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Hard Rock Music Promotion & Blog

Homebody went all in on the retrospective introspection in their post-hardcore hook-filled hit, Hindsight

Posted on 11 February 2023

Following the success of their 2022 LP, Stranger to Yourself, the Alabama duo, Homebody, comprising of Austin McQueen and Jonathan Lollar, have added even more weight to their monolithic breakdowns in their latest single, Hindsight.

Don’t let the grungy melodicism in the intro fool you; this stellar slice of post-hardcore hits hard enough to leave speakers black and blue. Keeping the raw and visceral emotion in the lyrics at its core, Hindsight is an evocatively charged hook-rife hit that doesn’t need your permission before submerging you into high-octane catharsis.

As the lyrics and vocals fiercely lament the people that leave destruction in their path, the cuttingly contemporary production will provide the ultimate escapism as you lose yourself in the interstellar world of Homebody’s ingenuity

Stream Hindsight on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jason Graham grunged up blues in his viscerally heightened melodic alt-rock hit, Trust

Posted on 9 February 2023

Tucson, AZ born, New Orleans-based singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Jason Graham added a refreshingly melodic vernacular to grunge with the bluesy standout single, Trust, taken from his LP, Soul for Sale.

With touches of Nine Inch Nails in the sporadically distorted vocals and Godsmack in the viscerally heightened outcries, which hammer home the intensity of the frustration stemming from dishonesty and deception, Trust amplifies the evocative immersivity with every high-gain progression.

The seamlessness of the tonal and vocal transitions stand as a monumental testament to Graham’s songwriting ability, which has already seen him go far in his career. The classic rock outro solo is yet another affirmation of his virtuosic flair that is nestled within his songwriting chops that are discernibly at the core of who he is as an artist.

Stream Trust, with the rest of Jason Graham’s LP, Soul for Sale, on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chicago alt-metal originators, Dust Biters, expose their bleeding post-hardcore heart in ‘Progeny’

Posted on 30 January 2023

With a tumultuously rapturous sound that could only have stemmed from Chicago, Dust Biters’ lead single, Progeny, from their album, Guilt, is a viscerally maniacal feat of tightly off-kilter ingenuity.

As Nick Kinsley dynamically volleys between hitting all the right vocal notes, he throws plenty of evocative punches along the way. In the same vein as Against Me! Dust Biters heighten their sound to the nth degree through a combination of instrumental prowess and bleeding post-hardcore heart.

In the space of three minutes, Progeny moves through as many tonal shifts as some bands do in an entire LP. Yet, with the way that the uninhibitedly wild progressions bind together with melodic adhesion, it’s always easy to follow their raw groove-led lead.

If they make it to the UK, I will be the one with a near-broken neck at the front.

Check out the Radio Cut of Progeny on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

NY’s JShell teamed up with rock royalty for his post-punk spliced hit, Haunted

Posted on 25 January 2023

To kick off 2023, rock-inclined NY multi-instrumentalist, JShell, will be releasing 15 music videos in 30 days from his hotly anticipated audio and visual album, IN MY HEAD, featuring members of rock royalty, including Steve Hackett (Genesis) and Katie Jacoby (The Who).

We were lucky enough to get a sneak preview of Haunted, featuring Karen Abrams, Fernando Chirinos, and Sofie Jane. The single starts with a dramatically suspenseful horror score before giving way to the gravelly post-punk basslines and vocals that flow in the same biting vein of PIL and Magazine to bring in a nuclear explosion of rock.

The female vocals bring a shot to the heart of Joan Jett glamour before the maniacal riffs extend the progressive nature of the hit that throws curveball after curveball. It’s not rock n roll as you have known it before, but anyone with an affinity for experimental rock will want to get acquainted with this riotous feat of ingenuity.

The official video for Haunted will premiere on January 25th. Catch it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

One More Weekend will meet you at the crossroads in their latest alt-rock hit, Opportunity

Posted on 19 January 2023

Melbourne’s premier alt-rock outfit, One More Weekend, has unveiled their latest chill-inducing single, Opportunity. The opening pop-rock vocals are thick with insular malaise but there is plenty of sanctity in the jangle pop guitars that counter the ennui before the progressive track bursts into a fervid feat of riff-driven rock that will reel you in, overdriven hook, line, and sinker.

The only thing more visceral than the emotion within Opportunity, which offers an olive branch of resonance to the disenfranchised, is the distinction in their sound. The luminary outfit pays homage to Birds of Tokyo, Foo Fighters and The 1975 before stratospherically blasting into a distinctively refreshing pop-rock amalgam.

After performing hundreds of shows across Australia and racking up their streaming stats to achieve almost viral status, One More Weekend is one to watch.

Opportunity will officially release on January 19th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mike Wilkins delivered riff-driven vindication in his latest hard-rock hit, STRANDED

Posted on 3 January 2023

San Diego-hailing guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Mike Wilkins is back on fervid form with his latest hard rock hit, STRANDED, inspired by the cathartic freedom of cutting toxic ties.

