Publisher-Vincent AndersonManaging Editor-Stigmon Von Stiggs

Associate Editor-Jeanette Garcia PolaskyWeb Guy-Gary Thorn

Cover Design And LayoutDavid Snowden

Shockwave Magazine Logo DesignDave Coleman

Shockwave MagazineP.O.Box 25755

Baltimore, MD. 21224www.shockwavemagazine.com

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Cover Photo CreditJohnnie Vrana (Sick Puppies)

Calendar Of EventsAugust 2013

www.theepicmovement.comwww.myspace.com/theepicmovement

2nd-Black Sabbath-Jiffy Lube Live2nd-The Dillinger Escape Plan-Fillmore Silver Spring

9th-Nonpoint-House Of Rock10th-The Killers-Merriweather Post

13th-Candlebox/Candlelight Red-Baltimore Soundstage14th-Every Time I Die-Fillmore Silver Spring

16th-Ted Nugent-Rams Head Live

16th-Great White-House Of Rock17th-Music Rocks Autism Benefit-House Of Rock

18th-Philip H. Anselmo-Fillmore Silver Spring21st-Carnival Of Madness-Jiffy Lube Live

21st-Redlight King/Fatally Yours-Baltimore Soundstage23rd-Styx & REO Speedwagon-Pier Six Pavilion

www.930.com

Staff WritersChristie Gerber

Sue Hodges-GrantDawn LeMay

Michael McGeehanMikey RochaJohnnie Vrana

ContributorsRachel Beth Ahrens

Jay OakleyShauna O’Donnell

Andrew Swetz

PhotographersVince AndersonBrandon Delano

Don’t forget to stop by Shockwave’s NewOffice and say “Hi” to some of the staff.

We are located at7914 Harford Rd.

Parkville, MD. 21234

Also it’s home for

By Michael McGeehan

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS will release an EP this fall,in conjunction with a North American tour that kicks offin Bethlehem, PA on September 4th. The EP will havefive songs including the previously released "Out ofTime". This will be the first major run of live dates, aswell as the first official recording since the band firedfounding vocalist Scott Weiland earlier this year and hiredChester Bennington of Linkin Park. "We simply did nothave a list of guys we were thinking of," said guitaristDave DeLeo. "We thought of Chester and that was it."

Grammy-winning engineer and producer Mike Shipleypassed away last month. Shipley either mixed or producedalbums for Whitesnake, Scorpions, Winger, The Cars,Ratt, and most notably three with Def Leppard. "I'm verysorry to hear he has died," said Kip Winger on his website.

"He taught me how to really make a record. He wasextremely talented. In my opinion, a true genius, a title Irarely give out."

Estranged CHEAP TRICKdrummer Bun E. Carlos has suedthe rest of the band for hundreds ofthousands of dollars, saying theyhave no right to keep using thename without him. He's joined byformer manager David Frey, whosays he is also owed money forcovering the band's costs after a2011 stage collapse whichdestroyed their equipment. Carlos

claims his ex-colleagues failed to stick to an agreementthat saw him removed from the lineup while remaining afull member of the band for business purposes. He wassidelined in 2010 and replaced by Rick Nielson's sonDaxx, in circumstances that have never been fullyexplained.

GREAT WHITE and co-founding member/original leadsinger Jack Russell have announced they have enteredinto agreement settling their pending litigation over the

"Great White" name. While many of the terms will remainconfidential, it can be revealed that, going forward, thecurrent Great White band will continue to use the nameand Russell will perform under the name "Jack Russell'sGreat White". In March of 2012, Russell sued his formerbandmates after he had taken a leave of absence from theband for medical reasons and during that time wasreplaced by Terry Ilous.

SAMMY HAGAR has enlistedthree legendary musicians -Toby Keith, Mickey Hart, andTaj Mahal- to round out the finalthree tracks on his first evercollaborations album: SammyHagar and Friends. The highlyanticipated new album is set forrelease on Frontiers Records onSeptember 24th in the US andwill be preceded by the album's first single and video'Knockdown Dragout' featuring Kid Rock and Joe Satriani.Other guests on the album include Ronnie Dunn, Neil Schon,Nancy Wilson, and Michael Anthony and Chad Smith fromhis band Chickenfoot.

