First Blood

This Wednesday Agnostic Front either chose (or lucked out on) what have to be some of the best HC supports to have played the Camden Underworld in AGES.

Well worth fighting through the soggy summer rain for, UK-based Pay No Respect (who also supported Terror a few weeks ago) have a pretty classic hardcore approach but a fairly metal-at-heart guitarist with a seriously catchy groove to his fretwork which makes their tracks both comfortingly credible but also quietly catchy. Well worth checking them out live or online if you get the chance, especially if you're a fan of straight-forward hardcore with a distinctive modern twist.

San Franscico's First Blood, meanwhile, have a distinctly hardcore drummer but are otherwise up to their ears in metal influences. Thier frontman, Carl, proves he was almost wasted as Terror's bassist, as he's a frankly incredible vocalist with an almighty stage presence. You can practically feel the 200% force behind the raw throaty shouts and his striding and constant snapping arm movements make you feel as though you're being put through your paces at a military bootcamp more than just watching a show! And all this after subjecting us to an almost complete recording of We Are The World before they walked on stage. Ha!

A little sample of what they can be like live can be found here... Feel the power.

Two very solid new Chimaira tracks

Just a quick one to say that my favourite Ohio-born metallers Chimaira have released two new songs from their new album, Age Of Hell, and they are both sounding pretty epic!

Trigger Finger has that classic Chimaira sound to it - less dark than some of their most recent work with a distinct air of Eyes Of A Criminal about it..

Born In Blood, meanwhile, features Whitechapel's Phil Bozeman and is heavier than deepest hell and packed with some seriously sick fretwork. One for the oldschool Pantera lovers, me thinks..

Check them out - the album's out 16th August.

Heard or seen Mayshewill yet?

If not - hunt them down now now now!!!
I confess I hadn't heard a note until I went down to review Earthtone9 at the Garage last week and to think I might not have discovered them at all is practically criminal.
OK, yes, I am slightly over-excited but when I tell you that they are everything you could want of an atmospheric vocal-free and movie sample-full young metal band, I'm not exaggerating, I promise.

Somewhat left of center and cult in their influences and achingly tight on stage, they're as fresh as it comes - and home town Leicester should really be proud. OK, so they don't tend to interact or even notice the audience much when they play but their sound speaks for itself and captures you in a way that The Ocean and Pink Floyd fans would kill for...that is as long as you can cope with a lack of vocals and the selective use of electronic samples and film references every now and then.
Best of all, their songs are simply stunning. They have a knack of writing cascading melodies and exhilarating metal crescendos that is sickening for their age, and when they played the Garage there were few among us beardy (ok, not me - I'm a girl), heavy-loving folk (yes, me) that didn't stop chatting and pause from ordering beer to raise an eyebrow, become suddenly entranced and routed to the spot.

They certainly captured the heart of the Garage that night, so all I'm asking if to see if they can offer you anywhere near the same. The videos on YouTube are probably your best bet as the moving footage and cool imagery is perfectly suited to their high-intensity emotionally-engaging sound. Try Not For Want Of Trying as a starting point and then moving onto The Paris Hilton Sex Tape for a more light-hearted break.

Shai Hulud at the Purple Turtle, anyone?

Just dedicated the morning to finding out who's playing London in the new few months so I can be absolutely sure not to be on a work trip (grrr) and - behold - it turns out that US progressive hardcore bruisers Shai Hulud are down to play the Purple Turtle on June 22nd.

Awesome news, considering how intimate a venue this is and how downright aggressive (in fact, occasionally abusive if we remember the odd 'punching fans in the face' moments they've ticked off in their enthusiastic history) their gigs are. Not that I'm saying it's great to be thumped in the face - they are just mighty raw and real live and well worth the 8 quid change!!

Grab 'em HERE before word gets out.

Finish! Him, Agnostic Front & The Aggrolites

A random list of bands, you say. I know, but I saw quite a lot this week. And, hey, why be put off by style variety, eh? That and, to be brutally honest, the band I most looked forward to in this bunch was Agnostic Front, who were an utter disappointment. Hey ho. Yes, they have the songs we remember but the rebellious punk ethos seems to have faded and the energy is nowhere near what you'll find at a Terror or Hatebreed gig. Still, it was fun to hear Gotta Go live for the first time.

