Bloody News Metal and Globmetal Promotions are happy to announce the third edition of their live stream festival will take place next month. Bloody News Online Fest: Insane Summer Gathering 2021 will be streamed from their website on 27-28th August 2021. You can watch the event for free.
Check out the line-up here:
27th August
Soulbound Anna KiaRa Six Foot Six PitchBlack High $tatus AquileA Psycho Visions Passengers in Panic
28th August
Obsolete Theory STORTREGN Vessel X-Method Mysterizer King Baal EAGON Everlust
EARTH BREAKER Voice of the Voiceless Hardcore/Metal/’Ullcore Self-Released: November 2016
Hull – Otherwise known as the City of Culture – has a lot going on for it, especially in the music scene, which is where a promising young band known as Earthbreaker are currently making makes and lots of noise. Having only been around for just over a year, this melodic metal quintet have already made their presence felt – and heard – in North England.
Voice of the Voiceless opens straight up with the powerful and memorable track The Vipers Nest, which features an energetic and tenacious breakdown and some bestial vocal work. Family follows up almost seductively, with its overwhelming assault of guitars and differing and unique vocal sounds.
Misanthropy is a melodic track which is as catchy as the common cold but that doesn’t stop it from being heavier than an elephant’s arse. The guitars are heavy-duty, paving a path of broken bones whilst the rhythm sections lay down the gritty foundations. Whereas Deathwish brings a more emotive but just as unyielding sound to Voice of the Voiceless.
The EP finishes on Psychosis, with its enchanting dance between the guitars, bass and drums, making it a good track to finish on.
Voice of the Voiceless demonstrates Earthbreaker‘s well-founded sound in a way that leaves the listener wanting more and shows that this young quintet can go toe-to-toe in the pit with some of the heavy hitters on the scene.
Hatebreed
The Concrete Confessional
Hardcore Punk
Released: 13 May 2016
via Nuclear Blast Records
No matter how far away I get from heavy metal I always find that there are a few bands that drag me right back to headbanging and shouting until I have no voice. Hatebreed are one of those bands. No matter how long it is since I last listed to the genre, they always give me the one thing that I always look for in music in general. Passion, integrity and kick ass music. The music of Hatebreed and I go way back now, I think their music is so ingrained into my psyche that I can’t actually turn my head when they bring out new material. However, there is only one question to answer in this review. Is this album, The Concrete Confessional better than their previous album The Divinity of Purpose. The last album was so good and really cemented me as a true Hatebreed fan.
Well I’ll give it this…. There is certainly a more intense, almost overly aggressive, vibe to this. I mean all of Hatebreed’s albums are intense and in your face. The Concrete Confessional however, is sharper and feels more direct. For the most part Jamey Jasta is quite creative with his wordplay and the language used in his albums. Here there is more of a direct approach as if Hatebreed are directing their aggression right at the listener. Some may think that this is antagonising and abrupt. I think it’s a pretty bold way to get your point across. Being that this is a very opinionated band, why hold back your though with metaphor and imagery when you can just say how you’re feeling right there and then. The album deals with heavy issues like social injustice, police brutality and drug abuse, so why hold back?
The music is just as direct. With sharp consistent note changes and tight production the music stands as a way to punctuate the heavy subjects of the lyrics. Though I do feel that something is lost with this album. I’m not finding it nearly as catchy or musically interesting as the previous records. Nothing really sticks in your head at all, as if Hatebreed are laying it on a little too thick. Think of the Hatebreed songs that you know, “Everybody Bleeds Now”, “Destroy Everything”, “In Ashes They Shall Reap” or even newer songs like “Honor Never Dies”, “Indivisible” or “Dead Man Breathing”. They sticks in your mind because the music was creative and the lyrics catchy. This album seems to be void of that, barring say a couple of songs “Looking Down the Barrel of Today” being a great example. Even that only has one phrase though. What I’m saying is I don’t think there’s a good compromise between the message they’re trying to deliver and the creativity needed to make compelling music.
Is this a good album? Yes absolutely, without question. Is it Hatebreed? Yes, again it’s exactly what they wanted to give us. Is it as good as The Divinity of Purpose, Perseverance or The Rise Of Brutality? No, I don’t think so. The album is too far removed from what made those albums great. However, I’ll pose another question. Was The Concrete Confessional meant to be a fun heavy metal album or was it meant to make you feel uncomfortable with the way you’re living?… Sure the band may say something in a press statement, but what a band says in interview and what they say on the record itself aren’t always the same thing.
