Poised for big things in 2024, Las Vegas’ EKOH is coming in hot with a fresh pair of new hook-heavy singles and, to none of his fans’ surprise, a collaboration with skateboard legends, Vans. Why’s this huge collab no shock to his loyal base that continues to grow? Look no further than EKOH’s 6-year old banger, “Freeverse 3”. Since this crowd-favorite release, EKOH has had his hands full…
Check out the just released, “Mayday”, a track that pulls you in with emotive musicality then keeps you hooked (pun intended) with his crafty and quick lyricism.
“‘Mayday’ is a song about having difficulty opening up to the ones closest to you,” the artist explains. “It’s about my tendency to avoid any kind of vulnerability until my entire world is crashing down around me and I’m finally willing to speak up. By that time, it feels more like an emergency call than anything else, so ‘MAYDAY!'”
EKOH’s latest offerings have been welcomed with open arms by the alternative community, with November’s “Hole In Your Head” consistent rotations on SXM Octane and “Hurt Myself” steadily garnering more than 25,000 streams daily
As a 25 year old MC, EKOH’s hip-alt sound can be directly attributed to his influences, of which he’s toured with many, including but not limited to: Tech N9ne, Wu-Tang Clan, From Ashes to New, Papa Roach, with stints on Vans Warped Tour and more that coincide with his penchant for delivering high-energy performances
EKOH is more than his love for Vans, finding lyrics spanning the universes of comic books, movies and more to create a sound he’s dubbed “Heart Hop”, described the artist as“a more genuine, heartfelt take on a lot of the more mainstream-sounding music. I keep everything very close to heart and very truthful to my own life, my experiences, things like that.”
On February 9th, EKOH performed a free show sponsored by Vans at Denver’s Roxy Theatre and announced a well-deserved collaboration between the artist and the skate shoe of which he’s signed thousands of pairs.
At The Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on November 25th, 2023 with The Word Alive, Catch Your Breath and EKOH
American rock band From Ashes To New has embarked on a 20 date fall tour Blackout Part 1 to support their latest album Blackout released in July of this year. They are supported by The Word Alive, Catching Your Breath and Ekoh. On November 25th the show took place in New Jersey.
Written by Andris Jansons
First one on the stage came Ekoh. A rapper from Las Vegas that has his own style with more Rock and alternative sound, independent artist who has released eight albums to date since 2013. Ekoh enjoys strong social media presence as he has chosen it over a traditional musician / band way of conducting business and getting your work out to audience. He had DJ and drummer accompanying him on the stage. His show was fast paced and well received by fans. During the song called Villain, Ekoh “went” into the crowd and was held upwards during the first part of the song and then crowd surfed back on the stage.
Next was metalcore band from Texas called Cath Your Breath. They are a new band on the scene and released their debut album Shame On Me last month. Their biggest hit Dial Tone drawing attention from Sirius XM and other major outlets. Conveniently one of their songs Mirror is a collaboration with the rapper Ekoh, and he joined the band on the stage for a live performance. All together you could see why the band is gathering everyone’s attention as their performance was well put together and professional.
Ok, now we are entering heavyweight territory. With seven studio albums under their belt The Word Alive has become one of the metalcore / post hardcore mainstays. The last studio album Hard Reset was just released this August through Thriller Records. Previous work was done with Fearless Records. The band has undergone many changes but as long as Tyler Smith (Telle) is there, TWA will always have that unmistakable sound.
This was my third time seeing and hearing TWA live, and they did not disappoint. Telle is considered as one of the premier vocalists of the genre and he proves that every time. While Telle is not the founding member, he is the second longest active member of the band behind the lone founder Zack Hansen.
On this tour the emphasis is on the new material as five of nine songs are from the Hard Reset, as they opened the set with Strange Love and closed it with New Reality. Somewhere closer to the end of the set The Word Alive played on their biggest hits Trapped, and Telle was able to summon the nights first “wall of death”. And as I mentioned before, the live performances of the TWA are the sight to behold – bold, loud and exhilarating.
From Ashes To New are one of the modern rock trailblazers, combining more traditional metal and rock music sounds with now popular hip hop and rap. Yes, we have many rap rock bands and many hardcore bands like Biohazard employ more rapping than singing, however From Ashes To New really stand out as leaders of their generation.
The band released their debut album Day One in 2016 via Better Noise and followed with three more since with the latest one Blackout released on July 28th of this year via Better Noise as well. Blackout is apocalyptic album that encapsulates the distress of the pre-apocalyptic world the band built with their groundbreaking debut album Day One, while mirroring the angst and unrest the world felt during the 2020 pandemic at which time it was written.
The stage was set with many large screens that displayed post-apocalyptic images to emphasize the theme and set the tone for their performance. Lance Dowdle, the lead guitarist and bassist is known for his love of anime, and wears masks during the show, which helps the overall setting of the bands stand-out appearance.
While vocalist Matt Brandyberry is the lone founding member of the band, the current lineup is together for a while now and on this tour are joined by the Jimmy Bennett on guitar. And they all mesh together very well.