Finish! Him were more of a positive surprise...they should be back in London some time this month and are worth a glimpse if you like metalcore with a madddd in your face frontman and a loads of weird keyboard effects :-) It is quite loony and yet heavy - and I for one think there should be more up-and-comers this gutsy.

And ahhhh yes The Aggrolites. HOW COOL ARE THIS LOT?! I realise they are in no way shape or form metal, so don't really belong on this blog, but they had such a slick vibe I had to give them a mention. In the name of music, so to speak. Reggae with a smooth frontman and an absolute insistence that you dance cannot be a bad thing.

New Caliban & Winds Of Plague

I've been a bit slack of late due to excess work and random nights out drinking fruit beer watching barn-dancing, but this weekend has nicely kicked me up the arse thanks to our boys Astrohenge and Meantime shows.

Soooo...felt it only right to share the news of new releases from Caliban and Winds Of Plague :-)

Winds have taken a rather radical step by adding keyboards and producing a concept album (The Great Stone War) this time around. It tells of the destruction of civilisation, concludes in a final fight with stone (Don't ask...) and is basically an aggressive death meets black metal melodrama. And, by god, it's fun. 20 days left!

Meanwhile, Caliban have done the opposite and stuck with what they do best in Say Hello To Tragedy, and simply rocked out a giant wad of vicious modern metal. If you've forgotten just how god damn good their drumwork is, grab it without hesitation. It's out mid-August, a new song is on MySpace and they tour the UK in November. Bring it!

New KSE album streamed & a Devildriver track...

OK, it's happening! KSE's new album is available to stream on My Space right now now now now: ENJOY!

I also reviewed it a week or so ago for Metal Hammer so you should be able to find that in the next Hammer issue too (if you can't get to a PC for long enough to stream the whole beautiful creature yourself, that is.

Oh...and the new Devildriver track, Back With A Vengeance, is now on MySpace. The full album, Pray For Villains, will be out the 13th July :-)

Download the new KSE track!

New Killswitch Engage track to be found on Roadrunner right about NOW:
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/

Trigger, Silent Front, Stick, BFP, Terror...

These last few days (10 to be precise) have been rather generously rammed with awesome gigs. OK, so Trigger The Bloodshed are still a little wet behind the ears but their brand of back-to-the-oldschool death and hypnotic Cannibal Corpse-inspired frontman make them well worth the hype that's followed them this year. It was an empty gig, but a good 'un and I can safely say that (as long as you don't get distracted by the seriously OTT scowling lead guitarist) their drummer is every bit as exciting live as on record.
On Friday I lucked out catching a fairly unknown Brit hardcore three-piece called Silent Front support the 'Henge at the Unicorn and - thanks to a pretty awesome vocalist/guitarist - have now vowed to chase up more of their stuff on-line. Be warned that they do try and entertain the crowd with the odd joke and (justified) anti-BNP rant if they encounter sound problems or break bass strings, though ;-) If you can cope, want to (sensibly) see them regardless and you like the raw side of punk who likes bits of Schedule and Fugazi, here's their MySpace page.

And finally, last night blessed London with Terror, Born From Pain and Stick To Your Guns all on one bill. The Underworld, as a result, was packed beyond breathing room, but you'd expect no less for our Los Angeles metal-tinged hardcore headliners. Where Born From Pain were actually good but not on fire, and STYGs wound up with their singer losing his voice and their set being a hell of a lot less catchy live than on record...TERROR played to absolute perfection.
Singer and scene leader Scott Vogel wore a well-suited Robert De Niro t-shirt, the breakdowns were all in tact and the crowd threw insane shapes both on the floor and through the air from the stage. Push It Away, Spit My Rage, You're Never Alone, you name it...they were all down.
I swear this band should be given out on prescription, they offer that intense an experience. And we're talking: Every. Single. Time.
Oh, and great merch too! If a tad expensive...I mean I know the Terror ethic is that shows are about the fans rather than the band, and that 'if you only like one genre of music you're missing out on life, so always keep an open mind, etc...' but this does not mean you can cut your hardcore roots sharply enough to sell a 40 pound hoody! Hmph. Still, when you rock that much of a solid show and a solid message everything and anything is forgiven. Trust. I, for one, am strapped into my beloved Terror belt for life ;-)

Heaven-sent Slayer merch

I was doing some research on the difference between bike helmets and snowboarding helmets the other day, just to see if I could get away with using my snow gear in the summer...and came across Slayer Motorcycle helmets.
Now I knew you could now get Slayer trainers and skateboards - and even (my most amusing recent find) Iron Maiden Eddie snowboarding jackets (ha ha!) but this is a whole new world of cool. They are a signed and, thus, a small fortune but you have to dream, right?
http://slayer.shop.bravadousa.com/Dept.aspx?cp=805_14259

Steel Panther: Win or fail?

