Following the link below…
Johannes Eckerström (AVATAR) vs. Rik Johnson
Welcome to America, boys!
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” – Aristotle
The pedigree of Pushmen’s parts are impressive to begin with. This in turn makes the ‘whole’ a brutalizing result with years of experience, style and attitude to back it up. Aptly named after the Japanese subway workers who physically stuff human beings into crowded Tokyo commuter trains, Pushmen do the same to your sensibilities. The punishing brand of metal they force upon their audience can often leave the uninitiated confused and claustrophobic but pregnant with the sense they are headed in the right direction.
Born screaming in Austin Texas, Pushmen come from a long line of heavy nobility. At its core are vocalist Craig Moore, guitarist Joey Cortez, and drummer Kevin Fender. All three are former members of the now defunct late 90’s thrash noise metal group Employer Employee.
After releases on Relapse Records and Robotic Empire, Employer called it quits in early 2003. The 3 spent the next 8 years in Austin’s musical wild frightening locals in numerous heavy incarnations.
“I feel the time I’ve spent playing, writing and recording over the past 10 years has been in preparation for Pushmen” says guitarist Cortez (Also of Ratking and Sea of 1000)
“this is the music I am supposed to make.”
In late 2011 joined by NYC noise immigrant ‘Cooper’ on bass it became clear what direction the band should take… HEAVY!
“Now that the idea of metal and punk can be so many different things, I refuse to pick one” says Cooper (also from Made Out Of Babies/Bad Powers/Players Club).
It shows: Pushmen are a big bang of influences. They seem to possess the math of contemporaries like Keelhaul with the groove of Rwake, and the dexterity and intelligence of Mastodon with the guttural cries of Early Rollins Band. Riffs that can make you feel uneasy and safe at the same time like Helmet.
The last piece of the puzzle came in the form of guitarist Mark Nathan.
“The texture of his leads and the smoothness of his personal style was exactly what we needed to set ourselves apart” says singer Moore (also of Ratking and Sea of 1000).
If Pushmen are truly the big bang, then Mark (also lead guitarist of Heartless Bastards) brings the order from chaos to its universe.
The Sun Will Rise Soon on the False and the Fair is the debut release from Pushmen, out April 2013 on The End Records. Its 9 blistering tracks will not release you until you beg it to. It is an opus born from the years of experience that seems to have finally come together for these five metal journeymen. Its sheer weight coupled with swirling guitars is perfectly complimented with an agonized vocal timber that is just plain haunting. The opening vocals of Amass have been compared to a locked out lover screaming from a projects empty courtyard. As desperate as he sounds he is never let back inside.
Upon repeated listening, this debut gives you the sneaking suspicion that Pushmen have a hidden agenda. Something far more sinister might be at play between the notes. When asked to comment about this feeling of uneasiness drummer Kevin Fender (also ex-member of The Sword) had only this to say.
“The Pushmen goal is to find the right combination of notes, beats and rhythms that will in effect create a wormhole large enough for the listener to travel back in time and punch himself in the face for all the years they are about to waste listening to shitty music. Because in our reality that time has gone.”
Additional Pushmen internets:
Pushmen Facebook
Pushmen Twitter
The End Records Website
The End Records Facebook
The End Records Twitter
Greetings Canadia!
Now you can never claim The Welding Room doesn’t like you. The same can be said for the concert promoters & such mentioned below as well.
If that doesn’t convince you, TWR Radio is based in the very same American state that gave you James van Riemsdyk (not PA, New Jersey!)
You’re welcome. Now read on…
Chances like this just don’t come around every day, but here it is, folks, your opportunity to see one of the greatest prog metal bands in the world performing live.
Thanks to S&S Promotions, Black Moon Entertainment and The Rockpile, the one and only Queensrÿche will be playing The Phoenix on Thursday, March 7, so get those horns ready for a night of unbeatable metal.
First bursting onto the music scene in 1982, Queensrÿche quickly skyrocketed through the charts, transforming itself from a small American band into world-renowned, Grammy-nominated metal royalty, touring the world to sold out audiences and putting out hit album after hit album.
Supporting the metal heavyweights will be War Machine, Three Quarter Stone, J’Nai and Third Dynasty, making this one adrenaline-filled, kick-in-the-mouth, fists-in-the-air show.
