The funkier, groove-orientated side

Fronted by Nine Inch Nails drummer Ilan Rubin, the New Regime recently released two live performance videos off their third album Heart Mind Body & Soul, “You Can Be” and “Smoke and Mirrors,” with six more videos planned for the series. According to Rubin, “Performing live in the studio is something I’ve done to showcase my songs in a live, but controlled setting, where the audio and visual fidelity made for an enjoyable viewing experience. This was the first time we had performed since Covid-19 hit and the tour we were on with Silversun Pickups was cancelled halfway through. It felt good to set up, rehearse, and just enjoy performing live music. ‘You Can Be’ has been a favorite of mine because it shows the funkier, groove-orientated side of my music on all fronts. From the guitars, to the vocals, drums, and bass, it makes you want to move. ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ is one of the heavier, riff-based songs off of HMB&S without losing out on melody. I’ve always loved the light and shade of the verses and choruses with some explosive moments that might make you turn your head and smile a bit. We’ve never gotten the chance to perform this track live in front of people.”

Singer-songwriter Tolan Shaw (the New Archaic) took home first place trophies as Best Singer-Songwriter at the 2011 and 2013 San Diego County Fairs in Del Mar. Songs he’s written that have been heard on TV include “Good Day” on MTV’s Undressed, an SDSU recruitment ad, and both “Eyes” and “Never Met You” were used on CBS’ The Young and the Restless. He has a new single called “Slide Away.” “This is where I found myself a lot the last year,” he says, “writing and producing music by myself in my little bedroom studio. Trying to stay productive. Trying to either fight the dark, negative feelings away, or use them as expression through the songs, depending on the day. I’m blessed, and don’t have a lot to complain about, but I know all of us were mentally feeling the effects of so many unknowns, questions, and isolation. Not sure about you, but I typically ignore those feelings, push through them, and put on a smile most of the time. But I’ve learned how to sit in that space and be okay with it. It’s okay to feel shitty. It’s okay to not know what to feel. It’s okay to feel that heaviness that some days we might just not be able to explain. We all feel it in one way or another, at some time or another. Keep on, fellow human. Things are looking up.”

Singer-songwriter Scott Samuels is a vet of bands such as Kitten’s Pharmacy, Roxy Monoxide, A.M. Forever (aka Vinyl Pirates), and a Neil Diamond tribute act, Solitary Diamonds. He just released a new solo five-song EP called Sunshine and Starlight for download and streaming. “Shortly thereafter will come the CDs and vinyl for people like me, who like to have something you can hold in your hands,” says Samuels. “I thank one of my musical compadres, Scott Spindler, for adding some Bowie-esque keyboard touches to one of the tunes. Other than that, these performances, the production, and nearly all the songwriting is completely me, from start to finish. This album, more than any other I’ve done, reflects my ‘70s glam-rock influences, and I’m really excited to share the results.” The cover photo was shot at Clear Lake, Iowa that should be instantly familiar to fans of rock and roll history. “This is the marker that leads you to the spot where the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper crashed, about a half mile along the fence line of this farm field.”

The Satanic Temple co-founder and spokesperson Lucien Greaves formed psychotic sound-slingers Satanic Planet with Luke Henshaw (Planet B, Sonido de la Frontera), Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies), and Justin Pearson (the Locust, Dead Cross). They have a new single called “Baphomet.” According to Greaves, “Goat headed, human bodied, and three-horned, the Baphomet is an icon symbolizing the reconciliation of opposites; dueling binaries combined and transcending into something greater than the sum of their parts. The track we have titled ‘Baphomet’ blends the electronic with the medieval, the drone with the scream, the raucous with the orchestral. These conflicting elements, we hope, blend to create easy listening for the apocalypse.” A video for the song is streaming online, directed by Luke Henshaw with cinematography by Becky DiGiglio. The track is available free with preorders for their upcoming album, which features guest appearances from Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation), Jung Sing (Silent), Carrie Feller (Hexa), Nomi Abadi, Shiva Honey, and Eric Livingston (also known as First Church of the Void). According to label Three One G, “This collaboration embraces the avant garde to create sci-fi sermons that range from doom and industrial to evil exotica.”

Founded in 2019 and citing inspirations such as At the Gates, Morbid Angel, and Carcass (and bearing more than a passing sonic resemblance to local female-frontwoman metal powerhouse Benedictum), death metal trio Putrescine is fronted by singer Marie McAuliffe and features guitarists Trevor Van Hook and Zachary Sanders. They made their recorded debut with a pair of 2020 EPs whose titles accurately convey their contents, Devourer of Gods and Reek of Putrescine. The band just premiered their debut full-length The Fading Flame, which features all music and lyrics by McAuliffe and Van Hook. The album was produced by Zachary Sanders and mixed by Shawn McClure. Guest performers include Calin Kim, who appeared on one of the earlier EP tracks and is heard here playing viola on “In a Setting Sun,” and Alec Van Der Lam contributes some solo licks.