Cincinnati-based The World I Knew bring a distinct and unapologetic vibe to the metalcore scene. Fusing together elements of electro, hip-hop and chest-pounding breakdowns, the quintet has released their latest single and music video “Piecefull.”
“‘Piecefull’ is about pretenders,” says vocalist Wesley Merritt. “Those that will pretend to be there for you and have your back as long as things are going well for them, and what happens to them once they’ve been exposed. We take loyalty very seriously, loyalty is everything.”
“Piecefull” starts with Merritt acting as his own hype man before launching into a full-on lyrical beatdown. The video was directed by Josh Emerick and Ross Thiesen, shot in a Columbus, OH at The Continent.
The World I Knew has been striving to create music without boundaries or limitations since their formation in 2014 and the release of their debut single “Fuck a 9-5.” The group’s uncanny ability to seamlessly engage with audiences across the punk/metal/rap/rock scene makes them an attractive group to follow in 2019.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/TheWorldIKnewOfficial
https://www.instagram.com/theworldiknewofficial
-
Skyfever – Kings
“Kings was written after a lost weekend involving a lot of whiskeys, Muhammed Ali documentaries, Game of Thrones and rediscovering early U2 albums. Embracing the war within and who you really are is an important mantra within our band and this song is the anthem for that way of life.
It is the focal track of our ‘Rear View Mirror’ EP and has been playlisted at the stadiums of the New York Yankees, Carolina Panthers, and Tennessee Titans “
About Skyfever
Skyfever is a rock band from Ireland who is breaking through in a big way, with their music being selected for play in a number of famous sports stadiums. Their infectious rock music has filled the stadiums of Liverpool FC, Chelsea FC, the Tennessee Titans, the world famous New York Yankees and also at the Carolina Panthers 75,000 seater Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. With this band, rock finds its rightful home!Legendary rocker Alice Cooper is a fan, and last year he endorsed the band by not only playing their track, The Returning, to listeners of his worldwide-syndicated radio show, Nights with Alice Cooper, but also by personally sharing their track on social media and praising their talent. In fact, radio stations across the USA have recognized Skyfever and they have been played on stations from Philadelphia (WCLH) to Chicago (WZRD) to Nashville, Tennessee (Under the Gun Radio).
The UK has got behind Skyfever too, with Jim Gellatly (Amazing Radio) playing their music and the renowned Fred Perry Subculture website name-checking them alongside Otherkin, Heathers and Squarehead as ‘Top 20 Dublin Bands to Watch’.
Skyfever is Luke Lang on vocals, Brian Clarke on guitar/sounds, Tyson Harding on guitar, Ciaran O’Brien on bass and Karl Hand on drums.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/Skyfevermusic
https://twitter.com/skyfever1
http://www.skyfevermusic.com
https://www.instagram.com/skyfevermusic
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4HPFvyJT6JkaEaoZFFUurl
https://www.snapchat.com/add/skyfevermusic01 -
Bentley Jones – I Could Be Your Girl
Bentley Jones has just dropped his new video titled ‘I Could Be Your Girl’. Bentley is one of those artists that, when he releases something, I quietly think to myself ‘About time…’. I say this because he is a constantly and truly evolving artist. Each release is somewhat of a reinvention of both the artist and the music. This is just as true with ‘I Could Be Your Girl’.
The video is at times hypnotic and captivating yet gives that sense of solace and yearning. A dark longing for love and romantic closeness in a time of social distancing lending to that certain something we all feel at times, especially these times, in that we all need someone. I hear the words ‘Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’ when I first watched this video and now those words have a meaning to me. This is a message to the world that beauty is more than sexual and sultry; it’s something we all have, and by knowing that you can get the deeper meaning of the music.
to me, Bentley is an artist who deserves everything he’s worked for and worked very hard for. Now entering his tenth year as an artist, he is just as fresh and new as ever and it shows.
ABOUT BENTLEY JONES
Bentley is continuing his reign as an independent pop pioneer by wrapping up his 10th anniversary before launching a brand new 2020 album. He has single-handedly amassed over 40 million sales and gathered remix credits for the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, Kygo & Whitney Houston, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga (who also follows him on Twitter).
If that wasn’t enough, he’s contributed scores to some of the world’s best-known franchises like “The X-Files”, “Tekken”, “Sonic the Hedgehog”, “Gradius”, “Titan Wars” and “QQ Dance”. With a taste of international success as a producer Ben looked further afield to make his debut as a recording artist before planting his roots – unintentionally – as far away from home as possible.
After taking a risk signing the first-ever British artist to release a Japanese album on a major label, EMI-Universal tested audiences with the debut single “Sunaoninaretara FINAL NIGHT”. Without any promotion or radio play, Bentley sold over 30,000 copies placing the song in the top 5 of Japan’s International Chart and cemented his stature as an international breakthrough artist.
