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I was at a Frank Turner show recently. He spoke about the recent tragedies in Paris and how he himself had lost friends there, and how we shouldn't let these horrific actions stop us from going to concerts. I just want to take a moment to echo that statement, as he couldn't be more right... going to gigs and supporting live music has made unique communities all across the world. I myself have been attending shows since 2002 and it's a place that other than expecting to feel safe, you can escape that world of getting judged for no reason and just be yourself for those crucial couple of hours. To put it simply, we can't let anyone stop us from creating these life changing environments for future generations, so please do not stay inside because of fear, carry on supporting live music just like you always have. Our main article comes from one of the biggest hard rock bands of all time.. Def Leppard! They tell us how they've survived through the music industry changes over the years to be just as relevant now as they always have been. Their latest self-titled album sees the band not listening to any outside influence to bring us one of their most honest outputs to date! We catch up with some of the busiest bands in the alternative rock world who even though the year is dying down and getting ready for 2016 this hasn't stopped them from being on the road right up to Christmas, or promoting a record throughout this chilled out time. So get involved as Trivium, Enter Shikari, The Maine, Nothing More, Ash and MANY more get us up to date with their hectic schedule! Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be out shortly (or it already is depending on when you read this!). So what better time to chat with Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) & Brian Muir (created Darth Vader's helmet and armour using Ralph McQuarrie's design) who tell us what it was like to be a part of this iconic franchise. We have our usual albums of the year feature, where we get our writers (including myself) to tell you what album has had the most impact on them this year. To add to all of this we have a Christmas/New Year competition where we'll be giving away a STACK of CDs (and t-shirts!) to one lucky reader, so make sure you get involved with that! Thank you all for another great year! We wish you a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!
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The first names for next years Download Festival have been revealed. Download Festival 2016 takes place Friday 10th - Sunday 12th June at Donington Park. Friday June 10th Rammstein KoRn Motörhead Gutterdämmerung Saturday June 11th Black Sabbath Deftones Megadeth Sunday June 12th Iron Maiden Disturbed Nightwish The first details for next years Slam Dunk Festival have been revealed. The festival will be celebrating its 10th anniversary and will once again take place across three locations over three days. In addition, the first set of bands have been revealed and sees Panic! At The Disco confirmed as headliners. Other names confirmed are Of Mice and Men, New Found Glory, Four Year Strong, Every Time I Die, Memphis May Fire, Issues and Real Friends. The festival promises to deliver over 40 bands across seven stages. Whilst the Midland date of the festival has moved from Wolverhampton to Birmingham. This is due to the Civic Hall going under redevelopment early next year. May 28 City Centre (Millennium Square, O2 Academy, Leeds Beckett University & Outdoor Stages), Leeds 29 The NEC, Birmingham 30 Forum, Hertfordshire With headliners Mastodon and Twisted Sisters amongst the names already confirmed for Bloodstock 2016, three more bands have been added with French heavyweights Gojira, thrash legends Anthrax and Norway’s Satyricon joining the bill. Bloodstock 2016 takes place 11th - 14th August at Catton Park, Derbyshire. be
Every Time I Die rescheduled their quadruple run of London shows. The shows were set to happen this month but following the terrorist attacks in Paris, France, they postponed the remaining dates of their UK and European tour. All tickets for the original dates will remain valid. May 31 Borderline, London June 01 The Underworld, London 02 Dome, London 03 Old Blue Last, London Sheffield metallers While She Sleeps will be back on the road in March as they have announced a run of intimate shows. March 16 Intake, Mansfield 17 Adelphi, Hull 18 Parish, Huddersfield 19 Alma, Bolton 20 Hut, Corby 22 Red Lion, Gravesend 23 The Haunt, Brighton 24 Junction, Plymouth 25 Bullingdon, Oxford 26 Vintage, Doncaster Irish indie punks The Winter Passing and Kingston four-piece Losing Sleep have announced a coheadline UK tour for January 2016. January 15 Birthdays, London 16 Little Beer, Guildford (Early) 16 Hope & Ruin, Brighton (Late) 17 TBA, Bristol 18 JT Soar, Nottingham 19 Empty Shop, Durham 20 Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh 21 Nice'N'Sleazy, Glasgow 22 Star & Garter, Manchester 23 Gallery Cafe , London 24 TBA, Southampton London ska punks The King Blues have reformed and have been added to Enter Shikari’s early 2016 UK tour where they will support alongside The Wonder Years. February 18 O2 Academy, Glasgow 19 Corn Exchange, Edinburgh 20 Capital FM Arena, Nottingham 22 International Center, Bournemouth 23 Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff 25 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester 27 Alexandra Palace, London
Chicago’s Knuckle Puck will be returning to the UK in the Spring for their first headline tour on these shores. Support comes from Seaway and Boston Manor. 16 Electric Ballroom, London March 29 Joiners, Southampton 30 Exchange, Bristol 31 Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff April 01 Underworld, London 02 Waterfront, Norwich 04 Sound Control, Manchester 05 Think Tank, Newcastle 06 Audio, Glasgow 07 Key Club, Leeds 08 Arts Club Lofe, Liverpool 09 Bodega, Nottingham 10 Fighting Cocks, Kingston The first names for the UK Impericon Festival 2016 have been confirmed with headliners coming in the form of Hatebreed. They will be joined by Northlane, Emmure, Blessthefall, Chelsea Grin and Hundredth with more names to be announced.
Deftones postponed show at London’s SSE Wembley Arena has been rescheduled for Friday June 3rd 2016.
Press To Meco, Max Raptor and Allusondrugs are teaming up for a co-headline tour early next year. The tour will be known as “UK Throwdown” and is presented by UK music TV channel - Scuzz. February 22 The Rainbow, Birmingham 23 Broadcast, Glasgow 24 The Tunnels, Aberdeen 25 Buskers, Dundee 26 The Brickyard, Carlisle 27 Sneaky Petes , Edinburgh 29 Think Tank, Newcastle March 01 Deaf Institute, Manchester 02 The Victoria Inn, Derby 03 The Forum, Tunbridge Wells 04 Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes 05 Owl Sanctuary, Norwich 06 Joiners, Southampton 07 Moles, Bath 08 Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff 09 Borderline, London The organisers behind Hevy Fest have announced they are moving the festival from Port Lympne Animal Park in Kent to a new location; Newhaven in Derbyshire.
The Used have revealed details of four UK shows to mark their 15th anniversary. The shows will see the quartet play two shows in Leeds and London. They will be performing their self-titled album and ‘In Love and Death’ across two nights in both cities. February January 29 at the Garage, London 20Upstairs O2 Academy, Leeds (performing ‘The Used’) 30 Asylum, Birmingham 21 O2 Academy, Leeds (performing 'In Love and Death’) 31 22Sound O2 Control, Forum,Manchester London (performing 'The Used’) 24 O2 Forum, London (performing 'Love and Death’) Influential post-rock group Sigur Rós will headline London’s Citadel Festival next summer. It will take place at Victoria Park on Sunday 17th July and willRecords be only one of have two UK welcomed shows the Icelandic group willCheap Meat to their label. They will release their debut EP, Hassle London trio ‘The Parts That Show’, in early 2016. Post-rock instrumental specialists Explosions In The Sky have confirmed a short run of UK dates including a show at London’s Royal Albert Hall. April 19 Barrowlands, Glasgow 20 Vicar Street, Dublin 22 Albert Hall, Manchester 23 Colston Hall, Bristol 24 Dome, Brighton 25 Royal Albert Hall, Londonlaying i Earlier this year Maybeshewill revealed they would be splitting following a series of final UK shows. Having previously announced a final show at London’s Koko, the Leicester band have added a hometown show along with dates in Leeds and Glasgow to the April run. April 12 Stereo, Glasgow 13 Brudenell Social Club, Leeds 14 Y Theatre, Leicester 15 Koko, London16. Emerging Nottingham pop punk band Layby have changed their name to Catch Fire.
On AlreadyHeard.com Over at Already Heard you will find music news daily, tons of album reviews, live photos, interviews, tour blogs, exclusive streams, acoustic video sessions, features and much more. alreadyheard.com/ facebook.com/alreadyheard twitter.com/alreadyhearduk @AlreadyHeardUK youtube.com/user/AlreadyHeardMusic info@alreadyheard.com
Interview with Angela
“With an intriguing sound that you just can’t pigeonhole, The Echo and the Always are here to discuss their incredible debut album ‘...and After that the Dark’ a diverse output which will surely go on to sustaining an awesome future for this hard-working act!” How did you get to the album title ‘…and After that the Dark’ and what does it mean to you guys? The title is a line from Tennyson’s ‘Crossing the Bar’, which is a short reflection on mortality. That sounds quite dark and dramatic, but unlike someone like Dylan Thomas who wrote about not going out without a fight (‘Do Not go Gentle into that Good Night’), ‘Crossing the Bar’ is more of a peaceful, graceful acceptance of the inevitable. Like song lyrics, the great thing about poetry is you can read into it whatever you like, which means it can speak to anyone in various different situations. We all seem to have identified with ‘Crossing the Bar’ in different ways, and that ties into the lyrical and musical themes of the album. For me, this poem was one of my whisky-drinking, ordained minister/agnostic academic grandmother’s favourites, and I remember overhearing her tell some of her professor friends about how she wanted it read at her funeral because it spoke to her intense curiosity about what comes next. She was a huge influence on me and knowing that gave me a lot of comfort when she died, and I was honoured to be the one to read it at her funeral. At least for me having our debut album bear this title is hugely significant. The full text of the poem can be found in the liner notes in our album.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout ‘…and After that the Dark’? ‘…and After That the Dark’ represents about two years of songwriting and growth as a band, so pinning down single influences is quite difficult. Lyrically, Laura writes very personally about a range of experiences from relationships (not just romantic ones) to mental health so there’s quite a lot of powerful meaning in her words and these themes run throughout the album. Musically, the album is a bit of an anthology of the different things we’ve all listened to and gone through over the past few years and how we’ve evolved as a collective. Songs like ‘Antiquity’ which are a bit on the heavier side were written around the time when a few of us were getting into bands such as Royal Blood or Death From Above 1979. Obviously we don’t sit down to try to recreate what we’ve just heard, but when you live your life surrounded by music you can’t not be influenced by what you’ve been listening to. On the other hand, several of the songs such as ‘Colours’ and ‘How to Burn a Bridge’ were written when we were locked away in a cottage in West Wales. One of those is us just mucking about early one morning and we ended up with a big old pop song, and the other serves as closure for some of us who all dealt with a difficult situation together. Really, this album is two years of hope, heartache, personal highs and lows, and a love for every form of popular music run through some effects pedals, polished off by Todd Campbell and put out there for the world.
Can you tell us about the narrative behind your single ‘Go Easy' and a bit about how the music video for it came together? Lyrically, ‘Go Easy’ speaks to an anxiety I think many of us can relate to. When you’ve had your share of failed relationships and then find yourself in something that might just work you really don’t know what to do with that other than sabotage it so you can be on more familiar ground. The lyrics have nothing at all to do with the video. Kimba (the hooper in the video) is a good friend of ours, and we asked her if she wanted to come up with a routine that could feature in the video. Fortunately for us she accepted, and we just handed it over to her for her to put her own creative take on it. We’re big advocates of the idea of just letting artists be artists and create whatever they want. Whenever you start interfering with that creative process the end result is almost always less than it could have been if you just let him or her get on with it. We’re lucky to be surrounded by lots of brilliant, creative people in Cardiff and we like to try to collaborate with them as much as possible.
How did you end up working with Todd Campbell again, and what is it you like so much about working with him? About 3 years ago friends of ours from another band had recently finished recording with him and we were really impressed with the finished product. They got us in touch with him and he seemed happy to work with us, and so we went and recorded an EP and haven’t wanted to work with anyone else since. He’s a great mix of being really down to earth and personable, and incredibly talented and hard working. He creates this laid back space that doesn’t really accommodate preciousness or vapid insecurities, and because of that he gets the best out of you. He also gets what it is we’re trying to do and helps us achieve that. He’s great. So are his turtles.
What was the hardest track to put together on this record, and why? They all had their challenges, but none of them were particularly hard to put together. We try out a lot of ideas, and not all of them end up turning into songs. It’s not that we seek the path of least resistance in songwriting, but sometimes if it’s not working it’s just not going to work so we move on. The songs that are on the album are the songs that worked well for all of us in the end. What was really hard was deciding what songs made the final cut. We chose to release the album on vinyl, and if you want to keep the integrity of the sound you have to have a shorter album. This meant we had to cut at least 2 songs, which wasn’t easy. There were a couple of songs that one or two of us weren’t 100% in love with, so we chose to cut those, but it was not an easy process. It’s like trying to figure out which of your fully-functioning fingers to cut off just to fit your hands into a nice pair of gloves…only less graphic.
“We’ve figured out a as a songwritin
This is your first album, so writing/recording wise how did it compare overall to putting an EP together?
The album feels like a much more comprehensive and cohesive reflection of us as a band. We were able to do a lot more and put together a compilation of songs which follows a loose narrative from a rather sombre and brooding beginning into a brighter, poppier second half that then finishes on a melancholic refrain. You can’t really do something like that in 4 short tracks. Writing-wise, when we wrote and recorded ‘Lemonade’ we were still figuring our sound out after forming the band. Listening back to the EP we can hear that disjointed identity crisis, which of course every band has. When we listen to ‘…and After that the Dark’ it’s like looking at a reflection in the mirror: it’s a reflection of who we feel we are as a band at this moment in time, and we’re quite proud of that.
Also, how would you say your sound has changed/progressed since the release of your EP 'Lemonade'? Absolutely. When we wrote ‘Lemonade’ we were still finding our sound, and I think that’s captured in the eclectic feel of the EP. Our album is still just as eclectic, but it’s far less fragmented. We’ve figured out a lot about ourselves as a songwriting collective and we sit more comfortably in our diverse influences and styles. ‘Lemonade’ was sort of our awkward adolescence and ‘…and After that the Dark’ is a blossoming into a fully formed band…although most of us would argue we’re still pretty awkward, perhaps not musically but just generally as people.
lot about ourselves ng collective”
So how does a track normally come together for The Echo and the Always? Each track is different, but usually what happens is one of us brings in a bit of a hook or motif that the rest of us build around, or we just jam until something bubbles to the surface that we then use to build a song around. We play off each other in the writing process, so we never bring in something fully formed that one of us wrote in our spare time. Laura will either have lyrics she’s written but hasn’t put to music yet, or she’ll come up with something a bit later on, but even if she doesn’t have anything to say yet she’ll still play around with vocal melodies, which sometimes inform trumpet or keyboard parts, or vice versa. It’s always a bit of a dance that we work and rework until everyone is happy with the end product. We like to try new things and push ourselves so we don’t fall into the same old patterns. I think it’s safe to say we all love the writing process.
Your sound is not easy to pigeonhole (which is good), but can you tell us some of the bands that have really influenced TEATA since starting out? Each of us bring our own influences, some of which overlap, some of which don’t and I’d say that’s why our sound is so eclectic. Bands like Brand New, Smashing Pumpkins, the Cure, Gaslight Anthem, Tegan and Sara have all informed the ways in which we approach our own instruments. More recently, bands like Warpaint, Maybeshewill, Chvrches, Purity Ring, Daughter, Vessels, Antlers and so many others have been influences. Even local bands we know influence us, like Cut Ribbons, Samoans, We’re No Heroes, Nanook of the North and so on. All of us are pretty big consumers of music, and we’re always listening to new stuff so it’s hard to list just a few.
What else can we expect to see from The Echo and the Always as we head towards 2016? Ideally we’d like to do a bigger UK and European tour, or even a Canadian tour, and also play the festival circuit next summer. In the meantime, we’ll be releasing a few more singles from the album along with some new videos and playing as many live dates as possible.
Interview with Witt
“Named after an abandoned asylum in the UK, Cane Hill are one of the most exciting upcoming metal bands out there right now! Within two years of their inception they signed to Rise Records to make sure the world could hear their self-titled EP, which is an outstanding release that instantly grabs your attention!" Can you tell us about the formation of Cane Hill? We've been together under one name or another for around 4 years with a few changes here and there. We're essentially a melting pot of other bands from the area that didn't pan out.
What made you want to name your band after an asylum, and can you tell us about maybe what it means to you guys? The name just fit. By the time we got around to choosing a name we already had our album written, so it came down to what we felt could aptly compliment what we sounded like and who we are. The music has constant themes of loss, abandonment, and psychotic tendencies, so an asylum where people were forced to be treated like test subjects was an obvious choice. I'm not sure a name itself could ever mean much, but it's definitely a part of who we are now.
What made you want to title the EP as self-titled? For us, there was just no point in taking away from the music. That's why we didn't title it and gave it very minimal artwork.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout your selftitled EP? The album is all centered around this narcissistic honesty that I think everyone is afraid of. The human ego is in a coin toss with itself every day so it loses and wins. Think about it, you're always trying to find ways to build yourself up, and feel better about who you are. The question is how far will you go and who will you hurt along the way? There's a beautiful desperation in that, I think.
What was the hardest part about putting together your self-titled EP and why? The hardest part was probably deciding on the album artwork because we had a lot of options thrown at us in a short amount of time. It wasn't hard cutting songs or ordering them or even writing them really. Just making sure the packaging was exactly what we wanted was difficult because we're all pretty indecisive.
How did you end up working with Drew Fulk, and what was he like to work with? Our bassist, Ryan Henriquez, recorded with him a few years before in his previous band and vouched for him. He's one of our favorite people now, but when we first went in we didn't know what to expect. He likes to play mind games with the people he works with. He's a weird guy for sure, but he knows exactly what he's doing.
How did you end up working with Tyler “Scout� Acord on the track 'Time Bomb' and what was he like to work with? We wanted some scratching so we sent off an email to ask him if he would. Mind you, this was before we had been announced or toured or anything, so we knew there was a high chance he'd turn it down and move on. But he was really cool, seemed like he really dug what we were doing, and made a prime feature.
What was the video for 'Time Bomb' like to shoot, and can you tell us a bit about the narrative behind the track? It was a totally new thing for us. We had never shot a music video (at least not a real one) and we didn't know what to expect. But after it was all said and done it was a pretty great experience. Time bomb is one of the only introspective songs on the EP. If you've ever felt like you're just being poked and prodded and being pushed over the edge that's it. Think the fight club office scene.
Touring wise, what have you been up to this year, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? Well this year we toured with Hollywood Undead for a few weeks back in the spring. It was absolutely amazing. Those guys are amazing. Honestly our highlights are just being able to be free and on the road instead of trapped in a shit 9-5 job that we hate. Not everyone is meant for that shit, and not everyone is meant for this...but we lucked out.
What else can we expect to see from Cane Hill? More tours. World domination. The usual.
Interview with Dave
“This year they’ve been out on the road celebrating their first two releases ‘Overgrown Eden’ & ‘White Butterfly’, two records that if you went to gigs in the 00’s then you’ll certainly know! We catch up with Dave who talks about this nostalgic tour, as well as what we can expect from the next part of their recent trilogy of albums!”
How did your recent Overgrown Butterfly tour go, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? It was amazing & so much fun. We had a wonderful crew, lovely support band called Dorje, perfect crowds & it was just a really good time. It was quite a feat doing 24 songs each night (our first two albums) & I must admit I much prefer playing White Butterfly compared to Overgrown Eden personally. Also, I didn’t lose anything which is a first, usually a favourite hat is accidentally lost to the road.
What was it actually like to rehearse both of these albums straight through then, and were there particular tracks that were interesting to re-visit? We didn’t actually ever rehearse both albums straight through! We learnt everything required but the first show was the first for us too! Personal favourite tracks to revisit for me were Trenches, Neptune, Other Side, You’ll Get There, White Butterfly, Almost Lost, Just A Glimpse & A World Apart. So quite a lot of them!
How happy have you been with the response to the 'Trilogy: Dawn' record so far, and what do you think it has done for InMe? The response from our audience & peers has been amazing & I’m super proud of the album. Having said that it’d be nice if the rock music printed press featured us more, apparently we’re past it. We ain’t.
Can you tell us about the narrative behind one of your latest tracks 'Rapture: Land of The Secret Rose'? It ties in with the whole Trilogy concept & there will be two songs on the upcoming following albums that have the ‘Rapture’ sub-heading & fit thematically as a whole. For the ‘Rapture’ songs it’s about intense joy & for the Dawn album (exploring my childhood & youth) one of my fondest memories is family holidays in the South West of England. It’s an ode to that beautiful part of the country. I know it’s pretentious but it’s a massive fun puzzle for me to musically & lyrically piece together!
What songs are you currently really enjoying performing live from 'Trilogy: Dawn', and why? That one! We’re also loving playing the bookend songs Creation: Amethyst & Reverie: Aquarium as they’re very different songs for us, massive epic slow grooves & pretty progressive but in a perhaps more adult way. Being in my thirties an’ all.
How is the rest of the trilogy coming along then, and can you tell us a bit about what we can expect from it? To be honest, slowly. I started demoing but wasn’t finding a flow I felt comfortable with plus I did a solo album in the interim & other stuff. We jammed a song for our subscription service the other day & it was the first time in years we’d written together from scratch, just us in a room bouncing ideas around whereas usually I make demos first from home. It was a really fun interesting experience so I think we’re going to go down that route for the next one (Sentience) although it’s a slow process as all the guys have full time jobs too & don’t live next door to each other!
Can you tell us a bit about the themes and influences behind your latest solo album 'Living A Life Without The F'? It’s a pretty brutally honest raw album about a man in his later years who’s lost everything to addiction, alcoholism & depression but also has hope from those around him. It draws from things I’ve seen up close in my life so lyrically it is a tough listen but musically it is very refined songwriting wise, all the fat was trimmed. It was also the first solo album to feature a real string section & grand piano played by Alex Davies & Matt Bond, which truly gives me goosebumps.
Also, how did you get to the album title 'Living A Life Without The F' and what does it mean to you? I genuinely can’t remember the nucleus of that title, I was likely tipsy which is when a lot of ideas spill out onto my phone & then found at a later date & thought, I love that. It’s a piece of fun wordplay but on the other hand it is very dark. Loads of folk ask what the ‘F’ stands for, I think they missed the point initially!
How excited are you to be heading out on the road with Alien Ant Farm, and what can attending fans expect? Stupidly excited. I grew up on that album in college & they’re playing that particular album in full! We’re going to play a healthy mix of all our stuff which can be tricky after 6 studio albums! We’ll just be bringing our A game & are kind of excited it won’t be a two hour set for us this time around as we won’t have to stretch out our stamina & endurance quite as much!
How would you say the sound of InMe has changed/progressed since you first started out? In many ways but I’d say we’ve always kept our core sound too. We just adore all sorts of music & don’t limit ourselves. I guess it’s more for the listener to decide. Just check out Overgrown Eden & then jump to Trilogy: Dawn & you’ll see a massive difference. From my teenage years to my thirties!
What else can we expect to see from InMe as we head towards 2016? More subscription songs for our monthly InMembership service plus Trilogy: Sentience. Also, hopefully some decent festival appearances & likely a tour at some point.
“It’s a massive fun puzzle for me to musically & lyrically piece together”
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Interview with Alicia t In
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"With their interesting take on alternative rock Beautiful Bodies have spent the summer capturing the attention of every audience they perform in front of at this years Warped Tour. As their quest for world domination continues with a UK tour on the horizon, we chat with the band to discuss their dynamic debut album 'Battles'!"
Can you tell us about the formation of Beautiful Bodies? The three of us started playing together in kind of an unusual way. Luis and I were in Kansas City making music, and Thomas was in Bolivia representing victims of massacres carried out by the ex-President (Thomas is a human rights lawyer). We started sending songs back and forth. Soon we decided to make it a full-time thing.
Thomas Becker was part of The Get Up Kids, so can you tell us a bit about the musical influences that run throughout the band, as well as what it was like to discover your sound? Thomas grew up listening to punk and indie music; Luis was into experimental stuff; and I was raised on soul and pop. Our style of sound has elements of all these things mixed into it.
You guys were originally based pretty far from each other, so writing wise, how did that whole process work? You can do anything with the internet now. Since Thomas was in Bolivia, and Luis and I were in Kansas City, we originally started writing by sending song ideas back and forth via email. Thomas would track instruments in Bolivia, and when he came back to the US, we would record my vocals and Luis’ bass.
How did you get to the name Beautiful Bodies, and what does it mean to you? There is so much insecurity roaming around the world due to what we see online & how the media promotes what “beauty” is. Being your true self is the only way to be beautiful. We want to help spread that message. Who cares what people think of you.
How did your recent trip on Warped Tour go (which included the UK!), and can you give us a couple of highlights from this experience? Warped Tour was amazing. There were so many bands, and it was a blast getting to meet fans and play everyday. Playing Warped UK was particularly fun. It was our first time over there.
How did you get to the album title 'Battles' and what does it mean to you? We all have battles of some sort. Maybe dealing with person relationships, illnesses, political battles, deciding what you believe to be right or wrong. etc. Our album explores the different struggles that people have to face.
How did you end up working with John Feldmann, and what was he like to work with? Thomas had toured with Feldmann in one of his previous bands. Feldmann has been supportive of us since we started so we wanted to do the record with him. He is a beast.
How did the front cover for 'Battles' come together, and what does it mean to you? I randomly met Julian Gross and checked out his work. We all loved what he had done for other bands, so we asked him to do artwork for us. We wanted something that illustrated the theme of battles that the album conveys.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour with Mayday Parade, and what can attending fans expect? We are so stoked! The best part of being a musician is getting to perform your work live. Expect mayhem at these shows.
Interview with Alex
“Their latest album ‘Are We All The Same Distance Apart’ is a superb listen that displays interesting concepts on important life subjects throughout. As they prepare for their upcoming UK tour with Coheed & Cambria and Glassjaw we talk to the band to find out everything you need to know about the brilliant Crooks UK!” How did you get to the album title 'Are We All The Same Distance Apart' and what does it mean to you? We wanted to have an album title that was a sentence, so that people could make of it what they want. Every member of the band has a different interpretation of the name.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout 'Are We All The Same Distance Apart'? Like everything we release, it has a concept behind it. Josh really comes into his own when he writes lyrics with a concept. We touch on a lot of subject matter, but try and keep references as loose as possible, so that the listener can hear the lyrics and relate to something that they might be going through.
Photo credit: Jenny McCord
What was the hardest track to put together for 'Are We All The Same Distance Apart', and why? At the beginning of the writing process, we were finding it so hard to put tracks together. We were writing songs that didn't sound anything like Crooks UK at all. After a few weeks of writing songs and scrapping them, we all went away and listened to ourselves and noted down everything that we liked and disliked about our sound and brought them to the table. Once we had that figured out, all the songs came relatively easy.
What else can you tell us about the recording process for 'Are We All The Same Distance Apart'? We recorded it at Middle Farm studios with Dan Lancaster, James Bragg and Nick Scholey. I think I speak for all five of us when I say it was some of the best weeks of our lives. The studio is out in the countryside, miles away from anything, so it helped us be able to concentrate on the music without any distractions at all. We had a couple of friends come down whilst we were recording, which kept us sane.
What made you want to re-record 'Above Me', and can you tell us a bit about the narrative behind the track?
When we originally recorded "Above Me", we knew that we wanted to open the album with it, as it packs such a punch. We re-recorded it, as over time with us playing live we made a few alterations to it so musically we played it different. Sonically as well we wanted it to fit seamlessly with the rest of the album.
