INTERCEPTOR is THE heavy metal band. With the barreling sonic might of traditional metal, black metal, speed metal, thrash metal, power metal, and straight rock ‘n roll, headbangers find their hunger satiated by the old-school, raw, and true sound that the band lives by.
Ron Rinehart -vocals
Eric Meyer –guitar, backing vocals
Laura Christine –guitar, backing vocals
Mike Gonzalez –bass, backing vocals
Gene Hoglan –drums, guitar, bass, backing vocals
There was a time in the mid-‘80s when “thrash” was the fastest, heaviest, most extreme form of metal. That said, a handful of bands thrashed a liKle harder and with more feral abandon than their peers. Those chosen few inadvertently led the genre towards an even more brutal style of music that gained underground acceptance a few years later – death metal.
Before that critical point in time, however, ultra-thrash band Dark Angel stood on the precipice of devastation and innovation. Too fast and noisy for some, jawdropping and groundbreaking for others, Dark Angel led a prickly, poisonous path beyond the evil riffs and whirlwind rhythms pioneered by Slayer. And Dark Angel drummer and songwriter Gene Hoglan was right there at the center of the storm (even coaching Slayer’s Dave Lombardo how to play double-bass beats for the breakthrough EP Haunting the Chapel).
Forty years, and multiple seismic shakeups later, Dark Angel have returned with the spine-shattering Extinction Level Event, their first album of original material since 1991’s colossal Time Does Not Heal. “Musically, lyrically, and vocally, I’m so stoked about this album,” says Hoglan, the veteran drummer-of- all-trades and ;meclock behind almost too many influen;al metal groups to count – Testament, Dethklok, Strapping Young Lad, Fear Factory, and Death graduate tribute band, Death To All. “I’m really excited about Dark Angel right now, and everyone who’s heard the new album is losing their minds. Every time I’d finish a song and send it over to the guys, everybody was, ‘Gene, this is my favorite song!’ ‘No, this is my favorite song!!’ ‘Dude, this is totally my favorite song!!!” That’s never a bad sign.”
Extinction Level Event features new guitarist Laura Christine, and a new level of production, thanks to the advancements in technology since the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Yet, the album follows the twisted barbed-wire path and innovative approach of fan favorites, Darkness Descends and Leave Scars, which remained landmark extreme thrash records decades after their release. That’s hardly a surprise since the majority of the lineup for the album is the same as on the aforementioned releases.
The title track of “Extinction Level Event” was written by guitarist Jim Durkin, a decade ago, long before he suffered from severe liver disease, and, to the surprise of everyone, passed away in 2023. “Jim Durkin left us with this badass tune,” Hoglan says. “It is so Dark Angel and I’m just so excited about it. We made it the lead-off song on the record, not as a tribute to Jim or because of sentimental reasons – like, here is the song that Jim left us – but because it’s just a totally killer song. He wrote it ten years ago, and by today’s standards it’s still ball-crushing.”
Fast and aggressive, “Extinction Level Event” is as fierce and infectious as Dark Angel’s best songs and features the band’s heralded bombastic riffs and vocal structures. Hoglan and guitarist Laura Christine wrote everything else on Extinction Level Event, each song rivalling the ferocity and musicality of the title track; Christine co-wrote five songs, and her writing style rubbed off on Hoglan. “Atavistic,” for example,
is a full-on three-minute thrash metal barrage. “It’s primitive, it’s raw, and it takes you right back to the days of super-aggressive thrash metal,” Hoglan says.
Other songs are a little slower, but no less incendiary. “Woke Up to Blood” is a tangled rollercoaster of jagged riffs and syncopated beats, the title of which stemmed from a dog attack. “[Guitarist] Eric Meyer came in with a big, nasty cut on his arm,” Hoglan says. “We asked him, ‘Eric, what happened?’ and he told us about how his wife’s dog attacked him in the middle of the night. He said, ‘Dude, I was lying in bed asleep and then I was just bleeding profusely. I woke up to blood.’ And I went, ‘Hey, wait a minute. I gotta write that down in the ‘notes’ section of my phone real quick.”
Another track Gene describes as a “total onslaught” is “Terror Construct,” which he wrote about the way the media and corporations team up to spread fear among the masses so they can continue to fill their pockets. “There’s no question about it,” Hoglan says. “We are force-fed fear. It definitely comes at us from all sides – the left and the right – and it’s everywhere, you can’t escape it because it comes from all angles. It’s terrible, but that’s how our society is gemng wired. People are forced to live in fear all the ;me because, for the networks and the big corpora;ons, fear means big money. If you put fear into the audience, they stay glued to the television and they watch all the commercials.”
The seeds of Extinction Level Event were planted in late 2013 between the time when Testament stopped touring to work on their new record and Hoglan was scheduled to work on his next major project.
“I finally had some time, so I said to Jim and vocalist Ron Rinehart, ‘Hey, I kinda have some time now. Would you guys be interested in trying Dark Angel again?,’ Hoglan recalls. “Because every time I’m over in Europe or some other country, the promoters of all these festivals and journalists are always asking, ‘You ever want to bring Dark Angel back? Let us know. We’d love to get some Dark Angel over here.’ Jim and I had spoken about it, and he said, ‘Hey, it sounds like fun. Let’s see what we can do.’ That’s when we put a toe in the water to find out if this would even work.”
The band played a number of dates in Europe and South America. Then, in late 2014, Hoglan and founding guitarist Jim Durkin got together to write a bunch of riffs. Since Durkin had established a lucrative career outside the music industry and Hoglan was busy touring with Testament and working with Dethklok, Death To All, and other projects, it was difficult for the two longtime Dark Angel members to coordinate their schedules. “It didn’t help that Jim was living in Los Angeles and I was in San Diego,” Hoglan says. “But we did as much as we could, and it was really fun to be jamming again. And the thing that put the cherry on top was that we’d all grown up as human beings a little bit. So, we had really good communication. We weren’t just a bunch of 20-year-old kids yelling at each other or getting pissed off over stupid things. It was just such a fun vibe. And we’ve always been a family. We’ve always felt like one. So, we were like, ‘Hey, let’s book some more shows.”
