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.

BATMAN LIVE - World Arena Tour

BATMAN LIVE - World Arena Tour | Gallery

I've abandoned this Blog for way too long as it is, so how could I possibly resist the urge to share this little discovery with the world?

Based on an original story, apparently, DC Comics promise a night of stunts, acrobatic acts and illusions and all the expected super-villains. Think The Joker, The Riddler, Catwoman, The Penguin, Two-Face and Harley Quinn all in one arena!!

Hits London this September - gotta be done.

Revelation Records: BREAKING OUT THE CLASSICS

23 exclusive covers from a load of Rev hardcore bands on one album is not a bad offer! Some are a bit hi or miss, after all it's a tough call covering the likes of Quicksand, but just to own this is a bit of an obligatory mission for any dedicated HC fan. Expect to hear Ignite, SOIA, Terror and Warzone covering Youth Of Today, Gorilla Biscuits and Shai Hulud. Exciting stuff and worth shelling out the cash - especially as half goes to charity.

Romeo Must Die

To gig or not to gig, that is the question.
Tonight the awesome Romeo Must Die lads will be rocking the Purple Turtle and it'd be a crime not to go. Way better than Stampin Ground ever were, I've seen these guys play London twice in the last year or so and on both occasions they've put the headliners to shame. Totally ferocious and with the experience and talent to back up the attitude, they will destroy the Turtle tonight, leaving only a HC club night in their wake. Oh, and all for just 6 pounds!

Infectious Grooves / Cyco Miko live album

It's really good! I mean I know the band are great and both styles are fun, but they've managed to release a double-disc release from way back when (1995, in fact) that does them real justice!
One CD is dedicated to the band playing a Cyco Miko set, and the other sees the same members all shifting guise to play the Infectious Grooves set, so it's a pretty impressive example of this lot's talent but, best of all, Rob Trujillo's particularly on fire and the recording's untouched and unaltered. Grabbing the feed straight from the sound desk may make the whole experience a little more muddy than your average Blue Ray extravaganza, but it also makes it much more 'real'.
Freestyle and funky - seriously, go grab it!

Softcore fans...

Went to Agnostic Front on Monday... Perfect example of a technically good gig ruined by a beyond boring crowd. Such a shame. The guys were on form, the stand in drummer solid and the set-list damn near perfect - but did it get anything but a 3-deep Josh and some raised fists? Did it hell. It was rammed too! I refuse to think the scene's getting old..it's obviously a glitch in the summer system. Hmph.

Refused rumours...

I've held back from putting this in writing for a while now, but I have now lost hope in just holding my breath. I am going for that 'light a fag to bring on a bus' option now. If I put pen to paper (meh...keyboard to site) it might make it real...so here goes:

Refused's label, No Sleep Records, promised that they'd be bringing out a 2 CD Tribute album at some point in 2009. It has not happened and we need it to. Anyone up for starting a massive campaign for this? Please? I beg of you...imagine it! An hour and a half or so of great Refused tracks covered by Hardcore bands worldwide. Awesome fun. It could even be followed by a swedish hardcore festival featuring the bands of the CD playing their covers, and a reformation and headline tour by the band themselves.

There are NOT and never will be dead, darn it.

Agnostic Front re-release

Just a quick one to say if you haven't yet grab this, do it now. It's the new year, it's a time to enjoy a bit of nostalgia, surely? And my god is this a worthy bit of nostalgia. I'd forgotten just how damn good this band were...tracks like Traitor and Society Suckers...argh, proper NYHC before it got engulfed by metal. I mean, metal's great, and class hybrids like Hatebreed are awesome, but there is a special place in the heart for the no-nonsense gritty rebellion that bands like AF represented back in '84.
So, yes, Victim In Pain & United Blood on one big 21 track album. Think about it. With original designs and slick packaging... Come on, what's not to like?

On an aside...just reviewed Cocoon and don't bother unless you like (a) screamo mixed with bad skate-punk drumming, or (b) anything that sounds even losely like Atreyu. Chaos In Her Wake IS worth a shout, however, as it's pretty evil in parts, but be warned that they are still better live...hey go, give em time.

New Converge!!! (oh & rubbish new AFI)

Converge have posted new track 'Dark Horse' to their MySpacepage - and, oh yes, it promises good things to come ;-)

Meanwhile, AFI appear to have forgotten all they ever new of the punk or hardcore worlds and tumbled into bad American highschool movie pop. If you want a cry go to youtube
Gutted.