All Consumed “No World Order” Released October 31st 2015 Death metal, hardcore Self-released
It’s been quite a while since the world churned out a truly engaging ‘hardcore’ metal album. Decent hardcore albums, yes. Decent metalcore albums, also kicking about (indeed, it’s true that such things do exist, I assure you!). However, a fully functioning metal album that is also hardcore, and not sugared down, ‘McAudio’ for wannabe cage fighters..? Let’s just say, I haven’t been holding my breath of late. Listening to All Consumed’s No World Order has been an utterly satisfying rebuttal.
Much of the ‘core’ side of things here has been derived from the harder edge of the mid-to-late 1990s scene. Hewn from the memorable foundations of acts such as Hatebreed and Biohazard, the bottom floor of this hateful tenement is populated with urban aggression, yet there is more here than tribute or replication. In the same way that Pissing Razors brought a new angle to this form, All Consumed have broken down the gates and let the metal flow freely.
With the added layer of Rob Thomas’Jason Netherton style vocal – although delivered in a slightly heavier manner than in Misery Index – there is further reinforcement to the feeling that this is, in its purest essence, a death metal album, albeit one with head-bouncing hook riffs leading the way. Producer, Samuel Turbitt, has also performed excellently in capturing live energy here, ultimately allowing All Consumed to truly indulge in their innate heaviness, something which, it could be said, limited their previous recording efforts. The blending of genres feels entirely natural, though, and rather than a disjointed amalgam of two distinct sounds, it hammers home a brutality that will appeal to followers of both real hardcore and old school death metal.
This record is a dark and menacing piece of work, with no pretensions to virtuosity, and is, consequently, a highly listenable record. Repeat spins do it no harm, either, making it a cacophonous pleasure, and an essential keeper for all curators of eclectic, heavy, audio libraries. All hail the No World Order!
Devil In Me “Soul Rebel” Hardcore/Crossover Release: 20th November 2015 Via Impericon Records
Rumor has it that “Soul Rebel” is one of the most expected albums in the European hardcore scene. Whether that’s true or just publicist talk, this piece will certainly make big waves. And not just among the hardcore fans – “Soul Rebel” is more accurately described as a crossover album, so it has a lot of tweaks prone to thrill a fair share of the metal community as well. Like those thrash-oriented riffs in “Break The Chain” or “Blood & Rage”, for instance – the latter including a guitar solo just as juicy. But even the hardcore-anthem-material of the title-track, “Monster” or “Warriors” has something about it that will make people outside the hardcore sphere want to shout along those gang vocals, if not the choruses or the whole songs. That’s what makes Devil In Me stand out from the rest of their fellow bands – the ability of turning their rough and brisk sound into a catchy earworm.
And no matter how top-notch the work of a musician may be, special guests are always a treat. Poli’s voice is quite unique, raspy and full of the rebellious attitude that both lyrics and music of DIM bear, but getting Freddy Cricien from Madball to add some vocal power to the aforementioned “Warriors” is a sweet cherry on top of the icing. “Monster” is a DIM-meets-Biohazard blast of a thing, as singer Billy Graziadei, guitarist Bobby Hambel and bassist/singer Scott Roberts give their straightforward input in it. And a not-so-popular name but in no way less talented is Orlando Santana, from the also Portuguese Atlântida On Demand, who helps Poli with “SYG” (stand your ground).
That being said, this is then a thick, well-woven album, comprised of eleven defiant and spirited songs, aimed at open-minded but strong-willed people. Soul rebels. Like lions.
Mata-Ratos, Angelus Apatrida, Devil In Me, Simbiose, Hills Have Eyes, Reality Slap, Viralata, Tales For The Unspoken, Backflip, Dimension, Artigo 21, As They Come S.C.Casainhos, Loures (PT) 29th August 2015 Promoter: Tiago Fresco
Casainhos is a small village in the central region of Portugal (less than an hour to the north of Lisbon) that has been holding this commendable festival since 2012 – more than supporting/promoting the underground scene, it brings together its different subgenres, showing how metal, punk and hardcore are all part of a big, happy family. Like Poli (Dimension, Devil In Me) would say, a festival for open-minded people, people who won’t judge you, whether you’re wearing black or pink.
Stoner/Southern rockers As They Come opened this year’s edition, at 3:30 p.m. sharp. The punctuality at this fest gets another thumbs-up, by the way. And it proved that 15 minutes is the perfect amount of time for intermission between sets.
