“The first album ever to “speak to me” was Death to Traitors by Paw. I was in my early teens at the time, doing the Nirvana thing, the Weezer Blue Album thing, the Siamese Dream thing, etc.” Click through to read the article!

About once a year, I hear a new record from a band that is either brand new or that I paid little attention to beforehand and am completely blown away. That’s if I’m lucky. Enter Chicago’s Janus and their new album Nox Aeris. Guitarist Mike Tyranski joined our program where we discussed the band and their newest release, which is a piece of art that gets better with every listen.

Hank3 released four new albums on September 6, 2011, a mix of country, doom-rock, and speed metal, with a little cattle callin’ here and there. Entitled Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town (a 2-disc country record), 3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin’ (a metal record in the newly anointed cattle core genre) and Attention Deficit Domination (a doom rock record), these albums were released on Hank3′s own record label, Hank3 Records (through Megaforce Records), and feature guest appearances by Tom Waits, Les Claypool of Primus, Alan King of Hellstomper, and Williams’ dog, Trooper. And in 30 minutes of audio, we address this and more.

I can listen to Van Halen with Dave and I can listen to them with Sammy. I can listen to Priest with Halford and I can listen to them with Tim Owens. Good music is good music, and Ripper absolutely owns this song. Turn this song up LOUD.

“I’ve always said Shaun Glass is an open book. Our discussions are always fun, interesting, and laid back. Whether or not you like his music, he’s worthy of your respect. Shaun Glass bleeds Dirge Within. Morning, noon, and night, 24/7, he’s about this band. That’s no joke and not something I’m writing for the sake of this article. If everyone approached music and their bands like he approaches Dirge Within, the music business would be a much more honest, better place.”

Released in 1988, Ram It Down boasted one single, a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.” Hands down, this cover is absolutely terrible, inexcuseable and one of the worst recordings in the Priest catalog. We’re not here to talk about that, though.

A larger write-up will be posted shortly. Donate to Digital Summer’s Kickstarter campaign. Thank you to everyone from AKF that contributed. As of now, I know at least three of you did. More coming by Friday morning. Swamped. Give money in the meantime. Digital Summer rules.

Equilibrium marks God Forbid’s 6th full length release and their first with their newly solidified home at Victory Records. They’ve achieved high praise from fans and critics alike over their career and still have an insatiable hunger to expand their songwriting horizons, which is constantly evolving with each release. Equilibrium is no exception and is as monstrously heavy as it is dynamic and textured. God Forbid are at the top of their game and will no doubt with Equilibrium solidify their status in the hierarchy of heavy music.

All Knowing Force are huge supporters of Filter. They’re delivering a new record this summer, and will be playing in New York City Thursday, March 8th, 2012 at the Gramercy Theater. They’ll also be playing at the Showboat in Atlantic City on Saturday, March 10th, 2012. This audio is 30 minutes of solid Filter talk. You won’t be disappointed.

“The performance speaks for itself and speaks volumes of the band’s raw talent and diversity. As one of the few rock bands of their generation to fuse arena rock grandiose with a dense conceptual narrative and somehow make it easy to swallow, Coheed & Cambria are truly in a league of their own.”