Friday, May 24, 2024

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 05/24/24

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 05/24/24

HOUR 1

WEEKEND PICNIC - "follow me down" // follow me down - single
NONPOINT - "underdog" // underdog - single
COLD KINGDOM - "agony" // life//love
HOUSE OF PROTECTION - "it's supposed to hurt" // it's supposed to hurt - single
RAD OWL - "growl" // rage gracefully
LOST ISLAND SOCIETY - "villain" // villain - single
NEW MEDICINE - "life like this" // life like this - single
DIVIDE THE FALL - "death of me" // death of me - single

TOO LATE BUT STILL - "live more tilapia" // rewrite the story
JOHNNYROOK - "if you're dying, I'm dying" // if you're dying, I'm dying - single
ONLY TIME - "the pull" // the pull - single
THE BURN VAULT - "Johnny Thunders come lately" // ignite
THE THIRSTY GIANTS - "dramamine" // thirst and misery
DROPKICK MURPHYS - "kicked to the curb" // 11 short stories of pain and glory
BURNING BOTH ENDS - "every reason" // midwest beatdown acoustic session

HOUR 2
BANEHINGE - "lemmings" (live) // lemmings - single
JINJER - "vortex" (live) // live in los angeles
XAETO - "amalgam" // amalgam - single
EVERNOIR - "three sharp knocks" // stages of grief
RED HANDED DENIAL - "parasite" // a journey through virtual dystopia
VENDED - "the far side" // the far side - single
KITTIE - "we are shadows" // fire

JASTA feat CHUCK BILLY - "create the now" // and jasta for all
HATEBREED - "never let it die" // supremacy
HARMS WAY - "devour" // common suffering
BODYSNATCHER - "dead rabbit" // dead rabbit - single
GIDEON - "take off" // more power. more pain.
JOHNNY BOOTH - "ring light alter" // moments elsewhere
GEL - "mirage" // persona
ENTHEOS - "an end to everything" // an end to everything - single
TURNSTILE - "humanoid/shake it up" // glow on


Wednesday, May 22, 2024

STATIC-X and SEVENDUST celebrate the end of their tour in Minnesota!

CONCERT REVIEW :: STATIC-X, SEVENDUST, DOPE
Myth in Maplewood, MN
May 18, 2024
Photos by Brett
Review by Nick



The long awaited Machine Killer Tour finally arrived at their last stop at the Myth in Maplewood for a packed house awaiting this lineup. Both STATIC-X and SEVENDUST hadn’t been thru since the release of their respective new records. Tonight was going to be a celebration in more ways than one.


STATIC-X’s set is always a celebration of the life of Wayne Static and the music the core band made together on the Wisconsin Death Trip and Machine records. Being so close to Wisconsin, those songs always get a big reaction especially “Wisconsin Death Trip.”


There’s so many songs especially on Wisconsin Death Trip that are pretty iconic 25 years since the release of the album and a good chunk of the album was well represented during the set. STATIC-X came out bringing two from the Project Regeneration vol 1 album “Hollow” and “Terminator Oscillator” complete with bubbles floating thru the air to go with their pretty spectacular dialed in light show.


Then came a heaping helping of WDT, “Love Dump” was a big sing along as well as “Wisconsin Death Trip” and “Bled for Days”. “Z0mbie” was a super fun live track from the new Project Regeneration vol 2 record that definitely fit in very well amongst the classics. Which was followed up with a pummeling “Get to the Gone”.


Tony Campos and Koichi Fukuda were running all over the stage and enjoying the crowd interaction that was on display for the last night of the tour. Ken Jay’s drums sounded even better at this show versus last year’s show at The Fillmore as it was more in your face instead of being more buried in the mix. Xero does a fantastic job of keeping Wayne’s legacy alive and well doing absolute justice to all the songs in the set.


You can not argue with the show closers “Cold,” “I’m With Stupid” and “Push It”. Those 3 are absolute legends in the catalog and the crowd goes insane every time. “Push It” got even more crazy as Static-X’s crew came out with a wide variety of beach floaties to throw in to the crowd and celebrate 3 legs of this spectacular pairing.