After the first batch of writing sessions for Extinction Level Event, Hoglan had to put writing for Dark Angel on hold until late 2022. With other obligations behind him, Gene laser-focused on Dark Angel, listening back to the jams he and Durkin made earlier, and writing more than 10 new songs over the next three months. With a full album of pummeling new songs, Hoglan flew to Vancouver to track the album at the Armory. There, he and his bandmates worked with Rob Shallcross and Mike Fraser, and over a few sessions, Dark Angel had recorded everything but the vocals.
“Mike and I have worked on a number of occasions before, da;ng all the way back to the Strapping Young Lad, The New Black, Hoglan says. “He mixed all the last AC/DC records and some classic Aerosmith stuff. We laid down all the drums and as soon as that was done we got right into the guitars. Everybody came up and laid a liKle bit down and it was an amazing experience. Then, all we had to do was get time with Ron to do the vocals.”
While Extinction Level Event is informed by all the playing and recording experience Hoglan has gained over the decades, it’s deeply rooted in skull-bashing thrash and easily could have slotted into the band’s catalog after their fourth album 1991’s Time Does Not Heal. It’s more than a tremendous comeback from well-respected thrash pioneers, it’s a new chapter for the band – despite the tragic death of founding guitarist Jim Durkin in 2023 – and represents an authentic tribute to the foundations of extreme thrash, while puttng a foot forward to a future where anything is possible.
“One thing Dark Angel was really, really good at was reinventing ourselves from album to album,” Hoglan says. “None of our four records ever sounded like each other, and that’s why this album will fit perfectly in with the rest of our catalog. It’s another reinvention for Dark Angel, but it’s still really, really heavy.”
No one but Gene Hoglan could keep the heart of Dark Angel burning over the decade like an industrial furnace. Even though he has ventured into multiple styles of thrash, extreme, and experimental metal, he will always cherish thrash, the music form that launched his multi-faceted career. As a teenager, Hoglan was already a dedicated drummer and a diehard headbanger who was a fixture of the LA metal scene. Before he joined Dark Angel, he was the lighting tech for Slayer and other underground metal bands and traveled with Slayer on their first tour.
Durkin and bassist Rob Yahn formed the band Shellshock in 1981 and recorded the demo “Into the Inferno” in 1983 before they were hit with a cease-and-desist from another band named Shellshock and changed their moniker to Dark Angel. Three demos later, Dark Angel landed the song “Welcome to the Slaughter House” on Metal Massacre VI, which also featured tracks by Possessed, the Obsessed, Hallow’s Eve, Nasty Savage and others. They followed their compila;on with their first full-length We Have Arrived in 1985. Dark Angel con;nued working on new material, including the scorching “Merciless Death,” “Perish in Flames,” and “The Burning of Sodom.” That’s when the Jack Schwartz, the band’s drummer from 1983 to 1984, lea and Hoglan happily took his place.
“When I joined, they were already a killer band and they were on the cusp of things,” Hoglan said. “And when I came in, Jim finally had a partner in musical crime. We both wanted everything to be really heavy and brutal. Like, the sky’s the limit for heaviness. Even with Jack in the band, the members of Dark Angel had five different direc;ons they would’ve liked to see the band go in. When I joined, we finally had a majority of two guys who wanted the same thing. We wanted to be a smack to the jaw, with music that was as savage as we could make it. We wanted to cut heads off with our music.”
Durkin and Hoglan wrote the vast majority of the band’s second album Darkness Descends, which included the blazing title track, the face-scorcher “Death is Certain (Life is Not),” and the eight-plus minute epic “Black Prophecies.” And Hoglan’s demon-crazed performances on “Merciless Death,” “Perish in Flames” and “The Burning of Sodom” brought Dark Angel to a new level of brutality.
“We were already bros, we were pals, so it was a pretty seamless transition for me to step in and work with Jim to make the band way heavier,” says Hoglan. “Our vocalist had some outside interests that
didn’t blend with what we wanted to do, so we really had to work hard with him to get a great performance. I wouldn’t call it coaching. It was more like threats and hazing from me and Jim. We were preKy brutal with him in the studio to get him to perform the songs with the right kind of savagery and anger that they needed. But he definitely stepped it up. You can’t say that We Have Arrived had the same kind of vocals as Darkness Descends.”
In search of new ventures, Yahn left Dark Angel after he tracked the bass parts for Darkness Descends, which paved the way for Mike Gonzalez. The vocalist’s decision to quit less than a week before the band was scheduled to launch a tour for Darkness Descends led to a far more complicated situation. “He started getting into some things that didn’t blend well with the band’s touring schedule,” Hoglan explains.
“Meanwhile, Darkness Descends was blowing up and we were scheduled to tour with Possessed in early ’87. So, Jim Drabos, a friend of ours from a band called Death Force stepped in to grab the mic for us, and he did a great job.”
Impressed by how quickly and easily Drabos vibed with the rest of the band, Dark Angel asked him to step onboard. Hoglan was already writing songs for the next album and was hoping the singer he was working with would embrace the opportunity to take part. However, he wasn’t interested in singing on a new album or even playing any more shows.
“It was kind of strange,” says Hoglan. “He said, ‘Thank you very much, guys. It was always my dream to tour the United States. I just did it, and now I’m gonna quit the music industry. My dream was just fulfilled, and now I’m done.’”