Despite the unholy heat, As They Come fans were restless. After all, most of them had contributed to the band’s presence at the festival, by voting in a contest promoted by Rock On Música music shop – the same shop that got a bus and organized a roadtrip from São João da Madeira to Casainhos. Singer Sick Danny even dedicated the last song, “50 Miles”, to the shop owner Vitinha, who was then carried by the crowd. Soon afterwards, that crowd would invade the stage to party up there with As They Come. The fest could have hardly begun in a better way.
Punk rockers Artigo 21 came next and they also had a fair share of fans singing along songs such as “Contradição” (contradiction) or “Espera Por Mim” (wait for me). The band is somewhat recent (2012) but the musicians aren’t exactly kids – at some point, when tuning a guitar took a little longer and someone in the audience complained, one of them said something like “take it easy, we’re old people”. On a more serious note, they announced that bassist Aureo had just become a father, to which everybody applauded. All the best to him and his family!
Another new band featuring veteran members is Dimension. Groovy hardcore “straight outta the nineties” – and for those who grew up in that decade, Poli dedicated the Sepultura cover “Slave New World”. But that was just a bonus, as their original songs, taken from the debut “Life Is A Mystery”, were enough to win the crowd over, proving the band’s worth both on stage and in the studio.
Backflip play a more straight-forward hardcore, with a female lead singer that kicks as much ass as any guy in the same position. Not sure when they were formed, but they’ve played in all editions of Casainhos so far, and their EP “New Ticket, New Journey” was released in 2011, so they’ve been around at least since then. The debut self-titled full-length saw the light of day in 2013 and features a few guests from other great underground bands, but that afternoon it was the crowd who helped Inês Oliveira (and guitarist Pedro Morais and bassist João Vidigal) sing along.
Tales For The Unspoken, on the other hand, had Raça from Revolution Within sharing the stage with them and singing “Taken”, from the band’s second album “CO2”. Their mix of thrash and death and groove metal kept the moshers busy. “CO2” was released in April, so they focused the set on it, but revisited the debut “Alchemy” with “Say My Name” and the usual closing theme “N’Takuba Wena”.
Back to punk rock, Viralata took the stage. A few problems with Ulisses’ guitar cable delayed the show for a few minutes, leading the singer to joke “what a grand start-up”. Their music is great, but it’s the lyrics – amusing as hell – that make them so popular, meaning that if you don’t speak Portuguese, you’ll miss the essence of Viralata. But if you were there, you’d certainly be carried away by the high spirits of both band and crowd. There was even a fan who climbed on stage and sang the lyrics to “Carocho” (if memory serves me well), totally unexpected but welcomed by the band. Huge fun!
Hardcore act Reality Slap latest album, “Necks & Ropes”, dates from 2012 but the band’s been working hard on its successor, hoping to release it this year still. Singer Johnny (or at least I think that’s his name – guys, please add who does what in the band in your Facebook page!) said something about not playing live in a while, but either “a while” is a little less than four months to him, or he meant playing in national territory, as the band toured through a few European countries last Spring. Whatever the case, this return to the stages was flawless, and when Johnny jumped to the middle of the crowd, pointing the mike to the fans, many were eager to take on the singer’s role.
Despite the rich bill of the festival, I confess it was only Hills Have Eyes that made me ride those 190 miles. So I won’t say their concert was the best, as more than presumptuous it would sound biased; but since I had people coming to me in the end – people who had never seen HHE before, despite their +10-year career – saying that now they understood why I liked that band so much, that I had good taste in music, it’s not the fangirl but the reporter that tells you WHAT A HELL OF A SHOW! This was probably the last gig before the release of their third album, “Antebellum”, scheduled for this month, but still only the first single “The Bringer Of Rain” was performed. The title-track of the previous album, “Strangers”, closed their set.
From the metalcore of Hills Have Eyes, the festival moved on to the crust/metal/punk of Simbiose. Formed in 1991, it was the band on the bill with the longest career, after headliners Mata-Ratos (the latter born in 1982). “Trapped” is the title of their latest, sixth album (released in March) and songs such as “Ignorância Colectiva” (collective ignorance), “Acabou A Crise, Começou A Miséria!” (the crisis is over, the affliction has started) or “Modo Regressivo” (regressive mode) are some of the new tunes – with the same old social and political critique – that were part of one of the most brutal sets of the fest.
Devil In Me are among the high-rank Portuguese hardcore bands and it will only take a couple of songs for you to understand why. Once again, Poli brought up the open-mindedness (and lack of it) subject, and staying true to one’s self – how he still loved hardcore now, as a grown man and family man, as much as when he was 15. Adding how much he missed his daughter that night, he invited all parents present to come up front and party. It seems that their new album will be out in October (“Soul Rebel”), but the title-track has been performed live several times now and everybody knew how to scream the chorus verse: “soul rebel… like a lion”.
