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Hard Rock

Interview with Abyssal Voyage: Navigating the Future of Alternative Hard Rock

Welcome to an exclusive interview with the rising stars of Florida’s alternative hard rock scene, Abyssal Voyage. In this candid conversation, we delve deep into their future goals, information on their upcoming releases, the electrifying energy of their live performances, the secrets behind their unique sound, the musical influences that fuel their creativity, and a few surprising facts they can’t wait to share with their devoted fans.

Can you share with us your band’s future goals and aspirations? What do you hope to achieve in the next few years, as Abyssal Voyage?

Our biggest goal as a band is to become an established, profitable business known for delivering quality entertainment to the fans we (hopefully) make along the way. We also aspire to one day provide employment and scaling opportunities within the entertainment industry for those with the same discipline, direction, and dreams that, we as a group, all share together. There’s no real idea what the future holds for us and we don’t want to set limits for ourselves. We’re just learning as we go and always try our best to navigate the obstacles that all artists, especially Independent Artists, tend to encounter.

We previously reviewed your track Time, What can fans expect from the new music you are creating, and do you have any future release upcoming?

We’re so grateful for what you wrote about ‘Time’. We took it to heart when you guys deemed us with such titles as “Juggernauts in the Hardcore Scene”! We just released our second single, ‘Step’, which is filled with nothing but groove during its 5 minute time span, and has also given our band a more prominent boost in our local area. We have another single coming out, hopefully, by the end of the year with the immediate goal for all of 2024 to really be pushing the brand of ‘Abyssal Voyage’ and prepping the public for our debut album. We don’t really write our music in any sort of conventional sense. It’s mostly riffing based on the vibe we have with each other during some random moments at practice, then tightening up and adding flavor to each song over weeks and sometimes months from inception.

Your live sound is known for being unique and captivating. Could you share some details about the type of equipment you use to achieve this distinctive sound? Are there any specific pieces of gear that are essential to your live setup?

From what we’ve been told by our fans, our songs or “sound” are all unique from one another and our energy live is unparalleled to most performances they’ve seen. Which you can imagine made us feel incredibly confident in our writing and performing abilities since their statements confirmed to us our ability to communicate the vision of our songs to the listener successfully! What makes our live sound so distinctive are all the elements each member brings to our live setup. Andres having such an animated and passion-filled frontman persona, Cory’s indie-ambient flare with mood shifting whammy bends and the rhythmic section being driven by Verb’s grooving low tones and sporadic mid-range bass scales that hold the balance around Dyl-Pick’s unique riffing style; all that’s powered by a 2 amp stereo setup, being complimented by Todd’s massive drum kit that holds every percussive tone a rock band could ever need!

It’s always interesting to learn about a band’s musical influences. Can you tell us about the artists or genres that have had the greatest impact on your music? How have these influences shaped your sound?

There’s so many artists to name, a few would be: Korn, System of a Down, Van Halen, Megadeth, Guns N’ Roses, Nas, and Modest Mouse. Each member has a large repertoire of influences ranging from Hard Rock, Metal, Hip-Hop, Rap, Indie, Pop, and even Dance music that they bring to the table respectively. This wide range of sonic ideologies gives us such a creative push that we feel adds to the unique reputation that Abyssal Voyage is starting to develop amongst fans.

Fans love to discover interesting tidbits about their favourite bands. Could you share an unknown or fun fact about Abyssal Voyage that you think your fans would find intriguing or surprising?

Every member in the group is playing/writing/practicing outside of their normal ranges. Our entire rhythmic section, for example, is playing their secondary instruments. As stated in the previous question, each member’s respective influences adds a semblance of musical and tonal progression that pushes each different member to dive head first into a new level of focus and creativity that, with continued effort, keeps transcending to new heights throughout the lifespan of Abyssal Voyage.

Eddie & The Wolves riffed the blues in their latest hard rock anthem, The Coming Storm

Batten down the hatches for the latest riff-adrenalized anthem, The Coming Storm, from Eddie & the Wolves. With the soulful overtones underpinning the blues rock installation of riotously introspective rancour, you’ll be exposed to the soft underbelly of the UK-hailing wolfpack while being electrified by the hard rock alchemy their tight synergy bleeds into the airwaves.

Instead of solely keeping it superficial and glam, Eddie & The Wolves used The Coming Storm to weave a raw tale that invites the listener to take the track as a sign that you should face the uncertainty of our chaotic world head-on. With the hook-littered hit on your playlists, standing at the vanguard of change will start to seem an infinitely better option than cowering into a bottle.