For the next 10 months, Dark Angel searched long and hard for a new vocalist. Frustrated, they tried to make the band work again with “the old vocalist,” but after a few shows together, it was clear that they needed fresh blood. They auditioned many singers but couldn’t find one who would fit the band. As it turned out, the perfect match was Ron Rinehart, a guy Hoglan had seen before singing in the LA band Messiahs. Hoglan and Durkin thought Rinehart was a great vocalist, but weren’t impressed by his band, which lacked the ferocity he sought in a vocalist. Jim reached out to Rinehart anyway to ask him to audi;on for Dark Angel, and as soon as the band started playing, Rinehart picked up the mic and started to roar.
“Jim went, ‘Man, I wish we had this guy all along,’” recalls Hoglan. “I felt the same way ’cause Ron was so enthusiastic, so into it. He was the polar opposite of our other vocalists. He had a good work ethic. He was ready to put the time in. He was a cool guy, and he had a great look. So, we threw Ron right into the mix and started recording.”
The first Dark Angel album to feature Rinehart, Leave Scars upped the ante on Darkness Descends, featuring more complex rhythmic shias and longer songs, while retaining the speed-thrash lacerations that pushed the band into the next level of extreme metal. Within the nightmarish firestorms lie welcome experimentations, such as the creepy “Worms,” the cinema;c instrumental “Cauteriza;on” and a wild take on Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.” But while the album was full of strong material, the lo-fi produc;on marred the overall sonic impact a bit.
“We were all used to hearing bad-sounding thrash records, and that’s okay when you’re first starting out, but when you’re on your third record you got to step up the production, and that didn’t happen,” says
Hoglan. We should have had a more cohesive sound happening and we take all the blame for the sound of Leave Scars. And that’s why we brought in Terry Date for our next album, Time Does Not Heal. We said, let’s just mitigate the issues and work with someone great. That way, we know it’s gonna sound killer.”
Dark Angel released Time Does Not Heal, in 1991, and along with the upgrade in production came a revised approach to songwrti;ng. The band proved it could still lock it’s foot to the gas pedal on the titlle track, “Trauma and Catharsis” and “The New Preisthood.” But “Pain’s Inventionon, Madness” and “Act of Contrition” are slower and more melodic, giving Rinehart more of a chance to belt out actual notes instead of just bark. Too busy with outside projects at the time of its release, Durkin sat out the album cycle, leaving Hoglan to tackle more rhythm guitar and almost all of the songwriting. He was joined by the new guitarist Brett Eriksen, who contributed to the songwriting, but ultimately left before the band finished touring.
“Time Does Not Heal was a different kind of album for us partially because Jim left, and we got Brett. Before, Jim and I each wrote about 50 percent of the songs, and now I’m suddenly doing 65 or 70 percent of the writing, which added more rhythm changes and complexity because I get bored easily. But also, I did not know how to self-edit songs back then, which is why they were so long.”
By the time the band finished touring for Time Does Not Heal speed-thrash was no longer the most extreme game in town, having been replaced by death metal. Fans who had latched onto Dark Angel because they were the bridge to the next heaviest thing, stepped off the bridge and embraced bands like Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide, and Napalm Death for an even more punishing aural assault than that of Dark Angel.
“Before death metal came along, thrash metal was the heaviest thing around,” Hoglan recalls. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, this is so psychotic and heavy. Nothing’s gonna get heavier than this! Oh, wait…’ And all of a sudden you’ve got Morbid Angel, Death, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse — all these kick-ass death metal bands that definitely took the spotlight away from a lot of thrash bands.
“Kids went, ‘Hey, thrash metal is not so extreme anymore. Check out grindcore. Check out death metal!’ And all these thrash bands were kind of left in the dust. So Dark Angel kind of dissolved for a while, and I got into this more extreme death metal stuff. But I always knew speed wasn’t everything and that thrash would come back because everything happens in cycles. And if there’s one cool thing I heard straight from the horse’s mouths over the last 30-something years, it’s that Dark Angel had a major influence on all the death metal bands, the grindcore bands, and the black metal bands. And it feels good to know I played a role in all of that.”
As Hoglan says, music – especially metal – is a cyclical style of music, and about 20 years after the dawn of thrash, the old-school fans started turning their cousins, nephews, sons and daughters to the music and suddenly The Big Four were big business, Testament, Exodus and others were major tour attractions, and Dark Angel were back in demand. The band officially reformed in the 2010s and played select shows in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019.
Durkin took the stage with the band, and everyone had a blast playing influential speed-thrash songs for newcomers and old-school fans alike. But while Durkin was dedicated to the band, there was a point where he started dealing with personal issues and he made it clear that he would always be there in
spirit, but there would be times he wouldn’t be able to perform. He handpicked Laura Christine (Warface, Meldrum, Nukem, Zimmer’s Hole) to fill in for him when the band returned to the road in 2022.
“I was not part of that decision one iota,” Hoglan says. “I found out later that back in 2018 when we played a show in Oakland, California at the California Death Fest. At the end of the night Jim took Laura aside. I was in an elevator going up to say goodnight to everybody and Jim steps in the elevator and announces to Laura, ‘Tonight was my last Dark Angel show, and I want you to be my replacement.’ Laura was looking at me, and then at him, and then she says, ‘Hey, I’m honored but did you guys talk about this?’ I said, ‘This is the first I’m hearing about any of this.’ And Jim goes, ‘Well, you’re my favorite guitarist and if I’m not gonna play any shows with the band, I want you to replace me.’ “As time went on, it wasn’t Jim’s last show with the band. He came back and played more shows. But for whatever reason, at that moment, right then and there, he had decided, this is it for me. He later relented and Laura was great about it. She said, “This band should be with Jim Durkin. He’s the founding member.”
The rest of the band were aware Durkin had some health issues, but they didn’t seem incapacitating. It seemed like he just didn’t want to tour anymore, and the decision was made that, with his blessings, Laura would take his spot on the stage with the caveat that he could return at any time.