Angelus Apatrida was the only non-Portuguese band of the fest, old school thrash metal from “country next door” Spain. But they’re part of the family, not just for the solid fan-base they’ve built here over the past years but also for recording a couple of albums here, at Ultrasound Studios, and becoming good friends with many local underground bands. One of the most notorious is Switchtense and singer Hugo Andrade even got on stage to sing “Fresh Pleasure” with Guillermo Izquierdo. Whether they were songs from the new album “Hidden Evolution” or oldies like “Vomitive” or “Give ‘Em War”, the circle pits were as restless as the thrash that was fueling them.
A lot of people left after Angelus Apatrida – not exactly because Mata-Ratos aren’t good at what they do (hardcore punk) but because they haven’t released anything new in eight years, and after eleven bands, half of them performing while the sun burnt at an average of 86ºF, it became easy to dismiss the headliners. But there was still a good handful of survivors, ready to scream their lungs out at classics like “C.C.M.”, “A Minha Sogra É Um Boi” (my mother-in-law is a cow) or “Deus, Pátria E Família” (God, homeland and family).
According to the promoters, circa 800 people attended this fest. Don’t think any had a single reason to be disappointed. I hope this fest will continue to thrive and many more editions will follow. I also hope every country has someone committed to their underground scene like we have Tiago Fresco and his crew here (among others) in Portugal.
If you think that playing 4 shows in a row in the same city is too much, think again – Every Time I Die managed to sell out almost immediately the previously announced 3 gigs in London, hence the need for a fourth. But tickets won’t be available for everybody:
“If you purchased a ‘season ticket’ to the London shows we’re doing in November you should check your email now. We will be doing a fourth show at Old Blue Last on Sat 21 Nov and in the email there will be a private code & link as you’ll be the only ones who can buy tickets. First come first served. Maximum 3 tickets per person. Superheaven will join us for this extra show. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Friday) at 9am. The other 3 London shows are now sold out with other UK cities selling fast”.
The full UK tour hits the following places, the London dates featuring different sets each night:
Nov 06 Southampton, Talking Heads Nov 07 Plymouth Underground Nov 08 Bristol The Fleece Nov 09 Nottingham Rescue Rooms Nov 11 Manchester Sound Control Nov 12 Glasgow Kings Tuts Nov 13 Aberdeen Tunnels Nov 14 Newcastle Riverside Nov 15 Sheffield Corporation Nov 17 Birmingham Asylum Nov 18 London The Dome ETID TAKEOVER SOLD OUT Nov 19 London Borderline ETID TAKEOVER SOLD OUT Nov 20 London Underworld ETID TAKEOVER SOLD OUT *Nov 21 London Old Blue Last ETID TAKEOVER* (SUPERHEAVEN ONLY)
“If you’ve ever been to an Every Time I Die show in the UK, you’ll understand why we would want to spend almost an entire month playing shows there. Intimate venues, cold pints, good mates. Don’t miss out. These gigs will be ledge”, says frontman Keith Buckley.
Diesel King “Concrete Burial” Sludge/hardcore/death metal Release: 02nd February 2015 Via When Planets Collide Records
Having only heard the freely available sample track from this release, Brainhammer, I immediately knew I had to hear the full thing as soon as possible. Cue pestering Diesel King’s manager for an advance copy for the purpose of this review. It was the right move, too, as I’m already on a second spin, and loving every minute of it.
The overall character of Diesel King comprises a collision of sludge, 1990’s hard-core, death, and straight up extreme metal, with none of these losing out to the other. Some influences seem obvious, such as Crowbar and Stampin’ Ground, but there is an individual atmosphere pumped into every living note, and it far exceeds the heaviness of either of those aforementioned artists. Think more in the realms of Nile or Dying Fetus, but with a penchant for Earth-crushing doom in place of the need to shred, and you’ll be somewhere near the level of musical obesity incorporated.
Unbelievably guttural, yet comprehensible, vocals drag, determined, across a shattered wasteland of churning riffs and tank-heavy bass. There’s nothing overly complex or technical, here. Just well written music that reaches out, grabs you by the soul, and drags you into the maelstrom. When at speed, this is a gunship opening fire on endless hordes of the undead; when slumping back into a groove, it’s Unicron colliding with the Death Star. Either way, destruction ensues, though swamped in waves of emotion. Hell, they even make the occasional beat-down sound like full-on, intelligent, real music!
