Aaron Thackeray

Havok, on tour in Europe right now with Cephalic Carnage, Suffocation and Fallujah, is preparing to release its new album, Unnatural Selection, on Tuesday, June 25. The ten-track album, the band's fourth release overall and the followup to 2011's Time Is Up, was produced by Havok frontman David Sanchez, mixed by legendary metal maestro Terry Date (Pantera, Soulfly, Unearth), with the kickass cover art by Rafal Wechterowicz. The outfit is slated to celebrate the release of the new album with a trio of local shows at the Marquis, Black Sheep and Aggie upon returning from Europe. Keep reading to see the cover art and track list.

See also:
- The 25 most badass local metal album covers
- The young men of Havok prove their metal
- Learn how to kick ass from the men of Havok

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Stay Tuned, the outfit formerly known as MainLine, is preparing to hit the road in the next few weeks, taking advantage of the $3000 Western States Arts Federation Independent Music on Tour grant Mane Rok was awarded last year. What makes this jaunt particularly noteworthy, beside the fact that local hip-hop acts don't tour as often as local rock acts, is that the outspoken MC was the sole hip-hop recipient of WESTAF's IMTour grant, alongside other such acts as Ian Cooke, Snake Rattle Rattle Snake, the Changing Colors, Paper Bird and the Photo Atlas.

See also:
- WESTAF introduces Independent Music on Tour, a grant program for local musicians
- "New Beginning" by Mane Rok, A.V.I.U.S, Rhias, Es Nine and Riley Boone
- ManeLine delivers a straight shot of hip-hop

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soundcloud

Time and distance provide perspective -- isn't that what they say? Sure enough, the further removed we are from the recent Boston Marathon bombing, the more the picture appears to be coming into focus of the two brothers alleged to have conducted the terror plot.

From analyzing their online presence, more than a few pundits have deduced that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother who was killed last week, was the diabolical driving force, the mastermind who had become "radicalized." Dzhokhar, on the other hand, appears to have been a typical nineteen year old kid who was into Breaking Bad and rap before he inexplicably morphed into evil incarnate on April 15.

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Last summer, the High Park fire raged through the Poudre Canyon in northern Colorado. Although it's been nearly a year since the fire was contained, it's still very fresh in the minds of the community, especially the folks at Mishawaka Amphitheatre. Despite the fact that the fire ravaged much of the canyon surrounding the venue, somehow the Mish was spared. To commemorate the heroic efforts of those who fought the blaze, Mishawaka GM Dani Grant and her husband led an effort to establish a monument.

See also:
- Mishawaka Amphitheatre to reopen
- Mishawaka Amphitheatre reopening symbol of blaze's defeat
- Mishawaka Amphitheatre cancels all shows in the coming week due to High Park Fire

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exdoevents.com

Independent concert promoter Soda Jerk Presents has forged a new partnership with the team at the EXDO Event Center, Managing partner Andrew Feinstein and his crew, which involves Soda Jerk Presents exclusive concert booking rights for the 22,000 square foot building at 1399 35th Street in RiNo. "It's a part of their business that was lacking," says Soda Jerk Presents founder Mike Barsch, "and it's a part of our business that was missing or lacking in that we needed a space that we could sell two thousand tickets in."

See also:
- Voiceplaces: EXDO Event Center, 1399 35th Street
- Soda Jerk turns the former Bash into Summit Music Hall
- The Marquis Theatre is the newest treat from Soda Jerk

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Dyalekt, an MC from the Denver hip-hop collective known as the Diamond Boiz, has decided after a long period of contemplation to officially change his name to his longtime nickname Jay Class. The decision comes more than a year after his appropriately titled album, Death By Ego, and precedes his upcoming projects, a Life by Humility EP and the Diamond Boiz' R 4Ever, both slated for release this summer.

See also:
- Diamond Boiz call up the past and look to the future
- Dyalekt leaves his ego behind on a new release
- Download Dyalekt's single from Death by Ego, "Tequila and Lime"

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Britt Chester

The Daft Punk dudes may be generating all the headlines right now for its forthcoming album, Random Access Memories, on which they flip the script by incorporating analogue instruments and production techniques, but they're not the only ones going more organic. Pretty Lights is doing pretty much exactly the same thing with its new album, A Color Map of the Sun, only without the high profile guests and the ostentatious pageantry.

See also:
- Q&A with Derek Vincent Smith of Pretty Lights
- Pretty Lights gives John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" a sonic makeover
- Review/Photos: Pretty Lights at Red Rocks, 8/17/12

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A 23-year-old Longmont woman was arrested over the weekend for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend -- over Macklemore's inescapable hit single "Thrift Shop," which he wouldn't stop singing.

When "Thrift Shop" first came out, before it got completely driven into the ground, it was actually a pretty catchy single. Of course once you've heard it nine million times, it loses its luster and just becomes grating. It's enough to drive you to drink, or madness -- or both, in this case.

See also:
- Macklemore's You Can Play anti-homophobic PSA filmed at Winter on the Rocks
- Macklemore at CU Boulder's Balch Fieldhouse on 4/19
- Review: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and more at Red Rocks, 2/1/13

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Eric Gruneisen

The Fox Theatre in Boulder is one of the top twenty rock clubs in the country.

Last week, Rolling Stone kicked off its new Venues That Rock series with a list of the twenty best rock clubs in America. Three Colorado venues were ranked in the top twenty: Belly Up in Aspen, which checked in at number sixteen, the Bluebird Theater, which earned a nod at number fourteen, and the Fox Theatre, which landed the fourth spot. According to the magazine, the list was tabulated with the input of dozens of managers, promoters and musicians (full list here).

See also:
- WTF? Rolling Stone lists the 25 Best Record Stores and leaves Colorado out?
- Voice Places: Fox Theatre, 1128 13th Street, Boulder
- Voice Places: Bluebird Theater, 3317 E. Colfax Avenue

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Britt Chester

Mala flipping records at Sub.mission's five-year celebration

For the past six years, Nicole Cacciavillano and her Sub.mission crew have had the dubstep scene in Denver completely on lock. The locally based powerhouse promoter has extended its reach outside of Colorado by launching an outpost in Hawaii; Corey Blecha, an intern-turned-overseer who recently relocated to Maui, will helm the island operations.

See Also:
- Sub.mission crew reflects on five years of bringing dubstep to Denver
- With Sub.mission, Nicole Cacciavillano brings dubstep to the masses
- Sub.mission five-year Anniversary at City Hall

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