“We did a festival in April of 2023, in Texas called Hell’s Heroes. It was to be Laura’s first show with the band. As go-time rapidly approached, Laura rehearsed with Dark Angel, but she also reached out to Durkin to reiterate that he was Dark Angel’s lead guitarist, not her. “She reached out to him right before the gig, and said, ‘Jim, I just want you to know that I’m merely just stepping into your shoes for this gig. If you decide three days before the show that you want to jump in and play the show, that’s great. I’m all for it.’ And he explained to her, ‘Look, that’s not gonna happen.’”
At the time, Durkin was suffering from liver problems that were far more serious than anyone in the band knew. They were completely shocked and utterly unprepared when they found out he died from liver disease on March 8, 2023.
“We knew he had a couple of medical issues, but we didn’t expect him to be taken from us – any of us,” Hoglan says. “We knew Jim had something that was going to keep him from playing shows with us, but we did not know that it was something that was gonna take his life. We had no idea. That’s why it was so crushing to hear that our brother passed. Because even though he might not have been a part of the live portion of Dark Angel at that point, we were still writing together. He told me, ‘I might not be playing live with the band as much as I used to, but I still wanna write.’ And I was fine with that.”
Hoglan is pleased that the title track of Extinction Level Event isn’t just 100 percent Durkin, it’s completely unrelenting, bursting with speed, excitement, and Durkin’s knife-slash riffs. Beyond that, Hoglan insists that the rest of the songs on the album – which he and Christine composed before the full band contributed their input in the studio – are heavily inspired by Durkin’s spirit and performance style.
“Before the end of everything, I told Jim, ‘Yeah, let’s keep writing together,’” explains Hoglan. “It didn’t happen, and I ended up with just one full song from Jim. But Jim’s presence is felt all over the record because Jim’s songwriting was a really big influence for me. I had only played guitar for a couple years before I got into Dark Angel, and being around Jim day aaer day, year upon year, had a huge impact on my songwriting and I have Jim to thank for that.”
Having passed away two years ago, Durkin’s sudden death is still traumatic for Dark Angel and especially Hoglan. At the same time, he takes bittersweet pride in knowing that Jim’s playing and performances live on through him and Dark Angel, not only when the band plays his old riffs, but also in the continued influence Durkin has on the band’s new songs.
“One of the last things I told him was, “Jim, dude, you’re my original guitar hero,” Hoglan recalls. “My eti;re guitar style is based on your style because you are who I really learned how to play guitar from.” So, my guitar approach with Dark Angel is Jim Durkin’s approach. When I write for the band, I’m thinking, ‘What would Jim do here?’ That’s why his presence is massively all over this new record. Every single song. I wanted to make it to where people are like, “Yeah, Jim wrote that riff. Oh, there’s another Jim riff” because Jim wrote all the best riffs in the band, forever.”
explosive no-wave post jazz with an ever-rotating lineup
Simply put, Wynton Existing is Wynton Existing due to the fact that Wynton exists to make art. Rather then identify as a specific genre, Wynton Existing is an exploration of sounds, vibes and emotions, generally which finds itself swimming around Garage, Psychedelia, Progressive, Punk, Stoner, Indie, and countless other subgenres.
The mission of Wynton Existing isn’t to highlight Wynton alone, but to remind the listener they exist too. The band invites us to live in the moment and open the audience up to the opportunity of feeling something. You too are alive and can exist just as brightly as the talent on stage.
The live show is a high energy splendor of noise experimentation, jams, and crowd participation, inviting the audience to join the madness with psychedelic breakdowns in songs such as “Tomtom Song”. The lyrical content ranges from wonder, perseverance, anguish, curiosity, hopelessness, inflection, and varying levels of acceptance, all generally with enough vagueness for the listener to takeaway their own meanings. Wynton Existing wants to pull the safety net off the music industry. They can make a big hit single, but don’t want to limit themselves to just making pop songs, they can play a consistent genre, but don’t feel they should be defined by a singular style. As Andy Warhol said:“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”
Chicago Alternative Hard Rock
nineteen year old artist / producer from london, uk.
a 3-piece band from kansas city whose recent album Silhouette Machine is like if noise rock and slowcore had a baby and it was a girl.
Al’s Hwy50, a project by Al Laughlin, an original founding member of the iconic Colorado band The Samples, will be performing select shows throughout 2025… Al’s fusion of reggae and ska rhythms is sure to get you dancing all night long.
A Chicago-based, blues-gospel band playing music that is good for the soul.
Questionable Decisions is an exciting new ensemble consisting of four of the Chicago Jazz scene’s most unique musicians. All four of these musicians have played in myriad situations across multiple genres, and their flexibility is on full display whenever they start playing. They’re a band upholding a tradition of Jazz as subversive party music. Drawing inspiration from Eddie Harris, Medeski, Martin & Wood, The Bad Plus, and Lester Bowie, they fuse Pop melodies, Jazz harmonies, Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and Funk rhythms, jammy improvisations with punk ferocity.
Or, as one friend once said, “someone’s going to have to invent a whole new genre just to describe you guys.”
Experimental no-wave band with a revolving lineup of musicians. Praise the Orb.
MADAM RADAR is an Americana rock band that punches hard with its explosive harmonies, soaring guitar solos, and eclectic original tunes. The band is a tangled web of family and friends; Jace Cadle (rhythm guitar/vocals) is married to Kelly Green (lead guitar/vocals), the sister of Kody Lee (drums/vocals), married to Violet Lea (bass/vocals).
Fronted by the trio of Kelly, Violet, and Jace, MADAM RADAR is a revolving door of high-energy singer-songwriters, each with their own perspective and style that magically seem to overlap like the layers of a kaleidoscope. With all four band members providing harmonies, MADAM RADAR is a wall of colorful sound that changes shape, demanding your undivided attention.
The Reverent Few don’t chase trends or polish their edges. They play like it matters—because for them, it does. Rooted in gospel shouts, blues grit, and rock ‘n’ roll soul, their music isn’t just heard—it’s felt, deep in the chest.
