A longtime DJ and producer based out of Amsterdam, Corsten has consistently putting out trance records throughout this decade. After the success of his L.E.F. album back in 2006, Corsten worked the success into becoming the first DJ to have his own show on satellite radio as he created a weekly show for XM Radio (now Sirius XM Radio for which the show still airs on Area channel 39). He released his latest album, Twice In A Blue Moon back in November in Europe and in late January here in the States. The album is led by the hit dance single “Radio Crash,” and continues the stylish dance music Corsten has created over the years. The upcoming single “Made Of Love” will be featured heavily on his radio show and sure to burn up the clubs for months to come.

Beyond the release of the new album, Corsten also recently remixed the Killers’ hit song, “Human.” Perhaps he changed some of the bizarre lyrics on the song as well, and helped it out a little.

Corsten is touring around the U.S. and will wrap his tour on February 28^th in New York. After a brief stint in Europe, Corsten comes back to the U.S. in late March when he plays the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. But right before Corsten finishes here in the U.S., check him out at Clutch Cargo’s where you’ll hear some of the sleekest electronic cuts out there today.

Ferry Corsten plays Clutch Cargos on Friday, February 27^th. Tickets are $25 and are available at www.wantickets.com. Additional dates can be found at www.myspace.com/ferrycorsten.

The Maryland based band Clutch has always had one of the most loyal followings in hard rock history. Over the past 15 years, the band has developed a reputation for being one of the few hard rock 'jam bands'. It was always with that sensibility in mind that Clutch operated. But within the past few years, Neil Fallon and the other three original members of Clutch splintered off on the side and are going head on with their jam band stylings, forming The Bakerton Group .

The Bakerton Group’s first record El Rojo has just been released on the band’s own Weathermaker Music label. With tracks like “Chancellor” and “Life on Lars,” the band (along with Opeth keyboardist Per Wilberg) goes into some jazzy and psychedelic territories that Clutch hasn’t ever explored in their travels. But on El Rojo, don’t let the term 'jazzy' scare off the hard rock fans of Clutch; this album is pure Clutch with the guitar riffs and grooves fully intact. The 10 songs on El Rojo are a natural progression for the guys in the band after the very jam-oriented last Clutch record From Beale Street to Oblivion.

With the next week, the band is going to be very busy within the State of Michigan, which is always a fertile ground for new and old Clutch fans. After a show in Traverse City, The Bakerton Group plays the Shelter in Detroit on Saturday, February 21^st. After the show at the Shelter, the band goes to probably the biggest Clutch stomping ground in Michigan, Flint’s Machine Shop, where they open for themselves, in a way, as they open for Clutch. If there was ever a good weekend to either get yourself re-familiar or just want to go see these guys for the tenth time, it will be a good weekend to check out The Bakerton Group.

The Bakerton Group plays the Shelter on Saturday, February 21^st. Tickets are $13 and are available at www.livenation.com. They also play the Machine Shop in Flint as they open for Clutch on Sunday, February 22^nd. Tickets for that show are sold out. Additional dates can be found at www.myspace.com/thebakertongroup.

During Ben Kweller’s nearly decade and a half musical journey, we have seen a wide range of different genres that Ben has given a shot. Once upon a time, Ben was the leader of the mid-90s grungy sounding Radish, which was on the cusp of making it big, but success never materialized here in the States. The Texas native gained a bit more notoriety over the years as a indie rock singer/songwriter that received much respect and played numerous festivals and big time alt-rock tours with the likes of Death Cab For Cutie.

Kweller is keeping with the indie rock these days, but venturing off into a few new directions with his new album Changing Horses, which after a bit of a bump on the release calendar, was just released in early February. Kweller is exploring a bit of country roots on this record, a territory the 27-year-old troubadour has not ventured into in the past. With songs like very down home sounding tracks as “Ballad of Wendy Baker” and “Sawdust Man,” Kweller throws a bit more twang into his music. But don’t mistake it as a Bon Jovi or Darius Rucker style reach to make a country album to please that crowd. Changing Horses is firmly entrenched in the indie sound and should not scare off any long-time fans. It’s just another step in the twisting and turning musical course that has been Kweller’s career so far.

After a high profile 2008, Flogging Molly is getting back to what they do best; crisscrossing the country prior to St. Patrick’s Day and delivering their brand of Celtic punk rock. The band is also on tour behind their 2008 release Float, and are making their way through the Midwest as we speak.