What do classic rock icons LOVERBOY and electronicalegends DAFT PUNK have in common? Mike Reno andcompany are seeing a surge in online streaming requests fortheir multi-platinum selling 1981 album "Get Lucky" whichjust so happens to be Daft Punk's name of their smash single.The Loverboy album is now among the leaders in Spotifysearches for "Get Lucky" and they are pretty much "Lovin'Every Minute of It". Soundrop, one of the most popularSpotify apps, noted the flurry of online activity for theseminal Loverboy album. "We've seen Loverboy's hitsplayed more and more in our Love the 80's room, and trafficto the Loverboy room has increased," said Thomas Ford, VPof Marketing for Soundrop. "There's no question theattention from the Daft Punk single has led some fans to theband's album, which just proves the enduring appeal of therecord three decades later."

KORN will release it's11th studio album thisfall called "TheParadigm Shift" and itwill feature originalguitarist Brian "Head"Welch back in the band.It's his first recordingswith them since 2003's

"Take A Look In The Mirror". Singer Jonathan Davis saidthat having Welch back in the band was "really good formorale". Welch, who left in 2005 after he converted toChristianity, added, "Everything changed with these guys-everything is more positive. I knew it was meant to be." Thedisc will feature eleven songs and is slated for an Octoberrelease.

And who do you think is Billboard.com's number one bandfor touring this year so far? Jay-Z and Justin? The Eagles?Warped Tour? Nope. IRON MAIDEN landed on positionnumber 1 with $19 million in ticket sales from 14performances. Their August 3rd show in London sold out in12 minutes. And they say rock is dead?

By Christie Gerber

Dream Theater: fantastic. Avenged Sevenfold — love them.What do they have in common? Mike Portnoy, drummerextraordinaire, who has yet another project going on tourvery soon with some very familiar and respectable faces.I've been a fan of his for years, so when I found out he waswilling to speak to me about the new band and upcomingtour, I was ever so willing to give up my lunch break atwork to do just that.

MP: Hello, this isMike Portnoy here...

SW: Hey, Mike.How are you doing?

MP: Hey, how areyou doing?

SW: I'm doingalright. Where areyou today?

MP- I'm at home inPennsylvania,enjoying my lastcouple of days before we kick off this tour.

It was at this point that I congratulated him on the newband, The Winery Dogs, which consists of Portnoy, BillySheehan and Richie Kotzen. I asked him what broughtthem together, and he told me that he and Billy had beenworking together for a bit, looking to do a classic rockpower trio. He said they were working with someone, but itfell through, and at the suggestion of Eddie Trunk, Richiecame along. Portnoy and Billy Sheehan have been inseveral bands together in the past and have an instrumentalproject currently, along with Tony Macalpine and DerekSherinian.

Speaking of bands and projects, it seems Mike and Billyare in way too many to count. I asked him if they werein a contest to see who could be in the most bandsbefore their head explodes. We shared a laugh over it.Mike said he's pretty sure he wins hands down, at about24 bands. I then asked him how his head DOESN'Texplode. He said he simply loves music. "It's not thetraditional route for a drummer or musician to do somany things...I'm a music fan, first and foremost. Iwanted to take advantage of this lifetime and make themost of it."

Back to The Winery Dogs...earlier in our conversation,Mike said that Richie was a great songwriter, so I askedif Richie wrote most of the songs for TWD on theirdebut album. He said that they ALL wrote andcollaborated together on the songs, from scratch,bouncing ideas off of each other. "A lot of song ideasstemmed from Richie, but we all worked together...that'sthe beauty of collaborating with people. Seeing thechemistry and creating. For me, the beauty of workingwith other musicians and mixing it up and seeing whatthe ideas from different minds from differentbackgrounds come together and create."

I then asked,“Aside from yoursound, how doesTWD differ fromany of your pastbands?”

"It's totallydifferent. Thereality is, all thethings I've donethrough the yearswere either rootedin prog or metal.The Winery Dogsis neither. It's just

a pure rock band. It's not a progressive, nor metal band;just based in true, classic rock, like Zeppelin or VanHalen. It's a very different experience for me. I'm gettingto play music that is just straight-up, good songs. Goodwriting, good playing. It's not overly technical like allthe progressive things I've done. To me it's refreshingbecause, ultimately, my background and my roots comefrom this style of music before I ever discoveredprogressive music or before heavy metal ever existed."