Frontwoman Paige DeChausse delivers vocals that are raw and resonant, the kind that crack you open and stitch you back up in the same breath. At her side, Nick James layers in blistering guitar and grit-soaked harmonies, while Ashlyn Shanafelt and Spanky lock in a rhythm section that hits like muscle and memory.
Their debut record Ain’t No Place to Be dropped April 1st, 2020—into a world that stood still. But the songs kept moving. In small rooms, on quiet stages, and through the headphones of anyone who needed them.
Their newest single, The World Will Be Wood To You, is a rope swing of hope—equal parts tenderness and tenacity. It’s a reminder that beauty still lives in the burn, and resilience is a rhythm worth keeping.
underground death metal band
Formed in the Netherlands in 1987, ASPHYX have always been one of death metal’s most ruthlessly idiosyncratic bands. With a sound that draws from the rawest of materials, they have skilfully blended fast ‘n’ furious extremity with some of the most claustrophobic, suppurating slow-motion doom ever committed to tape. Opening their impeccable account with 1991’s stone cold classic The Rack, ASPHYX have never wavered from their singular vision, delivering a series of legendary albums that have always been considerably heavier than everything else around.
Songs like ‘Scratch & Claw’ feature impactful and introspective rap lyrics and haunting yet passionate vocals over polished, metal inspired, instrumentation, while ‘Going Rogue’ pushes the creative threshold of what a band can excel to be. Dropout Kings, formed in 2016, have already garnered millions of streams from their debut album, AudioDope, which was released August 10th, 2018 through Napalm Records. The group signed to the label before they even performed their first concert, confirming the band’s raw talent and creative fortitude. AudioDope went on to receive rave reviews, being herald for it’s refreshing yet nostalgic sound while blurring the lines between rock and hip hop. In 2019, Dropout Kings signed to Stay Sick Recordings and released the GlitchGang EP. In 2021, DOK signed with Suburban Noize Records and re-released the GlitchGang EP, only further cementing them as a force to be reckoned with. With their latest release and more tours on the way, it is clear that Dropout Kings are on a quest to make the world hear their story.
Since bursting forth from the cosmic ether in 2014, Seattle’s Xoth (pronounced ZOTH) has evoked fan and critical acclaim for their innovative approach to extreme metal. 2019’s Interdimensional Invocations has become a cult classic, blending technical death metal, black metal, and thrash in a novel synthesis that eludes categorization.
In partnership with Dawnbreed Records, their third triumph Exogalactic is an ambitious leap forward. It’s as if they’ve excavated musical relics from Earth’s core and melded them with sounds from the far reaches of the universe. Each song is an event horizon, stirring subgenres into a timewarp of past and future sonic chaos.
Amidst the vortex of sound, the mixing sorcery of Joe Cincotta at Full Force Studio (Obituary, Suffocation) manifests an auditory odyssey and the artwork of Shindy Reehal at Shindy Design sets the tone for the voyage. Xoth is not just music; it’s a journey across the celestial landscape led by interstellar luminaries.
“Through four years of trials and tribulations, we are thrilled to finally unleash an album that has demanded immense dedication, fortitude, and sacrifice. The results of our experiment have surpassed our wildest imagination!”
Xoth is: Tyler Sturgill – Guitar & Vocals Woody Adler – Guitar Ben Bennett – Bass Jeremy Salvo – Drums
WE CRAWL ON OUR BELLIES !! WE SLITHER IN YER EARZ !! DEEP FRIED 3 PIECE WEIRDOS FROM ORLANDO FL !!
Like a molotov cocktail hurled at the new millennium’s bland alt-rock scene, The Briefs exploded onto the punk landscape 25 years ago with their debut “Hit After Hit.” Now, these bleach-blonde Seattle troublemakers continue to set stages ablaze from Vegas to Berlin. Fresh off a European tour and armed with forthcoming 7″ “High Society b/w You Move Me,” they’re proving punk’s not dead—it’s just getting weirder, baby. To cap off a momentous 2024, the Briefs have reissued their sought-after first single “Poor and Weird b/w Rotten Love” while simultaneously gearing up for a US West Coast tour this fall. Five albums deep and countless bottles of peroxide later, these idiot savants continue to urge a new generation to grab a junk guitar, a pair of second-hand shades, and join the punk rock mutation!
Labyrinth is a Thrash Metal band based in Houston, TX. Influenced by classic Thrash Metal [83-94]
How do I drive this thing?
We’re detached one-car garage rock.
for the late nights and red eyes, bleached out is a two piece bedroom project born out of boredom as most things are. please enjoy <3
We are a Hi-NRG, Disco Goth band from Chicago, IL.
Roster: The Law of HUEY, Stark of HUEY, DJ Cymba of HUEY, LOCKWOOD, King Vo of HUEY, KaydoeXO°, John Jones, Jefe of HUEY, STEEEVE
Originating from the Pacific Northwest, Tory Ward combines her amiable, light hearted personality with sardonic humor creating an experience that is singularly hilarious. She’s performed in festivals across the country including Limestone Comedy Festival, SF Sketchfest and 10,000 Laughs. She’s opened for comics such as Louis Katz, Kyle Kinane and Marc Maron.
Known as the Positive Vibe Technician for Perpetual Groove, Brock “The Rev” Butler founded the band with Adam Perry while attending SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) in 1997.
“Adam and I were sequential art students, but I eventually switched to Film, Video and Sound Design. We really put the sound design facilities to work for our own Perpetual Groove purposes.”
After more than two decades, Brock has become a successful solo artist in tandem with the evolution of
Perpetual Groove…
Stay tuned.