To give you a little background, the band was formed in 1997 in Los Angeles by singer Dave King (who originally was in the early 80’s hard rock band Fastway; yeah, remember “Say What You Will”? Killer stuff if you haven’t heard it before.) The seven member group cut their teeth at various clubs in L.A. and have risen through the scene over the past decade. Their last three records have all sold substantially well on an indie label, given the state of the record industry today. But Float became a personal watermark for the band, reaching #4 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Charts last March. With tracks like “You Won’t Make a Fool Out of Me” and the current single “The Lightning Storm,” the band mixes old school Celtic music with the rollicking punk flare to it, which fits well with the 'Irish rebel' music that many fans refer to it as. Whatever you want to call it, it's good music to have some pints and maybe say a few drunken words to somebody.

Starting February 15^th, the band is tearing their way through the U.S. on the Green 17 Tour and will wrap up in Chicago on St. Patrick’s Day. The now yearly traditional comes through Detroit this Thursday (February 19^th) when the band hits the Fillmore Detroit. So, if you want to come celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a little early, this might be your best chance to do it as Flogging Molly invades Detroit this week.

Flogging Molly plays the Fillmore Detroit this Thursday (February 19^th). Tickets are $25 and are available at www.livenation.com. Additional dates can be found at www.sideonedummy.com/floggingmolly.

No pun intended, but "born out of the ashes" of the NYC hardcore band From Autumn to Ashes comes the new band Warship. Over the years, we had covered FAtA a bunch (with interviews and spotlights) so it was somewhat of a surprise when the band called an “indefinite hiatus” to the project early last year.

Since FAtA has called it a day (for now), singer Francis Mark and guitarist Rob Lauristen didn’t sit around waiting very long for their next project. Drawing inspiration from hardcore classics such as Snapcase and High on Fire, Warship was born and delivered on their debut record Supply and Depend.

For fans of FAtA, it's a good segue way and bridges past and future of these guys as artists. The album bounces back between semi-artsy moments like “Lousy Horoscope” and ragers such as the opener “Toil” and “The Waiting List.” The only major difference between the two project is that singer Mark doesn’t seem to try and overpower the listeners, which might have been the case at times with FAtA. There’s a little Fugazi in the band’s sound as well which makes the album comfortable for old From Autumn to Ashes fans as well as new listeners that might have just picked up on Warship.

They may not be household names yet, but two of the more exciting up and coming metal bands are heading to Detroit as Brother Von Doom and Adversary light up the February sky.

Hailing from the Civil War haunt of Manassas, Virginia, Adversary adds a solid groove in their debut release for Trustkill Records, entitled Singularity. Casual observers need to pay close attention to the great riffs from this band as well as a healthy balance of the death metal screaming and more melodic harmonies during the course of the album. Signed by Trustkill last year, the band excels when they find that balance on the title track and another track, “Manifest Humilty.” There’s flashes of bands like At The Gates in Adversary’s music and gives us an idea what this band might be capable of able to put together in the future.

Describing their music as “borne out of endless rehearsals in crummy Midwestern basements," Brother Von Doom comes out of Dayton, Ohio and leads a crushing assault on the ears with their debut record Relentless, that came out last September. The album is lead by the single “Eater of Days,” which showcases singer Justin Wilson’s venomous wails and a dual guitar onslaught from Tate Matthews and Brian Baxter. “Eater of Days” has been all over XM’s Liquid Metal station and it's sure to be only the first song metalheads hear will hear from them in the months ahead. Be sure to check out other tracks like “A Beautiful Masquerade” and “Judas Kiss.”

The bands are wrapping up with their current tour, with the tour ending on Valentine’s Day. But the night before at the famed Token Lounge in Westland, Detroiters will get their taste of these bands. Valentine’s dates are completely optional but totally welcomed to see some new brutal metal.

Adversary and Brother Von Doom play the Token Lounge in Westland. Tickets are $10 and are available at the door. Additional information can be found at www.adversaryband.com or www.myspace.com/brothervondoom.

After he did his time in the band Secret Machines, Ben Curtis didn’t waste much time finding his next project. While opening for Interpol, Curtis met Alejandra and Claudia Deheza and formed the School of Seven Bells from there. Named after a supposed South American school for pick pockets, the group has been working on material for a few years before finally releasing their debut album, Alpinisms back in October.

On Alpinisms, the band sounds very dreamy and blissful. With tracks like the 11-minute “Sempiternal/Amaranth” and “Half Asleep,” the music created is a light and airy approach to it. While Curtis plays lead guitar and controls the electronic instrumentation in the band, the Deheza sisters’ vocals play like a post-modern Sarah McLachlan, but their vocals shift with the use of a vocoder on “Chain” and “Prince of Peace.”

The industrial genre hasn’t exactly been reaching the upper echelons of the music charts recently. The genre hit a peak in the mid 90s, as groups like Ministry and KMFDM took the form of music to unheard of levels. Since then, it's been fairly quiet outside of the usual goth and techno haunts. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t quality acts still giving fans of this music what they want.