I sounded like a kid on their first day of kindergarten atthis point. I was about to ask him a question that bandsHATE, but ya’ know, I felt so comfortable talking tohim, I figured what the hell...so I asked him, “If two

bands had a baby,what bands wouldyou say are theparents of TWD?”His answeractually surprisedme a bit. He didn'thave any problemanswering withLed Zeppelin andLenny Kravitz.Again, I felt like a kid. I had said the day before that theysounded like Zeppelin and Soundgarden. (I'm hardly a fanof either band but when meshed together, VIOLA!) Portnoyactually liked my answer, too, which put me a little more atease.

The tour starts in Japan, then to South America, back to theU.S. for a few teaser shows, then to Europe and finallyback to the States again for a full American tour. Imentioned Baltimore, and he said he had just driventhrough Baltimore a few days prior coming home fromvacation. Too bad TWD won't be coming throughBaltimore anytime soon. I'm really looking forward toseeing them. They're touring solo!

My final question toMike was for all the9-5'ers who want tochase and live thatdream. I simplyasked him for anyadvice for thosepeople, so if youwanna learn fromsomeone whoknows, listen up! Hesaid, "Last time Iworked a job wasalmost 30 years

ago, before Dream Theater. One of the most importantqualities in this business is perseverance. Giveyourself something to fall back on. You will be facedwith obstacles. The only way to succeed is toovercome them. It's a business where only the strongsurvive. Don't back down. Don't give up. Don't everstop believing in your dreams. That's how I did it. Inthis day and age, artists and bands are in a position tohave more control over how their music gets out there.You could be a garage band and be completelyworldwide and international just from the internet.Take advantage of it. Make the most of getting yourmusic out there."

Solid advice, I'd say. I told him I'd stick to my dayjob, since I can't sing or play an instrument. Hethen cracked me up by saying there are plenty ofpeople who can't sing or play their instruments butare still making money.

We ended the conversation on that note, and Ithanked him for his time and wished him all thebest on the upcoming tour, telling him I'd catchthem wherever I can. You should, too!

By Dawn LeMay

How do we see ourselves? How do we perceiveothers? Sometimes it’s not as clear as black andwhite, there are many shades of grey (not the book).It’s amazing how quickly an action can snowballinto an avalanche of human emotion and posturing.Together we can become more than we could everaccomplish on our own, and we can movemountains, or build them instead of seeing them asobstacles that stand in our way.

Our musical and entertainment communities haveshown how much they can accomplish when theywork together, multiple benefits and collaborationsboth locally, nationally and internationally.

Noise in the Basement is celebrating 10 yearstogether/ Shockwave Reader Appreciation Partywith Rebel Inc., Loving the Lie, Dirt, Eleven 54 andQ Latina. Feed the Scene is celebrating two years,and Bands against Bullying has come back for yetanother yearly show.

Newly signed, Megosh just finished up their firsttour, riddled with memories that will last a lifetime,and experiences paralleling their kick starter parodyvideo.Go to the online edition atwww.shockwavemagazine.com to watch the video.

King Belvedere put their hard-edged rocker look tosupport Baltimore’s “Show your soft side“ - Only apunk would hurt a cat or dog campaignGo to the online edition atwww.shockwavemagazine.com to see the images.The campaign — uses billboards and posters todenounce animal cruelty using local and nationalcelebrities – you will be able to see them displayedaround Baltimore.

Frenamie is making positive connections of theirown as Abs Kase and Nick Taylor announced theirengagement on stage during a gig at Sonomas.Go to the online edition atwww.shockwavemagazine.com to watch theproposal video.

Baltimore’s positive music scene has brought theGrammys' to town and well as The Shindig Festivalcoming Sept 14th, and The Shindig LOCALSHOWCASE which will be held at BaltimoreSoundstage on Saturday, August 17 to determine whatband will share the stage with Dropkick Murphy’s,Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, THE GASLIGHTANTHEM, Clutch and more at The Shindig Festival.Come support your local favorites as they compete fora spot on the festival: A.P.F., Guns Out At Sundown,Kill Lincoln, May Weather, Sean K. Preston & TheLoaded Pistols, Split Five, The Skipjack, and Victimsof Experience.

Time to slow down, smell the roses, drink the coffee,take care of ourselves, and others.

