Kris Kielich
Creator/Host of @PsyWarPod. Also: @NoizzeUK and @Distorted_Mag. Previously @Cecil_whig, @TheBuffaloNews, etc. Forever a Buffalonian. #BillsMafia #GoSabres
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Articles by Kris Kielich
Frozen Soul's Chad Green on How Games Can Help Us Focus and Heal, The Clarifying Power of Fun, and Never Losing Your Spark on Apple Podcasts
I AM BACK! Thank you to everyone for being so patient with me as I took some time off from the podcast, but I've returned with bigger plans ahead as I talk with the frontman one of death metal's youngest and brightest bands, Chad Green of Frozen Soul, on the spiritual nature of games, holding on to the things you find fun, and never losing your spark in the face of great loss and personal pain. A massive thank you to Chad for being so open and candid in this amazing talk.
Taproot's Stephen Richards on the Spiritual Power of Humor, the Guiding Hand of Fate, and Astral Projection on Apple Podcasts
Stephen Richards, vocalist of alt-metal legends Taproot joins me on Psychic Warfare this week to speak about how humor (especially dark humor) has a spiritual power all its own, how he feels he's been guided on an invisble track of fate for his life, the reality of his experiences with astral projection, and much more. Also, be sure to look out for his absolutely wild story of how he met his current wife - aptitude test to OKCupid?
Psychic Warfare: HolidayKirk, Social Media's CEO of Nu-Metal, on the Freedom of Nu-Metal, How It Reflects our Desire to Break Social Norms, and How Just Struggling to Live can Ground You on Apple Podcasts
One of the biggest and best content creators on metal social media, HolidayKirk, the CEO of Nu-Metal himself, joins Psychic Warfare to talk about the insight and philosophical ethos behind Nu-Metal and how it reflects our desire for freedom from society and ourselves, how it's about looking forward and not to the past, and also how much damn fun it is. This and more in a not to miss interview with one of the best, brightest, and hardest working in the metal media world today. Top Podcasts In Arts
Psychic Warfare: Terminal Nation's Stan Liszewski on the Possibility of Common Ground in a Divided World, How to Stay Optimistic Through Chaos, and "Oh F&*K" Moments on Apple Podcasts
Stan Liszewski of harcore/death metal outfit Terminal Nation joins Psychic Warfare for a passionate discussion on the state of the world, whether we will ever be able to find common ground between each other in a fractured society, how our political leanings and morals are shaped as we age, and whether it would take an "Oh F&k" moment to finally bring us all together to save oursevles from ourselves.
Three Days Grace/Saint Asonia's Adam Gontier on Angst, Forgiveness, and Self-Transformation
Former Three Days Grace and current Saint Asonia vocalist/lyricist Adam Gontier joins the PSYCHIC WARFARE PODCAST to discuss his grappling with anxiety and strategies he found to help overcome it, the power of forgiveness, and the figures that have helped transform his life. Plus, he shares some amazing stories about Chris Cornell and Robert Plant. It's all here for you to digest and absorb in PSYCHIC WARFARE Episode 2!
Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley on Mysticism, Ego, and Redemption
Former Every Time I Die and current The Damned Things vocalist/lyricist Keith Buckley joins the premiere episode of PSYCHIC WARFARE to discuss his foundations in spirituality, his discovery of Christian mysticism, the nature of good and evil, and so much more. Come join myself and Keith as we uncover the principles and lessons that have shaped his life in both past and present.
Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley on Mysticism, Ego, and Redemption on Apple Podcasts
Former Every Time I Die and current The Damned Things vocalist/lyricist Keith Buckley joins the premiere episode of PSYCHIC WARFARE to discuss his foundations in spirituality, his discovery of Christian mysticism, the nature of good and evil, and so much more. Come join myself and Keith as we uncover the principles and lessons that have shaped his life in both past and present.
Coheed And Cambria: Fathers, Sons, and Fallen Brothers
There’s a strange vortex of energy surrounding the impending release of Vaxis II: A Window Of The Waking Mind, the new album from COHEED AND CAMBRIA. The second record in the newest branch of band front man and mastermind Claudio Sanchez‘s Amory Wars saga, it’s a record that directly continues the breakneck breath of life that was Vaxis: Act I and speaks both musically and lyrically to life and love.
