California’s Facedown fest will take place on April 3rd and 4th this year at The Glasshouse in Pamona, California. So far the bands that have been confirmed for the show are as follows:

Friday

Sleeping Giant, War Of Ages, For Today, Wrench IN The Works, Take It Back!, The Great Commission, Hands and My Epic

Saturday

Impending Doom, xDEATHSTARx, A Plea For Purging, No Innocent Victim, Call To Preserve, Earth From Above, Thieves And Liars, A Hope From Home, Hope For The Dying and The Reckoning.

You can get your tickets at Ticketmaster for $15 for a single day or $25 for a two day pass. For more information on the bands on the roster, visit Facedownrecords.com.

Image: Facedown Records

Post from: Metal Martyr

I’m basically going to break it down like this. If you like As I Lay Dying and Haste The Day and you like Jesus too, then you will dig War Of Ages Arise And Conquer. Even if you’re not a hardcore Christian or a Christian at all you might still like these guys. It was produced by Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying and his track record is getting pretty good so far.

White Chapel will be bought this weekend.

Post from: Metal Martyr

Way Too Loud

WTL: Well, since the first new thing I’m noticing is the handle bar mustache, you’ve got to explain that. It’s huge! You look like a Hell’s Angel!

Jordan: (Laughs) I was growing a beard in December, and then we had a photo shoot for DW ( the drum company), and I didn’t want a beard for that, so I shaved it into a moustache just for fun, and it just kind of grew on me for a couple of days. They were digging it, so I was like “Sweet!” Then they said they wanted me to do a commercial too! It’s been cool because it’s getting me work!

WTL: The video for “Nothing Left” debuted recently. What’s it like shooting a video, especially from the position of the drummer? And does Tim scream or lip-sync?

Jordan: Sometimes he screams, sometimes he doesn’t. We’ve got to run through the song so many times that he’ll blow out his voice if he screams the whole time. Usually you just play along with the track, nothing is miked, and no sound is coming out. As far as I’m concerned, I could not shoot another video, ever! If I could do that, I’d be happy! I just don’t like shooting videos, I like the end result product, because it looks really cool. I have to play the song so many times, and I get so exhausted after the 15th run-through. Being the drummer, I’m always in the background, even if they’re doing a close-up of the guitar player or the singer, I’m always in the background while everyone else gets to take a break, because even if no one else is in the shot, I’m always in the background. Those are my cranky days. I’m usually in pretty good spirits most days. I might not like it, but I’m not going to complain about it too much!

WTL: You’ve toured with Satanic bands before, more specially Behemoth twice, and I’ve heard you’ve had a good time hanging out with them, and they even put you on the thank you list in the back of one of their albums (more specifically in “Demigod”). Do you think you’re sending a different kind of message, a good message, by touring with bands who have such different religious views?

Jordan: Yeah! I think we’re sending the right message, whether or not it’s different from what other bands have said, I don’t know. I think there’s a portion of the Christian community that’s very un-accepting to that kind of stuff. They’ll say don’t touch it, don’t get near it, don’t be involve with it, don’t affiliate yourself with it , but as a band and as Christians, it doesn’t matter to us. They’re a band, whether they’re a Christian band or a Satanic band, it doesn’t matter to us. We want to play with those bands, we want to become friends with those bands. If we happen to create a friendship, that’s awesome!

Me personally, I’ve had several very good conversations about Christianity, and what they believe, an anti-Christian viewpoint from Nergal. We’ve talked a lot, and as far as philosophies of religion and life go, I don’t think there was much progress on either of our ends, but we were able to understand each other, and where we were coming from. I understand his viewpoint a lot more, and I understand where he comes from, and at the end of the conversation, we still had a mutual respect for one another. We come from opposite ends of the spectrum, but we still have respect for each other, and we still want to play music with each other.

You don’t necessarily have to agree with someone to be their friend and accept them. As a Christian as well, what good does it do to preach to the choir? And the same thing with them. If they were to go around and play for instance, only in Satanic churches every day, what good would their message be? They’re passionate about what they do, so they want to go play to a different audience, where they can express what they believe to that audience. It’s up to the audience to whether or not they look into what their beliefs are, and the same thing with us. They’re looking for opportunities to look out for what they believe in and share what they believe in, and they’re passionate about it, the same way we are.

That’s kind of a long answer!

Read the rest of this interview here.

Image Source: Newscom.com

And yes, I know the picture is not Jordan Mancino, but it was the best pic I could find that I can legally use.

Post from: Metal Martyr

xDEATHSTARx opened the floodgates in summer of 2002 after releasing their five-song demo, “Beware of the xDEATHSTARx” in 2003. The energy of their live performance and brutal musical style has put them at the forefront of the already booming So-Cal hardcore scene. Blending the sounds of At the Gates, Disembodied, and Hatebreed with lyrics that mirror their philosophy of positive living and heart-felt scene experience, their anthems are undeniably fierce, and so is their vision. This band is on a warpath to mark their place in the world. They bring a vast collective of musicianship to create a wall of sound that will leave you ravaged yet uplifted.

Below is a video of xDEATHSTARx live singing suffocate faster. If you like the hardcore sound then give them a listen at their Myspace.com/xDEATHSTARx. (p.s. It has a lot of Christian influence as well, so it’s not for everyone)

Post from: Metal Martyr

While metal is still deemed the Devil’s music there are a lot of Christian metal bands out there that you really wouldn’t know were spiritual if you didn’t read into it. Bands that still fit the metal sound of today, unlike the Christian metal bands of yester-decade, like Stryper. The bible slinging bees are still out there singing their souls out but they aren’t nearly as popular as they were for that short time back in the mid 80’s with hit’s such as Honestly and To Hell With The Devil. But they are still out there spreading the good word with their music.

The modern spiritual bands of today better fit the bill and are more likely to be picked up not because of their lyrics or the message they try to put across without being so obvious, but because their sound is hard and heavy hitting. Bands such as As I lay Dying, Demon Hunter, And The Devil Wears Prada, the scene grows and does not get as much criticism as one may think from the typical hell-raising metal head. Instead they get respect as they should. I’m not a fan of Demon Hunter or Devil Wears Prada, but I love AILD.

You can say what you want about religion, it all has it’s flaws, but you can’t change the fact that these bands are at a solid state in their careers and are not just one offs that don’t fit the bill with the rest. They may not be singing about candle masses and hypocritical religious leaders, but they are bringing what they know to the table and it’s making a bigger impact than one may realize.

Image Source

Post from: Metal Martyr