“…(we) laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry tooquickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read tooseldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. Wehave multiplied our possessions, but reduced ourvalues. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hatetoo often. We've learned how to make a living, but nota life; we've added years to life, not life to years. We'vebeen all the way to the moon and back, but havetrouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor …”

–George Carlin

Go to the online edition atwww.shockwavemagazine.com to read the wholequote.

We as a music scene, and a people are more alike thanwe are different – we can capitalize on our differencesand make them our strengths. We can accept that eachhuman experience walks a different path, but yet westill walk a similar road.

Til next time, no matter where I travel, there is no placelike home. I will look forward to seeing and supporting

“our family”, and the fans that love them, while I am outand about bringing the music that we love into thelight!

Signed,Dawn of the Underground

By Johnnie Vrana

Shockwave: I want to talk a little bit about yourbass playing style. You play with a pick, yourfingers and your thumb, often in the same song.What kind of training did you have to get to thatstyle?Emma Anzai: I did it out of necessity, it wasn't plannedor anything. When I was playing with Shim - we met inhigh school and that's how we started the band - weused to play songs that had slap and also pick andfingers. I used to put the pick in my mouth, and Ifigured out that's pretty gross - you don't know wherethe pick's been! So how do I do this? I just did it oneday (held pick under middle finger). I was playing withthe pick and suddenly I came to a slap bit and I justnaturally did it, and thought that's probably what Ishould do. So I incorporated it into songs. It's actuallypretty useful, you can switch really fast, you don't haveto reach anywhere.

In a lot of your songs, thebass is the leadinstrument for themelody. Not a lot ofbands do that. Is that aconscious decision the

band made to feature the bass prominently?Not so much, I think it's because we're a 3 piece andyou have to make every instrument count. With a 5piece, you can have rhythm guitar and a lead andeveryone can sort of relax a bit. With a 3 piece youhave to make it big and you have to use dynamics. Isuppose I just like that style anyway because I actuallystarted on guitar, and I already had the strum and pickthing going. As for the songs, we made a consciouseffort to make sure nothing dropped out too much.Dynamics is a big thing.

In your live performance, you're very dynamic andexpressive. You're not just standing by the drumsplaying, you're all over the place, consumed by themusic. Are there people that you watched playgrowing up that made you want to perform thatway?Yeah I did actually. Both Shim and I love this bandcalled Silverchair from Australia. The bass player,

Chris, there was something about him. He wasn't the mostfancy player, he didn't show off, but there was somethingabout his style that really gelled with the 3 of them. Theywere a 3 piece too. There was something about him that wasgreat. Can't quite put my finger on what it was, but I wasalways drawn to him. Also, musically, Flea is one of myfavorites. His style within his playing is something I tooknotice of because he used rhythm and he has a great ear formelody. So those 2 combined are my greatest influences.

You have a new album, "Connect", which is a greatalbum. One of the things I love about all of your albumsis you don't know quite what to expect from song to song,or even within a song it may morph into something else.Do you experiment a lot with your song writing, in orderto keep people guessing?We do, especially since it's the 3rd album, I suppose it's afoundation album. You do your first one and the second one,and the third one is where you're supposed to arrive as aband, so to speak. For us, the 1st album is the 1st time wedid anything in the States after coming from Australia. That'swhen we met Mark and started to find ourselves. Then wewent on tour, and did Tri-Polar. This third album is thelanding. We spent a lot of time crafting it and we write allthe songs on acoustic instruments. I have a small bass amp,Shim has a guitar and Mark will tap it out. We map it all outbefore we do it electrically. There definitely is thought to itand we tried to evolve with this album. You don't do thesame thing over and over again, you need to move forward.

One of the nice things on the album is we get to hear alittle more of your angelic voice. On the Tri-Polar deluxealbum with acoustic versions, we got to hear more of you.Is a deluxe version of Connect something we can lookforward to?It's a bit early to tell as the album just came out. People havesaid they like the duet songs where Shim and I sing. There'sa bit more of that on the album as it is. Maybe. The songs dotranslate well acoustically.

With this touring and album cycle, what are your plansfor the band?I would say, just touring, lots of touring. It's been a long timebetween albums, we want to make this one count. If youwant to go to our twitter @sickpuppies, and sickpuppies.com,you'll be able to find out about any shows near you. We'repretty interactive on twitter if you want to ask any questionsor comment. We read it all and we reply

By Jay OakleyPhotos By Brandon Delano

It may seem like Halestorm brokeout overnight, but in realitythey're ten years in and goingstrong. A killer mix of aggressiveguitars and crunching drums, thisband is no stranger to theBaltimore area. Coming fromRed Lion, just a hop, skip and ajump over the Pennsylvaniaborder, Halestorm has been upand down the coast as well as allover the country.