Motionless In White: Lies, Injustice, and the American Grave
“Previous albums we’ve made are just albums. This new album is a world.” That’s how Ricky Horror of MOTIONLESS IN WHITE describes the band’s brand new sixth album Scoring The End Of The World. And he’s certainly describing the album accurately, though the themes of the album certainly portray a world no sane person would ever want to live in.
Distorted Sound Magazine
If the style of the most iconic nu-metal acts like LIMP BIZKIT and SLIPKNOT can be compared to a professional wrestling match: loud, sweaty, theatrical, encouraging of crowd participation, and a near guaranteed chance that everyone there is going to go airborne at any given moment, then the style of BLACKGOLD can be compared to a grimy, underground, bareknuckle boxing match. The mysteriously masked UK five piece’s new self-titled EP is brash, brazen, and as in your face as nu-metal gets.
EP REVIEW: BLACKGOLD – BLACKGOLD - Distorted Sound Magazine
Nu-metal, at its best, is a true, unabashed celebration of life. Its bouncy riffs and stream of consciousness songwriting symbolise truly living for the fun of the moment. It’s that feeling when all sense of daily stressors are lost on a theme park roller coaster, or running the killstreak of a lifetime in a Call Of Duty match with friends. It’s backyard beers and barbeque and the cheap thrills of a demolition derby.
ALBUM REVIEW: Ghostlight – Poets of the Fall - Distorted Sound Magazine
In 2008, Finnish rock sextet POETS OF THE FALL released a cover of the late Chris Cornell‘s James Bond theme, You Know My Name. It felt a perfect foil to the original version in all the right ways. Vocalist Marko Saaresto‘s smooth and sinister baritone was excellently suited to a song all about danger and the sexy, dangerous world of maniacal masterminds and devil-may-care secret agents. The band, too, delivered a more straightforward but fittingly epic and grandiose take on the track.
ALBUM REVIEW: Lights Of Night – Askara - Distorted Sound Magazine
As the lilting, Kingdom Hearts-esque piano melodies ofThe Birth Of A Star from ASKARA begin to drift, hope fills the air. The beginning of the Swiss dark symphonic quartet’s new record Lights Of Night starts off about as promising as one can, calling to mind images of tranquillity and starlight. And that’s about where the highlights of this record end.
Amorphis: A Dark Piercing Light
Sublimity is often defined as the feeling of utter terror and awe at the same moment. If this is indeed the case, then metal could be described as the most sublime music of all. The way it can hold abject darkness in total balance and harmony with dazzling light provides the most human and divine of listening experiences all at once.
Graphic Nature: Dealing In Discomfort
GRAPHIC NATURE only have about six or seven proper songs to their name, but they already have a visual style distinctly their own. Their music videos are all awash in blue and black, evoking the palette used by the nostalgic classics of early 2000s action films like Underworld. And their sound? Well the Kent five-piece takes a little bit from that era too, with the band falling somewhere between the emerging worlds of nu-metalcore and neo-industrial bands like VEIN.FM and a bit of CODE ORANGE.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Seven – Agathodaimon - Distorted Sound Magazine
Everyone loves a comeback, and everyone loves a comeback more when the return is better than ever. German symphonic black metal stalwarts AGATHODAIMON were rock solid members of the Nuclear Blast roster for years, and consistently delivered album after album of grounded, riff-based and inventive darkness that bucked the trends and expectations of other bands in their orbit.
ALBUM REVIEW: i saw hell when i was with you – downcast - Distorted Sound Magazine
Album Reviews Alternative Pop-Punk Reviews February 28, 2022February 28, 2022 Kris Kielich Downcast, i saw hell when i was with you, Rage PR Pop-punk and emo artists, as a general rule, don’t get as much respect as they deserve for the tightropes they have to walk to be truly seen and respected by the heavy and alternative music community.
ALBUM REVIEW: Halo – Amorphis - Distorted Sound Magazine
To listen to AMORPHIS is to grasp what metal can truly be. Over a period of decades, the Finnish melodeath veterans have crafted a sound so lush and expansive, yet so tightly melodic that it boggles the mind to conceive of how they consistently weave it all together. They boast both an incredible pop sensibility in their melodic construction, but have an incredible prog dexterity to elevate the simple into the transportative.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Last Ten Seconds Of Life – The Last Ten Seconds Of Life - Distorted Sound Magazine
2021 was the year deathcore finally had its renaissance on two fronts. Whether it was the explosion of reactions to the sheer bombast and ferocity of LORNA SHORE‘s To The Hellfire, or the continued evolution and maturation of WHITECHAPEL on Kin, the scene veterans stepped up once again to show they had something different to offer.
