FEATURES

BANDS ON THE RISE 2008: BANDS ON THE VERGE OF BREAKTHROUGH
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
Ready to release their sophomore album and preparing to unleash what they refer to as "phase two of world domination," BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE is clearly a band on the rise. Scream Aim Fire is set to release worldwide on January 28th, 2008 and the band will once again take North America by storm on the Taste of Chaos Tour. Live-Metal.Net takes a look at this up and coming band and gives you a small taste of what is to come from them in 2008 with a new series called Bands on The Rise 2008.



SCREAM AIM FIRE WITH BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

NEW NOISE: THE BEST NEW AND UNSIGNED BANDS

STEVE CONE

STEVE CONE is our latest NEW NOISE act (for new and unsigned bands), whose new album In My Bones is as much a compliment to classic acts like ACCEPT and JUDAS PRIEST, as it is to the modern era of metal. STEVE CONE is of the do-it-yourself mentality and has taken just about everything into his own hands, from playing, recording, promotion, and all the other aspects that are involved. But heavy metal is his passion and it's a sure bet that he's having the time of his life doing this. You ready to rock? You ready to have fun with metal again? Then read our feature on STEVE CONE with links, photos, info and an in-depth interview with the man himself!
NEW NOISE: STEVE CONE

THE SYSTEM AFTER

THE SYSTEM AFTER is our first New Noise band of 2008, a feature you should see a lot more of this year on Live-Metal.net. The band is a quintet based out of Peoria, Ill, playing a blend of modern rock and metal along the lines of bands like DISTURBED, MUDVAYNE and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. Live-Metal.net recently chatted with guitarist Dave Zumbek, finding out some history of the band, info on their new release Thrill or Be Killed and, most importantly, where you can buy this phenomenal album. Click below for full feature and to listen now!
NEW NOISE: THE SYSTEM AFTER

YEAR IN REVIEW:
LIVE-METAL.NET'S BEST OF 2007, TOP-RATED CDS, YEAR IN PHOTOS

2007 was the second full year Live-Metal.net has been online and it was chock full of metal. Albums, both good and really bad were released by most every name in metal. Here, we will focus on the good as the Live-Metal.net staff makes their top album picks of the year. Check them all out below. Do you agree with our selections?
BEST OF 2007 BY GREG MAKI (WRITER)
BEST OF 2007 BY JEFF MAKI (WEBMASTER)
BEST OF 2007 BY RYAN MAVITY (WRITER)

Also, be sure to check out our list of the 50 top-rated CDs reviewed in 2007. These are albums that received a rating of 8-10 among the hundreds we reviewed last year.

Check out some of the year's best live shots from Live-Metal.net's Greg Maki. This is a quick look back in time of another great year of concerts and bands.
2007 YEAR IN PHOTOS

RESPECT: PAYING HOMAGE TO THOSE WORTHY

MARDUK: FIFTEEN YEAR PLAGUE
To celebrate the band's 15-year existence, MARDUK's first four releases have been re-released in 2007 with bonus material via Regain Records, along with a live album, Warschau, featuring 17 tracks from a show in Warsaw, Poland on Sept. 17, 2005. The albums had previously only been available as imports in the U.S. This burns a brand on their long and blasphemous musical career, satisfies their cult following and reintroduces MARDUK to the ever growing populace of black metal fans.

Read the feature story on MARDUK for background on this influential black metal band along with tracklistings and info on the re-releases.
READ MARDUK FEATURE HERE

REVISITED: A LOOK BACK AT CLASSIC METAL ALBUMS

NAILBOMB - 'POINT BLANK'

Within the past few years, there have been widespread rumors and speculation about a reunion of the classic lineup of SEPULTURA—the Brazilian thrash and death metal band who were viewed as deities in the '90s metal scene. The reunion is now partially under way, with vocalist/guitarist/SEPULTURA brainchild Max Cavalera and his iconic drummer/brother Igor re-joining forces on a new musical collaboration, The CAVALERA CONSPIRACY. I figured this was the best time to introduce the new school of metal fans to a sideproject that came to be in the mid-'90s and has reached cult status in the metal world. In 1994, Max Cavalera and Alex Newport of the grunge-metal band FUDGE TUNNEL (great name, eh?) formed NAILBOMB and released the industrial-punk-metal juggernaut Point Blank (Roadrunner Records). The metal world has never recovered.
READ NAILBOMB FEATURE HERE