TEAM
Editors Note...
Andrew Andrew Dex
Slipknot, Muse, and Kiss will headline next years Download Festival. Other names announced so far are Faith No More, Judas Priest, Motley Crüe, A Day To Remember, Slash, Enter Shikari, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, and Black Stone Cherry. Download Festival 2015 will take place from 12th to 14th June 2015 at Donington Park. Having recently completed a headline UK tour, Asking Alexandria have announced they will be releasing a live DVD entitled 'Live From Brixton and Beyond' on December 15th.
Foo Fighters have announced a series of UK stadium shows which will take place next May and June. May 25 Stadium of Light, Sunderland 27 Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester June 19 Wembley Stadium, London (support from Iggy Pop and Royal Blood) 20 Wembley Stadium, London (support from Iggy Pop and Royal Blood) 23 BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Slipknot, Scorpions, and Faith No More will headline Clisson, France’s Hellfest, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Hellfest 2015 takes place from 19th - 21st June. They will be joined by a whole load of major names from the world of rock with Judas Priest, ZZ Top, Motörhead, Slash, Alice Cooper, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Nightwish, Marilyn Manson, Airbourne, Billy Idol, Anthrax, Five Finger Death Punch, In Flames, Lamb Of God, and Killing Joke being just some of the names confirmed. Some other notable names include Rise Against, Dead Kennedys, Envy, NOFX, Madball, Terror, Venom, Children Of Bodom, Meshuggah, Arch Enemy, Satyricon, At The Gates, Cannibal Corpse, Code Orange, Defeater and Birds In Row. Influential emo group American Football have announced they will be playing the UK for the very first time in May. The trio will play shows in London, Leeds and Manchester. May 14th Electric Ballroom, London 15th Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 16th Gorilla, Manchester
Details of the very first Manchester Punk Festival has been confirmed. The two day event will take place across various venues including Sound Control on April 17th and 18th. The likes of Great Cynics, Throwing Stuff, Crazy Arm, Wadeye and Almeida have already been confirmed. Joining them are The Restarts, Wonk Unit, Fair Do’s, and Revenge of the Psychotronic Man.
Taking Back Sunday have announced plans to release 'Happiness Is: The Complete Recordings' on February 24th via Hopeless Records. 1. Preface 2. Flicker, Fade 3. Stood A Chance 4. All The Way 5. Beat Up Car 6. It Takes More 7. They Don’t Have Any Friends 8. Better Homes And Gardens 9. Like You Do 10. We Were Younger Then 11. Nothing At All 12. How I Met Your Mother 13. This Is Happening 14. Can You Feel That (Here I Am) 15. Stood A Chance (Acoustic) 16. Better Homes And Gardens (Acoustic) 17. Like You Do (Acoustic) Progressive Swedish band Opeth have announced they will mark their 25th Anniversary as a band next year with a very special event at the London Palladium on 18th October 2015. The show will consist of two sets with part one seeing the band perform 2005’s much-lauded 'Ghost Reveries' album in its entirety (which in turn is celebrating its 10th anniversary.) The second set will consist of classics from their 25-year career. London five piece Zoax have confirmed they will release a new EP called 'Is Everybody Listening?' on February 9th via Century Media Records. 1. ? 2. Lonely Souls 3. Click 4. Zero Point Seven 5. Right Words 6. Innocent Eyes
Save Your Breath will be heading out on a farewell UK tour in Janaury. Support comes from As Is It and Cardinals. January 22 Sound Control, Manchester 23 Audio, Glasgow 24 Key Club, Leeds 25 Asylum, Birmingham 26 The Exchange, Bristol 27 Rock City Basement, Nottingham 28 Joiners, Southampton 29 Old Blue Last, London 30 Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Bury Tomorrow and Beartooth have been added to forthcoming Kerrang! UK tour which will also include Don Broco and We Are The In Crowd. February 2015 6th The Nick Rayns LCR, UEA, Norwich 7th O2 Academy, Leeds 9th O2 Academy, Southampton 10th O2 Academy, Bristol 11th Academy, Dublin 13th Uni Great Hall, Cardiff 14th Academy, Manchester 15th O2 Academy, Newcastle 16th O2 Academy, Glasgow 18th O2 Academy, Liverpool 19th O2 Academy, Birmingham 20th The Forum, London
Into It. Over It. and Modern Baseball will be returning to the UK in March for a UK tour together. Tiny Moving Parts will be joining them as support for their first ever UK dates. March 24 Joiners, Southampton 25 Sound Control, Manchester 26 Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 27 Stereo, Glasgow 28 The Dome Tuffnell Park, London 29 The Fleece, Bristol Canadian Post-hardcore band Silverstein has announced a two special UK dates to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of their 2nd full-length album, 'Discovering The Waterfront'. April Wed 08 Sound Control, Manchester Thu 09 Islington Academy, London
Modern Life Is War have announced a second London date to their short April UK tour. They will play the Old Blue Last on 9th April as their show at The Underworld on April 11th is now sold out. The dates accompany a short European tour. This will be the band’s first UK shows in 8 years. April 9th Old Blue Last, London 10th Sound Control, Manchester 11th The Underworld, London (Sold Out) Lincoln melodic hardcore band Climates have announced they have parted way with vocalist Wes Thompson. The band explained they have become frustrated with Thompson’s contribution to the band. Eastbourne pop-punk band Roam have signed to Hopeless Records. Their first release on the label will be called an EP called 'Viewpoint' which will be released on January 26th. A full-length will follow later in 2015.
TesseacT have announced they will be releasing their first live album and DVD in early 2015 release through Century Media Records. Bristol grungers Milk Teeth have announced they’ll be releasing their new EP 'Sad Sack' on the 26th January 2015 via Venn Records.
After five years away, Scottish alternative rock band Idlewild will be making their return with a new album called 'Everything Ever Written', and is set to be released on 9th February 2015. A UK tour will take place shortly after. March 7th O2 ABC, Glasgow 8th O2 ABC, Glasgow 10th The Institute, Birmingham 12th The Ritz, Manchester 13th Roundhouse, London
Monuments have been announced as support for Karnivool’s March 2015 UK tour. March Mon 23rd ABC Ballroom, Glasgow Tue 24th Ritz Theatre, Manchester Wed 25th Rescue Rooms, Nottingham Thu 26th Academy, Bristol Fri 27th 1865, Southampton Sat 28th Roundhouse, London
Set It Off and Crown The Empire have announced a co-headline UK tour, and will take place in February 2015. Support comes from Dangerkids and Alive Like Me. February Thur 5 Electric Ballroom, London Fri 6 Club Academy, Manchester Sat 7 Garage, Glasgow Sun 8 Leeds University, Leeds Tues 10 Rescue Rooms, Nottingham Wed 11 Waterfront, Norwich Thu 12 Asylum, Birmingham Fri 13 Mo Club, Southampton Sat 14 The Fleece, Bristol
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How did you get to the band name Tiny Moving Parts, and what does it mean to you? One of our favorite bands, Circle Takes The Square, has a lyric line “tiny moving parts make up the whole.” We thought it was a cool line and grabbed the name from it.
How is your current tour going, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? Tour is going great! The dudes in Nai Harvest, Choir Vandals, and Dads are nice human beings! It makes traveling all over the country more fun with new friends. There’s been countless highlights on this tour! We did a Bruce Springsteen cover set in Gainesville, FL at Fest. It was one in the morning, venue was capped, and everyone was partying harder than ever! I remember Matt and I crowd surfing with our guitars when we closed with “Born to Run.” Everyone was wasted chanting the lyrics and hugging each other. One of the best memories of our life for sure!
So, how did you get to the album title 'Pleasant Living' and what does it mean to you? All of us were living with our parents while writing the album. Had home cooked meals, free rent, and lots of time to focus on the record. It just made sense that we were living pleasantly!
Can you tell us about the themes and influences that run throughout 'Pleasant Living'? Trying to stay positive in life is an important ground we like to cover. We wanted to write a fun summer feeling album.
What made you want to release 'Always Focused' as the first single from the record, and can you tell us about the narrative behind the track? We felt that song was a good summary of the album vibe! The song is about dealing with personal problems. I have the tendency to over think situations, and it bothers me, but I find some sort of pleasure in it.
What was the hardest part about putting together 'Pleasant Living' for you guys, and why? There wasn’t a part harder than others. The whole experience writing the album was a great time! It was stressful at times when you couldn’t find the right words to put in, or the right transitions to parts, but that’s all part of the process. We love it and can’t wait to write another album!
How did you end up working with 'J. Robbins' and what was he like to work with? J Robbins was awesome! He was a cool chilled dude that understood what we wanted out of the album. We had a list of people to work with, and from checking out his awesome history, we knew it was the right fit.
How would you say 'Pleasant Living' compares overall to 'This Couch Is Long And Full Of Friendship'? It sounds cliché to say, but you can hear us mature as songwriters. We knew we wanted to have it be more catchy, but didn’t want to lose our sound. We love being technical and interesting 100% of the time, and blending everything to the album was a blast!
Your video for 'Entrances & Exits' is such a unique and cool idea. So can you tell us a bit about how the idea came together? Also we read it took a couple of months for you to actually find the camera!? Our GPS tracker inside the box broke on impact! It took us over two months to retrieve everything! We put Billy’s phone number in the box. A nice farmer 50 miles away from the launch site found it, and we picked it up the next day. We’ve seen videos of people sending things to space, and decided to give it a shot! Never thought it was actually going to work. Billy, Matt, and I aren’t meant to be scientists, but we are proud we accomplished such a fun task.
What can we expect to see from Tiny Moving Parts as we enter 2015? Lots of touring!!!! Touring forever!!!!
How did you get to the name PVRIS, and what does it mean to you? The name came about pretty randomly, we were trying to figure a name one day and one of our friends wrote down the name Paris and it just stuck. We added the V in about a year ago due to some legal issues we ran into with the actual name PARIS. I think the name managed to end up being really suiting to our band. When I think of the actual city of Paris I think two things: beauty and mystery. I feel like our sound as well as the overall aesthetic of the band lines up with those two things perfectly.
You have a pretty unique and exciting sound. So who would you say have been your biggest influences since starting out? Our influences are really all over the place but we definitely gravitate to a lot of pop music and solo artists such as The Weeknd, Ellie Goulding, Florence + The Machine, Rihanna, etc. It's literally all over the place and I think that might be what makes the sound so hard to pin point.
How did you end up working with 'Blake Harnage' and what was he like to work with? When I was in highschool I was a total Versa Emerge fan and one night I went to one of their shows and I met Blake outside the venue after they played. At the time I really wanted to get into making samples and programmed music so I spent a little bit talking to him about it and asking him questions. Ever since, he kind of mentored me and would always help me out with that kind of stuff and we just stayed in touch. Eventually when we signed to Rise, he put the idea out there about working with him on our record and immediately we were all on board. He's incredibly talented and taught us so much in the studio, working with him was amazing.
How did you get to the album title 'White Noise' and what does it mean to you? We were actually trying to think of an album name for a long time. We knew we wanted it to be something paranormal that tied all the songs together, the lyrics are all very haunting and relate to that. One day we were trying to think of something and the name White Noise, a title of one of the tracks in the record, came up and we all realized that it fit perfectly. When I think of white noise I think of electronics but I also think of the paranormal. The two combined just fit the record perfectly; the production is very electronic sounding while the stories and songs all have very haunting elements to them. So it tied together perfectly.
How would you say you have developed as a band over the past two years? We've definitely developed ourselves a lot more as writers, and developed our aesthetic a lot over the past few years and it all seems like it came together perfectly timed with the amount of success that's been occurring.
Is there anything in particular you like about playing acoustic in comparison to your normal style? I think it's so important to be able to play these songs, and any song, acoustic. In a way it's a true test of a song's weight. If you can take a very built up and well orchestrated song and strip it down to just one instrument and it still has the same impact as it did before, that's when you know you wrote a good song. It also puts a new spin on songs, you hear it captured in a different light and I think that's such a cool thing. I also love doing stripped versions of songs because, as a more electronic sounding band, we get a lot of assumptions that we can't play our instruments or that our music is lifeless because it's not all being played by people. When we can take these songs and can play them on just a guitar, it kind it proves those assumptions to be wrong.
This is the first material with you at the helm, what do these new tracks mean to you? They mean a lot. Most of the lyrics were written over the past couple of years, Time for example was written about my Grandfather passing away. Some of the tracks are about that time of my life, some touch on things that have happened to me over the past couple of years, and some stuff which has happened to the band too. The track Alive is about just staying positive, when things like management were coming and going, along with labels too and Ed also leaving, that track is more of a statement to say we’re still going and we’re going strong, regardless of what happens we’ll just enjoy ourselves.
Did you feel like you had a big place to fill? Obviously Ed did a massive job with three albums and an EP, so he was sort of cemented with the band. I was a massive fan before I joined anyway, I played quite a few shows with them before so when I found out Ed was leaving it was quite a shock to me aswell. The guys asked me what I was doing musically, so I said I’d give this a shot because it was such a good opportunity. It’s hard work doing the stuff Ed wrote on stage, people were sort of judging to start with which I expected. But we’re at a crossroads now with the new tracks coming into the set and also people seeing the new stuff and getting into it has sort of ended that whole comparison. I’m happy for that and Ed as well as we had to deal a lot with comparisons in the press. I’m not interested in that, he’s done some great stuff and i’m sure whatever Ed does next will be great as well!
Having Jonny produce the EP, how was it having your own guitarist produce? He's done pretty much everything the band has brought out. We’re really lucky we’ve got him on board, he has got the ear for it and the patience! If you're a band and you go into the studio that’s run by someone you don't know you’re stuck to time schedules. But we just take the mick a little! We can go when we want, so it’s all good!
How did the decision come about to bring you into the band? I wasn't really around for that to happen, but I think it was a lot down to touring and schedules. Lives change, we’re not a full time band by a long stretch, I think it was just that side of things really, wanting to settle down. I think it was just based around that really. Life just gets in the way sometimes. I think you can establish a balance and that's something we’ve got at the moment.
Devastator is the lead single from the new EP, it still holds the sound that this band is known for, was this an obvious choice to release as a lead? That was all just timing really, we didn't have the tracks mastered altogether. We wanted to put out devastator first but it just didn't work. Keeping the style of Devil is what we wanted, we’re not going to change and turn into 5 Seconds of Summer or whatever that shit is! You know we've got our own thing. I’ve come in, I haven't tried to change a lot, if the vocals sound different across the tracks that’s just me being me and doing my own thing on the record!
Do you feel you bring a new dynamic to the band vocally? I guess so yeah, not that I've consciously noticed. It just feels kind of natural now. The first couple of tracks we wrote were quite a change from playing tech-metal, it wasn't completely fluid, but it feels natural now writing the stuff. I just want to write whatever is best, good lyrics and good melodies and hopefully that comes across on the new record!
Are you hopeful that the new EP will push the band further? As a band that would be something we’d want to happen, but to where? I dont know. We are just conscious that we’re not the new fresh thing. we've been around 10 years. But if it breathes some life into us, brings new fans to the table then that’s all that we could ask for really.
Has there been any struggles in releasing Belong ╪ Betray? Pressing and Vinyl took a little time but that’s just because it has become super popular again. The recording side we probably took longer than we should have. We maybe could have written a few songs, but we all live quite far apart so it’s not just like we can get together easily. It wasn't too bad, it could have been smoother. I guess we’re just relieved and happy it’s out there and people enjoy it, that’s all that matters. With Alive I had two days to write the track, but it’s only now since devastator came out we’ve gotten the chance to really enjoy it.
Before Devil Sold His Soul, you were in The Arusha Accord who are also signed to Basick Records, was this something you initiated with DSHS or was it a natural partnership? Yeah we had a big decision in it, I’m pretty good friends with Barley from working with him on Arusha records. He’s a really good guy, I trust him like a brother and I don't really trust a lot of people in the music industry if I'm honest. I know he was there for the right reasons and putting stuff out based on what he wants to do and not for the monetary side of things. He’s an inspiring character, he does a lot for independent labels as well as his own, so it was a no brainer really. Basick are the best independent record label in the world, in my opinion. There’s a lot of people out there who are good but have the wrong intentions, so it’s nice to be with someone real who has the right intentions. We’ve all been doing this for ten years now, we know all the bullshit and we’ve heard it before.
Is DSHS your permanent band now? I’m still in the Arusha Accord, we’re very much still alive and kicking, everyone is in the mind that we want to get a new record out. But Devil is my main priority at the moment.
What can we expect from Devil Sold His Soul next year? We've just announced a headline tour to support the record for April/May, which should be good!
How was the Big Cheese Magazine tour with Lonely The Brave, and can you give us a couple of highlights from your time on the road? It was a fantastic tour, we met some amazing people and played sold out shows for the first time. The highlights for me were headlining the sold out show at Scala. We saw that as a huge achievement, to think six months before we headlined a venue half the size in London. The other highlight was when the Lonely the Brave and the allusondrugs boys invaded the stage and popped champagne on stage and went mental through the last song of the tour. Good vibes.
Also, what songs from your debut record are you really enjoying performing live at the moment, and why? I love playing 'is it horrible', 'hit the wave' and I've always loved playing 'move shake hide' live. Saying that, I don't dislike playing any songs live. If the crowds enjoying it we feed of it. Playing live is where it's at for us.
Carrying on from that, what's it been like to finally unleash your debut album “The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets” upon the world, and how happy have you been with the response to it so far? We started doing Demos for the record almost a year ago now. As you can imagine, all we've wanted to do since then was just get it recorded and get it released. Obviously it makes sense that it came out when it did. The response has been so positive. Which we’re so humbled by. It's been a long journey but we’re so happy to finally have it out there!
How did you end up working with Larry Hibbitt, and what was he like to work with? Larry kind of instigated it all. He wanted us to support Hundred Reasons at the fighting cocks in Kingston. We had a great show, they're legends at the end of the day. He then got in touch after meeting him at the show about maybe doing a couple of tracks with him in Brixton. We naturally jumped on it and recorded 'Move Shake Hide' and 'Born Young and Free' before we did the album demos. It felt natural to do the album with Larry. We were all instantly on the same wave length.
How did you get to the album title "The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets" and what does it mean to you? We based it on the track 'weird and wonderful' that was the last song we wrote in the studio and we only ended up writing and recording it because Becca was Ill. We just felt like it was a great title for us. It worked well. It describes the album on the whole well I feel.
With this record, and as usual for Marmozets it's very hard to just say that you fit into a certain genre, so with that in mind how would you say the sound of Marmozets has progressed since you first started out? We're naturally going to progress, Will (my brother) was 14 when he recorded the first EP we did. We're going to grow up in that time obviously. Both musically and mentally. We just feel our music has grown up with us. It's not stripped back but it is. It depends on the song really...
How did you end up signing with Roadrunner Records, and what have they been like to work with so far? They're the best. A lot of things get mislead when you sign to a major. People think they control you, you have no say etc. for us it's been the opposite. We tell them where we want to go and they basically make it happen. There's a mutual trust between us which makes this great for both parties
Being a band that is comprised of two sets of siblings, how do you think this affects the dynamics of the band and if there is times of tension, would you say it’s worse as you're related? We get asked this a lot, everyone is always surprised to hear that we never really fall out. We just have a laugh constantly. It's like a group of friends, except there's me and my brother and the Macintyres...
Following on from that, it must be for the most part nice to work with your family? Yeah it makes it easier. It's all we've ever known!
How excited are you for your upcoming tour with Taking Back Sunday, and what can attending fans expect? Yeah super excited! We’ve just completed a great tour with Issues, so overall it’s going to be a big old run for us. We're so excited to be on the road for so long.
What can we expect to see from Marmozets as we enter 2015? A bigger headline, bigger supports, maybe even begin album two...
You rounded off the Five Finger Death Punch tour in Vegas recently, was there some mixed emotions going into the final show of this run? Definitely, it was bitter sweet like most good things on the road and I don't think we really wanted it to end because every night was an adrenaline rush that we got really used to. To leave that whole situation of playing in front of that many people every night was little bit sad but we were ready to get home and get some rest, we're pretty beat after the all the touring we've done over the last year or so.
You posted the scene of yourselves at the Grand Canyon, what is the most surreal thing about being on tour? Well we don't get to do much in the way of sight seeing most of the time because we are driving all night to get to the next venue. We don't have a tour bus like most of the headliners do, we have a smaller bus that we have to try and keep with the bigger ones. We don't have a lot of free time to do stuff like that so when we do have a situation where we have a day off and don't have to drive that far, we'll do something like we did at the Grand Canyon. It's one of the amazing perks of the job. People will ask us “how this city or how was that city?” and many times our answer is “I have no idea, I was inside the green room and inside the venue” for sound check all day and getting set up...so yeah that was a nice little break from the routine.
Nothing More are a band very much on the up, for anyone unfamiliar with the band at this point can you talk us through a little of the bands history? I met Mark (Guitar) and Daniel (Bass) when I was in seventh grade and we've played together in some form or fashion since then. We started touring right when I got out of high school and that was 2005. We got an old RV...... that was just broken down, we got it up and running, put all of our graduation money together or whatever we've saved from birthdays etc and got a trailer and then we started touring. For around three years, I was actually the drummer, then after three years of touring was when I started singing. We had a few different singers so and we couldn't quite find the right fit. Then we kind of reached a breaking point and a do or die situation so I said “screw it, I'll just start singing and we'll look for a drummer”. It was going to be easier to find a drummer so we made that switch and it took me around two years to get comfortable singing. We found a drummer, Paul, until him we just got fill in drummers and he was the missing piece of the puzzle. Since then we finished this record that we are now touring on and have a label with, our first #1 single and all that so it really took time to find the pieces to have the right combination with. All the time we just operated on this hope, we wanted to be doing music with our lives no matter what.
Moving from the back of the stage as drummer to the lead singer is a big step, with not being a singer before how was the transition for you? It was a very alien, foreign feeling and it took a few years. When we wrote the music together in all the years leading up to when I started singing, I was always a part of the lyric and melody writing so when we were rehearsing I was always humming or half way singing what the part should be to our singer at the time so I always had a little bit of desire in me to do it but I didn't have the confidence to do it. When I was a younger kid I was at a very small school, maybe 10-15 kids in a class so when you didn't make a sports team or some kind of club it was painfully obvious that you didn't make it because there was like you and one other kid. I tried out for the choir when I was younger and I didn't make it, I remember being one of two or three other kids that didn't, that image was kind of burned in to my mind and my emotions as a child so as I grew up, I had that image that singing wasn't for me. When I made the switch and came to terms with my own fears, I said “you know what? Fuck it, I'm going to give it a shot” because there's really no other option at this point. So the transition process involved a lot of technical skills, like with any craft whether playing an instrument or singing, you have to develop it. That took me the course of about two times to really get up to par but even more than that I think leaving the comfort of the drum set, which was my sort of security blanket between me and the audience, as a singer you're standing right at the front looking people right in the eyes. It was little frightening if I'm honest because I wasn't really used to that dynamic. The biggest challenge was really grappling with my own emotions.