ALBUM REVIEW: Dakota Blood Stampede - Shotgun Facelift
The ghosts of the past are ever present in Dakota Blood Stampede, the newly released second full-length from North Dakota groove metal quintet SHOTGUN FACELIFT. In fact, they seem to haunt most every song. Fingers will most certainly be reaching to dig wax out of ears throughout the 10 song tracklist as these shadows of the past are audibly heard. Did Randy Blythe start a side project? Is that first track a groove metal remix of METALLICA‘s Blackened?
Ice Nine Kills: A New Nightmare
Every great horror franchise deservers a sequel, and once a massive horror film-themed album drops that showcases the perfect synchronicity of the metal and horror worlds and that causes a huge splash in both communities, then a sequel is most definitely in order.
ALBUM REVIEW: Heaven In Hiding – Imminence - Distorted Sound Magazine
Have you ever heard of comic book movie fatigue? It’s the notion that with the amount of comic book based/inspired movies we’ve had in the past decade, there’s been a growing feeling of “seen this before.” By no means does that mean the films themselves are poorly made or even not enjoyable. It simply means that after seeing enough of one kind of film, the spark of a great original spin or an unforeseen twist can be lost in a tide of predictability.
Distorted Sound Magazine
Picking ICE NINE KILLS frontman Spencer Charnas‘ brain on his favourite horror movies of all time seems like a nearly impossible task given his all encompassing love of the genre; as shown on the band’s brand new album The Silver Scream 2: Welcome To Horrorwood. Of course he loves all the classics, but when moving into the modern era, there are so many films that have made just as great an impact in his life that may not get as much love or recognition.
Distorted Sound Magazine
The passage through life is often romantically painted as a journey where the experiences along the way matter much more than the destination. But the cold, hard reality is that that journey is filled with moments of loss and grief; moments of pure mental chaos and stress, where all that seems real are the distressing thoughts inside the mind. It’s full of moments where friends and those we love will fall away and be let down; hurt by our own actions. It’s a hard thing, living. It’s struggle.
HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Dead Throne - The Devil Wears Prada
There was a certain aesthetic associated with young metalcore bands in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Zany cartoon shirts, drippy, spiky logos, and straightened hair are the tropes that spring to mind to most readily in the heavy music community today when recalling the glory days of Warped Tour metalcore.
ALBUM REVIEW: Last Contact – Withering Soul - Distorted Sound Magazine
When it comes to metal, there’s more of a focus than ever on bands that can mix things up and provide the unexpected in their sound. With a descriptor like ‘blackened melodeath’ the opportunity is there for trio WITHERING SOUL to deliver a record that runs a gamut of sound and style, and at times, Last Contact is that. Mostly however, the record falls back into black metal tropes that, while well executed, don’t exactly prick the ears through the sea of similar material out in the world.
ALBUM REVIEW: Sacrificio - Criminal
If thrash is inherently the most political of all the sub-genres of metal, then long standing Chilean thrash outfit CRIMINAL‘s new record, Sacrificio, is a rallying cry from the trenches of the genre. The record comes on the heels of some of the greatest political and societal upheaval in Chile’s modern history. After protests, arrests, and death on a wide scale, its no wonder the vitriol of this album is a palpable taste on the tongue.
The L.I.F.E. Project: Stepping Into The Spotlight
It’s easy to forget, but the massive rock juggernaut that is STONE SOUR only has two remaining original members: lead vocalist Corey Taylor, and rhythm guitarist Josh Rand. Behind the presence of one of the greatest frontmen to grace the stage of hard rock and metal, Rand has been a seminal force in keeping the band on the skyward trajectory they’ve been on since their inception. That is, until Taylor announced the band’s indefinite hiatus last August.
HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Metallica - Metallica
The Black Album is a signpost of music history. On this, its 30th anniversary, outlets from both within and outside the metal community will inevitably be smothering coverage all over the record for how it forever changed the trajectory of metal and heavy music. How it went 16 times platinum and is one of the best selling metal albums of all time. How it spent 550 weeks on the Billboard 200, a feat only held by a chosen few in history.