Touring in support of their second album, “The StrangeCase Of...,” Halestorm has been scooping up fans by thetruckload behind their smash hits “Love Bites (So Do I)”and “I Miss The Misery,” and they won a Grammy in theBest Hard Rock/Metal Performance category for theaforementioned “Love Bites.”

Hailing fromMississippi, andwith severalrecords undertheir belt, 3Doors Down hasspent the betterpart of 15 yearson the roadwowingaudiences. 3Doors Down iseasily one of themost consistent bands in rock. After five albums, eachwith multiple hits, 3DD continues to put out great, radio-friendly songs that keep bringing in more and more fans.The show was terrific and hard-hitting, with solid playingand an amazing cover of Megadeth's song, “Symphonyof Destruction.” One especially great moment was whenChris Daughtry joined front man Brad Arnold on stage toperform 3DD's signature hit, “Kryptonite.”

Daughtry is one of my favorite live bands. Formed andfronted by Chris Daughtry, it has three records out with afourth scheduled for release in early 2014. They fuel the

audience, withevery fan singingalong, song aftersong. Backed bya phenomenalrhythm section indrummer RobinDiaz and bassistJosh Paul, everysong has a powerthat you can feelfrom anywhere inthe venue. Onguitar, Chris,Josh Steely andBrian Craddockbring a sound, feel and uniqueness that you're only goingto get at a Daughtry show. Chris returned the favor to 3Door Down's Brad Arnold when they performed a killerduet of Phil Collins' “In The Air Tonight” duringDaughtry's set. One of the best parts of seeing Daughtrylive is the sheer love and appreciation the band shows fortheir fans. This is not just thanking the crowd from thestage, but also getting out for post-show meet-and-greets,signing autographs and posing for pictures. The membersof Daughtry are some of the nicest and most respectedmusicians in the business.

By Robbie RodriguezPhotos By Brandon Delano

I had the distinct privilege of meeting and interviewingseveral of my favorites bands at the DROWNING POOLshow in Virginia.

EYE EMPIRE is direct support for DROWNING POOL.The tour kicked off in Niceville, Fla., on May 25, 2013,and it's making its way through most of the East Coastand Canada. The tour will end in Steger, Ill., on June 30,2013. EYE EMPIRE features DC (Donald Carpenter) onvocals, B.C. Kochmit on guitar, Ryan Bennett on drums,and Corey Lowery on bass and backing vocals.

I had an opportunity to sit down with Corey at the Empirein Springfield, Va., on June 23, 2013, just before the bandhit the stage. This was an epic event. DROWNINGPOOL and EYE EMPIRE were joined by supportingbands that rocked the night with awesome performances.

Shockwave: What do youbelieve are your greatestcontributions to music?Corey: EYE EMPIRE has beenbusy working on new materialwhich shows our support for thetroops. We are proud to lend oursupport to a documentary aboutPTSD; it’s called “Battlefield ofthe Mind,” by Fran Strine.Several all-star musicians arelending their talents on thisdocumentary. The documentary

is about the war not being over yet! I've met severalveterans, and I lived around military in my youth. DC(Donald Carpenter) has lent his vocals to this project aswell. DC did four years in the Army.

That is interesting to hear. I appreciate your efforts.I'm a former Marine!It's important to us, and we've been on a ship, and havemet troops all over, so this is important to us.

What direction do you see your music taking in thenext year?Evolving. Evolve & grow. We've been really busy andhave been touring straight for three years. We arecurrently 90 percent done with this current tour. We arelooking forward to getting back in the studio.

How does the groupattack writing?Everyone writes in thegroup. I'm theproducer for the band,and I mold the band’soverall sound. DCwrites a lot and hasbeen very passionatewith his writing.

I agree with that, Istarted to followEYE EMPIRE once I learned DC was the vocalist forSubmersed. The track that made a huge impact on mewas “Rewind.”That is a great song. Be sure to mention that to DC whenyou get a chance.