SEVENDUST always brings the fun and energy live. They are one of the most underrated rock bands out there consistently putting out great music and putting on fantastic live shows. A live SEVENDUST show is always a celebration. You can not go to a SEVENDUST show and not have a good time … tonight was no different.


SEVENDUST was able to use the digital backdrop that STATIC-X brings out on tour and create some great visuals to go along with the songs in the set. Opening up with a forest scene for “I Might Let The Devil Win” using half the track as an intro piece before the band walked out and slammed right in for the last couple minutes of the track before rolling in to “Truth Killer”. The surprises didn’t stop there with 4 deep cuts for the long time fans “Alpha”, “Till Death”, “Pieces” and “Hero” all made appearances in the set which I gotta get guess some of those haven’t been played live for quite a while.


Those 5 guys up on the stage always look like they are having the time of their lives up there, which not only translates to the crowd but also makes for a much more fun show. Lajon being one of the best front person in the hard rock and metal scene never disappoints. Once again, the sound was fantastic for SEVENDUST’s set with Morgan Rose’s drums and vocals being more in the forefront of the mix tonight than 2022’s Skyway Theater set on the Animosity 21st tour. Whoever was doing sound for both STATIC-X and SEVENDUST, tip of the hat to you for the crushing mix!


The rest of the 7 songs played during their set which seemed way too short were all crowd favorites. Lajon even spotted Spider-Man and got him to lead the circle pit. “Splinter” was definitely a highlight along with a fantastic version of the latest single “Everything”. It’s always cathartic to scream along with “Face to Face” live to end the set. All the stress of the outside world gets to go away for the 4 minutes of that legendary show closer.


SEVENDUST just announced what I hope is the first leg of the Seasons 21st Anniversary Tour that unfortunately doesn’t come to MN .. here’s to hoping for a date of the 2nd leg of the tour.


DOPE is always a blast to see live on tour. They’re just a fun show. They are well aware of what they need to do on tour by getting the crowd warmed up and they do it well. With Felons and Revolutionaries also being 25 years old this year, I would’ve loved to hear some more from the record and maybe we will on future tours. Edsel has a very tight band surrounding him that nails the jam packed 30 minute set to get as much from every Dope record as possible in there and it still makes me laugh when Edsel talks about how a bad decision of a cover song still gets played at every show from then to 25 years later. It’s a really fun way to end a set and let’s be honest there’s worse songs a band could cover.


SEE MORE OF BRETT'S PHOTOS of STATIC-X, SEVENDUST and DOPE HERE!



Saturday, May 18, 2024

BETTER LOVERS: 100% GRADE A PURE CHAOS

CONCERT REVIEW ::  BETTER LOVERS, SEEYOUSPACECOWBOY, FOREIGN HANDS
Fine Line Music Café in Minneapolis
May 11, 2024
Photos by Brett
Review by Nick



The time has finally come!  MN got a date on the BETTER LOVERS tour.  We have been impatiently awaiting this day since “30 Under 13” came out.  It doesn’t matter that there’s only 6 songs out there and they are headlining.  It was going to be fantastic to see Greg, Jordan, Goose and Stephan back on stage again.  It’s been way too long since ETID or DEP came thru and judging by the crowd, we weren’t the only ones missing having them on the stage. This was a fantastic lineup of some of hardcore/metalcore's best out there right now. Sadly, I missed Greyhaven's opening set.


BETTER LOVERS came out to an intro tape of all kinds of “Love” songs spliced together and as soon as the lights dropped, chaos ensued.  BETTER LOVERS came to play and set the tone right out of the gate with “Become So Small” and “Sacrificial Participant”.  A massive pit appeared, many bodies came to the stage, and with no barricade it just made things that more intense.  Nothing between the band and the crowd and I’m still not sure who enjoyed it more.


The band themselves were in top form, a well oiled frenzy from start to finish in an hour set that contained the 6 already released songs, 4 brand new songs and a fantastic, maybe just a little sped up cover of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage”.  The guitar trade off between Jordan Buckley and Will Putney is worth the cover charge alone.  One takes it here, the other one takes it up a notch and back and forth.  Add in Greg’s wound up madman as a frontman and you have a deadly front line barreling at you at insane speeds.  Those three guys had no problems with getting up in the crowd’s faces – which only made everything more chaotic.


