Looking for something loud to start the New Year? You should check out My Hear To Joy and their release, Seasons in Verse. This is the first full album for the group and so far things are looking promising.

The crew is a big one with seven people driving the band's core. Together, these Kensington, CT natives create music that is a mix punk, metal and indie. Complete with short punchy rhythm and in-your-face rockin' these guys know how to capture your attention and get their message across.

This album is a follow up to the EP they released last year, Virgins Sail, where the boys were decidedly more aggressive. This time around, they're taking a loud yet more polished rock path with their sound.

Kickstarting everything with a two minute alternative rock instrumental called, Time Spent Breathing; the song gently sweeps and sways as it starts before building up to a rockish pitch. It perfectly sets the mood for the album and prepares the listeners for a loud and complicated 11 tracks to follow.

Title cut, Seasons in Verse, sounds like a half scream with strained vocals blurting out the lyrics. It features a catchy and intricate instrument work that goes from midtempo to fast rock within seconds. It's this combination of hardcore and mellow/indie rock that helps the band gouge a niche for themselves.

Meanwhile, Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory is a cover track from Guided By Voices. One of those unexpected covers you normally wouldn't associate with a group that had its beginnings in screamo. Finally, they finish off the album with a fitting cut, Watch Me Live. It's epic, containing guitar swells, screaming raspy vocals, and a much louder Coldplay-esque vibe.

Personally, I really enjoyed this record. The complex network of instruments and the hodge podge of rock genres work great for the band. One of those albums you put on if you like to dissect the flesh of songs and not settle for the facade.

You can grab this one at a name-your-price option over at BandCamp. It might be two years old but this one still has everything you need for a rocking great time.

Related Links:
My Heart To Joy on BandCamp
My Heart To Joy on Myspace
My Heart To Joy on Punk News
My Heart To Joy on Tumblr
My Heart To Joy on Facebook

It's been a while since I've checked in with my loud side. Here's one really loud metal, prog album for you then. Fairy Crimes is Watertank's latest record. It's a short 6 track compilation that's offered for free.

Members of the band are based in France and seem to be heavily influenced by various metal, progressive and even hardcore bands. Heavy double bass drumming, loud and prominent guitars as well as occasional honey voiced vocals are prominently displayed in the band's sound.

Watertank has been around since 2003 and have had their fair share of success. They've gotten the opportunity to share the stage with artists like Capricorns, Torche and Lair Of The Minotaur to name a few. Close that door of yours, turn the volume up and start rockin'! This City's Got Laws opens and welcome the listener to this record. This instrumental track features an awesome guitar riff and sets the stage for the rest of the loud tracks that follow next. On its heels is the Tool sounding, Felony Days. With its progressive feel, the cut is an easy love for most rockers out there. Although I'm particularly keen on the vocals for this one.

Meanwhile, title track, Fairy Crimes, is more my type of music. The cut starts out strong with heavy drumming and trashy guitars. It's essentially pure mayhem for about three minutes or so with this song. Attract Drama, on the other hand, is another cool track in the compilation. I'm still not a fan of the vocal work but the cut packs enough punch to make it part of my playlist.

Since their inception, the band has released a demo back in 2004 and have gone through a lineup change. These new set of tracks serve as a comeback for the group. Moreover, they're also hitting the stage again after a hiatus with new faces on board.

Related Links:
Watertank in MClub
Watertank in Post-Engineering
Watertank on Myspace
Watertank on BandCamp

Deied is a German electronic duo composed of n1n0 and din-tah aeon. (Don't ask me how to pronounce those.) The duo is set on creating some of the darkest and coolest industrial, electronic sound there is. According to their website, this is the duo's 11th collaboration, although there are only 7 albums available in Jamendo as well as their official website that's up for free download.

Formation of Chaos is filled with 10 dark electronic tracks often infused with melodic vocal work and layers of instruments.

It's an album that combines a whole lot of synth, dark, symphonic musical elements that makes you feel as if you're moving through the deep dark woods under a full moon sky. The group recently signed onto AF-Music, a cool German netlabel. However, they maintain that much of their musical values still remain intact and until now to them "DEIED is PAIN, DEIED is INSANITY, DEIED is ART."

This 10 track album opens up with the dark synth romp, Tribal. This is probably one of my most favorite cuts in the album. There's a rich layer of sounds that makes me think it's the type of music Darth Vader would have had on his iPod. Meanwhile, Pandora is another track that's heavily infused with hard rock industrial components. As usual, it reflects a pitch black atmosphere and showcases whispery sweet vocals.

