What do you do when you’re weeks away from releasing your debut album, a freshly departed front man, and have a half finished album without vocals? You man the fuck up. That is exactly what Indianapolis-based band, The Contortionist, did. With two self-released EP’s, Good-Fight Music finally took notice of the band, signed them and sent them to the studio. A few months and one new vocalist later, The Contortionist emerge with an epic that is Exoplanet. Read More »

The first thoughts that came to mind when I listened to Impending Doom’s new album were that it’s hard and fast. Add harsh yelling and eerie whispers to that, and you have the essence of There Will Be Violence.

With three full-lenghts under their belt, There Will Be Violence as a whole is most similar to their previous release, The Serpent Servant. Impending Doom originally started more in the death metal genre with their EP, The Sin and Doom of Godless Men and full-length, Nailed. Dead. Risen. But for their last, The Serpant Servant, and most recent, There Will Be Violence, Impending Doom has seem to have found their sweet spot in the deathcore genre. Read More »

From loyal fans to haters, beefs with bands considered to be similar, and a naturally angered attitude toward the everyday world, The Acacia Strain have been bringing listeners heaviness for quite some time.  The recent release, Wormwood, has been hyped for months by studio updates, comedic videos, and small teasers in order to keep fans on their toes.  These videos were pretty extraordinary, seemingly scripted at many points, and also unique in the sense that front man Vincent Bennett is seen as the receiving end of many jokes- much different from his shredding of bands and just about everything else during live performances. Read More »

Attila is a party death metal band from Atlanta that formed in 2005. Truthfully, I’ve not ventured much into the ‘party death metal’ genre, so this was a new experience for me. After listening closely, I’ve come to find out that party metal is pretty fun! That being said, Attila’s new album, Rage, is certainly something to celebrate. Read More »

“My friend has never heard a good breakdown. What should I show them?”  This is something I hear from friends more often than I can keep track of.  I’ll be the first to admit that “Top Breakdown” lists are extremely overdone, and completely void of a sense of novelty.  Nevertheless, they are my favorite part of any metal genre, and a great way to intensify a track, express passion, and liven shows.  The songs I’ve selected for this week each have insanely heavy parts, and are each unique for certain reasons.  One thing they share is that they will give you goose bumps from head to toe before the track comes to an end. Read More »

Whitechapel – a band cherished by many, but hated by just as many, if not more. Surely preparing to terrorize and torment fans of We The Kings and similar bands at Warped Tour this summer, we have been blessed with some new material to mosh and headbang to, as Whitechapel will likely try to attract new fans, yet satisfy the old.  Although they have been looked down upon since the beginning for their gruesome lyrics, exploitation of breakdowns (which some consider to be BR00TAL), and what was deemed by some as “lack of musical talent,” employing their down-tuned seven string guitars.  A New Era of Corruption brings the deep gutturals of past albums, shrieking yet powerful highs, and shows the members’ desire to incorporate more melodic ability as they struggle to escape the title of “deathcore.” Read More »

I Declare War breaks through with its first album on the newly formed Artery Recordings, Malevolence. If anyone knows anything about I Declare War, its that they tend to ‘bring the heavy’ as some might say…and that is definitely the case with this record. This album doesn’t fuck around in the slightest. No catchy chorus, no synth breakdown, just really, really heavy music.  To say it bluntly, Malevolence is really fucking brutal. Read More »

I recently was able to chat with vocalist Alex Hofmann of one of my favorite unsigned metal bands, Fallujah. Alex gave us a bit on insight on the upcoming release, what makes them tick and what we can expect from them in the future.

Mind Equals Blown: Are you guys working on any new music?

Alex Hoffman: Yes we are currently writing our full length, were taking this opportunity (now that were not touring) to finish this album up and hopefully have it out by winter. Read More »

With a name like Wrath and Rapture, you need to be seriously epic. I am glad to say that upon reviewing their self-titled 10 track EP, I can confirm that they are indeed epic in large proportions. Read More »

Mind Equals Blown Photography gives you a look back at Bring Me The Horizon on the Epitaph tour supported by Every Time I Die, Architects and Oh Sleeper.