Just waiting for the band to get to the stage, there was an energy in the building.  Better Lovers came out and left it all on the stage and the fans left it on the floor and some definitely made it’s way to the stage.   If anything was going to get a fan more pumped up for the forthcoming full length record, it was that show.  The 4 new songs sounded right at home with the already released material scattered throughout the set.  The entire set was full of adrenaline and chaos.  What was going to happen next?  No one knew, not even the band themselves. 


Jordan even said it was his favorite show of the tour.  Greg jumped from the balcony at the end of “30 Under 13”.  Everyone in the crowd went home, elated that they were in attendance for this show. This will be a tough show to top, not only for any show this year but for any small club show ever.  The intensity and love in the room, was on a whole different level than any show I’ve been to for quite a while.  Better Lovers will definitely not be playing the Fine Line again in the future.  Do yourself a favor and don’t miss out the next time they come around.  Minneapolis definitely caught lightning in a bottle.


SEEYOUSPACECOWBOY brought the heat warming up the crowd for BETTER LOVERS.  Clocking in with a 45 min set that definitely pulled no punches.  The crowd ate it up, screaming along, stage dives and had good sized pit going too. Excellent trade offs in lyrics between Connie, Timmy and Taylor bringing a full on assault to your senses with their "sass-core".



Keep your eyes on FOREIGN HANDS.  Their full length comes out June 21 and had the crowd going during the already released “God Under Fingernails”, “Conditioned for a Head-on Collision” and “Tearing Down Your Reality”.  Foreign Hands brought the same fire to their opening set that they did on the Dying Wish tour last November.   This is a fantastic tour for them to be on, as it will open people’s ears to them – Minneapolis definitely already knew as the crowd was already packed in before the band played the first note.



 CHECK OUT MORE OF BRETT's PICTURES FROM BETTER LOVERS, SEEYOUSPACECOWBOY and FOREIGN HANDS HERE!




Friday, May 17, 2024

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST  ::  05/17/24

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST  ::  05/17/24

HOUR 1

YOURS TRULY - "sour" // toxic
AMERICAN SCARECROWS – “cheshire" // yesteryear
ANGRY WATERS - "dead flowers" // the tequila incidents
HOT WATER MUSIC feat TURNSTILE – “remanants" // vows
MADAM DRIVER - "innocence fading" // negative ghostrider
EXACTLYNO - "red line city" // red line city
WAGE WAR – “magnetic" // stigma
NOTHING MORE – “if it doesn't hurt" // carnal

STATIC DRESS - "crying" // crying - single
TURNSTILE - "don't play" // glow on
CATEGORY 7 – “in stitches”  //  category 7
COAL CHAMBER – “loco" // coal chamber
FEAR FACTORY – “shock" // obsolete
KUBLAI KHAN TX - "self destruct" // absolute
JASTA feat CHUCK BILLY – “create the now" // and jasta for all

HOUR 2
TESTAMENT – “more than meets the eye" // the formation of damnation
AVATAR – “hail the apocalypse" (live) // the king: live in Paris
STATIC-X – “ostego placebo" // project regeneration vol 1
SEVENDUST – “won't stop the bleeding" // truth killer
SILENT PLANET – “antimatter" // superbloom
SOULKEEPER – “heavy glow" // holy design
IN SEARCH OF SOLACE – “survive" // enslaved to tragedy

CAREFUL GAZE – “emerald light" // emerald light - single
HANABIE – “otaku lovely densetsu" // otaku lovely densetsu - single
KNOCKED LOOSE – “the calm that keeps you awake”  //  you won’t go before you’re supposed to
THE BURN VAULT – “even rock stars die too" // ignite
GEL – “mirage" // persona
LOATHE - "new faces in the dark" // I let it in and it took everything
BETTER LOVERS - "30 under 13" // God made me an animal
FOREIGN HANDS – “horror domain”  //  what’s left unsaid


