Formed back in the ’90s, Hillsborough, NJ-based metal outfit NUSE — Mike LaMastro (vocals, guitar), Eric Mangual (bass), Bob Mangual (drums) and Mike Wilday (guitar) — exploded into the regional scene with the release of a handful of early EPs before, their full-length debut, 2002’s Hung Well, which was re-released in 2005 through No Joke Records.
Their sophomore album, 2008’s Forever Starts Today featured the underground smash “Beat to Death.” Building upon a growing profile, their third album, 2012’s All American Beat Down, which featured “Breath & Fluid,” “War Face,” and “Free Tattoos,” broke through nationally, charting in several key markets, including Kansas City (#5), NYC (#8), Philadelphia (#7) and Hawaii (#5) while receiving streams globally across Pandora, Spotify, iTunes and others.
2018’s The Pain Collection featured “Top Hat Man,” which broke into the Top 10 in NYC and Philadelphia while arguably being their most critically applauded album of their career to date. In 2020, the band, which had long been a trio added Ixion Lux‘ s and Spin Psykill‘s Mike Wilday, Jr., whose rich harmonies and intense leads helped the band’s sound evolve.
2021’s Evilution: Vol. 1 EP featured acclaimed singles “Swept Away” and “Scoundrel,” which also earned global awards and recognition. With an increasingly larger profile, the New Jersey-based outfit has made a run of the festival circuit, while opening for the likes of Biohazard, Cannibal Corpse, Clutch, Soulfly, Entombed, M.O.D., Mercyful Fate, Misfits, Napalm Death, Nuclear Assault, Overkill, Pro-Pain, Scar the Martyr, Shattered Sun, Testament, Type O Negative, and a growing list of metal heavyweights.
Earlier this year, the New Jersey-based metalheads released the Evilution: Vol 2 EP, which features the previously released “Malibu,” and the EP’s latest single, EP closing track “Xperimental.” is a swaggering and bruising ripper that’s kind of modern but also manages to channel old school Metallica and Slayer, all while continuing to fit in perfectly with the RidingEasy Records roster.
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