Feeding Time – Feed Her To The Sharks


feed her to the sharks

Australia has produced quite the number of new faces within the metal scene and Feed Her To The Sharks has swam under the radar and has been drawn the attention of fans everywhere they have ventured into. This summer’s Rockstar Mayhem Festival is the band’s debut North American tour and are soaking in the somewhat overcast spot in Southern California.

It’s been an unbelievable experience so far, even though it’s been only one day,” said guitarist Kim Choo, about their first 48 hours on American soil in Devore, CA. “You sort of see from us from being from Australia, we see DVDs of bands playing festivals of this sort of scale, but it’s so far away for us. Now that we’re here playing these shows, it’s just an awesome experience. We’re stoked.

He shared his thoughts about being on the touring festival and what it means to be part of this tour, especially being it is their first time across North America. “We were a bit worried because we were playing when Hellyeah were just finishing and before King Diamond. So obviously there are two separate stages. People definitely came back and checked us out. We were stoked.

There were people who even know a lot of our songs. [It was] one of the biggest crowds we played in front of – all of these Mayhem dates seem to be crazy. Today it looks like the upwards of 5000 people here. It’s going to be mental. We’re really looking forward to doing this tour.

Feed Her To The Sharks at Rockstar Mayhem Fest - Devore, CA (via Facebook)

Feed Her To The Sharks at Rockstar Mayhem Fest – Devore, CA (via Facebook)

They are thankful for all of the support they have had behind their latest album Fortitude, and having friends on the tour made the transition onto this festival tour an easy one.

We’ve gotten a lot of support from our label Victory Records and we’ve got some mates on this tour. The guys in Thy Art is Murder – they’re an Australian band as well. We just finished touring Europe with those guys. We’re not new to playing shows, but I guess we’re new to doing the festival runs. So far so good – we’re really enjoying it.

Any specific acts they’re looking forward to seeing this summer? “Slayer. I grew up listening to a lot of thrash. Fuck yeah. It’s going to be sick. King Diamond’s going to be killer. Obviously Thy Art is Murder and Whitechapel is going to be brutal. I can’t wait.

Fortitude is their third album overall and their first album released internationally. Choo explained after shuffling lineups since their start in 2008, they were able to bring in players who would help shape their sound into what is heard on the release.

We never really had a full lineup for the first two records (2010’s The Beauty Of Falling and 2013’s Savage Seas). We’re basically in between members and lineup changes. Luckily we came across some rad dudes who really wanted to do this and treat this seriously. We got the right lineup.

So for this album compared to the first two, we had a full lineup. We had everyone who was 100% forward. Everyone worked towards the same goal and that’s what makes this record, in my opinion, so much better than our previous two. We’ve got everyone working together in unison to make the best record that we can.

Aside from Choo and vocalist Andy Van Der Zalm, the band had not held a steady lineup until recently. “We’re the only two original members. We’ve got Marinos (Katsanevas, guitars), Rob (Davies, bass) and Andrew (‘Stix’ Coterell), who are the other three members. Rob’s been around for a bit longer, since Savage Seas, our second record. The other two guys came along when we were writing this new album. It went really well.” “We found the right guys who could take our band to that next step. We’re stoked that we found a really cool group of dudes that we enjoy being friends with and we enjoy doing business with.

Their band moniker does definitely sounds Australian, as sharks and the whole oceanic vibe paints a vivid picture into what their sound could be like. “The first song we wrote as a band is off our first album called The Beauty of Falling called ‘Misery.’ The opening line to that song is ‘feed her to the sharks’,“ explained Choo.

At the time we wrote that song, we didn’t have a band name yet, but it kind of stuck with us. We thought it was a cool sound theme. It sounded good on fliers. It stood out for people. It’s got that Australian sort of feel to it.

After the Rockstar Mayhem Festival, they have a couple of upcoming tours back home. “We have a couple of tours back home in Australia. We’ve got one with Nile and Unearth. It’s going to be sick. It’s in November. I can’t say anything about the other tour quite yet. It’s not announced yet. We’re going to be doing the rounds of Australia a couple of times. We haven’t played there for a while now. We’re hoping to head back to Europe and doing that run again. We had a really good response there so we’re going to try to go back and try our luck.

Feed Her To The Sharks at Rockstar Mayhem Fest 2015 - Albuquerque, NM (via Facebook)

Feed Her To The Sharks at Rockstar Mayhem Fest 2015 – Albuquerque, NM (via Facebook)

While the band is enjoying their time on the tour, they escaped the opposite season known now as winter back home. Technically, Feed Her To The Sharks scored by getting two summers this year and Choo is stoked about this.