Sunday, May 12, 2024

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 05/10/24

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 05/10/24

HOUR 1

HOT WATER MUSIC feat THE INTERRUPTERS – “much love" // vows
DREAMS ASIDE – “square one" // square one - single
DRUID – “overrated" // overrated - single
WEEKEND PICNIC – “I will remain" // I will remain - single
NUSIANCE – “ashes of empires" // 10 or 10,000
PROJECT 86 – “complete the circle" // omni pt 2
SPOKEN – “reflection" // reflection
FOREIGN HANDS – “God under fingernails" // what's left unsaid

SEEYOUSPACECOWBOY – “silhouettes in motion" // coup de grace
BETTER LOVERS – “the flowering" // the flowering - single
EMERY – “disguising mistakes with goodbyes" // the weak's end
THE ALMOST – “say this sooner" // southern weather
ROYAL BLOOD – “mountains at midnight" // back to the water below
RAD OWL – “run it out” // rage gracefully
DIVIDE THE FALL – “death of me” // death of me - single
SEBASTIAN BACH – “hard darkness" // child within the man

HOUR 2
UNLEASH THE ARCHERS - "buried in code" // phantoma
SILENT PLANET – “antimatter" // superbloom
SOULKEEPER – “inflorescence" // holy design
IN SEARCH OF SOLACE – “no turning back" // the endless ache
CAREFUL GAZE – “emerald light" // emerald light - single
STATIC-X – “no hope" // project regeneration vol 2
SEVENDUST – “everything" // truth killer
HOUSE OF PROTECTION – “it’s supposed to hurt” // it’s supposed to hurt - single

KNOCKED LOOSE – “the calm that keeps you awake” // you won’t go before you’re supposed to
LOATHE – “aggressive evolution" // I let it in and it took everything
MVRROW – “hope" // fever dream
SLDG – “1000 yard stare" // predicaments ep
SLIPKNOT – “(sic)" // slipknot
HATEBREED – “put it to the torch" // the divinity of purpose
MARTYR AD - "bring out your dead" // on earth as it is in hell
HARVEST - "epicure" // transitions


Sunday, May 5, 2024

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 05/03/24 - ANGRY WATERS & MADAM DRIVER

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 05/03/24
KMSU SPRING PLEDGE DRIVE
GUESTS :: ANGRY WATERS & MADAM DRIVER

HOUR 1

ANGRY WATERS - "golden (gone on a binge)" // distilled in judson, mn
ANGRY WATERS - "the heist" // the ghosts we chase
ANGRY WATERS - "dead flowers" // the tequila incidents

MADAM DRIVER - "through the trees" // negative ghostrider
ANGRY WATERS - "ours to be had" // angry waters III
MADAM DRIVER - "innocence fading" // negative ghostrider

HOUR 2
RAD OWL - "run it out" // rage gracefully
DIVIDE THE FALL - "death of me" // death of me - single
HOUSE OF PROTECTION - "it's supposed to hurt" // it's supposed to hurt - single
KITTIE - "we are shadows" // we are shadows - single
DYING WISH - "drowning in the silent black" // fragments of a bitter memory
CATEGORY 7 - "in stitches" // category 7

DRAGONFORCE - "wildest dreams (dragonforce's version)" // warp speed warriors
YOURS TRULY - "sour" // toxic
YEAR OF THE KNIFE - "wish/last laugh" // no love lost
KNOCKED LOOSE feat POPPY - "suffocate" // you won't go before you're supposed to
MAKE THEM SUFFER - "epitaph" // epitaph - single
UNLEASH THE ARCHERS - "seeking vengeance" // phantoma

**SPECIAL THANKS to WICK from ANGRY WATERS and ZIMMY from MADAM DRIVER for stopping in to the studio and RYAN from MADAM DRIVER for calling in to the Midwest Beatdown this week! Awesome people who have shown their support and generosity to the Midwest Beatdown and KMSU for 20+ years!

The KMSU Spring Pledge Drive continues thru May 10, please help us reach out $40,000 goal by pledging your support to KMSU at http://www.kmsu.org. Any pledge is greatly appreciated to keep KMSU on the air, commercial free, ran by volunteers who eat, sleep and breathe the mustic they play! THANK YOU to all the Radio Heroes who have already donated!