ALBUM REVIEW: Once (re-issue) - Nightwish
It is only the under the utmost of surety and after the passing of many years and many arguments in the court of public opinion that a band can claim to have created and album that changed the game. NIGHTWISH can say that, and they can say it with great confidence. Their 2004 magnum opus Once absolutely changed the trajectory of metal forever. The pioneers of the symphonic metal genre had taken the final leap from 2002’s Century Child and composed with a flesh and blood orchestra.
HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: In Waves - Trivium
The water pulls back from the shore in as fast as lightning. The skies overhead are as black as coal; roiling with thunder and chaos. Gazing up, it appears; the great tide. A wall of water approaches the shore, towering over all. Its arrival is imminent, but spectators cannot help but stand, transfixed. It rolls closer and closer, before finally crashing with a force unheard, crushing all in its wake. This is not a recollection of a natural disaster.
Distorted Sound Magazine
Over the past few records that Orange County metalcore stalwarts ATREYU have released, there’s been a lot of talk. There’s talk in YouTube and Facebook comments, and even in some mainstream metal outlets about how the band is focused on nothing more than pop-rock radio songs designed for the lowest common denominator, and how their melodies are nothing but autotune drenched pieces of plastic.
Fear Factory: A System Reset
Any metalhead that has been on social media in the past few years has undoubtedly been caught in the middle of one of metal’s most turbulent and vitriolic breakups of the past decade. FEAR FACTORY, one of the longest running and most influential industrial metal bands of all time, has had a history filled with tumult and hard feelings, with lead vocalist Burton C. Bell leaving the band after a high water mark in the band’s popularity with the release of 2001’s Digimortal.
ALBUM REVIEW: Live At Helsinki Ice Hall - Amorphis
AMORPHIS may be the most perfectly named metal band. They are a force of constant shifting and changing, and they always seem to know exactly what atmosphere a song needs to make it exceptional. They may not be the proggiest melodeath band on the planet, but their chameleonic discography is a testament to their skills as musicians and their passion for the power of storytelling through sound.
HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: The Great Southern Trendkill – Pantera - Distorted Sound Magazine
It’s 1996. PANTERA have reached the heights any metal band could ever dream of. Their last record, Far Beyond Driven, reached number one on the Billboard charts and the band are playing arenas on a regular basis. This is truly the goal that every band sets out to accomplish, and yet PANTERA are tearing at the seams and standing on a knife’s edge.
ALBUM REVIEW: Initiation - Sumo Cyco
One of the most powerful aspects of video and role playing games are the worlds they create and the characters within them. Players find themselves wanting to escape into those fantasy worlds full of action, danger, heroism, magic, and fun. It’s that feeling like anything can happen, and excitement is just around an given corner that keeps people coming back to games like Shadowrun, League of Legends, and Cyberpunk 2077.
ALBUM REVIEW: When Good Men Go To War - Vexillum
There is perhaps no more empowering feeling in metal than riding the swell of a truly great vocal melody and guitar lead in power metal. It’s a goosebump-inducing experience when everything is in perfect concert and the tone is just right, and it’s not for lack of trying that Italian folk/power metal quintet VEXILLUM strive to reach that flow on their newly released fourth record, When Good Men Go To War.
EP REVIEW: Paint The Sky With Blood – Bodom After Midnight - Distorted Sound Magazine
The legacy that late CHILDREN OF BODOM frontman Alexi Laiho left to the metal community is perhaps too immense for words. Words describing him have been used extensively in the aftermath of his death: rockstar, guitar hero, shredder, wild child. But what comes to the foremost of the mind when thinking about Laiho is joy. Here was man who exuded fun and joy in every performance he gave and in every track he wrote.
ALBUM REVIEW: A Brighter Side Of Death – Mister Misery - Distorted Sound Magazine
It’s always an unexpected pleasure to encounter a band who grasps the fundamentals of great melodic song-writing so well at so early a stage in their career. Pulling from a long tradition of great melodic metal, Sweden’s MISTER MISERY perhaps already succeed better at crafting hooks and sweeping, earworm melodies than any of their horror-metal peers in bands like ICE NINE KILLS.
ALBUM REVIEW: Theater of Sorcery - Avaland
In a genre like power/symphonic metal, melody is king. If a band doesn’t have the hooks or the right melodic construction to grab the listener, there are ten other bands lined up behind them that can do it bigger, better, and with more gusto. This is the pitfall that encompasses the debut album from symphonic metal band AVALAND. Theater of Sorcery is an album of great ambition spawned from the brain of Adrien Gzagg.