How did the front cover for 'Are We All The Same Distance Apart' come together, and what does it mean to you? We threw a few ideas together with our friend Edd Taylor, who shot the artwork. A main theme of the album is loss, so we wanted a solemn and cold looking front cover. Deliberately we chose to do a cover without any font, and nothing but an image on the front as we felt it portrays the mood a lot better as well as creating a little bit of mystery around the album.
How would you say the sound of Crooks UK has grown/changed since you first started out? It’s 100% matured, you can hear little bits of how we sound now in our earliest songs for sure. When you are young, all you want to do is play fast and play loud, and that's what we did. It wasn't until we started getting a very small following that we decided to take the direction of the band a little more seriously. When it comes to getting the 'Crooks UK' sound, we just try and take influence from as much music as we possibly can, but at the same time try not to sound like other bands.
Touring wise, what have you been up to this year, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road?
This year we have been relatively quiet on the touring front. We did a little UK run with Such Gold and Transit near the start of the year, and then we've spent the rest of it making sure everything goes super smooth with the album release. We've had a couple of amazing highlights over the years. One of my favourite is from our first headline tour around mainland Europe, I can't remember the place we played, all I can remember is that i was absolute chaos. There was people jumping off the bar to come in and get mic grabs, I remember looking up at one point and just seeing Josh getting absolutely swarmed. As if the night couldn't get any better after a reaction like that, the promoter had also cooked up a cake with our name on it! What more can you want in a day!
What else can we expect to see from Crooks UK as we head towards 2016? 2016 is looking really good for us. I can't talk too much about what we've got planned as that’s all super top secret. We just want to have as many people listen to this album as we can. We've been waiting to release this album for about a year now, so we can't wait to start playing some new songs, to as many people as possible.
“2016 is looking really good for us”
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Interview with Francesco
“With members of the band previously being involved with Killswitch Engage, Fear Factory, Machine Head, then yes Devil You Know are what some would call a ‘Supergroup’! However, with their second album ‘They Bleed Red’ they continue to make waves throughout the metal scene and show that even if none of these guys were from well-known bands before, they’d still be just as successful!” What made you want to release 'Stay of Execution' as the first single, and how happy have you been with the response to the track? We wanted to release a very heavy track first. Every band seems to release the more accessible material first nowadays. We wanted to do the opposite. The response has been incredible. The song is constantly on rotation on heavy music radio stations and fans are loving it.
Can you tell us about the narrative behind your new track 'The Way We Die'? All of our music videos from the debut album were performance clips and this time around we wanted to shake things up a bit and have some fun with it. Therefore, our manager suggested we do a twist on the classic Motley Crue video “Girls, Girls, Girls”, but have us get misled by the dancers and make us think we are cooler than we really are, hahahaaha. John (drums) ended up getting the short end of the stick, while the rest of us just lived up a nice day at the office. It’s purely meant to be enjoyable and fun.
How did you get to the album title 'They Bleed Red', and what does it mean to you? It was Howard's idea. We all suffer and "bleed red" no matter where we come from, what we do, race and all that. At the end of the day we all have to struggle and we all get hurt.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout 'They Bleed Red'? Mostly it is personal stuff referring to Howard's life and struggle. But I feel that on this record, the vibe is overall more powerful than his usual themes.
What was the hardest part about putting 'They Bleed Red' together and why? The music and creative part was great and easy. For me it's always the business side of putting together a record that can be difficult and frustrating.
How did you end up working with 'Josh Wilbur' and what was he like to work with? I've been a big fan of his work for a while now. We felt he was going to be the right person to work with for this specific record. And the experience ended up being great. He's absolutely amazing.
“It's always the business side of putting together a record that can be difficult and frustrating.� How did the artwork for 'They Bleed Red' come together, and what does it mean to you? We had some ideas and that's when we started talking to one of our favorite artists Travis Smith who also worked on our first record. It's the perfect representation of the album title. And it really fits the vibe of the music.
Looking back on 'The Beauty of Destruction', how happy are you with this record still, and what do you think it has done for 'Devil You Know'? I'm still very proud of that record. For us it was the first time working together and it felt almost like an experiment. Through that we got to develop our sound more and I'm sure that it will keep happening with the next records.
Also, how would you say 'They Bleed Red' compares to what you did on 'The Beauty of Destruction'? Sonically heavier and darker. Songs are musically more intricate and interesting.
What else can we expect to see from 'Devil You Know' as we head towards 2016? A lot of tours for sure. It's going to be a busy year for us and we couldn't be happier with that.
photo credit: Melinda Oswandel
Interview with Robin
“If you’ve seen these guys perform over the years then you’ll know that they are without a doubt one of the most important ska/punk bands to ever come out of the UK! Sadly, they have just decided to announce a hiatus along with the release of their latest album ‘Hit Reset’! So read on, as we find out about this last chapter, whilst also looking back on their impressive career!” So, what made you guys want to announce a hiatus? We've been doing this for quite a long time now and in quite an intense way. Despite loving touring it was taking its toll and we all had other things going on we wanted to devote some time to. If we carried on we'd want to devote a proper amount of time and effort to it and it looked like that was going to be difficult, so rather than carrying on half arsed we figured we'd have a proper break.
How different has this year been for you guys touring/writing wise with that notion at the back of your mind then? It hasn't really changed anything. Writing wise it was just about putting together material that we could be happy with same as always and touring was just the same laugh it always is. I suppose there was a little extra pressure on the album as it was going to be what we left people with but we were happy with what we did.
What made you want to use PledgeMusic Campaign to fund your last album 'Hit Reset', and what was that whole process like for you guys? We wanted a holiday in Hawaii and hoped enough people would buy in... It was Tilston that did all the campaign work, my only experience of it was that I wrote a lot of stuff with a pen and my wrist ended up hurting quite badly. I think it was a good move for a band like us who play in a stripped down scene where there's no barrier between the people making the music and the people listening to it; there's a lot of very supportive and generous people who listen to the band and that became very apparent when we were raising the funds.
Can you tell us about some of the main themes and influences that run throughout 'Hit Reset'? Well this is where it gets a bit weird; it's a sort of concept album but sort of not, it's basically describing various aspects of human and political nature but kind of half through the analogy of a nuclear apocalypse. I figured it might be interesting to try an angle I've not really explored before so thought it might be worth putting a through-line through the whole thing.
How did the cover art for 'Hit Reset' come together, and what does it mean to you? We banded about some rough ideas and then sent them to the art wizard that is Si Mitchell (who's done our previous artwork) I think the image has an angle of balance of power and how easily things can be affected in the modern world.
So how was your final tour, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? The last run of shows were amazing, the best we could have asked for. It was just awesome to go back to so many towns and clubs that are second homes for us and get the support we did. A personal highlight was being the only one staying in a pub when the alarm went off and having to explain to the police that i wasn't breaking in.
This is a hard one, but since your formation can you try and give us one or two shows that have just really stood out to you as a band, and maybe why you feel those moments were so important for you? That is a hard one, different ones for different reasons. On the one hand location is a big factor, it's still surreal for me to think that we've played places like Las vegas, Moscow and Toronto. We've been very lucky to travel to the extent we have. The first time we did Leeds and Reading always sticks out as a milestone and an amazing experience. After nearly 1500 shows it is really hard to pick out some highlights to be honest!
How would you say the sound of Random Hand has grown/changed since you first started out? It's more concise, we got better at constructing songs, editing and critiquing ourselves. The same basic building blocks and ideas have always been there we just learned how to use them more constructively over time.
Also, how would you say the alternative rock scene in the UK has grown/changed since you guys first started out? I always find this a difficult one to look at, personally I haven't seen a huge amount of change, it's still the unstoppable monster it's always been, there's new bands turning up every week to keep fuelling it which is obviously great. There's a great tradition of DIY and underground stuff in the UK and I think that'll continue to be a perpetual thing.
With this being a hiatus, then what 'final words' would you like to say to your fans, and what will each band member be doing until Random Hand hopefully take to the stage once more? As always thanks for the support, it means everything! I always feel a bit cheesy saying that but I mean it! As for what we're up to, I suppose an extremely stripped down version would be: Tilston: Using his organising skills as a force for good, playing the cello and making various home-made food stuffs. Sean: Playing lots of Jazz and introducing me to all kinds of crazy new music. Dan: Teaching music, strumming his axe on various projects and critiquing various wines in a scouse accent. Me: Writing plays and watching old sci-fi films
“Max Raptor are here to discuss their latest EP ‘Damage Appreciation’ an addictive listen that sees them voice their view on what the future looks like for the next generation, the British Political scene and MORE!”
Interview with W
How did you get to the EP title 'Damage Appreciation' and what does it mean to you? It's the title track and the single taken from the EP...the song's about the voyeuristic urges to watch disaster ..whether it's the downfall of a public figure or a plane hitting the ground..it's about our native instinct to crane our necks and watch something that maybe makes us feel more alive...
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout 'Damage Appreciation'? The final 3 tracks are Population, See me Through & Blue on Red ... Blue on Red is a jab at the way politics has become so dull and disillusioning that the new generations of voters become apathetic towards the whole process.. I know I have...but around the release of the song...Mr Corbyn stepped in to represent the left...let's hope he doesn't tighten up like previous labour leaders and become closer to the centre ground..congealing in a big political chocolate orange..the more the Conservatives achieve in votes the more right wing they will become.. Population is about the new generations inheriting previous mistakes and growing up in an uncertain world. and See Me Through is about depression and pulling through periods of your life that everyone experiences but trying to deal with them and come through brighter on the otherside...
As the EP has a slightly political tone, then can you tell us about some subjects people should be more aware off right now? Someone who was very close to me put something to me which couldn't be more on the money.... She said, 'vote for who you think needs it the most'.... and I think that sums it up... we've become so selfish and cut throat. It's better to go through life thinking did I make an impact for the good or did I sit on my talents and use them for my own good??
Will
Can you tell us about the recording process for this release? We went with the awesome Jag Jago down at Brighton Electric.. Like previous records we've rehearsed, recorded and chopped up demos until we've whittled the selection down to the bare minimum and the songs that represent Max Raptor the best. It takes time, maybe 6 months to move on from a previous record and start writing new stuff...but we've always got songs in our mind and how we want to progress through our sound.
How did the music video idea for 'Damage Appreciation' come together, and can you tell us about the narrative that runs through the track? We have always gone with narrative/performance vids but never really just performance..so we just wanted a cool, slick looking b&w video with a loose narrative running through it.. The fact I am trying to goad my fellow band mates, they play the nonchalant characters who appear not to give a single fuck...harking back to that stuff I said about being apathetic but by the end of the song they're into it...Think the idea that I have to make people believe in the lyrics comes across pretty well.. that entire day was the most draining experience of my life..
How would you say this EP compares to anything else you guys have done before? It feels really really fresh and new...not a kind of, 'here's more of the same'.... we have an awesome new label in the form of Hassle Records..we're all really excited about it.. The EP almost feels like a miniature album...really can't wait for people to listen to it and go nuts to the songs at the shows.
Also, looking back on Mother's Ruin, how happy are you with this record still, and what do you think it has done for Max Raptor? Personally, I think 'Portraits' was our calling card and set the bulls running..we still play tracks from that and then when we wrote Mother's Ruin it stepped up the game in our sound and our writing... we still love both records and still love playing them. Both records have picked us up a lot of fans and given us the faith that people listen to our music..
“It's better to go through life thinking did I make an impact for the good or did I sit on my talents and use them for my own good?�
How did the front cover for 'Damage Appreciation' come together? It's a friend of a friend...my pal, Jenna Foxton, an insanely talented photographer snapped it a while back and we asked if we could use it for our artwork. The dude on the front seems care free and there's a little link from the writing on his lip to the front cover of Mother's Ruin...I think the colours and just the image itself look siiiiiiiiickkkkkk.
What else can we expect to see from Max Raptor as we head towards 2016? Next year is huge for us...so many shows being booked, getting in to Europe for some festivals and tours and just hammering this EP and of course the album which we will release early next year...still to record that actually but we're heading in to the studio in December to get that finished. This year has been sort of quiet in comparison to previous years but we were really using the time to focus on new tracks... the year really only started for us in August/September. Can't wait for the next few months and into the new year..
“He wrote all the songs for his EP ‘Darling’ in just 24 hours, an incredible achievement to say the least, and especially when the end result is an impressive output. So join us, as we talk with SayWeCanFly to discover what we can expect from his latest release, as well as what 2016 holds for him!”
How did the Vans Warped Tour's Acoustic Basement go recently, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from this run? The Acoustic Basement was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. Playing the entire Vans Warped Tour has been a vivid image I’ve kept at the front of my mind since I was a kid, and it was surreal actually being a part of it. One of my favorite days on the tour was in Washington DC. The entire festival was set up in a forest, and I sat on a stool while I performed that day and it just kind of felt like we were all about to have a camp fire. The second memory that comes to mind was the Toronto show. They bumped me up to the Journey’s Stage that day because that was the day I was planning to announce my partnership with Epitaph & we thought it would be cool to do it at my home town show.
How did you get to the EP title 'Darling' and what does it mean to you? I really wanted to pick something that sums up the entire EP. Each song really has something to do with the feeling of love, whether romantic or otherwise. The reason I picked “Darling” is because I kind of look at the EP as a note, or conversation between myself & someone else. I thought it would be cool to title it with the word that could kickoff a love note or sentence.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout 'Darling’? I wrote a lot about certain moments. For example, the entire song “Driftwood Heart” is my version of stopping time at the precise moment when two people fall in love, and diving into that connection between both of their eyes & hearts. And Darling is about the moment when I realized that no matter what, I can’t get attached to one specific place because my purpose is to live on the road playing my music. I just really wanted to dive into some of the feelings that being a full time touring musician and dedicating my life to my passion has caused me to feel. I wanted to make this one a journey for everyone who listens, so I made sure to add as much cool instrumentation as I could, like strings & crazy echo on the drums. I like to speak as much with the instruments as I do with my vocals.
What was the hardest part about putting 'Darling' together for you, and why? Honestly there wasn’t really anything difficult about it. This EP was super fun to make, and it didn’t take very long either. The only difficult part was the last song “Driftwood Heart” because it’s super long and for a while I wasn’t exactly sure what direction I wanted to take it. Once I listened a few times I started hearing the violin & percussion parts playing in my mind and just started creating them. It usually just takes a step away and then coming back with a fresh perspective whenever I get stuck on something.
We've read that you wrote all of the songs on the EP in just 24 hours, so what was that like, and what else can you tell us about the writing process for this record? That’s about it. The interesting thing about this EP is that when I wrote the songs, I was planning on using them for a deluxe edition of my last full length album “Between The Roses”. I had booked studio time & had nothing written so I just spent a day alone in a cabin and knocked them out. The cool thing about this EP being an accident is that I know for a fact I wasn’t writing or creating it for anyone but myself. All of the stuff with Epitaph & what not came afterwards, and was just a surprise blessing. This is definitely my most spontaneous creation so far.
How would you say this release compares to anything you've done before? I think it’s growth. I mean, this one was kind of me experimenting a little more. The songs on this don’t necessarily define the exact direction I’ll be taking with SayWeCanFly, but they certainly helped me step closer to where I want to go. I think lyrically these are some of my most in depth & well written works, and I say that because the visuals that I see while listening are more vivid than they ever have been before. This one really helped me grow as an artist and prepare me for what I’ll be working on next.
How did the artwork for 'Darling' come together, and what does it mean to you? The artwork for Darling started out as a tattoo idea. I had one of my friends draw up the basic visual, and eventually that turned into another illustrator (Dave Quiqqle) bringing the whole thing to life. The point of the two skeletons is that we can’t tell who they are. We don’t know if they are male, female, religious, their skin colour, or anything else. It’s just pure connection between two souls. I really wanted to get the point across of looking beyond the perspective that the human race seems to function in, and remembering that there is much, much beyond what we usually think about. I thought it would be cool to have them floating above the ocean in the realm of the moon, which symbolized that they are untouched by the problems of our world, but still had to make a journey to get there (the footsteps). Although it means something to me, I want everyone to interpret it in their own way.
How would you say your sound has changed/progressed since you first started out? I think I’ve become more open to building my songs with more than just an acoustic guitar. I’ve learned that I LOVE orchestral sounds like strings, piano, tom drums, etc. and feel like I’m on a journey to figure out how exactly to mesh that with my acoustic sound and build something spectacular. I’ve stepped in a few different directions with my music, but sometimes I listen to my early bedroom recordings and still feel that there was something extra special about them. It’s been awesome experimenting with full band stuff, but I think I want to dive further into the acoustic spectrum & fine tune my own version of that.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what can attending fans expect? I’m always incredibly stoked at the thought of playing shows in the UK or Europe. I did a short run there last year and it was by far the coolest tour I’ve ever done. Since I’ve only played a few shows there, I know most of the people who are planning on attending the shows will have never seen me play before. I’m excited about that because it’s going to feel like a new bond for everyone. I absolutely love everything about the UK, and seeing as I have it in my blood, it feels a little like coming home.
What is it actually like to tour as a solo musician overall then, can you tell us about the crew that work with you on the road, and if you can, how you think it compares to touring as a full band? I think touring as a solo musician is amazing if you have the right group of people surrounding you. I have been incredibly blessed with an amazing manager & tour manager who are there for me all the time. Marcus my TM comes out on the road to not only manage the tour, but sell my merch AND drive the van. My manager Matt has always been like a big brother to me, and he comes out to make sure everything runs smoothly even though he has a million emails to take care of all day. It’s definitely easy to hit the road with an acoustic guitar, some boxes of merch and three dudes. We love finding cozy diners in every city after the show too.
What else can we expect to see from SayWeCanFly as we head towards 2016? I’ll certainly be working on new music, new music videos, and touring my butt off. My goal was to move SayWeCanFly from social media into the real world, and I will continue working to do that as much as possible. I’m planning to do as much overseas touring as I can, and creating as much visual content to go along with my songs as humanly possible. I’m always working to bring my vision into reality.
“I think lyrically these are some of my most in depth & well written works�
SOCIAL is a 5 piece indie/pop band of musicians and friends living in Atlanta, Georgia. In January of 2015, the band brought their various musical influences to the table to begin crafting their sound. Working on a collection of songs that had been written over the prior few years, their first EP paints a picture of what it is like to be young in a big city as it touches on themes such as love, trials, freedom, and life. This record is best enjoyed with the windows down and the volume up.
SOCIAL's debut self-titled EP is available now on iTunes.
Follow us! Instagram: social_atl Twitter: social_atl Snapchat: socialband FB: wearesocialmusic
Interview with Rick
“Ash are one of the most influential rock bands to ever come out of the UK, they’ve dominated the rock scene with albums such as 1977 and Meltdown whilst also providing material that keeps up with the digital music world like their A-Z single series! It’s been way too long since their last full length album, so it’s extremely exciting to have them here with us to discuss their latest release ‘Kablammo!’ a fantastic record that will easily see the success of this band continue!” You've been out on the road in States recently promoting the new album, how has it been over there? Yeah it's been good, it is a very different beast touring over there with the size of the country and the level we're at over there makes it quite a different experience. We were over with two crew members and it does feel like paying your dues when you have a 14 hour drive and a gig at the end of it but it's good for you. It does help as a band, we've done it over the years, back in '95 touring the States, even at the height of our success in the U.K, we're getting to the U.S and getting into a van and sort of doing the whole Henry Rollins thing over there. It does sort you out, we're not relying on the crazy stuff that you have over here so it helps you grow as band.
How have they received the album over there? It seems to be going down really well with the fan base, around the world the fans are really digging it. People are saying it is our best work since Free All Angels or even 1977 so it's a great buzz to have, 20 odd years of being in a band and still being able to excite people in that way.
Which of the new songs have you particularly enjoyed playing live? I think the biggest buzz is probably being able to get away with playing two thirds of the record every night which on the A to Z stuff we had credence to do that, it was quite difficult to do too much because we were straying away from our core sound if you like so it was tough getting that in the set. It's great being able to get two thirds of a new album in the set and feeling that the energy from the crowd doesn't dip. We're really enjoying the song we came back with, 'Cocoon', that's really fun to play. Also 'Lets Ride' as well as it’s a good buzz.
You head out for a European tour shortly that takes you pretty much to the end of the year, how do you prepare for these solid blocks of dates? Good question because it's been a while since we've actually gone out on a tour this long so it'll be a bit of a shock to the system, probably forgotten what to do. In terms of musical preparation, there's not been a hell of a lot! Ash will be in the studio rehearsing where we'll do a whole day to sort of, freshen things up but We Are Scientists are flying straight into the first date so I think we'll be having quite an extended sound check that night!
You are heading out with We Are Scientists, there seems to be a special relationship between the two bands? Yeah, we've known each other for seven or eight years. At this point we share the same manager as well so I think that's why the tours have been so easy to put together between the two bands. We did a co-headline in Australia a few years ago but this will be interesting, the first time we'll be sharing a tour bus together so we'll probably be broken by the time we get to the U.K tour but, hey ho!
“We just want to keep that energy rolling” As you say, you have the full UK tour coming up culminating in the Belfast show, how much are you looking forward to that one? It's going to be a buzz, it's something we've not done for a long time. Going back to the early days of the band, even before 1977 came out, we tried to finish the touring in Belfast close to Christmas. I think the last time we did that was on Meltdown so it's been a long while but we are really looking forward to that. It'll be a great way to end the year, I think the whole U.K tour is going to be great fun. I think traditionally we'd do quite an extensive U.K tour right after the album comes out but I guess we were right into festival season when it came out so we didn't do that much touring with it but it'll be a great way to finish the year that's for sure.
Kablaamo was released a while ago, how do you feel looking back on it over the course of the touring cycle? We're really proud of what we did on there, the reaction we got from the fans, we were looking back to Free All Angels and 1977 as the real touch stones for the record and wanted it to be at least as good as those records and that's exactly what we're getting back from the fans since it's been released so we couldn't ask for more really. With that confidence we're really looking forward to getting back in the studio, maybe early next year as well if we can find the time in between touring. We just want to keep that energy rolling.
It is certainly my favourite Ash record since 1977, there are so many different tones and vibes from the tender, hard hitting and all between, where did you go to get the inspiration on the album? I think a lot of it was from doing the A to Z and pushing the electronic aspect, we kind of broadened the sound of the band, I felt we were kind of returning to what we love best. Everything was written in a room together, as long as it sounded good on bass, drums, guitar, that was the bench mark for what was going to go on the album. So yes, it felt like a return from the pushing things on A to Z plus Tim had done a solo record which he was pushing things even further, it was a real personal record with the subject matter like his dads death, it felt like coming back to the Ash thing it was really fresh and reinvigorated after that. So I think you get that excitement about three guys in a room making music together which we probably hadn't approached from that perspective for a long time.
Ash has been a band for 20 odd years or so, things are very different today than when you first started and it was a pretty meteoric rise for a band at that time? Yeah, things really did take off back in sort of 95/96 we were still teenagers at that time so it was a pretty intense few years, and I think it was well documented that by the end of the 1977 tour we were pretty burnt out but at the same time it was still a spectacular couple of years for us. Then things turned around on NuClear Sounds but subconsciously what we wanted and needed to at that time then Free All Angels again was a real golden period for the band as well so up and down over the years but it's been amazing.
There was a really strong British scene at the time with the likes of Terrorvision for example and you were coming on top of all of that! Yeah there was a lot going on musically, around 94 to 97 there was a real period where guitar music was all over the charts. I don't think we've seen the likes of that since. It was kind of weird, the whole Brit Pop thing was happening as well, almost in tandem with us but we were taking our influences from America a lot more so it didn't fit quite as well but there was tendency to lump us in with that a little bit. It was good to be around and it was an exciting time but I think in the long run it was a good thing for us because I guess come 98/99 a lot of those bands were imploding. As we never felt we belonged to that we could ride it out.
To have been a band for as long and still have all original members is a rare thing, what do you put this down to? It's a tough one but I think it has a lot to do with starting so young and our friendship and the band are quite intertwined. We didn't know each other for that long before the band started so we got to know each other through the band plus going through those early years together, your formative years are sort of 17-19/20, that period of time we spent together going through this crazy stuff bonded us more strongly. So whatever we've gone through over the years it's made us even better friends.
How much differently do you approach the music business having started so young and the changes that have come in that time? It is totally different, back then CDs were the major format, vinyl was really falling out of favour at that time and then downloads killing off the album but then we've seen the resurgence of vinyl as well so it's gone through so many changes since we started. One thing we've always felt is, great songs, no matter what's going on is what keeps a band going. That's your bottom line and I guess some bands can get away with it for a period of time, having a lot of hype or whatever but eventually people get bored of that and want to hear great songs.
Ash have been around a long time but you are all still young guys, where do you see the band in another ten years? Good question, I don't think we've ever really thought too long term like that, it's just been the next project to get to but we're fired up about how Kablaamo! was received and also the recording and writing process of it so I think you want to keep that energy going, get in the studio as soon as possible. We're not done yet, there's a lot more we want to do and then we'll see what happens really.
Interview with Davey
Touring wise, what have you been up to this year, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? We started the year off with a banger 9 week tour with The Color Morale, Slaves, and Alive Like Me. We toured with all these bands before so though a super long gig run, it was just spending time with homies and playing some music. The festivals in Texas that kicked off that tour were killer. South by so what was absolute madness for us, and completely unexpected, if you were there, you felt the chaos, but it felt so good. The 9 weeks gave us time to hang as a band and start bouncing ideas for new material, which was so needed.
So what made you want to do a covers EP? On that tour as well as many others, we were jamming old records we grew up on, and we always say "man we should cover this" and this time we just thought, yeah let's actually do this. We came up with the idea to cover all 90's songs, span the decade, and give our take of classic songs that helped mold us to be the maniac punk ass dudes we are today. We hit up our label to see what they thought and Jake (owner) was so into the idea and actually helped us pick tracks out.
What track was the most fun to work on, and why? I've personally wanted to cover all five of these songs since I was a kid. Each one was special for their own reasons. But Zero and Fuel were my jams. I got to go full Hetfield for the Fuel cover which ruled. And tracking Zero gave me new perspective on how I'd like to move forward with my vocals. Plus, Billy Corgan himself posted the video and song telling us "well done lads" so that is now my fav.
How did you go about deciding which bands to cover, especially as you had to get it down to only five tracks? We all made lists and these songs were on all five of our lists. We thought it was a great mix of bands and different years throughout the 90s. Each song rips, each song brings us all back to that time. So it was actually pretty easy to choose.
“After building up a list of songs that they just had to cover over the years the guys in VANNA finally found the time to hit the studio and release those tracks under the name of ‘ALT’! It features songs that other than just being plain awesome, have obviously influenced the way VANNA sound today! On top of this, we reflect on the rewarding release of ‘Void’ whilst looking towards the future!” Let's pick just one track then, say 'Got The Life' by Korn. Can you tell us a bit about what this track means to you personally? I remember that video ruling Mtv's TRL forever. It was sick to see a heavy band I loved becoming popular. I felt like it made the rest of the world be forced to finally see us, maybe even accept us for what we are. All the while that song was digging at the popular Hollywood type lifestyle. It was just us "other kids" giving the world the finger haha.
Can you tell us how the artwork for 'ALT' came together, as well as maybe what you wanted it to mean to your fan base? The cover is our drummer Eric, now former drummer, when he was a teenager, with a slipknot shirt on looking miserable at Disney land because he was there with his family. That picture embodies teen angst to the fullest. Alternative teen pissed at a commercialized family resort standing out with a offensive to many, band tee on. Perfect.
