music blog

RATING: 6/10 NORTHLANE‘s self-recorded, self-produced record “Obsidian” is a musical grab bag from which all sorts of genres emerge. The Australian 4-piece that began as a metalcore outfit with ambient tones has morphed into a much more electronic and alt-pop focused band. While there are still plenty of unclean vocals and rapid-fire drum fills to be found on their sixth album, many of these songs would serve a better purpose at a rave or a nightclub. That’s fine for the listener who’s into a little bit of everything, but when fusing such different genres together, the key to success is flow. The reason FALLING IN REVERSE can genre bend so well, for instance, is that there is a cohesive progression between the various elements; from rap to metalcore to pop hoo...

Video of 3RD SECRET, the new band featuring SOUNDGARDEN guitarist Kim Thayil, NIRVANA bassist Krist Novoselic and SOUNDGARDEN and PEARL JAM drummer Matt Cameron, performing the song “I Choose Me” in March at the Museum Of Pop Culture in Seattle can be seen below. The group, whose lineup is rounded out by Bubba Dupree, guitarist for D.C. hardcore outfit VOID and alt-metal supergroup HATER (also featuring Cameron), and vocalists Jennifer Johnson and Jillian Raye (Novoselic‘s bandmate in GIANTS IN THE TREES), surprised-released its self-titled debut album, recorded and mixed by famed Seattle producer Jack Endino, on April 11. Novoselic hinted at 3RD SECRET‘s existence in February, writing in a since-deleted tweet: “I am really busy trying to finish a record. In t...

Former W.A.S.P. guitarist Chris Holmes has completed his sixth week of radiation therapy in his battle with cancer in throat and neck. Earlier today (Monday, April 18), the 63-year-old musician’s wife and manager, Cathy-Sarah Holmes, who first shared the news of his diagnosis in a social media post in February, issued the following update on his condition: “The second chemo made Chris really sick and made him throw up. He was unable to eat for few days which meant he’s lost weight. Last Thursday was a better day where he restart to eat a little (2 complements) but today his throat is burning, so that eating is more and more difficult, then we are thinking maybe for 2 weeks it will be more easy for Chris to have a tube in his nose for eating. Just to give time for his thro...

Jeff Scott Soto says that he is “absolutely at peace” with how he was fired from JOURNEY a decade and a half ago. Soto, who previously sang with Yngwie Malmsteen, joined JOURNEY about a week and half into a six-week summer 2006 tour with DEF LEPPARD, after Steve Augeri began having vocal issues. Soto had earlier worked with JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo in the short-lived side project SOUL SIRKUS. JOURNEY named Soto its permanent lead singer in December 2016 before firing him just five months later. Last year, Soto told Argentinian journalist Lucas Gordon that the “problem” was that he didn’t know what caused his split with JOURNEY. “If I knew what the problem was, if I knew the reason why I got fired, then at least I could be ...