Bentley continued his success in Japan with various projects including the 2012 album “UPGRADE 1.0” which saw him collaborate and perform with native artists for the first time including May J. She was enamored by Ben’s sound and called on him to write and produce for her next album. Ben’s work also caught the attention of May J.’s record label AVEX who signed him to their management arm as he became the first-ever foreign writer and first-ever foreign producer to join Japan’s biggest music company. Ironic that it was also the same management label of Ayumi Hamasaki who offered her personal approval of Bentley’s debut at the start of his Japanese career.
His first independent English EP “So Much More…” including the title track which was featured in the number 1 selling video-game “SEGA All-stars Racing”. It also featured 1 of 3 songs that received a staggering 1.1million streams in just 5 days after a promotion with the US social network Gaia Online. The sequel album “TRANS//LATION 2” made Bentley the 19th most viewed musician on YouTube the week of its release and his adaptation of the theme from “Devil May Cry 4” has accumulated 1.7 million streams.
Realizing he could continue his success as a fully independent artist, Bentley unleashed 2015’s “The Rebellion” to critical acclaim; “Articulate, brilliant and haunting.” (BuzzJack) “The must-listen-to album of 2015.” (Muzikman) “Let this album be an inspiration to us all.” (J-Wave’s 25 Best Indie Albums of 2015). 2017’s “Unravelling” was also a smash with critics being described as “powerful and meaningful… Bentley has bounced back better than ever!” (Essentially Pop) and became his highest-earning independent album at the time with over 310,000 sales.
Bentley’s 10th anniversary has been the colossal celebration we’ve come to expect from such a reputable artist. Proceedings kicked off at the end of 2018 with a live performance on Japan’s prestigious music show “Nodojiman THE WORLD!” (12.1 million viewers) which coincided with the release of his Japanese single “Lay Down on My Heart”. The song was premiered in the UK by BBC Radio and was the first-ever J-pop song broadcast by BBC Introducing leading to Bentley being awarded the “Sound of 2019” (BBC).
His 10th-anniversary album “Translated” – a celebration of his Japan debut – gained 270,000 sales during its summer release resulting in his decision to reside in Japan where he headlined at the Tokyo Summer Bon Festival. He’s even found time to compose music for the upcoming “Titan Wars” video-game, the theme song for From Aqua Mineral Water commercial, the main theme of the AVEX Influencer Academy as well as continue working with Asian artists such as Carrie Lai and DJ KOO (TRF).
ABOUT ‘I COULD BE YOUR GIRL’
‘I Could Be Your Girl’ cover.
Following acclaim from Billboard Japan (“a must-listen-to artist”), BBC Radio (“incredible”, Sound of 2019) and Miami Beach Pride (“an LGBTQ+ icon”), independent pop juggernaut Bentley Jones is finally delighting fans with lead single “I Could Be Your Girl” (out now) – a delicious slice of sultry, sexy pop R&B that (according to Jones) “was composed almost entirely in a dream.”
His bold new image – an enticing amalgamation of muscles, stilettos, lace, and skin that celebrates his fluidity, sexuality, and defiance – is a telling statement of the difficult journey he’s been on to get here.
Bentley has enjoyed a considerable amount of success in Japan, which is why last year he turned his entire life upside down and moved to Tokyo. At first, he flourished; performing on the prestigious TV show “Nodojiman THE WORLD!” to 12.1 million viewers and headlining the Tokyo Bon Summer Festival.
However, the company promising to sponsor his visa – as well as provide promotion and touring for a new album – suddenly about-turned and began pulling their support from a contract they had been negotiating for months. As Bentley explains in a video blog, the company said he was “too controversial” and became “worried about what people will think”.
Ben made the heart-breaking decision to walk away from the contract and return home to the UK.
“After working so hard and risking everything, it was soul-destroying,” Ben expresses. “But this album and these songs are fundamental to who I am and what I stand for. It feels amazing to finally start releasing them exactly the way I intended.”
Last month Ben helped raise over $14,000 for community aid performing at Pride Collective – a virtual festival formed by the several US Prides. Miami Beach Pride was so impressed they selected Bentley to represent them at Global Pride on June 27th where he will make the first-ever live performance of “Girl” alongside such legends as Adam Lambert, Kesha, Todrick Hall and more.
“I Could Be Your Girl” is out everywhere now, with the music video following on June 19th.
LINKS:
http://www.bentleyjones.com
http://www.facebook.com/BentleyJonesMusic
http://twitter.com/Bentley_Jones
http://www.youtube.com/BentleyJonesMusic
http://www.soundcloud.com/BentleyJones -
Scattered Hamlet – Stay Hungry
Hard Southern Rock Band Scattered Hamlet has released the official music video for their cover of the Twisted Sister classic single, “Stay Hungry.” “Stay Hungry” is a heartfelt tribute to the band’s drummer, Jake Delling Le Bast, who is currently in a coma.