Looking back on 'Void' how happy have you been with the response to it so far, and what do you think it has done for Vanna? The response to VOID has been nothing short of overwhelming. We released that record the first week of warped tour and before half way through, the sing a longs and reaction for VOID songs out shined any older stuff by a longshot. Touring in the fall with Beartooth, we stepped on stage to a sold out Chicago crowd for the first gig and when we hit Toxic Pretender, the crowd was singing so loud I stopped, dropped the mic and looked at the guys and said "what the?!" And ever since then our shows have gotten crazier, more packed and more meaningful then they've ever been. This was the first record I really let go of all my issues and stories and I'm so grateful kids connected with it, felt it, and supported it. VOID is a testament that putting your heart on the line and everything out there builds more then gimmicks and trends. We cannot say thank you enough to our fans for what they've done with and for us.
What tracks are you currently really enjoying performing live from 'Void' and why? Toxic Pretender is such a banger live and kids set it off every time, it's insane. Digging has become our sort of anthem. It's unreal to hear a room full of kids all singing together about how they are survivors and still here despite the world burying them. I don't even sing that song anymore, it's not my song to sing any longer, these kids own it. I just get off stage and hug as many of our fans as I can, I'm so happy they held on, I'm happy I held on.
Have you guys started work on your next full length just yet, if so can you tell us how it's coming along, and maybe what we can expect from it? Oh we sure have. The music is all done and we hit the studio shortly with Will Putny who did VOID. Just brace yourselves, this is a Vanna that you've never heard before. I listen to these demos everyday and I cannot wait for people to hear what we have in store. It's the sound of All Hell crashing down.
How would you say the sound of VANNA has grown/changed since you first started out? We've just grown up but at the same time we know what our band is. We love insane pits, sing alongs and fans being free. So we always have that in mind when writing. That being said, we always try to push limits, be better players. Vanna is a band that has grown up always in front of people because we've been touring since we started and sign/released our first record. It's cool to look back and see where we are and how far we've come. It’s even cooler to try and glimpse at where we are going. But bands change, no band wants to release the same record. The cool part is that record will always be there for you to throw in your ears and jam. Support bands new records, open that mind yo.
What else can we expect to see from VANNA as we head towards 2016? 2015 was lowkey for Vanna, little touring, lots of writing. I hope you like our faces because 2016 is going to be us everywhere and there is nothing you can do about it! Big tours, new record, same sweat, same blood though. Make sure you keep your eyes and ears open, follow our socials, we're going to have a lot coming out for you to enjoy. But most importantly, come to a gig, that's where the magic is made, that's the whole point of this all, connection. Freedom. Music.
“come to a gig, that's where the magic is made, that's the whole point of this all, connection. Freedom. Music.�
Interview with Joe
“Coming from Long Island, NY with their ever-changing alternative sound and DIY ethic the guys in Patent Pending have always been able to provide their fans with something right from the heart with each listen! That exceptional skill continues to grow with their latest album ‘Riot Hearts Rebellion’!” Touring wise, what have you been up to this year, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? 2015 started with heavy touring in the beginning of the year. We took our first trip to Australia and then we headed back to the United Kingdom to play Slam Dunk Festival. The rest of the year was spent recording our EP “Armageddon” and our new full-length album “Riot Hearts Rebellion.” The highlight for me was definitely finding out that we have a following in Australia! It was completely unexpected and incredible to see. We weren’t expecting anything when we hit the stage, but we were shocked and overwhelmingly happy to find that we had a following of people down there. We’re still buzzing from that one. It was awesome!
What was the video for 'The Brighter' like to film, and can you tell us about the narrative behind the track? The music video shoot for “Brighter” was a very interesting one. We made the plan, hired a crew, got locations and everything was all set. That is, it was set. 48 hours before we were supposed to start rolling we lost the entire crew, our equipment rental and all of our locations! For the first time in my life I actually wanted to give up on it and call the whole thing off. I was a wreck. My wife pulled me aside, told me to stop being a little bitch and motivated me to get back out there and make it work. She was right!
John Komar (our long time video director and friend) and the band got back on the horse and called in every favor we could possibly think of. The whole thing - Locations, costumes, video equipment and even a little bit of catering (THANKS MOM!) came together last minute and fell into place better than we originally planned. That week is a metaphor for our bands entire career! Which, funny enough, is the same story as the song “Brighter.” It’s a story about pulling yourself up and making the best of the hand you’re dealt no matter what obstacles fall in way. It’s about believing in yourself and never quitting on your dream, no matter how far out of reach it may seem at the time. I’m really proud of that video. It means a lot to me.
Also, looking back on the ‘Armageddon’ EP, how happy are you with it still, and what do you think it has done for Patent Pending? I’m happy with anything that we make that pushes us and challenges us musically. The “Armageddon” EP definitely did that! There are only 4 new songs on the album, but each one of them explored new areas for us musically that we’ve never gone to. It was a ton of fun to make and I love all of the songs. It was a fun way to put out some new music while we were preparing to put out new music, if that makes any sense at all!?!?!
“The themes on this new album run the gamut from the very serious to the very silly.” How did you get to the album title 'Riot Hearts Rebellion' and what does it mean to you? "Riot Hearts Rebellion" is the title of our new album. It comes from the record’s twelfth and final track. This song sums up everything that it means to be a part of Patent Pending. It’s about struggle, individuality, hope and revolution. We’ve been playing music together since we were little kids. A lot has changed since we were learning how to play in my parent’s basement, but the one thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that we truly love what we do and we believe in this band with all of our hearts and souls. Every obstacle, scar and bruise along the way has made us who we are, and this song is a reminder of that every single time I hear it.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout 'Riot Hearts Rebellion’? The themes on this new album run the gamut from the very serious to the very silly. The serious songs deal with topics like personal struggles, family, how messed up the music industry is and learning to find peace with yourself. The funny side of things is a healthy dose of dick-jokes and forgetting stupid stuff that you did when you were drunk. We’ve always skated a line between serious topics and comedy. I find that fitting because in life you can’t always be serious and you can’t always be funny, so how could our music be one or the other and still represent us as people? I always hope that listeners form something to identify with on both ends of that bizarre spectrum!
What can you tell us about the recording process for this release? We recorded 9 songs on this album at WEVOLVE in Nashville, Tennessee with long time producer and best friend Jordan Schmidt. We recorded the other 3 songs at my home studio here in New York. Each time we record an album the process is drastically different. It’s just something that happens. This time, due to contracts and oddly timed circumstances, we were recording it secretly. This means we weren’t allowed to tell people about it as it was happening which meant staying away from social media for about four months straight and essentially living in a secret cave! When you’re creating, whether it’s music, film, painting or anything artistic there is always a decent chance that you’re going to throw yourself so far into the project that you’re going to lose your mind. Couple that with the fact that there was little to no contact with the outside world and you’re bound to go completely bat-shit crazy! I can honestly say that I went bat-shit crazy while making this album. There are stories that one day I will tell everyone. For now, I can tell you I developed a short lived sleep-walking problem, I ate Mexican food every single day for four months and I learned the importance of backing up your session files onto external hard drives! Making this album was extremely chaotic, incredibly nerve-racking and most importantly a hell of a lot of fun! It’s when situations get so crazy that they seem like you’re dreaming them up, those are the times when you really get to learn a lot about yourself and who you are. There were several of those instances while making this album and from those insane occurrences I learned that Patent Pending is a band that loves what we do and there is nothing in the world that can stop us from doing it, no matter how outrageous those things may be.
How would you say the sound of Patent Pending has grown/changed since you first started out? Our sound is always changing. One of my favorite things to do in life is to push myself as a song writer. It satisfies a creative hunger that otherwise consumes me and keeps me up at night and it keeps things fresh. Our sound has definitely changed over the years from more straight up pop-punk to… hmmmmmm, what would I call it??? Pop-Rock with flair?!?!? We’ve always been and still are firmly rooted in rock and roll and our work ethic continues to be extremely DIY punk-rock, but I definitely like to mix that with every different genre that I can get my hands on. Sometimes it’s pop, sometimes it’s hip-hop sometimes it’s mo-town. We’d be lying to ourselves and our fans if we just put out the same album and song over and over again and told people that we were proud of it. The way I see it, if you’re not taking a chance, then you’re not making art. If you’re going to make the same album over and over again you might as well get a job doing paperwork in a tiny cubicle somewhere. Having a worn out and safe routine musically is fundamentally the same exact thing as a boring day job. I’d rather have fun trying new things. Our new album has a lot of everything. I know that sounds incredibly vague, but it definitely visits our older sound on a couple tracks with big guitar riffs and a few circle-pit friendly jams. Some of the songs have a heavy pop vibe to them and some of them are just straight up rock and roll. Difficult to explain, but hopefully easy to enjoy!
Can you give us a couple of highlights from touring in the UK over the years? The Untied Kingdom has welcomed us in a way that I can’t put into words without getting choked up. It’s an incredible country that is willing to give new music a chance. That is a very rare thing to find in America and I’m still shocked by it every time we put out new music and come over there. It’s wayyyy too difficult to choose just one highlight from the last 3 years of touring over there, but some of them include our first sold out show over seas, buying our album in another country at an actual record store (we don’t have those in America anymore) and getting to play Download Festival! I could go on and on about this for hours. I love you United Kingdom. Love you too, America, we should hang out more often!
What else can we expect to see from Patent Pending as we head towards 2016? We’ve just released our new full-length album “Riot Hearts Rebellion” so you can expect a great deal of touring and material in support of that. New music videos and a few other surprises are in the works right now. If all goes as planned 2016 is going to be a hell of a year.
“2016 is going to be a hell of a year”
pale crow
Pale Crow, a local post-punk/dream pop band from Houston. Founded in 2012 by front man and guitarist Simon Kender, and Drummer Daniel Sobrevilla, their music can only be described as a thunderous wave of melancholy. With high hopes they expect to release their album December 30th.
facebook.com/PaleCrow @palefuckingcrow(Twitter) tofeastwithcrows(Instagram)
“With their mix of rock/punk/rap rock/metal then in an exciting way you never really know what to expect when Zebrahead put out new material. ‘Walk the Plank’ sees the band continue to develop on their unique sound, and yes we are here to find out all about it! As well as this, we also discuss their latest split EP ‘Out Of Control’ which got an incredible response throughout the Japanese rock music scene!”
How did you end up working with Man With A Mission to release your split EP 'Out Of Control', and what were they like to work with? We initially met them at summer sonic (big Japanese festival) in Tokyo! They were awesome and friendly when we briefly hung out. A year and a half later, a friend who was working with them invited us to go see them at chain reaction in Anaheim. It's a small club and they tore it up! We went and had beers, then had more beers, and then decided to hangout at our studio. We toyed around with some riffs and two hours later we had a song together! They're super talented and easy to work with!
The release hit Number 1 in the Japanese iTunes Rock Chart and Number 2 in the overall physical chart for the whole country, so what was that whole experience like for you? It was pretty amazing! We were blown away that the song and EP were so popular. We just played Japan with them and we played "out of control" together for the encore and the energy was mind blowing! Plus the fireworks were pretty rad too!
Okay, so how did you get to to the album title 'Walk the Plank' and what does it mean to you? We took a lot of chances musically and creatively on this record so we "walked the plank" in an artistic sense. We also lead pirate lives by being on the road all the time. We're basically savages!
Interview with Dan
How did you end up working with Paul Miner, and what was he like to work with? I've known Paul for twenty years, I've done quite a few records with him. I knew that he would be great for the band and that he would push us! He did and it was a fantastic experience!
Looking back on The Early Years – Revisited, how happy have you been with the response to this release so far, and what was it like for you to revisit and rerecord these tracks? We tried to recreate the original songs with the original sounds as much as possible. It was hard recreating some of those sounds, but a lot of fun as well!
Can you give us a couple of personal highlights from performing in the UK over the years? I always love playing the UK! I lived in Sheffield til I was 7 and England is my home country! One of my favorite times playing was when we did download and Aerosmith were playing at the same time. We could hear them in between songs and we ran over to catch the end of their set as soon as we finished!
It's safe to say that it has been an extremely busy year for Zebrahead! However, what else can we expect to see from you as we head towards 2016? We plan on playing, drinking, and high fiving everywhere with everyone! See you soon!!
Interview with Andrew
How did you get to the album title 'Colour Blind' and what does it mean to you? The title is a reference to the line "you're running colour blind", prefaced by "I see in different colours now" in 'Still Weird'. It's all about growing up in a middle class town just outside of Toronto surrounded by a lot people who are essentially blind to the rest of the world and how we've been lucky enough to escape that with this band.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout 'Colour Blind'? The record has a lot to do with relationships, old and new, and the problems and perks surrounding them, as well as what I touched on in the last question. We also talk a bit about our views on the current music scene.
What was the hardest part about putting together 'Colour Blind' for you, and why? The most difficult part about the whole album was finding the time to write it. We were touring heavily in the months leading up to our time in the studio so we had to write a bunch of it on the road, which is a lot harder than we expected. You always hear about people writing records on the road so we thought it wouldn't be a problem but it proved to be a real challenge. We did have the majority of it written before we went into the studio but we had to do some writing in the studio, which put a lot of pressure on us, but it was a lot of fun at the same time.
“Since their formation in 2011 this Canadian pop punk act has already put out three EPs and two full length albums! So take a read as we find out about their most recent release 'Colour Blind' as well as what their triumphant career has personally been like for them so far!"
How did you end up working with Derek Hoffman and Alan Day, and what were they like to work with? We knew Derek and his work just from being in the same circles in Toronto as well as being fans of his own band, Brighter Brightest. We did a tour with Four Year Strong last fall where we briefly talked with Alan about the idea of producing and then when the time came, we proposed the idea of both of them working on the record and they were both into it. Derek is more of a pop guy and Alan is more of a rock guy but both have a similar songwriting style so to see those two elements come together so seamlessly was amazing and exactly what we wanted out of the recording process. This made for a super fun time in the studio where we all grew as musicians and songwriters.
What song means the most to your from 'Colour Blind' and the moment, and why? For me it's probably Stubborn Love, just because it's a very personal song about hanging onto a relationship for too long and it was kind of hard for me to write. Other favourites that mean a lot to me are Best Mistake and Goon.
With this being your second album, then what goals/targets did you guys set for yourself when heading into the studio? We wanted to make a really fun record that embodied who we are as people and that combined the musical elements of both Hoser and All In My Head on a much better and more refined level. We're pretty proud of how it turned out and think we succeeded in acheiving our goal of writing a record that reminded us of the music we grew up listening to.
Also, looking back on 'Hoser' how happy are you with this record still, and what do you think it has done for Seaway? We still play a few songs from Hoser that get some of the best crowd reactions in our set every night, and we definitely still enjoy playing them. Looking back on that record we think it could have been a lot better but at the same time it opened the door for us to tour and get noticed in the scene so we're still really happy with it.
Touring wise, what have you been up to this year, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? We're currently out on a full U.S tour with Knuckle Puck, Sorority Noise and Head North and it is by far one of the best tours we've ever done. We just did Warped tour this past summer for the first time, which was an amazing experience for us both as people and as a band. We also did a run with Bayside, where we learned a lot from those guys and played some of the biggest rooms we've ever played. We started the year off with Neck Deep in the UK, which was amazing, but the biggest highlight for us was playing Slam Dunk. Those were the craziest shows we've ever played.
“We succeeded in acheiving our goal of writing a record that reminded us of the music we grew up listening to.�
Can you tell us about the pop punk scene in Canada, as well as maybe what it was like to start your career there overall? The Canadian pop punk scene is great especially where we're from in the Greater Toronto Area. Bands like Safe to Say and Like Pacific got picked up by labels this year and there are so many great unsigned bands like Coldfront and First Ghost who are smashing it. Starting out in Canada was great because we live so close to Toronto, which is a huge market, where the scene has always been awesome for punk based music. It was a little difficult to break into the U.S because of visa costs and finding connections down there, which deters a lot of young Canadian bands, but you just need to go for it by yourself and a lot of bands from our area are realizing that, which is really cool.
What else can we expect to see from Seaway in 2016? We're going to be touring with a bunch of tracks from Colour Blind as well as taking some time off to hangout at home and we'll hopefully do some international stuff and get back to the UK ASAP!
lit like vegas 'Lit Like Vegas are an alternative pop-punk/post hardcore band from Surrey/south London and have been gigging around the country since 2013. They have supported many established bands including (HED)pe, Soulfly, Attention Thieves, I Divide, Gallows among many more on the back of their first two singles 'Citylights' and 'Get Set Go'. Whilst they are currently writing new material for self release early next year they are promoting the release of various new tracks which you can listen to on any digital streaming service such as Spotify, Itunes radio, Deezer etc'.
facebook.com/litlikevegas litlikevegas@gmail.com soundcloud.com/litlikevegas twitter.com/LLVBAND
Interview with Taylor
“Handguns are 100% in this for the music. They pretty much slept on sofas, and lived of cheap fast food whilst putting together their latest output ‘Disenchanted’, and that commitment, and pure honesty towards their craft has been captured on this record!” Touring wise, what have you been up to recently, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? We have all been home distressing from the summer. We spent May-June recording Disenchanted and literally left from the studio to do warped tour the day we finished the record. Warped tour definitely had its ups and downs this year as we had to deal with numerous van problems that the rental company couldn't even seem to solve and members leaving us midway through the tour leaving us to have to play acoustic for a few shows.
How did you get to the album title 'Disenchanted' and what does it mean to you? The title came to me when I was writing lyrics in the studio for the title track. To me, it was a statement about the way the past year affected me and how I felt about it. When you get older and start to see people and things for who and what they really are it can leave you with this sense of emptiness. Kind of like someone taking all your childhood possessions and burning them out on your front lawn.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout 'Disenchanted'? My Lowest Point, lyrically, was written in the studio after we had all been sleeping on the hardwood floor of the studio. At first we were renting a house from someone in California. We were sleeping next to dog shit and kept getting pissed on by cats. None of us were getting any sleep and we were worried about our health so finally we decided to not stay there and just sleep on the floor/couch in the tiny tracking room at the studio. None of us really had pillows or blankets. I remember waking up one morning and thinking "Fuck. Is this it"? But once all the songs started coming together that was kind of the light at the end of the tunnel. Conjuring My Youth was an acoustic song that I had written after taking a walk by myself in the nearby park. It was the park that me and all my friends used to go to after school and I started reminiscing, and it bummed me out because I knew I was getting older. So I went home and wrote the song.
What was the hardest part about putting 'Disenchanted' together for you guys, and why? Referring back to our living situation, we were told everything would essentially be taken care of. The house we stayed at as mentioned before wasn't really ideal. I'll leave it at that. You might throw up if I went into detail. We had barely any money to eat. There was a KFC across the street from the studio and we would get 2 dollar go cups because the receipt would have a survey to take online so you could get another one. We eventually bought a little grill so we could grill cheap meat at the studio. Pretty sure a lot us were getting sick of if it too. If it wasn't for the intern, Colin, putting us up at his apartment for a few nights, I'm sure we would have all gone insane. Nick Holman was a big help too. He let us crash at his place for the last week of recording which was awesome.
What can you tell us about the writing/recording process for 'Disenchanted'? We went into the studio with a few demos, and a few ideas. We wrote and programmed all the drums first before they were actually tracked. Sometimes we'd start the songs with just vocals, or bass or whatever. Kyle Black really pushed us all to be better at our instruments. He also really pushed me lyrically, which I loved.
How did the cover for 'Disenchanted' come together, and what does it mean to you? Our friend Mo Rodriguez took the photo. It's the idea of taking something beautiful and setting it on fire.
How does this album compare overall to what you did on 'Life Lessons'? We really took our time examining these songs and making sure that they were the best possible product we were able to achieve. We couldn't have done that without Kyle Black. Life Lessons is a little more raw sounding I would say, and I think we kind of rushed the recording process on that record.
Also, looking back on 'Life Lessons' how happy are you with this record still, and what do you think it has done for Handguns? I've always been happy and proud of every release this band has been a part of. In hindsight, are there things that could've been done differently? Sure. But that record is what it is and I'm proud to say I was part of that. That record was done with almost a completely different lineup and I think that record proved to people that this band isn't going to give up anytime soon.
What was it like to be an upcoming band in the Baltimore area, can you tell us a bit about the scene there? There's always been a really good underground punk and hardcore scene, as well as some great DIY venues like charm city artspace.
Also, with Pop Punk being as huge as it is right now, then what's it like for you guys to be a part of this scene, and how would you say it's grown/changed since you first started out? it's cool and we are all really thankful but it's really weird to me that being in a pop punk band is cool now because back in the day it was never really cool to like those kinds of bands. It has definitely become easier to get your bands name out there with the internet being ever so prominent today, which sort of bums me out, because we worked hard to get where we are today, not just by making photo edits on tumblr.
What else can we expect to see from Handguns as we head towards 2016? Touring our asses off and having fun with this new record.
Punk/Alternative/Pop-Punk "Hard Hitting All American Rock and Roll with a Punk Attitude" MysticSeahorseMusic.com Facebook.com/BandMysticSeahorse @MysticSeahorse
Debut album out now on iTunes! New holiday single coming out 12/1/15
Interview with Paul
“It’s been great to watch Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! rise over the years throughout the pop punk and even metalcore scenes. Their style is not like any other, and with their latest album ‘Get Lost, Find Yourself’ they have given their fans one of the best interpretations of what they are trying to portray yet. So don’t miss out as the band is heading for the UK this December!” Touring wise, what have you been up to this year, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? We've been touring a lot this year and tried to go pretty much all around the world to support our new album "Get Lost, Find Yourself". We started with the Less Than Jake/Yellowcard Euro tour at the beginning of the year, then went to the USA/Mexico for the release of our new album, did a bunch of European Festivals all summer followed by Russia/Bellarus. We also went to Japan/Australia in september, did a couple of Euro shows with Attila ending with Warped UK this October and we're about to start a South East Asia tour followed by our UK headline tour to end this year of touring and finally take a little break! The best time we had this year on tour was definitely in Japan, it's always the best and pretty much every band that has been to Japan will tell you the same thing. Also playing all these big Euro festivals (Download, Warped, Pukkelpop,...) was a really good experience for us.
How happy have you been with the feedback to 'Get Lost, Find Yourself' so far, and what do you think it has done for Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!? We're really happy about it, seems like old and new fans are liking it and feedback has been really good with either the press or the fans. The good thing is that a lot of people who used to not like our music came to us and told us they're actually digging the new album, and I think that's awesome. This new album is giving us more credibility as a band, a lot of people used to not take us seriously and we feel like we have reached another level here.
What songs are you really enjoying performing live from 'Get Lost, Find Yourself' at the moment, and why? We really like doing "Playing Dead" live. This one is fun, upbeat, fast and energic and the reaction of the crowd is always great. We also enjoy playing "Pull You Under", which is heavier and shows more anger, this one is really fun to play.
Can you tell us a bit about the narrative behind your most recent single 'The Other Line'? This song has darker lyrics compared to most of the other tracks, it is about a relationship torn apart by distance. We tour a lot and it's not easy being in a relationship while touring, it's hard keeping in touch and giving enough attention to your loved ones when you're at the other side of the world, some people can easily deal with it and make it work, some others don't and it ends with pain.
How would you say the sound of Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! has grown/changed since you first started out? A lot of things have changed since we started, our music was kind of a joke at the beginning. We used to have all these crazy lyrics, synths, dance/trance parts, breakdowns and were just doing it for fun and didn't expect anything from it. The fun vibe and our mix of genres is still here but our songwritting and lyrics have grown a lot with time, it's more mature and honest in my opinion. We got rid of the elements we didn't need in our music and just made our sound more spontaneous.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what can attending fans expect? We're super excited, we haven't been touring in the UK (apart from festivals) since February so it's been a while and we didn't get the chance to support our new album over there yet. We chose to bring two good and upcoming UK bands to support us on this tour, Trash Boat and Boston Manor to make it a great pop punk bill for the fans and warm up the place for us. What can fans expect? Our fans know we bring the party everywhere with us and this is not going to change... We'll be playing a good mix of old and new songs to make sure older/newer fans are all happy, there's going to be a lot of sweat, energy and good vibes!
Can you give us a couple of personal highlights from touring in the UK over the years? We’ve done a lot of good tours in the UK these past few years but our best memory was Slam Dunk festival. You get to see a lot of friends you haven't seen for a while (and make new ones), you play in front of big crowds and the after parties are just amazing, it's short but really intense! Our tour with Tonight Alive in 2014 was also amazing, the shows were huge and those guys are good friends and great human beings so it was a lot of fun. Let me tell you what our favorite part about touring the UK is though... The Afterparties! Pretty much every night the shows turn into a club, that's insane and you guys know how to party.
What do you guys like to get up to with your spare time on the road? It's easy, we like exploring the cities, going to bars during the day and going to the clubs at night!
What else can we expect to see from Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! as we head towards 2016? We’ve got a lot of good surprises but it's too early to talk about them...A lot of touring again, new music, new videos... We won't stop working and will make sure to go to all the places we didn't visit this year to support our music and bring the party and good times everywhere we can!
Interview with Dec
“We catch up with Lower Than Atlantis who discuss their most successfu seen them take their in your face alternative rock approach across the gl over wherever they decide to perform. So don’t forget to pick up a copy of their self-titled album before you head down to their highly anticipated U How excited are you to be heading back out to the USA, and how hard or easy is it for a UK rock band to 'break' the states in this day and age? For UK bands the sheer size of America is quite an overwhelming and daunting prospect as far as touring is concerned, but we're used to a hard graft so basically bring it on!
Your self-titled record has been out for a year now, so looking back on it, how happy have you been with the feedback to it so far, and what do you think it has done for Lower Than Atlantis? I think it's really put us on the map in the rock world. It's our most successful record so far so hopefully onwards and upwards from here.
What songs are you currently really enjoying performing live from your self-titled album, and why? A personal favourite of mine is 'Words don't come so easily'. There's a load of kind of crowd interaction bits (trying to explain that without sounding like a Dad) and on a good night the response can really justify why we do what we do.
Can you tell us how the video for 'Get Over It' came together, as well as what it was like to work with Andrew Groves? Eddy actually came up with the concept for the video and Andrew was the first guy that got the idea and the two of those guys worked it out together.
ul album run to date. It’s lobe whilst winning fans the ‘The Black Edition’ of UK tour this December!” Is this standalone single an indication of the future direction of Lower Than Atlantis? Potentially but as previous releases suggest, you never quite know with this band.
Can you tell us about how you picked the four new covers for 'The Black Edition' of your self-titled record, as well as what they were like to put together? In a nutshell, the four of us picked one cover each and then Ben recorded them in our band studio in Watford.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what can attending fans expect? The fans can expect a rock and roll show with a few songs we've never played live before thrown in. That's all I'm saying for now!
Touring wise, what have been up to this year, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? We've basically been around the entire world spreading the message of LTA and it's been a massive privilege to be able to take our music places it's never been before. I think touring Australia twice this year has been one of the best parts because it's the best country in the world. Fact.
What else can we expect to see from Lower Than Atlantis as we head towards 2016? I think the plan is we're going to go predominantly into writing mode for the first six months of next year and see what comes out.