Meanwhile, Noctem is a bit more dance electronica inspired than most tracks. Its growly synth-upped vocals remind me of a darker, more evil version of Rob Zombie's Enter the Rave.

Overall, the album is a great mix of beats. It has a nice 80s touch to its sound and incorporates several music genres distinctively. Pretty awesome production values as well.

Related Links:
Deied Official Website
Deied on Jamendo
Deied on BandCamp
Deied on Myspace

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Dead End from Stave the Grave is a fast-paced, rocking 4 track compilation, that comes loud and proud. With elements of rockabilly, metal and even a hint of progressive rock in there; the band throws punchy, rhythmic tracks that's enough to get your gears going.

For fans of horror rock and that 70s rock sound, Stave the Grave is definitely one band to watch out for.

Made up of Alessandro Melle on drums, Diego de Benetti on guitar and vocals as well as Luca Rista on bass and backing vocals; this hard rock trio has been making waves in their local rock scene since 2006. Their latest release Dead End features four energetic and pulsating rock tracks that's sure to make you do more than just tap your feet.

Even though there are rockabilly elements, there are also instances where the band sounds like they've taken one or two lessons from the Slayer handbook. Cuts like Stupid Illusion, notably its intro, showcases this distinct guitar work influence; building a straight up, in your face sound that makes you stand up and take notice.

Related Links:
Stave the Grave on Myspace
Stave the Grave on Facebook
Stave the Grave on Jamendo

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Formed in 2003, this progressive rock band from Sao Paulo, Brazil has garnered plenty of praises. Mindflow has won fans from both the rock genre to the hardcore progressive junkies.

Breakthrough from Mindflow is filled with progressive metal riffs, sweet and powerful vocals, thundering drums as well as flowing melodies that's hard not to fall for. 

One of the most promising and prominent progressive metal bands to come out of Brazil, Mindflow has proven that they can churn out melodic no-bull progressive rock.  

Despite it's sweet rhythm, the band leaves no doubt about their technical skill; featuring euphoric riffs and banging beats that's sure to make everyone's jaw drop.

The group was initially formed back in 2003 and has since garnered a great following in their home country. The first two album releases, "Just The Two of Us...Me and Them" (2004) and "Mind Over Body" (2006), catapulted the group into the ears of many progressive lovers. Their latest effort, Destructive Device features the three songs found in this download. Although you can get several other tracks from their first two compilations in their BandCamp website.

For this latest effort, Mindflow collaborated with top producer Ben Grosse, who has collaborated with the likes of Marilyn Manson, Breaking Benjamin and Slipknot. According to the group, the album is “packed with socially critical ideology.” Moreover, it “is a project boiling over with aggressive lyrics and themes.” Judging from the first three tracks offered for free, the band definitely has something to be proud of. In fact, any progressive metal rocker shouldn't miss this album. It's free anyway and from the looks of things, the entire album will be worth shedding a few bucks on.

Related Links:
Mindflow Official Website
Mindflow on Myspace
Mindflow on Bandcamp
Mindflow on Jamendo

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Formed in 2008, hard rock group, The Shooters, have finally created their latest EP, Rock Pedal to the Floor. The album comes with 7 rock and roll tracks that means nothing but business.

With hard rock guitar, thumping loud drums and grungy vocals; there's no mistaking this record for anything else other than pure rock and roll. The group is made up of Alex, Carlos, Danishoot and Marcos.

This rocking act was actually borne from the ashes of another group, Shoot'em Up.

After their breakup in 2004, the crew decided to reinvent themselves and christen themselves with a new yet similar moniker, The Shooters. Their new sound is more mature and incorporates varied styles and sounds. Alex and Marcos are the latest to join this four piece band and so far they're hitting it off.

Rock Pedal to the Floor is actually just a regular rock album where you'll hear thrashy loud guitars, fast drums and characteristic throaty vocals, however, there are several tracks worth exploring. Personally, it's hard for me to like the vocals but I do admire the instrument work. It's not exactly groundbreaking but the tracks do work great when you just need to take out some stress by listening to something really loud.

Some of the worthy tracks for me include Stuck and Stonefly, both of which contain long portions of nothing with just the instruments thrashing about into a collective rock and roll stream.