Date: Thursday, March 7, 2013
Time: Doors open at 7pm
Venue: Phoenix Concert Theatre, 410 Sherbourne Street
Cost: $42.50 Adv. / $50 Door
Advance tickets: www.ticketweb.ca (click here)
Also On Sale: Rotate This (801 Queen st west)
The Rockpile (5555a Dundas st west )
WAR MACHINE – www.facebook.com/WarmachineCAN
THREE QUARTER STONE – www.facebook.com/threequarterstone
J’NAI – www.facebook.com/jnaitunes
THIRD DYNASTY – www.facebook.com/thirddynastymusic
(Los Angeles, CA) – Dubstep/Glitch/EDM powerhouse Blackburner are back with a reboot of their album Drop Bass Not Bombs with sixteen original tracks. Plus, it features guest appearances from J. Worthy, Andy Clayton, The Anix. Drop Bass Not Bombs is packed with cutting edge electronic noise that picks up where the last album left off and shoots straight into the stratosphere.
CD will be available on March 12, 2013 but is now available for Digital Pre-Order on iTunes and will be released on February 26, 2013 before it hits stores.
Pre-Order Drop Bass Not Bombs: iTunes
Find More Free Downloads and Follow BLACKBURNER on Facebook
Blackburner – Anxiety featuring Andy Clayton
(Burbank, CA) – Gemini Syndrome encapsulates both ends of the spectrum. The band conjures ethereal alternative melodies and then tempers them with gnashing, guttural distortion.
These five musicians—Aaron, Rich, Mike, AP, and Brian— all from diverse musical bands and worlds converged when the guys discovered that the spiritual musings of Aaron melded with Rich, AP and Mikes taste for dark and melodious rhythms. It was when Aaron’s fascination for the illuminati and mysticism caught Brian’s attention and sealed the unbreakable bond that would then extend between each of the members. They began residing under one roof, to live, sleep, and breathe music together communally as a band in the truest sense.
After some early demos and cutting their teeth on the road, the group retreated to Las Vegas to complete what would become their first offering with Kevin Churko (Five Finger Death Punch, Ozzy Osbourne, In This Moment).
Their progressive fascinations bare resemblance to their musical ethos. Aaron will reference clandestine secrecy of “The Enlightened” in the same breath as espousing the merits of Eastern Buddhist ideology. At the same time, Brian speaks of his Freemasonry studies and owns a collection of literature any occult scholar would envy.
Songs like Pleasure and Pain rail with coarse riffs and haunting words, “In all of us is a sin that begins and doesn’t end until we syphon the last breath”. The ties that bind us all are the most vibrant and volatile.
Click here to listen to Pleasure And Pain.
Click here to view the lyric video.
“Gemini” in Zodiac represents “The Twins” and “Syndrome” which has meaning of a person’s “innate condition” form together to represent the duality within all of us.
There are bonds to everything at the end of the day—from the music to the message. Now, it’s up to you to uncover the meaning for yourself.
Gemini Syndrome’s tour dates with Mushroomhead, Final Trigger, and Society’s Plague unless otherwise noted:
Feb 2 Ogden, UT Kamikazes (headline show)
Feb 4 Phoenix, AZ Joe’s Grotto (headline show)
Feb 5 Albuquerque NM Hooligans Nightclub (headline show)
Feb 6 Colorado Springs, CO The Black Sheep (headline show)
All dates below supporting Mushroomhead:
Feb 8 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
Feb 9 Ft. Wayne, IN Piere’s
Feb 10 Joliet, IL Mojoes
Feb 11 Lawrence, KS Granada Theatre
Feb 12 St. Louis, MO Pops Nite Club
Feb 13 Wichita, KS The Cotillion
Feb 14 Oklahoma City, OK The Chameleon Room
Feb 15 Amarillo, TX Amarillo Civic Center
Feb 16 Houston, TX Scout Bar
Feb 17 Dallas, TX Trees
Feb 19 Little Rock, AK Juanita’s
Feb 20 Pensacola, FL Vinyl Music Hall
Feb 22 Jacksonville, NC Hooligans
Feb 23 Spartanburg, SC Ground Zero
Feb 24 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theater
Feb 27 Jacksonville, FL Brewsters Megaplex
Feb 28 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
Mar 1 Fort Meyers, FL Harborside Event Center
Mar 2 St. Petersburg, FL The State Theatre
Mar 3 Winter Park, FL The Haven
Mar 5 Charlotte, NC Amos Southend
Mar 6 Johnson City, TN Capones
Mat 7 Springfield, VA Empire
Mar 8 Kent, OH JB’s
Mar 9 Detroit, MI Harpo’s Concert Theatre
Festival dates below:
Apr 27 Jacksonville, FL Welcome to Rockville
May 17-19 Columbus OH Rock on the Range (day TBC)