Interview with Daniel
“Nothing More have spent 2015 touring across the planet to show audiences that they are one of the most exciting progressive/rock acts out there right now! As their self-titled album continues to give them new fans on a daily basis, we catch up with the band to discuss this exciting time, as well as what their plans are for the future! To add to all of this, make sure you get involved with their upcoming UK tour, as on a live basis, these guys are not to be missed!” How did your recent tour go with Shinedown, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time on the road? The tour was amazing. Previous to this tour we had the honor of headlining the Monster Energy Outbreak tour, which was a very intimate energy packed club tour. So naturally the only way to top such an amazing experience and also to end our touring cycle in the US is to be out on an arena tour with two of the greatest rock bands in the last while. The highlights are different for each of us but mine has been walking out onto stage in a darkened arena for the first song of the set. How grandiose the whole situation is, it just blows me away every night.
With five albums to pick from, then how hard/or easy is it to put together a set list for you guys at this stage? I think that no matter how big the catalogue putting together a set list is never easy. You have to both pick the best songs for the audience and for the set itself. Some songs just don’t sound right next to each other so setting the mood sometimes can be like pulling teeth.
For you personally, what song means the most from your self-titled album, and why? “This is the Time” hits the hardest for me personally. I think that the lesson of “letting go” is one of the most powerful and life changing things that a person can learn.
How does a song normally come together for Nothing More? Each song has its own birth. Sometimes it’s a nearly complete idea from one member that we all dive into and explore. Other times it comes from some crazy programming idea that our singer Jonny has made and we write in the organic instruments. More commonly it starts with a musical idea from Mark our guitar player that we all jam on and then create together. Once it feels like a “song” we will typically make a rough demo and sit around the kitchen table listening to it to see what lyrical idea the song is speaking to us. From there we usually write and re-write it another 10-20 times before completion. Haha.
Can you tell us about the narrative behind your latest single 'Here's to the Heartache'? ‘Here’s to the Heartache’ was written about all of the irreplaceable trials that we faced as a band and as individuals and how at the end of the day we realize that we would have never reached such a beautiful place without those trials. Whether it was being heart broken about a failed relationship or breaking down on tour in Shreveport, Louisiana there was always something glorious to be had once we retraced our steps back.
Has work started on a new release just yet? If so, can you tell us a bit about what we can expect to hear from you guys next? There has been a lot of work being put in on the individual level toward the new material but our very hectic touring schedule has kept us from full evolving the material as a band. Starting January 2016 we will be moving full force on the new material as a band. We are very excited about it.
How would you say the sound of Nothing More has grown/changed since you first started out? The best word I can use to describe our musical progression over the last years is “maturation”. We’ve grown into ourselves as musicians and as men and can better tie the musical vision to the lyrical picture that we hope to paint with each song. It is always our goal to push ourselves as songwriters and find new challenges in musical exploration.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what can attending fans expect? Absolutely stoked! This will be the first time we are headlining a tour in the UK so we will have more stage time to take the audience into the full dynamic that we do live. Expect sweat, blood and tears from us every night.
Has work started on a new release just yet? If so, can you tell us a bit about what we can expect to hear from you guys next? There has been a lot of work being put in on the individual level toward the new material but our very hectic touring schedule has kept us from fully evolving the material as a band. Starting January 2016 we will be moving full force on the new material as a band. We are very excited about it.
Can you give us a couple of highlights from touring in the UK over the years? We are still a relatively new band to the UK so we are simply excited to continue the courtship with such a beautiful group of people. The amount of love for rock music in the UK is astounding and we are so happy to be a part of your amazing music scene. Some of the highlights so far have been attending the Metal Hammer Awards in London and seeing Stone Henge. We can’t wait to get back!
Interview with Liam
“As the band continue to promote their outstanding new output ‘Searching for Zero’ we talk with their front-man Liam to discuss what this record has done for them overall, as well as what we can expect from their upcoming UK tour, which for a live atmosphere is suitable for Cancer Bats as the run is called ‘Destroy The United Kingdom!” So this year, you've been promoting 'Searching for Zero'! How happy have you been with the feedback so far, and what do you think it has done for the band? The feedback has been great so far! Everyone's been pumped on the new album and the new songs are going down great next to old jams, its been awesome!
Looking back now, how would you say 'Searching for Zero' stands apart, or just compares to the rest of your albums overall? I think this new album continues as a progression for the band, with us trying some new things and trying to push ourselves creatively and musically. At the same time I think it still sits nicely along all the other records we've done so far.
How did your recent slot at Reading/Leeds festival go, and how do you go about taking that chaotic live performance you're known for to a huge festival crowd? L&R fest was sick! We had such a blast! The lock up stage is the best because even though you're playing this huge festival it is still a nice small tent with people packed in and partying. It feels more like a massive club show than it does playing a huge stage. I always like when I can still jump down and mix it up with everyone partying up front.
What music video has been the most fun for you guys to shoot since your formation, and why? That is a very tough question because we have shot a ton of videos in our 10 years as a band and they have all been super fun. Sabotage was a blast, Road Sick was so funny to shoot, French Immersion was super fun, Bricks and Mortar was super fun, Satellites was amazing! Not to sound corny but thinking back on all of them, they've been so amazing and super fun in their own way. I also think it’s hard for us to have a bad time so any time we get to hangout with our friends and goof off for a whole night it'll be a good time haha.
Can you tell us about the narrative behind your last single 'Beelzebub'? That song is all about the idea of putting on a brave face when things are looking rough or you're not sure how things will turn out. You'll say to the person you love, that everything will work out, when in reality you're just as unsure and just as scared as they are. Despite how tough or crazy any of us can seem, we all have our own moments of doubt.
Your upcoming tour is called 'Destroy The United Kingdom'! So can you tell us how excited you are for this tour, as well as how attending fans can expect to survive!? We're so pumped for this tour! The whole idea was doing a gnarly UK tour like we used to back in the day where we would roll out 20 to 30 dates and just crush shows every single night. We know that all of these shows are going to be wild, sweaty and packed out just the way we like them! The only way to survive will be to just head bang as hard as you can and get caught in the mosh!
“This whole album has been a blast to play live” What places in the world would you really like to tour next the most, and why? We've never managed to get down to South America and we get messages from there all the time. I'm hoping that one day it'll work out and we can go down and rip it up there!
What songs are you really enjoying performing from 'Searching for Zero' at the moment, and why? This whole album has been a blast to play live. There are so many rippers that have been going down huge every night. True Zero has been getting awesome sing alongs and Satellites has been epic in the set. Real fast bangers like Devils Blood and All Hail have been a blast too. We definitely were excited in the studio while recording this album to unleash these tracks live and every show it’s been getting crazier and crazier! I can't wait to play every night of our UK tour it’s going to be nuts!
What else can we expect to see from Cancer Bats as we head towards 2016? We've still got a bunch more touring lined up for this album even past our headline tour in Jan. There are festivals in the summer and still lots of the world out there that we haven't gotten to yet. But for sure at some point next year we'll start writing some new jams. All of this touring has been so rad and positive, that we've all got tons of ideas for when we start to work on something. Not sure how long it'll take but we've got some serious bangers we want to write!
Interview with Jared
“Just recently they did a free tour alongside a tour which saw them play their awesome new album ‘American Candy’ straight through. Both runs proved to be a success in their own right, with the first bringing in new fans, and really testing the band to make sure they could catch the attention of people that may not of heard of them just yet. Then with the album tour they alternatively displayed that fans are clearly already getting very attached to this brilliant release!”
You recently completed a 'Free for all' tour, where as the title suggests, fans didn't have to pay anything to watch you guys perform! So how did this idea come about, and what was this whole tour like for you guys? The Free For All tour was actually really awesome. Going into the tour, we weren't sure how it would turn out. I guess we wanted to say thank you to all the people who have supported our band over the last several years. It felt good to put something together that nobody has really done before, and to see it succeed at the end was very satisfying.
You were doing this tour at the same time as the 'American Candy' tour, so how did these two tours compare for you guys overall? It was interesting because we had two separate setlists. The vibes were totally different. At a free show, there are no boundaries, anyone can usually just walk up and watch us play. I think that really pushed us to be a better band. We really wanted to impress not only our long-term fans but also anyone who happened to stumble upon the show. The AC shows were awesome just because you could feel the anticipation of the fans to hear the new songs, and we were also excited to play them.
You were playing the album straight through at shows, normally this happens with a 10th anniversary tour, so how did this idea come about, and what is it like to just go out there and play your new album straight through? The AC shows were amazing. Chicago specifically sticks out in my mind. The crowd was pretty intense, and we played several songs for the first time ever live. It was that moment on the tour where I realized that making American Candy was the right thing for our band to do. I know the traditional thing to do is a 10 year anniversary tour, but who says you can't just play that thing right out of the gate? We like the record, we see our fans connecting to it now, so why not do those shows now?
How happy have you been with the response to 'American Candy' so far, and what has the record done for The Maine? I'm happy enough to relax but not satisfied enough to stop moving. We still have so much work to do with this album. The goal is to travel to as many places as possible to play these new songs for our fans around the world. It definitely helps to see the positive comments regarding what we are doing. American Candy has been a defining album for our band. It gave us the opportunity to take what we've learned in the past decade and put it to paper. It's just a plus that people happened to enjoy it.
Now that the record has had some time to breathe, then how would you guys say it compares to your albums prior? I don't think it's fair to compare our albums really. To be perfectly honest, I'm not so sure I even knew what I was doing when we made our first one. I think the goal is to continuously improve. At the end of the day, the album is done, unchangeable. The only thing that matters is being able to look back and feel like you got as many things right as possible.
What songs are you really enjoying performing live from 'American Candy' at the moment, and why? Am I Pretty has been really fun. It's new and has a fun groove and vibe to it. We've only had it in the setlist for one tour so far.
“The goal is to travel to as m play these new songs for ou
Can you tell us about the recent DVD you released for your performance in Manila, as well as a bit about what the documentary for it was like to put together? We have been touring with other bands on 8123 for a while, and we had put together a tour called the 8123 tour. We were able to bring that concept to the Philippines with the help of some amazing people over there. Manila is one of those places where the energy is unlike any other. It was important for us to capture that in our documentary.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour, and what can attending fans expect?
We love coming to the UK! Fans can expect some new shit! I feel like it has been forever. VERY excited to ge back over to that side of the pond. A lot of cool things being worked into the set list right now. More on that later...
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Can you give us a couple of personal highlights from performing in the UK over the years? The All Time Low tour was one of my favorites. Crazy shows every night. We also had a blast with the Deaf Havana guys. I think one of my favorite memories was playing after Hatebreed on Warped UK. Haha, scary.
What else can we expect to see from The Maine as we head towards 2016?
We're going to be on the road as much as possible! And then I'm sure we'll be noodling around in the studio et again. But for now the focus is on touring. As much as we can to as many places as we can.
“Right now Enter Shikari are on the verge of their biggest headline U tour to date. In our eyes these guys have deserved this kind of tour fo a long time, as they’ve always pushed the boundaries of what alternative music can be since their formation with exceptional results. So as they continue to promote their brilliant album ‘The Mindsweep’ with the remix hospitalised edition, we chat to Rob to reflect on another succesful instalment for this talented bunch!” So what we can expect to see from 'The Mindsweep: Hospitalised’? A vociferous Drum n Bass mix of bass lines to make you incontinent, beats to make you involuntarily spasmodic and synth lines to put you into catatonia.
You got to work with Metrik, S.P.Y, Danny Byrd, London Elektricity, Keeno and more on this release, so can you tell us a bit about how some of these collaborations came about, as well as what they've been like to work with? We have been getting remixes of our songs done for many years, our music lends itself quite well to it, and the idea of having a full album remixed excited us a lot. Especially by a label that we all respected as much as Hospital. We’ve all been fans of the label for many years and so we had an idea on whose style would work best with which songs then we had some meetings with Chris, the head of the label, who had a lot of ideas and gave some suggestions we hadn’t thought of. The remixes are very much the remixer’s own work so we just sent over the stems and let them have full creative control over what to do with it so we didn’t exactly work directly with them but since the project started have been in contact with a few of the producers and met some lovely people, all sharing the same excitement for the project.
Interview with Rob
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As a band you've done a lot of remixes on your own material over the years, so how easy has the process now become for you guys, and how do you go about pushing yourselves in new directions at the same time? I think it is obvious to tell that we are all fans of both rock and dance genres so it’s always been fun to continue the creative process on a song even after it has been recorded and released. Sometimes we just do it for fun, not imagining it will ever be used for something but then end up liking it so much we want to release it or just play it live to freshen up songs that feel dated to us. We are constantly listening to new music so it’s not difficult to get ideas for new sounds or directions our remixes could go.
Looking back on 'The Mindsweep', how happy have you been with the feedback to it so far, and although it's early days, what do you think it has done for Enter Shikari? We were overwhelmed with the amount of positive feedback we got from our fans and critics alike. It’s always a little nerve-wracking just before you release any new music but we couldn’t have asked for a better response. I think it has shown people that we are here to stay and are as relevant as we have ever been to the music scene.
“It’s always a little nerve-wracki just before you release any new music but we couldn’t have asked a better response”
What songs are you really enjoying performing from 'The Mindsweep' at the moment, and why? I love playing Torn Apart personally because the scatty, intricate beat is fun for me to play and it’s one of my favourite songs off the album to listen to. Another one has to be Slipshod, although technically it wasn’t on the album. I think it has become a crowd favourite to play live with the big, stomping gabba kick drum and frivolous lyrics.
How would you say the sound of Enter Shikari has grown/changed since you first started out? I think it’s probably easier for someone on the outside to tell us as it’s hard to see from the inside. I think we have matured as people and as musicians and song writers. We are not the over excited, wet behind the ears kids that we once were anymore. Sometimes we tour with a young band and I see them drinking hard every night, picking up girls and getting no sleep and think, “that was us once”. We still have fun obviously but I think we take our career a little more professionally, making sure we are able to put on a good show each night comes first. Musically obviously our tastes have changed, there is a world of music now that there wasn’t 10 years ago and it would be impossible not to keep developing and taking on new inspiration and in turn become visible in our creative output.
How excited are you for your upcoming UK tour with The Wonder Years & The King Blues, and what can attending fans expect? I can’t wait. I’m probably more excited about this tour than I have been about any other. Just the other day we had a production meeting for this tour and have a lot planned. There will be a lot going on all over each venue, not just with the lighting production but sound too. We are organising quadraphonic sound, basically surround sound! The lights will be literally reaching out over the audience. I can’t say too much but it’s all very arousing.
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How did you go about picking the right sized venues to harness your chaotic sound as well as capturing your ever growing fan base?
We have tried to keep it to venues that have one big floor space to make sure everyone is involved in the action, I think there is only one venue with a balcony. We often find that no one wants to be sitting down at an Enter Shikari show. This way everyone is completely involved with the show. After all, the audience is just as much a part of the show as we are. They are the biggest headline shows we will have done to date, it’s going to be amazing to look out and see al the support we have behind us. So many of our fans have been with us since the beginning, it’s very flattering to have such amazing and dedicated fans.
The Wonder Years are known for their pop punk, so for some this might seem like an interesting support choice (we think it's ace). How did it come about, and how excited are you to have them on the road with you? We’ve not met them before but from everything we have heard they seem like great people. We’ve all been pop punk fans since we were kids, it brings so much energy, fun and light heartedness to a show. And knowing that anyone who likes us must have an open mind, so I’m sure they’re going to go down really well at the shows. We also have other acts lined up that will make the entire show one not to be missed...(The King Blues just got announced for the tour)
You guys are known for being on top with political subjects that the world she be more aware of. Can you give us some right now, as well as maybe something that you've seen recently that has had an effect on you? There’s a lot out there! I think the best thing to do is research what you are passionate about. There are things all around us that should get people pissed off. For example I saw a report recently that stated homelessness in London has gone up by 70% in the last 10 years. Now, ther are many things that our government could have done to stop that from happening but seem intent on making their rich friends richer instead. Does that sound fair to you?
What else can we expect to see from Enter Shikari as we head towards 2016?
The run up to Christmas is dotted with Shikari Sound System DJ sets around the country that are always a great night. Other than those, the remix album and February dates, we also have a couple of songs in the bag that we recorded at the same time as the album and have been sitting on, so stay tuned!
Interview with Paolo
“With over one million albums sold worldwide since they got together in 2000 the guys in Trivium have simply shown that they are one of the most essential heavy metal bands out there! Their latest release ‘Silence in the Snow’ features entirely clean vocals for the first time in their history, and for those unsure of this idea you should take a listen to the record right now, as you will be very impressed with this progression!” How did you get to the album title 'Silence in the Snow', and what does it mean to you? The name is the English translation of the Japanese folk story that it is based upon. We felt the title and history of the song fit with the vibe as each song came together. We had a few other options but it was by far the best.
Can you tell us about the main themes and influences that run throughout 'Silence in the Snow'? Pull Me from the Void, The Thing That's Killing Me, Breathe in the Flames, Dead and Gone and Until the World Goes Cold are based on experiences in our band. I believe the last album cycle inspired us to be a bit more introspective than we have in the past.
What was it like for Matt to work with vocal coach Ron Anderson, and as a band, what was it like to put together your first record to not feature any type of unclean vocals? 75% of our past material has featured Matt singing, so going that extra 25% wasn't a huge jump for us because we have been doing it for so long. Most of our festival sets feature songs that are mostly Matt's clean vocals because they are our most popular. Working with Ron just pushed Matt to the next level with his range and dexterity. A lot of the lessons came from having the scare last year, and getting Matt's singing and screaming in the right place so he doesn't hurt himself.
On a live basis as well, what has this been like to work on, with the new tracks? It doesn't feel like a big jump because we have so many songs where I have to do a lot of harmonies or even a main vocal. A song like Dying in Your Arms fits next to Blind Leading the Blind as does Down From the Sky next to Silence in the Snow. I am very excited to put a few new songs into the set that we haven't played.
Can you tell us about how the guitar work compares overall to what you've done before? I think Corey really shines on this album. He plays most of the solos on this record and he really did a lot of work on taking those parts and making them just as important as any vocal line. Riff wise it builds upon some of our usual territory of Gothenberg metal, groove metal, and a lot of the classic metal that we love so much. I think we were mindful of leaving space for Matt to take control of the songs and not step on his lines at all.
How did you end up working with Michael "Elvis" Baskette, and what was he like to work with? Elvis really pushed our song ideas and individual playing very hard. He had a great studio in Orlando and we spent about two months pushing every aspect of this album to the fullest potential.
Can you tell us about the narrative behind your latest single 'Until The World Goes Cold'? The song is about our band. It's about the drive it takes to keep pressing forward without any safety net or guarantee of success. The ups and downs has our resolve, but there is always that creeping thought in the back of your mind that maybe it's not going to be exactly as you planned it. You lose touch with people, have fall outs with friends, with band mates, you miss parts of your life at home and you ask yourself is it really worth it? I think it's natural to get overwhelmed and think these things. Thankfully the shows and records make those doubts go away.
How did the front cover for 'Silence in the Snow' come together, and what does it mean to you? Matt and I's tattoo artist made the oni for us. I suggested making a logo that personified what Trivium is, and since we have dealt with Japanese folklore in the past and currently, we chose an oni to represent us. The art was done by Jon Paul Douglas, and he shot four different cover options with different colored masks. The white on white was the most striking and simple. It also represents our goal of making a modern metal record with a classic influence.
Looking back on 'Vengeance Falls', how happy are you with this record still? I am very proud of the record and the new audience it brought Trivium in front of in America. The best thing we got out of it is Strife, that song is a live staple at this point, people lose their minds when we kick into the big guitar intro.
What else can we expect to see from Trivium as we head towards 2016? Next year is going to be a lot of touring and a lot of festivals!
Interview with Phil
You toured the US as well as Japan and Australia recently, you've certainly been keeping it busy at this stage of your career... Yeah we finished the American tour about a week before the album came out, which is kind of unheard of. I think it's because we never really planned on doing an album anyway. Everything flowed so well in the, sessions if you like, over about a year period and it was such a great way of doing it. The fact that we got it done, the flow was just so amazing, so we have been super busy.
It sounds as though as everything was very relaxed making the album, what sort of vibe does that create for the band in the studio? You can be an artist as opposed to working for a corporation, I think that is the big difference. We didn't have to do an album, we actually went in to do a single or an E.P and the fact that we didn't have a record company executive or anyone really, fans etc, telling us what we have to have on an album, a single, filler tracks and everything it took us back to when people were real artists. Bob Dylan, Hendrix, Zeppelin used to do it, the Stones, they would write a song, go in and record it. James Brown, Otis Reading, all these real artists would do that for for the love of the art. I think somewhere along the lines in the 80's the music industry became an industry, a business and before you knew it, you'd be part of this machinery where you'd be working, taking all the art out of it and making it very much a product. We didn't have that this time round so I think that's why there was such an amazing, liberated flow of artistry, if you like. Really good fun, we didn't even have a theme of what the album should be like because we didn't even know we were doing an album so we just made music because we wanted to. The fact that we could break it up over three sessions, January, February, March 2014. Also back in May, after we did a KISS tour we then came back to finish a lot of music and we even did bits on tour, we’d go in the dressing room and bang out some backing vocals or guitar or something, so it was really for the love of making music. It was great.
"To this day Def Leppard have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, a monster achievement that also shows that these guys are one of the most crucial acts in hard rock history! We talk to the band to look back over their impressive career, as well as seeing how they've adapted to triumph through the music industry changes over the years. To add to this, they also discuss their latest self-titled album which in short proves that they still have more than what it takes to sustain the legacy they’ve paved!" Kerry King (Slayer) was asked recently about the length of time it has taken Metallica to make a new album and essentially said there are certain bands that don't need to make albums to go out and tour, is that something you'd agree with, especially with the very well established bands like yourselves, Metallica, Slayer etc? Absolutely, especially when you play new songs in front of what your audience has become, they want to hear the older tracks anyway. We're in an interesting period in music now, there's kind of a divide. It was amazing once you could start streaming music, Spotify even Apple Music, and everything but it ended an era where people would buy music. You've got two trains of thought, you have a Taylor Swift, Beyonce, One Direction, stuff that's kind of rammed down your throat, top 40 stuff and then if people don't want to be involved in that, they go elsewhere, they look backwards. It could be anything from Miles Davis, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, even up to Coldplay, anything and everything in-between. There's this thing and a real established band still exists and is still alive, I think a lot of people want to hear that, that classic material. So many people are into vinyl and the classic vinyl, all this great music that was created when people were motivated for the right reasons. So I think that's part of it and the other reason is you really don't have to. If you're an established band, you can just tour and that's it, even when we play new songs it's always a struggle because the audience doesn't know it and they're kind of heading off to buy a beer or a T-Shirt or something. You've always had that though, even bands like the Stones, they do a new song or Keith sings a song and everyone goes out to buy merch, it's a weird thing, so you've got a bit of that going on as well.
Def Leppard are a band that have come through from the old style of making records and you've had to adapt to the new style that has come around, how would you compare it to when you made your first album with the band? It was totally different, it was almost like a different occupation, put it that way. If you'd have said back then that we'd be making albums and I'd be getting guitar sounds on my Mac laptop, I'd have been like, “that's black magic, what are you talking about?!”. Even that in the industry, there would be no record stores, no new format of music because it was all wifi, in the air on clouds and stuff, it totally sounds like a medieval the world is flat versus round, all that stuff so I do think the best days, or the biggest days of music have been and gone. I think it is so regulated now, it is so corporate. You can exist within that structure but it is a different thing completely, you can be the best songwriter or the best band and have no one hear your music because not the right people have heard it. Having said that, you can put your own stuff out yourself more now so yeah it's just changed so drastically, everything about it is just completely different and the fact that once you've got enough hits you don't really have to do any new music. It's a strike against you really but we felt we wanted to make all this new material.
Vivian has had his health issues over the past couple of years, did this have an effect? It didn't really at all, it did change an attitude in the band. When we did Viva Hysteria, there was a ferociousness that came about in the band, I listened to the Mirror Ball live album along with Viva Hysteria and the same songs that were on there, the live Hysteria stuff was way more aggressive in a really good way. That's what you want to hear in most bands as they get older, sometimes they lose that kind of verve and fire power really, we did the opposite. That was initially when we found out about Viv, like a slight desperation on our part. He'd have to go into hospital on such and such a date and ‘I don't know what time I'll be back’ and all this, so I think there was a certain kind of desperation if you like that got injected into the band and it just changed the fire power, the nature of it. It was all just a little bit different all of a sudden.
What can fans, old and new expect from the album? It is really diverse, there's material on there that wouldn't actually have existed on a single album, there's a couple of songs that are a little bit funky, they go somewhere that we don't usually go so that was cool. I listen to a lot of 70's funk and soul music, and some of that started coming out in some of the songs. Then we have a song that sounds like pure top 40 and it sounded great so we just went with it, another song that was acoustic. We went overboard on the vocals, almost like a Queen album, we were like, there is no way we can do this live but it sounds great and then you find that you can do it live anyway, it's sounding great live at the moment. It's pretty cool, like I say, it's a diverse bunch of songs that all work together in the context of this album.
Do you tend to use the same guitars that you would on tour when recording? Yes, I actually had to bring one of my guitars over to Dublin. I'd given one of my PC-1 Jacksons to Joe years ago so I had that there to play but one in particular I had to bring over and that was the mainstay on the album, the Jackson PC-1. I use that a lot on the album and I take it on tour, it does get a bit of treatment I guess, it needs a lot of attention, goes through the ringer with all the weather in some places. It's freezing cold one minute and baking hot the next in and out of studios. So yeah I guess it's my favourite guitar because it pops up all the time.
You are back in the UK for a tour in December, how do you balance the set with new songs? You really have to make a space for them but sometimes you can sneak them in, between something else or you can make it look theatrical so it kind of takes the eyes of the ball and the audience not so bored. I've been to tonnes of shows of artists that I love, I've seen Prince and it's funny, even with me being a musician I'm not that bothered about it and I'll just want to hear Purple Rain you know! It is a very delicate balance, you can't do too much because you will bore your audience and they want to hear what they came to hear really so you kind of have to tweak it in there while you think they're not looking type of thing! We've only been doing 'Let's Go' from the new album, we've had it first, we've had it further in trying to find its space and again making it look theatrical so it has a bit more to it than just a new song. Obviously it is a great problem to have, to have that number of songs and to need to rotate, so it's always interesting.
You have a memoir out, how was it looking back at the years and write down your story? You know what, I've done interviews for the last 35 years so most of the content is there except the first part which is almost identical to the Keith Richards book. His Mum and Dad used to live just down the road from where I grew up basically so the first part of his book is almost identical to mine, post World War 2 children whose parents went through the World War so there's all that. It was easy really, plus I haven't had a drink in 28 years so I remember a lot of that! Even the crazy drunk stuff, I remember that as well, well most of it. So remembering that stuff is easy and like I say, when you do an interview moments from over the years just pop up anyway.
As you say, you've been sober for the best part of 30 years and you've recently gone vegan, how much do choices like that add to the longevity of life in a touring band? It's amazing, I've been a vegetarian for 32 years and I've been in and out of veganism over the years but properly, over the last four years I've given up the dairy on top of whatever I was having. It does make a difference, more than anything else, when I go back to England and I see mates I used to go to school with and they've got bad backs, bad knees, can barely stand up, put on weight and I don't have that. It does make it a lot easier for touring. It's weird at the moment, Joe (Elliot) and I have had this cough for about a month, Joe's had it for a good part of two months, this cough and cold it's really bizarre. It's like a spluttering and coughing, I think we just need a little rest at the moment but apart from that, I do find it easy. If you look after yourself, not getting bollocks drunk, especially at this age, it won't do you any favours. I think knowing that just makes it so much easier, by not doing that you're just staying healthier, that also means being active as well and just doing something.