It’s so good man to be away from Australia, or Melbourne in particular while it’s winter there. People think it’s Australia but in Melbourne it gets cold in winter. It’s really cold. We don’t get snow or anything crazy like that, but it’s cold. I’m so glad to be here right now.

By Rei Nishimoto


Staying Underground: Jungle Rot


jungle rot

Sticking it out for eleven years doing old school death metal take a lot of heart and dedication, and for Kenosha, WI based Jungle Rot, they have been slugging it out producing blue collar style brutality and never letting down from it. They have released their ninth full length release Order Shall Prevail (out now via Victory Records) and continue to wave the flag for underground Midwestern death metal.

Aside from the music, the band is taking part on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival across North America this summer, and places them in front of a slightly different audience than the underground death metal crowds they were used to playing for. But being a band up for challenges, they were ready to confront this head on.

This is the first time we’ve stepped outside of the underground,” said guitarist Jimmy Genez. “We definitely like playing underground. That’s just home. The label popped up – ‘We’re sponsoring the second stage. Do you want to be involved?’ We’re like sure. Why not? It’s a good chance to get some exposure. A lot of people have seen us but probably never heard us before. That’s a good thing. Will we ever completely out of it? Probably not and I’m ok with that. I’ve been doing this a long time. I think I’ve reached the level unless Slayer asked me to join, I’m never going to be in a band that big. [At least] nothing I started anyways. I don’t have it in me. I’m not a 25 year old kid spending a lot of time fliering on the streets. I’m 40. I don’t have time for that.

While the Rockstar Mayhem Festival is not solely focused on death metal, the band saw an opportunity to play for younger fans of extreme music but other styles as well.

This is going to be good for the band. It’s good exposure. We’re team players with the label. This is definitely a first for us. It kind of sucks to play 25 minutes and just breaking a sweat and it’s time to get off. This is definitely new and we’re ok with it.

Will it be odd not seeing a sea of death metal logos everywhere? “It’s different but we don’t mind different. We want lots of different people to hear our music. I know there’s all kinds of metalheads. There’s pat stubs and stinky fucks and more hardcore Slipknot types. We like to think we can bring something to the table.

jungle rot prevailcd

They began working on Order Shall Prevail immediately after completing the touring cycle for their last album (2013’s Terror Regime). Sticking to a formula that worked best for them, they created another powerful album that longtime fans have grown to know them for.

Right after we released the last one and we did a little touring for it, we sat down and started writing. We started getting some stuff grooving on it. The writing process is pretty easy for us. It’s what you think it would be. It’s a couple of guys getting together, talk, smoke weed and jam. We just write riffs, record them, piece them together, see what works with what riff, mumble tracking the vocals and see if the vocals are strong there. It’s pretty simple.

We didn’t go into any different mindset with this record. We knew we wanted to top the last two. Of course any band will tell you that their latest album is their best album, but I truly believe it is. It’s got everything on there that Jungle Rot’s known for. It’s got the fast thrashy shit, the slower headbangers, the couple mosh riffs…it’s got everything.”

One highly publicized song on Order Shall Prevail is “Fight Where You Stand,” which features Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura, currently of Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy and Killer Be Killed) on guest vocals.

My old friend Joe Nunez used to play drums for Soulfly. He’s from my area. He’d come home and we’d hang out. He would say ‘I know you don’t believe me but the Cavaleras love Jungle Rot. They’d listen to it on the bus, the kids love it.’ Nah I don’t believe it. I never believed him. We played 70,000 Tons Of Metal and we’re playing and I look down and there’s Max banging his head. I was like fuck yeah! That’s cool.

Right after we got off the stage, he and his wife came up to us and they introduced themselves – we’re big fans, blah, blah, blah. It was amazing. I kept in touch and I hit Gloria up and asked if Max would be interested in doing some vocals with us. They were coming to Milwaukee in like a week. She said yeah Max is totally down. We got a laptop and a couple of mics and met him on the tour bus and got his tracks. It was pretty easy. He was really into it. He had ideas he wanted to try.

It was kind of cool having a legend like Max Cavalera sing my lyrics too. I listen to it and like ‘wow. He’s singing to something I wrote.’ It’s pretty cool.