So how did you get into music?My parents have been a huge influence on me, and myfamily has played and performed for years. My parentshave toured with great musicians like the Allman Brothers.They had a group called LUMBEE.

That's an Indian tribe, correct?Yes.

Your drummer Ryan mentioned you guys are relatedthrough your Indian lineage. I think that is cool! Sowhat other instruments do you play?I play bass and guitar. I never took formal lessons, but myinfluences came from my parents. My brother Clint (ClintLowery, guitarist for Seven Dust) played drums, and Iplayed bass as kids. We would jam “Play That FunkyMusic!”

So what motivates you about being in EYE EMPIRE?I like the fans. I like the fact that we can express ourselves,and music is a great outlet.

If you could work with an artist, past or present, whowould it be, and why?Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee is cool! But, I will tell you, there areso many artists and styles. I would have worked withMozart, or Prince — he's an awesome musician. But, if Ihad the opportunity, I'd bring back my father’s music. Iplayed with my dad for four years.

How has lifeimpacted you on thetour?Well, I'm impactedwhen I'm home fromtour to do “honey-do”lists!

What's next for theband?We are looking to getback into the studiowithin a couple ofweeks. The new

album may carry 12 tracks. We are looking forward toit!

What do you guys do to maintain your physicality onstage?Well, we have to eat right, sleep and drink an ass-load ofwater! When we're on stage, it’s raw emotion — we feedoff the crowd. That drives us on stage to provide anintense show.

What advice would you give an up-and-coming artist?Hold your instrument! The longer you hold and play, thebetter you get!

Do you believe theindustry has changed?The culture is verydifferent now from theold school days. Ibelieve anyone can be aproducer, manager or alabel these days, basedon the Internet andYouTube.

How can an artisttruly make it in theindustry?Earning your respectand creating that specialbond with your fan base; if you grow your base, you willbe successful in the industry.

What's your next stop?Well, we have one week left with DROWNING POOL,and we're heading into the studio in July. We also havesome tour dates with Seether and 10 Years.

Thanks so much for the interview. I greatlyappreciate it; I know you have to hit the stage!Thank you, Robbie!

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Horse Shoes & Hand GrenadesRead All Over BooksBaltimore Soundstage

By Vince Anderson

Local boys Down To Everything have been up to everything lately. You mightnot have seen them performing out much, but they’ve been hard at workpromoting the release of their new record, “Second Star to the Right,” featuring acover of Brian Adams’   “Heaven.” Let me tell ya’, DTE make it their own. Ireally like their version, and I’m not usually a fan of covers, unless you make ityour own, like they did here. The new record also features the keyboard work ofDr. Steven Jaskulsky, the father of Down to Everything’s Jazz brothers, adding anice touch to the song, “Identity.” One thing I realize about these guys is howmuch they notch things up with each show and each new release — gotta’ lovethat. Another thing that strikes me is that this band has no problem investingmoney from their day jobs in order to work with the best in the business andacquire rights to cover a song like “Heaven” — can’t wait to hear that one live.This is not heavy metal, it’s hard rock with elements of metal, jazz and more. I’vebeen watching these guys grow (and they’ve seen me grow) for quite a number ofyears now, and I believe they have what it takes to go to the next level and beyond.  Down To Everything is: MikeJazz on guitars and lead vocals, David "Larry" Adari on guitars and vocals, Sam Jazz on bass, and Greg Barber ondrums and vocals. Together they’ve grown into their own, opening for bands like Seether, Sick Puppies andFilter…not bad. You can find the guys on Facebook and Reverb Nation, or at a venue near you in Baltimore.

,

Nightsbridge I don't think anyone can argue thatNightsbridge is worthy of the beingthe Band of the Month. This bandhit the scene like a lighting bolt andhasn't slowed down since. We'veseen the members of this band growinto a bonafide Rock and Roll band.This band that has opened forAirbourne and most recently forThe Virginmarys and support thelocal music scene fervently asevidenced by their attendence onMonday night's Noise in theBasement and more. The band hasbeen hard at work fine tuning theirset list so that they canaccommodate the wants for theirfan-base, current and fans tobe...All these factors are reasons welove Mickey Valentine, DavidGregory, Pete Fitzpatrick, SpencerSinnott, the elements that are,Nightsbridge.