2015 is rapidly winding down, what can we expect from 2016 and the next chapter of Def Leppard? This tour is getting extended, it's going way into next year, we just have to see if the album catches fire anywhere because obviously that changes things. We didn't think we'd be out on tour this long, this is the longest tour we've done in years. We've had about 20 sellouts on this tour, big places too so that was unexpected as well. You just don't know, we've got a lot to offer, we've got new songs as well and we just want to bring this new album to as many fans as we can. You're always getting new fans, well hopefully. we played Lithuania which is a great example. We first played there years ago to about 1800 people then it was 3000 and then we played there this year but there was 7500 people that were mainly younger fans singing all the words. We were going wow, this is good! So that's really what you want, that's what you aspire to. If we can keep doing that, then we'll be in good shape.
“It was really for the love of making music�
“It’s always great to catch up with composers in Stencil Mag and today is no different as we talk to Sean Murray to discuss what it was like to be a part of the Call of Duty games, as well as films like ‘Showdown in Manila’ ‘Reaper’ and MANY more!” When did you first decide to become a composer? When I was a kid, my father was working as Director with first-time composer Brad Fiedel (known for Terminator and True Lies) on a film called “Damien, the Leper Priest”. I listened to his temp scores that were mocked up on a Moog Synthesizer and thought that it sounded amazing and that I wanted to write music for movies when I grew up.
What was your first major project, and what was that like for you at the time? My first feature film was Scorpion when I was a teenager. It was amazing because I was working with the new technologies of MIDI and SMPTE – syncing an Atari computer to video. I spent most of the money I made on the movie on an Emulator II Synthesizer and a Yamaha Reverb and it was worth every penny. It’s fun listening to that score today because some of it sounds modern. It was all synthesizer but a lot of those sounds have come back in vogue.
You recently finished work on 'Showdown in Manila', how was that, and can you give us a couple of personal highlights from your time working on the film? Showdown in Manila has one of the longest shoot-out scenes I’ve ever worked on – it lasts over 10 minutes! One of the challenges is to make the music interesting and dynamic, while carrying the action with all of those guns and explosions in the mix. My work on video games like Call of Duty Black Ops and Call of Duty World at War has given me a lot of experience in how to score for extended gun play. There’s also a comedic element to this film that contrasts the bold action. So it was fun finding the right tone between funny elements and drama.
What is it like to actually put music together for a film then, do you have to do it scene by scene from the start, or can it vary? I like to tackle difficult scenes first, whether emotional or action. This helps me develop strong and recurring themes that I can weave throughout the film. Often the first piece of music I write turns into the main title theme in one way or another. Scoring is very relaxing because of the focus and creativity involved.
You put music together for 'Reaper' in 2014, so how was that, and what is it like to compose for a horror/sci-fi? Horror is FUN!!! There’s a crazier palette of sounds and styles than for romantic comedies. There’s more freedom to try wild musical ideas and I can be grandiose or simplistic depending on the type of tension I am trying to create. Horror allows me to use a wider array of string and horn effects, as well as scary percussive instruments like the waterphone.
What genre of music do you enjoy composing for the most, and why? Action because those scores give the widest array of musical styles to work with. There are gun fights, romantic lead scenes, and comedic moments - even some horror elements. That enables me to be more creative by using a variety of styles in the picture.
“I like to tackle difficult scenes first, whether emotional or action. This helps me develop strong and recurring themes that I can weave throughout the film” In recent years, what would you say has been the most rewarding project for you to work on, and why? The Beautiful Ones by Jesse V. Johnson. It is an artistic black and white crime drama with a unique sense of retro-sixties style that is set in modern day. The score is very stripped down – it’s not as lush or orchestrated as some of my prior work - and has some stylized guitar elements. There’s a quirky four-note theme that might get stuck in your head. It was nice to approach a score with the intent of being more personal and less grand. The imagery is sexy, violent, with one of the most unique shoot-outs I’ve ever seen on film.
As a composer, what does a typical day involve for you? I have a standard goal of completing about 2 minutes of music a day so when I get in the studio I pick a scene and start writing. I usually get so into it that hours go by without getting out of my seat. I focus on one piece a day and just work on it until it’s fully mixed, produced, and laid back to ProTools. I often have session players come in to play solo cello, violin, French Horn, or vocals. I also spend time daily programming and tweaking sounds on my various synthesizers.
You composed music for Call of Duty: World at War & Call of Duty: Black Ops. So how did that opportunity come about, and what is it like to compose music for games instead of films? I was introduced to Activision with my scores for True Crime Streets of LA and True Crime New York. A couple of the sound guys from True Crime went over to work on COD and asked me to write the score for World at War. Composing for video games is very different. When I get a film, the cut is usually locked and I know what scenes I will be writing for and that doesn’t change very much. A video game is a moving target – it’s always changing. The pieces tend to be longer with a consistent driving mood. Each theme needs to be flexible to deliver in faster and slower tempos depending on the change in action. I like to get an output of 6-8 minutes of game play that I can score as if I’m scoring a film. It’s fun getting a Dev Kit (Development Kit) which enables me to play the game on Xbox or PlayStation while monitoring how my music is being implemented in the game. And I get to play in God-Mode where I don’t get killed!
You also composed music for the hit TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer, so what was that whole experience like, and again, how does it compare for you overall to compose for TV shows instead of films? Buffy was really fun and it opened up many opportunities for me. Film allows me more time to write music because I usually have 5-6 weeks to write the score. TV has a shorter window – sometimes just a few days to score 20-30 minutes of music. TV movies usually have a longer turn around time.
What's the hardest part about being a composer, and why? The hardest part for me (and my family) is not being in control of my schedule because there’s always a deadline or multiple projects. It’s hard to forecast my schedule too far in advance which makes it hard to make travel plans (or sometimes even dentist appointments).
Alternatively, what's the most rewarding part about being a composer, and why? The best part is sitting at the Mix with the film-makers and seeing the project come together with polished sounds, finished picture, and visual effects and feeling like I’ve been able to help tell the story in a way that fulfills the Producer and Directors vision.
What else can we expect to see from Sean Murray as we head towards 2016? My first 2016 project is “I Know Where Lizzie Is” – a TV thriller. There’s a bunch of other films in the works so keep an eye out on IMDB for updates.
“Buffy was real opp
lly fun and it opened up many portunities for me�
Anthems
Mim Aparo - Guitar/Vocals Jess Aparo - Bass Guitar Pratik Rayamajhi - Lead Guitar Brian Richardson - Drums
As their name suggests, the Omaha band's songs seem most suited for a roomful of people who, if not singing along, at least would like to learn the words so next time they won't miss shouting the chorus, drinks held aloft. In the tradition of Bruce Springsteen through Rise Against, Against Me and Gaslight Anthem, that room could equally be a dingy corner bar or a packed arena. It's music that fills the space, any space, but is lofty enough not to bear down on an audience. Instagram - @anthems_omaha facebook.com/AnthemsOmaha/?ref=hl Twitter - @anthemsomaha Anthems Debut Album "Sometimes Love Needs Tragedy" will be out in the cold, cold, month of January of 2016. Their single "July 6th" will be available before the album is due out.
“If you’ve seen Game of Thrones then you already know who Luke Barnes is. So read on, as we chat to him about his run as Rast on this worldwide hit show, as well as what else he has been up to recently!” Starting, I suppose at the obvious place. HBO don't do many unsuccessful shows but could you have imagined just how big Game of Thrones would become? No. not at all. It's a weird thing because it was my first job out of drama school and I was lucky and got it, I thought it would just be a little thing and never that big. You never expect that anything you're involved with would become the biggest show of all time. Not at all.
Once you'd got the part, how did you approach playing him? I read the books first, well, not all the books, I read one book as I went by and then read the scripts. It was a weird experience on a show like that, the sets are massive and it was a matter of me not getting overwhelmed really to be honest!
Of course the part was fleshed out a bit, was this always going to be the case? I think they had a cast so big they were trying to use as few characters as possible, there's so many they can't track them all.
Possibly your biggest moment in the series came when you killed Lord Mormont, how was it taking out James Cosmo? Well I'll probably never get to do that again so once in a lifetime, James is so big it's terrifying and you're worried he'll turn around and mess you up. A once in a lifetime experience that I think.
To me one of the biggest achievements of G.O.T has been its ability to incite the emotions of the fans, something which I think the actors deserve great credit for, how was it working with such a great cast? It was my first job so I had nothing to compare it to at the time, it wasn't until I came off the show and did other jobs that I realised how good it was. Those guys like James Cosmo is not just an amazing actor, he's an amazing person and you can learn a lot from him just hanging around him. Peter Vaughan and all those guys are models of men rather than just actors.
Coming out of it being your first job, did you find that you'd learned new things from it going into other jobs? Yeah I was learning what everything was, where to stand, where to look and how to do that stuff, what the protocol was. The main thing was just trying to be nice to everyone, do all the work you can, those kind of things really.
Now a lot people know you from Game of Thrones but many may not realise your history with Theatre, can you give us a bit of insight in to where your career began? Well I went to the Oxford School of Drama then when I came off 'Thrones I started writing plays and that's my main job is to write theatre and T.V and film so acting is not my main thing really. I did it purely because I was bored and had a lot of spare time on Thrones so I started writing plays and got jobs doing that.
What are the main differences between T.V and theatre? Money. T.V's much better paid obviously but it's a whole different ball game and a different medium. Actors say words but everything else is a completely different thing.
Are there any major differences as to how you approach the performance side between theatre and Television? Yeah massively, physically, where as T.V is more short bursts, you'll film for three minutes and then break for an hour that's the main physical difference to working in theatre, vocally and physically and all those things.
Where does inspiration come from for you when writing? The world around me really, whatever my friends are talking about in the pub at the time, that's basically it. I'm not an academic, I don't read a lot of like, unknown manuscripts. I watch telly and chat to my mates and reflect on society really and the world around me. People chatting in pubs, that's what's really important.
What other projects do you have on the go at the moment? I have a T.V show on Channel 4 called Minted in Manchester, and I've got a few shows coming next year which I can't announce yet.
Arc of the Sun is an innovative progressive metal/pop punk band hailing from College Park, Maryland. Having released their debut album Everything Under, Arc Of The Sun is currently working to release 3 separate EPs in early 2016. For more information, go to arcofthesunband.com to stay up to date for special promotions and giveaways for both the album and tour!
Available now on itunes! Facebook: Facebook.com/WestonTO Twitter: @WestonTO Instagram: @westontoronto
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens is upon us, so what better time to chat with Jeremy Bulloch who reflects on his time playing Boba Fett in this iconic film series, as well as discussing his experience on the timeless ‘Robin of Sherwood’!”
You have had a long and varied career and probably your most famous character is one, Boba Fett. How did you land the part? Well my elder, half brother was the associate producer on the first Star Wars and he mentioned it to me and said it's not very big, just a couple of days but there was this part if I wanted it. It was a bloke called Boba, Boba Fett, people didn't know too much about it. I said it would be lovely to do it but I can't because I'm in the theatre and he said well, never mind. I saw him the following weekend and I asked what the second film was and he said The Empire Strikes Back, we were chatting and again he said I'll put you up for it and again I said I can't because of the theatre but suddenly and by a lot of luck, he said at least come along and meet George Lucas. I went that day, went back another and put the outfit on which fitted like a glove so I just think it was meant to be. Boba Fett, despite being a fairly small role, has become one of the big icons of the Star Wars universe Honestly, it's extraordinary, still now, 30 years after, there's still at least a phone call a week to fly over to San Antonio or wherever and Americans are lovely, they think you can just hop on a plane, be there and entertain everybody, well, try to entertain everybody! It's incredible how the character became massively popular, as my wife said to me, “keep your feet on the ground and don't be thinking you're flying off to every country” but I just treat it as what a lot of luck. Sometimes you go up for the part and you don't get it but this time I did with the help of my half-brother.
With how small a role it was are you surprised at just how the character caught fans imaginations? Yes, very surprised actually. I think when the character became popular it was purely when they re-released the film in the main theatres, George Lucas wanted to know whether it was worth going on doing more films and it just took off. I remember being in a cinema for the second screening, people were going back after 1015 years and someone just went “oh look there's Boba Fett!” and I turned thinking, where?? That was when I first thought, ah, there's something about this character and it's the thing of, the less you do, the stronger the character really. You don't have to do anything, just stand still, it's far more dangerous looking at that then just leaping about saying “I'm Boba Fett”! It was the nicest part, still the smallest part I've ever played but one of the nicest jobs I've ever had.
You made a brief return to Star Wars in Revenge of the Sith, how was it coming back 20 odd years after Return of the Jedi? It was terrific, I knew a lot of the crew working on it and George Lucas was directing it, he said “this won't take very long, Jeremy” and he was just so sweet, I said how lovely it was to be back. He told me it wasn't Boba Fett and it was a character in a very short scene and I had about the same amount of lines as I did with Boba Fett.
The prequels, shall we say, are not as loved by many as the original trilogy among some fans, why do you think that is? Well some fans, I don't think really gave the newer films a chance. My younger granddaughter who is seven, she loves them and I said do you want to watch these and she said “well, just a little, just the bits that you're in”. I didn't tell her I'm not in these ones but okay... She's supported it, no one said this isn't as good as the originals when granddad was in there, just purely, we'll sit down, enjoy it, have a cup of cocoa and we sat there and she loved it. She loved the new films and you mustn’t take it away from people saying “this isn't as good as the original films”.You don't do that, I just said asked if she enjoyed it and she said “oh yes I loved them, I loved Jar Jar.”
Aw no.... Yes, everyone said aw no! However there you go, you have a new audience and there she was, loving every second of it. I just wish I had a lump sum and they were going to give you a special award now because your character is very popular! I often think, what a wonderful thing that would be! The thing is I get invited virtually everywhere because you take it seriously and don't think oh, what a load of rubbish this is, you take it in your stride, spend time with people, ask them what they think of the films. I've just had a wonderful, on and off, last 12 years talking to people, being filmed and going to conventions, which is quite fun.
It is a very exciting time for Star Wars fans with the Anthology films on the way as well as the main ones, do you see a Boba Fett film coming? People ask me if I'm in the new film and I say, no I'm not but I think the great thing with the Boba Fett thing is, it's going to continue now. There must be a spin-off film, it's such a lovely character I think for anyone that would play him. It's too much for him to just disappear, it must come up that he will have his own film, whoever plays him.
Besides Boba Fett, the role I most identify you with was Edward of Wickham, what are your memories of Robin of Sherwood? I joined after the first series, someone said that they were doing Robin of Sherwood and I said that would be terrific. I was then meeting with Esta Charkham, the casting lady and she said “Jeremy, we tried to get you for the first series but I hope this is better” and just put a script on the table. I have very fond memories, rather like Star Wars but in a different way, next year they are having a convention where fans will come from around the world just to celebrate Robin of Sherwood so I'm looking forward to that. Going back to Edward of Wickham, he was very religious and it was just so much fun. You had Ray Winstone giggling away, Michael Praed and Friar Tuck, it was beautifully done. I remember watching when we were filming and I would have a decent part in every episode and I'd look around and think this place does actually look like Sherwood, it looks perfect. In Canada and America they absolutely loved it, we were going to go on and do another series but don't know what happened. It suddenly stopped and we didn't do anymore.
Many programmes tend to age and are not as spectacular when we look back on them but it still looks as fresh as anything when I watch it today, what do you put that down to? I just think television needs something like Robin of Sherwood. We kept it fresh, we worked hard, there were long days, a great group together, there was a sort of main cast of about ten and we kept it going. We had lovely characters, Ray Winstone for one. He'd say (adopting a thick cockney accent) “here I am but you, Bulloch, blimey, how did you get a part in this then?” and I'd say well, I'm very good and I've been doing this for the best part of 50 years! We had lots of giggles, lots of laughs and funnily enough, I saw it last week. A friend of mine had been watching and said you have to see this bit where I was fighting and you're right, it was fresh and you still think it's terrific and how lucky I was to be involved with it. Then I said, I've done most things, I've done films, T.V and then of course, I've done Summer Holiday...
Oh yes, with Cliff Richard? Yes, I had a wonderful time with Cliff Richard, he would be singing all the time and we'd join in then we went to Greece for a time that must have been around two months and that was a lovely part to get as well.
Working with Cliff Richard of all people.. Yes and he still sings so well, when Cilla Black passed away, he was the first one there at the funeral and he is a really nice guy. He was the one who got us all singing, what he said was that he didn't want to be the only one singing, apart from the one song, I think you should all join in together and there we all were singing but some of the singing was so appalling and he said you can just mime to it so that's what we did. It was another lovely time, I've been terribly lucky. I did a children’s show a few years ago called Sloggers, which was about Cricket, my son in the story is a very good cricketer. The director said, “Jeremy, you play Cricket don't you”? I said yes I do and I was teaching the kids how to play Cricket, I thought how lucky when I've ended up playing a Cricket coach in the end!
The industry must be utterly unrecognisable compared to when you first started out? Oh yes, it's completely different. I've done the things like Holby City and now this Star Wars thing has come along and gives you a fresh look on everything, people say “I can't believe I'm talking to Boba Fett”. It always comes around to Boba Fett and I always appreciate that people come and genuinely say thank you, you've changed my life and it has changed peoples lives, the way George Lucas wrote the stories. It's been incredible.
Do you think the technology today in film and television, which was one of the big complaints with the prequel trilogy with the green screen etc. makes it not look quite as organic and real? Yes, you're right, everyone says to you, I hope it goes back to what it used to be and I think that is what will happen. It will be shot as it should have been right from the word go but you have to experiment, some of it works, some of it doesn't but I am looking forward to seeing it. You'll go in and you'll say yes, this is Star Wars and the music? John Williams just takes you away, simply incredible stuff.
A soundtrack like that takes you on a journey as much as the film. Absolutely, they played the music like this but if they hadn't, would it have worked? Maybe it wouldn't, it was just fabulous music. I even had my own music, I remember John said I had my own music and there was the bit where I was in Slave-I and turned and pushed a button, the music plays, just a quick piece but I had my own music.
If you were to sit down and reminisce about your career, how would you look back on it? I use the word again, too much probably but, luck. I think being in the right place at the right time, I think I'm a decent actor, I've been doing it for a long time. I'm not going to say (to a part) pah, it's only a couple of lines, pah! I stopped doing that when I was about 19, I did a lot of theatre and travelled, I went to the Middle East, the Far East and was in constant work until that stopped, and it would just stop, I'd think, what's going to happen now? I used to paint peoples houses because you've got to survive, you've got a family. I never stopped, some people would say I was stupid and not to let people think I have to decorate and I'd just say well I need to and then suddenly a lovely part comes up. The two series of Agony I did was popular but luck was the main start and then I said to myself Jeremy, I think I'm good at this. I'm still here but slowly, starting to enjoy not having to go into work. I think a lot of people wish this would happen and that would happen but also the conventions have come around, especially for Star Wars but the Doctor Who stuff also.
The Time Warrior episode with Jon Pertwee? Yes and also the Space Museum with William Hartnell, I still have memories of that and that was way, way back and it wasn't a big part but also Pathfinders, which was about the Lancaster Bombers, I played a Flight Lieutenant on that and they asked me back for another series. It's the variety, having done six West End plays, to drive home and Maureen (wife) would say “what was it like tonight?” and be able to say we couldn't have done it better than tonight. There was a feeling in the theatre, with the three of us on-stage, coming off, getting in the car singing and think god that was good tonight. If you can do it once, that one show then it is worth everything. Again, I have to say I am extremely lucky.
Finally and probably the most important question, did Boba make it out of the Sarlacc?? Of course, how could he possibly not! I think he did, he's too smart not to have done. I did hear that George Lucas said, Boba gets out of the Sarlacc, that's what I hear and I'll believe it until I hear them say, no he didn't!
Miles For Away
With our EP we found inspiration from bands like Real Friends, As It Is, and a mixture of typical 2000’s pop punk sound like Blink-182, New Found Glory, as they are some of our favourite bands. Memories are the main concepts we deal with in the EP, under a veil of melancholy with a self-ironic exaggeration. ‘Sorry, I Did It Again’ is availabe on our YouTube channel right now!
CONTACT:
Youtube.com/user/officialM4A Facebook.com/M4Aofficial Soundcloud.com/milesforaway
ASHES OF LUNA Hailing from Los Angeles, Ashes of Luna is a band with a flare for the epic and the gigantic when it comes to their own brand of sound. The California 5-piece set out to create texture-rich songs courtesy of a forwardthinking blend of wildly diverse influences; ranging from electronica, to classical, rock and experimental. Because of the dense melodic layers, Ashes of Luna are the epitome of a climactic, eclectic, cinematic group. Their latest singles have just been released. Two epic delights "Discovery" and "Army of Dreamers." "Army of Dreamers” and “Discovery” sound like more than just songs, but true manifestos highlighting the band’s all-embracing concept and open-mindedness in all its glorious epic aesthetics. “Army of Dreamers” is big, majestic and cinematic: the song is a storyline in itself, with changing atmospheres, instrumentation and lyrics that are an ode to dreaming big. From soundtrack-influenced melodies, to electronica and pop rock anthems, this song’s got it all. “Discovery” shares the same larger-than-life sound, but it is quite a different animal. While the first song cashes in on its diversity, “Discovery” is all about the punch and the communality of the hooks. This is the perfect sing-along that will make you feel like you want to be a part of something special.
Facebook.com/AshesofLuna
“Brian Muir has been a part of some of the biggest film franchises of all time, including James Bond, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and MANY more! So take a read as we catch up with this legend to look over his brilliant career so far!�
When did you first realize that you wanted to be a sculptor? I knew I wanted to find a career in the art world but thought I had little chance of finding a suitable job. So as I was leaving schooI I accepted an apprenticeship as a carpenter with a local building company. But fortunately there was also an opening for an apprenticeship at Elstree Film Studios in my hometown of Borehamwood. I was warned that 12 candidates had already been turned down so I was not feeling too confident. To my surprise and delight I was offered the position. So at the age of 16 I became a professional sculptor.
What was your first major project, and what was that like for you at the time? The first film I had work seen on screen was Captain Nemo filmed at MGM Studios. Four months into my apprenticeship my mentor, Arthur Healey, and I went on loan for a few months. I sculpted the large shells that surround the swimming pool. In fact they are still in existence, displayed in an ornamental garden in Borehamwood.
How hard or easy was it to make a career out of this job role? Like any of the arts it’s quite precarious. There have been many highs and lows. But I wouldn’t change a thing.
You created Darth Vader's helmet using Ralph McQuarrie's design. So what was that whole process like for you, and what do you remember the most from that time? I was called back into the film industry after a few years working for an architectural company in London. So the significant memory for me was being pleased to be back in the industry I loved. The process began with Dave Prowse being moulded and cast in plaster. I then sculpted the mask on his plaster head knowing it would fit using a simple lined drawing I was given by wardrobe designer John Mollo. Then I sculpted the helmet on the plaster cast made of the mask. It was the chest armour, shoulder bells and shins that I sculpted using Ralph McQuarrie’s paintings, which were easy to work from.
You also sculpted the Stormtrooper armour, so what was that like, and how did you go about making it unique? I was given a plaster cast of an average sized person of 5ft 10in. Again I sculpted the armour on the cast. I had to work from Ralph McQuarrie’s designs and input from production designer John Barry. It’s unique from the fact that no two sculptors would produce the same finish.
You worked on the Ark of the Covenant prop from Indiana Jones, so what was that like, and what can you remember from creating this piece? It was just another piece to sculpt. Obviously we didn’t know its significance at the time.
How did you end up working on Alien for the Space Jockey, and what was it like to cocreate on this incredible project? Sculptor Peter Voysey, who sculpted the Space Jockey with me, contacted me. It was certainly an interesting experience being in the company of HR Giger whose original concept art was the inspiration for the film. His airbrush work was a joy to use as reference as it was so three-dimensional.
You got to work on the James Bond films, so can you tell us what was it like to work on the props as the tone of the film changed over the years? To date I’ve had the pleasure of working on 10 James Bond films. Every film was different and the work was so diverse that they were all enjoyable experiences.
You got to work on four of the Harry Potter films, so how did you get involved with this, and again, can you tell us some of the projects that you enjoyed working on with this iconic franchise? Again I was contacted by the sculptor already employed on the film. My favourite film was the Order of the Phoenix. I sculpted several elements for the Atrium in the Ministry of Magic.
Recently you got to work on Guardians of the Galaxy, so what was that like, and can you tell us about some of the props you worked on for that? Guardians of the Galaxy was another enjoyable period. I modeled the strange industrial panels for the interiors of Ronan the Accuser’s Kree warship. With a team of sculptors I also worked on the Necrocraft.
As a sculptor, what does a normal day involve for you? There is no normal day. Everyday is different with a new challenge.
So what is it actually like for you, to create something that is so iconic, that really stands the test of time? Well Vader is the creation that I will be remembered for although I have produced countless other well-known sculptures. But it is the fans love of Vader that has brought my other achievements to the fore.
What else can we expect to see from Brian Muir as we head towards 2016? As I am nearing retirement, after a busy and productive 47 years in the film industry, I am looking towards travelling the world to attend more conventions. It is a pleasure meeting Star Wars fans and other film enthusiasts who appreciate the work that goes on behind the scenes.
“There is no normal day. Everyday is different with a new challenge”
Progressive Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Rock from San Antonio, TX For fans of: Between The Buried And Me, Memphis May Fire, Avenged Sevenfold, August Burns Red, Like Moths to Flames, Volumes, Structures, The Contortionist Debut full length "Finite/Unbound" out NOW on all major digital stores including: ITunes Spotify Google Play Bandcamp Social media: Facebook: Facebook.com/pages/Just-ADream/113850078801402 Instagram: @justadreamofficial Twitter: @JustADreamTX Youtube: justadreamofficial
Europa, the four-piece post-rock collective from Orlando, Fl is a band with a unique message. Sharing a common fascination with space as the great unknown, the project was named Europa for a moon of Jupiter, one of the best chances for life in our solar system due to its massive ocean. This name encapsulates the members’ belief that potential is limitless. Through challenging the preconceived barriers of genre both musically and conceptually, they hope to illuminate issues they feel emphatically towards. Their first EP, Stage 0 speaks to the listener through a first-person perspective. The “I” and “we” of Europa serves to introduce the philosophies of their band: seek truth, uphold justice, choose acceptance, and always maintain hope. Named for the unofficial term for the beginnings of a rocket launch, Stage 0 symbolizes the birth of the band as an entity while doubling as an indicator of what develops into a core ideology - we have been born, now we must grow. Collectively, Europa believes that we, as a society, are in our infancy. In part, we have ourselves to blame. Some of us choose to rely on thousand year old doctrines as a compass for morality, and consequentially, this influences our law making. This influence very blatantly shapes our society in a way that can hinder us from fulfilling our potential. The band’s ambition with bringing some of these issues to light is decidedly optimistic. Through realizing the flaws within ourselves (the collective “us”) we have the opportunity to evolve. The pursuit of this evolution through science and compassion is a driving force behind the lyrical messages in their music. The second EP, entitled Children, delves further into the motifs of social injustices. As opposed to the perspective of the band speaking from a first-person narrative, the album transitions between perspectives, each song telling a story from the viewpoints of those both affected by sociological change, as well as those who have the power to effect it. Arguably the album’s most powerful track “Mutable” outlines the inner turmoil of a prominent religious figure who, after a life of theological devotion, finds themselves overcome by doubt under the weight of the world’s suffering. Speaking to their deity they cry, “So much pain...Where were you all this time? Have you left them? I gave my life to you but I can't lie to you...They're on their knees, god, my god...Why can't you hear them, god?” This excerpt demonstrates the band’s belief in the potential we have as human beings to comprehend suffering in correlation to the choices we, as a collective society, have made. Our lack of effort at times to embrace the pursuit of progress is what stunts our evolution as a race. Until humankind can unite to overcome this hurdle, we will remain children. Although focusing heavily on a cumulative commentary of humanity, Europa does not fail to speak to their personal experiences as musicians and individuals. Tracks heard on both EPs detail their passion for creating a life for themselves that is musically inspired, the arduousness of doing so, and the unique force consuming them with the impulse to pursue their craft. As artists, Europa’s wish is that those who experience their music find their thoughts provoked towards their own capacities for progress, through the infusion of their passion into the boundarybending music they’ve created.
