The moment you hear it, you know it’s CROWBAR. Praised by Pitchfork, VICE, and Metal Hammer. Twice immortalized by Beavis and Butt-Head. The group is worshipped by the heartbroken and downtrodden – those who exorcise their demons in smoke-covered riffs of mournful devastation. A genuine band’s band, with a wide-ranging influence across multiple genres, Crowbar “helped draw up the sludge metal blueprints” (Kerrang!). Celebrating a recent 30th anniversary, Crowbar is led by one of the most beloved figures in heavy metal, riff overload Kirk Windstein. His menacing bellow and smooth drawl put resilient, unrepentant strength behind even the most somber odes to suffering.

Crowbar songs are unapologetic emotional outpourings, with a bare-knuckle resolve alongside its soul-searching vulnerability, reliably delivered with crushing heaviness. Zero and Below, which cements the band’s dense catalog as exactly one dozen studio albums deep, is the most unforgivably doomy Crowbar record since their landmark 1998 effort, Odd Fellows Rest. Zero and Below is reverently old-school, counter-balanced by a resonant melodicism that’s stunningly mature. Songs like “Chemical Gods,” “Bleeding From Every Hole,” and “It’s Always Worth The Gain” demonstrate what Crowbar does better than any other band: powerful, evocative, and crushingly heavy music.

Gargantuan-sounding career-resurgence slabs Sever The Wicked Hand (2011), Symmetry in Black (2014), and The Serpent Only Lies (2016) sits mightily alongside Crowbar classics like Time Heals Nothing (1995), comprising a robust catalog worthy of examination, dedication, and repeat listens. Songs like “Planets Collide,” “Existence Is Punishment,” and “All I have (I Gave)” are anthems as demonstrative of the sludge sound as early songs by Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth represent Thrash.

Sever The Wicked Hand introduced guitarist Matt Brunson and drummer Tommy Buckley to the Crowbar faithful. Symmetry in Black began a partnership with producer Duane Simoneaux. Rolling Stone named it as one of the 20 Best Metal Albums of 2014; Pitchfork praised it as well. Exclaim! honored The Serpent Only Lies as “another worthy album to add to Crowbar’s influential and highly revered catalog.” Rounded out by bassist Shane Wesley, Crowbar and Simoneaux work their magic repeatedly on Zero and Below. As Metal Hammer astutely observed, Crowbar “exists in a genre of one.”

A sonic metal assault that leaves audiences pumped with adrenaline, Detroit’s BATTLECROSS triumphantly return as one of the true champions of American Heavy Metal with their devastating sophomore release, War of Will. Co-Produced at Audiohammer Studios with famed producers Mark Lewis and Eyal Levi, the sophomore effort from Detroit’s newest soldiers of steel will soon prove as one of the most impressive follow-up releases , destined to become a heavy metal classic for fans of all sub-genres. “War of Will triggers a strange Deja Vu while feeling completely brand new” says Levi.

With elements of upbeat thrash, European, death, and southern metal, War of Will brings back the old school thrash, heavy groove, harmonizing guitars, epic guitar solos, dynamic death-style vocals and impressive bass work that made 2011’s Pursuit of Honor a fast favorite. Fans will appreciate another complete, yet more mature brutal assault with contagious hooks and choruses that will guarantee headbangability and the dynamic live show for which BATTLECROSS is best known.

Celebrated for their cross-over thrash/classic American heavy metal image and sound, and relentless enthusiasm for touring, BATTLECROSS entered Audiohammer Studio in March 2013 immediately after a full North American trek with Sweden’s In Flames and a busy 2012. With an impressive list of top notch metal productions, the studio turned out to be the perfect fit for the young band. “The laid back atmosphere, mixed with the ‘deliver or be delivered’ expectations really inspired us to push ourselves to be the best during the production, and it really reflects in the lyrical content as well as the final product.” said Guitarist Tony Asta. “War of Will is exactly what it sounds like, a straight up heavy metal album, but we’ll let the fans be the judge”

Titled to describe BATTLECROSS’ fast and furious climb in the two years since releasing their debut, War of Will challenges fans through its lyrical theme to push their limits in pursuit of their goals and to sacrifice all to overcome life’s obstacles and succeed—a message proven by the band’s quick ascent to breakout status from high-profile tours, heavy radio play, while drawing comparisons to the heavyweights of metal.

War of Will marks the first major session contribution by drummer Shannon Lucas, who contributes an upbeat thrash vibe with his precision and aggression best suited for the BATTLECROSS style. “Shannon is one of the true beasts of metal drumming” said Co-Producer Eyal Levi, “his skills are technically untouchable and combine that with a badass rising star of a band and we have the makings of a crushing record.”

The young band’s career kicked off what every metal musician dreams of: amazing album reviews from Metal’s most respected publications for their 2011 debut on Metal Blade Records, Pursuit of Honor. Metal Assault named the record “one of the most ‘complete heavy metal albums in recent times’ while receiving high praises from heavyweights Revolver, Decibel, Blabbermouth and others. With killer reviews across the internet and in print publications throughout North America and overseas (including band of the month in Metal Hammer Norway and Metal Hammer Spain), it should be no surprise that this blue collar, hard-work ethic that comes from the members of BATTLECROSS translates into a potent force on record as well as a high-energy live performance winning fans across the country on some of the metal’s highest profile tours.

