One of the bands I’ve found myself obsessing over lately is a band called That Of A Lion. These kids have been playing shows with some of the best metal bands in Jersey and I think they’re awesome! Yeah, when you first listen to them, you might say they sound like every other metal band out there, but singer Charlie Stevens really impressed me with his voice. He can growl, he can scream, and when he actually sings…Wow! I only got to hear a few songs on their Bandcamp page off of their EP, Dead Weight. The songs “Beautification,” “Don’t Be Afraid” and “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing” definitely needs to be noted because they’re pretty good songs.
According to their bio, That Of A Lion formed back in September 2010 and was created out of a bonded passion to create music by band members singer Charlie Stevens, guitarists Rick Santos and Rob Zabita, bassist Levi Parkas and drummer Rob Maslonka. Together, the quintet combines raw and bone-crushing riffs with some really tasteful melodies. That Of A Lion set out to create an energy that was felt with every performance and a sound that dances between aggressive breakdowns with catchy choruses. That Of A Lion released their debut EP, Dead Weight, in August 2014, which helped get their name out on the music scene.
That Of A Lion closed 2015 out by taking their passion and energy to the next level in the studio as they recorded their first high-quality EP with Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Kevin Antreassian, who produced the EP. The boys stated in a Facebook post, “We wrote and recorded the most emotional and mature music that we have written as musicians.” If that’s not a tease of things to come from this band, I don’t know what is. Keep those ears peeled for new music from That Of A Lion. You can catch That Of A Lion live on May 20 at Mexicali Live at the Seas Of Wake CD release party with The Blessing Of This Curse, Comb The Desert, EchoLab and of course, Seas Of Wake. For more about That Of A Lion, visit Facebook.com/ThatofaLion.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
I recently met the guys from One Hundred Thousand for the first time a couple of weeks ago during a gig in Atlantic City, NJ. That’s the band that my fellow Aquarian writer Andrew Magnotta plays bass for and Architekt Music Studios co-owner Kurt Wubbenhorst plays drums for. They are a cool bunch of talented musicians who finally have their full-length CD, The Form In Which They Appear, being released this May. If what I’ve heard already from One Hundred Thousand is any indication of their full-length, this CD will be ear candy for all! For more info on One Hundred Thousand, visit OHTband.com.
My brothers from Robots And Monsters will be performing an intimate show at Backroom Studios in Dover, NJ on June 11 with the mighty Sworn Enemy. Also performing will be Paralysis and F**k It I Quit (featuring Tim Shaw from ENSIGN). Only 75 advanced tickets are available for this intimate show, so don’t miss out! Robots And Monsters also just wrapped up the recording of their new EP. So, keep those ears peeled for some new music from those guys. For more info on Robots And Monsters, visit Facebook.com/RobotsandMonstersBand or catch them this Friday night (4/22) at QXT’s in Newark, NJ.
And finally, it looks like East Coast will be meeting West Coast on July 23, when NYC’s The Dirty Pearls and Panzie* invade L.A. hotspot The Mint. The sleazy streets of Los Angeles will be getting a taste of the dirty streets of New York. This would be a great show to see if I lived on the West Coast, but great to see our NYC boys getting this opportunity! For more on The Dirty Pearls, visit TheDirtyPearls.com or my bros from Panzie* at Panzie.com.
That’s all for now! If your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140, Little Falls, NJ 07424, or you can email me at tim@theaquarian.com, where you can also let me know where you’re performing next!
Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!
Tim Louie is the Author of S**t Happens.
NJN Concert Calendar:
4/20—Scale The Summit/Binary Code/Circuitry—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/21—Nekrogoblikon/Psychostick/Urizen/Monument Of A Memory/Ocean Of Illusions/Edge Of Annihilation—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/22—Rahway/Saint Caine/Pat Llewellyn Band—The Stanhope House, Stanhope, NJ
4/22—Robots and Monsters/Fellgrimm/New Weapon of Ruin/Views Into Vastness/Oceans of Illuision —QXT, Newark, NJ
4/23—Steve Bello—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
4/23—Lyken 21/Flathead Sky/Gathering After Ashes/Dying Eyes of Sloth/Iron Front/Lunatic Fringe/Incognito Theory—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/23—Baelfire—The Brighton Bar, Long Beach, NJ
4/24—Faster Pussycat/Zsah Domme/Blue Movie/Firefight—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/25—Screaming For Silence/Guns Out at Sundown/Poynte—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
4/27—Dream Eternal Bliss/Dynamite Orchestra/Drive The Bus/Allure—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
4/29—Blak Emoji—Pianos, NYC
4/29—The Catering Company/Fence/ The Dead Drop/Monitor/Blank Minded—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
4/30—Robots and Monsters—Court Tavern, New Brunswick, NJ
4/30—Insane Louie/Warhammer/Rocker—Tavern on the Lake, Hightstown, NJ
4/30—One Hundred Thousand/Pralaya/Heartsick/Echolab—Santos Party House, NYC
4/30—Tracii Guns’ LA Guns/Joey Evans Band/DIRTY/Concrete God/No Kings/Among Wolves/Fiction—Dingbatz, Clifton, NJ
5/6—Robots and Monsters—My Place Pizza, Poughkeepsie, NY
5/7—Dark Sky Choir—The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NY
5/7—That Of A Lion—Blackburn Hall, Watchung, NJ
5/10—Brand of Julez/Sons of Texas—Webster Hall, NYC
5/11—Zero Distance/Voidless/Benchmark/Midnight Fade—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/12—Kiefer Sutherland/Austin Plaine—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/13—Mikell’s Plot/Brain Freeze/The Accelerators—Kenilworth VFW, Kenilworth, NJ
5/14—Rahway/Baelfire/Division 1.1/Ixion Lux/Nuse/Midnite Hellion/Ashes of Your Enemy—Roxy and Dukes, Dunellen, NJ
5/18—Five Myles/Mike Daly and The Planets/Fifth Street/Marci Geller—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/20—Seas of Wake CD Release Party/The Blessing of this Curse/That Of A Lion/Comb the Desert/EchoLab—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/21—Robots and Monsters—The Fire, Philadelphia, PA
5/22—Ill Nino/Bobaflex/Shattered Sun/Voodoo Terror Tribe/Me With Creeps/ANAKA/Aurin/Maggotmouth/Ronin/Throat—Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ
5/25—Killcode/Eve to Adam/Awaken the Shadow—Marlin Room at Webster Hall, NYC
5/25—Jersey Campfires Production Presents Triple Scoop/Lunatic Fringe/Stereo Jo/Words Never Spoken—Mexicali Live, Teaneck, NJ
5/27—That Of A Lion/Buried Under Ruined Nations—Valley View Pub, West Milford, NJ