Has the success of the album this year changed anything in terms of overall approach for the band? Oh, good question. I don't think the success so much has changed anything other than maybe validated some ideas that we operated on when we were making the record. For example whenever you spend time developing an art or a craft, as you get older you start shedding certain ideas and hold tighter to other ones because you learn which ones work and which ones don't. I think starting to gauge some of the success just validates the ideas we went in to this record with, in regards to what's important when writing a song and what's not. I don't think success has changed how we're going to write the next record or anything like that. That's always been a fear I think for a lot of artists, when you watch artists who do become successful, many times they seem to fall off this straight and narrow path that they were walking because they get pressure to recreate the record that was successful or they go too far in the other direction and create something that's so different that people who liked them before can't connect with them any more. I think it's about sticking to your guns but still being open to the people around you and knowing that just because you've had some success doesn't mean you're going to have a golden record every time.
With the larger audience you've now built will the priority be touring as much as possible or is there a desire to bring new music to the larger audience? The desire to make music is something that is within us all the time, we all want to get to the next record but the reality of where we're at over the next year and 2015 is looking like we're going to be touring a lot. One of the ideas we went in to this record with was that we wanted the world to hear it. To do that we have to travel to all these other countries and build things from the ground up, that takes a lot of time, energy and commitment to follow through. That's why I think the next year we're going to be touring a lot, we don't just want this record in the U.S, we're going to take it to Australia and the far reaches of Europe that we haven't even explored yet but we are antsy about making new music. We're starting to catalogue ideas as we speak.
What can the fans who will see you for the first time on this tour expect from Nothing More? A lot of energy, we try to make each set like it's the last set of our lives and some showmanship or show pieces that you wouldn't expect from a rock show. Sometimes you go to a rock show and you see the same old stuff like, “throw your hands in the air” or “everyone do this”, we try and stay away from all that. We do these pieces where we're all playing bass at the same time, it’s strapped in to this big pole that our bass player built, we pull a lever and it locks in upside down over the drums, I'm playing it with drum sticks while Mark and Dan are fretting it almost like a piano, a spot where we're all playing drums. It's a hot pot of influences that make it that little bit more unique experience within the rock genre.
Can you tell us a bit about the formation of This Legend? This Legend is, "LP" Longineu Parsons III - Drums, Ben Harper - Lead Guitar, Chris Castillo - Lead Guitar and Vocals, Steven Neufeld - Bass and Vocals.
How did you get to the band name This Legend, and what does it mean to you? The name, This Legend stands for: When you look in the mirror and see yourself, feeling down. Take a long look at yourself and say, "I am a legend". It's a positive way to think of yourself when you are feeling down and need a little guidance in life to move forward.
What's it been like for you and Ben Harper to write music together again after all this time? It feels so good to be able to write music with my best friend, Ben Harper again. He can play the hell out of his guitar! He and I, 17 years ago started the band, Yellowcard. It was formed on us being six friends who loved playing music together. When we were on stage or even just playing in the band room, the energy level and creativity was through the roof. The original Yellowcard is Ben Harper, Longineu Parsons III, Todd Clary, Ben Dobson, Warren Cooke and Adam Stalnecker. Over the years and after all of the lineup changes, it's the best feeling to finally write pop punk again with Ben Harper!
You’re touring America and Canada at the moment. How is that going, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? We just got back from our first U.S tour and it was awesome! We have been getting a really great response from the fans and pure excitement. We can't wait to get on the road with Lagwagon too! They're a band we all look up to and love. A band that we grew up listening too as kids.
Does it feel weird to play such small stages in comparison to where you’ve played before? It doesn't feel weird at all to play smaller stages. To us it doesn't matter if there are two people at the show or 100,000 people. That one smile makes it all worth it and we all love playing music together, rocking out and touring the world.
Would you agree it’s easier to break into the industry when you’ve already been at the heart of it? I think it is because we have fans all around the world that are interested in seeing what we are doing with This Legend. But it is also hard work too, because it's not what we have been doing and people are used to what we have done in the past. As much as it is easier, it is also at the same time harder to break through because you are introducing a new sound to their ears.
With a record label already at your disposal was it just a decision to say ‘let’s get these songs out as soon as possible!’ or was there a lot of discussion about what to do? Just because we are on a record label doesn't mean that everything is easy breezy, there is still a lot that goes into writing songs. Of course we wanted to get songs out to the public and begin touring, but, it's a long process. We still want to write from the heart and write music that we love to play and listen to. Those things can't be forced. It should be a natural process.
Also, how did you end up on Cyber Tracks, and what have they been like to work with so far? I have been friends with NOFX for many years, and have also looked up to them. When my exit from Yellowcard happened in early March, I linked up with El Hefe from NOFX, and his wife, Jen Abeyta, who own and run Cyber Tracks. I expressed to them that I wanted to form a new band, record, release a record and start touring. They believed in me and what I was trying to create and helped me put this band together. They have been the best to work with, like family.
So, how did you get to the album title, "It's In The Streets" and what does it mean to you guys? "It's In The Streets" stands for acknowledging our surroundings in life and not forgetting about people in need. It really means a lot to us.
Can you tell us about the themes and influences that run throughout "It's In The Streets"? "It's In The Streets" has got a lot of influence in the songs. We all grew up listening to bands like Lagwagon, Pennywise, NOFX, Bad Religion, Ten Foot Pole, Pearl Jam, Pantera, Foo Fighters and Miles Davis. When writing this record, we all added our influences into these songs. The theme for our record is happiness, positivity and moving forward in life.
What do you want this album to do for the "status" and representation of This Legend? We want our music to be heard everywhere, and to create positive energy for our fans and guidance in life, and bring happiness to the world. We want to be able to tour the world and gain fans and take them on our musical journey.
What can we expect to see from This Legend, as we enter 2015? We are planning to stay on the road, introducing our fans to This Legend and continuing to write new music, doing what we do best.
How did Warped Tour go, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? Warped Tour was amazing. It was always a dream of ours to be a part of it. We made so many friends. A personal highlight was opening the main stage. We got bumped up from the Kevin Says stage to the main stage six times and it was insane. I don't think we've ever played to as many people as the main stage shows. It was truly an honor.
It's safe to say that you guys have got a lot of exposure with the success of your latest album 'The Finer Things' so how rewarding has this been for you, and why do you think it is that fans relate so well to State Champs? It's been extremely rewarding. When you put so much of yourself into something, it's nice to get so much back. I think people related to SC because we're just five normal guys singing about normal people stuff. No heavy themes or concepts. We go through the same crap everyone else does. We just put it into song!
How did the idea for 'The Acoustic Things' come about, and what can you tell us about this release? The idea came about pretty naturally. We all love when bands put out acoustic records so we thought we should do as our favorite bands growing up did and release one. It's a seven track acoustic EP; five songs from The Finer Things and two brand new songs.
What was the recording process like for this release, I mean, to actually strip these songs down, and then of course re-record them? It was fun! Derek and I got together and just went over all of the songs picking which would sound best acoustic and then translating them from electric songs to acoustic songs.
If you guys could support anyone on the scene at the minute then who would it be, and why? Support as in tour? I'd love to support a band like 5SOS or All Time Low because they have such fun songs. I feel like touring with one of them would be a big party.
You guys have been touring like crazy this year, so what do you think you'll do with any free time that you get, maybe towards the end of the year/start of 2015? Hang out with our friends and family. Probably just kick it low key and rest up! We'll probably also write some songs too.
What bands have been an influence on you guys since your formation, and why? Fall Out Boy has always been a huge influence. Primarily because of how they're always evolving as a band.
Can you give us one or two of your biggest moments since the formation of State Champs? One big moment was releasing our first full length record and landing on the Billboard top 200. That was very cool. A second moment would have to be the amount of traveling we did this year. We played music in 14 different countries and that is so sick.
What's it like to now be a big part of the Pop Punk 'scene' and how would you say this genre has progressed since you started out? It's very cool. Being part of something so massive is fun. The genre hasn't progressed much, in my opinion.
What can we expect to see from State Champs as we head towards 2015? New music and lots of touring.
What has it been like to now become a four piece band? It feels fine, everyone's in good spirits; we have our long time friend Brandon Wark filling in on guitar, and PJ and Torre sing a lot more live and on recording. Still feels like Transit to us in every way.
What made you want to release 'Rest To Get Better' first, and can you tell us a bit about the narrative behind the track? Rest To Get Better just felt like it best portrayed the record as a whole. We write all our albums like mixtapes/playlists so it’s extremely difficult for us to pick singles. We all listen to so many different genres of music, I think that’s revealed itself over the years. I hate giving away song meanings, as every person listening interprets a song in their own personal way. To me this song is about how it makes you feel, the people you’re with when you first hear it and all the tiny pictures that play inside your mind when you follow along with the lyrics. I spent a lot of nights not sleeping, and writing into the morning to make sure every sentence and syllable on this album had a home. The lyrics of Rest to Get Better were written after a strange dream I had about waking up and seeing myself in the distance sleeping in random places, in Salem Massachusetts, the same town I first discovered underground music about 12 years ago.
How did you guys get to the album title Joyride, and what does it mean to you? Joyride means enjoy your life. Quit dwelling on all the petty bullshit life throws at you. I heard someone once say “stress and pain are just as much a part of this world as everything else, and without them we wouldn't have anything.” The most important thing I’ve found is to enjoy your life, discover who you truly are, never give a single second of your time to people who want to bring you down. They’re most likely miserable, leave them alone, surround yourself with positive people, work on dropping any bad habits, because they’re like fishing lines, you can steer away from negative people all you want but until you “cut the lines” and change the part of yourself that attracts them in the first place, you’ll never really be free of them.
Can you tell us about the themes and influences that run throughout Joyride? My life much like everybody else's, has it’s ups and its downs. Lyrically I’ve always tried to just do my own thing, I don’t really think about anything else besides trying to find a piece of who I am along the way. The song themes tend to reveal themselves to me over time. As far as influences go, bands and artists that mean a lot to me, I really like the band Lifetime from New Jersey, Silent Majority, The Replacements, Tom Petty, The Roots, Deftones, Jet’s To Brazil, I like a lot of hip hop too; Brother Ali, Big Daddy Kane, Atmosphere, Big L, Jedi Mind Tricks, Wu-Tang. For Metal/Grind I’m into Between the Buried and Me, Converge, Pig Destroyer, Burning Love, and The Red Chord. I’m sort of all over the place when it comes to the music I listen to.
Can you tell us about the recording process for this record? Joyride was recorded at Maximum Sound in Danvers Massachusetts with Gary Cioffi who produced a previous album of ours “Listen & Forgive” we recorded everything between the months of December (2013) to July (2014) in-between touring cycles. Everything was performed and recored by us at Maximum Sound, with the exception of our friend Erik Leva laying down some piano tracks on “Loneliness Burns” and “Follow Me” at a separate studio called “The Record Company” in Boston Massachusetts. The recording process this time around was much more fluid than our previous album Young New England. It was just us in a room feeling out the songs and demos slow and steady. Nothing was rushed, and nothing felt forced. It was probably the most fun we’ve ever had as a band in years, the time of year the demos were written plus the span of a time we had in the studio seemed to line up pretty nicely. It’s safe to say Joyride is our favorite Transit record by a landslide.
What would you say is different or has been done differently compared to past efforts? We stepped out of the box more, experimented more, used our time a little more constructively, and we just gave it everything we had.
The music scene and how it runs has changed a lot since 2006. There’s a lot more focus on social networks and legal downloads. Do you feel this has hindered the music industry or enhanced it in what artists can do and how they get heard? Social networks definitely help keep everyone more engaged and up to date with what a band is up to, For us it just helps to make everything a little bit more convenient. When I was younger illegal downloading seemed to be a much bigger topic at the time, some bands encourage buying music instead of downloading, others don’t seem to mind, I feel it’s really up to artists to adapt, if you don’t stay current with the way the industry keeps changing then there's a chance your band might get left behind.
How would you say the sound and musical direction of Transit has progressed? Writing techniques have changed, the ability to write has changed, we’re always trying to keep things fresh and relevant to ourselves, never trying to write the same songs over and over again.
What can we expect to see from Transit as we enter 2015? A lot more touring, and even though we just put out a new record we’re always writing, so who knows.. possibly some more new music!
The last time we spoke to you, you were about to release the new record, so how has the feedback been so far, and what new songs are you really enjoying performing live? The feedback has been strong and overwhelmingly positive. Collectively I feel like our fans enjoyed COPE as the hard-hitting beast that it was. It feels like our fans trust us now in our content and our desire to give them something worthwhile. COPE and Top Notch have been really fun to present live. Those songs were written in a live setting, so being able to have a huge PA behind us pushing those songs out is a really good feeling to have.
You've just rounded off your American tour, so how was that experience for you guys, and are you seeing a gradual but impressive rise in supporters like you are seeing over here? Yeah, our band has always been about the slow and steady. We’re not really all about the ‘flash in the pan’ mentality. We like what we do and we’d like to do this for the rest of our lives. Our numbers keep growing and more people seem to enjoy what we do so we feel very satisfied in that.
Okay, so what can you tell us about 'Hope' we hear it's sort of a stripped down version of 'Cope'? The word that keeps getting thrown around HOPE is “reimagining”. It’s not ‘stripped down’ per se, it’s more like if COPE was made in a softer world. There are a lot of string arrangements and key parts in place of the heavy jagged guitars that built COPE
How did this idea come about, and what's it been like to work on in the studio? As we've also read that you've been changing the lyrics around? Our band really likes to work. HOPE was a labor of love and a fun idea that meant that we had an excuse to spend time together and put a new body of work out there for people who have supported our band for so long. The lyrical changes give the record it’s own voice, almost a separation from COPE, allowing it to breathe on its own and bring focus to the lyrical content of both records.
Touring wise, we've read that you want to take it to churches and things like that? Will it be exclusively songs from 'Cope' or would you like to bring some older songs into the set as well? We’ll be able to play a full gamut of songs since the whole band will be out on the tour. We haven’t sat down and put together a solid set list yet, but I’m sure there will be many variations on “the hits” as well as songs from HOPE
So how do you go about choosing the songs to play from a new album and how do you go about making them work alongside the older songs? We spend a lot of time on our set lists. It’s just a thing that happens; Certain songs get played and others don’t depending on how they fit into the mold of what we’ve already created as a live show through other tours. That and you have certain songs that you feel need to see the light of day in a live setting i.e. singles, standout tracks. In an ideal world we could just play each new record start to finish, but we’ll save that for a reunion tour or some shit when we’re old.
How do you spend your show free days when you're out on the road for a long haul? We usually just try and find a good place to eat and a movie theatre. This summer has been a wash when it comes to movies, but let’s hope (pun intended) this fall has better things in store.
What else can we expect to see from Manchester Orchestra in 2014? More guitars and more hard work. We’re out to perform and we’re going to do everything we can to continue to show up for people who want to see us play.
You recently performed on an iceberg in the Greenland Sea, so how did this opportunity come about, and what was this whole experience like for you? J채ger had this wild idea of getting one of their bands in their roster to play the first ever gig on a rotating iceberg in Greenland. The fact that we were their first choice was quite an honor and privilege. I'm pretty sure nothing can compare to that sort of experience. Hell, I'd do it all over again if I could!
Touring wise, what else have the band been up to this year, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? This year has been quite a trip, starting It off with a UK headline tour , then straight after we went down to Australia to play the Soundwave shows & right after we supported Motionless In White on their US tour. Besides losing our minds in Greenland I have to say opening the main stage at sonisphere was quite a highlight for us, it was definitely a step up.
What songs have you really been enjoying performing live of this record the most, and why? It used to be 'sleeper' but after our iceberg trip 'as I drown' holds the title now. Playing it now just brings me back to that berg'
Have you guys started work on any new material just yet? If so, can you tell us a bit about how it's coming along, as well as what your fans can expect from it? It's Definitely going to sound different rather than repeating the same formula from the last albums. We can't really give much away but It's going to sound bigger & louder.
How would you say the metal scene in the UK has changed or progressed since you first started out? Overall It’s nice to see that people are a lot more open minded in regards to different approaches & thinking outside of the box in the metal scene, the way it should be.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what can attending fans expect? Very excited! It’s going to be an all new show with some surprises, it’s going to be a great time. Can't wait to see the response.
What else can we expect to see from The Defiled as we enter 2015? Right now we are focusing on just working on the new material and more touring!
How did Dan Brown become a part of The Amity Affliction, and what has he been like to work with on your latest release 'Let the Ocean Take Me'? I’ve known Dan since before Parkway Drive were even a band, which is pretty wild, and we’ve always been in touch over the years. Ahren and I actually wanted to get Dan in instead of Imran filling in a while ago, but Troy didn’t want that at the time. When we decided to part ways with Imran, Troy decided it was a good time for Dan to join, and not long after we asked him if he wanted to be a permanent member. Ahren and Dan wrote 99% of the music on LTOTM, so having Dan on board has been awesome, he’s brought a rad dynamic to our band.
How did you guys get to the album title 'Let the Ocean Take Me' and what does it mean to you? It’s a personal term for me, and it’s a line from Don’t Lean On Me. It’s basically me saying ‘let me find my peace of mind…’ I live near the ocean, and that is a great place for me to get away and forget everything, so to speak.
What was the hardest part about putting together this record for you guys, and why? This is album number four for us, so it’s not really hard anymore, it’s our job, and it’s what we spend our time doing for the whole year, so it was just a new experience having Dan obviously!
The artwork for 'Let the Ocean Take Me' is really unique, can you tell us about how it came together, as well as what it means to you? We had Pat Fox work on it, he’s pretty much the Australian version of Invisible Creature, in my opinion he’s probably surpassed them in many ways now, especially with how he deals with his clients. We came up with a basic idea and then tasked Pat with making it work. He managed to work with another friend of ours Hartley, and those guys nailed it. The artwork deals directly with the emotions in the lyrics, it’s the visual representation of my words.
How did you end up working with Will Putney and what was he like to work with? We’ve actually worked with Will on each record since Youngbloods, so we just decided to give him the reigns for once, and he nailed it. We’re going to be working with him exclusively in the foreseeable future.
'Let the Ocean Take Me' was the second album to hit number one in the ARIA Charts, so how rewarding is that for you guys, to just be so well established in your home country? Feels good man!
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what can attending fans expect? The same as home, just in a more intimate setting. We love playing shows, so it’s going to be a riot!
Also, can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road in the UK over the years? We love the UK, it’s hard really to pinpoint anything in particular, although the last time we played London was fucking insane, we can’t wait to get back there!
What else can we expect to see from The Amity Affliction as we enter 2015? You’ll be seeing a lot more of us… Party on.
How happy have you been with the response to your first single ‘Sick Like Me’ and can you tell us a bit about the narrative behind the track? We are totally happy with the response we've gotten from the song, I think it's a great song to introduce people to our new record. The idea behind the song was that there are certain sides of everybody that we are know are sick, and not right, things that we think or feel. It's about embracing that part of yourself, and with somebody that you love, and know is 'sick' and vice versa, you know...so sick like me!
What can fans expect from the new album ? I think fans can expect a completely shocking and original new album from us. It's going to have that same sonic power of Blood and our previous releases, it's very heavy and I think we're going to get a lot of response from it both positive and negative, which is awesome either way as we want people to be stimulated by this album.
Can you elaborate on the themes and influences that run throughout the record? I think we always go in there with a loose concept of an idea that we want for a record, Black Widow is Maria letting go of her fear and not being afraid to embrace the crazy parts of herself. For me it's a symbol of power, as in this creature the Black Widow that takes in the mate and kills him, and in a slightly different way I imagine Maria doing this with our fans.
How would you say this album differs from your previous releases; I read that you wanted to replicate the magic of the last album, “Blood” but just make it bigger and better? Yeah, that's defiantly what we wanted to do. Once you hear it you're going to hear instantly how it differs, it's definitely exploring new territory. The single Sick Like Me is one of the less adventurous songs, and even though it's different for us, it's still not as crazy as the rest of the album.
Following on from that, what was the recording and writing process like for the album? It was like we did for Blood, we wanted to do the same kind of formula to try and capture some of that magic. So it was basically Maria, Kevin and I in the studio going with an idea, even a little guitar riff or a vocal idea and starting a whole song from scratch that way in the studio, one song at a time. So it was a really cool way to do the album, and this process overall.
The artwork for the album is very dark yet beautiful, can you tell us who came up with the concept and the design, as well as how it all came together? We had an idea from going in, as to what we wanted the album cover to be like. So during photo shoots we were taking pictures to try and capture that look, and it ended up being something just completely different which spawned from a great picture. Maria definitely has a huge hand in the concept, and the way everything looks, obviously it's a picture of her on the album, so she's certainly had her input on how it's supposed to look. She's worked really hard with the packaging designer to get a dark and twisted layout for the CD. We defiantly want people to want to buy the CD and want to see the artwork.
How excited are you to embark on your headline tour at the end of the month, and what new songs can't you wait to play live? We are really, really excited for the tour. We ended the last cycle on a headline tour, and we're starting this new run on a headlining tour. We are bringing out massive production, and upping what we've done in the past in a huge way. It's a big show, we are playing about four or five new songs. We are really stoked to play them, and they are sounding really good. I think people are going to be really happy about this new show!
Your live shows have a great production to them, so how do you go about putting them together? It's a combination of mine and Marias ideas, and us just trying to find a happy middle ground. She really goes running to races with this stuff, she comes up with all of the outfits that she's wearing, and the dancers are wearing, and she works really hard to choreograph really cool things for her to do with the dancers. We work on the staging and production together, and I just think that people are going to be very excited to see it.