OK, so I normally try and keep this blog to more respectable (and rather heavier) up-dates but Steel Panther are becoming rather unavoidable.

Formerly Danger Kitty, Metal Shop, Metal Skool...(I've run out of breath now!), they're a tongue-in-cheek Los Angeles based band who pay tribute to 80's glam metal and getting a fair amount of attention for their current video to Death To All But Metal

Now, before you decide whether you love or hate them (I'm in the slightly queasy camp) it's worth worth knowing that there is pretty much noone they haven't performed with. For example, here they are with Pink, Juliette Lewis, Godsmack and Kelly Clarkson, no less.

Also worth noting that they are on Universal...Hm...

Thrash'n'Burn

Ah, yes. 6 hours of non-stop death/metalcore at my favourite London venue. It would have been awesome if I had remembered my earplugs. Oh, and if my mate hadn't dropped out last minute and left me with noone able to share trips to the bar. Hey ho.
In all seriousness, though, it actually was awesome.

I missed the first band due to a guest list muddle, but luckily made it in time for Arsonists Get All The Girls, who were hilarious. Not one for the metal puritans, but the mad pinball machine / gaming sounds that come out of that keyboard are brilliant fun and inject the whole venue with the atmosphere of a weird heavy metalcore house party.

War From A Harlot's Mouth were a lot less jazzy live than on record, but brilliantly brutal as a result, and Carnifex and Beneath The Massacre were just plain HEAVY. Like deafeningly, earth-shatteringly heavy. Beneath won over Carnifex simply due to their blindingly talented band members, though. The singer has a majorly deep growl, but is a bit pit-bull on stage and not all that engaging, but the rest of the band are so fast and powerful it's almost something you want to have recorded to watch in slow motion when you get home.

It was a toss up between Darkest Hour and Bleeding Through, who are both massively talented headliners in totally different ways. Where Darkest Hour turn suddenly more raw and credible live, not giving a hoot about image or plans, Bleeding Through are polished and melodic. Both worked for me, I gota say, and between them they had enough great songs to play for a good hour or two more.
Maybe we need two Thrahs'n'Burn tours a year from now on!

Battle of the H's

Happy to share that the awesome Hatebreed are now streaming tracks from their fun-filled new covers album on myspace.com/hatebreed.
I've written a full review of the covers album and epic live DVD in this month's Metal Hammer but can assure you, in brief, that they are both well worthy of investment. 'For The Lions' is recorded which such obvious love and respect for the bands features that listening becomes a little bit like taking a trip down memory lane with the band, meanwhile the 'Live Dominance' DVD gets across every bit of the intensity of the boys' live performance. Jamie Jasta is, as always, the ultimate prowling leader and the crowd shots are terrifying. There is really no excuse not to pre-order, like, yesterday!

Meanwhile, Heaven Shall Burn are about to release their own (and very first) live DVD; a five hour 2DVD+CD package including a Vienna live show, a Summerbreeze festival show, an amusingly soothing but subtitled band documentary and...a metal cooking piece, no less :-) It's out May 25th and a glorious example of just how damn good they are live. Look out for the great renditions of Endzeit and Black Tears cover, the fierce wall of death and the fans-views courtesy of moshers with helmet-cams on!

New music. Old tours.

Some rather cheery in-coming metal news...

1) Deftones have just announced a headline show at the Forum in London on August 27th, before they rock Reading. Tickets went on sale TODAY so click quick!

2) Fear Factory are reforming (been waiting a while to shout that!!!) to play both Sonisphere and Bloodstock this year. Here is a reminder of what we've been missing for so long...Bring on summer!

3) Similar but different: Fear Factory members Christian Olde Wolbers (guitar) and Raymond Herrera (drums) will be releasing the debut album of their new group ARKAEA (featuring young vocalist Jon Howard from Threat Signal) Autumn this year on KOCH RECORDS and will follow with a tour. Find their stunning artwork and new music at www.myspace.com/arkaeamusic

Going global: Resorte

So... I have wanted to set up a community dedicated to widespread hardcore 'love and learnings' for ages now. In fact, I even got as far as setting up this rather hideous HTML cage for it: www.inhcwetrust.com
Yes, I know, it's shambolic even for work in progress!