CONTACT:
discovereuropa (Twitter) discovereuropa (Instagram) europa.bandcamp.com discovereuropa@gmail.com
“After working his way up the acting world through shows such as The Bill, Doctors & Holby City, the talented actor that is Ryan Gage went on to become a part of the hit TV show The Musketeers whilst also becoming Alfrid in The Hobbit trilogy!� When did you first realize that acting was what you wanted to do for a living? I was probably about 5 or 6. I've spent most of my life never really thinking I would do anything else. It only struck me how odd that is recently. I consider myself quite a curious person but in that regard I was quite blinkered really.
What was your first major project, and what was that like for you at the time? It depends what you mean by major, one of my first significant acting achievements happened when I was 19 and was at Drama school. It was a short film made with a couple of friends. It couldn't be entered into any festivals or released because we didn't have any of the music licensed, but it was pasted around by a lot of people in the industry. So I sensed then I wasn't wasting my time.
You got to work on Outlaw in 2007, what was that like, and what can you remember from this project? It was a very brief job - I was only on it for a couple of days. I met Bob Hoskins who was holding court in the green room, that was the highlight. I also wrote all of my own lines for the court room scene which you hear me speak but never see me directly in. Lenny James was on that job too who I had known a bit from auditioning several times for his drama Storm Damage about his upbringing in foster care.
You got to work on some iconic TV dramas at the start of your career including Holby City, The Bill, Doctors, so what was that like and looking back now, which project was the most memorable, and why? I only really spent a day here or there on those shows. I was chiefly a theatre actor at the time but like most jobbing actors I would occasionally find myself on set. Those shows are a rite of passage for young actors. I have a lot of respect for actors on those shows. It's mostly done in one or two takes so if you mess it up that's what goes on screen. Although that can breed a conservatism and a reluctance to take risks with your performance, which isn't a good thing, but hungry actors always keep challenging themselves in one way or another. My favourite was probably Holby because Paul Bradley is a lovely human being.
How did you first get involved with The Hobbit franchise, and what was that whole process like for you, turning up to the set for the first time? I was in a play in a room above a pub in Angel. A casting director came to see the show and I got a general meeting with their boss Amy Hubbard. We got on great, they sent off a tape, and then I kept getting asked back in to audition for different roles. Ending up being given the part of Alfrid the Councillor. The first day was a bit of a blur as I arrived two weeks early on my first trip to acclimatise, but it was just great fun, it's a big old movie lot full of incredible sets and extras walking around as Orcs and Elf's so it's hard not to have a good time.
What did a typical day involve for you whilst working on The Hobbit? There were no typical days on filming days but when I wasn't filming I spent a lot of time eating lunch with Billy Connelly. We would always go to set to eat even if we weren't working because the food was so good.
What did you enjoy the most about being Alfrid? I describe Alfrid as a dark clown. It was fun getting to be both mean and stupid at the same time. Peter Jackson seemed to really enjoy Alfrid so we had great fun on set finding the character together.
What was it like to work on Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, and how does it compare to working on TV shows/films? It was a brief but pleasant experience as I was only in the studio for a few hours and read for a couple different characters. It wasn't until the games release that I found out who I actually was in it. Like film, the world of computer games is a very secretive one.
Over the last couple of years you've been a massive part of The Musketeers as 'King Louis'! So what has that been like for you, and can you also give us a couple of personal highlights from working on this great show? From the first season working with Peter Capaldi, it was a huge thrill. I had always admired his work and we became great friends and still are. He is a truly lovely man. Then in series two I really enjoy the second episode where I worked very closely with Luke. We had such a laugh filming it and it was great to get out of the palace and into the action. This season working with Rupert Everett and the wonderful Hugo Speer has been a riot. Rupert and I were sent outside to calm down by the director on one occasion because we couldn't stop laughing. Rupert accidentally mispronounced the words 'Low Countries' as a far ruder word and after that, every time even if he said it correctly, neither of us could hold it together. Andy Hay our director did a good job of pretending to be cross with us but we could tell he was trying not to crack up too.
What can fans expect from season three of the show? Lots of exciting new characters this season. And a very big climatic season finale.
Inside The Artist's Head started out as a back in 2010, recording punkrock and tracks. The following year the band saw first line up and a few gigs at the local
2-man studio project hardcore influenced the formation of the venues.
The band continued to experiment and re-arranged the line up until late 2013 when the current formula was found. Johan Svensson on drums, Jonas Stark on vocals, Dino helmefalk on bass, Tony Pettersson and Johan Nรถjd on guitar, the band has since been working on and promoting their take on hardcore and groove metal which in short time appeared around Europe and is expanding their fanbase by the day.
Recently the band got signed by Rexius Records and released their debut album: AGE OF SUFFERING!
“As an actor/stuntman he has been a part of a long list of impressive film franchises such as The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Aliens, and MORE! So read on as we find out what this incredilbe career has been like for Kiran Shah!” When did you first realize that acting/stunts was what you wanted to do as a career? In Kenya, when I was six we used to take the mick out of my uncle by copying his walk and mannerisms and exaggerating it to make it funnier. The people on my street used to laugh at this and asked me again and again to copy him. This is when I realized I wanted to be an actor, at this point I had no plans to be a stuntman.
What was your first major project, and what was that whole experience like for you? I was working in fringe and experimental theatre as a mime, mask and movement artist, when in 1976 I started work on my first major project which was a film called ‘Candleshoe’. I was working as a stand-in for a young girl when I was spotted by stunt-coordinator Bob Anderson. He asked me to do all the stunts for the girl. During filming at Pinewood studios I was approached by a producer called John Dark. Who was making a film called ‘The people the time forgot’ he was looking for a little person to play a character called Bolum. Working on this film was an amazing experience as it taught me how making movies work. I will always remember this film as I got my two major breaks from this film.
What was it like to be Abu in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and can you tell us a bit about your time on the set for this iconic film? In Raiders, people will always remember Abu in the scene where the monkey dies. Abu was a cook who brought in the poisoned dates. On set Steven Spielberg introduced me to all the cast members, I was pleased to work with Harrison Ford and John Rhys-Davies. They kept me entertained all day.
You also got to be an ewok on Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, so what was that like, and again, can you tell us a bit about your time on set of this film? On Episode VI, I was the first person to test out the Ewoks costume, I got inside the costume to see how well I could move and do stunts. I ended up doing stunts for the most of the Ewoks. I had fun swinging from one tree to another, falling, being thrown from heights and doing fights.
You got to be Blunder on Legend, so how was that, and what do you remember the most from this film? When I started working on the film, Ridley Scott told me there were two reasons I got the character. One was at the audition I made him laugh with my mime physical character and the second was Alan Lee’s sketch of Blunder that looked like me. One of the thing I will always remember is doing a scene with Alice Playten, ‘Blix’. Blix and Blunder are having a little argument when Blix starts punching Blunder who is wearing a helmet with a visor. A couple of punches caught the helmet knocking the plastics tube, which was inside the helmet connected to a dry ice canister to give a vapor effect coming out of the visor. The tube dropped on to my shoulder and gave me first-degree cold burns.
What was it like to be a part of the iconic Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and what did you enjoy the most about acting on these epic set pieces? I did stunts on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I was called in by stunt coordinator Greg Powell to do a stunt for a Goblin. It was really good to be on such magical sets.
How did you end up working on Space Precinct, and how does a TV show compare to working on a movie? I got a call to do an episode to play a girl character in a prosthetic mask. I was asked to do two more episodes playing different child characters. TV shows are fast moving as they have a smaller time scale than shooting a movie.
“It was really good to be on such magical sets”
You went on to be Ginarrbrik in The Chronicles of Narnia, so how was that, and what was the most rewarding part about being involved with these films? Ginarrbrik in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was such a fun part to play. He was an evil and funny character. I was pleased that I was given some funny dialogue. The contrast between the White Witch, Tilda Swinton and Ginarrbrik was magnificent. I also wanted him to look really evil and Howard Berger’s make-up worked really well. This was a rewarding part for me and I got to work with Andrew Adamson in his first film with human actors.
As well as acting, you of course do stunts! You worked as a stunt double for Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings, so how was that, and what was the hardest scene to shoot? I was a scale and scale stunt double mainly for Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings. A scale double is not a straight body double. In pre-production I had to study and work with Elijah so that I can get his character Frodo’s mannerisms and walk. I had a team of four little people, with Sean Allen we trained them to work in movement and mask. At this time a decision was made by Peter Jackson and Barrie M. Osborne that I would do all five Hobbits at any given point whichever Hobbit was leading the scene I would be that scale and stunt double Hobbit. When we started filming I would be watching the monitor looking at the lead Hobbit in the scene so that when I did that Hobbit I could get his movement and mannerisms as closely as possible. The hardest scene was with Boromir, Sean Bean, when he tried to get the ring from Frodo. It was a long set up with walking, running, falling and rolling struggling on the ground with Boromir as he tries to get the ring.
You were also a stunt double for Carrie Henn in Aliens, so what was that like, and what did you enjoy the most about working in this sci-fi world? To work with James Cameron on Aliens was hard but good as well. I was the stunt double for Carrie Henn. The most enjoyable scene for me was as Newt being carried by Ripley, Sigourney Weaver, when she was burning the alien’s eggs with a flame thrower gun in this sci-fi world.
What did you enjoy the most about being a part of one of the biggest selling films of all time, Titanic? To be part of one of the biggest selling films of all time was fantastic and I loved working with the biggest stunt team with over one hundred stunt people (Guinness World Record) from different parts of the world all working together and supporting each other. The stunt coordinator who headed the team was Simon Crane. I did high falls into the water, sliding across the ship deck at various angles, I played the boy who was picked up by Leonardo DiCaprio, and I did the stunts for many of the child characters.
Is there anything you can tell us about your time on the upcoming film Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens? Without giving any spoilers of course. I had a fantastic time working on Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. It was so good to work with J.J. Abrams.
What else can we expect to see from you as we head towards 2016? I have been working on a few different projects for 2016, you will all just have to wait and see!
“The hardest scene was with Boromir, Sean Bean, when he tried to get the ring from Frodo�
Her Cursed Words are a five piece Post-Hardcore/Metalcore band from Kidderminster. The band formed in late 2012 and are rising, quickly. by getting signed to M.A.S Records for 2 years and releasing their debut EP Sincerity on June 26th 2015. After a tough year the band completed their contract with M.A.S Records and are set to start recording their second ep in late December, titled "Dancing For Royalty". As vocalist and guitarist Jarvis says "We play anything, we are like pick and mix metal". The band loves to diverge into different genres that each member is influenced by. Using heavy guitar riffs, solid drum patterns, face melting solos and even the use of electronic sounds, you get the unforgettable sound of Her Cursed Words. The Current 4 track EP Sincerity holds a more Metalcore sound and is available to download for free at: https://hercursedwords.bandcamp.com/album/sincerity
Release: Dancing For Royalty EP to be released Spring 2016. Facebook.com/hercursedwords / Twitter.com/HerCursedWords / hercursedwords.bandcamp.com
It takes A LOT of work to put on a festival that pleases everyone in attendance, and in short Steve Dickson has done just that with the awesome Mammothfest! Take a read as we find out what this year has been like for him, as well as what we can expect to see from the event in the future!”
So another successful year done at the mighty Mammothfest, how was it for you?! It was the best weekend I have had in a while and one of the best metal weekends I think Brighton has experienced in a while too from the feedback! We are still buzzing from it and while there can be times when you question whether the world is conspiring against us this year the gods were on our side that's for certain!
Do you feel like all the hard work and preparation you and your team put in payed off? Absolutely yes. No one will ever understand how much work actually goes into running a festival. One band dropping out can cause amounts of additional work and when I/we have felt broken from everything we had already done it can be very difficult to find that extra energy to dig in and rectify things but that said, people don’t really care about that at the end of the day and why should they? They come to enjoy themselves, support the bands and forget about all this kind of shit so it’s just amazing to know we were able to profit a little on a much more expensive event while putting on an event of this scale that pleased so many people. That’s where it is really at for us.
Following on from this, you yourself obviously put so much into this, as well as actually performing with your band, Meta-stasis, how rewarding is it to deliver such an integral event for the Brighton music scene? Many a time I have heard others moan about how the metal scene in Brighton is or rather was crap, and sometimes they were right but no one really stepped up to make something happen. So recognising this and wanting to avoid dog shit 9/5 work that drained the life out of me it seemed only right I would try to make a difference in something I really care about. When I started out I had no idea how far it would go, I just started putting on events and enjoyed them whether I made any money or not. To be where we are now with an incredible 20 strong team and booking bands like Onslaught and Psycroptic from Australia (but to name a few) that have inspired me and heavily influenced my life is a dream come true. Unless you have done something like this it’s hard for anyone else to truly appreciate. It’s better than any drug and is certainly as addictive as the worst and I can’t wait to get my teeth into 2016. I just hope we continue to deliver events that appeal to our community because without them we are nothing, so we welcome their feedback on who they want to see in the future! Tell us – info@mammothmetalfestival.co.uk
Obviously we have to ask about your bands set! So how did it go down? Having witnessed Meta-stasis myself, you create quite a mental atmosphere! So I’m guessing you brought this back to the pits?! Ah yes of course, we are all about the madness and I think we successfully created that. In fact during one of the latter tracks I dived off the stage to get the crowd wound up even further only to knock myself out on an air vent. I figured if I am going to run a metal festival and perform at it then I need to put on a knock out performance, little did I realise I would literally do so!
Mammothfest continues to highlight prime examples of local talent in the South East, UK, and much further afield also! So next time round, what will the process of selection be like for the 2016 line-up? Will it be similar to how you picked this years? Well my partner is due to have a baby in May so if we do the 30 date tour it won’t be me this time going out around the country looking for the best underground bands but this worked so well for us in terms of finding incredible bands like KRYSTHLA and so many more that we simply must do so again next year. Asides from that I work for an international metal magazine so I get a lot of new bands come through me as I compile the cover mount CD every month so this gives us a real good arsenal of new bands to choose from as well as all of our team keeping a close eye on the bands that are making good waves in the scene. So yes it will be similar but slightly different!
What was the feedback like from attending Metal heads and the bands performing? My understanding is that it was extremely positive all weekend. The bands had a great time and the customers really went out of their way to express their appreciation to us all weekend. But rather than hear it from me we encourage people to search out Mammothfest recently, read the reviews and comments on social media, watch the Onslaught full live performance on youtube and see how the crowd react throughout. Then people will get a real sense of how it was because it is easy for us to sit here blowing our trumpets.
What would you say were the main highlights for you over Mammothfest 2015? There were so many that it is hard to pin down but I would say Onslaught and all the bands that supported them on the Friday night smashed it and really set the tone for the rest of the weekend. The Stoner Doom stage was incredible, rammed all day, Psycroptic destroyed Sticky Mikes venue to a packed house which was such a moment to saviour. Hearing from so many people that the standard of bands all weekend was so high (exactly what we are trying to achieve here, you do not need to pay silly money at major festivals to get a solid fill of quality metal as we proved) and breaking even on a very expensive event for us kind a sums it up when so many other festivals are struggling at the moment.
So finally, it’s the question everyone is dying to know!..When will work start on Mammothfest 2016? And when can we expect to hear any official news on this? It has already started. I had a day off and then had to get all the sponsors backline sent back, address some outstanding matters and get stuck into 2016 because if we are too slow we can miss some great opportunities. Besides, we love it. I don’t want a day off, I'm alive and happy and revelling in what we have achieved and we want to do more!
Is there anything else you would like to add or perhaps kindly give away to us?! Yes, if you are reading about Mammothfest for the first time and you are into metal then go on to our Facebook page, like us and follow our news, support what we do and tell us what YOU want to see in the future. We are a festival for the people by the people so we get it.
PHOTO CREDIT: Daniella Lev, Rock N Art photography
We are an alternative rock band, and we are about to release our first EP (5 songs) and the first single ‘On The Ground’ is available now. We were on a television show in Israel last month premiering the single. The band has been touring for the past 2 years, completing over 200 shows all around in Israel! You can check our website: Bucketsnjoints.com
My album of the year goes to a band that had a worrying hiatus, but thankfully emerged stronger than ever. That’s right, it’s Disturbed ‘Immortalized’. This is evident from the beginning with title track, which quickly familiarises us of why we anticipated their return, with characteristic striking riffs, quick fire vocals from Draiman, all resulting in a massive melodic anthem. The first single released ‘The Vengeful One’ embraced their typical sounds, making it a serious contender for an instant classic for the band, with their groovy ambient metal coming back with a wrath indeed! ‘What Are You Waiting For’ again screams full Disturbed at its epitome, with the most infectious chorus to be found, all delivered with a manic urgency. As well as keeping up their well-loved traits, they injected new energy and adventure into this record. Experimenting between the balances of harsh melancholic sounds, with bright hopeful moments. Which is best heard in, ‘The Light’, where Draiman gets to shine with his powerful stripped back vocals, in an enlightening power ballad. Showing the band can diversify with equally impressive results. They throw some curve balls in there too and more exposing honesty, especially with the heart wrenching personal, ‘Save Our Last Goodbye’, which is very moving and delivered in a highly emotive manner. A definite bizarre highlight is the 60s Simon & Garfunkel classic ‘The Sound of Silence’ Cover, which they keep mellow, instead of putting a metal stamp on, it is beautiful and striking, especially with moving piano and orchestration to aid this. This could easily be mistaken for their own creation, as it sits well amongst their own material, but also offers something surprising, but welcoming! ‘Immortalized’ has everything and more you could want from Disturbed, showing that the band are here to stay and alive and kicking, with a passion and reinvigorated with a new energy and creativity. Showing they can equally pull of beautiful power ballads through to their distinct ever melodic metal anthems!
Pop punk giants The Wonder Years returned with ‘No Closer to Heaven’ in September 2015 after a relatively quiet period. I have always loved this band going back to their very first record ‘Get Stoked On It!’ in 2007. The band is famous for delivering records focusing on issues of growing up in today’s society which so many teenagers and fans can relate to, this particular record focused on losing a loved one after the band were inspired by their friends stories. The emotion is epitomised in tracks like ‘Cardinals’ and especially in ‘Cigarettes and Saints’ which has given me goose bumps because of the powerful atmosphere created by the excellent tireless vocals of Dan Campbell, alongside a perfectly balanced guitars and drum patterns. The album is not always on creating an emotional feel, there are tracks that represent the fun nature that made the band’s album ‘The Upsides’ so popular, ‘I Wanted So Badly To Be Brave’ is a perfect example with its fast paced riffs and addictive chorus with excellent use of gang vocals, the band’s ability to create a fun fast song but retain emotion through the lyrics has been unrivalled in the pop punk scene for the past five years. A track I particularly enjoyed which I was a little sceptic about before hearing it is ‘Stained Glass Ceilings’ which features the band’s friend Jason Butler from the frenetic post-hardcore outfit Letlive, I found the addition of his soulful aggressive vocals particularly enjoyable and added a different element to a Wonder Years record that I’ve never heard before, the track quickly became one of my favourites on the album. One of the things I love about this band in comparison to other pop punk bands is they are not predictable, a lot of American pop punk bands can make a solid record but The Wonder Years found a perfect blend of styles and paces on this record, ranging from the highly emotive and stirring ‘Cigarettes and Saints’ to the classic pop punk track in ‘Thanks For The Ride’ and the subdued storytelling style of ‘You in January’. Despite their struggles of writing block in the making of the record they produced another memorable addition to their already stellar discography that surely ranks right at the top amongst the likes of pop punk legends New Found Glory and Blink-182.
Bring Me The Horizon are without a doubt ambitious. A while ago I remember Oli Sykes saying that they could headline Reading and Leeds Festivals next year, Sykes wants to see the band become as big as possible, but actually attaining that could have proved to be trickier than they thought. However, the release of their fifth and most anticipated record to date “That’s The Spirit” saw something completely different. Produced entirely by the band themselves the new record saw the band reach new heights in their sound and Sykes’ vocally going down a path which probably no one ever thought he could do. While Sykes has been quoted saying the album is a “celebration of depression” there is obviously an eagerness to make these eleven songs stack up in the mainstream industry. The early release of tracks “Happy Song”, “Throne” and “True Friends” shot them into the mainstream spotlight, but those early releases were also signs of the band becoming keen to show just how well they have refined their sound. “Throne” itself is a synth driven track, using Oli’s vocals to create an anthemic chorus worthy of radio airplay and the all-out catharsis of “True Friends” shows that BMTH have stayed true to the heavy elements of their sound. “Follow You” breaks the album nicely and Oli’s heart wrenching lyrics encompass the meaning of the track beautifully, showing that the Bring Me are not afraid to further refine the softer elements of their sound as shown on “Sempiternal”. While there are fewer heavy tracks on “That’s The Spirit”, the band have definitely packed the most punch into the few. “Blasphemy” manifests most of the aggression on the record and with each chorus, each riff gets bigger and bigger. But probably the biggest highlight of the album is “Oh No”, celebrating the lows of addiction and binging, “Oh No” is more like a The 1975 track than a Bring Me The Horizon track, but with all of it’s poppy sensibilities there is something incredibly dark and brilliantly impressionable as the track closes out. Not only is this the sound of a band daring to break the mold, but it’s the sound of a band who aren’t afraid to celebrate their darkest faults.
At the beginning of this year techno metal giants Enter Shikari released their fourth studio album The Mindsweep. I was so excited about this release that I completely forgot that one of my first loves in music was releasing their latest effort. When Fall Out Boy came back out of the shadows after their hiatus their new sound was received with praise and admiration. American Beauty/American Psycho follows on with the more pop than rock style that was resonate on Save Rock and Roll. However I would say that this album is more a saviour than the last. Sure the released tracks were amazing, the brilliant Uma Thurman featuring a very Pulp Fiction bridge is a personal favourite. That’s not even beginning to mention Centuries and the catchy Immortals.
“American Beauty/American Psycho is a feel good album” However it’s the songs that haven’t seen the radio waves that should get the most praise. Jet Pack Blues and Twin Skeletons are both brilliantly written dark tracks that further demonstrate how far this band have come since their pop punk days. American Beauty/American Psycho is a feel good album that has catapaulted Fall Out Boy to even further success than they already had.
Yes they've done it again, Enter Shikari have made my choice for the best album of 2015! It was a close one this year, with acts like Frank Turner & The Wonder Years (James Payne took this one!) being in my top five proving that it's just been another great year for the alternative rock world. I was fortunate enough to catch the band perform live in January just as they unleashed their album, and from this it was clear to see that even though their album had just come out, it was going down incredibly well with their fans as the crowd were singing just as loud for the new songs as the older ones, anyway let's get back to discussing the album. As soon as the raw track that is 'The Appeal & the Mindsweep I' explodes with the lyrics 'I am a Mindsweeper' I found myself hooked to the album. If you stay up to date with the band then you'll know that they've always been well on top of promoting and supporting important subjects that people should be paying more attention too. They continue to do this with Anaesthetist as the track sees them discuss the NHS in full force and when the line 'step the f*ck back' kicks in, no matter where you are, you'll be banging your head in unison. 'Never Let Go of the Microscope' is an epic builder that features the brilliant culminating line 'We’ll harness the heat of the sun, And we’ll burn you out of f*cking existence', which is something that can be related to many factors in one’s life, not just the relevance of the song, brilliant. 'There's A Price On Your Head' has been stated to have a somewhat System of a Down feel to it, and that's a pretty fair statement to make with its in your face approach that has you thinking about how important a person’s place in "class" actually is (it's pointless isn't it?). 'Dear Future Historians...' is a haunting listen, and for me with lyrics like 'I never walked on the moon, I never saw the pyramids' followed by 'I fret not, I fret not for I've made my own discovery' this could be a song about how that maybe in life we'll never get to achieve things we thought were always possible growing up, but at the end of the day you've still discovered something that's just as exciting, that could be anything, a new job, partner, it's just a brilliant track that gives every listener a good view on how to see their own life. This is just a great album, and another genuine output from one of the most important bands in the UK. I can't wait to see what they do next.
This year has once again seen so many great albums, with new bands breaking through with superb work and the old guard still producing top quality stuff, it makes for a tough decision. Ultimately, an album that I said had set the bar, way back in February, for 2015 hasn't been bettered for me, many have come close but Enslaved shade it. Enslaved were there at the start of the dark and ever controversial musical style that emerged from Norway in the early 90s and have stood the test of time through countless bands, fads and trends that have come and gone.
“In Times is a true masterpiece�
The depth that is to be found on In Times is simply astonishing, throwing off the shackles of being defined by a set of rules has allowed Enslaved to break new ground again, seeming to challenge themselves to go further and finding no limit to what they can do. In a perfect world everyone would hear this record, of course we are not in a perfect world but this album transcends musical barriers. Simply put, In Times is a true masterpiece.
THE EMPIRE We originally started out as a duo which was Sean and David and we got offered a gig through our college because Adam was not old enough to participate in a battle of the bands competition so David and I jumped in for the gig with Adam and Jordan and it just clicked and from then on we had our four piece band In Focus.
We want them really to listen to our music because we're passionate and serious about writing and creating music for people to hear. We also put a lot of time and effort in when writing songs so that is also a drive to better our performance as a band. About The Bands Debut Single “Lost�:
The more and more established we became the more we felt the need to get a drummer in so we started with people we knew and Ian was an obvious choice due to the fact that he fit in perfectly with us and he was a really solid drummer. We are a five piece band.We are energetic and love to get a crowd really listening to the music and not just as a background for their conversation.
Sean McGrath - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar. David McCabe - Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin. Ian Bailey - Percussion and Drums. Jordan Higgins - Electric Guitar. Adam Treacy -Bass Guitar.
