Today's hardcore music features a fairly common formula, but one that so many bands miss the mark on. It's all about brutal breakdowns and insane, barking verses that give way to more melodic choruses with some nice clean vocals. Either a band is on the money with their clean vocals and then wusses out on everything else or vice-versa. I'm William Cutting blends both rather seamlessly.
Animals as Leaders didn’t start out at the head of the prog-metal pack. During its formation in 2007 by guitarist Tosin Abasi, AAL was more of a project than a band.
The Grand Rapids Symphony announced Generation X's piano man, Ben Folds, will perform alongside GRS this fall. Unlike any Ben Folds performance before, this one is unique to Grand Rapids, with Folds and the Symphony performing alongside each other.
Ozenza has been slinging its dark brand of doom/stoner metal since 2004 and they stay busy. With 2014 shaping up to include plenty of writing and touring, we quick grabbed a word with Matt Younker, guitarist and vocalists for the Friction Records-signed band.
This week's Local Track of the Week is pretty much hot off the presses. It comes from a Grand Rapids-based band called Midnight Alive. Their latest EP Forever was even released on Tooth & Nail Records, the Christian rock label that has seen such acts as Norma Jean, Underoath and Jeremy Camp on their roster. Needless to say, the whole EP is polished, tight and radio friendly.
In my humble (and often not-so-humble) opinion, Fine Fine Titans is a grossly underrated local band. At least, that was the case. This female-fronted act, which blends elements of punk, metal and hardcore, is starting to get the attention it deserves with the release of its latest album Omega.
The musical heydays of the ‘60s and ‘70s have found their way into Grand Rapids as fellow psychedelic rock bands have successfully revolutionized an era of music into something of a modern-day rising trend. The mind-altering hypnotic rhythms of guitar, vocal and organ effects has psychedelic rock grabbing a lot of attention lately.
In April of 2013, a noise-punk group out of Syracuse, NY released a demo on cassette tape. The release boasted an in-your-face sound, which was heavy in both feedback and brutal honesty. These four Roman numeral-titled tracks, quickly demanded the attention of everyone within earshot.
For a few years, of Montreal's frontman Kevin Barnes lived in Grosse Pointe Park, Mich. with his parents. Unfortunately, it wasn't a "Pure Michigan" experience for him during that time. "I didn't have a car, I wasn't going to shows. It was more like kidville, a child playing little league baseball," he said in a phone interview with REVUE.
Manchester Orchestra had its latest album, Cope, all ready to release. Except the band was missing one thing: a record label. After 2012’s Simple Math, MO was on a popularity incline and eventually, without a record label.
Los Angeles neo-soul rockers Fitz and the Tantrums have rolled through the country across airwaves, concert halls and television screens like a hurricane in recent months.
Apparently area garages can't contain some Grand Rapids garage bands. Local venues have seen their share of acts that carry this label, many of which have become mainstays in the scene. Well, we can add another up-and-comer to the mix. Just as the music scene has evolved, so has the phrase “garage band,” which is one that has become more of a representative genre label for small independent bands like The Bermudas.
In the past 10 years, over 60 professional touring acts, 65 local visual exhibits and thousands of school and community events have had the opportunity to grace the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center’s stage, in turn establishing the communal reputation it holds today.
With most of its members coming out of now-defunct Tiger! Tiger!, this Muskegon-based clan is now cruising the local music scene as Secret Grief. Much appease to their growing fan base, the crew’s consistency has remained with their musicality as an indie-punk band.