The growing buzz over Pursuit of Honor positioned the band for opportunities that have proven to be stepping stones for what is expected to be a long and exciting career for BATTLECROSS, starting with a spot in a 2011 CMJ Showcase with Skeletonwitch and Kvelertak and the band’s first tour ever, an Eastern U.S. run with Rose Funeral and Diamond Plate. It was during this tour that BATTLECROSS was introduced to North America and became SiriusXM Liquid Metal mainstays with the single Push Pull Destroy, which spent over 30 weeks on ‘The Devil’s Dozen’ and reached the #1 most requested song for five weeks and to date, over two million YouTube views. Throughout 2012, satellite radio introduced singles ‘Breaking You’ and ‘Man of Stone’, together spending a total of 50 weeks on Jose Mangin’s popular Metal Countdown.

BATTLECROSS’ reputation for technical talent, humility and fan engagement earned the band the opportunity to continue their climb with an appearance at 2012 SXSW Metal Blade Showcase; tours with: Hate Eternal and Goatwhore (Winter 2012), Origin, Decrepit Birth, Cattle Decapitation on the Occupation Domination Tour (Spring 2012), Metal Hammer’s Trespass America Festival with Five Finger Death Punch, Killswitch Engage, and Trivium (Summer 2012), a headlining stage appearance at Heavy MTL, opposite System of a Down and high-profile shows celebrating Metal Blade’s 30th Anniversary with As I Lay Dying, Six Feet Under and more.

After a fist-pumping debut, impressive 2012 breakout tours, BATTLECROSS will continue their climb as one of Metal’s most impressive new bands with 2013 appearances at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, Orion Music +More with Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Deftones and Suicidal Tendencies in the band’s hometown of Detroit and the 4th Annual GwarBQ with Municipal Waste and Corrosion of Conformity.

WAR OF WILL releases July 9th, 2013 just as the band heads out for the summer on the Rock Star Energy Drink Mayhem Festival Tour with Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Amon Amarth, Children of Bodom, Machine Head, Behemoth, Mastodon and more in what is expected to be the tour and album that will cement BATTLECROSS as an American Heavy Metal heavyweight banging heads for years to come.

“We set out to write a record about life, and it ended up being about death,” says Lord Dying guitarist/vocalist Erik Olson about the band’s third studio album Mysterium Tremendum.
While the new record centers around death (and you bet your ass it’s a double-LP concept album), it focuses more on what awaits us on the other side (while also exploring our culture’s fear of dying and the struggles with our mortality). The ideas for the concept have been kicking around for some time, but it’s fitting that they’re only now coming to fruition.
At the core of these Portland, Oregon, heavy metal titans are Olson and guitarist Chris Evans, who’ve been making music together since fifth grade. They formed Lord Dying before they had a name or a record when another Portland powerhouse Red Fang beckoned them to open some shows for them in 2010. Two records and countless live performances—including tours with Voivod and Crowbar—followed.
Mysterium Tremendum is the record Olson and Evans have wanted to make since the band’s inception. It’s easily Lord Dying’s most musically diverse album, but one that could only be created following the band’s jackhammer 2013 debut Summon the Faithless, and 2015’s brooding Poisoned Altars. “It’s more along the lines of what we wanted to do early on,” says Evans.
Lord Dying was already beginning to expand its musical palette—including moodier interludes and Olson’s expanded vocal range—but Olson says once the decision was made to make a concept record, he and Evans pushed themselves to match the themes musically and vocally. You’ll hear it in songs like “The End of Experience” and the floating “Severed Forever,” which sees Olson melodically doubling his vocals before returning to his trademark growl. Shorter interludes like “Tearing the Fabric of Consciousness” and “Even the Darkness Went Away” are stunning and fragile, like nothing the band has ever done.

Olson and Evans worked tirelessly on the songs together throughout a year-and-a-half, using programmed drum parts, and sending ideas back and forth. As Olson puts it: “It was the first time we were able to put things under a microscope.” The songs were all but ready by the time they headed to Los Angeles’ West Valley Recording Studios in August of 2018 with engineer Mike Plotnikoff (Fear Factory, In Flames). L.A.-based bassist Matt Price and drummer Chase Manhattan jumped right in to bring these songs of death to life, and the results are tremendous and seamless.
Mysterium Tremendum is an emotionally satisfying record, lyrically and musically. Its exploration of death goes beyond longing for it to see what lies beyond (“Lacerated Psyche” is about the death of Evans’ sister). There are many layers to it—you might even find parallels between the record’s concept and life itself. It’s a journey. And in their quest to pursue death, Lord Dying have themselves found new life.

AIR RAID is a Heavy Metal act from Gothenburg, Sweden. They were originally formed in 2009 by guitarists Andreas Johansson & Johan Karlsson. After releasing the EP “Danger Ahead” & the Full-length album “Night Of The Axe” with former singer Michalis Rinakakis, AIR RAID appeared at the Keep It True-Festival in Germany, early 2013. This was followed by two smaller tours and festival gigs around Europe.
In the middle of all success, the personal differences between the band and Michalis had gotten too severe. As a result, AIR RAID decided to part ways with him.
Shortly after bringing in new vocalist Arthur W Andersson in July 2013, the band went on a 5-gig Southern European Tour, and also performed two very successful gigs on Japanese Assault Fest in Tokyo, Japan!

The current line-up, including Andreas Johansson (Guitars), Magnus Mild (Guitars), Robin Utbult (Bass), David Hermansson (Drums) and Arthur W Andersson (Vocals), are now working on a new album and will appear on many gigs throughout 2016. Catch them on the road and Raid On!

Chicago-area metallers Phil Kurasz (of Lasting Vengeance), Andrew Whitfield (ex-Clad in Darkness, ex-Ghost of Mendea), Rob Whitworth (ex-Reprobation, ex-Blutige Nacht), and Josh Lloyd (ex-Deficit) formed Living Terror in late 2014 for one purpose: to carry the banner of true, old-school, aggressive metal throughout the Midwest.