Steel Samurai

Featured, Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

Steel Samurai’s self-titled Second EP (Review)

August 17, 2017 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Steel Samurai’s self-titled Second EP (Review) Share this

Steel Samurai has been kicking around the Baltimore, Maryland scene since late 2013, making appearances at MAGFest and Bit Gen while contributing their brand of rock to an array of game music compilations. They specialize in power-rocking “the most ancient, unused and obscure video game compositions” and their second, self-titled EP definitely holds true to that mission statement.

Released on July 29th, Steel Samurai is a short EP but it rocks all the way through and covers a lot of rarely-revisited source material. The theme of the band’s namesake — the fictional TV hero from the also-fictional world of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney — opens things up with a powerful rendition of the traditional Japanese-style tune from the DS game. But track two is what really pulled me into this album.

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Events, Game Music, Indie Music

MAGFest’s Channel is back with video from the 2017 event!

January 11, 2017 | Ryan Paquet | Comments Off on MAGFest’s Channel is back with video from the 2017 event! Share this

I was unable to make MAGFest again this year, but am very happy that MAGFest’s channel has videos available of some key events. As things only just wrapped up a few days ago I expect the list of videos to grow. I wrote about the videos they posted from the 2016 event which you can revisit here.

I have added the MAGFest Underground Playlist above, which features some awesome performances by Cowabunga Pizza Time, Gimmick, Jackal, Michael Zucker, Search Snake, Steel Samurai, Super Guitar Bros., Super Soul Bros., The Mountain Chiefs, The Tiberian Suns and Triforce Quartet (who I said was runner up for best arranged album of 2016).

There are plenty more concert videos and panel videos you can watch directly on MAGFest channel. Keep checking back as I’m sure there will be more videos added soon.

Did you attend MAGFest this year, is there a panel or concert that you saw that you really enjoyed? Let us know!
Chip Music, Events, Game Music, Indie Music

MAGStock Guest Lineup Announced

June 8, 2015 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on MAGStock Guest Lineup Announced Share this MAGStock Guest Lineup Announced

The music guests for this year’s MAGStock have been revealed. Performers for the event will include Professor Shyguy, Materia, Eight Bit Disaster, and Inverse Phase. MAGStock 5 is being held at Small Country Campground in Louisa, Virginia on the weekend of June 19-21.

If you’re wondering what on earth MAGStock is, it’s a music and gaming event, run by MAGFest, that takes place in the summer. Think of it as a smaller version of MAGFest in the great outdoors. This year’s music guest list is as follows:

Professor Shyguy
Inverse Phase
Materia
Aries
Steel Samurai
Trev Wignall
Square Therapy
D&D Sluggers
Eight Bit Disaster
Auxide
Solarbear

If you didn’t get your fill of music and games at MAGFest earlier this year or if you’re just looking for a fun weekend of games and music, be sure to check out MAGStock 5. You can find out more information for registering and attending MAGStock 5 at the MAGStock website.
Game Music

MAGFest 8.5 Band Lineup Dropped

July 16, 2014 | Brenna Wilkes | 2 Comments Share this MAGFest 8.5 Band Lineup Dropped

Though originally being kept hush-hush, a credible source has broken the embargo on performer announcements and leaked to us the entire band lineup for their upcoming MAG 8.5 event in Alexandria, Virginia. The performers, in no particular order, are:

Armcannon
Temp Sound Solutions
Professor Shyguy
You Bred Raptors?
Steel Samurai
8 Bit Disaster
The World is Square
The Protomans
Those Who Fight

MAGFest 8.5 hopes to recapture the spirit of the smaller ‘Fests in days of yore, and will be held Sept. 12 – 14th at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center. Tickets are limited, so any and all interested parties should register sooner than later.