CHEZ is an independent alternative pop force on the rise, unfiltered and unapologetic. Known for her blend of raw lyricism and explosive energy, CHEZ has quickly carved out a space of her own – amassing over one million streams on Spotify alone and building a loyal, ever growing community of fans affectionately known as the BADDIES. Championing self-worth, confidence and emotional honesty – especially for young women navigating a complex world – CHEZ makes anthems for those unafraid to stand tall to their own truth. Her undeniable presence has seen her tour nationally across Australia, supporting global acts like Set It Off, Scene Queen, PVRIS and Taylor Acorn. In May/June 2025, CHEZ will head to the UK and Europe with AViVA, marking her first run of international shows. CHEZ is more than just a voice, she’s a movement, making space for a new generation of confident, empowered, emotionally-aware BADDIES.
Cardiff’s HIMALAYAS’ story began when teenagers Joe Williams (lead vocals/guitar) and Mike Griffiths (lead guitar/vocals) started performing in small venues around Wales, and soon captured the attention of hungry fans and music industry tastemakers alike. Later joined by drummer James Goulbourn and completed by Louis Heaps on bass. Sharing a mutual love of Queens Of The Stone Age, Muse, Royal Blood and Iggy Pop, HIMALAYAS quickly honed their unique blend of dark, cinematic fast-paced rock featuring barbed wire riffs and snarling vocals.
The four-piece has been touring consistently, playing key festivals including SXSW, Mad Cool and Reading & Leeds along with high-profile supports with the likes of Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers.
Newly signed to Nettwerk Records, their highly anticipated debut album, ‘From Hell To Here’ is released in May 2023, it was recorded in Wales with Steffan Pringle and mixed in LA by Grammy Award-winning producer, Dave Sardy (Royal Blood, Josh Homme, Rage Against The Machine). Early singles from the album have picked up enthusiastic support across radio and press and reactions at all their live shows have been incredible, with Louder Than War predicting, “…this is the sound that will fill stadiums.” HIMALAYAS have put everything into making their debut album and they’re only just getting started.
Chicago pianist/producer C3zR blends electronic elements, ear-worm hip-hop beats, vintage lo-fi, symphonic textures, and stylistic jazz instrumentation. A frequent collaborator with local and rising talent, his diverse musical approach has reached a growing fanbase.
Based in Grand Rapids, MI, Candid Antics is a six-piece jazz fusion group rapidly gaining recognition as a top local act. They’ve earned accolades including winners of the 2023 Walk the Beat competition, finalists in the 2023 ‘The Stray’ Battle of the Bands, and official artist performances at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. Playing a style of music dubbed “party-fusion” that combines intricate harmonies with timeless grooves, they breathe new life into the golden era of fusion, bringing it to the modern age.
The premier group in audio based fine dining experiences, please enjoy: The Waitstaff.
Impossible just takes a little longer.
Noe Noel is one of Chicago’s most exciting stand up comedians. With six years of professional experience, he has shared the stage with nationally renowned talents like Janeane Garofalo, Sam Tallent, Zainab Johnson, and Nate Jackson. Noe is a regular at some of the country’s top comedy clubs, including Zanies, The Laugh Factory, Comedy Bar, Comedy Works, The Comedy Store, and The Improv.
Beyond Chicago, his curated shows have entertained audiences across the U.S., with productions in Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Denver, Miami, Atlanta, Memphis, Tulsa, Dallas, and more. While widely celebrated as a local favorite, Noe remains relentless in his pursuit of a breakout moment.
A true creative, he explores multiple artistic outlets, including video art, storytelling, and film, bringing a unique perspective and depth to his craft.
Comedienne…… Im just me, why r y’all so mad #PRIMADONNA Snapchat:shawty _nyce
Comedian Dream Chasing. #TuskegeeUniversityAlumnus. Come join the journey.
In 2025 Soft Blue Shimmer find themselves searching for new ways to push sonic boundaries, both on and off stage. For the past six years, the indie outfit have been creating music that transcends genre definitions. Their latest LP “They Will Leave Us With Nothing” is out now.
Woolworthy is a dynamic pop-punk/power-pop band hailing from the vibrant music scene of Chicago. Formed by members Rudy Gonzalez and Rick Uncapher, the band burst onto the local scene in 1995, showcasing their raw and energetic songs influenced by bands like The Replacements, Goo Goo Dolls, Soul Asylum, and Superchunk.
Award winning multi-instrumentalist Dave Bainbridge joins forces with Lord of the Dance vocalist and fellow multi-instrumentalist Sally Minnear to bring a spellbinding evening of music that will, in equal measure, have you jigging in (or out of!) your seat or bring a tear to your eye. A compelling mix of powerful and ethereal vocal songs (including the occasional emotive Gaelic ballad), instrumental tracks – jigs/reels/slow airs/evolving soundscapes and virtuoso improvisation on keyboards, electric guitar, bouzouki and cowbell! All held together with Dave’s humerous banter.
Matt Dorsey is a singer songwriter multi-instrumentalist from Orange County, CA. He’s played with Beth Hart, In Continuum, Dave Kerzner, Circuline, Simon Collins, ProgJect, and is a founding member of Sound of Contact. This page is dedicated to his original music.
Alberta Death Metal
CryOfLove is an upcoming psychedelic blues and rock music group . Their collaboration began with a bang in 2020, met through a “pandemic jam” and officially formed a year later. Since then, they have played and organized live music shows consistently and have been working on recording music as that manages to thrill and delight fans—both old and new. They’re especially inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Thundercat, Bob Dylan and Kanye West.
From small beginnings of John Mayer Soundcloud covers to milestones any artist dreams of, Christian French has been a continuous pop force since his 2016 debut. The Indiana native has always aimed to bring more with his music; self-expression, authenticity, and most importantly, continuous progress towards life’s silver-lining. French expresses hardships of anxiety, doubt and insecurity in a way that offers an optimistic twist, as shown in his EP’s “bright side of the moon” & “good things take time”, while his most recent EP “the space between” shows a deeper, darker perspective of the artist’s every day life while navigating the hardships and challenges that come with growing up.