The Empire (originally known as InFocus) recorded their self penned debut single "LOST" at Temple Lane Studios in Temple Bar, Dublin in late August and on September 17th they released their debut track "Lost". The Unsigned Band quickly realised that it was a success with it going to Number One within the hour it was released. Alterative Acoustic Rock Band from Ireland
CONTACT: Facebook.com/InFocusOfficial Twitter.com/TheEmp_official Instagram - @theempiremusic1 bandtheempire@gmail.com
: l l 1 m
Skylights Skylights are a pop/rock band We formed the band in January 2015 from Liverpool and are far from and since then have gained a strong strangers to the stage. We are following on the ever-growing constantly expressing our love Liverpool music scene by performing at for performing live by bringing lots of historic venues around the city. fresh, new energy and excitement to our gigs. We aspire to become the UK's number 1 band and will do whatever it takes We're Four lads from Liverpool; in order to do so. John, Sean, Lachlan, and Sonny together share the passion of all Facebook.com/SkylightsBandOfficial different genres of music.
CONTACT:
EP COMING SOON!
Photo credit: Colin Stiscak
The Coils are not like every other rock band out there. They do drugs, don’t listen to anyone, and stay up late playing kickass shows. Spawning from the nasty steel region of Chicago Illinois, they listen to everything that inspires them from rock to hiphop, metal to jazz. Their sound could be grouped with grunge, however they would rather tell you it’s just grungy… and jazzy and emotional and LOUD! Drummer Jamel Williams lays the passionate beats down with solidity. Bassist Johnny Cebulski rumbles the walls with swooping low end finesse. And frontman Aristotle Coulopoulos shouts more so than screams while sloppy guitar playing smothers audiences with distortion and dissonance. The bands much anticipated self-titled freshman record, recorded at Red Door Studios with talented engineer Tyler Jones, will be released early in the upcoming year. Keeping true to a DIY approach and an antiindustry mindset, The Coils play music that rocks deep and true in a capacity that anyone who has lived can appreciate and relate with.
Their EP "Revolutiona Summer" is availble for FREE via the soundcloud link!
Soundcloud.com/th Facebook.com
Fightstar - Behind The Devils Back Popular British Post-Hardcore act make a mighty return after their five year hiatus, breaking the silence with new album, ‘Behind The Devil’s Back’. Opening song, ’Sharp Tongue’ quickly asserts itself with loud heavy instruments, which are then contrasted by flawless clean vocals which create an ethereal feel, that is very changeable, again producing a dream like state, until you are rudely loudly woken to keep you alert! This is a brilliant dynamic start and we can breathe a sigh of relief to their invigorated return... ‘Murder All Over’ has some dazzling almost exotic sounding pop sheen, infused with edgy heavy undertones. There is a nice contrast of Charlie and Alex’s vocals, all driven by well-constructed melodic instrumentation. The album title track would be well placed on a Deftones release, which of course is a compliment, however that being said they truly come into their own and find their distinct sound also. With Simpson’s wavering changeable vocals, aided by resonant tones/sounds and seamless instruments, including crushing riffs, this is sheer musical joy! ‘Overdrive’ keeps things a bit lighter than previously seen, especially with bright flawless sounding vocals and bouncy synth sounds. But it is very well written, and makes a nice addition to balance the dark and light moments. ‘More Human Than Human’ is the perfect song to follow up, with Alex taking the main spotlight, delivering his softer vocals and aiding the hopeful positive side more-so. ‘Animal’ breaks this serenity quickly, but goes on to restore it in the same breath, with blazing transitions between ferocity and bliss, something they can pull of easily it seems!
“This is a monster of an album” ‘Titan’ contains some of the fiercest aggressive elements, with storming heavy sections, again as they do so well, all wrapped around and creeping amongst elegant tranquillity. ‘Sink With The Snakes’ has a powerful bite that may take you by surprise. It remains extremely melodic and possesses a massive surrounding sound. Like a snake, it’s fast and deadly! Sadly we reach the climax, with, ‘Dive’ which opens on strange synths with stripped back vocals that reach new heights. It’s bursting with angelic yet melancholic moments. It’s an intelligible offering that is structured and progressive, incorporating the best elements of what they have delivered throughout. This is a monster of an album, which is so diverse and layered, you will easily want to keep listening to it again and again! The best thing about this release, is that it was a pleasant surprise that opened my eyes more to what Fightstar can achieve, and I can’t wait to see what they do next following this game changing album for them! This is sonically their heaviest album, and they masterfully take advantage of their strong use of electronics to create a huge atmospheric presence. CL
OMEGA DIATRIBE - Abstract Ritual Extreme groove metal act from Budapest, who’s name is derived from an ancient secret writing stem from an unknown alien civilisation, a contract between humans and aliens about the use of Earth. The government calls this agreement, ‘Omega Diatribe’. They are back in action with their new 2015 EP, following their 2013 debut album, ‘Iapetus’. To open, we have, ‘Subsequent Phase’ an incensed extreme metal offering that has plenty of dark far reaching atmosphere, giving it more depth. There is a nice use of strained screamed and crazed almost spoken vocals, adding more musical texture, amongst the sludgy down tuned riffs! This sets the scene well for what lies ahead... Title track, ‘Abstract Ritual’ is just a straight up slab of djent tinged groove metal, keeping things simple, but nonetheless effective for the most part, although the lead guitars offer more substance and resonance. This acts as a good medium between no nonsense and slightly extravagant. ‘Unshadowed Days’ (Perception Remix) is the longest song featured, where the band get to strut their stuff particularly instrumentally. This is practically an extension to a previous song they released on their debut, as it is longer in length. To end things, we have ‘Hydrozan Periods’ (Glass Medusa Remix) which offers something a bit out of the norm so far, so stands out for it, with its heavy electronic use, helping create an eerie sound and air of insanity, whilst remaining melodic and rich. This is very well produced and the synth sounds work brilliantly with their dark metal. The vibe and feel of this EP is splendid and the production is of high quality to make their extreme groove ridden metal shine through. There is a nice balance between simplicity and complexity, which is also well placed, as they use their timings and instrumental/vocal spacing just right, which is highly effective. The whole ‘ritual’ comes together with winning components that naturally work well with the desired results. CL
Europa - Children EP Well structured and tight is the first thing to jump out about this Orlando four piece, taking inspiration from more than just the usual rock avenues with electronic sections that provide more of a disco experience at times than your run of the mill rock sound. The opener takes time to get going and doesn't seem to quite catch fire somehow, again it is well put together and tight but there is just something not clicking with me. 'Capsized' allows the atmosphere to flow much more freely and catches me far more than the opener, the slow build this time I find far more ambient and natural leaving a far more satisfying after taste.
“There is a lot happening here and it needs to be taken in” It is with the seven minute 'Mutable' that the record really catches fire, its proggy over tones and melodies are catchy and interesting with the off the beat tempo and even a bit of funk giving it a little something extra to catch the ear. All in all, a record that deserves to be explored, there is a lot happening here and it needs to be taken in. AN
Last of a Dying Breed – Extinction Deathcore quartet from Toronto unleash their full rage and efforts in ‘Extinction’ EP... It starts off with the title track, ‘Extinction’ which has a dark tense build up before demonic vocals and hefty doom guitars are present. The most distinctive trait of this song is the soaring riffs and sounds, creating a far reaching and insane sound, with lots of layers to beef it up! ‘My Demise’ feat Adam Warren of Oceano, jumps right into the abyss with piercing guttural vocals, chug tastic guitars as well as melodic licks. We have another guest appearance in ‘Decimate’ feat Griffin Kolinski of Apparitions (who sadly passed away earlier this year) which has mad vocal outbursts, paired with sick down tuned breakdowns and instrumental variations, including a soaring intense ending. ‘Stasis’ is extremely dark and brutal, with piercing spooky guitars breaking through and pissed off rants of aggression! ‘Apex Predator’ offers the ultimate ‘ending’, with all guns blazing and blistering wicked guitar work that dances around in a chaotic bliss, making this a must hear and making sure the EP closes with a massive impact. This is one satisfyingly mental Deathcore offering, that manages to leave its mark, especially through its melodic guitar work and fierce demanding vocals, showing that Last Of A Dying Breed are still going strong and left standing amongst this crowded genre! CL
Skindred - Volume Starting with a typically pounding groove, the Newport titans are into full attack mode right from the beginning as they follow up last years 'Kill the Power'. 'Under Attack' brings all the elements that we've come to love from Benji and the boys, groove, funk and an all out barrage of energy bursting out of every pore. The thrash style riff that opens up the title track jumps in and out among the change a second vocal range that Webbe is able to give out, from an Ozzy like clean rock vocal to the gritty reggae and high pitch squeals that pepper the song. After the continued carnage brought on by 'Shut ya Mouth' comes the first of three interlude songs, simply titled 'I', 'II' and 'III', they each provide a unique and enjoyable break to regain your breath with elements of reggae, jungle and even some old American info-memrcial elements. They are only but short and sweet, heralding the start of the next, chaotic chapter and gives a good dynamic that serves to make 'Straight Jacket' and the punk fuelled 'No Justice' sound even bigger. Not that they wouldn't have anyway but the change in tempo before makes them even more merciless. There is no real filler tracks to be heard here, each track continues to bang hammer and nail as hard as the previous, Skindred are just one of those bands that has the ability to take differing styles, mash them together to sound like the most natural, meant to be played together music you can find. This is the skill and ability within this band to make it happen and lesser talents could try and would end up making an absolute mess of it, there is no danger of that here. As the words of the title track say, “you've got to keep it loud now” and when it's Skindred on form like this, it's pretty hard to not “keep turning it up”. AN
The Echo and the Always – And After That The Dark Post-Punk Indie band from Cardiff release debut album, which finds the light in the ‘dark’... Opener, ‘History Of Trees’ is intense, beautiful and suspenseful, before high pitched sweet vocals come in from Laura, possessing a sombre yet bright and hopeful sound. This is very melodic, and marks as a good intro, with their longest song, which allows their eclectic sound to work its magic on you from the off, in this far reaching epic sound... ‘Go Easy’ flows on well, with instant upbeat strong melodies and rhythms, as well as brilliant lyrics, making it a perfect choice for their latest single, which will move you in some shape or form. ‘How To Burn A Bridge’ has a more bleak feel musically and lyrically, whilst remaining coherent and of course effective. ‘Antiquity’ is very powerful with an atmospheric tense sound that soars with strong vocals, catchy riffs and brilliant well written lyrics, making it a standout one for sure. ‘Lustre’ features one of best vocal performances, which is soothing yet striking, something that they successfully manage to maintain throughout. ‘Capable Of’ sees them hit hard with all they have got, with varied flawless vocals, memorable and robust instruments throughout, that progress and aid the determined ambience. Closing this unique and enjoyable experience, is ‘A Love’ which has radiant synths and riffs, matched by wellplaced skilful startling vocals, and rhythms that impress, especially through the deviating feel and sound. This sums up their hard to describe lingering enduring presence. You will instantly fall for their mix of dark and pop infused sound, which is very enjoyable and pleasing. They have created a brilliant high impact sound, that is hard to find fault with, adding to the intrigue and appeal. Their sound is captivating with a mix of emotions and sounds all blended wonderfully and mastered exceptionally. This debut is very exciting and hopefully it will get them the attention they deserve, as this is one band I’m glad I discovered! CL
Godsticks - Emergence Welsh rockers Godsticks require a decent headphones or sound system is the first thing I quickly realised upon hearing opener 'Below the Belt'. To fully appreciate everything that is going on in the deep of these songs, laptop speakers simply don't cut it, brilliantly dropping little licks in amongst the main beef of the songs is what captures attention, at times the need to wind back and double check what you've heard is a nice thing. This is a band in full control of their instruments, with heavy, sleaze rock like riffs and off beat tempos it is tight and full of hooks as well as Layne Staley like vocals, it is well put together never taking just a single style in the song.
“There is no doubting the quality on show from Godsticks” The grooves can be followed by funky inter-cuts just as well as the heavier drives or harmony leads, there is a little bit of everything while keeping it from being over loaded with differing styles and making it sound too over loaded. There is some great songwriting on show and although there are sections at times which could perhaps be shorter, which is admittedly a small grumble, there is no doubting the quality on show from Godsticks. AN
Trivium – Silence In The Snow American metal heavyweights return with their seventh album, and this release has a big difference compared to past albums... The first proper song is title track, ‘Silence In The Snow’ which is a strong power metal number that is haunting, gloomy and catchy as hell. It has memorable anthemic melodies and clean effective vocals. It showcases the introduction of an all clean vocal album in a mighty manner, having such a soaring epic sound, aided by crisp intricate guitar shredding and atmosphere. I thought I would crave unclean screamed vocals which we expect from Trivium, but the calibre of the song writing and musicianship is so high, that you almost forget, and ‘Blind Leading The Blind’ certainly highlights this, with intricate guitar work, strong rich changeable rhythms and demanding standout vocals. ‘The Ghost That’s Haunting You’ is a dark offering with lots of depth, brilliant hard hitting vocal variations and melodies, making it very hard to get out of your head, holding on like some hell bent poltergeist! Latest single, ‘Until The World Goes Cold’ has an atmospheric tension building intro, before crashing into heavy riffage and high impact vocals. This has a gloriously melancholic sound which ticks all the boxes. The end is in form of the dangerous, ‘Breathe In The Flames’ which starts of beautifully sombre, before manic instruments take hold in this furious fast paced striking song, which also features some of the best shredding so far, ending things in a powerful triumphant way! I’m a big fan of Trivium and all their material, and although it is quite a surprise to hear no screaming vocals whatsoever, the result is shockingly brilliant. Each song is superbly constructed and executed with such precision and thought, making a flawless offering. Sometimes screaming can be overused, or used to compensate to make certain parts standout, but they do this through the distinct tones and musical changes, all driven and charged with texture and musical richness, showing that they can master all that they want to achieve, and this album will standout as a milestone for the band. You could say it will leave you in stunned ‘silence’, with lasting effects! CL
Bleed Someone Dry - Post Mortem This isn't just a straight up deathcore album from the Italian natives, combining elements of death and black metal into the mix certainly adds an extra dimension to the sound. Luckily the players have the ability to pull it off with suave and confidence creating a multi layered record full of extremes but not being shoe horned into the one style/ Italy has been able to boast a number of fine metal bands over the years and this band is a welcome addition to those ranks, with a number of decent sized tours under their belts, including one in Russia, they are gaining the experience needed to take it to the next level in what is still a very underground style. The album itself is a brutal affair and not for the feint of heart, the progressive qualities of the song writing is also a big plus giving them extra places to turn to give the songs their own sense of individuality. Having a guest such as CJ from Thy Art Is Murder fame is also a big plus and should pull some extra ears to what is a very good record. AN
Cane Hill – Self Titled Nu Metal five piece from New Orleans, LA don’t hang about too long, after forming in 2013, they have unleashed their debut self-titled release, which will resurrect the reason Nu Metal soared when it first emerged... Opener, ‘Oxblood’ certainly sounds like it’s out for blood with its crazed frantic sound, and at times bears resemblance to Slipknot/Coal Chamber, which of course is an accolade. This is very dynamic, and keeps you guessing in a swirl of metal madness, which pulls you in with a firm grip around your throat! ‘Time Bomb’ again takes us back to nostalgic times with a Nu Metal sound at its prime! The sound and context of this puts you on edge and will make you lose your mind, in the best way possible. It contains brilliant vocal deliveries to capture the feeling of insanity, and well placed instruments and breakdowns, making this a high energy explosive track. ‘Screwtape’ takes a leaf out of Korn’s book, sounding reminiscent of them, but is executed wonderfully, and fits in nicely with what has been on offer so far. Again taking the volume of madness up a notch, using strange effects, demonic vocals and all the while remaining infectiously catchy! Something the band can seamlessly churn out it seems! ‘Gemini’ opens on alarming electronic noises, before malfunctioning sounds accompany and wavering whispered growled vocals sound out. The chorus stands out and this is a force to be reckoned with its fast pace and many twists and turns. ‘French 75’ takes things down a level, I guess acting as their ‘softer’ sound. With largely spoken vocals and atmospheric sounds, including a female guest vocalist to add a different dynamic, giving it an eerie and creepy vibe that intensifies. ‘Fat Of The Land’ cranks up the volume again, sounding like a mental patient who has escaped, with effective quick vocal outbreaks and industrial driven instruments, as well as clever well written lyrics. To end this wild affair, we have, ‘Sunday School’ which is a dismal offering, with strong fierce bursts of mad screams, clanging instruments and dark vibes, that make you feel like you need to go to Church after witnessing the carnage the Cane Hill have offered to us. This new EP is highly enjoyable to let loose and get lost in! This is mental nu metal as it should be, paying homage to the best examples of this. This should definitely get them the attention they deserve and is one to put on repeat to fully appreciate. CL
Max Raptor - Damage Appreciation One thing that very much bounces out about Max Raptor is the raw edge that their releases showcase, giving it that dirty and harder kitting quality that is often dampened by an overly produced record. If they were to go down that route it would take so much away from their sound so it is good to find that quality still blasting from this new E.P, 'Damage Appreciation' has a big kick in its step, ferocious in parts, lighter in others but always spitting venom. It is a hell of an opening track. There is no let up as 'Population' continues to take no prisoners before 'Blue on Red' goes off with a full on kick you while you’re down attitude. There are a lot of punk pretenders out there, Max Raptor are the real deal, not afraid to tackle the social issues of today in the way the founding fathers of punk in the 70's created a fresh and essential style. Max Raptor are an essential listen and on this evidence will be a staple of the British punk scene for years to come. AN
Vanna – Alt Post Hardcore quartet from Boston, US release bold and brave new covers EP, where they take on heavyweight iconic 90s songs from the likes of Marilyn Manson, Korn and more. To kick things off we have Marilyn Manson’s ever popular, ‘Beautiful People’ which takes on a more hard edge in terms of the vocal delivery, but sounds similar to the original and is pulled of wonderfully, as they do the song proud! Next up is, ‘Self-Esteem’ one of The Offspring’s best songs, and it hits the spot, as it will get you moving and singing along, just as it should! Not only do they do it justice, but they put their own heavier stamp on it, with more distortion and vocal richness. You immediately recognise, ‘Zero’ as Smashing Pumpkins hit single, and it is evident that Vanna are in their prime with this cover, adding tones of angst and soaring fierce vocals to accompany the brilliant well-known riffs. Korn’s, ‘Got The Life’ sees them indulge in the electronic sounds to help create Korn’s characteristic sound, and again they seem well placed taking this song on, and do so seamlessly with ease. And of course to end things in an ultimate style and homage to the 90s, it has to be in the form of Metallica’s, ‘Fuel’ where vocalist, Muise pulls of Hetfield’s vocals well, with his own flare and air of insanity and franticness, which the song relies on. Vanna manage to make their mark of modern hardcore on these collection of classic gems, bringing the past and present together in a well-constructed unity, which will be hard to resist from old school and modern fans alike. This is extremely gratifying to listen to, getting to relive these well-loved songs with a new take and energy! The band certainly didn’t let us down with these high profile hits! CL
Zebrahead - Walk The Plank I for one thought that when Zebrahead released their greatest hits album they’d be saying their goodbyes not long after. Thankfully I was proven wrong and yet again they’ve put out another amazing record in the form of Walk the Plank. Who Brings a Knife to a Gunfight begins with an almost Arabian nights guitar intro but it’s not long until the familiar ska/punk roots show themselves. The usual hip hop element is provided by the brilliant Ali Tabatabaee who has been providing Zebrahead with an amazing frontman since their conception. However it’s not just Ali that makes this band brilliant, the vocal talent of guitarist Matty Lewis who provides the lower tempo singing is still on hand. This is especially noticable in Keep it to Myself. This album is a must have for all Zebrahead fans and anyone who has similar tastes as Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish. The ska elements are really shown on Freak Show and Wasted Generation. To say that Zebrahead have been going for nearly twenty years is just an insane notion, This is one band that have never compromised on the sound they produce. Even after all this time they stay true to their ska and punk roots and have never swayed from what their fans want and even now with Walk the Plank their music doesn’t seem to be losing the brilliant touch it’s always had. Walk the Plank is the twelfth, yes twelfth studio album from Zebrahead, the style of Ska fused with punk hasn’t died and neither has their passion to produce amazing tracks. This definitely stands out as one of their best albums of their career and it’s amazing to see they haven’t lost what makes them so unique. RO
Drug Church – Hit Your Head The noisy yet addictive Drug Church are back with their sophomore full length ‘Hit Your Head’, two years on from their successful first LP ‘Paul Walker’ which was a ferocious and unique record in itself. The record starts where the last album finished off with ‘Banco Popular’ with the same eerie vocal style and loud head banging worthy riff, a nice track to ease into the record. ‘Aleister’ is a highly intriguing with some spoken lyrics and highly experimental guitar effects creating a fast and frentic atmospheric effect, so typical of Drug Church works where you never know what to expect. ‘Aging Jerk’ crashes in with a quick drum beat and the tireless edgy vocals, again throughout this song there is another odd moment of spoken word which adds authenticity to the record, again the heavy nonstop instrumental is incredibly potent and takes you into the unusual frenzied nature of this album. ‘Bagged’ is one of my favourites on this record with a superbly executed instrumental including a smooth bass line in sync with the highly emotive and dramatic vocal style, this track reminds me why enjoyed the last album so much. ‘Drunk Tank’ begins with a bewildering introduction which is cleverly followed up with an enjoyable simple track by this bands standards, this track reminds me a lot of the likes of Title Fight and Basement especially in the chorus. The record continues its rapid pace with no pause for thought with ‘Green Like Me’ where the lyrics at first seem to be lagging behind, until the chorus which is so typically catchy in a unique way like no other band can conjure. The next track is one with a strange title ‘Park And Ride And Park And Ride’ which is the track with the least impact on the record and does seem a little repetitive in places, this band are at their best when their tracks are energetic and completely manic. ‘Hit Your Head, Greedy’ provides a change of pace with its heavy gritty instrumental which reflects the nature of the lyrics, the song is not all gloom with an excellent piece of guitar feedback which would have fit well in the movie Interstellar. Possibly the most choleric track on the record ‘Then Try’ needs to be listened to at full volume with its pissed off nature, Patrick Kindlon has an added bite to his vocals which sounds perfect with the fast paced instrumental. The next track ‘Big and Shitty’ is another of the calmer tracks (if that’s possible with this record) before leading into the heavy introduction of the closing track ‘What’ which any nu metal band in the late 90’s would have been proud of, over the top of some strange spoken word lyrics that would normally be associated with Self Defense Family, the band must have felt this style of song was ideal to finish the record. Drug Church’s music is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. I personally enjoyed this record and their enigmatic style which is not produced by any other band in the US punk scene. Drug Church tour with The Story So Far in December and I personally cannot wait to see what they can produce in a live environment. JP
Devil You Know - They Bleed Red In the more extreme genres of metal there is a definite case of overkill at times, doing too much and making it too convoluted causing songs to ask too much from a casual listener who may just want to kick back and be entertained. To find the right blend can be tricky but Devil You Know have struck a balance very well, knowing when to cut loose and thrash out and knowing when to reel it back in. Songs such as 'The Last Breath' combine hard hitting riffage and vocals with slower tempos and harmonies along with epic vocal harmonies. 'Shattered Silence' is a good old four minute thrasher, pounding tempos, fast riffs and aggressive vocals, the short breakdown and build ups make for some good dynamics before 'Let the Pain Take Hold' takes them into almost power ballad zones. Well, as close as a band like this will get to that kind of thing anyway as Howard Jones continues to show the qualities that make him such a good vocalist. They have an album that allows one to just take it in but still has the moments where things become more in depth but on the whole this is a no nonsense metal album that ticks all the right boxes. It may not be album of the year material but it is still one of the best examples of a metal band that knows how to bang out great songs and to do it well. AN
CROWN THE MUSHROOM Hailing from East London this brand new Alternative Rock band is set to blow your mind. The band formed in 2013 and just enjoyed jamming together in rehearsal rooms and then decided to take it further, then their fun pass time became a big passion in their lives. There have been many members of the band over the years but 3 have remained the same, Devon Wallace (the founder and lead guitarist) Daryl Staggs (drummer) and Davina Legall (lead Vocals) and now armed with Alfie Hart on bass. During their progress their sound has changed over and over again and continues to. Compared to their first EP they have a much grungier bluesy sound. Now that CTM have found their feet they continue to be experimental and try new things. "We have come to rock so we hope you guys enjoy rocking with us". The new single ‘Run From You’ is available to stream now!
CONTACT: facebook.com/Crownthemushroom cmttheband(Twitter) crownthemushroom(Instagram) crownthemushroom(SoundCloud) crownthemushroom@gmail.com
The Upright is a Nu Christian band from Greenwood, IN. Founded in August of 2014 by vocalist Nicole Drennan and guitarist Becca Patterson, the band started out with just acoustic and vocals. After a few months of looking for more band mates to fill the sound Aaron Martin (drums), Andy Close (bass), and Trey Sugg (lead guitar) joined the band.
They have had several opportunities including being able to record and release their EP entitled “Roots.” Since then they have done a lot of shows and are currently back in the studio recording their full length album.
The Upright are ready for more chances to not only share their music and share the gospel but to help others to walk upright by realizing not to lose hope and Almost immediately after the band they are not alone but that they are became a full 5 piece band, the Upright worthy enough of God's calling on their was signed to Virtue International lives. The full length album “Roots” will Records LLC. be released in 2016.
