The new record debuted at #4 on the Billboard charts, marking a personal best of the band. The Kings have always been critical darlings through their first three records, but it now seems that the public is catching up to one of the better up and coming groups in the past half decade or so. On Only By The Night, it seems to be a major progression in the band’s music, but also throwing in a few tricks not seen by the band

On the current tour: “We’re only a few shows into the tour so far, but it's exciting because its our most extensive headlining tour of the States since we got started. We toured with the Tragically Hip on a pretty long tour a while back, but this might mean more. It’s an interesting time touring the States because of everything going on with the election coming up.”

On the evolution of the band over the past couple of years: “With the new album, I think the band got a bit more serious. Because of touring, the new record took almost 2 years to record but take it as lightly as possible. Initially, we never had the

With the August release of their new album Back Breaker , it looks as if the boys from Tennessee are firmly heading back into the direction of their earlier work. According to Bunton on the release on the new album, “Back Breaker is a record we made when we stopped caring about anything but heavy metal.” As evident by the 11 tracks (all named after Greek gods and mythology), the roars and the riffs are set in concrete. With the thunder of the first single “Achilles- The Backbreaker” and “Odyesseus- A Song Of Hope,” you can witness Bunton’s vocals move into a style much like that of Brian Fair from Shadows Fall.

After Temptation most bands would have tried to capitalize on the success by going and writing softer material made to be played alongside Staind and Nickelback. The Showdown wisely shun that, and with other tracks like “Aries- I Am Vengeance” and find a solid comfort zone throughout Back Breaker.

The band went out on tour with Shadows Fall right before the release of the new album, but are now out on the road with Georgia metal band Norma Jean and Haste the Day on the Solid State tour. The tour, which started in early October near the band’s

The band’s tune “Call In The Cavalary” was recently featured in Season 5 of HBO's “Entourage.” The track is way more lively than most of this season has been, that’s for sure. The band is currently out on tour through November 23^rd, but will be hitting the Crofoot tonight on this warmer than usual Halloween with hometown boys Von Bondies.

So, if you're going to that Erebus Haunted House in Pontiac on Halloween,  walk up to Crofoot and check out The Shys and the Von Bondies. Perhaps you can meet the band’s new bassist, Cory Case, who may be looking for some Saki and Sapporo somewhere around Pontiac.

The Shys open for the Von Bondies at the Crofoot tonight (October 31^st) at the Crofoot. Tickets are $5 and are available at www.ticketweb.com. Additional dates can be found at www.myspace.com/theshysmusic.

The band formed in 2004 when all the members in the band were looking for a new band to join up after their respective bands all went by the wayside. The band decided to put out an EP and between that and their live show, it caught the attention of Trustkill owner Josh Grabelle- who signed them almost immediately. They put out a slew of EP’s and singles, with Misfortunes being their second full length record.

The album keeps their furious mix of punk and hardcore into the mix and pummeling riffs from guitarist Rick Jimenez and the wail and machine gun style vocals of lead singer Travis Reilly help make Misfortunes as wild as their last record, Sundowning . Stellar tracks come in the form of rip-roaring anthems such as “Infected” and “In Shambles.” The album also includes a cover from the legendary NYC hardcore band Cro-Mags, whose version of “Show No Mercy” gets the royal treatment on the new record.

The band is out on the road now with a fellow New York band Fear Year Strong throughout October. The bands wrap up their tour right here in Detroit on October 29^th, when the bands hit the Magic Stick. Might be a good chance to give the bands a good final tour send off as the always rollicking Stick hosts This Is Hell.

This Is Hell plays the Magic Stick on Wednesday, October 29^th. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com. Additional dates can be found at www.thisishell.org.

Also on the bill is the NYC noise rock band Kayo Dot, which may even go off in more directions than Pelican. When listening to their latest album

On the importance of road testing new material prior to the album’s release: “Well, we actually won't record the album until February, so we want to start testing it on this tour. We do this so playing and hearing these songs feel right for us and for the fans by the time the album gets out.”

On their southern rock influences: “We’ve always mixed some country and rock influences. Taking country guys like George Jones and Willie Nelson, but also get into things like the Marshall Tucker Band.”

On the metalcore genre they left behind: “I think if you’re honest about the music that you write and have the right intentions,

The English group by way of Australia brought out all the stops in their set in front of an solidly attended and highly enthusiastic crowd at the very intimate I-Rock. With the lighting and stage presence, the six man collective lead by Rob Swire put on a show that dwarfed the tiny venue that they were playing. With the new In Silico record, the group is moving away from the straight drum-and-bass style that was heavy on the band’s first record, Hold Your Colour But in concert, the transition seemed to be pretty seamless and some of the older tracks, such as the title track, fit in well with newer tracks like “Granite.” Even the marquee song on Colour, the aptly titled “Slam” was given a bit of a heavy metal mix into it and made the already killer song even better.

Perhaps the two stronger tracks off the new album came off just as good live, the opening track “Showdown” and the ultra catchy “Propane Nightmares.” The songs were the definitely songs that were the happy medium between the new fans just learning about the band, and the old school fans that were a little hesitant about the new record.

To check out Pendulum’s set was a throwback to the late 90s and when Prodigy hit the American shores. Swire and company bring an energy and presence that the genre has been missing (at least on these shores). One could only imagine what sort of energy a crowd would have if this was in a festival setting, and not a crowd in front of a few hundred people. It didn’t matter to Pendulum, they brought it to everyone in attendance at the I-Rock.