It is a sure-fire hit of vindication for anyone who has had to disconnect from negative bonds. For people who need a little extra convincing to step into their own light away from the shadow of insidious others, the face-melting riffs, reminiscent of the ones carved by Glenn Tipton, George Lynch, and Phil Collen, will give you a positive shove forward with the force of a juggernaut.

With hints of 80s hair metal in the riff-driven hit, the choruses are easy to get caught up within, while the monolithic breakdowns crafted by the one-man powerhouse, who has previously worked with Tim Owens (Judas Priest), bind you even more tightly into this breakneck helter-skelter ride through virtuoso-level talent and relatable emotion.

The official video for STRANDED is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Square Pyramid sang the post-punk blues in their grungy hit, Run Down Dirty Soul

Posted on 26 December 2022

Taken from the eponymous debut album from Square Pyramid, the standout single, Run Down Dirty Soul, is a progressively exhilarating mash of era-spanning alternative culture. From post-punk to blues to grunge, it’s all on the table in this enlivening intrinsically originated hit that has what it takes to unite music scenes once and for all.

With atmospheric hints to Echo and the Bunnymen in the chorally cold rings of the guitars in the intro along with bluesy harmonica blasts before the track slams into a grungy revival of off-kilter alt-90s and college radio rock tones, clearly, each of the three members of Square Pyramid came to the outfit with their own influences and inclinations. And therein lies the blisteringly experimental alchemy within Run Down Dirty Soul. It is a sonic amalgamation that no other outfit has brought to the table.

There’s nothing quite like allowing multiple parts of your personality to meet each other in the space of one song, and that’s exactly what Run Down Dirty Soul achieved for me.

Check out Run Down Dirty Soul on Apple Music and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Noise Ctrl went nuclear in their manically manicured electro-rock anthem, Please See Me

Posted on 23 December 2022

Through sirening synths, palpitatingly frenetic percussion and walls of guitars that I’m not entirely sure the biggest stadiums could contain, Noise Ctrl’s latest electro-hard rock heavy hitter, Please See Me, strips the titular vulnerability and transplants electrifying energy that is almost enough to run a power grid off.

The Columbus, Ohio trio often goes nuclear with their self-described fruity as fuck hard rock edge; it’s a means to an expressive end, and the noise they’re creating in the music industry is impossible to ignore. Allowing us to love them even more, they never take themselves too seriously, heightening the appeal in the dynamically exhilarant vocals, which know all too well how to wrap themselves around a vocal hook.

Listening to Please See Me, it was impossible to entertain anything but the maniacally manicured sonic blasts of euphoria coming at me. If any outfit can distract humanity from the beginning of the end, it’s Noise Ctrl. Now that I can’t listen to Mindless Self Indulgence with a clean conscience, I know who I will be turning to for some riotous catharsis.

Please See Me is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Lyrical Poetry Heightens the Monolithic Heavy Metal Alchemy in Maximilian Wentz’s Single, Your Silhouette

Posted on 11 December 2022

Sweeter than honey sentimentalism sits side-by-side with melodic hooks, gigantic riffs, and theatrically monolithic breakdowns in Maximilian Wentz’s seminal single, Your Silhouette, which fuses the heart-in-throat feels of Shinedown and the progressively distinct furore of SOAD.

Just when you start to hear the reminiscences of The Calling’s Wherever You Will Go, post-hardcore motifs blaze through the soundscape to prove that when Maximilian Wentz pays homage to a visceral emotion, he goes all in to capture the extreme.

The independent singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and Berklee College student is one of the few artists in the heavy metal that is bold enough to fully commit to emotional expression with no pretence. We can’t wait to hear what the Massachusetts-hailing artist who has enriched the industry with his solo work and via his band 51st State has to offer next.

Listen to Your Silhouette on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Alt-90s Cinematically Lives and Breathes Through Agent Envy’s Grungy Industrial Rock Single, No Friend

Posted on 9 December 2022

San Diego artist and producer Agent Envy is fresh from the release of her sultrily fierce single, No Friend, which cinematically amalgamates trip-hop, industrial rock, grunge and metal. Under the wide-spanning influence of acts including NIN, Tool, Massive Attack and Deftones, Agent Envy found her own striking sonic aesthetic that is nothing short of iconic in itself.

Any fans of Warpaint and Wolf Alice will want to sink their teeth into this demurely powerful protest against life’s prolific protagonists who guise their usury entitlement as friendship to take what they can, and guilt trip you when they’ve bled you dry of your empathy but still haven’t quite had their fill.

“No Friend is about finally saying, “enough is enough,” and captures the triumph and catharsis of setting a boundary. The track explores a powerful side of my vocal range not previously featured in my earlier songs, along with the deep, sultry vocals that my audience is familiar with.”

No Friend will be available to stream and purchase on all major platforms from December 9th. Catch in on Spotify & YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast