Get Even (2020)

If you have recently been disturbed by the distant sound of whimpering, it was probably just a bunch of middle-aged prog metal fans becoming mildly hysterical about the prospect of a new PSYCHOTIC WALTZ album. And rightly so. Because while there were undoubtedly bigger and more widely celebrated bands to emerge from prog metal's first decade, connoisseurs of this stuff know that nothing much beats the first two albums these Californians made back in the early '90s: "A Social Grace" (1990) and "Into the Everflow" (1992). In fact, their third and fourth albums were killer, too. So yeah, the arrival of "The God-Shaped Void" is definitely cause for celebration, and the party will get even more raucous when patient fans realize that the first PSYCHOTIC WALTZ album in 24 years is every bit as good as its revered predecessors (and maybe even slightly better)…

Rise Records announce the signing of Norwegian band Kvelertak. The album was recorded with Kurt Ballou at Godcity Studio in Salem, MA. The result is one hour of catchy riffs, punk rock, and heavy metal influenced by a world in discord to accompany their way towards Ragnarok.

Madison Square Garden, NY, late 2019. A packed house. We see a stage, empty save for Woody Goss at the keys and a lone clarinetist serenading us with an exotic melody. Cheering erupts as band leader Jack Stratton emerges, crawling onto the stage and putting on a show of immense physical effor…