Hell yeah! I am glad you’re enjoying some of it and I didn’t waste your time. I love Wax Wings and Dying Star too. I actually think Dying Star is one of the band’s hidden gems. The song is less “showy” than others, but is still utterly captivating.
I went to Earthside/Caligula's Horse in Atlanta on Tuesday, and did VIP for CHorse. I had never done a VIP experience before. I guess it's the DIY/punk ethos in me that doesn't believe I should have to pay money to meet a band, but I've softened on that a little. I'm in a stage of life with more money for concerts but I also don't get to go to as many as I would like, so I want to make it count when I do. Also, I like supporting bands I like, especially smaller acts, and ESPECIALLY international acts that have a lot of costs associated with coming over to the US to tour. It was a cool experience. Got to see them do 3 songs during soundcheck, then they did about a 10-minute Q&A from the stage, then they came down and did a meet and greet and signed anything you wanted, chatted for a minute, and took a picture if you wanted to. I also got a tour poster, a pick tin, and a VIP laminate. it was $50, and it was fairly intimate, maybe 25ish people. I think it was worth it. Earthside was interesting. They are a 4-piece with a drummer, bass, guitar, and keyboard player. They have a projection with visuals behind the drummer, and it also features clips of the guest singer while piping in vocals from the backing track. It was good, but aside from their keyboardist being very into it, it feels like it's a low ceiling as far as energy during their show with the lack of a singer. Y'all know I've been raving about CHorse in this thread ever since I started it, and they fully delivered. They were aware of this being their first proper US tour, so they played a great mix from their whole discog, and sounded really tight. Jim is one of the best frontmen I've ever seen. He sings perfect, he gets really into it, and interacts and banters with the crowd in a really entertaining way. Sam shreds, but their lack of a second guitarist keeps him real busy switching between lead and rhythm parts, and he handles it well for the most part, but it's hard not to think they'd do well with a touring rhythm guitarist, but they talked in the Q&A about liking to tour with just the core four guys. Great show. Can't wait to hopefully catch them again in the states.
Really digging the new Last Chance to Reason songs. I didn’t know about them before, but apparently it’s the band Michael Lessard was in before he joined The Contortionist.
New singles from Wheel and Dvne have come out recently, and I've been loving them. Also part two of the Night Verses album is out today, and I'm definitely checking that out at some point.
I just learned about Dvne recently and I'm really digging them. Abode of the Perfect Soul is fantastic.
it will take a lot to knock Caligula’s Horse off the top of my AOTY list, but this description has me extremely hopeful.
I really like Reliquary. I was afraid I was going to play out Abode of the Perfect Soul before release, but it's excellent.
2 Song Acoustic Single from Periphery NOW STREAMING It’s an exciting day for us. Our 2-song Acoustic Single is out today featuring "Scarlet" and "It’s Only Smiles". You can also check out the video for Smiles now. Also, ICYMI, 7” copies of the single release are up for preorder now in the band store. There are only 500 being pressed so get them now. Expected delivery date for those is June 24th. New merch is also up on the store today...two new tees and a bucket hat. Lastly, we want to send thanks and a hearty shoutout to our good friend and amazing talent Mike Dawes for collaborating with us on these tracks. He helped bring these to life and we are grateful for his support! Periphery, Mike Dawes - 2 Song Acoustic Single (lnk.to)
All the new Wheel singles are great, but this one is especially my favorite so far. I definitely wrote them off as being too much of a Tool copy initially, but I’m not sure if it’s just me, but they seem to really be blooming into their own thing (the influence obviously still there).
a couple listens in and it's comfortably my second favorite album this year behind Caligula's Horse. Great stuff. One of the best produced metal albums I've heard in a long time. I think some of the Meshuggah guys had a hand in this, and that heaviness really comes through this time.
I am really enjoying this album too. I still need “Submission” to grow on me, but I absolutely adore “Saboteur” at the moment. There’s such a Karnivool/Tool vibe here. It’s just heavy and challenging enough without tipping over on itself in my opinion.
Never listened to them before, but I checked it out because I really liked the studio documentaries they did, and I really like it.
Definitely check out The Shape of Colour! I got really into that when I first learned I liked this brand of instrumental progressive metal.
very excited for new Leprous. Seems like 7 string guitars are back, along with more bite than most of the previous two releases.