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Interview by Kris Peters Known for their fiery fusion of anthemic modern metal and powerful melodic rock, Sweden’s SELF DECEPTION have shared stages with the likes of Electric Callboy, Danko Jones, and Adept since their 2009 debut, while racking up millions of streams and video views – including their viral 2022 hit, Fight Fire With […]

At the tail edge of 2017, Kepal emerged—then seemingly vanished without a trace. Nine years later, it resurfaces in an act of insurrection, punched awake by reality. This new chapter brings back the original collaborators: Nurba (vocals), Bani (guitar), Java (bass), and Variant JP (drums). Rising from the shattered grave of thrash, Profan unleashes their […]

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Live Forever is a live album, but it also feels like a check-in from the road, a way of hearing Hurray For The Riff Raff’s songs in a shared space. Alynda Segarra has long written with one foot in folk tradition and the other in a tougher, more restless world, where memory, loss, survival, and movement blur together. That makes Car Wheels on a Gravel Road a useful earlier marker, not because the records sound alike in every respect, but because Lucinda Williams showed how roots music could carry intimate detail, regional texture, and emotional wear without losing its bite.

This week the Bad Time Records Tour made their SoCal stop. They would have their Los Angeles show in Echo Park at the respected Echo venue. From helping in crowd participation, to skanking during intermissions; the LA crowd showed up and showed off, proving they have one of the liveliest ska scenes today.

Bad Time locals would step up as opening acts for the 3 full-touring bands throughout the tour. For the West Coast run, it was Orange County’s Half Past Two, who opened tonight’s show. There was already a big turnout with people already dancing when they kicked the night off with ‘Talk is Killing Me’. Lead singer Tara dressed as glamorous as ever, showing off a new haircut. Multiple band members like bassist Eric and trombonist Luis had the chance to jump into the pit as well. Half Past Two was a great choice to open the show; they know how to get the crowd moving and love to experiment, like they did tonight.  They usually end their sets with horn-driven song ‘Shine’, but opted instead to close with ‘Dominoes’, another fan favorite. The crowd loved it. The OC vets set the bar high for the following bands.   

Next up would be Kill Lincoln from Washington D.C., fresh from a trip to Disneyland. When it comes to energy, they picked up right where Half Past Two left, starting with my favorite song ‘I’m Fine (I Lied)’. I couldn’t resist and jumped into the pit, where the fire was already burning hot and bright. The ska punk group had a lot of circle pits songs that were very horn-driven. Bass player CJ was super fun to watch as he ran across the stage and moving his body back and forth like those inflatables at a car dealership. (I’m sorry, that’s the best way I can describe it!). I also have to ask for the cardio routine for hype man Drew, who danced, jumped, and skank for literally the entire set.  Their grand finale? Trombonist Ume getting on top a photo booth and crowd surfing for ‘Pralines & Dick’. Kill Lincoln had a unique take on the sound of 3^rd wave ska that makes them one of the leading figures of the New Tone movement. I highly recommend that people go out of their way to see this band. 

Speaking of New Tone, New Orleans’s Bad Operation brought their coined ‘New Tone’ back to SoCal. Matching in black Dickies jumpsuits, the band leaned a lot more to the ska/rocksteady sounds of the night, opening with another favorite song that got me dancing in the pit, ‘Kinda Together’. After two animated sets it would be tough to follow, but Bad Operation is on the hype train for their upcoming sophomore album and kept the energy going with new songs such as ‘Rico” and ‘Free Dom’. When D-Ray wasn’t on keys (or trombone), he was headbanging and keeping the crowd excited, even crowd surfing during Robert’s drum solo. JER and saxophonist Emily would hop on horns for the last few songs that included their album-titled track, ‘Perilous’ and closing song ‘Bagel Rooks’. Singer Dom was able to get the crowd to sing the chorus for ‘Bad Operation’, which I thought was super cool. His vocal skills, as well as his guitar skills, were both super impressive and a pleasure to watch within itself. The band overall was able to deliver and got me even more excited to hear their new album. 

Lastly, closing the show was JER from Gainesville. A lot of people in the crowd came to see specifically JER and were not disappointed. The lineup usually rotates since their start in 2021, but the current lineup has been their most stable. They played a lot of songs from their new album, opening with ‘The Way You Tune It Out’, also playing ‘I’m Still Bothered’ and ‘Capitalism Breeds Devastation’, which featured an impressive trombone solo from Robert. While singer Jer is super entertaining, even theatrical to watch, they are also politically conscious with their songs and unapologetically call out a number of issues and political figures. Jer’s monologue before playing ‘What Will You Do?’ is powerful and sets the mood for the song, showing their anger that the crowd responded to well. The transition from that song into ‘Say Gay or Say Goodnight’ was also really cool. The set also featured a mini-reunion for ska band Matamoska!, when saxophonist AJ hopped on with fellow members Robert (trombone) and Esteban (keys) for ‘I’d Like to be Better’. Their drummer Savannah also played drums for Half Past Two, which I want to shout out since that seems like a really hard thing to do. Their closing song was their debut album fan favorite ‘Sparkle’, that had probably the biggest circle pit of the night.  JER used their set to spread a lot of love for people and the music they were playing and it really showed by the end of the night. 

In a time where the LA ska scene is troubled with mistrust and low morale, this was a refreshing reassurance that there is still love for the community and that as long as people look out for each other, the music won’t die out. The Bad Time show was a lot more important to the people of LA than what it seems.  As someone deep in the LA ska scene, I’m inspired to spread the love that I felt at this show.  

They announced a lineup change one day before launching the trek. Continue reading…

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Best known as the frontman of the Joe Perry Project, Mach Bell’s got his start with Thundertrain, who came up amongst a hard-hitting ‘70s Boston rock scene. With Thundertrain, Bell dazzled audiences at The Rat, toured with The Dead Boys, and recorded a cult favorite record, Teenage Suicide, before the wheels came off in 1979. After that, Bell was working 9-to-5, before a call from none other than Joe Perry’s management changed everything. With Perry, Bell’s task was to carry eight of the Aerosmith catalog, along with Perry’s first two Joe Perry Project releases. He took on the challenge, recording

The post An Interview With Mach Bell, Formerly Of The Joe Perry Project & Thundertrain appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

Starring Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, Clash Of The Titans was one of the most important tours in metal history

Black metallers Passéisme are streaming a new track, “Lingering Chant Of Mistrust”, that will be part of their next EP Hieratic Disarray. The latter was mixed and mastered by Arkady Navaho.
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