This year you signed with Atlantic Records, so how did you end up joining them, and what have they been like to work with so far? We finished our contract with Century Media at the end of our last album cycle, and we were up for a new one. We were working with a great management company that have a great relationship with Atlantic Records, and Atlantic had expressed interested in In This Moment. We met with them a few times and really liked them and what they were offering. We really wanted to take In This Moment to another place, Atlantic Records have such a world wide presence, so we felt that with that team behind us then we could really do the things that we've always wanted to do. So far it's been amazing to work with them, they haven't meddled with our music at all, so I think they signed us knowing what they wanted to get from us, and just knew what we were. We recorded our album the way we always did it with no outside influences from them. They were really happy with everything and they were really supportive of the whole vision and we are really, really excited to see how far it goes.
As we draw near to the end of the year, then can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time as In This Moment this year? The highlight this year would be getting this fifth album underway with Atlantic Records, and just achieving that whole process. It was kind of a rocky start, so hearing it finished, and being out on a major tour for it would make this a highlight.
What plans have In This Moment got for 2015? Tour tour tour, we are going to come to Europe the US, worldwide, and just grow this thing as big as we can.
For those that don't know, how did Kristen May end up becoming your new lead singer? If miracles are all about timing then I think this qualifies. Our former singer quit just as Kristen's band broke up. It seems that we were destined to fall into each other's lives.
Just as 'New Horizons' was released, you announced that Kristen May was your new lead singer, so what was this experience like for you at the time, were you maybe worried about how fans would react? Kristen joining Flyleaf was a God-send. A weight had lifted off of our chests. As far as how we thought the fans would react, we understood that human beings are creatures of habit and are prone to resist change, but we knew deep down that there was something special in the music we were making and the lyrics we were writing.
So you used PledgeMusic to support your latest record 'Between the Stars', how did this idea come about and what was that whole experience like for you? I can't remember what venue it was where we met Jayce Varden and other members of the PledgeMusic team. I do remember that we were on tour with POD in 2013. Jayce explained to us how PledgeMusic was meant to connect us with our fans in a more personal way than any of the other music-fundraising-campaign movements out there. He was right. Among the many experiences with PledgeMusic, I'll always remember the Studio Hang we had at Capitol Records in Studio A, and how grateful folks were to receive the hand-knitted items from Kristen and artwork from Pat.
Without a record label at the time, and with this being the first record to feature Kristen May, then how would you say the writing and record process compares overall to what you've done previously as Flyleaf? Songwriting for Between the Stars felt free and uninhibited. Kristen is such a pleasure to have as a band mate. She has such a light spirit and a joyful heart, and the girl can sing like I can't believe.
How did you end up becoming a part of Loud & Proud Records, and what have they been like to work with so far? We met Tom Lipsky at SXSW and it felt like when we had met Kristen. We were all immediately family. Working with Loud & Proud Records has been an easy and fun experience. Tom and his ever evolving team are all so brilliant and truly love music and artists.
How did you get to the album title 'Between the Stars' and what does it mean to you? The album title Between the Stars comes from a lyric from the second track on the album, Magnetic. For me, the stars represent us individuals, and the space between the stars represent the ever-changing dynamic of our relationships with each other.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout 'Between the Stars'? There are many themes that pervade Between the Stars. Love, loss, surrender, and hope. Life will teach you lessons in the most painful ways. It will rip your heart out, rub it in the dirt, pump it full of life, and painfully squeeze it back into your chest. The scar that's left is evidence that there's a beautiful story to be told.
How did you end up working with Don Gilmore and what was he like to work with? We talked to a few producers that we were fans of, and Don was most excited about working with us. Plus, his discography contains many albums I loved as a teen.
Can you tell us about how the artwork for 'Between the Stars' came together, as well as what it means to you? A brilliant graphic designer named Douglas Hale, from the band Air Review, did the artwork for Between the Stars. We asked him to listen to the songs and create whatever he felt. For me, with the colorful flowers growing out of a seemingly grey dead figure, it symbolizes life out of death.
What else can we expect to see from Flyleaf in 2014? Tour, tour, tour. Home for the holidays.
What made you want to release ‘You’ve Got A Bad Case of The Religions’ first from 'Chapter and Verse' and how happy have you been with the response to the track so far? Well, we had a brief discussion about it and we figured it was a pretty good transitory song that kind of bridges the gap from the last record to where we are now. I’m pretty pleased with how it’s been doing, we didn’t give it a major push or anything so as far as I’m concerned, I’m stoked.
Discussing the track you've said that you can 'never trust something you can’t see with your own eyes'. So with this in mind can you elaborate on the overall narrative and meaning behind the track? To put it bluntly, the song is about my views on following a particular religious set of beliefs, the ideology behind it and the idea of faith. It’s very personal to me as I’ve had a love/hate relationship with religion all of my life and I’m not ashamed of that. I think it’s good to question the things around you, the reasonings, the worth of it all and what it brings to your life. I’m still questioning but I’m pretty sure I’m in the ‘it’s not for me’ camp now.
How did you guys get to the album title 'Chapter and Verse' and what does it mean to you? It’s the line from ‘Religions’ about living a strictly ‘choreographed’ life in terms of how you embrace it and what you’re open too. For me it’s a matter of letting go.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout the record? Everything really! I’m still growing as an individual, still learning and figuring things out and that’s always where I pull my lyrics and observations from so for me this record is another road on a long map of content that I’ve been wading through since I started writing songs.
What was the hardest part about putting together 'Chapter and Verse' for you guys, and why? Probably the three weeks that we ended up having to get the songs together. We had a ton of ideas but, like always, we left it until the very last minute to jam them out and get them into the final versions of the songs on the record. We had one track (Donny) recorded back in September 2013 just before we headed out on tour with Gnarwolves so we had a rough idea of where things were headed but it wasn’t until the last week before we headed into the studio that we were really sure about it all.
How did you end up working with Lewis Johns and what was he like to work with? We’ve been friends with Lewis for a while and I had met him a bunch of times hanging out with Goodtime Boys. I was really into his old band The Long Haul and the records he’d recorded were just really impressive to me. I think what convinced me the most was the second EP he recorded by our German brothers The Tidal Sleep. He did that in like two days and it sounded amazing so based on that I was pretty keen. Lewis was so easy to work with and as a musician and song writer it was like the communication was effortless, he had some cool little ideas and we’d go with the flow. He was super keen to make a really organic record and we bonded over our shared love of hardcore, punk and classic emo bands. He 100% got the vibe of the record we wanted to make.
With every record you guys always do something unique, so for you how would you say the sound on this record compares overall to what you've done before? I don’t think it’s like anything we’ve done in a sonic sense. It’s incredibly loose, aggressive sounding and I think some people might take some time to work that out. It’s not a metal record (thankfully!), it’s a very live and organic record. It goes with the flow.
Can you tell us about how the artwork for this record came together, as well as what it means to you? I was really happy to be working with my amazing friend Patrick Galvin on this. We met in Melbourne after I bought a record from him and we hit it off. He’d done a bunch of merch designs for us and I figured he’d be great for the actual album. I told him I wanted something that was a scrapbook of emotional wreckage and he really pulled that off. His photography is amazing and his little illustrated touches are just the icing on the cake, I can’t wait for people to see the final thing.
Looking back on 'Conduit' how happy are you with this record still, and what do you think it has done for the 'status' and representation of Funeral For A Friend? I’m pretty happy with it, it’s an angry record because we were really angry at the time. A lot of shitty circumstances etc. I think it made people take a stance on the band a bit. Sometimes I felt that people just wrote us off and Conduit really made people take some notice again. I know people like it and I know people hate it but there’s nothing you can do about that as a band. I like 90% of it.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what can attending fans expect? I’m always excited to be playing shows, it’s pretty much the best thing about being in a band for me. We have an awesome line-up and we’re going to be playing a whole bunch of the new record so people better learn the words fast.
What else can we expect to see from Funeral For A Friend as we enter 2015? Touring, touring and touring.
So you’ve just finished the long US tour with The Used and Frank Iero, how did that go, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? We had a great time. Both The Used and Frank are old friends. We were lucky to share a stage with them. I really enjoyed watching them play every night.
You get a break up until November, how do Taking Back Sunday relax in their down time? We all enjoy spending time with our families.
Is there ever a point on tour where you just think ‘Not today, I just want to go home and be with my family'? We all experience that frequently. The down time on tour is the worst for missing family. The hour plus we get to play every night makes it all worthwhile. When we are on that stage, there is no place we would rather be.
You’re coming back to the UK in December, we love seeing you here, so how excited are you for that, and what can attending fans expect from the show? We can't wait to be back in the UK! It has been too long since we did a proper tour. Our shows are always a party. We hope that people can come and sing along with us and forget about the stresses of real life for awhile.
A lot of people and critics seem to say that Happiness Is... is your most mature album to date, so for you guys looking back on the release of this album now, then how would you say you feel about it? I think it's just a natural progression for us. We may not always behave like it, but we are all adults with our own families. I think Happiness Is showcases that. However songs like Stood a Chance, and Like You Do are really fun peppy little numbers.
What songs are you enjoying performing live the most of Happiness Is at the moment and why? I really like playing Better Homes and Gardens and Flicker, Fade. I think people really respond to those.
This is the second album recorded with the original lineup. So with that in mind, what is it like to now be cemented in this original line up? We all feel pretty good, but we felt that way from the start. We knew that if this thing didn't work with the five of us it would probably be the end of Taking Back Sunday. Fortunately it did work and I think we are starting to do some of the best work of our career.
What else can we expect to see from Taking Back Sunday as we enter 2015? A lot more touring.
You guys have been non-stop so what's it like to now have a little bit of a break? It's great. It's not so much a break as it is a shift in gears. We're always doing something, at the moment we are in the creative process for the new album, but it’s nice to be home for more than a week or so at a time for once!
You guys were on the Warped Tour this year, so what was that like for you, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? It was great for us. The shows were awesome, it’s so well run you'd have to work pretty hard to find fault in it. Personal highlight for me was getting KO's by Jia while we were playing football (soccer). I was out cold for a minute, and then had to play a set 20 minutes later. Not sure how I managed that one but I was expecting to pass out on stage and go head first into the barrier. Luckily that didn't eventuate. Good story though!
Looking back on the release of Atlas, how happy are you guys with this record still? Yeah for sure. I think as a band we are pretty good at seeing albums for what they are, which is a snapshot of where we were at creatively at certain points in time. There are things we feel we would do differently, but that’s hindsight, and that’s what happens when you grow as people. We're stoked with Atlas. The songs are the strongest we had put together, and the shows we have played on the back of them have been by FAR the biggest of our career, especially on a worldwide scale rather than just at home in Australia. Having four solid albums under our belt has definitely helped take the pressure of as well, I think people have come to realise that we're here to stay, and we're here to do it our way and no one else's.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what can attending fans expect? Sooooooo siked. We haven't headlined in the UK since the Atlas launch tour, which was completely bonkers, and since then we've been able to play an amazing set at Download 2013, which felt like another step forward for us. We're really trying to step things up as a band. we've been doing this for 10 years, and the fact that shows keep getting better has made us realise it’s time for us to give more in the live environment. So far we've been doing it the way we always have, pretty much no frills, full throttle, which has worked really well but we think there is room for us to do more with the live side of things, as well as the recorded side. Hopefully this tour is the start of that.
Also, can you give us a couple of personal highlights from performing here over the years? Oh man, where to start. Sonisphere, Download, sweaty Underworld in London?! there are too many. You know what, what I will never forget is our first ever tour in the UK with Shaped By Fate. We had no money, no clue, and if it wasn't for the SBF guys booking the whole tour we would never have even made it over. We spent the whole tour driving ourselves and our gear, and our merch, and our fat merch guy up and down the length of the UK. The shows ranged from amazing, to weird, to dangerous. Our first ever gig was on the 3rd story of a building which was missing half the wall behind the stage. We had no places lined up to stay so we purchased sleeping bags and slept on the side of sidewalks or if we were lucky, at some nice fans houses. Pie and I slept in a cupboard one night.
You released the 10 years of Parkway Drive book last year, so how did that idea come about, and what's the feedback been like so far to this unique release? I'm pretty sure it was our friend Callum Preston's idea. He's the one that made the whole book, he's also responsible for a lot of our artwork, including the Atlas album art. We had compiled a lot of stuff over the years, as you can see from the contents of the book, we just didn't really know what to do with it, so Callum stepped up and knocked it out of the park. It was a gamble for us because it been the only project that we had to completely rely on the creative vision of someone outside of the band. We had no idea and no skills for it so we were really lucky and really thankful to Callum for going above and beyond on the project. The reception has been amazing. I don't think people knew what to expect when we first announced it, mainly I don't think they expected it to be an actual book ha, not just a hand full of shots scribbled into a magazine type format. We went over every detail and tried to fill it with as much content as possible, and it seems like people have really appreciated it.
When you started out did you ever see the band lasting ten years, and for you personally how rewarding has it been to reach this anniversary? Nope, we all thought five years max. It’s been really rewarding to last this long, but at the same time it still feels so fresh. It’s been great, time has flown by and we haven't taken a backwards step. All this is thanks to the fans, and we know it so to all those reading this, thank you, you keep the wheels turning.
How did you get involved with The Ocean Talk project, and what was that whole experience like for you? Darius and I used to surf together from time to time when he lived in Byron, then we all grew up and he moved away. Some time ago Caleb, the videographer approached me after a surf about doing the project. I had been having similar thoughts as well which was great because It meant the project was actually possible. I've always known and felt the connection between the the two facets of my life so capturing and linking both in such a unique way was an amazing opportunity and both Darius and Caleb nailed it.
What can we expect to see from Parkway Drive as we enter 2015? New music, more tours, more crazy stuff, maybe some grey hairs?
What do Parkway Drive want for Christmas this year? A dinosaur!
How do Asking Alexandria prepare for a tour? To be honest we don't really, we tour so much and so constant that the songs are almost muscle memory to us now so you don't tend to practise much. Every time we turn up to practise we'll play once through and say “yeah, it's still the same as we when we played it a few weeks ago on the other tour”. So, we just tend to try and relax a little bit before we head back out on the road, I've been at home wearing nothing but pyjamas for the last few weeks.
What is a typical day for the band on the road? There's two different days that can happen, either you get woken up really early and you're hungover and groggy so you're grumpy, you have to do press all day, then you go on stage, you get off stage, you get drunk. The next day, there's no press so you don't have to wake up until five minutes before you go on stage, maybe you're still a little bit drunk, top yourself up and you're all good to go. Come off stage, you get drunk and hopefully the next day is not one of those press days and you can sleep in again!
From Death to Destiny has been out for over a year now, how do you feel looking back at the album and what it's done for the band over this time? I'm still completely in love with the album, I'm very proud of it. It was quite a big move for us stylisticly, a lot of people said you're nuts, it's going to kill you, a lot of bands have tried this like, Atreyu or 18visions and they end up losing the core fan-base and that's it for them so it was quite scary when we were writing it but we never wanted to be one of those trend bands that caters to the current trend so you're guaranteed to sell X number of records. We've come to realise that we've gained a very, very loyal fan-base for which we're very, very lucky so despite it being such a direction change, most of our fans actually embraced it and said that's awesome, it's nice to see that they are trying new things and growing up, our fan-base has grown with us. The nice thing is that while some people said, “nah screw this, I miss the old AA”, for every fan that left, we've gained at least three more fans with the new direction, with the people now saying “I didn't used to like them but they've grown up and I much prefer their new stuff”
What has been the highlight of this cycle for you? There's been a lot of highlights, this cycle has probably been the best of any of the previous ones. We got to play Wembley, which is incredible, main stage – Download which is incredible, we got to go to the Philippines for the very first time ever, we were co-headlining and there was 25,000 people there to see us which was unbelievable. I think the highlight has been watching the band grow, especially with all the sceptics before the album came out saying “oh no, it’s a risky move” and to see the risk has paid off. Watching the band grow has been incredible.
You seem to have formed a pattern of releasing an album every two years, can we expect to see a new album next year? Yeah, funnily enough we're sticking to the pattern I guess. We've already started writing the next one and we go into the studio in January I believe and hoping for a summer release.
And can we expect the same relentless touring to support it? Oh yeah, I think it'll be our busiest album cycle yet. We're going to go whole hearted on the next record and not rest until it kills us pretty much.
The band feels like its been around for a lot longer than it has but it's only around six years, do you ever have to pinch yourself when you think of how far the band has come in such a short time? It's not just pinching myself, it's remembering that we've only been around for such a short period of time because we have come such a long way and you have to remain humble and not let it get to your head because that's when shit starts to slip and you lose your footing, turn into an arse hole and your mum tells you off. It's crazy, I remember it like it was yesterday that we started and we were coming up. We would open up these small club tours in front of 20 people, on a good night maybe 50 and being the baby band with all these older bands being like “oh man, this new band is coming up and they're going to overtake us, what's going to happen” but now I feel like we're the old band, which we're not, as you said we've only been about six years but there's so many bands coming up all the time. I can already see a new wave of younger bands coming up but rather than let that swallow us like it did for a lot of bands when we came up, we're embracing it. We're making sure that with these young amazing bands coming out, we just have to be better and release albums that are getting better and better each time.
With that way of thinking, going from being the baby band looking up at the bench mark, does it change anything going forward now that you guys are arguably now the bench mark? Sort of, I know a few bands that have come up to us and said that we've influenced them, inspired them and they wouldn't be a band without us, which is awesome, it's amazing and I love that but I never look at myself that way because now, we have new benchmarks to reach. Now we're touring with bigger bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Slipknot so it's switched without us even knowing, they're now our benchmarks. We're looking up to these bands now like some younger bands are looking up to us so we're always looking forward, trying to bigger and better ourselves. For instance Avenged Sevenfold, we've toured a lot with them now and we really look up to them, they've been really good and taken us under their wing, given us a lot of advice so you just have to keep looking onwards and not backwards.
I didn't know until putting this interview together that you were living in Dubai during the bands earliest incarnations, can you tell us what life was like for you there as a musician? It was awesome because I feel like in the U.K there's a lot of animosity between bands. There's local scenes with a lot of competition and people just don't like certain bands. In Dubai with travelling to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the surrounding areas to play, everyone was supportive of everyone because there was nothing else so it was a nice scene to grow up in and watch grow. I remember playing these local shows because there was nothing else at the time and then all of a sudden the next year they had Dubai Desert Rocks Festival and I watched that grow. I think it's over with now but all of a sudden you had the likes of Iron Maiden, Machine Head, Killswitch Engage, Megadeth, it was like Jesus, I never thought I'd live to see the day that happened.
What was it like to be on TV for the Ultimate Warrior!? Oh yes, it was horrible. It was almost like an intervention, it wasn't really planned to go on T.V etc, it was more our label seeing us slipping and getting drunker and drunker every day, so they were like “shit, these are young kids, they are going to fucking die” which is not a good path to go down for anyone so Ash (owner of Sumerian Records) was big into wrestling and he said about this guy The Ultimate Warrior, we were like “who?” and he told us about him and told us he wanted to do a show with us. He's going to push you to your limits and see if the alcohol is affecting you and we said “of course it’s not, bring it on” kind of thing. We got there and Danny and I have bottles in our hands and we're hungover and he kicked our arse. The guy was intense like really intense and we ended up vomiting and being miserable but it did help, we took a lot on board from it. He did get quite serious with us, he really did. I remember sitting there in that gym (Rise Above Fitness, owned by former Bleeding Through vocalist Brendan Schieppati) having a talk with him and it really hit home. Then he died, insane.
Although you've already part answered earlier, what plans does Asking Alexandria have going in to 2015? We are going to take a lot longer on this album than we ever have before, we've already started booking tours that start in June of 2015 so once June hits the album will be coming out and then it's just full steam ahead, world wide touring until we decide to make another record.
The seventh album is out now, how does it feel when an album is finally out for people to hear and digest? This record in particular, the anticipation to get it out and into the world was at an all time high. It felt like forever we were waiting to get it out there so honestly, it's a big weight of the shoulders to know that it's out there now and that you did the best you could, we're really proud of the record. Nowadays in 2014, the record release date isn't quite as special as it was when I was a kid, going to a record store, finding it on release day. There's been exclusive streams weeks before, you have to release three or four songs off it with pre-orders and stuff like that. So, we were sort of engaging the reaction to the record and the songs long before the actual release date but it's still exciting none the less. It's the first day in a chapter for the band, a new journey so it's really exciting.
The release day comment catches me, do you think for the younger generation who don't know any different are missing out on the excitement and anticipation of an album coming and going to a record store and physically buy it? I think yes, just from my experience as a kid because I'm not living it now, I don't know what that experience is like as a young person getting music today. I think our record is a good example of where I do wish it was the way it used to be, excitement building up to release day and then you hear the whole record, minus the one single you'd put out. I've known a lot of people that after reading their comments online were not going to get on board with our new record based on how songs sounded, it's fair to say this record is heading in quite a new direction for Yellowcard but releasing one song at a time I think, some people were taken aback and some people were turned off by how different the songs were. Now I can see people saying “wow, now that I've heard the record all the way though, it makes so much more sense and these songs are amazing when you put them all together�. I think that a lot of people make records that way so that the album is made to be listened to as an album and not from disjointed previews. I'm biased, I'm old school but hey, it is 2014 and it's adapt or die. You got to roll with the times.
What does the title, 'Lift A Sail' mean to you? For me this record is very much about over coming a very difficult challenge in my life and also a lot of it is written from a sort of perspective of my wife. She's going through recovery from a terrible spinal cord injury, that's what we've been dealing with for the last year and a half leading up to the record. That was our life and our life experience so the records very much about moving forward and finding some kind of hope and positivity to get through this experience. To me, just the words 'Lift a Sail' when you say it, it just invokes those feelings of positivity and the word 'lift' just has a natural positive feeling to it. The song is kind of a mission statement for the record I think in itself and a title that is really appropriate lyrically at least to what I was trying to accomplish.
