Monday, May 20, 2024 > 6:30 PM (Doors 5:30 PM) at Marathon Music Works in Nashville. Tickets: $63.63 – $102.20. All Ages.

In This Moment > Heavy Metal: With a Grammy nomination (“The In-Between,” 2021), platinum and gold record sales, multiple Top 25 entries on the Billboard Top 200 (“Black Widow” and “Ritual”), hits including “Whore,” “Blood,” and ”Adrenalize” and career streams of more than 1.3 billion, you’d think In This Moment might rest on their laurels. Instead, they’ve created GODMODE, 10 dynamic songs that mark a new high for the quintet, further cementing their legacy in the heavy music world. Proof
positive is in GODMODE’s first single, the industrial-heavy yet ultra-melodic “THE PURGE,” and its darkly cinematic video directed by Jensen Noen (Bring Me The Horizon, Demi Lovato). From the portentous start of the ‘90s-tinged “GODMODE” with Maria Brink’s powerful primal scream to the pitch-perfect cover of Bjork’s 1995 “Army of Me” to the impassioned pain to partnership in “EVERYTHING STARTS AND ENDS WITH YOU,” GODMODE is a cut above.

Kim Dracula > Alternative Metal: Surfacing from the flesh-eating diseases and torrential wildfires of Australia, Kim Dracula has arrived to create turbulent, creative art that mirrors the chaotic world around us. On the track “Make Me Famous”, we reach a gluttonous feast of violence, chaos and satire. In addition to being extreme and multi-faceted lyrically and visually, “Make Me Famous” dwarfs Dracula’s previous musical output by abrasively combining multiple styles, composed instrumentally by Kim Dracula themselves, including metal, industrial, jazz, trap and Latin music in a single song without flying off the rails. Dracula’s latest release “Drown” is a more melodic song that packs the same eclectic punch they’re making a name for, fusing styles such as post hardcore with synthwave, industrial, edm and metal. Between their musical composition, extreme visuals, and lack of desire to fit into any specific box, Dracula is earning a devoted following in all different communities, changing the future of music as we know it.

I See Stars > Electronic: I See Stars perfect a push-and-pull between sweeping hard rock, metallic energy, and electronic dance music on their fifth full-length album, Treehouse [Sumerian Records]. In order to achieve that often illusory balance, the Warren, MI quartet—Devin Oliver [clean & unclean vocals], Brent Allen [lead, rhythm guitar], Jeff Valentine [bass], and Andrew Oliver [vocals, keys, synths, programming, drums]—rebuilt their very foundation, creatively and personally.

“This is the most time we’ve had to create an album since 3D,” Devin admits. “We actually had time to reflect on our past, but most importantly what we want to become. Beyond the music, it felt like an evolution for us emotionally. We finally feel like the band we were meant to be. If you strip it down, it’s not just drums, guitar, bass, vocals, and minor production. The electronic aspects could be their own songs, and we aim to blend everything as seamlessly as possible.” “We went into making this record mindfully,” he admits. “It’s important to deliver the live performance as close to the album as possible. I wanted to step up. I had no idea what a challenge it would be; it was like learning a different language.” “We’ve had so many changes, and it’s an important time,” he goes on. “When we got back on stage, I had no idea what to expect, but our fans came out and showed love when we needed it the most. We wanted to give them what they deserve, which is the best record possible.” In order to achieve that vision, the musicians took a different route. To record Treehouse, they enlisted a cadre of producers including Erik Ron [Panic! at the Disco, Saosin], Nick Scott [Asking Alexandria, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!], and Taylor Larson [Periphery, Veil of Maya] as well a mixing by David Bendeth [Paramore, Breaking Benjamin]. They would also track the bulk of material in Los Angeles—another first—and the rest in Detroit.

“Lyrically, this one discusses family issues,” continues Devin. “The past year has been really hard. I realized I’m on my own, and it’s do or die with this band. It’s my life.” It’s that honesty which will continue to resonate the loudest among listeners and why I See Stars shine. “This is the most honest we could be,” Devin leaves off. “That’s what I want people to see.”

Mike’s Dead > Pop Metal: We can die many times. The process of creativity and life, is one of death and rebirth – constantly happening over and over again. Whether it’s an actual death, or just a shift in perspective, that cycle is forever continuing. Sometimes you must die inside, in order to rise from your own ashes and believe in yourself to become a new person.

We are all dead here.