The Coming Storm will arrive on September 15; stream it on Spotify & keep up to date with the band on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rich Kid Express became the voice of volition in their symphonic with sleaze hard rock hit, U Never….

Under The Purple Lights by Rich Kid Express

The Carolina-hailing hard rock prodigal son, Rich Kid Express, glammed up symphonic synth rock in his slick with Sunset Strip sleaze EP, Under the Purple Lights, featuring the volition-driven single, U Never….

With whammy-laden guitars that sound like they’ve been torn from a Slayer hit punctuating the harbingeringly dark synth lines and an edge of antagonism that continues to slice through the KISS-esque atmosphere with every verse, hard rock scarcely hits harder.

There’s nothing quite like pouring all your contempt into a creative work in terms of catharsis but for hard rock fans who need iconic outfits to be their voice of vindication, there’s plenty of resolve in U Never…. which uses its razor-sharp teeth to tear through the deception and manipulation of the kind of exes we always come to regret getting in bed with.

Stream and purchase the EP in full via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cosmic Order proved resistance isn’t futile in his outcry of an anthem, Warfare

With a music video that unravels with the same kind of dystopic aesthetic narrative as an Adam Curtis documentary and a definitively cataclysmic atmosphere created by the alt-rock instrumentals, the latest release from Cosmic Order is an eye-opening testament to the constructs of society that are rotten at their core and spreading hate through the masses.

In a bid to transcend the tragedy of the world through spirituality, art, and music, the one-man powerhouse which is Cosmic Order has succeeded in its mission of infusing hope and resilience into the human condition. On the basis of their latest single, Warfare, it is safe to say they’ve succeeded.

The vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer and performer Angelo Silvio DiPippo uses his juxtaposing life experiences, which have taken him from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan to the raw beauty of the Sicilian countryside and pours them into the grounding gravitas of his work. Just as George Orwell saw it all before dedicating his life to overcoming tyranny, Cosmic Order is smashing through the bedrock of oppression with his discography.

While I can’t say I agree that androgyny and queerness are signs of end times and would contest that the moral trans panic is a far greater societal sin, the other points of contention in the outcry of a rock anthem are right on the money that the masses will never see if the space race billionaires continue to have their way.

Stream Warfare on YouTube now and discover more about Cosmic Order via the official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Falling Below tore through the façade of fallacy-weavers in their alt-metal debut, Liar

Falling Below

The Nottingham alt-metal emissaries in the freshly constructed powerhouse Falling Below are set to storm the local scene and beyond with their ground-breaking debut single, Liar.

Following a dissonant prelude, the tight and technical instrumentals start to breed an electrifying disquiet atmosphere for the evocative alt-metal vocal lines to charge into. Building on the iconic 00s metal sound, the amalgam of melodicism and furore that lies within Liar will leave you eating out of the palm of the five-piece’s hand.

There hasn’t been this much contempt thrown at living and breathing fallacies since Godsmack tore them to shreds with their single, I Fucking Hate You. With the guitars sharing as much vitriol as the lyrics and the sweet release of catharsis in the anthemic chorus, Liar is one of the strongest (in every conceivable way) debuts we’ve heard this year.

We can’t wait for the forthcoming eponymous debut EP, which promises to indomitably find the perfect balance between despair and hope to provide a soundtrack of resilience.

The debut single will be available to stream everywhere from August 18th; check out Falling Below on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

WD-HAN drove their listeners towards progressive action and revolution in ‘Something’s Gotta Change’

In this year alone the LA-hailing rock outfit, WD-HAN, has riffed right across the rock spectrum with their diverse discography. With their latest single, Something’s Gotta Change, the chameleonic powerhouse turned their vitriol towards political punk-rock to deliver a viscerally empowering hit. If any single has what it takes to spark an anarchist revolution, it’s Something’s Gotta Change.

Starting the hit with the sobering fact that more people are enslaved today than ever in history was an efficacious way for WD-HAN to drive their listener’s compulsions toward progressive action. The collective rise in individualism and apathy created the perfect storm for oppression; we’ve sat back and watched how the marginalised have been attacked – it is only a matter of time before injustice meets everyone who can’t afford to escape into space.

Believing that the issue of human trafficking deserves attention resulted in the release of one of the most impactful anthems we’ve heard this year. The track was created in support of the Foundation for a Slavery-Free World and Operation Underground Railroad. 