As you said earlier, you're an ‘old school guy', how much has the process of recording an album changed since you joined the band? So much has changed, I wasn't a part of the first two records but they were sort of DIY/high school records. When the singer left the band and I ended up taking over and we did my first record in 2001, that was completely analogue. In this way, I'm actually not all that old school, I don't have a passion for analogue gear, it would be cool to build an analogue studio in the back of your giant house but that's not going to happen to me for quite a while I don't think, bar some kind of miracle with this record! So, I don't really live in that kind of head place when it comes to recording but that said, we did the first independent record all analogue, there were zero pro-tools in that and we were recording in 2000. Now, with 'Lift a Sail', we don't even get in a room to practice songs. Circumstances led, on this record, to where we couldn't. The previous two records, we did have a rehearsal space where we hashed out ideas but even then, we'd hash them out and then head home, fire up the computer and put the demos together. Without even having to mic up the drums or guitars etc, you can create a fully realised sounding demo of how the song is flowing, you spot ideas for when you do actually get in the studio and do the real tracking. This time, with the exit of our long time drummer, previous to recording we just did the second part. We would sit down and get into the session on a computer and just build an idea, all the way from the drums up to the vocal. You really have the ability to demo your record in a way you never could before, that for me, I think has been the biggest change in that I get to live with the songs and they change dramatically by the time Neil, our producer gets them and we're actually recording them, but the idea of being able to explore all these different options recording wise is incredible. That part and new technology doesn't bum me out, I know it's a bit of a long winded answer but you have to be on such a quick time line in 2014. If you stop working or stop making records, although we won't make a record unless we're inspired but we've been fortunate on the last couple of records that we've come off tour had a month off and been inspired. That said, if you don't make a record year after year, people are going to lose interest in your band and they're going to find a new band. The budgets are smaller, the time lines are shorter and new technology that keeps the same level of quality makes a huge difference.
You head out on tour in support of the album, which of the songs do you feel are going to really stand out in a live setting? I think the opening sequence is going to be amazing, we're going to open with 'Convocation' and Sean on the violin. We can't carry an orchestra or a cello or viola player, we don't quite have that kind of budget so we are probably going to add some of the strings as a track setting but we're also, in the States anyway, carrying quite a bit of lighting for the first time in a long time so I think we'll be able to illuminate Sean because it could be awkward with instruments playing that aren't on stage, but we really want to create that intro. As far as running any kind of tracks live, mostly with strings, is that we can't afford to bring string players on the road but they are such a huge part of our music and Sean himself writes and arranges all those strings, we don't have a different composer to come in so we don't feel guilty about having to that track in that way because it’s our music that we created and we wanted it to be a part of the song. That will open the show then going into 'Transmission Home' is just going to be.... I don't know, that song to me is some of the most massive pieces of music we've ever created and live, I think, it's going to be even bigger, more anthemic and create an energy in the room like nothing we've ever experienced.
You've just announced the European tour with Less Than Jake, that must be one you'll be looking forward to getting over here for? Yeah! Less Than Jake back in 2002, I think, was one of our first officially booked tours where you're going to open for a band and you know there's going to be a promoter there, the doors are going to be open, tickets are sold and you're not going to have to go to some fans house and play in their front room because you booked the show yourself online and no one showed. Any time we see those guys you always get that feeling of mentor meeting a student, there's just such a cool relationship. I remember talking to those guys on that tour, learning about touring and how to continue having a career. They were so open and happy to share information, just great dudes and I think it's amazing that 12 years later we're heading out on a co-headline tour playing some massive rooms and two nights in London, it really is amazing and almost full circle. It's great.
You recently posted a playlist on Spotify with songs that have inspired the new album, for anyone who may not have seen it could you talk us through a few stand out songs and why they are there? There are a couple of songs for sure that are specific to the record. 'No Way Back', Foo Fighters, we love Foo Fighters, one of my top five bands of all time but that song was referenced for a very specific reason. The second to last song on Lift A Sail is called 'My Mountain' and in that chorus we wanted the top string, the higher end, to have the same sparkly, jangly sound that Foo Fighters got in the chorus so for that song we reference it for an exact tone and a sound. That is just one example, we realised when we were writing the songs that we were kind of being influenced by a lot of those types of bands. A lot of the 90's alternative rock, whatever you want to call it, those bands were making themselves far more evident as an influence than some of the punk or pop-punk bands that have also inspired us over the years. I put 'Immunity' by John Hopkins on the list, if you listen to Lift A Sail you can hear clearly there's a bit of electronica going on. One thing we wanted to do was create this more massive epic sound and we needed to incorporate more electronic elements than we had before to create depth and layer to the songs sonically. I'm a big John Hopkins fan.
Coldplay are probably my favourite band of all time and Hopkins works really closely with them on the programming side and has ever since they opened Viva La Vida with 'Life In Technicolor' which is actually a John Hopkins song called 'Life through the Veins' and they just took a loop from that and built around it. From listening to John Hopkins I have discovered a lot of artists who are similar to him but that title track from the album Immunity is just so amazing. I've referenced that song so much for our piano that plays throughout Lift A Sail to get that sonic and unique sound for the piano rather than being a straight up mic dry piano. 'Take a Picture' by Filter, we referenced that for sounds but I think when you look at that playlist you can see the diversity of influence. Brian has a Soilwork song on there and while there is nothing metal on the album, you can hear the guitar being a little heavier.
On the theme of Spotify, the way we listen to music has changed immeasurably in the time since Yellowcard formed, how do you feel about the impact mediums like Spotify have had on music? Again, it's adapt or die. The art of getting a record and taking the shrink wrap off if it, coming home, putting it in the C.D player or before my time the record player. You know vinyl is making a huge come back, it's pretty crazy. I'm not a vinyl collector myself but fans are buying vinyl like crazy and listening to their favourite bands on vinyl again, it's pretty wild but it's one of those things, you have to roll with the times. Spotify is getting our music out, all around the world. The thing about it is that you get your first weeks sales numbers next week, if you incorporate all the plays from Spotify in to the sales numbers, you can't change it and they are still going to be what they are but you feel better with the fact the numbers would be astronomically higher if the plays were translated in to a record sale. Our Spotify and Pandora numbers are amazing so you take that new data and you build a new business model around it, you just have to do the best with the tools you are given. So we're trying to take advantage of Spotify and all the things that we can to propel our career and take us to the next level. We're never going to be old school, like we talked about earlier, literally to the point of “oh no, we're not doing that�.
When did you first get into composing & when did you realize that composing was what you wanted to do as a career? Probably when I was a kid playing games on the Commodore 64; I thought composing music for games was about the coolest thing I could think of. I was composing music for my friends and got involved with the Demo Scene in Denmark. A couple of years later I became part owner of a game company with my friends (my role was to write all the music) and so I've been making music full-time since I was 19.
What was your first major project to work on as a composer, and what was that like for you at the time? Actually there were 3 of them and they happened around the same time. MDK2 for Bioware, Hitman for Eidos/Square Enix and Messiah for Interplay. It was a really fun period working on these titles. I started working on them in 1999. After the game company I had formed with my friends folded, I decided to stay in New York and they went back home to start IO Interactive; their first game was Hitman.
What was it like to work on the Hitman series, and how does the music for this game compare to anything else you've done? Well, Hitman was created by my closest friends and that was a special time, to be encouraged to take chances and come up with something new. That’s how good soundtracks happen and that's how you can help define a franchise, with support from the team. There is no way I could have come up with such a unique sound for the Assassin's Creed 2 soundtrack had Patrice and the Ubisoft Assassin's Creed team not been so super supportive and awesome to work with. I think it's true of any composer or project, you can really hear the difference when there is a lot of support for what you do.
How did you end up working on the Assassin's Creed franchise, and what was that whole experience like for you? It was awesome. I first met Patrice Desilets and Jade Raymond at E3 and I knew right away that what they were working on was very ambitious. In fact, I had not seen anything like this before – rendering an entire city to explore and run around in with such depth. No one had ever done that before – the closest thing we had to that at the time was GTA.
So how did you go about composing music for the historical atmosphere that Assassin's Creed is known for? The 4 Assassin's Creed games I worked on were set in different locations and I spent a lot of time researching locations, time periods, what instruments are used where and in what time periods etc. Then I worked on blending these instruments and writing styles with my own more contemporary and modern sounds to come up with something that is hopefully interesting to listen to.
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel was your first synthesizer score since Hitman, so what was that like for you, and how exciting was it to create music for this unique world? I loved working on this score. It's my first true sci-fi score. I have written plenty of sci-fi music for other projects such as Assassin's Creed but here I got to write an entire sci-fi score and I loved it...so much fun. The score was written more as a concept score, meaning I didn't really have access to specific scenes from the game. It was more like, write some music for the moon surface and so I would do that. I love writing music for such scenarios since there is maximum creative freedom involved. If you work with the same material as the art team (concept art etc.) and you have a good sense of what is needed to deepen the experience, exploration tracks will usually benefit from such an approach. Since each person plays the game differently in an openworld it's impossible to predict exactly how people will play the game so a more open-ended musical approach is preferable.
Which genre would you say has been the hardest for you to compose for, and why? That would be the Renaissance-inspired music for Assassin's Creed 2. I knew nothing about music from that period and it took a while to figure it all out. Of course a purely authentic Renaissance score would not keep people engaged and it was always the plan to make it more of a hybrid and modern take on the Renaissance.
Can you run us through the process of just how one segment of music for a game normally comes together? It really depends on what kind of game you are scoring. If it's a first-person game that follows a set path it is possible to have the music timed perfectly with almost everything the player does. For example, the player reaches a certain area, cue ‘welcome to this area music’, then the player reaches another area and the story moves along and so the music follows the story etc. For open-world games we don't always have the benefit knowing exactly when something will happen, since you can go anywhere at any time. For these types of games I feel it's really important to write music that delivers the mood of the world and creating music that will motivate the player to keep exploring. How did you end up working on the show Metal Hurlant Chronicles? I worked with the creators of this series before and it has been great fun to score this show. I am a huge fan of European comics so in a way it's a dream come true to write for these stories.
Also, how does composing music for TV compare to what you would do with video games? Is there much of a difference? There is such a huge difference. In film and TV, the music is designed to enhance the scene and storyline and it moves the movie forward. If the music is good and synched well with the picture, everyone is happy. For games I find that if the music is able to stand on its own it's a huge benefit, since there will be moments in the game where you will clearly hear the music playing without loud sound effects. These moments happen since we don't know exactly how people are going to play the game. It might take someone 30 seconds to reach the top of the building or it might take 2 minutes if you do some additional investigation. So the music needs to be able to accommodate different scenarios of game playing style.
What else can we expect to see from Jesper Kyd in 2014? Some new game titles are on the way as well as more TV!
Can you tell us about the formation of Scylla Records? Scylla was born in 2006 when myself and Ross who I started the label with were having some decent success putting on live shows in High Wycombe with line ups including Enter Shikari, The Blackout, Tonight is Goodbye and Out of Sight. We were talking with Out of Sight after one of our nights and they were telling us about how they were about to fly to New York to record an EP with John Naclerio but didn’t really have a way to get the album released. We were both huge fans of the band and we offered to put the EP out on our label (that at the time didn’t really exist). They agreed, and the rest is history. They went off to New York and came back with the tracks that would get released as our first release, Something Created By Belief.
How did you get to the name Scylla Records, and what does it mean to you? The name is a slightly strange for many reasons. We needed a name pretty quickly, as I have already alluded to, we’d agreed to sign a band to a label that didn’t really exist, so we needed a name pretty quickly. It was actually something that Ross came up with, and it has its origins in Greek mythology, specifically the tale of Scylla and Charybdis. That story is about two sea monsters, Scylla and Charybdis and the need to pass through a small channel between the two. It’s the original quandary of being between a rock and a hard place. It’s not to say that we wanted to be a monster or anything, just a great story that Ross in particular enjoyed. However, we’re fairly sure that we don’t pronounce it correctly. We always pronounce Scylla as Skylar rather than Cilla which is what we were always told it should be. But it’s too late now.
How did the owl logo come together for Scylla Records, and what does it mean to you guys? As with most companies, we’ve had a few logos over time and for a long while we had stuck with the double S design that was a simplified version of an earlier logo. However, we realised after a while that it was too simplified and we started to see how similar it was to so many other logos (From picture frame companies right the way through to MTV’s modern day horror show My Super Sweet Sixteen) and so we decided to make a change to something far more original. Around the same time I had asked Chris Hollis (of Scream Shout and Traitors!) to come up with a few designs for merch using an owl (because who doesn’t love owls?) and he got back to me with a few designs and when we saw the version that ended up becoming our logo, we knew it would look just as cool on the back of a CD or vinyl as it would on a t-shirt so we decided to make that our new logo.
Can you run us through how a normal day at work goes for Scylla Records? I certainly wouldn’t say there was a normal day’s work at the label. As a small label we have to do everything ourselves. From A&R and design work to arranging for releases to be pressed through to royalty reporting and going down to the post office with jiffy bags. So it’s certainly varied. Right now, I am spending a lot of time trying to find new bands to work with for 2015, so lots of trawling the internet for new bands that have that little something that we are looking for in a band.
It seems as if Vinyl is making a massive return over the last couple of years, so what do you think about this format, and as a record company, then how would you personally say it's grown over the last couple of years? Personally I love vinyl. After everything that we have achieved as a label I still get the biggest kick out of releasing music on vinyl. Currently we only have 4 releases that have been released on vinyl, but it’s something that we are looking to change in the future. Certainly, I think that any physical releases that we put out will be on vinyl rather than CD. But obviously the costs of doing it are much higher than putting out a release on CD, or just digitally so that makes it difficult at times. But certainly, year on year it’s our second biggest source of income from our releases after digital, so it’s certainly something we’ll continue to put our releases out on.
Can you tell us about some of your latest releases, as well as any you’re particularly excited about releasing? Our last album that we released was the debut from Flights titled History Be Kind. It’s a beautiful album, both sonically but also visually. It’s been pressed on a double 12” vinyl, in a gatefold jacket and is limited to just 100 copies worldwide. It took a lot of work to get it pressed to such limited quantities but we’re all glad we managed it. The critics said some really lovely things about the album too which is always nice. It’s not that we need Kerrang! and Rock Sound to give it a great review, as we know how good the album is, but it’s always great when guys like that come on board and help you reach a wider audience. Especially when it’s an album like History Be Kind which isn’t the most immediate album out there. So it’s great to see that critics and fans are able to see an album as a piece of work in its entirety. This is certainly that, yes 10 great songs in their own right, but the collection is far greater than the sum of its parts. That’s why we were so keen to have the album released on vinyl to continue with that philosophy. Right now I’m working hard to get together a 3 way split EP for Christmas, but until it’s all confirmed and I have the masters from all three bands in my grubby paws I can’t really give too much away. But if everything comes together it will be a continuation of the work that we started last year with It’s Better To Give Than Receive, our 15 track compilation featuring Natives, The LaFontaines, Fort Hope, Boy Mercury and Traitors! to name just a few that was released to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. It’s a charity that is really close to my heart and it was great that we managed to raise (what we consider) a lot of money for such a great cause with the compilation. So this year we’re working on a split EP and will have it do exactly the same, along with the sales of the compilation this year and all the people that have been buying tracks from the compilation all year (including a bizarre spike in sales during August that I just couldn’t work out).
How do you go about choosing a band to work with? This is an almost impossible question to answer in all honesty. But there are a couple of must haves I suppose. The first and most obvious one is that we need to really love the music. There is no point working with a band that you don’t love. It’s just far too much work and risk for relatively little reward if the reward isn’t the satisfaction of putting out a great release by a band that you really believe. The second thing is similar, and that is that you need to have a really good personal relationship with the either the whole band or at least one member of it. It doesn’t mean we have to be old friends or anything (although sometimes we are), but there needs to be a fairly instant connection. It’s a bit like meeting a girl, and it’s the closest I get to dating now that I’m happily married. I suppose the thing that is becoming more and more important is the band’s attitude. Signing to a small label like Scylla isn’t a meal ticket, and certainly not a free pass to success. We will help all that we can in every way that we can, but bands need to be able to work equally as hard, if not harder. At the end of the day, this is their band and they should want to achieve success (whatever they deem that to be) more than anyone else. I suppose they are the most important things, but there is so much more to it than that.
How long does it take to work with a band on the release of an album? How long is a piece of string? It really depends on what the band have in mind for a release and how much is ready to go. We have had bands come to us and want to get an EP out in less than a month to support a tour that was already booked and we’ve had bands that we have worked with for 2 years getting an album demoed, recorded and released. Generally though, it is best if we have a good 4-6 months from receiving the final masters of an album to make sure that we can get a record manufactured, get press copies to review, book tours for the support of the album and so forth. When everything can come together at the same time the far more likely it is that a record will do well, and doing all of that takes time and planning. But these days there is no reason we can’t physically get a single recorded, artwork completed and released digitally with some DIY marketing and PR in under a week.
What's the hardest part about running a record company, and why? The most difficult part is also the most important part and that’s selling music. There are so many great bands out there that are fighting for fans attention, and then on top of that so many awful bands that are getting in the way that it really is getting harder and harder to get bands noticed, and even when you do, a fan is able to listen on Spotify or Deezer with a clear conscience that getting someone to download an album, or splash out £15 or £20 on a vinyl copy of an album is difficult. I understand it from a fan’s point of view too, I do it too. Spotify is a great tool for fans, but I can’t pretend it doesn’t affect the sales of albums. I myself buy less albums than I used to. I am trying to makes sure that I am making an effort to buy albums more, but when in the past I would have gone out on release day (or before with an online pre-order) and picked up an album, I will now use Spotify and have a listen first and often this means I won’t pick up the album if the first listen or two don’t leave me bowled over. Obviously it doesn’t help that finding CDs is harder either. Gone are the days when every town had a great independent record shop. Gone are the days when Virgin and HMV was on every high street and would actually carry a good range of independent music. So it’s difficult to blame a fan for just listening on Spotify when they probably have a long way to travel to a record shop that probably won’t have what they are looking for. As a romantic that grew up when things were very different I do find it quite sad. Luckily there are a few shops out there still flying the flag, most notably for me Banquet Records in Kingston which show that it can still be done if you do it right. Emotionally, losing a band to a break up or to a bigger label or management company can be very hard too. And we’ve certainly had a few of those. It’s fine when they go on to massive things like The 1975 did, it’s very easy to accept knowing that the band made the right decision, but when things go wrong and the potential is wasted it’s very tough indeed.
What can we expect to see from Scylla Records as we enter 2015? There are a few things that we are working on, a couple of albums that are currently being recorded (A new signing and the debut album from Arms & The Man) and some bands that we are keeping a close eye on. I imagine we’ll be doing something around Christmas again for Great Ormond Street as I am very keen to make that a Scylla tradition as it’s so important to do something to help others around that time of year. But we’re still to decide exactly what. Ideas on a post card please!
How did you first get into graphics, and when did you realize that this was what you wanted to do as a career? I’d always drawn even as a very small child; the earliest drawings I have are of Supercar, Fireball XL5 & Daleks so a lot of my professional life has really been a direct extension of my childhood hobby. My parents made me aware very early of the fact that there was such a thing as ‘commercial art’ and that stuck in my mind all the way through school and art college; I went straight from foundation to an illustration course which specialised in wildlife and technical drawing. That was a very good training for comics work as it turned out. My first job after college was for BAe, drawing missiles and creating slides and general graphics work. I did that for five years before getting so bored that I left to do freelance illustrations for local ad agencies. After three years or so doing that, again I was getting bored because of the humdrum nature of the work but fortunately I met John Higgins through a local art shop, and he introduced me to the world of magazine covers and comics generally and Marvel UK in particular.
Who was your first major client, and what was that like for you at the time? In comics terms, Marvel UK. I was introduced to Ian Rimmer who was editor on Transformers and Simon Furman who took over from him soon after, and they commissioned me to produce covers for Transformers and Thundercats. I was very pleased to start working in the comics field, as I think it suited my style – previously clients had always commented on my drawings looking like comics strip work. In fact I had previously tried to get an agent to take me on for strips, but my Who samples were countered with theirs of very old-fashioned war strips, which I wasn’t interested in at all. And then I met David Lloyd at a Who con and the low page rate he talked about was not comparable with advertising rates; certainly not at the glacial speed at which I had produced my samples! But eventually, after I had done some covers for Marvel UK, I offered Simon the deal that if he give me an actual strip commission, if he didn’t like it there would be no fee. I had speeded up by then and so the page rate was more reasonable, and fortunately I got my fee. That was a story featuring Galvatron meeting his earlier self – Megatron.
What was it like to work with such iconic characters? Well, they weren’t iconic back then! They were just, to me, slightly incomprehensible - though popular - toys for kids; a licensed product which had no emotional meaning for me - after all, I was nearly 30 when I started to work on them. I couldn’t really understand the logic behind them, or how they changed size and mass so drastically. But I quickly realised that their popularity was partly based on an established and growing backstory, and when I thought of them just as characters, I began to see their appeal. Simon’s scripts were great to work from - he had an amazing ability to absorb and interact with the US stories - and I knew that they would be looked back on very fondly by the audience, in the way that I loved TV21, Eagle, Countdown and early Marvel etc. I stole heavily from Geoff Senior, who had established himself as the king of TF artists by then, and tried to do my own thing based on that springboard. I used to try to think of the characters as actors from things I liked, so Optimus Prime was 60s TV Batman Adam West behind the mask; Galvatron was Jack Nicholson from The Shining.
These comics are currently celebrating their 30th anniversary, so with this in mind how exciting is that for you, and what would you say was your most exciting project to work on in this universe? Amazing to think it’s been so long. My favourite story I think was Time Wars – I really got into my stride technique-wise and was involved with the characters by then, plus I got to rip Galvatron up!
You also got to work on Thundercats, so again what was it like to work in that world? That was just three covers, I assumed I'd do more but that never happened; I was busy with TFs by then probably. I remember buying some of the toys to use as reference. Reference was always difficult - no internet then - and for Transformers I used pics from the Argos catalogue for colour references. I later sold those pages to fans!
How hard or easy is it to make sure that the characters look as they are but also stay true to your style of work? I don’t think about style – never have, possibly to my detriment. Whatever I draw always seems to have some common look about it – though I can’t see it! I try to draw things the way they are. Of course, the licensed stuff sometimes has quite strict style guides, but I think the American artists and writers on Transformers took most of the brunt with that; we in the UK were on a looser leash.
