Fringe Candidate-Fringe Candidate

Self-Release/Independent
2017

Fringe Candidate is a hardcore punk band from Akron, Ohio. The group is fronted by Karl Vorndran and this self-titled release looks to be the band's studio debut. It came out in late December of 2017. Recorded by the band's own bassist (Jamie Stillman) at Historic EarthQuaker Devices, "Fringe Candidate" is a vicious collection of (street-legit) hardcore punk with great song titles like "The Boy Who Cried Hitler", "Buy Your Way To The Top", and "At Each Other's Throats". Joe Dennis (guitar) and Josh Leskanic (drums) round things out for this loud & lethal (and decidedly snotty like all great punk acts) group that is like a caged animal just waiting to attack it's prey!At a mere five dollars, Fringe Candidate's self-titled album is a must-have for fans of down & dirty/bloody-knuckle hardcore punk!!

Sunday Morning Single: Emerald Rage-Wrathful Eyes

Self-release/Independent
2018

Emerald Rage is hard & heavy/power metal band from Akron, Ohio that is comprised of Jacob Wherley (lead vocals/lead guitars), Patrick Kern (lead guitar/harsh vocals), Josh Sumerauer (bass guitar/backing vocals), and Tyson McCauley (drums). Released on February 2nd, the four minute plus "Wrathful Eyes" is Emerald Rage's latest single and the third overall release for this young metal band since December 18th, 2017. The sword & sorcery-themed number is highly-enjoyable and it offers hope that we could be looking at Ohio's next big thing in the realm of epic metal! Free to download at the link above, "Wrathful Eyes" is geared towards fans of traditional heavy metal, U.S. power metal and epic metal. Our readers would be well-advised to keep an eye out for this up-and-coming metal band.

Free Metal Monday: FEDS-Common Enemy

Self-Release/Independent
2014

"Real. Aggressive. Unsatisfied. Hardcore." 

That right there is the self-description of this Akron, Ohio four-piece and damn if that isn't just about spot on! Those four words go a l-o-n-g  way towards cutting to the heart of this collective and with a 2013 (5-track) demo already under wraps (also available on the group's Bandcamp page) the band FEDS (vocalist Frank McGhee, guitarist Dave Burgess, bassist Mike Farris and drummer Brandon Siegenthaler*) went straight into Engine Room Recordings in Kent, Ohio to lay down this tasty slab of unrelenting, pure and (bloody, brass knuckle-covered fists!) in your face hardcore and man freakin' alive if the end results of this long player don't just speak for themselves! If you're tired of the new face of hardcore (Lord knows I man!) and you find yourself longing for the good old days (eighties all the way!) then "Common Enemy" should make for one easy decision on your part! Released this past November, "Common Enemy" makes this writer's cold and wet (Aurora) Ohio day a little easier to cope with all-around even if moshing indoors is seldom a good idea!

"Common Enemy" can be found right here fiends: http://fedsakron.bandcamp.com/album/common-enemy

Meanwhile you can find FEDS online here: https://www.facebook.com/FEDSAKRON

*Drums on "Common Enemy" are credited to Matt Bremkamp and they were recorded separately over at Unclean Railers Studio in the band's hometown. 

Dead Federation-Dead Federation

Red Hour Records
2014

With Halloween less then two weeks away right isn't it about time that we pull out all the party favors? And no, we're not just talking about hard cider and hot wings here (even if those two particular items are a must-have for all my horror-related excursions!). Or for that matter all the lovely ghouls that one can dig up for the evening's festivities! Rather we are talking about how no party would be complete without some maddening tunes for all the creatures of the night to get on up and get down to. Especially if all you want to do on October 31st is to shake a leg and wake the dead! That's where punk metal misfits of science like Dead Federation come in handy. This Akron-area group has been lurking around these parts since at least 2010 and even if some of the band's original freaks have succumbed to the environment (corpses actually do not last long in the hot sun friends!) there's always grave robbing as an option right? Right! With the current line-up featuring lead singer Tom Dark, guitarists X46 ( Jeff Hardy ) & Mike " Shoobs " Schubert, bassist Caitie O' Shea and drummer Tommy Rocker Jr Dead Federation now has a lively bunch of misfits on hand for what is merely the latest slab of horror-related punk metal madness from this Ohio lot. While the band self-describes their sound as being like "a werewolf howling at the moon on a rocking Halloween night" a closer examination of the crime scene reviles the DNA of a dark metal band with some old-school goth/horror-punk leanings. That might sound an awful lot like Danzig/Misfits worship (and even some Samhain love), but for Dead Federation this eight-track album rocks a different beat entirely with the cast of characters involved here reinforcing the notion that Ohio's punk, hard rock and heavy metal scenes sound unlike any other. One has to imagine that Dead Federation is an absolute hoot live, but no imagination is needed when it comes to this self-titled studio piece as you can hear it here: https://deadfederation.bandcamp.com/     

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dead-Federation/200599879953057