Facebook.com/uprightbnd / www.theupright.us
Crooks – Are We All The Same Distance Apart I first discovered this band earlier this year when I seen them supporting Transit and Such Gold, I did not know what to expect but what I was very impressed with was their energy on the live stage, and their ability to get people involved in the crowd. The UK is crying out for a decent melodic hardcore band so I was intrigued to listen to this record. The album begins with ‘Above Me’ - which begins with nice clear vocals supported by brash drums and a slick riff, it’s a very typical melodic hardcore style track but the high pitched vocals are impressive and remind me a little of Chiodos vocalist Craig Owens, the production is very clean and makes the song simple and easy to listen to. ‘What Might Have Been’ has a more ambient introduction, vocals with an authentic English accent rather than trying to sound American, the changes of pace of the backing instruments is particularly interesting showcasing the band’s versatility and avoidance of being predictable, I think the track does drag a little towards the end, I’d prefer a faster flow into the next track. ‘Schöne Seele’ definitely has an anthemic feel to it with its sharp bass line and powerful vocals creating an intriguing tone; the verses have a mature sound and remind me of the likes of Underoath. ‘May Be’ is a much more toned down song with a distant piano solo and a very personal set of lyrics, however I feel the track fails in some way to stir emotion with subdued vocals that make it difficult to properly understand the story behind the track. ‘A Few Peaceful Days’ in contrast is more uplifting and the vocals have something extra to offer, the pace feels much more suited in this track and it’s one of most enjoyable on the record. The intro to ‘Dear Reader’ reminds me of Pianos Become the Teeth with softer vocals; again the production has to be credited for creating such a clean and crisp sound creating almost a choral atmosphere. The next song is the album title track with a mighty instrumental which is very harmonious with the soft vocal style, a criticism of this record thus far is that when the vocalist adds an extra edge to his vocals it sound much more effective, unfortunately it’s not apparent all the way through this record. ‘Windy Little Town’ is an unusual number with what sounds like an electric drum beat layered over ghostly vocals, again it shows this band has varying ideas which is encouraging. ‘From the Sticks to Bitterness’ starts off like early A Day to Remember in style, the vocal style are reminiscent of a younger Jeremy McKinnon, the variation of drum beats and guitar feedback is extremely catchy. Another question I raise of this album is the flow of the tracks, it can be a bit stop start in areas and this is true with the last song of the record ‘Harmony Falls’ which is extremely fast at the beginning but reduces to an emotional ending to close an interesting and compelling record, one which propel them to better things in the UK hardcore scene. JP
St. Pierre Snake Invasion - A Hundred Years a Day Taking punk back to the old school, these Bristol boys are raw, energetic and in your face, keeping it aggressive and pulling no punches back. This takes me back to an era when you would regularly see stage diving, perhaps a little bit of dancing about and teasing a security guard before launching back in the midst before being grabbed and thrown. With a healthy amount of sludge added to the sound, the opening is low and like a hammer blow, it is ugly and beautiful at the same time, some songs are short and to the point while some take the time to explore the options with sections almost reminiscent of early 90's Sepultura. That is how far the sound stretches, while unmistakably punk, there are plenty of elements that take them out of being shoe horned into one style and embracing different sounds and making it theirs. This is a debut that tells you everything you need to know about St. Pierre Snake Invasion, it isn't for the faint of heart but if you like it furious and heavy, then this is for you. AN
Def Leppard - Self titled Def Leppard have been through more than most bands, they have come back from the loss of drummer, Rick Allen's arm, the death of guitarist Steve Clarke, musical/business related issues to and more recently the serious health concerns of Vivian Campbell to reach the top of the tree with mammoth sales and lengthy world tours. Now, in 2015, they continue to enjoy sold out tours and are free from the pressures that will have dictated how an album was made. The result is, as alluded to by Phil Collen else where in this issue, the freest album they have made, with nothing to dictate what needs to be on an album. The opener, 'Let's Go' is pure, classic Def Leppard. With catchy riffs, an instantly singable chorus and vocal harmonies, it is every bit the essential Leppard song while 'Dangerous' carries the mood along in the same manner with a nice Pyromania era feel. The tone is shifted into a funkier style on 'Man Enough', perhaps even taking a Michael Jackson style with a seriously groovy bass line to open and carry the song through with some inter-cutting guitar licks and simple but effective vocal work from Joe Elliot. This is one of the songs that may not have made it onto an album in years gone by so that freedom has allowed the band, even after all these years, to still do something a little different and memorable. Of course, what would a Def Leppard album be without a ballad? Arguably, these are songs that has found Joe Elliot at his brilliant best over the years, packing emotion and feeling into the vocals in his unique way and 'We Belong' and 'Last Dance' are no different. The former in the power ballad style and the latter taking in the 'Two Steps Behind' style. This was an album that wasn't actually planned and I am very happy that this little accident happened, a band rapidly heading towards 40 years could begin to become a parody of itself but there isn't any of that here. It is a band with a new sense of urgency about it, after so many years, there is a point where the days are inevitably going to become numbered. Def Leppard are not going to ride off quietly into the night and are going to enjoy every moment they have and that can only be a good thing for rock n roll. AN
Silversun Pickups - Better Nature Silversun Pickups are back delivering their brand of guitar music fused with electronica to bring catchy tunes and awesome hooks. After a break for the better part of three years it appears that the Pickups have returned bigger and better than ever. With an updated sound that now features some electronica it appears the Los Angeles group are once again ready to take on the world. The start of the album is extremely powerful with the incredible Cradle (Better Nature) which gives us the familiarity of the indie anthem beats we all know and love from this band bought together with some keyboard and piano beats. The next song Connection kicks it up a notch and displays what this band are capable of when they’ve been away for a long time. Next track Pins and Needles is a lot more fast paced where as Friendly Fire brings down the tempo for a nice slow steady rock anthem a lot like Smashing Pumpkins. The album continues on this progression of positivity and truly there is no moment when it stops to take a breath and every song is different. The clear cut vocals on Circadian Rythm (Last Dance) are a lot different to Latchkey Kids which also features a very dance orientated chorus. Until this album was given to me to review I had completely forgotten about the existence of Silversun Pickups. I remember them making a huge splash back in the late noughties but then they’ve been off the radar. Thankfully this album brings them totally back up to the plate and it looks like they’re ready once again to take on whatever they have coming their way. If you’re a fan of indie music with a hint of keyboard and electronica then I’d suggest picking up this album. It truly has an original essence to it and is a great comeback album for a band that have been gone for such a long time. RO
Today They Are Older - Self titled If you can ever feel energy from songs then it’s definitely the highest in post hardcore outfits. The sheer emotion thrown into every track resonates so highly from Deftones to Architects there is always so much effort put in and that’s why it stands as one of the highest genres in rock music. Five piece Today They Are Older are no different, from the first track Empty Eyes on their self titled EP it is incredible vocals combined with hard hitting guitar riffs and insane drumming making sure that 100% is given to the cause. A Fools Gold Fuels Fortune features an amazing riff happy intro showcasing what this band can do before the screaming vocals kick in to really bring it into overdrive. The vocals on this whole EP are powerful and accompany the music extremely well. From Finland with Love begins as the rest have, hard hitting and in your face. However this stops when it reaches a slower section in the middle where an unknown female singer gives us a beautiful section of singing and really seperates this song from the rest of the EP. The last song on this EP No Guts, No Glory switches it up again and along with the brilliant screaming vocals we’re also given some clear singing in the background which fits in with the music brilliantly. Before finishing with a great guitar outro that concludes well. Today They Are Older aren’t the most original band in the world but the five piece post hardcore outfit are good at what they do and with constant touring it won’t be long until this band are discovered by someone.
RO City and Colour - If I Should Go Before You I’m sure a lot of people would blame Alexisonfire’s break up a few years ago on Dallas Green, to go from a successful post hardcore band to make acoustic music was a brave move and one that may not have really paid off in the long run. City and Colour has been releasing music since 2007 and has seemed to develop a cult following that has helped Dallas to release countless records since. Also briefly combining his efforts with Pink last year. A nine minute very slow song introduces this album and from a review point of view I believe this to be a mistake. I already seem to be in the mindset of wanting to turn it off because the intro is just too long and doesn’t change pace at all during the nine minutes. Thankfully the rest of the album seems to perk up a bit and gets some life into it. The catchy drum beat in Northern Blue, the familiarity of the lyrics in Mizzy C and the jazzy tempo that accompanies Killing Time help boost this album in a big way. What seems to be the hook with Dallas’ music is the voice, as with Alexisonfire his vocals are very unique and pitch perfect and go together well with the music he produces. This ‘side project’ doesn’t seem to be losing momentum with constant touring and having supported some major names it seems as if City and Colour are not going anywhere just yet, even with the possible return of Alexisonfire on the horizon. RO
Everyday Sidekicks - The Things I've Seen With a fusion of what seems like everything from post hardcore to screamo it seems like Everyday Sidekicks have a formula to propel them to the top of the rock stratosphere. The group started off in 2012 and have been non stop touring and playing to get themselves recognised. Now with the release of this storming EP it’s not too hard to believe these guys will be making more waves across the metal world. Having already supported the likes of Pvris and Marmozets these boys will be in for a whirlwind ride once The Things I’ve Seen drops. Melded with essences of post hardcore, rock, metal, nu metal and all other matter of genre this incredible EP begins with the fast paced short F.T.B quickly fusing into the rollercoaster ride that is Mirrors, lined with nifty guitar hooks and a metal drop that would open up the largest pits. It’s All Smiles and Laughs is a lot more pop rock than metal but it’s just an example to show that this band are completely durable and flexible in what they do. It’s nice to see that the vocalist is just as talented at singing as he is at screaming. Everyday Sidekicks manage to fuse a number of different genres into their music and somehow it doesn’t sound like an awful mashup. The post hardcore elements are the prominent feature but the other styles standout on this genuinely original sounding EP. RO
Dream Scape - Consequences Throughout the history of post hardcore rock Wales has always been the providers of raw talent, Funeral For A Friend are a true testiment for this. Now it seems once again we’re being treated to new music courtesy of the amazing Dream State. A five piece female fronted band who want to take post hardcore and ram it down everyone’s throats. The moment this EP begins with Burden there is energy oozing from every chord struck and every line sung and screamed. Although this EP is short the tracks are certainly enough to wet the appetite for a world that will fall in love with Dream Scape as I have. The vocal talents of the lead are astounding and accompanied with the rip roaring guitar riffs especially on tracks such as Relentless and Burn Them Down.
“The vocal talents of the lead are astounding” The final track on this awesome EP Rebuild, Recreate brings down the tempo to the lowest as we’re treated to an acoustic track to mellow out the insane rock we’ve heard. While Dream Scape aren’t the first band to incorporate a post hardcore style with a female lead singer they are definitely one of the best. The release of this EP will bring about big things for this tiny band and I for one can’t wait to see the results. RO
DEGREED Degreed was founded in 2005 and blend vocal extravaganza of Swedish Idol finalist Robin Ericsson with keyboard/guitar synchronization wizardry into melodic rock heaven. They have released two albums – Life, Love, Loss in 2010 and We Don’t Belong in 2013 - both critically acclaimed worldwide by media. In 2014 the band was opening for Dan Reed Network on their Sweden tour, played Väsby Rock Festival and were invited as Special Guests to Machinae Supremacy's European tour in Poland, Czech Republic and Germany. In 2015 they completed a UK tour in March! Facebook.com/degreedmusic Degreedmusic.com Twitter.com/degreedmusic Youtube.com/user/degreedmusic
‘Dead but not forgotten’ is available now!
the sesh
The Sesh are a young alternative rock band from the lovely sunny city of Dundee in NE Scotland. Starting as a cover band in 2012, they then went on to write original material as a punk-rock band to release their first album named Anonymity in 2013.
their most recent release, One Day EP, was their first turn towards the more hard rock/alt rock/pop side of things, and ever since then they have been writing within that range. Anything between heavy and angst filled and melodic and twinkly they’have probably played it.
Upcoming Christmas gig: 02ABC in Glasgow on December 20th
Soundcloud.com/the-sesh-dundee Facebook.com/TheSeshDundee Our latest release was a single called 'Broken'. It is also now available on our soundcloud.
Spark the Sail - Sapphire Deep If you’re looking for new music to listen to that will perk you up on those murky winter mornings, perhaps after de-icing the car or throwing all matter of materials over your face before braving the cold walk to school or college then don’t worry because Spark the Sail have got your back. This debut five song EP from the Bristolian five piece is chock full of jazzy rhythms, catchy guitar riffs and funky beats to truly get the body moving and the feet jumping. Kicking off with Sapphire this group kick up the energy straight away and deliver a poppy catchy tune full of life. While the band are undoubtedly talented the props have to go to Jodie Davies and Ryan Moore whose vocal capabilites when combined create a thing of wonder and magnificence. If you are looking for new music and you are truly a person who likes all kinds of music then endulge with Spark the Sail. They’re for people who ever wondered ‘what would happen if Alphabeat and Don Broco had an illegitimate love child?’. This EP is the answer, a collection of funky, jazzy songs to sink your teeth into that can be beloved by all. I can’t wait to see what Spark the Sail bring for us next. RO
As Oceans - Willows Taking in the brutal and the intricate in equal measure, As Oceans take on an ambitious set of songs that bridge gaps between sludge, death metal and even paganistic style singing among this collection of six songs. It is an ambitious set that opens with the mixture of spoken word and clean voiced 'Overture' that builds atmosphere well and for the uninitiated, brings no hint of the chaos about to spread through their ears as 'Artaosis pt.1: The Black Bird' delivers a sledge hammer like a blow with crushing riffs and intricate guitar harmonies. 'The Phantom Hunter' begins with an interesting vocal harmony that leads into an uncomfortable sounding sound among the chaos with a sinister overtone and guttural growls of Logan Lawson who has a great voice for the genre.
“This is a very accomplished record” 'The Thunder of Steel Clouds' is a straight up metal song, leaving no gap in the sound as the pounding drum work of Ben Dunlop continues to soak up every inch of air. It is a welcome surprise to find the depth in the band with the slow and atmospheric 'Fragile Fingers', dropping the volume several notches giving it something a little different before the concluding 'Artaosis pt.2: Deliverence'. This is a very accomplished record in such an extreme genre with different takes on the style and well worth exploring in depth. AN
Arcane Roots - Heaven and Earth Taking elements of pop and the atmospheric, arena rock style that has grown over the past few years is seeing big things begin to emerge for Arcane Roots. The opener combines the clean and tender with moments of huge guitars and naked aggression, grinding through each section and ending with a skull crushing finale. The length of the song gives each section time to be played through at ease, packing so much in could lead to a rushed feeling but it is anything but. 'When Did the Taste Leave Your Mouth' takes a slightly calmer and straight forward feel, the vocals in moments give the impression of taking flight adding much more to the song and taking the slack from a more simplistic musical approach after the crammed opener.
“The next full release should be quite spectacular” The closing 'Vow and Ceremony’ is the E.P's standout, laden with time changes and some epic dynamics, it shows just how good this band are at constructing a song. Clear sectional differences and even taking a distinctly prog turn in parts to unload a colossal eight minute cracker. At 30 minutes, this E.P is longer than some albums tend to be but these are five songs that need to be heard, if this is what is there for the E.P, the next full release should be quite spectacular. AN
Random Hand - Hit Reset Wasting no time to tear out of the blocks, Random Hand aren't messing about with a Bad Religion like flavour attached with elements of hardcore to open with a big kick before the ska sound begins to bop and weave its way through 'Death by Pitchforks'. The sounds couldn't differ more but it is fluid and works like a charm with some great bass work holding things together very nicely. The horn section being as high in the mix really adds a great sub-section to enjoy among the heavier elements, they are catchy and among the rest of the band they add a great swagger and groove to the album, having not seen the band live I can only guess, but my guess is that the crowd will pound as hard in the pit and find it impossible not to dance along with them. The album is full of what would be live favourites, clear, concise and singable by large crowds, even anyone that might be unfamiliar with them will find it easy to get caught up. Energy abounds, it is hard hitting in many sections making for a great blend of aggression and taking things down a notch when needed ready to be built upon again. AN
Handguns - Disenchanted Loud and enthusiastic pop punk packed with some fine melodies and brooding tempos straight from the Blink 182 school. Starting at a furious pace right from the get go and the defiant spoken word monologue of 'Self Portrait' and unleashing with blasts of energy and sparkly hooks, despite the defiance of the lyrical content the mood feels remarkably upbeat. It is a nice way to do it, almost like a contradiction but a very well done and worthwhile one. The vocal work between the band is of standout quality, the harmonies and the accompaniment are very well worked out and each are as good as an extra instrument among the fast and furious wall of noise that is constantly being fired out. This band would have been a big hitter in the early 2000's, Disenchanted is jam packed full of anthems worthy of arenas that will get crowds bouncing and would have been a sure fire bet to find a track or two on American Pie like soundtracks. There is still a place for this, not usually my cup of tea, this album has kept my attention with ease and is a good one to brighten the day while the rain pours and wind pounds outside, a top effort from Handguns. AN
The Voluntears - Beggars Belief It is with a raw and edgy vibe that The Voluntears open Beggars Belief with 'London London', a good straight up rock song that ticks all the right boxes and gets things started well and 'Pepsi' keeps it ticking along well with some nice early 80's sounding guitar solos and hooks. They keep it short and sharp for the most part which keeps them freshening up, the quality of the audio takes on a bit of a jump on 'And I know' which makes a difference. I love bands to keep it raw but the production with the opening two songs found the need to change the levels at various points to catch what was needed. It feels like the songs need a bit of beefing up, I suspect their sound live will be very different and ultimately more satisfying, the mix at times is confusing with parts of the guitar tracks being lost at times behind the drums and vocals. A song such as the otherwise superb 'Finally Free' loses a lot of what could have been huge dynamic then you have the flip side with 'Hey Girl' being the polar opposite and as good as perfectly done. There are some good songs on this collection and they are clearly a band on the up, but at times it can make for a frustrating listen. AN
Eujenics - Meniscus (single) Starting with a thunderous boom and almost Eastern flavoured guitar wails, the main riff is groovy and flows like a dream in and out of the sub-sections. It has hints of thrash and grunge but some of the guitar licks that pop up just under the surface at times are something different, perhaps more out of the Placebo style. The vocals too are a surprise when they kick in, with riffs like this, clean singing isn't what you expect but it is done very well and works perfectly. I look forward to seeing what else these fellas have up their sleeve. AN
Frank Turner - Bristol Colston Hall - November 22nd Opening the night we have Will Varley, who has to be one of the best acoustic acts I've seen in a long time. His style with music is unique, refreshing with a pinch of comedy to keep every entertained throughout his set. A good example of his character would be when there was a slight sound issue with one of his songs, and after he mentioned that his song wasn't meant to have an electric mix to it, but maybe on the second album... It's little things like that, if a musician can turn a negative into a positive then that attitude will get them far. His whole set was just great to watch, he touched on some serious life subjects and if I had to recommend some tracks for you to check out then 'Weddings and Wars' or 'King for a King' would be a good start. I can't wait to catch this guy again. It's now time for Skinny Lister to show the crowd what they've got with their mix of folk, punk, pop. This band just have so much energy, and throughout their set they simply don't stop and make sure the audience is involved with every track, at one point Michael Camino their double bass player even crowd surfs for the majority of a song which receives a great response, and well for me, crowd surfing wise, that's probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's great to have the energy, and the interaction, but do the actual songs match up to their live presence? Yes they do. I'd strongly recommend 'Forty Pound Wedding' 'Seventeen Summers' & 'Rollin' Over'. It's hard to believe that it's been a decade since Frank Turner set out on this adventure to become a solo artist, I for one saw him in his previous band Million Dead play across the street in the Bristol Academy in 2005, so to see his progression since this point has just been absolutely awesome. At this point, and with so many great songs now achieved then it's probably become pretty hard for Frank to fit all of his songs into one set, but in an attempt to please absolutely everyone, the band treat us to just under 30 songs this evening, which is just a privilege to watch.
“The songs act as an outstanding end to a brilliant, and emotional evening.� Launching into 'Eulogy' he has the crowd captivated right away to create an awesome live atmosphere to be a part of. As he cruises through the set we are treated to new songs such as 'The Next Storm' 'Josephine' (which Frank says is his favorite song from the new album!) which all get an outstanding response and prove that his latest work is just as good as it always has been. 'I Am Disappeared' 'Losing Days' add a perfect balance to the first half of the set. On a serious note Frank pauses two times through the evening to mention the tragedies that recently occurred in Paris at the Eagles of Death Metal show, and how he'd lost a couple of friends there himself. What he wanted us to take from that was the notion that this tragic event shouldn't stop us from attending shows/gigs, and I just wanted to take a moment to echo how so right he is. In the middle of the set we are treated to three acoustic tracks, including 'The Way I Tend to Be' which kind of reminds me of the days when Frank first started out, and it was just him without the mighty Sleeping Souls backing. The band re-join Frank and we are then hit with more classics such as 'Photosynthesis' 'Plain Sailing Weather' 'Recovery' alongside more new tracks like the brilliant 'Mittens' and 'Get Better', which all receive an exceptional response. Another emotional moment occurs when Frank performs 'Song For Josh', a track that is all about a friend of the bands who committed suicide, and for me this also hit home as I too have lost two great people to the same thing. It's so hard to see the warning signs, but this hit the nerve song will go a long way towards raising awareness for this important subject. As a 7" you can purchase the song now if you attend a Frank Turner show, and we strongly advise you do as the proceeds are going towards the 'American Foundation For Suicide Prevention'. As he ends on 'I Still Believe' & 'Four Simple Words' it's simple to see that Frank Turner is one of the most important musicians to come out of the UK, crowd participation (after sooo many tracks) is still at a high, and the songs act as an outstanding end to a brilliant, and emotional evening.
AD
Fall Out Boy - Barclay Card Arena Birmingham - 6th Oct To open the evening, Brit boy rapper Professor Green took to the stage. The next 45 minutes were quite literally indescribable. The ‘I know this song’ feeling was quickly ruined by the bass that made you feel as if your whole body was about to spasm and die. In response to Green’s incessant asking, no I was not having a good time. The rapper ended his set by asking who was ready for Fall Out Boy. Personally I couldn’t wait any longer and judging by the screams neither could anyone else. Thankfully Fall Out Boy’s terrible choice for a support act did not go against them when they came on stage. An intro video featuring an unknown protagonist donning a balaclava showing they are ready for war. It is at this time when the curtain is raised and in their full glory the Chicago foursome belt out an incredible Sugar We’re Going Down’. Moving swiftly onto Irresistable and from the looks of the crowd it appears the new stuff resonates just as well as the old stuff. Sifting through their back catalogue they play their crowd pleasing hits including A Little Less Sixteen Candles, Thriller and This Ain’t a Scene, It’s An Arms Race before making their way to the centre of the arena At this point Joe, Pete and Patrick play an acoustic version of Immortals and because looking with the eyes just isn’t good enough these days the whole room lights up with camera phones. A crowd pleasing Young Volcanoes is also played and the room goes dark before Andy Hurley is illuminated onstage for a awe inspiring drum solo that makes everyone in the room think ‘I want to play the drums’. The rest of the band join again and carry on with the incredible set, Dance Dance (including the heart for you hardcore fans), Grand Theft Autumn and a new hit Uma Thurman. Pete Wentz then takes the spotlight and says that Fall Out Boy didn’t save anyone’s life and people are alive today because of what they have done. A beautiful message leading nicely into Centuries. The encore of course has to be the incredible comeback hit My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark followed by the band’s first single Saturday. Fall Out Boy prove once again why they’re one of the best bands on the scene, their old pop punk days are long behind them but not forgotten and their new style certainly has carried them back to the top. RO
Vintage Trouble - November 16th - Bristol 02 Academy The first band I catch of the night is Slydigs, a brilliant rock n roll act that feature incredible vocals from Dean Fairhurst at the forefront. Standout tracks for me include 'Light The Fuse' & 'Stiff Upper Lip' as they both have a classic approach to them, whilst still sounding modern with Slydigs fresh take on the genre. Certainly a band to watch out for. It's been a pretty great year for Vintage Trouble. They've just got off the road with the mighty AC/DC, they've had a great run at festivals all across the world including our very own Glastonbury Festival, and now they are on a UK headline tour promoting the release of their brilliant album 1 Hopeful Road. After having them feature in the magazine with their unique sound, as well as checking out their set at Glastonbury on the internet I instantly became interested with seeing this band on a live basis for myself. They open up with 'World's Gonna Have to Take a Turn Around', which is a slow sort of stomping song that instantly has the crowd engaged with its call & response parts. After the awesome 'Blues Hand Me Down' we are treated to tracks from 1 Hopeful Rd. such as the anthem 'Angel City, California', 'Doin What You Were Doin' and the simply mesmerizing 'Another Man's Words'. The highlight for me has to be midway through the set where they hit us with 'Run Like the River' as we see their lead singer Ty Taylor jumping off the stage into the crowd, literally walking around the entire venue including the upper balcony to make sure that everyone is involved throughout this fast paced & catchy track. The band end on Pelvis Pusher which is the perfect end to the set as it simply encompasses what the Vintage Trouble style is overall. It was clear to see that this a live act not to be missed, with their infectious mix of rhythm and blues combined with their constant crowd interaction indicates that these guys will go very far indeed. AD
Hype Lights is an independent rock band from Valence, France. Members include Jeremy Bancker (Lead vocals / Rhythm guitar), Arnaud Cimolino (Drums), Victor Zanetti (Bass) and Adrien Besson (Lead guitar / Back vocals). Influenced by pop/punk rock, and alternative rock melodies Hype Lights succeeded in defining their sound. But, with the release of their debut concept album “Gone To Perdition”, tracing the story of a young man who leaves his home country to live his own experience, the band is about to take it to the next level.
First album available in December 2015. The single “Serendipity” is out now on Bandcamp
Being an internationally mixed band, it has been thanks to a lot of luck, but it also requires a more substantial amount of effort to get the ball rolling. Dustin was the lead vocalist of a local band in Philadelphia who were in search of a new guitarist. Dustin found Mike on YouTube, through countless covers Mike had uploaded, and left his contact info including his intentions of recruiting Mike. Mike responded instantly and joined the band after sending some material and meeting the members through a Skype call. Everything unfortunately fell apart due to some member conflict, however Mike and Dustin decided they'd start a new project. Callum was asked to join the project as he was Mike's best friend and co worker. Quite a heavy proposition for someone not even out of highschool yet to just drop everything and move to another country to pursue a career in which so many people fail in. Without hesitation, Callum hopped on board. Stasis was born, even with only three members, but they all shared equal motivation and aspiration. All three members devoted their time, money and effort into Stasis, all with a common goal.
The three of them wrote the EP it was recorded in Kelowna BC, where Dustin flew out to meet the members for the first time, and record their debut EP. After some conflict with an initial drummer candidate, they stumbled upon Steve through a Craigslist ad they posted in search of a new drummer. Following the recent release of Stasis' debut EP in early November, Callum and Mike moved down to Philadelphia to meet up with Steve and Dustin to start playing some shows and begin writing a full length CD.
CONTACT: Stasis-pa.bandcamp.com Stasispa@gmail.com Facebook.com/stasisofficialpa Twitter: @StasisPA
From the offset, Crimson Peak puts itself in its place. "Ghosts are real – this much I know...". This is the voice of young Edith Cushing, played by Alice in Wonderland's Mia Wasikowska. In the first scene we see Edith as a child, in bed, afraid of a banging outside of her bedroom. The incredibly well CGI-ed ghostly figure that haunts her is that of her late mother, coming to warn her of "Crimson Peak". We then skip to Edith, a young, headstrong woman from Buffalo who's aspirations are only to become a successful writer. Surrounded by the pressures of finding love at an early age and settling down, she brushes such pressures aside and acclaims herself as a strong individual, whose own goals come before that of any man. In comes Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddlestone - Avengers), a charismatic baronet who seeks the financial backing of none other than Edith's father, Carter Cushing (Jim Beaver - Supernatural, Dexter). Despite her desperate attempts, Edith succumbs to Thomas' charms. Her father though is wary, after refusing investment to Thomas' plans, the two share an unwelcome chemistry. And so to Crimson Peak, the household to Thomas Sharpe and his creepy sister Lucile (Jessica Chastain Mama). After an untimely and frankly brutal loss in the family, Edith moves in with Thomas and co, unaware of her new surroundings' chilling secrets. As well as rotting walls and strange siblings, Crimson Peak is also home to a host of very familiar looking ghosts. Edith can't help but explore her new home, and quickly comes across some extremely dark corners to Crimson Peak. New ghosts haunt her wherever she roams, and it seems the undead don't mean to scare Edith, but to warn her, just as her late mother did all those years ago.
Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim) joins the star-studded cast as Edith's friend and young doctor, Alan Michael. He acts as a parachute for Miakowska's Edith, always there should her strong sense of character not pull her through; which nine times out of ten, it does. He also adds as another red herring to the ever-growing plot line. Aside from the brilliant storytelling and the nothing-short-of stainless acting, Del Toro and his team have created a visually stunning and encapsulating thriller. The house itself feels alive, the way it seems to breath as a gust flows through it, and the way it seems to bleed as the snow falls through its rotting ceiling onto the velvety clay-sodden ground below. At the heart of the movie is a tale of horror, but not one set by the dead souls that haunt Edith. It's the twisted tale of her new husband and seemingly-deranged sister Lucille (who Chastain creates fantastically) that makes it's mark. The final showdown is one of graphic brilliance, and really shows off Del Toro's already established film making genius. Crimson Peak isn't your standard horror or thriller, it's more a gothic romance. Nonetheless, it's brilliant. It contains some killer performances, awesome set design, and plot twists that'll make you think twice about ever dreaming of Tom Hiddleston again.