Concrete Burial is the band’s first full-length, and it’s some way to introduce yourself as a potential major player on the UK extreme metal scene. Although their previous Ep – The Grey Man – is nothing to be sneezed at, it does pale a little in comparison to this new beast. Having already graced the stage alongside Eyehategod, Corrosion Of Conformity, and Entombed at UK and European gigs and festivals, the groundwork is already laid for them to launch an attack further afield, and it would be no big surprise to see them landing slots at many of the growing fests these fair isles have to offer in 2015.
If I sound a little like a kid in a candy store here, that’s pretty much bang on the nose. I just recaptured one of those golden rays of youthful excitement, and I’m absolutely buzzing. All in all, this album has totally blown me out of the water. One of the heaviest and most addictive things unleashed in some time. Absolute classic. Absolute keeper. Keep a close watch on these guys!
More Than A Thousand, Devil In Me, Hills Have Eyes, Kandia Hard Club, Porto (PT) 6th December 2014
Last Saturday, Hard Club welcomed what is probably the best metalcore band in the country and their special guests, who are also high in the ranks of popularity around here. The result? An unforgettable, explosive night!
First band on stage was Kandia, the “only local band”, as singer Nya would remark. She would also motivate the crowd by saying something like “let’s show these bands from the south that Porto knows how to rock”. Having just 20 minutes to play (“but sometimes quickies are good too, right?”, she teased), and also to give something different to the fans who have been seeing their recent shows, they’ve replaced “Caution + New Breed” with “Noise + All Is Gone” as the kick-off of the gig. The crowd was very responsive to Kandia, which was really good to see, since the other three bands were much more aggressive and I wasn’t sure how their fans would react to Kandia’s alternative rock.
As I said before, when reviewing their concert at Vagos Open Air, even though all musicians put their heart and soul in the performance, it’s Nya who gets the ultimate prize in stage attitude, enhancing the energy and emotion of the songs – the last one of their short but enthralling set being “Karma”. (5 / 5)
Hills Have Eyes took some time to get on stage as there was some problem with the sound. People were getting impatient and eventually the show started, even if the tech wasn’t 100% satisfied with the sound. But the crowd clearly didn’t care – when a band puts up a show like Hills Have Eyes does, imperfect sound is a minor detail. Such an adrenaline discharge! At some point singer Fábio Batista asked who was seeing Hills Have Eyes for the first time and a bunch of arms were raised. But that didn’t mean they’d never heard of them before, ‘cause the choir of voices singing along the songs was way too loud. And those who weren’t singing, were vigorously headbanging or moshing – Hills Have Eyes are definitely loved and everybody wanted to shake Fábio‘s hand when he jumped in the pit and greeted the fans.
When you don’t have too much time to play, it’s only natural that you focus on your latest work and neglect the older stuff. That’s what Hills Have Eyes did (as much as I’d have loved to listen to “Daydreaming Isn’t So Good After All”, for instance)– the set was almost entirely focused on “Strangers”, the “almost” meaning a new song called “Bringer Of Rain”. Since “Strangers” was released in 2012, it’s about time its follow-up starts getting shape!
Just like the studio version, Vasco Ramos from More Than A Thousand joined Fábio on stage to sing “Anyway, It’s Gone”, and then the title-track of “Strangers” closed a gig that lasted a bit longer than Kandia’s but still not long enough. Hills Have Eyes have just been added to my bands-to-see-as-headliners list. (5 / 5)
Devil In Me was the only band I didn’t know, even though, apparently, they’re quite big. But then again, hardcore isn’t really my area of expertise… Their light show was poor, so I could barely see the guys. Singer Poli paced around like a wild animal in a cage, guitarist Matos stretched his legs in high jumps… I guess that even if the lights were clearer, I’d still have trouble seeing more than blurs of movement. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but I can’t find another way to pass through the idea of the blitz that was going on up there. And down there too, as the mosh and crowdsurfing was soon matching the aggression of the sound.
Three albums out, the fourth, “Soul Rebel”, is on its way. So among songs like “Only God Can Judge Me” and “The End”, we got to hear the title-track of that upcoming record and even sing along the chorus, as singer Poli made us scream “like a lion” in response to his “soul rebel”. The crowd roared like lions indeed.
There’s no hardcore band who doesn’t point a finger to the joke that’s our political and economic situation, but among that Poli said something else, something more positive – “when you’re at home, listening to music, listen to it with open ears, ‘cause music is much more than clothes and appearance, it sends a message”. Nice! (5 / 5)
I won’t say that there were “more than a thousand” people watching the show not just because it would be a tacky pun but also because it wouldn’t be accurate – one thousand is precisely the capacity of Hard Club and there was still room to breathe. But barely! And since they’d played at that very venue, for the same number (give or take) of people, just nine months before, that says A LOT about More Than A Thousand. And if we used emoticons here on Valkyrian, here’s where I’d put a heart.