Through French’s 1 billion streams across all platforms, the unwavering passion and culture from his fans can be seen through his 5 successful North American headline tours, including his recent 28-show “The Space Between” tour in 2023. Now, with Christian French making the choice to become an independent artist for the first time since 2018 & diving increasingly more into his own writing and production, fans will begin seeing facets of French that cut much deeper with new realizations, perspectives, and self-truths as 2024 unfolds.
Whimsical death metal from Northwest Indiana, featuring ghouls spinning tales about Jerma, fantasy monsters, and annoying people.
3 Piece Extreme Metal from the 219
the macks are a knife
Formed in 1995 by Makoto Kawabata at the same time as the Acid Mothers Temple Soul Collective. The group released its debut album in 1997 on PSF Records (Japan), and it was selected as one of the year’s best albums in the The Wire magazine (UK). In 1998 the group played their first tours of the US and Europe. Since then the group has released a huge number of albums on labels from many different countries. As of 2017, the group has released around 80 albums. Every year since 1998, they have toured extensively in the US and Europe, and more recently have started performing around Asia and in Japan too. The group has performed in collaboration with many musicians including psychedelic originators Gong and Guru Guru, Simeon (Silver Apples), Nik Turner (Hawkwind), and the Occitanian trad singer Rosina de Peira. Japanese collaborators have included Afrirampo, Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins), Maso Yamazaki (Masonna), Seiichi Yamamoto (Boredoms), Jun Kuriyama (The Ox), and many others.
To begin with the group had a floating line-up with contributions from many members of the AMT Soul Collective. But as tours became more frequent, the group began to coalesce around a core touring line-up. Other bands were created with Acid Mothers Temple as part of their name (AMT & The Cosmic Inferno, AMT SWR, AMT & The Space Paranoid, AMT & Infinity Rising Zero, Acid Mothers Gong, Acid Mothers Guru Guru, Acid Moon Temple, etc.), but AMT & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. has continued to function as the mothership and main lineage for all our activities.
In 2016, twenty one years since the group’s founding, there was a major shift in the line-up and “Next Generation” was added to the name. We now view the first twenty years as chapter one in our story, and we are now turning the page to start chapter two. The group played more than 100 shows in each year, toured in Europe, North America, South America, Oceania and Asia, also Japan. They also played many festivals (Glastonbury Festival in UK, Levitation in US and France, Rock In Opposition in France, Standon Calling in UK, Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film, Video & Music Festival in Malaysia, LUC fest 貴人散步音樂節 in Taiwan, etc).
During pandemic, they launched their official Bandcamp, have released more than 60 albums (including many unreleased materials), and have toured in Japan in each year. And they played the streaming festival “Levitation Sessions”. They organized “Acid Mothers Olympic 2021” against “Tokyo Olympics 2021”, they originated and played a new style of “music sports”. Finally the group went to the first European tour in Autumn 2022 and North American tour in Spring and Autumn 2023, after pandemic. 2024, the group will tour in Europe in Spring and North America in Autumn.
The current touring line-up is: Kawabata Makoto, Higashi Hiroshi, Satoshima Nani,
Sawano Shozo and Jyonson Tsu since 2022.
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. :
Kawabata Makoto : guitar, speed guru
Higashi Hiroshi : synthesizer, fishin’god
Jyonson Tsu : vocal, guitar, bouzouki, midnight whistler
Satoshima Nani : drums, another dimension
Sawano Shozo : bass, hex man
Boasting over 1.5M combined followers, Luke Eisner and Gus Ross make up the duo, VOILA. They are a fully independent band respectively from Wisconsin and London, who are now based in Los Angeles, California. They met on their first day in LA at USC’s Thornton School of Music and have been inseparable ever since. The Emmy nominated pair self produce, write & perform their own songs.
Their noteworthy success has been increasing rapidly over the years and they continue to grow exponentially, with their hit single Figure You Out having just gone Gold in the US. They have tripled their monthly listeners on Spotify in the past 18 months, now with 3.2M monthly listeners, and 25M streams per month.
They have sold-out every headline show that they’ve played including their latest Spin The Bottle Tour with Chrissy Costanza of Against The Current. Their 2025 Europe Tour Sold Out in less than 48 hours. The band’ s FOURTH studio album, “The Last Laugh (Part I)” is set to be released on June 20, 2025.
good kissing music <3
eva, colin, aidan, and riley
Makeout Palace is a Boston-based band of friends that defies easy classification with their electrifying blend of alternative rock, post punk, and indie pop. The band is composed of—Eva Levin on bass/vocals, Colin Ratcliff on guitar, Riley LePere on sax/flute, and Aidan Shapero on drums—melding a diversity of influences from The Beatles to Black Country New Road into an irresistibly hooky sound. Over the past three years, they’ve gigged Boston’s music scene, releasing two albums, including ‘MAKEOUT PALACE!,’ delivering raw and in-your-face live performances
Griffin Benton is an alternative rock singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, MI. Blending massive guitar riffs, anthemic vocals, and gritty lyrics, he’s developed a unique sonic fingerprint that’s sure to leave you craving more. Benton is a tormented mixture of instrumentals that borrow from Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, and Jack White, fused with the baritone vocal styles of singers like Billy Idol, Alex Turner, and David Bowie. His most recent album, In A Darker Shade, is a moody record packed to the brim with stories of heartbreak, sex, and loss; all crooned over an unforgiving, gloomy soundtrack. Singles debuted on KCRW and WRIF radio, with the album now exceeding a million streams and sending Griff around the country to play to hungry fans. After suffering a near-fatal accident in late 2024, Griffin has found himself back in his studio picking up pieces and preparing two new albums for 2025 releases. And always remember, GRIFF DOES IT DARKER.
Runner and Bobby is a four-piece indie rock band based in Chicago, IL. With inspirations ranging from the Cocteau Twins to Black Sabbath, their new music blends dissonant guitar riffs with heavy grunge to make something both familiar and brand new. After years of making music together, the band released its most recent album Adoring a Friend to frame what they deem most important: Creating memorable live performances, connecting with fans, and making the music they love.