One of these bands is the New York via Norway based group Combichrist, who recently released their Today We Are All Demons album back on January 20^th. The album will let you headbang, as well as dance and provides a good indication on where the music is heading. Tracks like “Kickstart The Fight” and “Can’t Change the Beat” thump along at a blistering pace. As the album progresses, it definitely leans more in the electronic direction, with “New Form of Silence” and “Scarred” letting the beats be the driving force of those songs.

The band is the brainchild of Norwegian born Andy LaPlageua, who had fronted a few similar acts before moving into this project in 2003. Today is their fourth record and is following up the 2007 record What the F--- is Wrong With You People. The band are quickly becoming one of the most recognizable names in industrial music today and are getting out on the road to drive that point home.

Combichrist is currently out on the road and will wrap up their tour on Valentine’s Day. But before this tour wraps, Combichrist is hitting Detroit as they head to the Majestic Theatre this Thursday (February 5^th). Opening up is Wes Borland’s (of Limp Bizkit fame) group Black Light Burns, which fits very well with the sound that the headliners are delivering. If you’re up for a night of lots of people wearing black and music that doesn’t get the respect it deserves by mainstream audiences, check out Combichrist.

Combichrist plays at the Majestic Theatre on Thursday, February 5^th. Tickets are $15 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional dates can be found at www.myspace.com/combichrist.

Some of Detroit’s most well known local acts are teaming up for a benefit on Thursday for muscular dystrophy and for a young boy stricken by the disease. Local rapper Hush, along with popular funk act Hotsauce and rap-country hybrid favorite JoCaine, will perform to help bring awareness to the situation of 6-year-old Joseph Penrod who was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in February of 2008.

The event was developed by Joseph’s mother and Hush after they were connected through an acquaintance. This event looks to be the first of its kind at the Fillmore and will feature dinner from such restaurants as Chen Chow Brassiere (Birmingham), PF Chang’s, Andiamo’s and Big Rock (Birmingham) for guests before all the musical performances.

Hush released his major label debut Bulletproof back in 2005 and had his music featured in various movies, video games and TV shows. Since Bulletproof's release, Hush has been tweaking his sound; mixing more of his rock influences. His next release, titled The Open Book, is supposed to be out sometime later in 2009. Tracks for the upcoming record are currently up on his MySpace page .

Even after playing on the Anger Management tour with Eminem and various gigs in and around Detroit, this will be Hush’s first time headlining the Fillmore. The event is for a great cause, as people who attend will enjoy a night of great local music and bringing awareness to a disease that robs too many people young and old.

Hush & Friends present Jamming for Joseph & MDA at the Fillmore Detroit this Thursday, February 5^th. Tickets are $20 for main floor general admission, $30 for main floor reserved seating and $75 for VIP reserved mezzanine seating with strolling gourmet dinner from 5:30-6:45 and are available at www.livenation.com. More information can be found at www.myspace.com/hush. This is an all-ages show.

Talking to people the week before the Slipknot / Coheed & Cambria show, most non-metal fans who heard about the show seemed utterly shocked that bands like this could play an arena-sized show. For the Coldplay-obsessed types who made these comments, 9,000+ fans proved that metal is alive and well and capable of handling a major stage without the help of Ozzy Osbourne to fill an arena.

After Trivium’s thrashing 35-minute set, Coheed and Cambria delivered a solid 45-minutes that provided perhaps the most melodic and technically proficient moments of the event. Starting off with the big guitar wall of sound with “Welcome Home,” Claudio Sanchez and company ripped through tracks sure to be on their upcoming Neverender CD/DVD set. Including songs like “A Favor House Atlantic” and “The Suffering,” the set was a good introductory set for the fans just learning about the band. The band has been collecting steam over the past couple of years and Coheed does a good job of keeping the prog-rock fans happy without going into too many weird tangents that will surely turn some people away from the music.

If Coheed provided the flair and technical prowess, Slipknot’s set was a lesson in a pure metal beatdown. Throughout their 100-minute set, the nine headed Iowan monster delved a lot into older material, such as “(sic)” and “Wait And Bleed.” The fans went wild and flayed around as the band proved that there is still a lot of potency in the music. The material off the new All Hope Is Gone album wasn’t nearly as prevalent as would have been thought (only the title track, “Psychosocial” and “Dead Memories”), but by the old school encore of “Surfacing” and “Spit It Out,” I don’t think too many people cared. Slipknot showed the fans in the Palace that even with the tough economic times and all, that metal could be the antidote of a brutal winter.