Author Archives: Mike DeWald
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INTERVIEW: DeathByRomy doing it on her own terms
DeathByRomy photographed at Aftershock Festival at Discovery Park in Sacramento on Oct. 5, 2023. Mike DeWald/STAFF. It’s tough to pin down Romy Flores, better known as DeathByRomy. The 24-year-old singer channels goth and dark pop into her style and her sound, which has elements of industrial rock, electronica and…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Justin Timberlake looks back on ‘Everything I Thought It Was’
Justin Timberlake, “Everything I Thought It Was.” Justin Timberlake effectively dances around the elephant in the room throughout his sixth album, Everything I Thought It Was. Amid a groundswell of demand—from some—for an *NSYNC reunion album or tour, he instead made an 18-track solo set. That’s not to say…
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ALBUM REVIEW: DragonForce accelerates to ‘Warp Speed’ on new LP
Dragonforce, “Warp Speed Warriors.” Hold on tight. That’s about the only advice one can give when going on a spin with Warp Speed Warriors, the latest album by English power metal quintet DragonForce. Warp Speed Warriors DragonForce Napalm, March 15 7/10 Get the album on Amazon Music. It’s difficult…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Scott Stapp finds his ‘Higher Power’ on solo LP
Scott Stapp, “Higher Power.” While Creed is in the midst of a resurgence with a World Series anthem for the Texas Rangers and an extensive reunion tour plotted for this summer, Scott Stapp is unleashing his own set of new music. Higher Power, his fourth solo record and his…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Ariana Grande lets in the light on ‘Eternal Sunshine’
Ariana Grande, “Eternal Sunshine.” Ariana Grande didn’t give up many secrets leading up to Eternal Sunshine. The track list came in fragments and just once song (“yes, and?) preceded the her seventh album. And that now makes sense because Eternal Sunshine plays less like a collection of singles and…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Judas Priest as good as ever on ‘Invincible Shield’
Judas Priest, “Invincible Shield.” Pressing play on Judas Priest’s 19th album, Invincible Shield, is like a time machine with a direct pathway to the late ’70s. The guitars are loud, the drums rumble the ground and heavy metal bombast stretches larger than life itself. Invincible Shield Judas Priest Epic,…
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Aftershock Festival expands with reunited Slayer, Iron Maiden
Slayer performs at Oakland Arena in Oakland on Nov. 26, 2019. The reunited band will headline Aftershock Festival this fall. Joaquin Cabello/STAFF. The grassy, tree-lined fields of Sacramento’s Discovery Park will again reverberate with the thunderous circle pits of the hard-rock-centric Aftershock Festival this October. This year’s edition of…
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INTERVIEW: Mia x Ally bring modern spin to traditional sounds
Violinist Mia Asano and bagpiper Ally Crowley-Duncan (Mia x Ally), courtesy Hitesh Joshi. Classically trained violinist Mia Asano and bagpiper Ally Crowley-Duncan getting together to perform in front of your music fans may seem improbably, but it makes perfect sense. Both take traditional instruments to new places, often via…
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REVIEW: STRFKR finds an electro-pop dream state on ‘Parallel Realms’
STRFKR, “Parallel Realms.” STRFKR mined its demos and musical ideations for the electro-pop quartet’s eighth album, Parallel Realms. But once those songs were written, the band pulled the foot off the pedal and handed control over to others to land these songs in new territory. The result is a record…
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Linkin Park unleashes ‘Friendly Fire,’ announces greatest hits set
Linkin Park, “Papercuts.” Members of Linkin Park have not appeared publicly together as a band in years, and the group’s future remains up in the air, but that hasn’t stopped the alt-rock trailblazers from putting out previously unreleased music. The band has premiered its latest unearthed track, “Friendly Fire,”…