Just as with TWA, From Ashes To New setlist was concentrating our attention to a new material from Blackout album with eight out of twelve songs played on this tour. All new and old material came together for one well put together performance that was enjoyed by all in attendance. As some would expect them being meant only for the younger audience, that was not true at all in Sayreville, as all age groups of the fans were present equally.
For the encore the band worked to get us all in holiday spirit by playing their version of dreaded by many Mariah Carey Christmas classic All I Want For Christmas Is You. Once you get past thoughts about Mariah Carey their version is actually very cool. Then they went out with a bang, one of their biggest hits Through It All.
ATILLA, Atlanta’s most notorious dealers of metalcore brutality have dropped new single and accompanying music video, “Mia Goth” today. The track features a guest verse from rapper Ekoh and is out now. Stream “Mia Goth” HERE .
Speaking on the release of their new track ATTILA frontman Chris ‘Fronz’ Fronzak shares
“Mia Goth is a song that was created in a very natural organic way. Once we had the song mapped out we hit up our boy Ekoh to drop a verse. When he ended his line with “Mia goth” everything clicked. We’re all huge fans of Mia Goth and her movies, especially Pearl & X. So we figured “hey, let’s write a song about a hot girl that’s kinda crazy”. Pretty relatable if you ask me haha. The song has a fun energetic vibe and captures everything Attila but with a new flare.”
“Mia Goth” follows the release of the band’s previous single, “Bite Your Tongue”, which came out in April and shocked ATTILA fans around the world with the addition of clean vocals from Fronz for the first time ever on one of the band’s tracks. The single has already amassed over 1.75 million streams. Both tracks mark the dawning of a new era for ATTILA, maintaining the band’s signature blend of metalcore, nu metal and deathcore whilst also adding new layers of melodic finesse and instrumental technicality and proving that even after 15 years, they are still one of the most prevalent and prolific forces in the genre.
ATTILLA are currently in Europe where they recently kicked off their world tour celebrating their seminal 2013 album, “About That Life”, which debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 22. The tour will hit the US throughout September and October of this year (full dates below). Head to www.attilaband.com for tickets and further information.
ABOUT THAT LIFE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR
EUROPEAN LEG Special Guests:* Born Of Osiris (co-headline), ^ Paledusk, + Polar, = UnityTX, # Our Hollow, Our Home
07.07.23 Romania Periam @ Rock La Mures
08.07.23 Czech Republic Velke Mezirici @ Fajtfest
09.07.23 Slovakia Bratislava @ Randal +
10.07.23 Germany Nuremberg @ Hirsch +
11.07.23 Germany Aschaffenburg @ Colos-Saal +
12.07.23 Germany Trier @ Mergener Hof +
13.07.23 Belgium Dour @ Dour
15.07.23 Germany Stapelmoor @ Free For All Festival
17.07.23 UK Bristol @ The Exchange #
18.07.23 UK Manchester @ Rebellion #
19.07.23 UK Edinburgh @ Mash House #
20.07.23 UK Nottingham @ Rock City Beta #
21.07.23 UK London @ The Underworld #
ABOUT THAT LIFE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR
US LEG Special Guests: * = No Gideon, ** = No Gideon + ten56, *** = No ten56, **** = No ten56. + Until I Wake, * = No Attila + Gideon
Sun. Sept. 10 – Alton, VA – Blue Ridge Rock Fest *
Tue. Sept 12 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre Thu.
Wed. Sept. 27 – Colorado Springs, CO – Black Sheep
Thu. Sept. 28 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
Sat. Sept. 30 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
Sun. Oct. 1 – Portland, OR – Bossanova Ballroom
Tue. Oct. 3 – Bend, OR – Domino Room
Thu. Oct. 5 – Roseville, CA – Goldfield
Fri. Oct. 6 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock ****
Fri. Oct. 6 – Fresno, CA – Strummers *****
Sat. Oct. 7 – Bakersfield, CA – Temblor Brewing Co ***
Sun. Oct. 8 – Los Angeles, CA – 1720
Mon. Oct. 9 – Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory
Wed. Oct. 11 – Mesa, AZ – Nile Theatre
Fri. Oct. 13 – Austin, TX – Come and Take It Live Sat.
Oct. 14 – Dallas, TX – Monster Mosh Fest
Sun. Oct 15 – Houston, TX – Studio @ Warehouse Live
Tue. Oct. 17 – Jacksonville, FL – Underbelly
Wed. Oct. 18 – Tampa, FL – Orpheum
Thu. Oct. 19 – Orlando, FL – Level 13
Fri. Oct. 20 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
ABOUT ATTILA
Chris Fronzak (vocals), Chris Linck (guitar), and Kalan Adam (bass) aka ATTILA have been churning out metalcore anthems for nearly two decades, shaping and defining the genre as they go.
Formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 2005, ATTILA has released eight studio albums, including their infamous 2013 smash hit, “About That Life” which debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at #22. The band are best known for their uniquely aggressive heaviness, their incendiary, high-energy live shows and their tongue-in-cheek, not-giving-a-fuck attitude. Their music has amassed over 267 million streams and currently have nearly 761k monthly listeners on Spotify alone.
ATTILA has continued to thrive and evolve over the years, cementing their status as one of the most influential bands in the modern metalcore genre. This new era is just another step in their evolution, with plenty more to come.