Another change came within their lineup as they enlisted a new drummer (Joey Muha) for this album. Being no stranger to drummer changes, they quickly made the shift and found his enthusiasm to give them an added charge atop of their already energetic sound.

We’re like the Spinal Tap of death metal,” he said, about the drummer changes. “Jesse [Beahler] played on the last two albums and is a great kid. He wanted to move on and try different things. He’s really a tech drummer – really into crazy techniques and stuff. Jungle Rot wasn’t a thing for him. I’m sure playing in the band helped his playing a little bit, because there’s a certain tightness involved. He was a great drummer. He wanted to move on and try different things. Plus he lived far away too.

We got our buddy Joey [Muha] from Threat Signal. He’s from Canada. He’s a good friend of the band. He’s a good hard working kid. He’s really hungry for it. He takes a lot of pressure off of the older guys in the band. He’s out there running around finding the production guys, doing the guest lists – you don’t have to do that and it’s nice.

If you buy a Jungle Rot record, you know what you’re getting into. It’s definitely not a tech-death twist anywhere. It’s not going to happen. It’s gonna be solid headbanging.

By Rei Nishimoto


Jungle Rot – Order Shall Prevail


jungle rot prevailcd

Jungle Rot has been one of the most consistent bands in death metal for over two decades. The fact that they are not top of mind when talking about the best American death metal acts is a shame for how hard they have worked. Added to the fact that their thrashy, power-groove flavored style has always harkened back to the earliest death metal years, while current popular tastes favor the more flashy technical bands. All that being equal, Jungle Rot always turns out solid albums, and their new one Order Shall Prevail (Victory) is no different.

The best thing about Jungle Rot is they know where they live and breathe: the grinding, grooving mid-tempo jams that make everyone headbang and mosh. Starting with the Slayer-tastic ‘Doomsday’, they serve notice that yes, the`Rot is back! Vocalist David Matrise’s militaristic howling bark has always stood out to me. The second track ‘Paralyzed Prey’ has an angular riff from guitarist Geoff Bub and some tasty soloing going on as well. ‘Blood Revenge’ is one of the best songs on the album. Just a classic badass cut. It has a maelström of cool parts that get better on every listen. ‘Fight Where You Stand’ is a deathy speed metal jam and features Max Cavalera on guest vocals. The Max connection makes sense since Jungle Rot has clearly been influenced by early Sepultura albums such as Beneath The Remains and Arise (both Roadrunner). Cavalera and Matrise’s two vocal ranges mesh beautifully too, in a too often not heard type of team up for death metal.

As you would imagine, the title track is a claustrophobic feeling affair, warning of a dystopian future not too far off for us. You can almost hear this being a huge sing-a-long song live. Drummer Jesse Beahler, who dominates on this album, is on point here. Other top tracks include ‘The Dread Pestilence’ ‘Cast The First Stone’, and ‘Nuclear Superiority’.

At this point in the game, Jungle Rot is not going to change up the formula too much, yet stay true to themselves. Their straight-ahead approach should help win over fans all summer as they appear on the Victory Records Stage at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival.

7.0/10

KEITH CHACHKES


Video: Jungle Rot Releases Paralyzed Prey Video, New Album Out Now


jungle rot video premiere poster vevo

Jungle Rot today released their new music video for the track ‘Paralyzed Prey’, off of their album Order Shall Prevail (Victory), released today. You can watch the video at this link or below:

Jungle Rot bassist James Genenz commented on the clip:

We wanted to have a little more fun with this one. Dave (Matrise-vocals/guitar) has wanted to kill one of more of us bandmates at least once or twice, so we actually gave him the opportunity! The song is essentially about a hunter becoming the hunted, so the imagery fits rather well. It was a blast to film.”

Jungle Rot can bee seen all summer long on the Victory Records Stage of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival.


Boston’s Metal For Nepal Concert Takes Place Tomorrow


Metal For Nepal Benefit Concert

Metal For Nepal Benefit Concert

After weeks of planning, Boston’s Metal For Nepal Benefit (#MetalForNepal) concert is nearly here. Spurred into action after two devastating earthquakes rocked Nepal, Metal For Nepal mobilized to do our part to join the people on the ground lending aid and energy to ravaged communities in need of aid. Taking place at the legendary Middle East Night Club in Cambridge MA, the concert will be held on June 20th from 12 noon – 4 PM. Headlining the bill will be Obsidian Tongue, followed by Native Construct, Caricature, Sonic Pulse and BruteMukti. The show is $10 and All Ages. You can get tickets online here:

Link to the Facebook Event for Metal For Nepal here:

Proceeds from tickets, as well as exclusive raffle merch and other donations will go toward the Jai Nepal Youth Club, No Silence for Nepal, WHR Nepal, Reaping Hope and Jagaruk Nepal.