Therion: For The Band Who Has Everything
“I don’t believe in originality any more. Can you tell me one band in the last ten years that was totally groundbreaking and original?” It’s a hard question to answer, to be certain, and as THERION brainchild and maestro Christofer Johnsson poses it, he takes a breath in the certainty that the ever elusive search for originality is a thing of the past, at least for his newest record, Leviathan.
HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: ON THIS DAY: Mutter - Rammstein
Take away METALLICA. Take away IRON MAIDEN. What band is the biggest metal band in the world? It’s RAMMSTEIN. Legacy and influence aside, the German sextet is the biggest metal band in the world. Their live shows alone sell out in minutes and their spectacle is unmatched by any band or musical act. Period. But how did they become the modern juggernaut that they are in this day and age? The answer lies with the band’s inarguable masterwork, 2001’s Mutter.
ALBUM REVIEW: Inhumation – Unflesh - Distorted Sound Magazine
When arriving at the barriers of the heavier, more extreme genres metal has to offer, belief in what the band is conveying through their brutality and darkness is paramount to digesting and discerning a great record from an okay one. These are genres that must be felt much more than understood, and the darkness and oppression they provide must pervade the senses like a dark cloud of ash and incense.
ALBUM REVIEW: Live In Richmond, VA – Lamb of God - Distorted Sound Magazine
A LAMB OF GOD live show is a display of power and energy like few others. It’s so hard to fathom bottling the beautiful, chaotic experience in a live album, but 2005’s Killadelphia did a fantastic job. Now, the band is releasing another live record attached to the deluxe version of their excellent self titled record from last year. The only catch? There’s no audience.
LIVE(STREAM): Silverstein @ Out Of This World - Acoustic & Unplugged
All is well. Our intrepid heroes (aka post-hardcore legends SILVERSTEIN) have seemingly escaped the clutches of the alien race that, last we saw, forced them to play Discovering The Waterfront front to back last week in their perfect simulation of the band’s rehearsal space. This week, they’ve woken up in a field of alpacas and stumbled back to their original practice space for one last stream: a night of acoustic deep cuts. Or have they?
LIVE(STREAM): Silverstein @ Out Of This World - Discovering The Waterfront
When a strange civilization of aliens who sometimes wear Zildjian hoodies kidnaps you and forces your band to play your most recognizable and popular album front to back to help their civilisation…well then that’s a hard offer to refuse. But that’s exactly the situation that SILVERSTEIN find themselves in in part two of their Out Of This World livestream series.
LIVE(STREAM) REVIEW: Silverstein @ Out Of This World - Greatest Hits
This new age of livestreamed shows has opened up new presentation possibilities for every band in the game, and the rock and metal world has seen it’s fair share of creative gimmicks and wild stage productions. But weaving an entire sci-fi storyline in between three different nights of material is certainly among the more ambitious and unique ideas to come out of the forced ingenuity of the stay-at-home show genre.
EP REVIEW: An Anthropologist On Mars – Justin Courtney Pierre - Distorted Sound Magazine
EP Reviews Hard Rock Pop-Punk Pop-Rock Reviews March 11, 2021March 11, 2021 Kris Kielich An Anthropologist on Mars, Epitaph Records, Justin Courtney Pierre Justin Courtney Pierre of MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK fame is a front man and lyricist known for his self-deprecating humour and relatability. The problems and feelings he has journaled one each subsequent MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK record has garnered him a popularity that, in a sense, has outweighed the size and scope of his main band.
ALBUM REVIEW: At Night We Prey – Nightfall - Distorted Sound Magazine
Thirteen years between records is approaching SYSTEM OF A DOWN levels of drought for a band. But for Greek melodic blackened death vets NIGHTFALL, the reason for their absence both between records and in the performance sphere has been partially due to lead vocalist Efthimis Karadimas‘ battle with depression. It’s an all too familiar demon that is explored and reckoned with on their solid new record At Night We Prey.
ALBUM REVIEW: Trapped In A World – Terror - Distorted Sound Magazine
Album Reviews Hardcore Punk Reviews March 1, 2021February 25, 2021 Kris Kielich Earsplit PR, Terror, Trapped In a World If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s an adage so common, it’s used and overused in almost every way possible about anything the masses deem too near and dear to change. But despite it’s widespread nature, it’s a saying that hardcore titans TERROR should perhaps have followed a bit more closely.
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