The setlist was pretty similar to that one of March (and this is a mere statement, not at all a complaint), replacing “Lost At Home” for “Cross My Heart”, and “Black Hearts” and “Make Friends And Enemies” for an “old school 5-track medley” – something Vasco claimed that they’d never done before.
And the order of the other songs was changed, like opening with “Feed The Caskets” (my personal favorite) or “We Wrote A Song About You” being played more or less in the middle of the show. For this one, like in March, and in so many others whenever Fábio is available, the singer of Hills Have Eyes joined in. The two bands have been close friends for a long while, and one can tell by the way Vasco and Fábio insult each other – “but we like each other very much. It’s something gay”, said Vasco.
Unchanged were “Midnight Calls” and “In Loving Memory (Life Flashes)”, when Vasco stood alone on stage, playing the guitar himself. And the mandatory “No Bad Blood” closing it up with golden key – hearing the whole room singing “this is who we are, tonight we’ll stay together” is especially flesh-crawling. (5 / 5)
Vasco thanked the other bands and everybody who got out of the house to support Portuguese bands, but he forgot someone: the ONLY security guy who did a hell of a job handing the moshers and crowdsurfers all by himself. I tip my hat to you, Joel!
Buffalo-based hardcore act Every Time I Die will release their 7th studio album on 30th June, via Epitaph Records. The title “From Parts Unknown” was inspired by a term used by wrestlers to increase their mystique but it ended up as a reference to the more hopeful mood in the lyrics. “I didn’t even realize I had that more positive outlook in me”, says singer Keith Buckley. The music itself is different from before, as Buckley admits that it would be “boring and baseless” to keep doing the same thing over and over again. “Instead of making something that the kids can all sing along to, we wanted to make music that scares them”, he adds.
Producer Kurt Ballou challenged the band to create heavy but catchy tracks and the result is “an album of depth from a band that has more than earned their hardcore chops”.
Watch the video for “Thirst”, which is the first half in a short series:
Track list:
01. The Great Secret
02. Pelican Of The Desert
03. Decayin’ With The Boys
04. Overstayer
05. If There Is Room To Move, Things Move
06. Moor
07. Exometrium
08. Thirst
09. Old Light
10. All Structures Are Unstable
11. El Dorado
12. Idiot
Australian “mosh machine” Confession will release their 4th album “Life And Death” on the 18th July, through Lifeforce Records. This is a very personal album for singer Michael Crafter, the lyrical theme dealing with issues that come with births, deaths, illnesses, friendships and love. The first single, “Fuck Cancer”, is a clear proof of that: “The day I went in to record I found out my father has cancer.. My mum already has it too. So I kinda deleted all my lyrics and wrote everything on the spot”, says Crafter. The song is now also available in video format:
“Life And Death” track list:
1. Life
2. Still Breathing
3. Holy War (feat. Ahren Stringer)
4. Hollow
5. Fuck Cancer
6. March 23
7. Old Blood (feat. Adrian Fitipaldes)
8. 51-73 (feat. Joel Birch)
9. Fear (feat. Karl Schubach)
10. The Forgotten
11. Death
Atlases, the metal/hardcore band from Berkshire, is about to start an UK tour in promotion of their debut EP “Upbringing” (self-released last January). Presented by Already Heard and Dead Press!, the Upbringing UK tour will hit the following locations, with Prolong The Agony as support act:
Fri 23rd Meze Lounge, Newport Sat 24th The Base, Kilmarnock Sun 25th Befesford Lounge, Glasgow Tue 27th Static, Swansea Wed 28th The Shed, Leicester Thu 29th The Sanctuary, Basingstoke Fri 30th Birdcage, Portsmouth Sat 31st Snooker Club, Newbury
Berkshire hardcore mob Atlases unveiled the new video for Secret Keeper, in the build up to their second EP Upbringing. The EP is set for release on 20th January. You can view the video down below.