However, my plan isn't to give birth to something devastatingly groundbreaking or pretty - simply effective. A humble place to allow all HC-lovin' folk worldwide to share news of local scenes and make it easier to appreciate talent born further afield than the US, UK or 3 feet away! Hell, I even thought of including a lyric library for those concerned with the language barrier. So, here is my written commitment to continue this quest...

...and just to seal this with a globally-inclusive kiss...please meet RESORTE. A curious blend of rap-metal and beats hailing from Mexico. Enjoy!

Astrohenge prove me gloriously wrong :-)

FACT: Great bands do not need a vocalist.

Yup, after many years of wrongly assuming that a certain someone screaming can always improve a band, on Friday Astrohenge effortlessly massacred this thought with their own confident brand of seriously kick ass totally vocal-free space-metal. Half-on / half-off stage, they - quite frankly - rocked the Unicorn to the moon and back. Oh, and two-piece punk band Lamos and metallers Cavity Search didn't do a band job of supporting either!

Exported Videos

Iron Maiden and Ben&Jerry's Free Cone Day!

But ice cream's not very metal, you shout!!! Well, that's where you are wrong.
Machine Head gigs, Terror pits and SOIA walls of death are all orgasmic experiences right?
And Cookie Dough cones, Phish Food bowls and Fossil Fuel scopes are all orgasmic experiences right?
See?!!!
PLUS...any ice cream brand that chucks helpless chocolate dinosaurs in its tubs has got to have (a) a sense of humour and (b) a small streak of sadism, I reckon...so I am figuring I have here conclusive evidence that this twisted post is totally justified. S'there!!
Right, now on to the details:
Tomorrow is not only Iron Maiden Day (see 666 premier post below) but it is also Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day. All over the UK, in fact. So, get yourself one of those vague out-of-office 'synergy' meetings scheduled anytime from 1-5pm and have a scout just HERE for flavours and generous stores in your area (avoid spots bosses can see from the window!) and get worshiping. After all, indulgence is up there with bathing in Jager, begging Satan to strike down exes and gambling away your best mate's wife as far as the seven deadlys are concerned - all to be encouraged in the name of Maiden, surely?

Metallica Live w/Jason

A little bit of nostalgia is good for the soul. I'm the biggest Rob Trujillo fan out there, but it's pretty neat seeing the boys all back together again.
Performing live for the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame here's a bit of ENTER SANDMAN done as it used to be.

New songs: KSE & Converge.

KSE Metal Hammer performance reveals a brand new song! OK, so it's pretty badly recorded and Howard's voice isn't all that hot, but it does show they are back'n'ballsy.

Meanwhile, Converge who have been slowly leaking vocal-free studio footage on-line for a few weeks now courtesy of their generous label Deathwish (see blog post below) have blessed us with some additional and sneaky (though not-so-cleanly recorded) live tunes. Have a nibble.

36 Crazyfists & PTW

Friday the 13th is a pretty choice date for any metal band to rock the London live circuit but frustratingly this particular Electric Ballroom gig had to start and end early to allow for a 10pm club night, so timing were as follows:

Gwen Stacy – 6:45 to 7:15pm
Poison The Well – 7:35 to 8:15pm
36 Crazyfists – 8:35 to 9:35pm

Still, both main bands were on fire and the only downers of the night were a pretty unmemorable first support band and a sound issue during PTW which meant some of the choruses were lost. The rest of the band's acoustics were crystal clear and made for some hypnotic Floyd-inspired instrumental moments, but frontman Moreira's more emotional vocal parts were muddy, leaving only his screams audible. A shame for a band so focused on contrasts.
Alaskan melodic metallers 36 made up for it, though, and Brock was his usual powerful self, storming the stage with that signature hardcore stance as he pushed his unique gurgling vocal style to the limit. In the one early-bird hour they were on stage they even managed to pack in all their best tracks, a wall of death and invite a member of the audience on stage to front an entire song with the band. And after all Brock's shouting about shots it was only right to drink the night away in a few Camden pubs and new favourite snakebite haunt, The Big Red :-) Hell, who needs to feel good on a Saturday anyway...