There is also a benefit compilation organized by Metal for Nepal performers BruteMukti featuring Nepalese metal bands dubbed Nepal Earthquake Relief. You can donate and download the collection from Bandcamp here: https://nepal-earthquake-relief.bandcamp.com/releases. Physical copies will also be available for purchase at the Metal For Nepal, with all the proceeds going to charity.

Special thanks to Kevin Brown, Kunjan Joshi, Erik Hansen of Wormwood Joint Booking, The Middle East Night Club and all of the bands for helping to organize this relief effort so quickly. In addition to the performers, many music labels, publicity firms, and independent artists have pledged their support to the concert in the way of donating all kinds of exclusive memorabilia and band merch that will be raffled off, adding to the specialness of the event. The support of the metal community by the music industry has buoyed our efforts and we’d like to thank them here:

Victory Records

Prosthetic Records

Dewar PR

Fly PR

EarsplitPR

Several other PR firms, which made anonymous donations

Artist Mark Richards of Heavy Hand Illustration (Aborted, Pig Destroyer, Revocation)

Artist Michelle Duggan (Saint Vitus, Lord Dying, Cult Leader)

Exclusive items such as Aborted’s recent LP signed by the band, Death’s lyrics book signed by James Murphy, assorted signed posters, exclusive screen prints from Mark Richards and Michelle Duggan, limited edition box set, vinyl, patches, cds and more made as personal donations from participants in Metal For Nepal!

Our exclusive buttons for our Raffle entrants were made by Russ Orcutt of All About Records.

 

 

Please support the bands that are performing at Metal For Nepal :

Obsidian Tongue on Facebook

Native Construct on Facebook

Caricature on Facebook

Sonic Pulse on Facebook

BruteMukti on Facebook

 


Jungle Rot Releasing Order Shall Prevail On June 30th


jungle rot 2015 promo_638

Veteran death metallers Jungle Rot will be releasing their ninth full length album Order Shall Prevail on June 30, 2015 via Victory Records. The song “Paralyzed Prey” can be streamed below.

The band will be on this summer’s Rockstar Mayhem Festival, and have also unveiled a number of off dates.

Jun 23: Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO
Jun 24: Club X – Salt Lake City, UT
Jun 29: The Panic Room – Portland, OR
Jul 02: The Dive Bar – Las Vegas, NV
Jul 05: 89th Street Collective – Oklahoma City, OK
Jul 06: The Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
Jul 09: Fubar – St. Louis, MO
Jul 14: Broadway Joe’s – Buffalo, NY
Jul 16: L’Alize – Montreal, QC
Jul 27: The Maywood – Raleigh, NC
Jul 28: New Mountain – Asheville, NC
Jul 30: Hot Shots – Shreveport, LA

jungle rot prevailcd

Order Shall Prevail track listing:
01: Doomsday
02: Paralyzed Prey
03: Blood Revenge
04: Fight Where You Stand (Featuring Max Cavalera)
05: Order Shall Prevail
06: The Dead Pestilence
07: I Cast The First Stone
08: E.F.K.
09: Trench Tactics
10: Nuclear Superiority


On The Road… with The Story So Far, Four Year Strong, Terror and Souvenirs


TSSF-W-DATES

 

 

The Story So Far is on the road supporting their brand new album The Story So Far (Pure Noise). Playing with a stacked line-up, the tour has been playing to packed houses every night. Four Year Strong, practically a local band on this bill from nearby Woostah Mass (Worcester if you are sans accent), also is about to drop a new self-titled album from Pure Noise records. This makes for a very good time for pop-punk fan and the impressive indie label. Next on the bill is Terror, who might seem out of place, fit right in. Few do it better than these SoCal vets who are still supporting 2013’s Live By The Code (Victory). When the band gets off the road, they will continue working on the follow-up due later this year. Souvenirs set the table in style to kick the entire show off. Shot here by Meg Loyal Photography at the House of Blues Boston, The Story So Far are just opening the book on this new chapter of the band.

