Follow Friday: Ghost, Biffy Clyro, Shannon Callihan, and More.

Ghost

Never one to shy away from the theatrics, with their flashy horror-style mixed with themes of the occult comes the pop-driven, accessible metal of swedish band Ghost. Led by singer Tobias Forge, originally known as Papa Emeritus who identifies as anti-pope and wears skull face makeup. Each one of Ghost‘s records has brought a new imagery to the alter egos of the frontman as he became Emeritus II, III, and Cardinal Copia for their latest 2018 record Prequelle.

The band cloaked in makeup and masks, take a vow of autonomy as they drive heavy riffs on stage in front of the crowd, when the flames engulf the stage. The band got their start in Sweden but found quick success with an EP and international touring, staying dedicated to their themes, as the growth among metal fans multiplied, their records began to embrace their diverse influences, from 60’s psychedelic, 70’s doom, 80’s arena rock and modern pop. When discussing the direction for the band Tobias mentioned not as many fast songs to better reach the audience in an arena.

I set out already on Opus Eponymous to write songs that would sound great on a live stage because I wanted it to be big rock music, I wanted it to sound like a rock band that you wanted to see on a stage. So making a new, fifth album means that I’m gonna continue writing songs that will sound great on that stage.

Tobias Forge to Metal Injection

Make sure to listen to Ghost below and keep up with them on their website here.

Ghost raise their fists with Ernie Ball Custom Gauges .010 -.054,  .011- .058 guitar strings and Stainless Steel Hybrid bass strings. 

Biffy Clyro

Anthemic alt rock breaths deep in the dynamic power trio of Biffy Clyro. Led by singer/guitarist Simon Neil, the band got its start in the early 2000’s. Immediately garnering fans with their hooky choruses and unique song formats. The band broke into international acclaim with 2009’s Only Revolutions, which peaked at number three on the U.K album charts and landed them a Mercury Music Prize nomination.

Continuing to push the band’s diverse sound, the band followed up that record with Opposites— an ambitious album that combines prog rock with mainstream pop, which led to the band’s first number one on the U.K. album charts. Working with Rich Costey (Franz Ferdinand/ Muse) on the 2016 follow up garnered singles and a headlining spot for Readings and Leeds and Download fest in 2016/2017. Recently the band has released “Tiny Indoor Fireworks” a single off of their 2020 efforts A Celebration of Endings, which was delayed due to the global pandemic. 

The challenge now isn’t to make a record— the challenge now is having a reason to make a record. If I take a song to Ben and James I want them to say, ‘Are you sure this is worth doing?’ That’s what keeps me excited and motivated— the shock of the new.

Simon Neil to NME

Check out Biffy Clyro‘s tunes below and keep up with their latest happenings on their website.

Biffy Clyro keeps their fans on edge with Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottom and Beefy Slinky electric guitar strings.

Shannon Callihan

You may not recognize Shannon Lauren Callihan‘s name right away, but if you have spent any time in the guitar world of Instagram or YouTube in the last few years, then you’ll know her playing. The Nashville based guitarist, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has not only been showing off her chops on social media, but she’s been releasing her own brand of neo-soul/R&B and funk tunes as a solo-project with her first single hitting 50,000 streams in two weeks.

Aside from her general stellar musicality and vocal capabilities, Shannon has an ease and flow to her playing that seems to settle in to any pocket. Some people have great gear, some people can play covers flawlessly, but few can have tone directly from their fingers, and Shannon seems to do that with ease. Her latest release, “Don’t Blame It on the Timing,” dropped in April and has over 113k plays despite the pandemic and lack of live show capabilities. Along with her strong social media performances and presence, Shannon also has backed artists on tour like Rozzi and has opened for bands like O.A.R. and American Authors.

Make yourself familiar with her music as Shannon will be a tone and name you’ll be hearing for many years to come.

Shannon Lauren Callihan plays Regular and Super Slinky electric guitar strings and Everlast Extra Light Phosphor Bronze acoustic strings.

The Jesus And Mary Chain

Some bands can’t be defined by numbers, how many hits they’ve had, or chart success. And some bands make impacts that are incalculable like Ernie Ball band, The Jesus and Mary Chain. Spawning off the power of influence of feedback and orchestrating a safe space for noise, The Jesus and Mary Chain have inspired everyone from My Bloody Valentine to Dinosaur Jr. Members of the band have drifted in and out, but the core of the group including William and Jim Reid, (brothers and bandmates) have held through despite time and disbandments. Their influences range from pop designers like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson to later independent legends like The Velvet Underground and The Stooges.

The Jesus And Mary Chain have had initial success with their debut single “Upside Down” and then quickly followed it with “You Trip Me Up” which created the band’s signature sound of simple pop songs drenched in droning fuzz and feedback noise. The band also saw success in the 90’s with a summer spot in Lollapalooza’s 1992 lineup and had one of their songs banned from “Top of the Pops” which made for a success of ups and downs. The Jesus And Mary Chain was on a stop and go trek, moving to Sub Pop for their record Munki leading to William leaving the band in 1999. Eight years later, the brothers revived for a performance at Coachella and Meltdown festival, timed with a collection of reissues of 1985-1998 studio albums. The band performed Psychocandy in its entirety in celebration of the album’s 30th anniversary as documented on the box set of Live at the Barrowlands. In 2015, TJAMC returned to the studio for the 2017 release of Damage and Joy and wrote new songs culled from over the years after the breakup. This record was released on their own Artificial Plastic label and featured their sister Linda Reid, as well as Isobel Campbell and Sky Ferreira. 

Make sure to keep up with the band on their website and tune in to their vast generation of tracks below.

The Jesus and Mary Chain rip with Ernie Ball Regular Slinky electric guitar strings and Super Slinky bass strings

Yo Onityan

Hello I’m Yo Onityan from Japan! And I live Japan! Nice to me you too!

Yo Onityan

That’s all the bio you get on our next artist, Yo Onityan‘s, Twitch page. This mega shredder has been pumping out lightening fast solos and melodic pieces on his social media pages like Instagram, YouTube, Twitch and more, impressing fellow metal player’s along the way to the point where he wound up on our radar.

Although there isn’t a ton of bio on him just yet, Yo Onityan has been catching eyeballs and ears on his channels while also hitting the stage for a spell with the deathcore band Rings of Saturn, from 2018-2019, as well as other projects including his own solo music and guitar lessons.
For now, you can get a sample of Yo Onityan‘s dizzying technical playing on his social pages while we wait for his solo efforts to hit the stage in the future.

Yo Onityan uses Regular Slinky, Regular Slinky 7-String, 8-String Slinky and Custom Gauge electric guitar strings.