One of your main projects has been Doctor Who, so can you tell us how you first got involved with that, as well as what it's been like to work with these characters over the years? I was a fan since the first days, it’s been really nice to be associated with it. I was a keen follower of the early Who and Dalek strips, and one of the first handful of strips I did was a (first) 7 Doctors story. I got that directly as a result of drawing Richard Branson in a Transformers strip. It showed that I could manage likenesses and Richard Starkings (Comicraft/Elephantmen) who was editing the boys comics strips at Marvel was a fellow fan and we got on well together, so it was a sort of good fit. I was thrilled to work on it, but also slightly terrified – following all the greats like Bellamy, Gibbons et al. That went down well and I got the Dalek strip next – ‘Nemesis of the Daleks’ – which was very popular, and kind of cemented me into the ‘Whoniverse’. In fact, a drawing of the character Abslom Daak: Dalek Killer I produced for that strip turned up in this season’s ‘Time Heist’ Doctor Who episode – flashed up very quickly as an in-joke by the production crew I suppose. So I’m told I’m now ‘canon’!. Doctor Who has an amazing generational following and think it will never go away now, like Sherlock Holmes or Dracula, it’s an ‘eternal’. And anyone associated with it seems to have some of that magic transferred to them by default. A lot of the actors say that it’s like an extended family, and I think that’s right. I’ve produced work for so many different media – strips in DWM, RadioTimes, Battles in Time and even for the Royal Mail; illustrations for DVD Files, webcasts, book covers, posters, annuals and now in the show itself, and I’m very grateful. I’m currently producing alternative covers for Titan’s Who titles, and I have to draw 5 pages of Dalek strip to complete an unfinished story begun years ago in the TV21/DWM ‘Dalek Chronicles’ saga, so on it goes!
We must ask, who is your favorite doctor, and what do you think of the latest doctor (TV)!? Patrick Troughton would be my choice but the first 3 are ‘my’ Doctors equally really. I like all of them though. Sylvester bought me a pint once. Capaldi is wonderful I think. We’re the same age and the same age Hartnell was when he started. That’s probably the last time that synchronization can occur, so for now I’m enjoying not being older than the Doctor again!
Can you run us through the process of how one page of work normally comes together for you? Comics-wise - it’s pretty much as it’s always been – you are given a script, from that you produce first thumbnails - where you work out the page and panel layouts, then roughs which are approved by the editor, then rough pencils which are completed at the inking stage, then colouring if required. These days, I predominantly work digitally, which is more flexible but that’s relatively recent. It’s enjoyable but there is no original artwork to sell!
How excited are you to be a part of comic-con this year? There are prints and commissions and endless chat at my table, that’s for sure. I love doing those events – I stayed away for a long time but the nature of them is completely different to how they were way before. It tended to be a gathering of either people desperate to get work talking to people who had too much work. At various times I found myself in one or other of those camps and I always felt uncomfortable at the disparity and the tension. These days it’s much more professional; I love meeting people who like my work!
What else can we expect to see from you as we enter 2015? I do a fair amount of ad agency work these days and far fewer strips, and you’ll probably never get to see much of that, as they are at the pre-campaign ideas stage. Aside from that and beyond what I’ve already mentioned, I’m continuing my association with ‘Minister of Chance’ - Dan Freeman’s spinoff audio and maybe a movie from ‘Doctor Who - Death Comes To Time’ which was a BBC webcast he wrote and produced some years ago, and I’m doing some work with Jamie Anderson and his ‘Firestorm’ series. I’ve been a fan of and have drawn a lot of images of Gerry Anderson’s various Supermarionation series’ over the years - including 5 years of ‘Thunderbirds’ strip. I’m at various signings and conventions, which I really enjoy, and I’m working on some other projects which may bear fruit. Keep watching the skies . . .
Surprisingly, this was an easy decision. Their previous album 'Pendulum Swings' was great but 'Pretty Low' is the best hardcore release in a last few years. Right from the beginning the album is launched into a frenzy with 'Pretty Low'.
'Just Don't' is slower paced but is just as frantic. Throughout the album, the producer has done a superb job of keeping the drums and guitars so excellently loud, 'Fiction' has a ridiculously catchy riff that makes you want to rip out the air guitar. Vocalist Josh Kelting's constantly aggressive vocals are hard to match in the hardcore scene perhaps The Rival Mob's Brendan Radigan may have something to say about that. 'Gravity' has a superb opening bass line which again sets a fast pace, this number is head banging heaven if there is such a thing. The lyrics are especially powerful throughout the album and continue in the chaotic 'Nobody'. 'Old Habits' is one of the best hardcore songs in the last ten years, trust me. The instrumentals are superb and good luck listening to this song without screaming the lyrics 'Some come, some more go, But you still fill up my skull, Old habits are hard to break, But they don't even come close'. 'Forgetting' is another beauty, the drum beats and bass work so well and the lyrics are again so well projected. Next are the two shortest songs on the album 'Callous' and 'Rejection' both are extremely fast paced and are over in no time, the vocals are not as prominent on both tracks but to be fair to Josh Kelting, he could do with a break‌ The drum skills in 'If It Were up to Me' are impressive, Kelting's vocals are once more hyper aggressive and there is even time for a little bit of bass. The album ends with 'Second Face' in which Josh Kelting uses up his remaining energy for one last groundbreaking vocal outburst. He is given a break in the second part of the song and there are alternative vocals that have a Madball type sound which brings the end to a brief but extraordinary album. Keep it up Expire.
There have been some great albums this year so it is a hard choice to nail it down to a single one, Behemoth, Mastodon and all ends of the spectrum have made great albums. I am however going to do a complete turn and choose a band from well out of those circles with the album 'Love, Drink and Death'. The Urban Voodoo h Machine are quite unlike anything out there, led by the charismatic Paul Ronney Angel, this is an 11 piece band of misfits pouring out “bourbon soaked, gypsy bop and roll”.
11 years in and this third album was preceded by the illness of guitarist Nick Marsh (well known also for Flesh o for LuLu) and sadly succeeded by the sad death of fiddle player Robb Skipper so as album titles go, this one kinda sums things up. Opening song 'Hour of Darkness' shreds up that rockabilly vibe groove and sound advice about how not to be a “schmuck” and “piss your life away” It features lyrics from the bands friend Sam Powell who sadly dies ten years previously although whether the words were left behind or given via a Ouija board it is not known. What is known is that it adds a certain poignancy to the song and makes it all the more meaningful. It is followed by the story of a man, a ‘Pipe and Slippers Man’. A seemingly reformed character (played by Rat Scabies in the video) who would smoke crack, drink, get arrested before finding salvation and living the quiet life. There is a big honky-tonk feel here, the trumpets have a big say before the violins and even mandolin get the moments in the solos. The guest appearances border on the ridiculous in terms of quality, Jim Jones (a founder member before Jim Jones Revue) Steve Conte (New York Dolls) and the one an only Wilko Johnson. Paul-Ronny has a distinct voice, in my opinion he is a modern Tom Waits. The gruff, ravaged sounding voice spills character and emotion far better than any of the bullshit wannabes on any of the TV ‘talent shows’. The combination of voice and words follow on from the likes of Waits, MacGowan and Cave, telling stories and making you feel like you know the people involved. The Urban Voodoo Machine are not just a band, they 11 musicians who are top of their game and second to none, they each know their instruments inside and out giving each song a unique flavour when that instrument is called upon to take the lead. The drums are able to do it as strongly as the trumpets and violins as strong as the guitars. They have made three albums that each have the same basic sound but manage to sound entirely different, they have a soul of their own.
When tasked with picking my favourite album of the year, I'm not going to lie it was a struggle, but one album kept cropping up that stood out particularly for me and that was, "Runes" by British melodic metalcore Bury Tomorrow. Amongst all the melodic metalcore releases which can grow tiresome and typical at times, this album was a breath of fresh air and innovation in terms of their characteristic style and creative diversity, especially having elements of heavier metal with light melodic bursts which really shine through and reach far, both in terms of soaring vocals and ambient instrumentation, along with grabbing the attention of all metalcore fans and further within the metal genre, especially as the focus is more on the melodic side making it more accessible. As soon as I heard the album all the songs kept hitting me; creeping back in to my head, and the more you listen, the more you appreciate the fine crafted masterpiece they have created and clearly put their heart and souls into, on their third release. The album from the get go raises the bar incredibly high with single, "Man On Fire" which is intense and layered with intelligible elements, other stand out tracks include, "The Torch" which features one of the best and most memorable choruses which is aided by Jason Cameron's impressive high vocal range, in contrast with Daniel Winter-Bates unclean hardcore vocals, as well as showing subtle and interchangeable progression, something which they perfect throughout the album. The balance of brutal and delicate moments on the album is mastered wonderfully, which is evident particularly in the clever transitions from ferocious to beautiful in, "Watcher" featuring an array of impressive technical riffs. The whole album is seamless and cohesive and for that it takes the band to another level making them cutting-edge not only in the metalcore genre scene, but in British Metal in general!
Run For Cover Records are something of a gem in today's music scene. With Basements break through success and cult following, Run For Cover have given us bands such as Captain, We're Sinking and Citizen, bands which innovate within their genre and continue to push the boundaries of the genres their involved in. Whether it be Basements alternative rock explorations or Citizens blend of Nirvana driven guitar-rock, Run For Cover are a label which we should be thankful for. Post-punk is an interesting genre you see, and Run For Cover's Seahaven are a band which make this genre unique and ever more ethereal. Their sophomore full-length "Reverie Lagoon: Music For Escapism Only" or just "Reverie" for short, California's Seahaven explore a subtle combination of emo, indie and post-punk. With eerie guitar leads driven with reverb that laden the album from its intro track "Fifty - Four" through to its outro. Stitched together with vocalist Kyle Soto's weaving and moody delivery evident on tracks "Andreas" and "Silhouette (Latin Skin)" Seahaven have crafted fourteen tracks of airy post-punk. The arrangement on "Reverie" is what impresses the most here though. Uplifting production and rising orchestras flow throughout the record giving "Reverie" an extra sense of a carefree and engaging sound. Seahaven's "Reverie" is a record which fans would say they are proud to own. From its warm reverb sound, defined percussion, careful arrangements and orchestrations. String that altogether with Soto's unique storytelling and stirring delivery, you've got an album which is just as uplifting as it is melancholic and by far the best album of this year.
After the huge success of 'On the Impossible Past' expectations were high for the release of 'Rented World'. However, these pressures had no effect on the band and in the end they put out a release that more than succeeded on every level. "I Don't Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore" is a perfect start to the record, and it's a song that you could visualize going down an absolute storm live (take a look at YouTube, because it does). "Don't wait up for me my friend, I've been planning to watch the world burn down, All your friends are dead and gone", sure lyrically "Bad Things" is a very personal song, but with that approach it shows us just how well these guys have progressed/matured as songwriters over the years. Providing a rough edged rhythm combined with an ending where we hear Greg shout the lyrics "I'm only bad news" over and over makes the track "Rodent" one of my absolute highlights on Rented World. Not forgetting that somewhat Jimmy Eat World style intro, which just sounds ace. The bass player takes us into "Where Your Heartaches Exists" which has a huge and addictive chorus that will keep you coming back again, and again. Although it's the shortest song on the record "The Talk" still goes on to be a fantastic track as it contains a hard hitting, and in your face riff that'll grab your attention instantly. "Nothing Feels Good Anymore" has so many refreshing layers to it that it's impossible to feel unsatisfied after your first listen! From the melody, to the punching chorus, it's just a track that will stay stuck in your head for days on end. "In Remission" was the first track to be released from Rented World, and what a song it is. As soon as the drums kick in your already captivated, and angry/blunt lyrics such as "I want to chew up my dinner and spit in your face" or "If everyone needs a crutch, then I need a wheelchair, I need a reason to reason with you" make this song another one of my highlights on the album. The album ends on "When You Died", a deep and somewhat Bob Dylan style track that gives the album perfect closure, whilst lyrically being a great accompanist to some of the main themes on the record. One of the things I love so much about this record, is just how well the band have channeled such serious themes into their music, whilst also having a hopeful message to whoever is listening. For some bands this is hard to achieve, but for me, The Menzingers have nailed it. Greg once told Stencil Mag that "A lot of these songs are about the realization that nothing is permanent, and things you love and have come to rely on can be taken away from you at any second", which sure might be an intense theme to have on an album, but at the same time it's an honest statement that actually has a lot of meaning to it... I was lucky enough to see The Menzingers live a couple of months ago, and from doing so it was clear to see that Rented World has already added even more brilliant tracks to their impressive set list. In short, it's an album that establishes why these guys are one of the most important punk rock bands in the world right now.
There were so many good albums released in 2014! Slipknot, Architects, Marmozets the list goes on and on but my favourite I think has to be Black Market by Rise Against. Rise Against for me have always been one of those bands who stick to their guns, their songs about the politics of the world have always managed to catch me off guard and make me think about the impact of what happens in the all around me. From the word go on The Great Die Off this album just spews greatness. A proper old school punk record, these guys are never afraid to show what they can do and this is definitely shown in this album. The single I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore is a great anthem for the live shows and can appeal to a lot of people.
Even the slower song 'People Live Here' is captivating and beautiful as Tim Mcilrath shows off his singing more than his screaming. A few gems on the album lie at the end in the form of Bridges and Awake Too Long. Rise Against have been going for so many years but when they release great music like this it's not so insane to think that some day they may even be headlining great festivals such as Download and re veered as a 'classic' punk band.
2014 was the year the underground punk scene was faced with a refreshing refurbishment with skate punks, Gnarwolves. The release of their self-titled album back in September was also the around the time the trio had hit their three year mark so as far as it goes the album was a definite defining moment for the guys. For a band to achieve as much as these guys have in one year let alone three is admirable; from touring the world extensively, opening up Blink 182's set, and securing a home at record label Pure Noise Records you wouldn't believe that the release of their first album was not so long ago, and with an all ready army of loyal fan base under their feet is really not bad going. The confidently loud album was the turning point for the raucous group in which they pushed themselves as musicians rather than rehearsing old EP's over and they but in fact opted to show that underneath the skateboards and doobs there is in fact very genuine and dark character. Particularly the lyrics on 'Hate Me' that are barked out in gruffs which underline insecurity issues about life going a bit shit, possibly even losing the way a bit, and I think we could all relate to that in ways. It's the vocal game from guitarist Thom Weeks and bassist Charlie Piper that wins it over in a true punk spirit and not really giving a shit about adjusting their range for anyone, it doesn't matter whether their gruffness should be smoothed out a little or not because this is a basis of the band; authenticity, which a lot of the time is none existent or lost in bands. It's the confidence of their hard-hitting riffs and chaotic edge on tracks such as 'Boneyard' their opportunity to dare to play with calm and wistfulness on 'Ebb', balanced and their relatable down-to-earth identities that pull crowds from all corners of the world. Since the recent release the support for Gnarwolves has been growing like a behemoth malignant tumour, in an all-positive sense, and they don't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down.
Let me start off by saying that I'm not entirely sure if this is actually the best album of the year. Perhaps that title belongs to At The Gates or Architects or Eluveitie. But this article is not about the album which I consider to be the best, it's my favourite album of the year, and it is 100% possible for them to be different categories. Not to get too personal, but I suffered a family loss earlier this year, in March. It was an incredibly difficult time, and as I was going through it I found I required music to listen to that reflected the emotions I was experiencing. How We Both Wondrously Perish was released at the start of May, and I instantly found an album that I felt I was entirely able to connect to. Each and every song is so charged with emotional residue that it is nearly impossible to listen to songs like Death's Great Black Wings Scrape The Air or Mothers without feeling deep in your chest some kind of run-off of the emotional creativity that went into them. One of the best things Being As An Ocean did was pick up on Michael McGough (formerly of The Elijah) and stick him into the mix. His soulful voice, contrasting with Joel Quartuccio's rough growls and fearsome shouts, both brought together with lyrics that would work perfectly well as top-notch poetry, makes for inescapably compelling listening. Ultimately, this is music that is meant to be connected with. The riffs are simple melodic hardcore, there are very few twiddly guitar lines, and rhythm section simply hold down the tunes and do what they are supposed to do. But Being As An Ocean understand that their music is very rarely listened to by people in search of technical genius; rather it is experienced by those searching for music that touches the part of us left over by Neanderthal man when he first began to hit a rock with a stick to a beat. I use the word "experience" rather than "enjoy" because not all of this album is entirely enjoyable. There are some moments, Mothers in particular, where the passion overrides the hardcore aggression and musicality, in much the same way that watching a death scene in a gripping movie where you are invested in the characters is not necessarily enjoyable. But you watch on regardless. And that is why this is my favourite album of 2014.
Rise Against - November 6th - 02 Academy Birmingham I imagine the band formely known as Emily's Army (now Swimmers) have made every attempt possible to not be compared to Green Day in any way as the drummer is Joey Armstrong (recognise the name?). However any attempts they may have made have failed as when they took to the stage in Birmingham all I could see was a Green Day wannabe band. The music was good and bouncy but the vocals have been done before and were quite frankly boring. It's clear they are an up and coming band as there was no sign of asking for crowd participation or any words to the crowd at all apart from 'We're the swimmers and we'll be by the merch stand'. Cue screaming 13 year old girls. They leave the stage and wait to be upstaged by the massive Pennywise. Later on in the night Tim Mcilrath will say 'without bands like Pennywise there wouldn't be bands like Rise Against' that much is clear as California punk rockers take to the stage and proceed to destroy everything. Mosh pits erupt as they start their set with their self titeld song. They play a number of hits that get the crowd more and more riled up ready for Rise Against. If this gig were a meal then I imagine Emily's Army/Swimmers would be the snack you have before hand that you don't tell your mother about and Pennywise the steak. They play My Own Country, Fuck Authority and a Bad Religion cover of Do What You Want. All the while demanding pits, talking to the crowd and generally having a great time. They have been doing this for a long time though. Cheers are abound as they leave the stage. The lights go down, the crowd surges, pits have opened up in anticipation of the craziness and the Chicagoites take to the stage and kick off proceedings with Ready to Fall, carrying on into Give it All. Tim makes a reference to Bonfire night being like a Friday night in Chicago 'not that you guys would know'. There is never a moment during the set that makes you imagine that any of them would rather be anywhere else. The punk band play a list of awesome songs from their back catalogue including 'Help Is On The Way', Re Education (Through Labour) and the powerful 'The Good Left Undone. Never stopping for a breath it seems.
With the release of their latest album Black Market of course they would play tracks from it but only two heavier tracks in the form of Tragedy + Time and I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore. After fifteen years of being together I suppose they have to make way for the great songs though such as Prayer of the Refugee and Like The Angel which get a huge reception from the crowd who give as much as they receive. Playing Satelite before they exit the stage they come back, Tim brandishing an acoustic guitar. He explains that this next song is about the days when you don't feel okay, 'People Live Here' is played followed by the obvious 'Swing Life Away' Proceedings ended for the night with the huge 'Make It Stop' followed by 'Savior' with a nod to Sea Shepherd who they bought along. The band thanked everyone for coming and departed the stage after showing everyone that after fifteen years they've still got what it takes to rock! RO
Kids In Glass Houses - October 24th - Bath Komedia The first time I saw Kids In Glass Houses, they were on tour opening for the mighty Hundred Reasons. Since that point they have gone on to become a massive success by creating four albums that all pushed the boundaries of alternative rock in an exciting way. Unfortunately the band decided to call it a day earlier on in the year, so tonight I am in Bath to witness them perform on their last ever UK tour!
They launch onto the stage and kick straight into the riff hitting Artbreaker I which sends the crowd into an absolute frenzy straight away. The band carry on with a perfect mix of crowd singalongs such as "Give Me What I Want" "Undercover Lover" & "Drive" that all simply remind us just how great these guys are at writing rock anthems. Their newer songs go down just as well as their older songs do, and with the reception they have already received then already it's fair to say that these guys will be greatly missed. Diving into their concept album 'In Gold Blood' we get to hear "Animals" & "Diamond Days" which both go down extremely well, and with their unique sound they provide a great balance to the set. Before the encore the band end with Artbreaker II which gives the performance an awesome full circle effect. Kids In Glass Houses have always given 110% on stage, and as they kick into "Peace" then you could see that this high level of energy was certainly there. They cruise through more hits including "Young Blood" & "Saturday" which at this point have the crowd singing louder than their lead singer Aled can. To close the night they perform "Matters At All" which is another track that just shows you how important this band have been to the rock scene over the years. R.I.P. Kids In Glass Houses \m/ AD
A Day To Remember - November 19th - Nottingham Rock City The atmosphere can only be described as electric at the Rock City in Nottingham as waves of fans rush in to grab the best seat in the house for Florida's own A Day to Remember. First up a little bit of British action in the form of Lower than Atlantis. It's clear from the get go that LTA have done the rounds a few times as they run on stage and throw their arms up in demand that the audience scream and woo. They start proceedings off with Love Someone Else and instantly the crowd is lapping it all up. The Watford four have fun during their set with rubbish jokes, asking who has illegally downloaded their new album and even having the whole arena sing happy birthday to someone. Good guys LTA. Their sets have ups and downs, the heavier tracks such as Marilyn's Mansion and English Kids in America are a huge hit while slower tracks such as Criminal leave the crowd a little still. They end with their massive single Here We Go which has enough of a heavy drop in it to tide people over until the main show. The screams are so loud when the Florida Pop Punker's come on stage that lead singer Jeremy can barely be heard, the intro for Downfall of us All starts and the room goes insane! The floor is just a sea of bodies dancing and moshing. Carrying on into the hugely successful 2nd Sucks this band show just how effortless it is to create one of the best live show atmosphere's around. Even though A Day to Remember are metal/pop punk they still have that little immature quality that the greats like Blink 182 have including throwing toilet paper, launching t shirts into the crowd and even asking the crowd to shout jugs back at them in what they called 'the strangest in between song bit ever'.