Related Links:
The Shooters on Jamendo
The Shooters on Facebook
The Shooters on Myspace
The Shooters on Mean Man Rock Blog

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Be warned: contains gazillion explicit content, tons of metal, punk rock and lyrical comedy. From the funky video game intro in Girls Don't Play, it's hard not to laugh and enjoy listening to The Scare Bears.  

Their music can best be described as a cross between loud metal, electronic and comedy. Most of the tracks do contain heavy cursing and cussing as well as overall dark content.  If you don't mind it, you'll definitely enjoy listening to Zombies are Everywhere.

The album is made up of 16 tracks with quirky titles like Banana and Dumpster Diapers. If you like heavy but fun rock and don't have a big problem with cussing, then this album is worth checking out. With a band like this, you can almost expect that the members will have some sort of quirky nicknames. Sure enough, they do. The band is made up of Brian "The Cracker Kat" Damaged and Adam "The Monkey God" on vocals; Robo Bunny and Typical Panda on guitars; The Wolf on bass; Donkey Punch on drums and Funny Bunny on samples.

The band got together and started getting acquainted with the local scene back in 2003. Thanks to their onstage antics, funny animal nicknames, catchy riffs and varied musical tastes, the group was able to capture their audiences attention. The humor in the tracks are very raw and straight to the point that it's hard to miss it. The band focuses on having a fun and providing a refreshing show every time. They also make sure to inject a sense of professionalism into their work.

Majority of the tracks in Zombies are Everywhere are pretty likable, thanks to the catchy riffs and loud rocking sound. A personal favorite would be Girls Don't Play, Shooting Stars and PokeJohn. If you're wondering, yes, the last track mentioned on that is a tribute to those adorable little Pokemons.

Related Links:
The Scare Bears on Jamendo
The Scare Bears on Myspace
The Scare Bears on Facebook

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Unique French rock metal filled with thrashy guitars and loud vocals. Despite the lack of information on this band online, there is an abundance of rock and roll in Redmind. No Face is filled with 6 tracks that embody what this band is about. Their music is a mixture of rock neometal with speedy guitar licks, growling vocals and heavy drums to match.

Redmind's No Face might sound typical and the band might not break any boundaries with their music, but they do manage to pull through and create a solid sounding demo. Redmind has released several demos as well as singles off their Myspace and Jamendo site. For No Face, the band combines and scouts out many different genres. For instance, it opens with "Diabolic country before the storm" which of course, preludes the metal mayhem that ensues after the somewhat acoustic country feel of the intro track.

"Gimme" comes in next where the band makes a go at solos and slightly growly vocals. "TV Programs" is perhaps the most typical in terms of metal rock and roll. With the solid sounding speed metal riffs, heavy drumming as well as the shouty vocals, the song is instantly likable especially for hard rock aficionados out there.

Although the group might not break any records when it comes to their music, No Face does provide enough interest for it to be worth a listen. This demo as well as their other releases are available under a creative commons license.

Related Links:
Redmind Official Website
Redmind on Last FM
Redmind on Jamendo
Redmind on Myspace
Redmind on Facebook

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

With a great mix of hardcore metal and rock that will knock your socks off, Sever is a band worth listening to. With the traditional line-up change expected from a band that's more than a decade old, Sever's current lineup is as perfect as can be.

Coma Circle features 10 tracks filled with energy and rawness that's hard to find nowadays.  Perhaps the fact that they are relatively unknown (as of yet) adds to the appeal, but this German band certainly deserves a chance to be heard.

Heiko Gimbel, their vocalist cites bands like Tool, The Offspring, and Textures as some of his favorite bands. With this musical taste, it's no wonder he exhibits great control over his vocal capacity. He can go from a straight out howl to a melodramatic belt. Something that's difficult to see on even the most famous rockers in mainstream music today.

The rest of the band is composed of Ralf Raddeck and Roman Reckert on guitars, Steffen Petry on bass guitar and Mike Baruth manning the drums. Formerly known as Change of Mind, the band suffered a departure of their then vocalist Bjorn Eirich and the remaining members went on to call themselves Sever.

Each of the tracks are likable and if you love hardcore metal, it won't be difficult to become a sucker for this one. It's rare to find good quality metal bands out there and this one is a sure treat. Give their music a go, they're worth one listen at the very least.

Related Links:
Sever Official Website (German)
Sever on Myspace
Sever on Jamendo

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Germany License.