and that’s purely what Varials was until now. Nothing against those genres, they’re just not for me, which is why I wrote these guys off years ago. I have to admit though, I was intrigued when they released four singles at the same time. I figured it would be like listening to a ..read more

Counterparts // Nothing Left To Love Released: November 1, 2019 Genre: Melodic Hardcore, Metalcore Writer: Andrew Pecoraro For fans of: Napoleon, Defeater, The Ghost Inside, END Is it good? It’s a continuation of what they do best, so yes, very good. As 2020 approaches and I prepare my list of favorite albums from the last decade, it’s impossible to ignore how absolutely outstanding Counterparts has been for the last ten years. During that time, they’ve released six albums, an incredible number on it’s own, and even more impressive is that every single one has been so good. Although they have ..read more

Attila just released their eighth album titled ‘Villain’ and I’d probably rank it fifth or sixth out of all eight. I’m split on whether I want to applaud their experimentation or criticize the disjointed album their lack of focus created. Historically I’ve been a big supporter of Attila, and although their obsession with “haters” has annoyed me, I still think they have one of the most energetic sounds in the scene. “Blackout” and “Villain” have the classic Attila sound and I’ll always love when Fronz drops into his low screams. “Toxic” is by far the best song and you can immediately hear the s ..read more

I Prevail’s third album ‘Trauma’ has turned me into a fan. I’m not going to lie, I’ve largely ignored these guys and even scoffed at them for headlining over more established bands in the past, but I’m surprisingly into this album and I appreciate what they’re doing for the music scene. These days there aren’t many metalcore bands that bridge the gap between heavy music and the rest of the world and we’ve lost a lot of bands who helped get younger fans interested in the heavier side of things. As much as we might not want to admit it, it’s an important role and without young personalities like ..read more

Periphery just keeps getting better and better. Despite leaving Sumerian records and releasing their sixth album, ‘Hail Stan’, on their own label, Periphery takes the sound they established on ‘Select Difficulty’ to new heights. Opening with “Reptile”, an almost 17 minute long song, Periphery immediately demonstrates why they’re one of the best progressive metal bands. Fitting an unbelievable range of styles into a single song the length of an EP is a great feat, and, most impressively, it’s engaging the entire time. Spencer’s experimentation with eviler sounding vocals also paid off big time ..read more

Crystal Lake released their third major album and despite their best efforts these guys are still somehow the best kept secret in metalcore. Every time I post about them somebody says, “wow they’re amazing, I don’t know why I didn’t listen to them before”. I don’t know either, this is one of the very few metalcore bands you should be paying attention to. Crystal Lake has been a “break-out band” since they released ‘The Sign’ in 2015 and I’m still not sure why they haven’t truly blown up. The lack of recognition they’e received over the past few years is a testament to how weak the metalcore sc ..read more

How did you guys formulate your sound, and what are your influences as a band? YD: We started as a hardcore band sounded like 90s hardcore such as Shai Hulud, Morning Again to name a few and been evolving the sound on each album. As a band we were mainly influenced by 90s metal band like Pantera, Machine Head and Sepultura but we all love any kind of music. RYO: Sometimes we mix electro and hip hop with the 90s metal vibes and sometimes we combine J-pop with a melodic hardcore feeling. We been seeking something new and cool which gives listeners some “experience”. On your latest album, what is ..read more