A new hardcore project is taking shape in Sweden under the name As We Collapse. This weekend they have recorded the demo version of what should be their first single, “Golden Heart”, and revealed 26 seconds of it in the following teaser:
In support of their latest album “Letters Home”, Defeater will be warming up for August Burns Red in the USA this November. And then it’s time to hit Europe as headliners! Dates are as follows:
17.01.14 Netherlands Eindhoven Effenaar 18.01.14 Belgium Antwerp Trix 19.01.14 UK Bristol The Fleece 20.01.14 UK Sheffield Corporation 21.01.14 UK Glasgow Classic Grand 22.01.14 UK Manchester Sound Control 23.01.14 UK London Underworld 24.01.14 Germany Köln Essigfabrik 25.01.14 Germany Giessen Jokus 26.01.14 Germany Hamburg Logo 27.01.14 Germany Berlin Bi Nuu 28.01.14 Poland Warsaw Klub Hydrozagadka 29.01.14 Hungary Budapest Dürer Kert 30.01.14 Austria Wien Arena 31.01.14 Austria Salzburg Mark 01.02.14 Italy Milano Lo Fi 02.02.14 Germany München Feierwerk 03.02.14 Switzerland Zürich Komplex Club 04.02.14 Germany Trier Ex-Haus 05.02.14 Germany Hannover Bei Chez Heinz 06.02.14 Germany Schweinfurt Alter Stattbahnhof 07.02.14 Germany Leipzig Conne Island 08.02.14 Germany Stuttgart Martinskirche
Being a spanking new band hailing from my home state of Connecticut, Bonded Through Hate has really outdone themselves with the release of Doomsday: The Rise of Valhalla. Being their first EP I was blown away by how heavy this album was. The riffs were memorable and somewhat melodic while some other guitar parts were just extremely fast to the point where I had to choice but to head bang. Bonded Through Hate has the brutalness of death metal paired with slamming hardcore to create something that is fast and melodic at the same time.
My favorite track off of this EP was Killing Is My Name¸ the first of the five songs off this album. The intro starts off very quietly and then out of nowhere, the music picks up followed by a long, high scream that gave me chills from its sheer awesomeness. Throughout the song, they repeat the name of it multiple times which reminded me of something that Exhumed does with their songs as well. This paired with a breakdown towards the end of the song just made it enjoyable to listen to and it definitely stuck out to me over everything else.
The rest of the album was also great as well. The last track, BTK, also had an intro to it rather than just delving right into the song like the other 3 tracks did. The buildup of this intro really left an impression on this song and was a great way to end the album. Overall, I have no major complaints about this EP except the songs were kind of predictable in presentation and there was really nothing that completely stood out to me about the music. Maybe it’s because they haven’t really developed a unique sound yet, but I anticipate to hear a full length album from these guys in the near future!
Posted in Misc., News with tags Hardcore on 7th January 2013 by izaforestspirit
The Canadian hardcore band Fall City Fall have released a music video for “Lovebirds” from their forthcoming album “Victus”, out January 22nd, 2013.
Having grabbed everyone’s attention with their recently released video for “Anxiety Attack”, Fall City Fall is back with their most powerful effort yet, “Lovebirds”. Let the chaotic duel-vocals of Nathan Zorn and Kennan Pylychaty take you on a turbulent ride through their innermost demons, with bone-chilling passion and conviction. Offering a glimpse of their trademark live performances, it is their merciless, unrivaled energy and mastery of their craft that has the scene at the edge of their seats, begging for more.
Lakes These Minutes Released: 2nd October, 2011 Hardcore/Melodic/Metal Released via The Militia Group
Lakes is one of those bands who tries to add different music styles to their songs to hopefully create a sound that is not only unique but also appealing to their fans. However, after listening to their debut album These Minutes, it sounds to me like the different uses of metal, hardcore, and melodic styles were randomly thrown about rather than executed into a consistent sound and style.
Their opening track Silence is anything from silent and starts the album off with an instrumental of keyboards, heavy guitar riffs and solos which seemed to suit the band’s claimed style. Further into this album, however, there is a pattern of one instrumental song followed by couple heavier songs with vocals. This pattern would be more fitting for an album with an abundance of tracks, but since These Minutes only has a total of nine tracks, it seemed really unnecessary to split up such a small amount of songs. The vocals also drowned out the guitars and keyboards which it made it harder to listen to the music itself.
Overall I feel like this band does in fact have a different sound that appeals to people interested in heavier, melodic music. However, I feel that this album would have been exceptionally better if they either stuck with heavier songs with some melodic parts incorporated into each song, or if they went more mellow and kept the instrumental melodic tracks instead. The way they combined both into this album made it hard for me to listen to and to see how well their musicianship really is.