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As expected this show did consist a lot of their new album Common Courtesy, playing in total seven songs including Best of Me, City of Ocala and the monster single Violence. However when it came to playing the slower song End of Me the lead singer Jeremy looked very odd stood still just clutching a mic. With a band this big they're bound to have a huge back catalogue and they choose what songs to play very well with the likes of Another Song for the Weekend and Mr Highway's Thinking About The End. The band play the insanely popular All I want before the encore. Screams of 'We want more' can be heard and Jeremy and lead guitarist Kevin sporting an acoustic come on. 'Let's play a fan favourite' Jeremy says and they play a belting cover of...Oasis?
t Yes! The hardcore A Day to Remember apparently like Oasis and cover Champagne Supernova and ending by saying 'what a great fucking song and it came from this part of the world' The acoustic melody vibe continues with the beautiful If It Means a Lot To You, cue all the girls sighing with love in their eyes. It's not arguable that All Signs Point to Lauderdale definitely has one of the best hooks in a song in the past four years and the crowd happily relay it back to the whole band as they play their penultimate track. The band thank everyone for coming out and demand that everyone jump on the last track as streamers, confetti and smoke erupt for The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle. A Day to Remember are easily one of the best bands on the alternative circuit at the minute and they deserve all the recognition they get. RO
New Found Glory - November 25th - Bristol 02 Academy Currently on the road promoting their extremely successful debut album "The Finer Things", the guys in State Champs hit the stage with full force and show us straight from the opening track why they are one of the best upcoming acts out there right now. The way they combine melody with unstoppable pop punk chords is addictive to watch live, with tracks such as "Hard To Please" & "Elevated" going down very well. The last time I watched The Story So Far they were playing in a venue half the size of this, so it's been great to see this band grow gradually as in my eyes they more than deserve it. Crowd surfing is a massive part of the pop punk scene, and although it's banned in the 02 Academy it hasn't stopped these guys from creating an incredible atmosphere to be a part of. Songs like "Quicksand" "Bad Luck" & "Right Here" get the crowd jumping with ease...a perfect warm up for what's coming next. New Found Glory blast onto the stage and kick straight into "Understatement" which instantly shows for me, that although they are now a four piece, they still have more than what it takes to give an epic performance. With the band now having eight albums of material to pick from, then you won't find yourself watching any "filler" at a New Found Glory show, and as they cruise through the hits such as "Hold My Hand" "Something I Call Personality" "Failure's Not Flattering" & "My Friends Over You" then it's easy to see why these guys have earned their title as pop punk legends! Although their latest album "Resurrection" has only just come out, it's obvious that it's gone down very well with their fans, as tracks such as "Selfless" "Ready & Willing" & "Stubborn" have the audience screaming the lyrics back to the band as loud as they can. After returning with an encore that sees NFG perform an awesome fan request cover of "The NeverEnding Story" the band end the night in style with an outstanding performance of "All Downhill from Here". So overall, an epic night that more than confirms what the tour has set out to achieve "Pop Punk Is Not Dead". AD The Gaslight Anthem - November 22nd - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena First up we had bayside, the last time I saw these guys was 2006 in Tj’s (RIP) and they were awesome then and even though I haven’t kept up with the band I can still see that they have what it takes to warrant being around and playing this kind of tour. Their sound reminded me of Alkaline Trio, with a bit more of a rough sounding vibe on the instruments. Next up we had Deer Tick, now the only song I had heard of these guys is the song in Seven Psychopaths where they go to the desert and hallucinate, even though they didn’t play that song, they really impressed me, they had songs that sounded like something you would expect to hear in the prom scene in back to the future and then they went to the kind of alternative indie folk vibe and it was awesome, I could see people dancing and really enjoying the night. Next up we are finally treated to the main attraction THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM! They start the set to what I think could be my favourite song on the new album Have Mercy, the lyrics to this song are just more heartfelt than anything I have heard Brian Fallon write and its style reminds me of my other favourite song writer Jesse Lacey. The band play Halloween which included a bit of Dinosaur Jr’s song Feel the Pain, and then they blast into one of my favourite songs from The 59 Sound Meet Me By The Rivers Edge which pleasantly surprised me as I didn’t expect to hear it tonight. After shouting “no retreat, no regrets” like a crazy fan, the band then played Great Expectations with the singer of Anthony Raneri from Bayside, it wasn’t the fast paced version I knew from the album, it was instead a more slower paced alternative which was great to hear. I was expecting pretty much all of Handwritten and Get hurt to be played and a couple of singles from previous albums, but boy was I wrong. They shot out Señor and The Queen, 1930 and The Patient Ferris Wheel. They then played the shoe shuffling song The Diamond Church Street Choir which was just fantastic to watch. They did a unique Misfits cover of the song Astro Zombies which was awesome as it just showed that the band were still influenced by punk bands like they were when they wrote Sink or Swim, the bands first album. After that we are treated to the infectious B-side She Loves You and then into American Slang. The band gave us some more early Gaslight songs such as Wooderson and Blue Jeans and White T-shirts. Then to another one of my favourite Gaslight songs which I thought I’d never hear live...We Came To Dance, which ended up being one of the highlights of the night with its infectious lyrics. After I screamed my lungs out they ended the set with The Backseat which we all know is the only way they could of ended a near perfect set! After the show I walked away still wanting more, it’s like I watched a completely different band from when I saw them on their last tour and so all I can say is look out for The Gaslight Anthem, even if you aren’t fussed on the new album but you enjoyed the early albums you will still be treated! The only song I wished I saw from the set was Old White Lincoln but I’ll happily settle with We Came To Dance! JM
It's hard for any new festivals to form and succeed these days unfortunately, so the fact that Breakout Festival was billed as the only outdoor Brighton Metal festival, the pressure was on even more to deliver; especially with such high ambitions for a festival just starting out, getting massive popular metal/rock bands on the line-up along with up and coming talent from Brighton and across the UK and beyond is a big task to pull off! When arriving it's clear that a lot of people are excited for this debut!
The first band I see Rocking out on the Uprawr stage is Chasing Dragons a female fronted hard rock act from Leeds who tell us this is their first time in Brighton; they certainly made their mark on the city and done so with passion and energy, with front woman known as 'Tank' boasting some soaring mighty vocals and with the backup of melodic hardcore guitars! Next to take to the stage are metalcore quintet, Everest who draw in a dedicated crowd and help create a festival vibe with inflatable balls flying everywhere amongst the crowd, keeping things energetic! Their set was one to remember, more so as guitarist, Chris provided a beautiful warming moment by bringing his girlfriend on stage and proposing..thankfully she said yes, making their set even more sweet! One of the stand out acts on the second stage goes to Idiom who have a superb refreshing alternative Metal sound, and deliver with a tonne of chaotic energy, including front man, Matt jumping down into the crowd and creating a mental pit to end their dynamic set - with their presence and quality forward thinking blend of metal, it's not hard to see why they are supporting big acts such as Sikth! Their cover song, "Too Close" by Alex Clare went down well which they make their own!
Keeping things diverse, Collibus burst onto stage with their powerful progressive sound entwined with classical elements, which hits you hard, especially with vocalist, Gemma Fox blasting you with her impressive feisty vocals! It's a Saturday night and the headlining band on the Uprawr stage, The Qemists certainly get the party started with everyone dancing, raving and having a blast! They have an infectious, fascinating and fun packed sound that goes down a storm! The mix of drum n bass, dubstep and rock is executed wonderfully and they live up to their position with their effortless professional dance vibes that get everyone in the festival mood and end the Uprawr stage in true style!
It's a good job that Breakout's main stage festival is a hefty one and big enough to support the heavyweights to grace the stage today, such as Despite My Deepest Fear - being a six member band they need the space! These metalcore lads churn out the most popular songs from their debut, including, "Make Or Break" and "Supernatural" - their soaring blistering set is spectacularly chug tastic! The next band up to the main stage are a definite highlight, hailing from York, Glamour Of The Kill pack a punch and make their presence known, as it seems their set is cranked up with power and sound, the dual and backing vocals strike you hard and they offer a crisp professional slab of melodic metal, playing their massive tracks, such as "Feeling Alive" and "Second Chance"! As the main stage progresses, INME pull in a massive audience and start to get the crowd participating and play a nice mix of songs spanning their musical journey; playing all the songs this eager crowd want to hear, such as "Faster The Chase", and the popular, "Firefly" and "Overdose" from their first album. Front man, Dave and bassist, Greg deliver wonderful clean soaring vocals which stand out and offer a clear professional sound to fill out Breakout! To keep up the momentum, French hardcore act, Betraying The Martyrs get the crowd going wild with their established interesting blend, incorporating death metal, Djent and more and they create quite a stir throwing in their successful cover song of "Let It Go" taken from the Disney film, Frozen, although unusual it goes down a treat! One of two Welsh acts to take to the main stage, The Blackout get an impressive reception and show that they have many loyal fans who loved every minute of their set filled with anthemic hits, including "Save Our Selves" and "Start The Party" ! They know the crowd are digging them when they carry on singing the songs even though it's finished giving frontman, Sean Smith 'Goosebumps'.
Funeral For A Friend do Wales proud also with a crowd that adores them and claps and sings at any opportunity. They play a great mix of their songs, including, classics such as, "Street Car" and "Juneau", which the crowd devoured, as well as treating us to a new song called, "1%" which went down as well as their classics! They also revealed that their stand in drummer, Casey of the band, Goodtime Boys had been really excited about the show which got a warming chant of "Casey!" from the crowd! Who are ready to shout along and agree with just about anything they band say or do! So the time has come for the festival headliners, Skindred to take to the stage, and they make quite an entrance with AC/DCs "Thunderstruck" blaring out before they appear with frontman Benji dressed in his swagger and sporting the United Kingdom flag wrapped around his mic. They end their glorious set on the extremely catchy, "Nobody" and play all the other fan favourites such as, "Pressure", "Doom Riff", "Ninja" and "Kill The Power", and many more! In between their infectious reggae metal sounds they deliver strong sincere messages from Benji who possesses such stage presence and charm preaching of unification - everyone is certainly together as one for their love of the band and in agreement that Breakout festival absolutely smashed it! The day showcased some fine talent from a broad range of places and genres, including Brighton's best and of course well known heavyweights! Breakout Festival from the start proved that Brighton has been waiting for something like this with a packed out venue and brilliant atmosphere. By the end of the night it almost felt like this could have been a long established festival, so considering this was their festival debut, Breakout certainly outdone themselves, and no doubt will only build and improve! Bring on Breakout 2015!! CL
So MammothFest is back in Brighton following its four year break since 2010, which featured heavyweights such as Entombed, Sylosis, Orange Goblin and more! The rebirth has been highly anticipated following the success of the first one, but as we all well know, running festivals isn't an easy or cheap task, hence why the long break in order to rebuild and plan the comeback to establish the festival again. Festival organiser, Steve Dickson said himself, 'I realised I had lost some money which is no secret to anyone anymore, and I wouldn't be able to do it for a little while, there seemed to be a slight lull of kind of momentum or excitement in the scene down here'..but the flame has been lit again and festival goers are eager to be a part of the festivals two day return, which sees local talents and well known prodimintely rock/metal acts from across the UK. The venue choosen for this sacred event to grace Brighton is The Green Door Store, which is perfectly located and easily accessible, making it hard for music lovers to deter.. The opening day reasserts why there should be a festival in Brighton with home grown talents, Stone Circle despite playing so early in the day the metal heads are out to support these Progressive death metallers and their encompassing intelligent sounds which compell you, and kindly treat us to their latest offering, 'Easter Island'. The band also can boast that they have played both MammothFest's so obviously they are doing something right!..Keeping up the momentum for the Brighton scene, Core Of iO take the stage possessing vast amounts of presence, passion and precision whilst delivering their interesting unique prog and modern rock sound infused with driving memorable riffs throughout, its not hard to see why they have recently been featured on Metal Hammer's Cover CD "Guardians of the Riff" with their latest single '14 Stitches', which fortunately they perform, and confirm why they have earnt this accolade - again another example of doing Brighton's scene proud, as they were one of four Brighton bands to be featured on the CD..Brighton is where it is at right now! Keeping things from the South of England, Mordecai hailing from London bring some different flavours and variety with their more hard rock sound which hit you hard with their strong melodic sounds, bursting with American and British Rock inspired elements! Brighton heroes, Collisions push the limits and boundaries storming the stage with their distinct and unique sounds incorporating electronic and metal sounds, which gets everyone excited and participating and dancing along, playing their well known single, the highly melodic, 'Believe In This' and the new hit single taken from their upcoming debut which is due to land later this year, 'We Know The Enemy'. Exist Immortal stand out with their powerful soaring sound with Lead singer, Meyrick executing his vocals wonderfully whilst accompanied by heavy metalcore melodies and impressive riffing; they largely play from their new album, 'Darkness Of An Age'. Abhorent Decimation are one of the many highlights of the day, fresh off the Bloodstock stage they are unleashed to play today and show us exactly why they where picked to play such festivals, showing they are an unstoppable force with their death metal songs which are designed to thrive on the live scene and get reactions from that crowd..and that they did, earning the title of one of the most brutal acts of the day and creating one hell of a mosh pit! We are also graced with a new song taken from their upcoming debut due for release April next year, 'Echoes Of The Vortex' which gets the crowd going mental! Mask Of Judas represent the only female fronted band on the MammothFest line-up, but certainly don't disappoint with their groovy tech metal and impressive demonic vocals from front woman, Jo Challen. So drawing near to the end of the day one, we reach the main headliner support, Meta-Stasis who wreak havoc with their fast mental psycho death metal infused sound, and open up some chaotic mosh pits, including keyboard/synthesizer player, and of course the mighty organiser of the festival, Steve Dickson jumping off the stage and running at the crowd like some crazy lunatic! They played latest single, the fierce and fantastic 'Fathomless'! Headliners, Savage Messiah take the reining spot and fire out their classic sounding thrash metal songs! Highlights include lead singer, Dave Silver getting his hair caught on his microphone and also his string breaking, as completely 'thrashed' his guitar in true heavy metal style! They pack their set with their biggest songs 'Scavengers Of Mercy' and 'Hellblazer' taken from their latest album, 'The Fateful Dark' and end the night on a crammed and sold out day to Mammothfest, demonstrating just why they sit at the top of the bill and delivering to that honour!
Day two and everyone is back to witness more metal madness despite it being Sunday..their is no rest for the wicked as they say and from early on in the day the turn out is impressive and continues to grow as the day unfolds..
Taken By The Tide support this by having an impressive crowd at such an early hour and getting lots of crowd participation with their head banging worthy hardcore metal! Lead singer, Phil Illsley injects high energy by staying off the stage and instead performing amongst the crowd, creating a great atmosphere and presence! Like Core of iO who took to the stage yesterday, Taken By The Tide also feature on Metal Hammer's CD and they take the top spot of on the CD "Guardians of the Riff" with the song, 'Feed Me A Stray Cat' which the crowd digested nicely!
No Sin Evades His Gaze also played at Bloodstock and live up to their reputation, blasting the venue with their well structured tech metal and almost tearing a hole in the stage! They play their accomplished songs from their debut, 'Age Of Sedation' of which the title track is the latest single/video which the ended their mighty set on! Keeping things diverse and again show casing the local talents of Brighton, instrumental act Deal Was For The Diamond have the crowd in utter awe with their mesmerizing elaborate and well structured experimental progressive songs! They prove that you don't need vocals to make a high impact, just energy, passion and talent! Basement Torture Killings take us back to crazy mentalness, offering sick and strange imagery, with the guitarist wearing tights over his face, the bass player covering half of face with a bandana, and front man wearing a bloody apron, adding to the intrigue whilst they pummel and punish you with their death metal or 'murder metal'!
Collaspe are creating a name for themselves and it’s not hard to see why following their release of their successful debut album, 'Arms Of The Covenant' which we hear highlights from and our ears receive a blow in the greatest way, with killer blistering guitars, powerful fierce vocals and brutal drums! Main headliner support, Ingested take the award for the most violent crazy mosh pits to emerge at MammothFest, with their sound being the most extreme spectrum of death metal! The crowd fully 'ingest' their slamming brutal sounds and the band proof just why they are known for their savage shows, featuring almost inhuman vocals, epic technical riffs and fierce breakdowns all delivered at face melting speeds! This is one set you won't forget in a hurry you have to bear witness to believe their savagery! Ingested pave the way nicely for the main headliners, Martyr Defiled who keep the brutality and momentum going with many memorable moments, such as synchronised crowd head banging, marking a wonderful atmosphere and unity! They have the crowd in the palm of their hands and get the whole place putting their middle fingers up and screaming "fuck you" along with the band during, 'Under The Influence' taken from their latest release, 'No Hope No Morality'. They are worthy headliners who demonstrate that they love what they are doing and give it their all, with tonnes of energy and passion thrown in! Brighton has been witness to a truly wonderful weekend of Brighton's finest metal acts, as well as established acts hailing from across the UK. Mammothfest has stampeded Brighton and left its mark firmly embroidered into the city and the festival attendees! With the opening day selling out and nearly at full capacity on the final day, that and with the majority of all the MammothFest merch selling out; people will wear their t-shirts with pride and spread the word of the rebirth of Mammothfest! Organiser Steve Dickson puts it bluntly and clearly, 'Mammothfest is here, simply as!' and sheds light on the future of MammothFest, 'the continuing flood of support of has enpowered Mammothfest to be in a position where next year we can expand with bigger bands'!..Watch this space and bring on MammothFest 2015! CL
Bring Me The Horizon - Drown So next month Sheffield's biggest metal act will make their debut at the massive Wembley stadium, a feat I'm sure they never expected to achieve. It seems that since the monster album that was Sempiternal was released they have gone from strength to strength. Just before their huge show they decided to release new single Drown and it is different to any other song they have done before. Kicking off with what can only be described as 30 Seconds to Mars drums, it sounds in one word epic. It instantly draws you in and it doesn't sound like Bring Me The Horizon. Once it starts this song just goes from strength to strength. Once the poster child for young metal Oli Sykes takes a step back from screaming and sings. Something that old Horizon fans surely won't be a fan of but a breath of fresh air for other fans. He actually has a decent set of lungs on him too. Even on the heavier moments of the song he doesn't quite sound like himself.