www.shockwavemagazine.com

KING BELVEDERE“S/T”www.kingbelvedere.com

Okay so I am a fan of King Belvedere, but their new self titled disc should give anyoneinto rock music an eargasm.  It does have its' hedonism, raw energy, and raunchiness.From the opening "You Will Never Break Me" to the closing "Endless Road," everysong is a winner. The album opens up strong and never lets up. The songs all havegood hooks, wall-to-wall riffs, infectious melodies and killer solos. They have a good,crunchy sound but the real secret of this band is the rhythmic groove provided, in theform of bassist Jay Hitaffer and drummer Johnny Sexx.  Of course, this is to take

nothing away from newest member Alex White’s talent on lead guitar with his fluid, effortless style of playing. Whitesupplies some insane guitar work as he is an absolute wizard on guitar. Jeff McKenney’s vocals are crisp and crystalclear as he has always been an excellent rock singer. He plays a steady rhythm guitar just adding much more to anawesome disc. The harmonies are second to none and add just that much more to push this disc to the limits. Theproduction by Chris Dopkin is professional as it comes and with the top notch mastering by Greg Lukens this disc is amust for any rock music fan. By Steve Higgs

SEPIA“...Break My Heart”Sepia Recordswww.sepiaband.com

Having never heard of this band before, I was delightfully surprised as I listened to"…Break My Heart" by Baltimore's Sepia. Started in 2006 it is comprised of Chris Grey,Colleen Becker, Derek Falzoi, and Ryan Beckelman. At first listen, I really couldn't puta comparison to anyone because each song is from a different genre, which I loved. Youhave some rock, you have some alternative, and you have some acoustic rock. 'Bait Me"reminded me of Nirvana with its guitars. 'Going' has that Dramarama feel. The onesong that did stand out to me instantly from this album was 'Don't Get Me Wrong'. It

was a perfect mixture of Weezer meets Death Cab For Cutie. Taking almost two and a half years to record, Sepia hasput out 12 original songs from this release and you can tell from the sound of it, they took their time to get it right. Thelast track, 'Better Than Nothing' could have made a Vertical Horizon cd. All in all, I was more than pleased with thisdisc from Sepia. Check them out on their Facebook page, named Sepiaband. By Michael McGeehan

SIN 4 SIN“Good For The Body”www.reverbnation.com/sin4sin

This five-song release starts off with a lot of energy and obvious musicalprowess. Sin 4 Sin has really outdone themselves with the production on thisone. Oh, sh*t, I didn’t hear that breakdown coming on the first three minutesinto “Like Heaven”… nice. This cut has the sing-a-long chorus, too … goodstuff. “Booby Trapped” is about … I dunno, not sure, but this song would be sogood at 75-80 miles an hour with the top down. Track number four is entitled

“December” and is a melancholy, Skid Row-esque slow jam. The band kindareminds me of Black Veil Brides meets Skid Row without seeming derivative. The disc winds down with afeel good rocker, “Living In A Dream,” which encapsulates the vibe as a whole here. Sin 4 Sin, not onlyGood 4 The Body but good for the Soul … By Vince Anderson

XSTROPHY“My Tortured Past”www.xstrophy.com

Don’t make the same mistake I did by not turning down the volume before you canadjust it … Xstrophy jump right into a brutal thrash assault with “Inject Me With Pain.”The next cut, “Intro To My Life,” takes you on a journey that is the dark, painful lifethat belongs to vocalist Leonard Newton Jr., and now you will know … Other metalbands sing of death and pain, this guy not only lives it, he survives it and lives to tellyou about the pain that has inspired him to become a metal legend in the making, andhe’s well on his way. There’s something different about the band Xstrophy; they’ve

stood alongside their band mate and have seen the struggles and the triumphs that Leonard has brought into a projectthat screams for attention with all the ferocity and emotion that has fueled the vocalist. Songs like “No Peace Within AShell” incorporates all the elements such as the grind and break down groove. “Raising the Brow” has an eerie introbleeding into a guitar-searing guitar lead balanced with the rhythm section. The lyrics all appear to be dark - whichsuits the genre - but all content is real, not just imagined and adding another dimension, unlike some others. Metallicamay have influenced Xstrophy, but life has surely given the band the emotion that emanates from each lyric spit forthfrom Newton. Xstrophy remind you lyrically and musically, much like The Great Cross of Hendaye signals, that theend is near … This is Death Metal! Don’t fear the reaper. By Vince Anderson