#2017 year end

[riffrelevant]

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - (Staff) DAVID LAMAY Shares 55 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – (Staff) DAVID LAMAY Shares 55 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) David ‘Sunshine’ LaMay has been with Riff Relevant since soon after I started this ship of mayhem.  We unknowingly have been wandering the peripherals of the same music circles for longer than either of us probably realize… way back machines are scary. (more…)

[brilliant-snark]

New Year’s Eve, 2017. We made it. It’s almost over, and we can slam the door behind us.

There will be a longer post about what’s ahead for 2018 later this coming week, but today I’m looking back for one last time before I slam the door, lock it, and throw away the key. 2017 was another roller coaster of a year. There were some highs, and also a lot of lows. It was brutal. It kicked a lot of our asses physically and mentally. 

2017 tried to destroy us, but instead turned us into fighters, rebels all. We survived. We persisted. So while we absolutely cannot STOP fighting, it’s time to take that angry energy and channel it into building the world we want and deserve. Clearly no one else is going to do it. 2017 did not win, we move forward. And 2018 will be a fucking amazing year because we all, collectively, refuse to let it be anything else.

(Read full post on blog https://wp.me/p7zaPQ-9v )

[rayfredm]

Rex Murphy: Justin Trudeau’s year-long descent from celebrity selfie-prince to typical politician 2017 was not kind to the PM nor his government. And that last press conference? In Star Wars Yoda-tongue: Ill, it will bode for him Source: Rex Murphy: Justin Trudeau's year-long descent from celebrity selfie-prince to typical politician

[erikhare]

A Year of Conflict

As 2017 closes out, as cold as it was on the way in, it’s hard to find words to describe just what is going on around us. Divisive, chaotic, and juvenile come to mind quickly. So does bizarre. But what defined this year more than anything else was conflict. Despite a decade long war in Syria and some other regional battles, the world is actually more at peace than it has been for many centuries.…

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - WO FAT's MICHAEL WALTER Shares 18 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – WO FAT’s MICHAEL WALTER Shares 18 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Wo Fat are not the evil villains of their namesake.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  This Texas trio are some of the more relaxed, humble, endearing gents I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.  However, to listen to them play is an altogether villainous experience… (more…)

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - (Staff) PAT 'RIOT' WHITAKER Shares 25 LP / 25 EP Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – (Staff) PAT ‘RIOT’ WHITAKER Shares 25 LP / 25 EP Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Oh, where to start… first off, Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker is essentially a walking mountain (literally and figuratively) of heavy musical knowledge.  Anyone that’s talked with him can attest to this.  One look at his ‘Old-School Sunday’ column and you’re delving into his musical memory.    (more…)

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - GREENBEARD's BUDDY HACHAR Shares 10 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – GREENBEARD’s BUDDY HACHAR Shares 10 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Greenbeard were busy guys this past year of 2017.  They toured in the Spring, put out a new release ‘Lödarödböl‘ in July, toured most of the summer, fall, and winter, including several festivals thrown in the mix. (more…)

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - HEXXUS' BILLY LUTTRELL Shares 15 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – HEXXUS’ BILLY LUTTRELL Shares 15 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Birmingham, Alabama’s Hexxus is… well, to me – bliss.  Grimy, dark, sludge covered, raging bliss.  Hexxus is brutal, unrelenting, and yes, even a bit though-provoking.  They’re not just loud for loud’s sake, but they are goddamned loud. (more…)

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - (Staff) KIRA SCHLECHTER Shares 6 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – (Staff) KIRA SCHLECHTER Shares 6 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Kira Schlechter is technically a ‘Guest Contributor’ here at RiffRelevant.com, but she contributes so much, we’re not letting her leave.  She’s ‘semi-staff’ now.  Kira likes to cover certain metal styles, many with female power vocals, which fills a heavy niche for us.  Her reviews constantly introduce me to bands I’d been unfamiliar…

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - DEMON EYE's ERIK SUGG Shares 5 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – DEMON EYE’s ERIK SUGG Shares 5 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Demon Eye sparked out of Raleigh, North Carolina around 2012, and is one of those bands that are truly fun to watch live.  They’re having as great a time on that stage performing (if not more so) as anyone in front of them experiencing their set. (more…)

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - (Staff) SANTIAGO GUTIERREZ Shares ALL His Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – (Staff) SANTIAGO GUTIERREZ Shares ALL His Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Santiago Gutierrez just joined us here at Riff Relevant.  I don’t even have a bio for him on the site yet!  He made it just in time for our first Year End.  He dove right into deep water with his list, too. (more…)

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - (Staff) BRIAN HALSEY Shares 10 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – (Staff) BRIAN HALSEY Shares 10 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Oh, Brian Halsey.  One day, after what I presume was a rather overly festive Independence Day on his part, I received a random e-mail from this New Jersey Demon.  He stated: “I write weird, sarcastic horror novels that name drop a lot of heavy music and I wanted to get into writing a bit more frequently.”  This was his opening line.…

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - GHASTLY SOUND's TJ MAYNARD Shares 10 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – GHASTLY SOUND’s TJ MAYNARD Shares 10 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Burlington, Vermont’s Ghastly Sound is far from ghastly.  They signed on a while back with Magnetic Eye Records, based in my hometown of Albany, NY.  I scooped up their limited 7″ single before even listening to it.  I trust MER wouldn’t fail me as a music listener, and they never have.  When I finally did listen, my jaw dropped to the…

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - FISTULA's COREY BING Shares 5 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – FISTULA’s COREY BING Shares 5 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) The first time I heard Fistula, they scared the living hell out of me.  This unnerving factor tends to spark my interest, in most cases, when it comes to music.  Fistula is frightening.  The name alone is disturbing, if you don’t know what it refers to.  When you discover what it does refer to, it’s 10 times more disturbing.  That also…

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Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - (Staff) DAMON GRAVITOYD Shares 25 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – (Staff) DAMON GRAVITOYD Shares 25 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) Damon ‘Gravitoyd’ Caraway jumped in with both feet as a writer here at Riff Relevant many months ago.  He’s brought with him several things, including his immediate proximity to Austin, Texas, which has a rather insane amount of heavy music bands right at his fingertips at the moment.  Talk about the right place at the right time… (more…)

[riffrelevant]

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases - ZED's MARK ACEVES Shares 10 Favorites

Riff Relevant 2017 Releases – ZED’s MARK ACEVES Shares 10 Favorites

(By Leanne Ridgeway, Owner/Chief Editor, RiffRelevant.com) ZED.  What can I say about them?  Well, ZED is one of the bands that kick-started me back into writing about music.  Essentially all this you see here can be somewhat blamed on ZED.  I. Love. This. Band. (more…)