The song in itself is amazing! It's such a paradox of everything they've ever done and could even be a sign of this band maybe maturing as they've grown up. Drown is definitely one of Bring Me The Horizon's best songs to date. Brilliant beginning that pumps the blood and the chorus is just brilliant! However releasing such a different song before their big Wembley debut can be judged as brave or idiotic. Only time will tell. RO
Enter Shikari - The Last Garrison So the countdown has begun when Enter Shikari's next album Mindsweep is released next year. Just so we know what's in store they gave us a taster with 'The Last Garrison' and it certaintly wets the appetite. As they have always said they abuse the boundaries of music, this song is no different. Even throwing in some what sounds like recorder in the background. From the first blood curdling scream of 'Can you hear the war cry?' it's clear that this song is special.In typical Shikari fashion lead singer Rou is once again on hand to provide compelling mind bending lyrics and excellent vocals. I've always felt that he is overlooked as a great lyricist. I can't think of anyone who would use the word 'Skirmish?' However the chorus is completely owned by bassist Chris whose voice will be stuck in your head for days. The song itself is definitely one of the band's better singles. Somehow collectively the four manage to create an intergalactic sound that is rocky, dancy and most importantly different to anything else out there at the moment The song slows down in the middle much like the 2009 hit Juggernauts but builds again slowly with the temperature rising all the while and in the end it turns into a mini dance rave which no one would be able to resist bopping along to. While it is noted that this song isn't as politically motivated as a lot of their previous efforts in recent years. I think it's just important to remember one thing. Enter Shikari are back! They weren't away for that long but it's good to have them back all the same. RO
New Found Glory - Ressurrection I think it would be fair to say that when New Found Glory came out they exploded onto the scene in a blaze of fire, glory and pop punk. Proving that the genre hadn't come, gone and died with Blink 182. Their hits of 'All Downhill From Here' and 'My Friend's Over You' still resonate in the older generation as well as new explorers of alternative music. However after that it appeared that NFG just slipped into the background and didn't seem to do a lot. Albums were released but it seemed as if the world had moved on. Now in 2014 they've released Resurrection and in just a few chords of the opening song it is clear that this is the comeback, the return and more importantly, the resurrection. Single Selfless starts this album off with nostaglic rhytms, a catchy pop punk tune that allowed fans a glimpse of what this album will be like. Filled with awesome power chords and the most important, the vocals that only New Found Glory can bring. It is no surprise that as the album continues it just gets better and better. The titular song Resurrection is next and before it a foreign voice says 'It's not important what happens around us, or even to us. The important thing is what happens in us'. As soon as this song starts what happens in us is blood raised, fists pumped and heads banging. New Found Glory carrying on in all their...well. With bangers such as Ready and Willing and even further into the album when we hit the likes of Degenerate. This album is a must for any Pop Punk fan or New Found Glory fan, this is the band that helped pave the way for most acts that we have today. The fact that they're still going after all these years and producing excellent music is definitely something incredible. Buy this album! RO
Marmozets - The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets Marmozets are that breath of fresh air that music needs! A band that understand that if you have a lead singer you don't need to sound like Paramore! Hallelujah, take note We Are the In Crowd and Tonight Alive. It's taken a while since Marmozets burst onto the scene but finally their debut album is here 'The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets'. The first song Born Young and Free demonstrates just what this band can do and following up to that is 'Why Do You Hate Me'. Just when I start to think this band are a bit of a one trick pony they break out Captivate you and that's when I realise that this band deserve to be huge. A group with many different ranges. While they may have gotten to where they are initially with the screaming craziness it will be songs like this that push them to the top. The best thing about this new young band is that there is literally no one else out there like them! But in all honest opinion I don't think a lot of bands could pull off a screaming female lead singer. This album is awesome! From the cliche'd topic of a crazy party and here's a song in 'Is It Horrible' to the hard hitting 'Love You Good' with an awesome building momentum that captures the essense of this band. 'Move, Shake, Hide' is definitely a favourite on this album. This song definitely was the way that this band made it onto the scene and with good reason. It's literally a rollercoaster of pure unadulterated insanity and is just incredible. Marmozets' have created a wicked debut album that will surely catapult them to the forefront of the scene and when they're there they will absolutely destroy it. Get ready world Marmozets are coming for you! RO
Finch - Back To Oblivion Isn't it great when one of those classic 'emo' bands come back from the grave with a vengeance. Finch were one of those exact bands, a group so full of teenage angst perfect to match EXACTLY what you were going through back then. Their new album 'Back to Oblivion' definitely has the essence of who they were back then but also hints that this band wanted to grow and mature with their fans. The lyrics are still as poignant as they were back in the good old days but the vocals have definitely adapted and changed with the times. Only in the centre of the second song 'Anywhere But Here' do we hear the classic vocals lead singer Nate was famous for producing. This album really proves that they are still awesome. The riffs included go perfectly with the harmonies that are produced and show this band aren't finished yet. Every good rock album needs a slower song and that is bought to us in the form of 'Murder Me' it slows the pace right down, even though it's only the fourth song in it really allows you to appreciate the rest of this fantastic album. Sometimes you just hear songs on an album that are lost in the way of all the others and think 'that's a grower' that is exactly what 'Play Dead' is. With a slow beginning, evolving into a screaming end it just grows on you the more you listen to it. From the great opening with the slamming 'Back To Oblivion' all the way through to the mellow acoustic number 'New Wave' this album is a great way to come back after being away for so long. Finch haven't had the easiest road to get here. It almost looked like back in 2012 that they were going to call it a day. Thank the lord they've come back because this is one of those bands that are one in a million. RO
Cavalera Conspiracy - Pandemonium It is with a sense of foreboding that greets the listener with ‘Babylonian Pandemonium’, the atmospheric intro gives way to those monstrous drum beats that typical of Iggor and once Max launches in to that well known growl you know you are on to a beast of an album. I was slightly disappointed with the last Soulfly record but any thought there would be any disappointment here vanishes quickly as the speed thrash crashes around you, there is an element of Nailbomb about this opener, the spoken word break back in to huge chorus’s. It takes you through the grinder and there is no let up going to the equally devastating ‘Bonzai Kamikaze’, this adds some slightly more melodic moments but they are quickly doused with the same crushing riffs and beats that opened the album. Max’s voice is as good as it has ever been, if not better. The aggression and ferocity in his voice is one of the unparalleled voices in metal history although the evolution of his voice is interesting over they years as it moved from a deep growl in to higher and unbelievably more devastating sound. With ‘Scum’ and ‘I Barbarian’, you get the feeling of this being the Max led Sepultura album we’ve been craving since his departure from the band he helped create back in 1996 Then again, there are more original members of Sepultura in Cavalera Conspiracy then are actually in Sepultura so it is perhaps not a big surprise. These songs are fast and furious and are as fine a body of work as the Cavalera’s have ever burned their name in to and for those longing for a classic Sepultura reunion, this is as close you are likely to get. On the evidence of this merciless, unflinching offering is there really a need for one? I don’t see it. AN
Slipknot - .5 The Gray Chapter The death of Paul Gray shook the metal world to its core when it happened. It felt like a piece of every person who hold IOWA personally close to their heart had fallen. Seeing the individual members of Slipknot during interviews it was clear they were struggling to come to terms with it and when a new album was mentioned they would say the same thing 'we're not ready'. Well it appears they are finally ready to make music again but not forget their fallen brother. This is The Gray Chapter and it brings Slipknot back to their roots. The opening of the album sounds more like Stone Sour than the Iowa metal act but it doesn't take long for Corey Taylor's trademark vocals to slam down. Sarcastrophe starts slow but quickly kicks into overdrive when the drums are introduced and before you know it, classic Slipknot are blasting through the speakers, something reminiscent of People = Shit, which is never ever a bad thing. I thought it might be a bit of a flook since their last album didn't really appeal to me, Psychosocial was good but the rest just didn't catch. From the third song on this album 'AOV' it's clear that they're back to their good old selves. Right at the end the rapping even comes out from Corey as the song reaches it's pinnacle. 'Killpop' ironically (maybe on purpose) starts like a pop song you'd hear on Radio One. Clear vocals from easily one of the greatest front men of our generation and just when I think 'is this a mature Slipknot' suddenly the roaring voice comes back. The guitar solo that starts this song off is nothing less than awesome! Only when the song kicks in does it become clear that it's about Paul Gray, or at least sounds it. 'The world will never see another crazy mother fucker like you. No one will never know another man as amazing as you'. Sounds quite on the nose about the whole situation. I personally have never known a heavy metal song bring a tear to my eye. Kudos Slipknot. The album carries on with awesome songs like 'Lech', 'Nomadic' and 'The One That Kills The Least' but when you see a song called 'Goodbye' is bound to pluck at the heart strings. It's hard to not mention the fact that this band lost a key member and Slipknot obviously don't want the fans to forget that. They even kept the identity of the new bassist a secret. This is Slipknot's epic return! Clearly they're still healing but this is definitely one of their best albums to date. The vocals are impressive and the way the instruments meld into each other and create that familiar sound that I for one have been missing. The Iowa group provide awesome music like they always have. It's a shame they had to do it minus one brother but he lives on through this album. RO
Black Foxxes - Pines Black Foxxes have taken the decision to walk down the same route many bands have decided to make before, and released their 5 track record independently. 'Pines' is the three-piece rock band's debut EP led with with guttural vocals and a shed load of raw noise. The actual record was already laid down only three months into the birth of the band, and it says a lot about what the members stand for when they've made it a priority to patiently inject the band's sound until they were comfortable to release to the world. And it has paid off because the raw energy of the record bounces off the walls at fierce velocity. Themes of illness, frustration and cabin fever are the types of issues that can be expected to hear vocalist and songwriter, Mark Holley, delve into on the album. The lyrics are very much readbetween-the-lines type of writing allowing for personal interpretation, the macabre soundscapes only adds to the gritty and edgy meaning that the trio have accomplished fittingly. For a band so young it seems remarkably extraordinary that they've captured a musical dynamic and solid footing as impressive as theirs, Holley's vocal controls of tormented rage paired with the slick support from bassist Tristan Jane and equally powerful drums from Ant Thornton make for a sensational kick start of a first album that can only continue into the new year. MP
Yellowcard - Lift A Sail Quite a lot has been made of this album following it's less-than-epic reception in the American billboard charts. Certainly this album shows many marked differences to Yellowcard's previous works; those searching for a similar follow-up to 2012 record Southern Air, and certainly those of you stuck in 2003 who want to hear Ocean Avenue done over again, may be sorely disappointed. Where once Yellowcard would have opted for simplistic pop-punk riffs occasionally over-laced with their signature violin melodies, they now seem to favour large soundscapes and more piano and synth textures providing backing to the more edgy (only just though) rock riffs. Fans of Yellowcard should not be having major seizures while listening though. Of course there is still frontman Ryan Key's suber and unique voice lending a sense of familiarity to the record. And once you start to delve deeper into the album, around tracks Make Me So and unbelievably brilliant track One Bedroom you start to realise that this is not Yellowcard selling out, or betraying their fans, just doing things a bit differently. Many people forget that Yellowcard have been around for a long time. To get to this point, over 15 years into their career, and to have started to do things a little bit differently is nothing short of bewildering. Nonetheless, as often seems to happen when a band take a bit of a change of direction, it could take some listeners a few times round to fully appreciate this album for what it is. Stick with it and give it a chance though, and this album will not disappoint. AL
Transit - Joyride There seems to be a stigma these days with guitar-driven pop music. Clearly some of those who used to love Busted and McFly seem to believe that that kind of music belongs in the early 2000s, and there certainly are arguments that some bands who try and do that kind of thing should be forcibly sent into space to see the effects of 0 gravity on their hair. However, should such a project ever start to gain some form of momentum, there are some bands we must defend to the last, and this new album from Transit more than argues the case they should be allowed to be retained as pets. Although listed as a pop-punk album (and produced by Rise Records) Joyride seems to rest in an interesting crossroads between pop-punk, straight-up rock, and emo. Certainly songs like Rest to Get Better are more of the rock and emo vein, whereas tracks like opening song The Only One and irresistibly bouncy Sweet Resistance could be the popiest of Blink-182 tracks.
There's nothing in this album that is new, or hasn't really been done before, but in this kind of music everything was already done a decade ago, and that in no way stops what Transit have done from being anything less than compelling listening. They said it themselves in Sweet Resistance: "We're making everything old feel new again." There's plenty of songs about girls, and songs about friends, and everything else you might expect on a 7/10 pop-punk album. This is music made for the summer, and as the days start to get shorter, everyone could use some decent, solid, well-written feelgood music, and that is exactly what Transit have given us. AL
Major League - There's Nothing Wrong With Me Simplistic music does not get enough credit. Not all music has to include complex guitar lines and drumming done by a demented millipede on crack. Don't get me wrong, it's cool when stuff like that does turn up (especially that millipede) but occasionally you just need to listen to something simple and honest, like There's Nothing Wrong With Me.
Those familiar with Major League will know that their particular brand of punktinged alternative rock is nothing if not a lot of fun to listen to, and from the sounds of this album it seems like they know this, and play to it really rather well. Although there are slightly more mature songs such as Graves and Just As I Am which do contain some pretty hard-hitting lyrics, the latter especially seeming to be a fairly in-depth look into Brian Joyce's character. Having said that, there's quite a few more songs on this album that contain the bounce and groove that people look for in this genre. Tunes like Kaleidoscopes are just made for a couple of hundred kids bouncing around in the basement of a club somewhere. As you get more and more into the album, around the time the emotional, acoustic ballad Montreal starts to kick in, you also start to realise that in the midst of songs like Devil's Advocate is a much deeper emotional content than simply singing about a girl as an awkward number of their peers seem to prefer. There's Nothing Wrong With Me may take a few people a few listens to fully grasp. It took me at least more than one. But those who are willing to give it the time will not find something that is boring, or emotionally redundant - just music that has no frills. AL
Mallory Knox - Asymmetry Mallory Knox are a rising British Rock band and they are back to prove their place in the scene with their sophomore album, "Asymmetry"... The opener and lead single, "Ghost In The Mirror" will linger and pop up in your head for a long long time due to its solid powerful and extremely catchy melodies! The lyrics are very well written and delivered flawlessly vocally by Mikey, whose tones fit just right with the instrumentation! "Getaway" has a different feel to it and is quite emotive being about the complications of a relationship, and will hit you hard with its changeable vocals and instruments that help portray the feelings in the situation making it a strong offering! "Shout At The Moon" is superb bursting with vibrant instruments and ambience, and not to mention a memorable catchy chorus with soaring vocals! This song could fill arenas easily with its anthemic qualities! "She Took Him To The Lake" gets off to a softer start unfolding layers and changes, building up and is the epitome of what the band represent and can deliver in this fantastic 7 minute long masterpiece! "Heart and Desire" demonstrates Mikey's vocal abilities more so with the focus on them in the quieter instrument sections, and even though slower paced the chorus gives it that push to the big heights as seen throughout. Following on perfectly is, "Lonely Hours" which has a well thought out structure and rhythm making it stand out with again some of Mikey's best moments as well atmospheric and all surrounding instruments! Closing song, "Dare You" features ambient, upbeat instruments with somewhat bleak lyrics making for a brilliant emotional anthem to end on. Mallory Knox are certainly doing the British Rock scene proud; Adding some excitement and talent and for their astonishing efforts I think their fan base and exposure will grown exponentially due to their brilliant anthemic song writing abilities and fresh injection of creativity and emotion. This has to be in the list of must hear album's of the year! CL
The Xcerts - There Is Only You Three piece Scottish indie rock band return with their anticipated third album which fans have waited four years for... Opening, "2.12.12" is just an instrumental/mood setting track but it is beautiful and effective and only helps add to the excitement of the first proper song... "Live Like This" kicks into full blown action, showcasing a soaring chorus, strong lyrics and tonnes of energy exuding from the band! Continuing on this theme, "Shaking The Water" is a powerful memorable single with stand out riffs which will leave you singing along and moving your head in time with the melodies! A particular highlight is, "Pop Song" with the great lyrics such as, "You haunt me like a pop song in my head", and quite fittingly I think this song achieves that also, but in a good sense! Bringing the cool factor back to 'pop' as was the bands intention. The title and closing song, "There Is Only You" opens on focused and beautiful delicate vocals from Murray accompanied by well placed piano, with the end result making for a powerful and moving ballad to end on which demonstrates his fragile emotions which could be a result of Murray's spilt from his long term partner. Towards the end of the song, it takes a turn with all instruments crashing in and a more hopeful feel and ending on soaring heart wrenching vocals, again reasserting their goal of emotion and genuine feeling back in pop songs! The band set out to put the heart back into pop music and the collection of songs on this album definitely achieves this, as well as highlighting that The Xcerts are burning stronger than ever and will be in the spotlight...and well the album its paved it's way into the official charts being number one in the Official Indie Breakers chart, I think that says it all! CL
Pianos Become The Teeth - Keep You Baltimore's Pianos Become The Teeth are back with their new LP 'Keep You' the group broke out after their sophomore LP gained them success and almost breaking into the Billboard 200 in the US. 'Keep You' is a complete surprise and a release you would not expect after listening to their previous works. 'Ripple Water Shrine' is a solid opener to the album, Kyle Durfey's soft vocals are a nice indication of a new progression. There are very little drums but the Piano like guitar riff gives the song a very relaxing and soothing. 'April' has a similar tone, the same resonant voice - the vocals are more aggressive towards the end relieving older fans. 'Lesions' has a very Balance and Composure influence to it especially around the lyrics 'If it's true, here's me telling you, and here's me glad as hell that you'll never know' the instruments are used more frequently in this song after a fairly quiet beginning to the album. 'Old Jaw' is the most disappointing song on the album, I personally find it a little repetitive which is not the usual style of this band; who have been more experimental and abstract in the past with their music - if you're into early emo releases this song should please you. 'Repine' has a Touche Amore type of introduction to it, the build up of drums in the intro makes you anticipate something big which comes in the form of a very high guitar tone, I would imagine this song be a spectacle live. 'Late Lives' is another one of those songs lacking of anything catchy or memorable, well it doesn't excite me anyway. Luckily the album takes lift off again with 'Enamor Me' which should always be listened to as loud as possible, the riffs are superb and the lyrics and vocals flow much better and the chorus is somewhat appealing - think Into It. Over It. but just a bit more up tempo. 'Traces' has a military style drum beat throughout and that same Piano like guitar riff, the trace may seem a little dreary to some fans. 'The Queen' is another slow number but the instrumentals and lyrical content should be enough to keep the listener interested. 'Say Nothing' is the final track on the album; and the longest. It's fair to say that drummer David Haik didn't sweat much when recording this album - the lack of drums has reduced the punch this band used to have in their music, the vocals also obviously don't have the same bite and the final track does drag. It may have been better to have a shorter track but the final two minutes contain only instrumental and provides an appropriate ending to the album. An interesting transition from Pianos Become The Teeth, they must believe in their new style. With a little refinement and more progression their next album will be very interesting to listen to, for now 'Keep You' is an interesting preview or what is to come. JP
Boston Manor - Driftwood - EP Emerging after Neck Deep's incredible Warped Tour takeover, Boston Manor are one among the many of pop-punk bands breaking through the underground scene in the genres tidal takeover in the past year. Hailing from the "Vegas" of the UK, Blackpool, Boston Manor offer up a refreshing change from its peers and that's evident on new EP Driftwood. Kicking off with "Salt Water", an assault of fast drum tracks, punk riffs and melancholic vocals reminiscent of classic emo. Jumping straight through to lead single "Peach State" Boston Manor shine here, with an incredibly infectious chorus and sing-alongs that are bound to get you posi-jumping around your room. Lyrically Driftwood tells us through the bands eyes the period between adolescence and adulthood, couple that with vocalist Dan's unique Lancashire tinged vocals and you've got an EP which is not just filled with pop-punk tracks. But, honest pop-punk that conveys what the genre does best, the emotions of its writers. Whether it's the infectious lead single, the fast thrash of "See You In Three Years" or the honest lyricism of "Square One" Fusing their influences from Blink-182 all the way to NOFX. Boston Manor are riding on the new wave of pop-punk, and by god are they doing it well. GD
Forever Came Calling - What Matters Most Forever Came Calling first entered my music littered mind at the end of 2013. Moving out of 2013 and into 2014 was a weird yet wonderful thing. Pop-Punk was and probably still is my thing, after overplaying the likes of Neck Deep, State Champs, The Story So Far and a hell of a lot of The Wonder Years, I found myself looking for the not so "mainstream" pop-punk acts. Trawling through my press email, the wonderful guys over at Pure Noise Records dropped a split into my inbox in the form of Forever Came Calling/Family Thief. That's about when Forever Came Calling popped into my life and now the guys have just released their second record on Pure Noise, and for want of a better word, What Matters Most is a fucking stellar pop-punk record. "August Is Home" kicks off the album to a great start, with an arrangement reminiscent of "Half Hour of Power" Sum 41. Guitarist John Swaba immediately hits the listener with a tour de force of guitar hooks and with vocalist Joe Candelaria throwing in some unique and infectious vocal patterns, from the first track in it's fun, honest and doesn't hold back. "Substances" is another stand out track on the record, providing a good old classic pop-punk build up, incredible sing-a-longs and riffs that are bound to get a packed room moving wall-to-wall. With the incredible breakdown of instruments towards the end, Candelaria hits hard with dark lyricism, "Is this really what you wanted? You put your mess in an open coffin", showing that this band ultimately aren't just your typical poppunk band. What Matters Most is an impressive follow-up to its predecessor "Contender", with instrumentation reminiscent of the drive-thru era of pop-punk, Candelaria's unique patterning, What Matters Most is a no holds barred assault on everything you love about pop-punk. GD
The Smith Street Band - Throw Me In The River I'll admit to having been clueless on this Melbourne band apart from a couple of recommendations from friends over that side of the pond that sadly went unchecked. More fool me, especially that they were in the U.K last month. This is a band that are loud, bruising and utterly crushing taking the vibe of the folk-punk that has been made famous by Frank Turner in recent years and that vocal ability to utterly catch you, chew you up and spit you out. That is exactly what vocalist Wil Wagner does. The fact he sings with an Aussie accent is a great thing and adds an individual character to a band thats sound demands a native accent to narrate them. It is a quiet, thoughtful opening before it kicks in and it does big time. 'Something I Can Hold In My Arms' is a real banger and if the energy thrown out here is the same in a live setting then you better be ready to stand your ground in the chaos. There is an unmistakable menace on this album, it is ominous and subtle but it is pouring from every pour of it. The guitar walls that hit you along a like being struck by a wave, add in an awesome partnership in the rhythm section between Fitzgerald and Cowburn. On 'Surrey Drive' there is a big hint of Big Country, a very punked up Big Country but it is there none the less although, I'd be surprised if they would have the words “fuck off� in a song. This song illustrates the depth this has band managing to give out numerous different genres in the four short minutes. 'Calagry Girls' brings some melancholy and deep emotion from Wagner, that feeling of depression and anxiety that we have all felt from a break up comes pouring and even finds you looking inward to yourself. It really is a stunning moment on this album and Wagner's voice? It is hard to describe how powerful they are here. If there is any justice, these guys are going to be huge, the raw power, aggression and musicianship all adds up to a real triumph. AN
Machine Head - Bloodstone & Diamonds Machine Head have had a certain classical element in the last few years but this time they go full hog with an out and out string section opening the album on ‘Now We Die’ and it works superbly adding to real extra sense of occasion I always get when Machine Head release a new album and the wait to see what new ideas they have come up with. ‘Killer and Kings’ has been around for a while so I’ll move straight on to ‘Ghosts Will Haunt Me’ and it’s slightly off beat opening riff which took a couple of listens to get used to, the same can’t be said for the rest of the song though which grabbed me with its Davidian like riffing and use of harmonics which are as much of a hook as anything else. This is a great track which showcases everything at the bands disposal. The ability to change time signature at the drop of a hat, the dual harmonies while keeping it heavy as fuck! I’ve heard bands attempt this kind of thing before and it sounds a disjointed mess but Machine Head are among the very best, the flow is constant and natural. They also make it sound so easy when obviously, it is anything but. The quality of song writing continues with ‘Night of Long Knives’, another rampager, full of tempo changes and moments that will undoubtedly destroy all pits that they stand in front off. As with most new Machine Head albums, you can’t just sit and listen to them without imagining them live, it’s hard to imagine many bands who could pull off these tunes live. Most wouldn’t even try. Robb Flynn’s immense talent as not just a vocalist but as a singer is out in force in the tender yet menacing ‘Sail Into The Black’, the quiet guitars give a soothing backing while the strings create an air behind them in a subtle an unassuming way growing in to the signature snarled vocal. Dave McLain gives a great performance here, he always does but on this one you barely notice it. It was only on a second listen that it hits you, the inout of the double bass beats and cymbal work really gives this something extra. That Mozart feel returns again ‘Eyes of the Dead’ along with big sludgy breakdowns before the one low point of the album in ‘Beneath The Silt’ which just didn’t do anything for me and slightly killed the momentum for a time and made ‘Incomes the Flood’ struggle to make an impact despite the quality of this ode to America and the all mighty Dollar. It all comes crashing back in to place with ‘Game Over’, a fast paced, groove laden, thrash monster, that once again will no doubt see the words “open this pit up” roared from the stage. The dual guitar provide some great melody and the tapping during the breakdown are outstanding to lead the album through its crushing final third. There is even a moment in time back to Burn My Eyes with ‘Imaginal Cells’ and its spoken word, social commentary instrumental in the vein of ‘Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies’ before the final act of the album ‘Take Me Through The Fire’ brings the curtain down album with a fist pumping, bruising end. Unto The Locust split opinion after the unanimous praise and adulation of The Blackening, this one has the potential in some circles to do the same thing but I don’t understand why. There are not many bands, even among the legends, that can lay claim to having the same prolific ability to smash out great albums like these guys have done. The tender and thoughtful is ground up with the furious and the venomous, by the end of this album you can only come to one conclusion. Bloodstone and Diamonds quite simply cements Machine Head’s place among the all time legends in the history of heavy music. AN
Lagwagon - Hung Its 22 years since Lagwagon's debut album and nine years since their last, it has been a long wait but it is well worth it. With this new album you have an opener that on first inspection is a another punk rock song but dig deeper and you find 'Reign' teeming with lyrical, poetic genius. Full of thoughtful, probably insightful word shaped in the way of a sonnet. It's a great opener and shows what we have been missing in the near ten years since their last album. They move in to a heavier mode with 'Made of Broken Parts' more melodic and hard hitting than the opener before getting even heavier and even pushing teetering on thrash territory in 'The Cog in the Machine'. By now they have a settled in to a rhythm, each song is rolling off the tongue and pounding through like a battering ram, mixing melody with some great crunching riffs and enticing hooks.