The Story So Far, by Meg Loyal

The Story So Far, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Story So Far, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Story So Far, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Story So Far, by Meg Loyal Photography

The Story So Far, by Meg Loyal Photography

Four Year Strong, by Meg Loyal Photography

Four Year Strong, by Meg Loyal Photography

Four Year Strong, by Meg Loyal Photography

Four Year Strong, by Meg Loyal Photography

Terror, by Meg Loyal Photography

Terror, by Meg Loyal Photography

Terror, by Meg Loyal Photography

Terror, by Meg Loyal Photography

Souvenirs, by Meg Loyal Photography

Souvenirs, by Meg Loyal Photography

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Shattered Sun Contest Winner


shattered sun album cover 2015

Like all good things, our contest with the young thrashers in Shattered Sun has come to an end. The winner of our contest is Brenden James Patterson of San Francisco, CA. Brenden wins an exclusive prize pack of killer Shattered Sun merch from Victory Records and Ghost Cult. Thanks for entering Brendan and thanks to all the entrants!

Pick up Hope Within Hatred (Victory) now. You can see Shattered Sun next at The River City Rockfest and this summer’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival on the Victory Records Stage.

shattered sun band 2015

 

Stay tuned for more contests and cool stuff to win from Ghost Cult!

Shattered Sun on Instagram

Victory Records on Instagram

GhostCultMag on Instagram


Ghost Cult’s Shattered Sun Contest Ends This Weekend


Shattered Sun flyer Ghost Cult contest

Shattered Sun is playing two shows in their home state of Texas this weekend, celebrating the recently released Hope Within Hatred (Victory) album. It also marks the end of our contest for you to win a FREE, exclusive prize pack of the band’s merch from Ghost Cult and Victory Records. The band just finished a whirlwind tour opening for Testament and Exodus on the Dark Roots of Thrash II Tour. If you caught the band anywhere on tour this spring, or are going to one of the shows this weekend, you still have a chance to win:

Step 1: Take a picture of Shattered Sun, kicking ass on stage, in a photo with you at a meet and greet, you with your Shattered Sun gear, whatever you like. Photos from any date on the recent tour are acceptable.

Step 2: Tag @ShatteredSun, @GhostCultMag and @VictoryRcords in your photo on Instagram. (Following all these accounts can’t hurt your chances!)

Step 3: Don’t forget the Hashtag #HopeWithinHatred

Thanks to all who have entered already! Good luck true believers!

shattered sun album cover 2015

 

Shattered Sun on Instagram

Victory Records on Instagram

GhostCultMag on Instagram

#HopeWithinTheHatred

 

*One grand-prize winner will be chose at random. Entrants must live in the continental United States. Contest ends Sunday May 10th at 5 PM EST.


Soulfly, Soilwork, Decapitated and Shattered Sun Confirm North American Tour


soulfly soilwork decapitated shattered sun tour

Soulfly, Soilwork, Decapitated and Shattered Sun have confirmed an upcoming North American tour with dates posted below. Soulfly will be releasing their new album Archangel on August 14, 2015 via Nuclear Blast. Decapitated is supporting Blood Mantra, out now via Nuclear Blast. Shattered Sun is supporting Hope Within Hatred, out now via Victory Records.

Soulfly’s “We Sold Our Souls To Metal” 2015 Tour with Soilwork, Decapitated, Shattered Sun
Sep 30: Fonda Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 01: Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Oct 02: Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
Oct 03: Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
Oct 04: Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
Oct 06: Level Nightclub – Kelowna, BC
Oct 07: Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
Oct 08: O’Brian’s Event Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Oct 09: Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Oct 10: Amsterdam – Minneapolis, MN
Oct 11: Mojoes – Joliet, IL
Oct 12: Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA
Oct 13: Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
Oct 14: Opera House – Toronto, ON
Oct 15: Corona Theater – Montreal, QC
Oct 18: Northland Performing Arts Center – Columbus, OH
Oct 19: Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI
Oct 20: Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
Oct 21: Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
Oct 22: The International – Knoxville, TN
Oct 23: Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Oct 24: Culture Room – Ft Lauderdale, FL
Oct 25: State Theater – St Petersburg, FL
Oct 27: Scout Bar – Houston, TX
Oct 28: Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
Oct 29: Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
Oct 30: Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM

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Soilwork on Facebook
Soilwork on Twitter
Soilwork on YouTube
Decapitated on Facebook
Decapitated on Twitter
Decapitated on YouTube
Shattered Sun on Facebook
Shattered Sun on Twitter
Shattered Sun on YouTube