Woke up this morning, checked my email, it contained a link to Prong Carved In Stone. I didnt even know they were writing a new album! I may or may not have squealed like a schoolgirl…
Carved In Stone’s production is what metal bands would have killed to have in the eighties, its pretty damn good. Really raw but still polished enough to hold up against other modern metal, defined and clear which is always a plus as sounds can blend and bleed to much into a mess and nothing stands out miles in the mix. So its been looked after well and sounds like it. Its a way more punk/hardcore album in design short punchy songs but the music can take on a groove life of their own in the mean time.
Its a real back to the roots album and its cool to hear the hardcore and groove mix cause it really drives and is quite punchy. The thrash elements shine through on the guitar every once in while and this diversity keeps the album sounding fresh. Riffs a plenty here and they are pretty catchy and the tone is drenched in dirt which gives it a pretty raw sound. like it was a guitar straight into an amp, instead of trough a whole host of computers. The rhythm section is as solid as a house, double bass work pushes sections into thrash tempos and feel and the low end provided by the guitars are underlined by the filthiest bass tone you’re likely to hear, you may have to check your speakers for dust.
The vocals have a way surprising you with how spot on the can be pitch wise on the higher register, its melodic at times in the chorus and has the power that could blow speakers, Tommy Victor has really laid it down and shown a lot of vocalists how its done. Carved in Stone is a mix of everything that made Prong awesome and is the best thing they’ve released in a long time. It’s gritty, raw yet sonically fresh, and damn groovy and catchy, check it out.
Bands: Shadows Chasing Ghosts, Tides Of Virtue, The Demoraliser, The Colour Line, Sea Of Giants, The Departed, Forever And A Day, Hey! Alaska, Not Another Code Red Location: Shades Night Club, Bridlington
Dates: 20th August 2011
Home From Home Fest, the second annual DIY festival, hosted by the East Coast Collective, was already off to a bumpy start as Swedish hardcore outfit Saving Joshua had dropped off the bill last minute – Not that this prevented all those in attendance from having a good time. The first band on stage were Bridlington’s own “Sea Of Giants”. They performed a good, solid set and were very active on stage. They received a good reaction from the crowd. Towards the end of the set, they performed an immense cover of “Pure F**king Hate” by Annotations Of An Autopsy. Sea Of Giants were a great choice to open the festival with, it was just a shame about the small numbers in attendance for their set.
The second band to perform were Hull-based “The Colour Line”. The entire band had brilliant showmanship and clearly a lot of energy to have remain active through out their entire set, especially their front man who moved in and around the crowd. Their set was tight and brilliantly played. The highlight of their set had to be “Glitter, Spandex And Egos”. Forever And A Day took the stage afterwards. Their set was energetic and tight and the frontman demonstrated great showmanship and crowd interaction. They played brilliant songs such as “If It Pleases You Darling (Pretend I’m Saying It)” and “We See Everything, So Play Nice” [Which can be found on their album “Last Orders”]. Forever and a Day’s set was great though lacking as their bassist was absent.
Hey! Alaska put on a good show, with the frontman interacting with the crowd between songs. Like the other bands, they played a good, heavy set which beamed with energy. Not Another Code Red had a heavy start to their set. They performed a brilliant hardcore rendition of Black And Yellow as well as some of their own songs such as All Or Nothing and Foundations. The Departed brought a great stage presence and positive attitude with them to the stage as they performed a very hyper set in which the crowd began a mosh pit to it. The Demoraliser performed an amazing, brutalising set which sounded raw and violent. they were one of the best bands of the night, which says a lot due to the immense quality of all the bands who played.
Tides Of Virtue performed a very active set, virtually bouncing all around the stage. They received positive feedback from the crowd for their violent and skull-crushing set. The headliners “Shadows Chasing Ghosts” finally took the stage, only to be greeted by a small crowd, which must have been upsetting for the band members though they still performed an awesome set which was very heavy, very tight and pleased the crowd.
Home From Home Fest was clearly an enjoyable experience for all those who performed and those who attended. Fans of hardcore and metalcore missed on a truly great festival. Hopefully, the next Home From Home Festival will be just as great, if not better.
writing a new album! I may or may not have squealed like a schoolgirl…
Home From Home Fest, the second annual DIY festival, hosted by the East Coast Collective, was already off to a bumpy start as Swedish hardcore outfit Saving Joshua had dropped off the bill last minute – Not that this prevented all those in attendance from having a good time. The first band on stage were Bridlington’s own “Sea Of Giants”. They performed a good, solid set and were very active on stage. They received a good reaction from the crowd. Towards the end of the set, they performed an immense cover of “Pure F**king Hate” by Annotations Of An Autopsy. Sea Of Giants were a great choice to open the festival with, it was just a shame about the small numbers in attendance for their set.
Valkyrian Music 