'Obsolete Absolute' is possibly the stand out of the record, the bass intro rolls in to a wall of fuzz laden guitars before a fully two and half minute wait for Joey Cape's vocals to appear. It's something a bit different but shows a band at ease and sounding confident with each other. This album isn't a marvel of technical musicianship, it is a triumph of punk rock attitude with great songs and some very fine word craft. It is also littered with gems, 'One More Song' is simply stunning and as it moves in the closing 'Drag', it's as good an end to an album I've heard this year. AN
White Lion Parade - A Fight, Through It All The Bristol post rock act that is White Lion Parade are here with their atmospheric EP 'A Fight, Through It All'. As a huge fan of Explosions In The Sky & 65daysofstatic I found myself enjoying this output from the moment I hit play. 'Preface' has it all, bird samples, voice samples, towering riffs, and with its stunning continuity into the first song with band vocals it really does act as a perfect introduction to the record. With the vocals now in full swing on 'Sirens Scream' we see a different depth to White Lion Parade, with their shouting vocals that sound like something Thrice would do on 'Vheissu' combined with even more melody and detail from the guitar section simply shows us just how very talented this upcoming act are. 'Change' is full of huge chords that you could easily visualize being an absolute treat to watch live. The track hits you with a nice dose of chilled out lyrics to create a sort of roller coaster effect, which is extremely exciting to listen too as you really don't know what will happen next. I don't know what it is about speeches from our past working so well as a part of instrumental/atmospheric music, but it's always interesting to hear, and on the final track 'Through Everything' these guys have simply nailed this technique. The track is full of epic build ups that simply leave me with the feeling that White Lion Parade are a certainly a band to look out for in the post rock genre as we enter 2015. AD
PVRIS - White Noise It has been a bit of a whirl wind couple of years for this Lowell, Massachusetts three piece, since forming in 2012 they have found themselves on the Warped Tour and Rise Up Tour, released two E.Ps and be signed to Rise Records to release this debut album. As with most female fronted alternative bands, I'm sure there will be comparisons to Paramore but you would be well off the mark. With a song like 'St. Patrick' there are moments I would compare it more with a Calvin Harris/ Pendulum crossover with the heavy electronica influence that soaks through out. This song is instantly memorable and catchy, again the crossover quality could see as much of a hit on dance floors as in a music hall. There isn't much divergence from the formula with 'My House' and to be fair, when you are on a good sound , why would you have to? This isn't really my cup of tea but it is still leaving me with tapping feet and snared by the voice of Lyndsey Gunnulfsen's voice. The only disappointment comes with the fact not all of the tracks are as strong and at timesare simply weak, after the highs of the previous two songs the drop in tempo and quality of 'Holy' is clear, the title track struggles to pull back the momentum and it is only with 'Fire' that it is eventually caught again. It drops again with 'Eyelids' and 'Ghosts' although the latter has the saving grace of Lyndesy's vocal crushing it again and leading 'Let Them In' in to leading the album to end on a high. Despite the difference between songs PVRIS are a band that have a radio friendly sound, it is a good debut and certain songs could be huge. AN
Hostage Calm - Die On Stage When it kicks in with 'When You Know' you can hear hints of similarities of New Found Glory but with broad comparisons aside it seems since their debut album, Lens, six years ago we have seen pop-punkers Hostage Calm grow into themselves on their new release, Die On Stage, like watching a new born baby's skull bones finally knit together. The album features a guest appearance from Vinnie Caruana of I Am The Avalanche on the infectiously chorused edgy ballad 'Raised', a song that establishes front man Chris Martin's vocal journey over the years and without doubt the slickest and consistent he has been on a record. The track list as a whole is plethora of typical fun pop-punk and irresistible to a sing-along with the catchy melodies about heartbreak, slick riffs, and snappy hooks to prevent the album from toppling over of simplicity.
With their recent shock announcement of the band's split this album is a positive but in no way their peak note to end on and comes at such a surprise time when they've created a finely tuned body of work that seems to be the skin they play most comfortably in. MP
Rancid - Honour Is All We Know "Honor is All We Know" is Rancid's eighth album and follow up to the 2009, "Let The Dominoes Fall" which was meant to be released back in 2012 but due to members being busy it kept getting delayed, so was it worth the long wait?!... Opening song, "Back Where I Belong" seems a appropriate good start with the typical characteristics of the band paying homage to their roots, in a fast fun punk fashion keeping everyone happy!.."Raise Your Fist" keeps the punk anarchy spirit alive in this catchy empowering track with strong gang chants adding to the 'power' of the message! "Evil's My Friend" brings the groove back and grabs your attention with ska reggae vibes and infectious riffs making this a must hear on the album. Title track, "Honour Is All We Know" is upbeat and high tempo with memorable guitar work and angsty gravelly vocals along with good gang chants for emphasis and is quite addictive, resulting in another stand out track. The exceptionally short, "A Power Inside" hits hard in the time that it has, with rather uplifting lyrics and an extremely melodic chorus! "In The Streets" packs more brute force with attitude whilst maintaining its mainstream feel! "Already Dead" fires off in a super fast whirl of punk as it should be with strong beats, rhythms and bass lines, giving it an anthemic sound! Going back to the ska roots again seen in "Evil's My Friend", "Everybody's Suffering" rekindles this and is a highlight as differentiates from sound of majority of album, especially with use of an organ, along with a good contrast of positive sounding instruments and depressing lyrics! So we reach the end with, "Grave Digger" which has more of a hard edge and closes things on a welcomed unexpected turn! Packed with attitude filled vocals and varies the instrumentation. At face value or rather when these tunes first grace your ears, the majority are fun and melodic and therefore making the album enjoyable to listen to in its length of under 33 minutes, whether it is deemed short but sweet or rather glad it's over soon as obviously a matter of opinion, fans of the band may love this for addressing and rehashing their classic sounds with a few new tricks up their sleeve, whereas some may just feel this is not comparable to their previous work. At the end of the day there are some real gems on this album, so would recommend giving it a listen...It won't take much of your time! CL
Joy Became Clear - Nothing More Than A Golden Fictive Lifeline With Pop Punk being one of the biggest genres in music at the moment, then when a new act of this style comes to attention then expectations are already extremely high. However, with their refreshing approach to this style on this EP then I believe that Joy Became Clear will be making their way further up the ranks very shortly. 'Nothing To Regret' has everything a pop punk fan could want, a crisp melody, clear singing, gang vocals, and a breakdown riff at the end. The band also give it an exciting depth by adding interesting effects which at times sound like something The Ataris would do in their early days. 'Talking To Myself' keeps momentum to a high, with its punchy chords and massive build ups which keep you captivated throughout the track. 'A Helping Hand' is my highlight of the EP as it kicks straight in with a hard hitting riff that could easily get a mosh pit on the go in a live atmosphere, and then throughout the song and while these huge riffs are being played the singers of the band both provide delicate and huge vocal lines that just give the song a great dynamic that I have no doubt will keep any listener coming back again, and again. 'Cut To The Quick' is a fast paced and jumpy track, and overall it's a perfect summary of what I’ve witnessed overall with this release . So if you want to check out a band that are taking a raw and 'old school' approach to the pop punk genre, then this band would be a perfect place to start. AD
Michael Blackwell - Brave New Soul Michael Blackwell is here with his debut album "Brave New Soul", a record full of alternative rock gems, that I think will take Michael to a new level almost instantly. So read on to find out what you're missing. For an upcoming artist, the first track on this album 'My Own Affliction' is simply huge, and what else is great, is that it's really hard to just say that Michael is a certain type of genre, as there are so many influences in his work. Although he might not even know it, we're hearing the likes of Circa Survive, Brand New, Oasis all combined together to create a mix that is extremely exciting to hear. Full of a hard hitting bass line, and vocal styles that reference an Arctic Monkeys style "The Truth Is" is an overpowering song that will grab your attention from the first note. If you’re driving at night, or maybe through the desert, then "Midnight Drive" is a track that you'll want to put on, it has a mesmerizing sound that builds up throughout, and simply leaves you wanting more.
The track 'Weathered' has an atmospheric and somewhat Coldplay approach to it, which works really well, as it ends up giving a nice balance to the album. With its pounding riffs, and overwhelming chorus 'Lady Grey' is probably my highlight of the record, and a track like this would work very well in an arena sized venue, which is clearly how big Michael has dreamed while putting together this record. 'Two Coins for My Eyes' may be over seven minutes long, but due to its powering sound, and catchy chorus it really doesn't feel that long at all, a perfect end to the release I'd say. This guy has a lot of talent for an upcoming solo artist, and after a handful of listens to this impressive output it's safe to say that he has spent a lot of time cramming as much detail as he can into every second of the record, and this hard work has resulted with an outstanding listen. AD
Devil Sold His Soul - Belong â•Ş Betray Belong â•Ş Betray is the first evidence since 2012 that Devil Sold His Soul are still the tits. With a swap in vocals in 2013 this is Paul Green's first release that showcases his stunning vocal range that simply pieces the band together like a musical puzzle. The post-hardcore band hold a unique flair for welding metalcore with atmospheric choruses without the manner of pretentiousness that usually comes with complexity of such a genre. This EP is a shining example of a band laying down their ground with explosions of emotions, and small but effective bursts of ferocity The construction of each track has to be the one of the band's most flawless material with its crisp production and consistent sound it's difficult to fault, even if you wanted to. It's the type of EP that will have you hypnotised to the bone and without a second thought you'll find yourself playing it on repeat without an ounce of boredom creeping in. With it already looking like one of the best releases of the year there could be a chance that 2015 will be the year for the Devil, their efforts before this EP were awesome but paired with a new line-up, fresh material, and a new home at Basick Records it's definitely the mark of a new exciting age for the band. MP Made In Waves - Made In Waves Alt-metal/hard rock will always have a special place in the hearts of those metal fans my age (early 20s ish). After all, we grew up and discovered bands like Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace and Story of the Year, and those bands became some of our favourites, ones that will stick with us until long after the band have split up. So when a band come out that reminds me of those days coming up to a decade ago now, it's very difficult to not experience a sense of nostalgia for those bands and how excellent they were, and Made In Waves are just such a thought-provoking band. Of course, Made In Waves have technically been around that long, as well. Forming in 2004 as Ghost in the Machine they made their name sharing stages with Deftones, Young Guns, Incubus and P.O.D, which is perhaps why their music still has that feeling of mid-noughties alternative metal. Songs like Rigamarole do not display an overtly technical take on alternative music, aside from the odd blistering breakdown chug, but all of the songs are nonetheless superbly crafted, with an emphasis more on the songs as a whole sounding and more importantly feeling accessible to the listener. One of the chief characteristics of this album is the vocal performance; Evan Thomas and bassist Johnathan Hagood do a superb job of turning what would otherwise be a fairly standard album into a cornucopia of emotionally-charged tracks. Each track varying from slower ballads to faster, angrier mosh music (see certifiable banger Halo) sometimes even doing it within the same song. It isn't going to win any awards for innovation, but if Made In Waves doesn't receive praise from across the board I would be very surprised. AL
Coheed & Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 [Vinyl re-issue] It's been just over ten years since the release of their career changing album "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3", a record that launched the 'status' of Coheed & Cambria even further on a global level. So to celebrate this outstanding release the band have given their fans a vinyl re-issue that has been completely remastered to satisfy your listening needs. For some, it can be worrying when a band decide to remaster work that they already consider to be fine in the first place, however I can tell you that it does in fact sound absolutely fantastic, and from the first moment you hear "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3" you'll find yourself already mesmerized by the crisp output. With vinyl, it's a bit more "effort" to skip the track than it is with say a CD player or on a MP3 player, so when I'm looking to buy an album on vinyl, I want to make sure that I can listen to it from the start to finish without there being a track that I just don't want to listen too. This record achieves that, and with so many huge & somewhat atmospheric songs on the album including "The Crowing" "Blood Red Summer" & "A Favor House Atlantic" then this creates an awesome listening experience. The re-issue is four sides long, and with the last side being only "21:13" for close to ten minutes of Coheed & Cambria awesomeness, then it’s clear to see that this release hasn't been rushed, and that every minute has been re-looked at to make sure that the overall presentation is nothing short of brilliant. So, if you combine all of these points with the impressive artwork that's provided with the release, then I can confirm with ease that this is an absolute must have vinyl for any Coheed & Cambria fan out there. AD
Mastodon - Leviathan Mastodon are one of the finest metal bands to have emerged in the last 20 years and I very much doubt many could argue, with any real conviction anyway, that they are one of the finest metal bands of all time. The first time I heard Mastodon was around ten years ago when 'Blood and Thunder' popped up on one of those free CDs that come with a magazine, after listening through various dross, all of a sudden my ears suddenly at full attention and I can remember thinking “who the fuck is this??”. From there it was straight down to pick up the Leviathan album and the rest is history. It was therefore a nice surprise to walk in to a local record shop and find the reissue vinyl had just arrived in stock and after a brief chat with the boss man Tony, I was convinced this had to be on my shelf. To be fair I was sold after the words “it sounds great” so he didn't really have to bend my arm. The first thing grabs you is how stunning the cover art is, I had only ever seen it CD sized but with the vinyl you are getting the full epic scale and to see Paul Romano's vision of the great white whale in its unshrinking glory is a sight to behold. I was blown away but opening it up is a real wow moment when you see full picture complete with his interpretations of The Pharaohs of Alexandria and the Great Wave off Kanagawa. The 'ox blood' red vinyl looks stunning too as you place it down and ready the needle. There is no disappointment as 'Blood and Thunder' crashes on, it is remarkable how much the sound changes, having been used to listening to this album through my Ipod for years this is a real wake up as it slams through the speakers. Troy Sanders bass is crisp and rumbles alongside Dailors drums while the partnership of Hinds and Kelliher sound so warm it is like listening to a different album and 'Aqua Dementia' has to be heard to be believed. This was the album that put Mastodon among the top names in metal and it would only get better, songs like 'Iron Tusk' and 'I Am Ahab' only served to showcase their brilliance further before Blood Mountain raised their stock even higher. This years Once More Around The Sun is yet another triumph in the career of a band who will in years to come cause no end of argument among fans and critics alike when trying to place the albums in order of greatness. Although I believe they have bettered Leviathan a number of times this would rank among the top for me and having finally listened to it on vinyl, I have a whole new appreciation for the beauty of this record. AN
Never being a huge Jake Gyllenhaal fan, I had mixed expectations going into this movie and doubted the fivestar comments on billboards I'd seen prior to the screening. But now, after watching Dan Gilroy's first directed movie, I only have good things to say about Mr Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal plays as Lou Bloom, a pale faced and bug-eyed LA lowlife who makes his way through life stealing and lying, selling whatever he can lay his hands upon and desperately throwing himself at any job opportunity that comes his way. Right from the offset you can tell that Gyllenhaal's character has an edge about him, an emotional detatchment that makes you feel like he wouldn't quite fit in with the wild nights and glamorous sidewalks of Los Angeles' bustling nightlife. Well spoken and overwhelmingly confident, he plays the part beautifully. Often engaging the audience with intense spiels, not once changing the unphazed look on his face. His unnerving way of talking to people and unsettling mannerisms makes you uncomfortable, and at times his blend of arrogance and slight social disposition add humour in what is otherwise a dark and twisted thriller. He falls upon a highway incident in which a crashed car, up in flames, is in the hands of emergency services, attempting to save an injured woman who is trapped inside. A camera crew featuring Billl Paxton (Aliens, Twister) rush to the scene and don't hesitate to grab some close ups of the driver being hauled out of the burning wreck by police. Lou becomes intrigued, and in his desperation for employment he questions the camera crew once they'd caught their footage, quizzing them on job opportunities and how well the job paid. Sporting a handy cam and a police transmitter (gained by pawning a stolen bicycle) he starts to grab some footage of local incidents himself. The nature of being a Nightcrawler excites Lou, the invasion of people's lives and personal space never seem to phase him. His issues with emotional detachment leave him oblivious to what moral boundaries he may be crossing. Constantly pushed back by local authorities and getting beaten to the scene by rival camera crews, Gyllenhaal continues to pursue gory footage. He lives on the phrase of which Bill Paxton's character, Joe Loder, said to him at the burning car, 'If it bleeds, it leads'.
The film is dark and dingy from the offset, it has witty moments at times, but never fails to return to the sweaty underbelly of the LA TV news industry. He gets his break after gaining some barely-legal footage from a carjacking and takes it to a local news station where the producer, Nina, played by Rene Russo (Thor and The Thomas Crown Affair) buys the footage and praises him for his work. This kickstarts two things; their relationship and Louis' desire to gain 'bloody' footage. He becomes fuelled by the stations ideal scenario, explained to him by Nina as "a screaming woman, running down the street, with her throat cut". Lou's growing ambitions see him hire an assistant, played by Riz Ahmed (Four Lions). They continue to race the emergency services to the scenes of crimes across LA, and sell the footage onto Nina. There's also a real message being portrayed by this film too, it suggests that the news really is dictated by what people want to see, not what people should see. The crimes effecting "rich, white people in rich neighbourhoods" paper over the real problems on the streets of the world. Homelessness and drug abuse are unnoticed by the TV's eye and instead, prime time is filled with the most shocking (gruesome) incidents out there. The film follows Lou Bloom on his quest to becoming what he saw at the start of his crusade. A self-employed, heavily equipped TV news feeder. His car improves, his clothes improve, he acquires new transmitters and a new camera. As his thirst for footage heightens, Lou begins to edit the crime scenes himself, moving pieces of the crime into the light to gain better footage and often before emergency services arrive. The film peaks at a moment where Lou witnesses a crime in action and instead of aiding the distressed victims, one of whom he finds alive, he ruthlessly catches as much bloody footage as possible. Gyllenhaal shines in Nightcrawler, showing off almost narcissistic acting which I've only ever seen perfected by a few (Mathew Goode in Stoker and Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl). Russo offers a strong dynamic against Gyllenhaal and Ahmed adds humour along the way and contrasts Lou's emotional detachment. A fan of unnerving, nocturnal thrillers and brilliant twists? Watch it.
It seems as though Christopher Nolan movies come with a high expectancy these days, one which can only be accredited to his previous directional outings. The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception and Memento are all held in high esteem as some of the greatest blockbuster epics ever seen in 21st century cinema. And that's exactly where Interstellar should be viewed, in the cinema. I'm not saying that the film would lack its gargantuan prestige without surround sound and perfect picture quality, but that this is a movie which deserves to be seen on the big screen. With an all-star cast including recent Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club, A Time To Kill) and Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises, Les Miserables), Nolan and his brother Johnathan have written a story that enthrals and excites, but also baffles and bewilders. The storyline is complex and riddled with twists, but it is delivered in a way that come the final conclusion. Everything intertwines and leaves you with a sense of wonder. The film's script writing was supervised by Kip Thorne, a theoretical physicist, to ensure that all of the scientific inputs in the film were accurate. We start on Earth, dusty, baron and plagued with blight, an infectious disease which leaves crops and vegetation ill in its wake. Coop (McConaughey) lives on a farm with his two children and his father-in law. Coop, an ex-NASA pilot and single father, is doing his bit to get through the hard times by fixing farming machinery. McConaughey is brilliant, although his dialogue is at times inaudible due to the low-pitched drone which slips into during more intimate scenes. His daughter Murphy (Mackenzie Fox, and later Jessica Chastain) is having a tough time sleeping as she is convinced she is being haunted by a ghost; books are being knocked off her shelf and objects are being broken. Fuelled by her father’s lack of belief in the supernatural world, Murphy sets out to investigate the strange goings-on and compiles evidence to reinforce her case. Slightly marvelled by his daughter's will and determination Coop aids Murphy with her puzzle, and together they stumble across markings on Murphy's bedroom floor, highlighted by a sandstorm which invades their home.
They put the pieces together and unscramble the markings to reveal coordinates. This leads them to a restricted airbase, unaware of their unintended trespassing, they're apprehended and taken inside to be interrogated, only for Coop to be reunited with his former NASA boss, Dr. Brand (Michael Caine). The two, along with an entourage of NASA associates, discuss current affairs and Coop soon learns that Earth is in greater danger than previously imagined‌extinction. Brand explains, "We're not meant to save the world, we're meant to leave it". A wormhole near one of Saturn's moons is discovered, opening a doorway into undiscovered space and contains what could be a number of inhabitable planets, and humanities next home. Interstellar has the capacity to confuse an audience, but does its best to explain itself throughout. The stretching of time becomes the key twist. A fantastic yet terrifying scene sees Coop return to his craft after a couple of hours only to find that over 20 years have passed. For Coop, it means deciding on whether to see his kids again or save the entirety of the human race. Nolan has excelled with Interstellar, it is simply beautiful. He achieves outstanding levels of world creation and stunning special effects using his technical genius and fully utilising the technology at his disposal. A sensational score from Hans Zimmer only reinforce my previous statement, this film should be seen on the big screen. Viewers would only be robbing themselves of a crucial element of Interstellar if they choose to watch it on any other format. Despite some logical breaks in the story which could leave viewers divisive, Interstellar is an emotional and epic blockbuster which must not be missed. Another hit which the ever impressive Nolan can add to his list.
When Far Cry 3 was released in 2012 for me it was the game of the year! The story was compelling, the action was packed, the AI was amazing and the scenery was unlike anything I'd seen in a game before. So to say I've been waiting a while for Ubisoft's latest installment is an understatement. This time we're in the beautifully designed Kyrat, aswell as going over to the Himalayas at some points. As far as design goes it's absolutely stunning, whether you're driving through the trees on the way to a desired location, or running away from a wild bear, each bit of Kyrat is designed with perfection. The wildlife is astounding. Before I begin I will just admit some embarrassment, I was armed to the teeth and ready to take on anything and then I get killed by a badger. Keep your eye out, badgers are bastards. However it's not just land animals that can get you, as I realised when an Eagle dive bombed me and pecked me to death (I'm good at this game honest). Obviously one of the main parts advertised about Far Cry 4 was the fact that you could ride an elephant and it is as fun as it sounds. They can take out individuals on foot or whole car loads of enemies.
The storyline is brilliant, you are Ajay, come home to Kyrat to scatter your mother's ashes and find somewhere called 'Lakshmana' but on the way you are hijacked by Pagan Min, a very stylish homicidal maniac with a very odd demeanour about him. From the moment you meet him you know he's from a life of luxury and has expensive tastes. He will definitely be a pivotal element in this game. I won't ruin it for you but ultimately you join a movement called The Golden Path. How you decide to help the Golden Path is where it gets interesting. You can trust Sabal who is very fight fight fight or Amita who would prefer to work in tactics. Making these choices creates very different missions for the Golden Path how you decide to fight is down to you. As far as missions go they are good, some a little repetetive 'go here, do this, come back' but this is only a few. Ultimately the characters you meet who assign the missions will be the best thing you find about this game - from a gay fashion designer who wants to design you a great outfit, to a 'priest' who believes the way to salvation is with guns...must have missed that part of the bible. There are also plenty of mini missions to sink your teeth into. Far Cry 4 is a great addition to the series and definitely one I will not put down for a long time. The protagonist is likeable, the scenery is gorgeous and more than anything...you can ride an elephant! Go and buy it now!