“There we were, one second we were waiting to see if we landed a tour support slot with an artist we really looked up to, and then next, I got the call. The heartbeat of the honky-tonk metal machine, Jake Delling Le Bas, was celebrating his 30th birthday and fell off a third story balcony….. They didn’t know if he was going to make it. Later though, he did defy all odds and made it, but was in a coma with a traumatic brain injury. The kind of brain injury soldiers get from IEDs.
I couldn’t make this crap up if I tried, it was like an episode of Behind The Music, but this time, instead of me watching it we were living it. I’m writing this nearly eight months later and I haven’t heard his voice since September. After talking with his family and the guys, we realized Jake didn’t work most of his adult life this hard to get the band to where we were only for us to decide we couldn’t move on. Honestly, that would piss him off most.
Since the album cycle was cut short for Swamp Rebel Machine, we wanted to make something special so we put a call out to our fans on social media to pick a song for us to cover as a tribute for our fallen brother.
We had some great ideas pitched to us and some not so great ideas [laughs]. Anyway, we demoed a few and they ran a complicated series of emotions: reflective, sad, sentimental… you name it, we tried to link that emotion to a song we could do justice. In SH though, we always had one gear and that’s balls out straight ahead. At the end of the day, we were still hungry and still wanted that same thing we were after the first time Jake, I and the early SH machine drove halfway across the country to SXSW in Austin to announce to the music community that we were here. So that’s when my older brother stepped in, the fella who gave me my first Kiss album and got me started on this journey, he said, “Do Twisted Sister.” My brother grew up on Long Island and he and his friends used to see them in their early days. I’d always been a fan, but I watched their documentary and thought, wow, these guys knew how to overcome. Here we are feeling sorry for ourselves and should be out kicking ass again. With the help of Jake’s best friend, and decorated producer, Jason Donaghy, and Jake’s younger brother, Alex, doing the video, this tune gave us a chance to get back on the horse and maybe when we play Warped Tour it can introduce some of the younger folks at the shows to the badassness that is Twisted Sister, or of course, Dee and the band can go NY style on my ass if they think we messed up their song.”
– Adam Joad (Frontman)About Scattered Hamlet
Imagine Stone Cold Steve Austin with his partners Bo and Luke Duke in a parking lot brawl on Saturday night set to music?“It’s Honky Tonk Metal, like you took a handful of cheap tucker speed and headed out on the highway. “ That’s how the guys in Scattered Hamlet describe their sound. To many others, they describe it as a mix between Motorhead, Molly Hatchet, and Clutch. Take a listen and you be the judge.
Scattered Hamlet was created to capture the essence of growing up in the country while still giving nods to the original outlaw countrymen of years past. Scattered Hamlet is one part Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet with a little flavoring of Motorhead and Down. All wrapped up in a fine shotgun shell casing. Their influences range everywhere from Southern classic rock, to groove, to doom and punk. With humble origins all over the United States and a relentless touring schedule of 100+ shows a year visiting 40 + states, the band makes no apologies for the equal love of Harley Davidsons, Honky Tonks, Les Pauls, Marshalls, shotguns and the classic American symbolism they all amass.
Their debut full-length album, Skeleton Dixie, was produced by 2-time Grammy nominated Jason Donaghy who’s credits include Rob Zombie, John 5 and the Murder Dolls and mastered by legend Howie Weinberg who’s credits include: Pantera, Slayer, White Zombie, and Danzig. Their second full length, and most recent, S_wamp Rebel Machine_, would go on to give the band their most success with nearly 5,000 copies sold since its release in 2016, landing them a place on the Billboard Heatseekers charts for first week sales in November 2016. All of that mixed with a rigorous touring schedule during the 2017 season has made Scattered Hamlet a top competitor in the underground rock scene.
Scattered Hamlet has gone on to perform at some of America’s greatest music festivals such as Rocklahoma, Rock Fest, Steel Horse Bike Rally, and Warped Tour. Plus, their latest release garnered heavy rotation on dozens of radio station across America and found placements on CMT, MTV, and several other media outlets.
These hillbilly boys know how to grab the bull by the horns, hold on for dear life, and ride that cow into the ground. All humble, yet determined, Scattered Hamlet is aiming down the barrels and ready to pull the trigger on the monstrous career ahead of them.
LINKS:
http://www.scatteredhamlet.com
https://www.facebook.com/scatteredhamlet
https://www.twitter.com/scatteredhamlet
https://www.instagram.com/scatteredhamlet