I don’t know half of you half as well as I should…
Yo friends! I’m a songwriter and producer making music out of my bedroom in NYC. Originally from Deerfield, Illinois, so a midwestern boy at heart. Sign up for my email list for unreleased music and videos at jordfully.com. Much love 😀
Since 2010, Nick Scarpinato has been writing and performing his own songs all around the south suburban Chicagoland area. While studying music at Millikin University from 2014 to 2018, he wrote and released his debut independent album “With Regards… from Far Away” in 2018. Then in 2021, after releasing his single “High” in the summer of that year, Nick celebrated his golden birthday on October 26th by releasing his EP “Golden Part: 1”. Since then, he’s been expanding his reach and is excited to continue putting out music he hopes his fans will love.
Duller Colors is a Midwest grunge band for everyone in the late-nite Taco Bell drive-thru.
Heavy shoegaze from Chicago
We make Future R&B music
Elysium Nights is a Chicago-based musical duo consisting of Mike Lee, a rising alternative rap artist, and Maddie Hanna, an indie bedroom pop sensation. Together, they blend their signature sounds to form a sonic fusion, taking influence from indie pop, hip hop, r&b, lo-fi, and alternative music to create an experimental new wave. Full of dreamy melodies, fast cadences, and smooth harmonies, the music of Elysium Nights represents the outcome of collaboration, creativity, passion, and love.
Sativa Reyes “Sa6t6an6aS” is a suburban goth-rapper originally from Celaya, Guanajuato (Mexico). Having immigrated to the U.S. in the late 90’s he now raps from Plainfield, Illinois with a new style that mixes horror, old school rap, and sad beats. Sativa’s fan base was being built from him doing an extensive amount of open mics and networking throughout Illinois. He has since started to gain momentum and even more fans after coming out with his single “Black Candles Freestyle ” as well as a music video to accompany it. Sativa was invited to be interviewed live on air at WZRD Chicago 88.3FM by Rogers Park President Bill Morton and Trudy Leong of WZRD. A month later Sativa was signed on to the major indie label PSP entertainment late 2024. Sativa has since been on more shows and interviews and is now an independent artist. For booking or inquiries email Sa6t6an6as@gmail.com
Faerie Ring will have you experiencing sound in 4D. A monument to volume and sonic excess in its purest form. Einstein said energy cannot be created or destroyed, but he croaked before he could experience the cauldron of amplification Faerie Ring brings. A witches brew of fun, neck snapping guitar riffs and the brutal power of rock and row will have you walking out of the show floored, bewildered and deputized by the raw cosmic bazooka that is Faerie Ring
Vomit Forth is Kane (vocals), Bailey (guitar) and Luke (drums)
Northeast based agents of terror Vomit Forth are driven to create the most visceral death metal the world has ever experienced. Formed in 2017, Vomit Forth set out to champion their influences from Internal Bleeding and Suffocation to Deicide, while eschewing the overall genre expectations of death metal at the time. Vomit Forth broke out in 2018 with their demo, then teamed up with Maggot Stomp who packaged the offering plus two additional songs into the band’s debut LP, Northeastern Deprivation. The band followed it in 2022, joining their current label home Century Media Records to release their sophomore album Seething Malevolence. The lauded record demonstrated the band’s dedication to a truly terrifying and singular brand of death metal. Now the band is gearing up to release their most ambitious album yet, Terrified Of God.
While writing Terrified Of God, Vomit Forth had only one goal in mind – “To make the most unsettling, brutal, and scary death metal record of all time,” shares vocalist Kane Gelaznik. “We absolutely did that.”
In the deep winter of early 2024, the band headed into a cabin in the woods of New Jersey with Randy Leboeuf who recorded, mixed, mastered and produced the album. The month-long recording process led to twelve panic-stricken tracks where every riff, drum fill, and lyric leaves a footprint. The album opens with “Victim Impact Statement,” a two-minute long frenzy that immediately pinpoints Terrified Of God as an outlet for aggression. Early single “Blood Soaked Death Dream” is a relentless masterclass in darkness as the song hits hard with churning riffs and a guttural vocal that is as anguished as it is angry. The dynamic vocal delivery continues on “Negative Penance” as Gelaznik displays his ability to easily shift between throaty vocals, curdling squeals, and a more direct delivery. Vomit Forth opted out of making title track “Terrified Of God” the centerpiece, taking a bold move in having it as a 43 second interlude and it works. Things instantly pick back up with the one-two punch of “Fear of Retaliation” and “Rotting Wool,” both a masterclass in sonic brutality. The album ends with “Salt”, focused on “how we will do anything to try and stop our inner pain, but it will really only end in death.” The last lines of the powerful track recite “If I turn my back on it all, am I the one who’s Terrified Of God?”, leaving a fitting conclusion to the introspective album.
On the record’s themes, Gelaznik expands:
“The biggest thing I want to get across with this record and that humanity doesn’t know everything. We are flawed, and in a lot of ways disgusting. We act like we aren’t afraid of what happens after we die. I know most people like to think nothing happens and we just conduct heat. That there’s no consequence other than how we effect other people during our time here, but I know there’s a hint of fear in the back of everyone’s mind. Everyone feels it. Not a single person on this earth lives without being Terrified of God at one point or another in their life. That’s what the record is about.”
A willingness to explore and incorporate influences from across a wide sonic landscape has always set Vomit Forth apart from their metal peers, and Terrified Of God is here to solidify the band as a mainstay act in the metal community. The band’s live show is just as punishing as the record, and with an upcoming tour supporting The Black Dahlia Murder and Dying Fetus, more audiences will witness Vomit Forth’s violent attack.
As for the goal to create the most unsettling, brutal and scary death metal record of all time? Vomit Forth surpasses it with Terrified Of God.
And for what’s next? Gelaznik simply states, “We want to change the game as far as metal is concerned and set the new standard.”