Something’s Gotta Change was officially released on August 11th; stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

She Burns Red are set to unveil their monolithic magnum opus of a debut LP, Out of Darkness

After a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign that proved just how many rock fans were keen to see the debut LP, Out of Darkness, come to fruition following a series of performances at Call of the Wild, Winter Rocks and Love Rocks Festival, She Burns Red are almost ready to unveil their monolithic magnum opus.

If you Punk n Rolled Jimmy Eat World, threw in a few Slash-esque guitar lashings, the ferocious heart-in-throat ear candy melodicism of Foo Fighters and the grungy salacity of Deftones, you still wouldn’t come close to the superlatively amalgamated triumph that ticks all the right rock boxes while evading every rock cliché.

Pairing melodic-hooked instrumentals that are richer than Musk in their era-spanning influence with sentiments that couldn’t be closer to home, the sonics scintillate through the addition of visceral emotion that is mainlined into each of the releases.

With the sticky-sweet pseudo-emo trappings juxtaposed by the juggernautical manicured immensity, it’s no surprise that Out of Darkness has rendered even the most consummate rock journos speechless. To be fair, even the most superfluous verbiage couldn’t scratch the surface of the cavernous depth of Out of Darkness.

“There is something incredibly uplifting about truth and honesty and having the means to express that, to share it with other people. We’re all drained and drowning in our own thoughts but our songs allow us to feel liberated and free to express, hold our heads above the water for a moment and remember we’re all in this together, not divided at all. This is what we hope ‘Out Of Darkness’ will do for people. Enable them to realise… they are not alone. All of these songs come from a place of looking for hope within the darkness.” – She Burns Red

Out of Darkness will be independently released on September 15th; pre-order a vinyl or CD copy here & and grab the last remaining tickets to the launch show on September 9th via Fatsoma.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Cork’s prodigal sons of hard rock Outsound obliterated the boundaries between metal and grunge in ‘Adeline’

The debut LP, Megatherium, from the Irish hard rock raconteurs, Outsound, is finally upon us. After outgrowing their roots as a Chris Cornell tribute act and forming Outsound in 2018, the powerhouse has moved from strength to strength in their illustrious career following a string of successful independently released singles.

Blurring the lines between grunge, heavy metal, blues and hard rock, the standout single from the LP, Adeline, is a rhythmically fierce firestorm, which twists a FNM-style bass-driven intro into a syncopated stream of prog rock before the blazing guitars start cutting the record with virtuosic chops and the bouncing breakdowns bring the energy.

At the eye of the sonic storm lies the harmonised vocal lines that wrap themselves around lyrics that are enough to give Keats a run for his money. Songs named after women don’t always hit the universally resonant mark, but rather than lusting or lamenting over a protagonist, Outsound used Adeline as an opportunity to verse nihilistically romantic poetry which beds down into the beauty of the macabre.

Stream Adeline on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lunacy Commission created a a riff-roaring ride of hard-hitting euphoria with their debut single, Shadow of a Doubt

With touches of Stone Sour and Foo Fighters around the razor-sharp post-hardcore/pop punk hybrid hooks, the debut single, Shadow of a Doubt, from New York’s freshest outfit, Lunacy Commission, is a riff-roaring ride of hard-hitting euphoria.

Any fans of Downstrait, Papercut Massacre, and the Veer Union won’t want to hang around before implanting Shadow of a Doubt on their playlists and saving a spot on their radar for Lunacy Commission.

Their juggernautically strong debut may have set the bar high, but we have no doubt that the best is yet to come from the instrumentally stitched tight outfit, which finished cutting their teeth while playing in the punk band The Show-Offs during middle school before remerging on the airwaves in their new outfit formed during lockdown.

Shadow of a Doubt hit the airwaves on the 2nd of June; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Minnesota hard rock monoliths, Störmbreaker, kicked up adrenalised dust in their industriously tight single, To the Grave

In a similar adrenalized vein to All That Remains and other icons of the 00s hardcore scene, Störmbreaker kicked up plenty of dust while taking us ‘To the Grave’ with their latest single.

The cacophonous percussion, catchy choral hooks and vocals, which resound as a rallying cry as the track hits the eye of the breakdown storm, amalgamated into an unforgettable introduction to Minnesota’s hardest melodic rock outfit.

The loss of control expressed in the lyrics is inexplicably contrasted against the tight instrumental arrangement, which makes To the Grave the ultimate tour de force for the powerhouse, who has been on the airwaves since 2018, taking their juggernautical sound across the states and opening for Korn, Five Finger Death Punch and Breaking Benjamin. If anyone has what it takes to keep rock relevant, it is Störmbreaker.

To the Grave was officially released on April 28; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast