Thursday 31 July 2008

Blue Moon Band Massacre

Each Wednesday night in August, 4 dark alt. Bands will battle it out at the Sando Hotel to see who gets voted to play at the “Local Legends” nights during Under the Blue Moon Festival. The shows will take place at The Sandringham Hotel (The Sando) at 387 King Street, Newtown, entry each day will be $5.
Of all the shows, you will find this particular blogger on the stage with Blatherskite on the 20th of August, so make sure you come along and show some support!
Event flier

Bands that will be playing for each night.
August 6 - Portraits of Insanity, Felix Of Exile, Beyond Shadows, Isgahaatt
August 13 - Meat Safe ,Vertigo Nation, Scarlets Revenge
August 20 - The Charles Manson Experiment, Hollow Cell, Blatherskite
August 27 -
Pink Industrial Whores, Strychnine, Psych Carni

Wednesday 30 July 2008

Interview With Metaholic Band Contest Winners: Subversi0n


Even before setting up Metaholic Music this year, I was always being told to check out peoples mate’s bands to see what I thought. The vast majority of the time I was faced with trying to find the right words to say, without offence, for saying they were absolute crap. Always having to think up some sort of excuse to avoid the embarrassment on both sides of this, I was a little wary when I was told to check out Subversi0n. Not wanting to offend the latest of mates in a long line to offer up a band, I headed over to their Myspace page for a closer look and listen!

To my surprise, and sheer delight, I had finally found a mate’s mate’s band who were not only worthy of a listen, but quickly became a band I listened to regularly on my computer and iPod. And I was not the only one to feel this way, as many of our readers voted Subversi0n as their favourite band in the Metaholic Band Contest for 2008! It's been a couple of months since the winner was announced, so I thought it was time I caught up with the band and grilled them with a few questions!

MI: First of all, congratulations on being the first winners of the Metaholic Band Contest! How does it feel to know you beat all the competition from artists around the world?

Jae: Confidence boosting.

Chloe: Did we even enter?

Kai: Yeah… before you joined us. The big banner on our Myspace???? Haha!

Ant: It’s really cool people took the time out to vote for us!

Kai: But yeah, it was a good feeling… were up against Cipher System in the end init... they are one hell of an awesome band!

MI: So let’s find out a bit more about you. Who are you and what do you do within the band?

Kai: Well, I’m the clean vox and guitarist in Subversi0n......

Ant: I’m the drummer. I hit things, hopefully in the right order!

MI: And hopefully in time too, right?

Ant: That’s the plan!

Jae: I'm the other guitarist. I molest frets and get hyper about it!

Spencer: I do the main vox for the band.

Kai: Spencer is ever in depth!

Stephen: I be basser.

Chloe: I play keys and complete the line-up.

MI: How did you all get together? I know when you won the competition you were still an incomplete unit, but your line up has been secured now?

Jae: Basically, Kai started the whole thing with solo project tracks, then I came across his musical Myspace and nudged, kicked and moaned until he realised that starting a band is the next step!

Ant: I auditioned for the band in May after searching for months.

Chloe: I’ve known Kai for a few years.

Kai: Yeah... we basically auditioned everyone that was interested init.....took us yonks but ‘ere we go.

Stephen: I know Jae from college, so that’s how I got in the mix of things.

Spencer: Yeah, I’ve known Kai for years myself, so like, was a good head start.

MI: You’ve not been going for that long, but you seem to have a very strong fan base already from what I’ve seen on your Myspace (and from all the votes you received). How does that feel? Was it something you expected?

Spencer: It’s cause I’m in it. They all want to see me. I’m amazing!

Jae: Oh dear.

Spencer: Hahaha! Nah nah, we just appeal to loads of different people init.

Kai: Well, we hope we do.

Spencer: Not just one genre. Come on, you only have to look at the band for starters to realise we appeal to different types of genres like, because we are all from different musical backgrounds.

Ant: It’s cool to see that with all the great bands that are about, that people take the time to comment on our music!

Kai: Yeah man, I second that!

Ant: Cause there are so many bands around now which are only a click away so people have a far bigger choice.

Kai: People taking the time to leave us a comment... means a massive load to us… cause we aren’t just another band they just "checked out" and left!

MI: There are a fair few tracks up on your Myspace profile, is their any chance of seeing an EP or album from you in the near future?

Spencer: We intend on re-recording everything for starters.

Kai: Well, me and Jae always said that we would release the current tracks as an EP, we just need to re-record them to the standard we think is worth releasing.

Jae: Yeah once tracks are re done, we release EP, and then start work on album next year!

Kai: There was talk of an album before the full line-up was made too… but we scrapped that idea as we want everyone’s ideas within an album. Expect to hear a couple of the EP tracks on the album too in future maybe.

MI: The recordings you have available on Myspace just now don’t feature Spencer’s vocals; do you think that people will notice a huge difference in your sound when you record new material?

Jae: No because when Spencer kicks in full throttle, he has a very similar sound to Kai.

Stephen: Yeah.

Chloe: Yep.

Ant: Think they will be pleasantly surprised at how similar they are. It’s quite scary!

Kai: Spencer is virtually identical to me!

Spencer: Pretty lucky to be honest!

Kai: Mate, you can say that again! Haha!

Chloe: I think me and Stephen should do screaming in some parts.

Stephen: Holla!

Chloe: No, like "ARGHGHGHGH" you know, girly screams.

Jae: Haha!

Stephen: Oh… I see.

Chloe: Like Mcfly are just outside the room.

Stephen: Arg, I love Mcfly.

MI: What about with all your other new members? I know that you originally recorded with just two of you (which is very impressive I must say), is it going to sound really different to what we’ve heard so far?

Kai: It’s going to sound better, I can promise you that! Haha!

Spencer: Going to be uber!

Kai: The recordings now are just demos. With cheap equipment as well.

Chloe: Because we are all separate individuals doing things our own way to make it even better. Hey! These keys aren’t cheap!

Kai: With all our ideas combined... seriously good stuff to come I think.

Stephen: And the addition to bass in the recordings.

Ant: Hopefully like a beef sandwich.

Kai: With extra beef! Ant’s drumming should be sounding a hell of a lot better to in these recordings.

MI: Have you got any plans of playing any shows in the near future, or is that something we’ll be all desperately waiting for just that little bit longer?

Jae: I think we will be gigging soon enough! Just need to perfect the songs.

Spencer: Soon as we get everything cracked 100% we will be gigging . The only way we can say when we will be gigging is when we have practiced everything and can play it perfectly each go.

Kai: May be a lil bit longer I guess.......we have a set sorted almost… gotta brush up on them... and get a few other things done......

Ant: It should be soon hopefully but we defo want to make sure we are ready to give people a good show!

MI: I’ve heard and read a few people comparing you to Trivium. Do you think this is a fair comparison, or do you feel it’s more down to your age rather than your sound?

Jae: What! Hold up…WHAT?!

Stephen: Haha

Kai: I ain’t heard that one! Haha!

Ant: Can we have their money? Or just their daddy’s credit card?

Spencer: I pulled a fit at that!

Kai: I heard one guy saying that we should be more like them if we want to be big...but I’m not too sure he had a very good basis for comparison to be honest.

Spencer: Some twonk even told me to sound more like Trivium.

Chloe: Well, they are tight live, as we shall be if we work hard.

Kai: Nah... his vocals are a bit weak. Personal opinion though I guess.

Ant: If we have half the fan base they do, I for one would be happy!

Kai: Yer man...that you can’t really disagree with!

MI: If you could compare your sound to another band, who would it be?

Jae: Threat Signal/Bloodjinn

Ant: Think it’s a mix of hardcore and off time signatures but all in a head nodding groove.

Kai: With a mix of melody too! And I’m sure with Chloe's influence too it will have that extra zazz. But yer.... I say we’re a splice of Threat Signal/Bloodjinn.....a lot of influences to be honest…too many to pin point!

Ant: I reckon bits of Meshuggah as well.

Kai: For sure man. You can’t say Bloodjinn or Threat Signal without Meshuggah etc. Chloe...what you reckon actually...What do you hear in our own music?

Chloe: Ha...erm.....good question! Bit of Napalm Death and a bit of Gary Numan. Bit of Spence screaming, Kai singing, Jae strumming, Stephen bassing, Ant bashing them drums and me just doing my thang.

MI: Gary Numan?

Stephen: Hahaha!

Chloe: You don’t know who he is?

MI: Yes, I've got a couple of his albums and seen him live, but Gary Numan?

Chloe: Yep, ledgendary.

MI: Oh yeah, he's awesome alright, but can't personally see that.

Chloe: You will, when I put my full input in.

Ant: I think it sounds like a band for all the family... come one come all, also we are available for kids parties!!

MI: From when I first heard you, which seems like an age ago, to now, your sound has evolved a fair bit. Where do you see yourselves going now? Are you going to build on what appears to be a fantastic new sound, or are you going to shock us and go in a different direction, now there are more of you involved?

Ant: I hope it retains its sound and think there is enough elements to keep it interesting!

Jae: We will probably keep up the styles we have at the moment and build on them slowly.

Stephen: Yeah I reckon the basis of our sound will stay the same but progress over time (inevitably) with each others input.

Kai: Definitely have some fine tuning in there from what I can see, getting ideas in already! Had a really good one for one of our older tracks!

Chloe: Yeah New Method’s new keys track.

Kai: Sounds sick, I must say!

MI: What can we expect to see and hear from you in the next few months?

Jae: Preperation for the stage!

Kai: Well, we shall definitely be trying to get gigging so that might happen within the coming months. Re-recording of tracks will start if all goes to plan.

Ant: Lots of photos.

Kai: Yer....we like have photos every practise haha!

A big thanks to the band for the interview. If you want to check them out for yourselves, then you can either head on over to their Myspace page:

www.myspace.com/subversi0nofficial

Or their new website:

www.subversi0n.cjb.net

Friday 25 July 2008

LORD Aussie shows

A couple of fliers for some up-coming LORD events. Check them out.



If anyone has facebook, 'events' for both shows have been added.
Please add it to your events page, and invite as many people as possible from both Brisbane and Adelaide to the shows, so more people can find out about them!

Brisbane - http://www. facebook. com/event. php?eid=24902006534
Adelaide - http://www. facebook. com/event. php?eid=27439990618


Alternatively, check LORD out at http://www.myspace.com/lordaus

Monday 21 July 2008

Mental Interrogation with Rob Pease of Adust

Who? Rob Pease, vocalist of Adust.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/adustband

How long have you been playing together?
We started jamming together at the end of 2006 but we became ADUST and started to write music at the start of 2007.

How did you meet? Dave, Dan, Matt and myself all went to school together so we have known each other since we were 11, we met Guy through Dave as they were already friends, we asked him to play guitar with us and instantly we knew that he was what were after.

What kind of gear do you use?

* Hughes and Kettner, ENGL Amp heads
* Marshall Cabs
* Hughes and Kettner Bass Amp
* ESP Ernie Ball Music Man Guitars
* Seymore Duncan Pickups
* Shure SM58 Beta Microphones
* Pearl Drum Kit
* Paiste Cymbals

That's about the main bulk of it.

Is there an album that inspired you to join a band? Well, we all love different kinds of music but the one album I distinctively remember us talking about constantly was Metallica's Black Album (MI - That's the self titled one people). It's seriousy amazing how fresh that album sounds even today!!!

What was the last album you bought? I bought Exit Ten's new release 'remember the day' and WOW...... what an album, seriously talented bunch of guys!

What do you think of downloading music? It's kinda spiralled out of control now, illegal downloads I'm obviously against, I think its unfair how a band can spend thousands and thousands to record an album and not be able to make any money back! On the other hand I guess if people want to download your tracks then they obviously want to listen to you so look on the bright side!

Who would you say was your personal biggest influence? Musically, Dave our guitarist, I think he is one of the main reasons we all decided to get this band going and I believe is is the main reason we are doing so well.

If you could trade places with another musician for a day, who would it be and why? Hmmm, good one... probably trade places with James Hetfield, mainly because he would have to take my place and the rest of the guys would get to hang out with him!

If you weren’t playing in a band, what do you think you’d be doing instead? I'd probably be playing golf, not very rock and roll I know but not a lot of people know but I was registered with the PGA a few years back, I used to play of a handicap of about 2 or 3

Where do you think the best metal is coming from at the moment? Definately Birmingham, especially the underground scene, nearly every gig I go to I come back blown away by how talented some of the bands are!

If you could only eat one kind of food, would it be savoury or sweet? Savoury, I like crisps!

What’s your favourite movie? Anchorman, I'm a big comedy fan and that film made me laugh out loud so many times!!

What was the last live show you went to (not including your own)? 36 Crazyfists at the Birmingham Barfly, supported by Exit Ten, great gig!

What do you have lined up next? We have a few gigs coming up, check them out on our website, we are also hard at work writing new songs and they are sounding awesome, even if I do say so myself!

Why should people check out your band? In my eyes our music is very interesting with a lot of tempo changes so you wont get bored and you don't have to worry about it getting repetative, also Dan has a lazy eye and that's worth checking out!

The Haunted Complete And Name New Album

Swedish metallers, The Haunted, have completed work to their new album, which shall be released in the autumn, and will be called Versus.

Here's what the band had to say, taken from an email from their label, Century Media:

"So we're about to let people outside the box start peeking inside. The album we've come up with is one we decided to call Versus. Pretty much it's turned out to be exactly what we had hoped for! We decided to record the whole album live, and add vocals and solos once we had the songs down with the right energy and groove.

"Like always, Peter confused the hell out of everyone by presenting 25 ideas almost a year before we were even going to record, but later calmed the mood by explaining it was mostly to inspire and provoke. It worked. Anders and Jonas started dropping CD's of scatterbrained ideas and mixed riffs and we started digging; Anders bringing industrial and melodic ideas to the table, and Jonas traditional metal roots. Initially Jensen felt he didn't know where to go with it. He told Peter, 'All I come up with is grind...' So what?! Then write grind riffs! It's all gonna sound like THE HAUNTED in the end anyway. Pete told him, and shortly after Jensen started pounding us with typical, simplistic, Jensen trademark riffs.

"So what does it sound like? Definitely THE HAUNTED: Great songs, catchfire-riffing, hooks catchier than herpes on a biker slut, explosive groovy beats and lyrics as sharp, dark and dripping sarcastic bile like someone who just got back from Hell with a bone to pick.

"It's safe to say we're really looking forward to letting this b**tard sink its fangs into your minds. Ladies and gents, it's clobbering time!"

Divine Heresy Seek New Vocalist


Former Fear Factory man, Dino Cazares's new band, Divine Heresy, are in search of a new singer! The band recently parted ways with their vocalist, and are now on the look out for a brand new front person.

Interested? Well head on over to their Myspace page, www.myspace.com/divineheresyband. On there you will find instrumental versions of their tracks, and all you need to do is record your vocals over them (minus any effects you were thinking of using to give you that little bit of an edge, it needs to be "organic"), and send it over, with a bio, to Divineheresyband@aol.com.

New Slipknot Video Online


Nu metallers, Slipknot, have posted up their new video from their forthcoming album, All Hope Is Gone, on the Roadrunner Records website. Psychosocial will be the first video released from the new record, and sees the band with some new masks. Check it out at:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/page/News?&news_page=&news_id=62841

Mental Interrogation with Farzad of Ventox


Who? Farzad, rhythm guitarist/vocalist of Ventox.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/ventoxmetal

How long have you been playing together? Norman and I started the band in 2005. Our current line-up exists for a little more than one year now.

How did you meet? Norman and I went to school together. We became big Metallica fans at the same time and some time later decided to found a band. We found our bass player Markus on the internet. I knew our drummer Kave since we were children. We spent a lot of time together when we were kids but then we lost contact for some reason. In December 2006 we had our first gig at a birthday party. Driving back home and after having a car crash, basically a rear-end collision with our two cars, I finally met Kave again after a very long time at the entrance of our rehearsal "bunker". That was destiny. Because half a year later our drummer left us and we asked Kave to join us. Some days and rehearsals later he was in the band.

What kind of gear do you use? We use Ibanez, LTD, Gibson and Edwards guitars, a Dean bass and a Sonor drumkit, which belongs to the band we share our rehearsal room with. Furthermore we use Marshall amps/cabinets and Vox effects.

Is there an album that inspired you to join a band? Basically all Metallica's albums and other Bay Area thrashers have inspired us.

What was the last album you bought? In my case it's St. Anger a long time ago.

What do you think of downloading music? If you download (illegaly) music from bands, that already have great success and plenty of gigs worldwide, it's not that bad in my opinion. They will survive it. But try to support the underground. Those bands haven't sold millions of albums and don't have 10 gigs per month. They will be very pleased if buy there CDs, merch and stuff. So they probably can cover their travelling costs, if they (for example) had to travel a long way in order to play a show, for which they earned no money/fee, which happens often in the underground scene.

Who would you say was your personal biggest influence? James Hetfield. For Norman there are Alex Skolnik and Kirk Hammett I would guess.

If you could trade places with another musician for a day, who would it be and why? James Hetfield and Mark Knopfler because they are brilliant.

If you weren’t playing in a band, what do you think you’d be doing instead?
I don't know, maybe professional wrestling.

Where do you think the best metal is coming from at the moment? From Hagen, Germany, of course.

If you could only eat one kind of food, would it be savoury or sweet? Savoury BIG TIME.

What’s your favourite movie? I'm not so into movies, but i like funny stuff (e.g. Ready To Rumble).

What was the last live show you went to (not including your own)? Dream Theater with Symphony X as support.

What do you have lined up next? We'll publish our first EP called "Swingin' Neckbreaker" on August 23rd. On this day we'll have a record release party with three other bands at the Kultopia in our hometown Hagen, Germany.

By the way you can check out our EP recordings in our Myspace player:
www. myspace. com/ventoxmetal

Then we hope to get and play more and more shows to spread our music all over Germany and hopefully one day in Europe and the whole entire world!

Why should people check out your band? Because our songs have great riffs, electrifing solos, powerful vocals and oh, by the way, if you visit one of our shows we'll break your f**kin' neck! And to say the least, there will be NO WAY you can avoid us or keep us down!
ATTITUDE, ENTERTAINMENT, VENTOX!!

Sunday 20 July 2008

The Autumn Offering - interview with Matt McChesney (vocals) and album review

I’ve been lucky enough to get to speak with Matt, vocalist for The Autumn Offering, online using myspace. Later on I’m gonna put the review for their latest album in here, along with Matt’s thoughts and comments on each song. Scroll down to the album cover for the start of the review. Matt’s words are in green.


Before I begin, here’s a link to the band’s myspace, so you can listen while you read: CLICK HERE

What are your general feelings on the album? (Fear Will Cast No Shadow) Are you proud of it? Does it give off the vibe you wanted it to?

Very proud of it. I think it’s the best metal CD that came out that year. Listen to the hooks. The solos, most importantly, the songs. So few metal bands these days have actual songs. You can’t write a song around a breakdown.

Who are the fans you feel you are trying to reach?

I'm not trying to reach anyone. I write for myself. I love that people like it, I really do. I'm the most appreciative cat you'll meet. ..but if no one cared what I wrote, I’d still be doing it. It was never about money fame or women.

What's your favourite thing about being lead vocalist for TAO?

To play with 4 of the best musicians I’ve ever seen.

As an artist, what is your intended destination/goal, and the things you hope to achieve on the way there?

It changed so much. This industry has made me very bitter. It’s bulls*** you know. A lot of these bands, they are f***ing phonies. I don’t name names. I guess I just hope to create good art,..and if people like it I’m happy.

And some less open questions...
What made you get into metal in the first place?

One word. Metallica.

Your myspace says you're working out for the apocalypse...if it came, could you take it?

Haha good question. I can take anything. The s**t I’ve been through in my life would make you sick. Drug abuse, violence, prison. Finding God losing God. I'm ready for anything man. I've lived the lyrics I write.

And if you got to save one guy/girl, who would it be and why?

Hmmm...I'd save my mother, because I'm Italian, and that’s what a good son would do.

For me, as a UK fan, I'd love to see you guys over here. Is that something you're looking into or are you getting more established in the states first?

Soon I hope. I could get into a whole thing about why we haven’t been there yet, but it would just add fuel to an already bright fire. We will get there. And we appreciate all the emails and love from our UK fans!!

What's your dream line-up for a gig/festival? (It can include TAO or not)

I'd love to tour with Metallica, they are still the kings in my eyes.

If you died tomorrow and had to have a lyric on your headstone, what would it be? It can be either something you've written or not.

Alfred Lord Tennyson - "All things must die"


OK then, here goes with the review. Fear Will Cast No Shadow has been out since last October, and is TAO’s 3rd album, and the first with Matt on vocals. Here’s the track by track, and again scroll to the red writing for the conclusion.

The album kicks off with the harmonic guitars and clean vocals of From Atrophy to Obsession. “Atrophy was written about the deterioration of a certain relationship in my life. When things are at their worst, sometimes that's when we realize they were worth having. One tends to obsess about what they did wrong, what they could have changed etc. Hence the title of the song. It has a lot of cool guitar in this song, and a cool sweep solo. The chorus for the song is brilliantly catchy, driving the song forwards with skilled guitar work and Matt’s vocals. This song was the first video made from the album (see it HERE) and it's easy to see why - it's easy to get into the song without it being simple.

Next track, The Castawayis a metaphor for being cast out, rejected and unheard. The ocean has always fascinated me, it's so massive and ominous. I love the Meshuggah type breakdown in this song and the solo is a face-melter.” The intro is heavier and this song sees some brilliant drumming, especially in the fills. Another catchy chorus slots into the song nicely before the strong solo.

Crown Yourself Kingis very metaphorical as well. I tend to do that quite often. The song is a giant middle finger. The lyrics are pretty straight forward for me. The title basically means sometimes when you live for yourself, you hurt the ones around you. A roaring beginning to the song takes the short verse into the chorus. A piano interlude leads into a good break with another impressive solo, before finishing with piano again.

Silence And Goodbyeis basically part two of Atrophy. More of the healing process though. Saying goodbye, accepting things for what they are. The song is vocal-orientated, as most ballads are. Tons of vocal harmonies on this one. I believe the line "you walked away and left me to crawl" is 5 voices. This song is really the one for me that makes me think ‘how the f*** aren’t this band huge?’ The song sounds a bit like Dying In Your Arms, however this has intelligent lyrics (I think ‘you poisoned my life, now I take this knife’ is all I need to say – Heafy showing he can write like a primary school poet when he wants to), a better tune and better musicianship.

Video for SILENCE AND GOODBYE

Following on is All That Falls Around Us, beginning with thrashier drums and a double-length verse before another sing-along chorus. Matt says it’s “the only postive thing I’ve ever written. It's an homage to my girlfriend for keeping me strong through tough times...pretty gay...hahaha. No, it’s a ripping track, very thrashy.

A Great Distance. “Best song on the record and in my opinion of 2007. Very catchy chorus. Little known fact: Jason Suecof and myself were listening to like r n b songs when I was writing this chorus. This song just flat out rules. Complex guitar work behind the verse leads onto a shorter ‘taster’ of a chorus, leaving you wanting more. The break comes, announced by some roaring savagery making for some great pit-fodder, and the listener is then treated to the chorus again.

The war-like intro of Your time is mine comes next. “Hmmm...I love love love this chorus. It’s like a straight outta 87 arena rock chorus. It sounds like the f***ing Scorpions or something. Some neat ride cymballing (has that phrase ever been used before?) in the chorus accents the brilliant vocal line, and the song finishes on the chorus, fitting together beautifully.

Fear Will Cast No Shadow begins with a grunt and a verse with some nice blast beating. The partly screamed and sung chorus leads into a very ‘thrash metal’ sounding solo. It’s “probably the heaviest track the band has ever done. Pretty much straight up death metal. Awesome whammy bar solo and blast beats a plenty. Best lyrical song on the album. It’s about a man’s struggle with life and death, God and Christ. The chorus is a conversation between the man and God. A lot of biblical references here. I was a catholic school boy, and they thrived on scaring us. So this is a f*** you to them, hence the title, fear will cast no shadow.

March Of The Clonesis about drug abuse. I love the line "I cant see the strings....yet I feel them pulling..." I did some falsetto vocal harmonies in this. Very cool stuff. The song sounds slower than the others, and has the same brutal roar before the sung chorus again. The slowdown in the tempo is a nice change before...

The bass intro of The Wolves At Your Door. The song ploughs on as strong as any other on the album, and ends on some savage roaring effects before fading out. Matt says it’s “another metaphorical song. The wolves at your door are the monkey on your back. Be it a woman, drugs, whatever. We all have them. A song that people can relate to.

Dystopiate Glorious bass tones lead from a marching intro into a song that’s all screaming and brutality. The song, and album, end on an interesting and odd solo. I combined two words dystopia and opiate. It’s about the downfall of our civilisation. The lyrics are very negative and looking back they disgust me. Great solos on the end from Tommy, Jason and Ralph Santolla.

This album is a very impressive piece of work, especially when you consider it being Matt’s first with the band, as well as there being a new drummer for this album (who has now been replaced again). It’s a lot different to their previous albums, with clean vocals making it more accessible but no less heavy. Matt's brutal roar fits perfectly over some skilled guitarwork, grunting bass and pounding drums, and when the singing starts the songs really come alive. With this collection of brilliant songs the band have proven that they have the talent and song writing ability to be extremely big, so it really is a mystery to me that they aren’t. More to come I’m sure, but for now give this a listen, it really was one of the best albums of 2007.

9/10


And a final word from Matt…

Anything more you want to add, or say to the guys/girls here who are listening?

"Be open to all music. Don't take life too seriously. Metal fans tend to be angry. It's a waste of time. Get it out in music, but take care of each other."

Cheers to Matt for answering the questions and tolerating the fact it was my first interview. Pictures are from TAO’s myspace.

Thursday 17 July 2008

Bloodbath, Amon Amarth, My Dying Bride NEWS!

Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery
Swedish death metal band Bloodbath, featuring of members from Opeth and Katatonia, are certainly back in full force since the re-uniting of Mikael Ã…kerfeldt, releasing a new EP, Unblessing The Purity, and a live CD/DVD, called Wacken Carnage, which has their performace at Wacken 06 in it's entirety. Now news of a full length album is out, and the album is to be called "The Fathomless Mastery".

Like Unblessing The Purity, this album will feature;
Mikael Ã…kerfeldt (Opeth) - Vocals
Martin "Axe" Axenrot (Opeth) - Drums
Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström (Katatonia) - Guitar
Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) - Bass
Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson (ex-21 Lucifers, Genocrush Ferox) - Guitar

Mikael said on the issue of his return to Bloodbath, "I was slightly 'talked into' coming back but I certainly don't regret it now. Obviously I am busy all the time, both with my family and Opeth, so don't hold your breath for any massively extensive tours, BUT, I do believe we'll do the occasional gigs when the time is right. I was asked to sing on a four-track release the other guys been working with entitled 'Unblessing the Purity' and I have to say it's the best f!cking death metal I've heard since 'Domination', and I'm not even counting my own involvement. I just basically did what they wanted me to and it sounds really good! We might record another album as well sometime later..."

Source for quote: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/bla...sitemID=100043

Amon Amarth

Also from Sweden, Amon Amarth have have finally set the title of their seventh full-length album. It is to be hailed as 'Twilight of the Thundergod". As their website states, it will be released on the 17th of September in Sweden, the 19th of September in D/A/CH/I and the 22nd of September in the rest of Europe. North American release date is September 30.

The final track listing is as follows:

1.) Twilight of the Thunder God
2.) Free Will Sacrifice
3.) Guardians of Asgaard
4.) Where is Your God?
5.) Varyags of Miklagaard
6.) Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags
7.) No Fear for the Setting Sun
8.) The Hero
9.) Live for the Kill
10.) Embrace of the Endless Ocean

"Twilight of the Thunder God" features several high-profile guest appearances including Entombed singer L.G. Petrov (on ‘Guardians of Asgaard’), Children of Bodom guitarist Roope Latvala (who shreds a fierce solo on the track 'Twilight of the Thunder God') and Finnish cello metal band Apocalyptica (a guest appearance on ‘Live For The Kill’).

In Europe "Twilight of the Thunder God" will be released as a limited first edition 3-disc-set including a bonus CD and a bonus DVD. This deluxe collector's edition comes in highly valuable packaging featuring special layout and the Amon Amarth comic which is currently being published in several metal magazines all over Europe. The bonus CD and DVD will feature Amon amarth's performace Live at Summer Breeze 2007.

The comic can also be viewed online at THIS location.
The album will also be released as a limited edition gatefold 2-LP on 180g etched vinyl! Yum!

Amon Amarth tour dates:

North American Twilight of the Thunder God Tour (w/ support from Ensiferum, Belphegor and The Absence)

October 1 Anaheim, CA House of Blues (w/ Ensiferum only)
October 2 Los Angeles, CA The Avalon
October 3 San Francisco, CA Slim's
October 4 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theater
October 5 Seattle, WA El Corazon
October 6 Vancouver, BC Croatian Cultural Centre
October 8 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room
October 9 Calgary, AB The Warehouse
October 10 Regina, SK Riddell Centre
October 11 Winnipeg, MB The Garrick Centre
October 12 St.

Paul, MN Station 4
October 13 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
October 15 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre
October 16 Montreal, QC Le Medley
October 17 Quebec City, QC Theatre Imperial
October 18 Worcester, MA The Palladium
October 19 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
October 20 New York, NY The Fillmore
October 21 West Springfield, VA Jaxx

'The Unholy Alliance: Chapter III' European Tour’ (w/ S
layer, Trivium, Amon Amarth, Mastodon)

October 27 Manchester, England Manchester Arena
October 28 Birmingham, England NEC
October 30 London, England Hammersmith Apollo
October 31 London, England Hammersmith Apollo
November 2 Cardiff, Wales CIA 7000
November 3 Glasgow, Scotland SECC Hall 3
November 5 Offenbach, Germany Stadthalle
November 6 Köln, Germany Palladium
November 7 Amsterdam, Holland Heineken Music Hall
November 9 Stuttgart, Germany Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
November 10 Winterthur, Switzerland Eishalle Deutweg
November 11 Paris, France Le Zenith
November 12 Antwerp, Belgium Sportpaleis/Lotto Arena
November 16 Wein, Austria Gasometer
November 18 München, Germany Zenith
November 19 Berlin, Germany Columbiahalle
November 22 Gothenburg, Sweden Lisebergshallen (Amon Amarth as direct support to Slayer)

Amon Amarth’s "Bloodshed Over Bochum"

December 28 "Once Sent From The Golden Hall" (1998) Bochum, Germany Zeche
December 29 "The Avenger" (1999) Bochum, Germany Zeche
December 30 "The Crusher" (2001) Bochum, Germany Zeche
December 31 "Versus The World" (2002) Bochum, Germany Zeche


Source: http://www.myspace.com/amonamarth

My Dying Bride

UK Doom Metal band My Dying Bride have enlisted a new recruit in the form of a keyboardist/violinist named Katie Stone, who is also involved in their new studio album.Their partnership with Peaceville records will also continue, as it has been throughout the entirity of their career.

Blackest Of The Black Tour 2008 - Danzig, Dimmu Borgir, Moonspell + others

Photobucket
Blackest Of The Black Tour featuring Danzig, Dimmu Borgir, Moonspell, Winds of Plague and Skeleton Witch.

Make sure you get out to one of these following venues to see these awesome bands perform live! Touring the USA and Canada over these dates:

10/09/08 The Fillmore – Miami Beach, FL
10/10/08 Hard Rock Live – Orlando, FL
10/11/08 Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
10/13/08 Toads Place – Richmond, VA
10/14/08 Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA
10/15/08 Roseland Ballroom – New York, NY
10/17/08 The Palladium – Worcester, MA
10/18/08 Metropolis – Montreal, QC - CANADA
10/19/08 Sound Academy – Toronto, ON - CANADA
10/21/08 The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
10/22/08 Myth – Minneapolis, MN
10/24/08 The Fillmore Theater – Detroit, MI
10/25/08 Congress Theater – Chicago, IL

10/26/08 Pageant – St.Louis, MO
10/28/08 House of Blues – Houston, TX
10/30/08 Palladium – Dallas, TX
10/31/08 Uptown Theater – Kansas City, MO
11/01/08 The Fillmore Auditorium – Denver, CO
11/03/08 Marquee Theater – Tempe, AZ
11/04/08 The Joint – Las Vegas, NV
11/05/08 Gibson Amphitheater – Universal City, CA
11/07/08 Roseland – Portland, OR
11/08/08 Showbox At Market – Seattle, WA
11/10/08 The Warfield – San Francisco, CA

Wykked Wytch in Miami

FRIDAY JULY 18TH

WYKKED WYTCH
with special guests
AT ODDS WITH GOD
SYNAPTICIDE

@ CHURCHILL'S PUB - MIAMI, FL
5501 NE 2ND AVE
MIAMI, FL
305.757.



1807
18+ / 9pm / $10
www. churchillspub. com


ww july 18 miami show

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Anterior - This Age of Silence

Here we go guys with my first album review on here, reviewed on the plane on my way to Rhodes, the time flew by!
The Welsh 5 piece’s debut offering brings only 9 tracks to the table, 2 of which are interludes. Following is a more precise track by track analysis and review, scroll down to the red writing for a short conclusion.

Intro track Ghosts of Dawn builds slowly with harmonising guitars and pounding drums, leading straight into The Silent Divide. The double pedal, riffing and scream are a little reminiscent of Ascendancy-era Trivium, or Poison-era BFMV. The lyrics never seem to be rushed, yet do not drone, a quality that is present throughout the whole album. The vocals are either spoken or screamed – yet the scream is easily decipherable, not unlike Anders Friden of In Flames-fame. The Silent Divide in particular has a haunting chorus, the likes of which rarely found without clean vocals.

Dead Divine gets off to a similar, yet different, start with the band’s Scandinavian influences showing through again with a very Arch Enemy sounding break in the song, using delayed guitar effects. This song also holds some brilliant solos.

Days of Deliverance is the shortest song so far (excluding the intro of course) clocking in at just over 4 minutes long. A simpler verse riff than the previous songs’ leads into a shorter chorus. Again this song has some good guitar work – particularly listen out for the sweeping solos.

Human Hive begins with the familiar ‘yaaargh’ scream and the use of natural harmonics introduces the song nicely. A slowed down section in this song lends itself more to some groove metal bands, and a gratuitously long instrumental break and solo lead back in for some final vocals.

The seamless transition into acoustic interlude Stir of Echoes shows an ambitious attempt. Strings and effective yet simple riffs make this a good break from the loudness, and a little fret-buzz picked up is the only indication of the band’s inexperience. The track shows real promise for a future full length instrumental one.

Scar City’s title may sound like a bad sci fi series but it’s actually another 6 minute tune from the most metal of boyos. A similar verse and chorus riff drive the song on, but for me it’s the drums building back in after a quieter break in the song that steal it here. I think the guy in seat 19E could tell I was trying hard not to nod my head along. However, with the similarity of verse and chorus riffs the song seems to stagnate a little and could possibly do with being shorter.

The darker sounding chords of Seraph begin another 6 ½ minute track with an accessible chorus with riffs neither being overly complex or too simple. Whispering vocals are present here, fading the song back from a break into the outro.

The title track, This Age of Silence, starts with some odd chords compared with the rest of the album and takes longer to find its feet as a song. A beatdown appears to be preferred to an epic solo in this song, yet the solo merely has to wait til a little later – being a little slower and understated compared to those that have come previously on the album.

Anterior seem to combine the sounds of Scandinavian metal with the accessibility of more commercial bands such as Trivium/BFMV. The album is produced well, and for a debut the content is a brilliant achievement. The band are brave not to succumb to putting in clean vocals for the sake of it, nor are there wall to wall beatdowns. Uncompromising and more traditional solos litter the album, but with the musicianship on display listening to them is a pleasure.

I’m not sure if I’m gonna give ratings for albums I review on here, but if I were to with this one, I’d say 8/10.

Friday 11 July 2008

New Metallica Album Box-Set



For you collector types out there we just had to put together something next level when the new record comes out in the Fall . . . how about "Death Magnetic" in a coffin box? The special edition box will come out the same day the album does (we'll tell you when that is soon . . . very soon) and will of course include the full CD (duh!), along with everything next level cool relating to "Death Magnetic!" Seriously, there will be a CD with the demos of the songs, a DVD of even more "making of the album" footage not seen on Mission: Metallica, a t-shirt only available in this box, a flag, guitar picks, and a fold out poster along with a collector's credit card embossed with a code to redeem a free download of a special European show happening in September (yes, details coming soon!).

We're in the process of wrapping up the artwork now, so we'll be sure to have some things to show soon. The coffin box will only be available through www.metallica.com, www.metclub.com, and www.missionmetallica.com and we'll keep you posted here as to when that will be (soon!) . . . not all countries will be available at the same time, so keep watching.

As usual, more to come . . . (soon!)

Taken from metallica.com

Tuesday 8 July 2008

Dying Fetus @ White Rabbit, Plymouth

Here was a line-up to make those of you into some more extreme metal salivate at the prospect. Dying Fetus, US metal veterans, with 3 top quality up and coming British bands in support. The venue has a floorspace smaller than your hall would have been at school, and the stage is raised about 2 feet, and is easily accessible.

Burning Skies, a band I was made aware of through this gig, are a fantastically brutal Bristol outfit. Their latest offering 'Greed.Filth.Abuse.Corruption' is near the top of my list of British albums, but more comments on that are for another time. Their performance is tight, getting some movement out of the crowd in the early evening, and only an unreliable venue and promoter has stopped me going to see them a second time.

Next up were Trigger the Bloodshed, a band with a drummer so fast even those well experienced in truly fast metal would be shocked. He relentlessly batters his snare and toms and stamps at his double foot pedals like they've just called his mother fat for the entirety of their set. However, like the time I've seen them before, without a bassist currently they lack punch and their performance seems to follow Burning Skies' poorly. And this isn't through lack of effort, the vocalist actually runs to the toilet to be violently ill during their set.

Anterior are a band I had been eagerly anticipating seeing live after listening to their debut album (A review will be up soon). Having bumped into two of the guys in the toilets at the venue, recognising them only by their strong Welsh accents, I was interested to see how they'd perform live. A word I used to describe Burning Skies is also applicable here - tight. The band were clearly well polished, scarily so for one with only one release, with the vocals and impressive solos being hit nigh on perfectly. The price to pay for this was some frankly quite boring stage dynamics - for the audio they were producing just putting a foot up on the monitor didn't quite seem adequate.

Like when I saw Suffocation a few weeks earlier, Dying Fetus are a well established band with a vast array of songs at their disposal, and this experience shows through. Whereas tight is a good word to use for some (less experienced) bands, The Fetus showed they were simply in another league, even with a new drummer. A blind man would not have believed you had you told him there were only 3 members performing, such was the complexity of the bassline, aural thrashing from the drums and grinding riffs from the guitar. To top it all off, the vocals were good, although were sabotaged a little by the sound engineer's sub-standard mixing. I would love to say all of their set was brilliant, but I missed a song or two while spitting out the blood in my mouth from the pit. Good, violent fun, thankfully without the plague of hardcore dancing making even the slightest appearance - an overweight and underage girl threatened at times but was halted with all the subtlety of, let's say, New Zealand smashing into your face.

Fight Fire With Fire Latest

The final date for the Fight Fire With Fire Tour 2008, has been completed. You can find more information from our previous post, Fight Fire With Fire Update, which has all the other tour dates (and who's playing) as well as how to get your hands on tickets.

Releases You May Have Missed - Opeth "Ghost Reveries"

“Ghost Reveries” is the 8th studio album from Swedish progressive metallers, Opeth. The album was around a time of great change for the band. After the collapse of Music For Nations, Opeth found themselves without a label, but were soon snapped up by Roadrunner Records.

There was also a change to the line up in the band, which saw keyboardist, Per Wiberg, becoming a full time member of the band, rather than just a touring musician. It was also to become the final album in Opeth for guitarist Peter Lindgren and drummer Martin Lopez.

The album itself had great commercial success, with the band finally getting the recognition they deserved, with a brand new following of fans. The band found themselves with their first video, “The Grand Conjuration”, being shown on various music channels.

Commercial success is one thing, but what was the album really like in comparison to their previous works?

I was personally disappointed by this album. Though it may be a good album on its own, it’s not one that I frequently play. It has got some very strong tracks on it, such as “Baying Of The Hounds”, “Ghost Of Perdition”, “Hours Of Wealth” and “The Grand Conjuration”, but I found the rest of the album rather weak and lacking the sparkle they’ve had on previous albums.

However, I wouldn’t fully dismiss this album. It wouldn’t be the one I’d recommend to a new listener, but it does earn the right to be in any Opeth fan’s collection for the handful of good tracks which frequently appear in live set lists.

Sunday 6 July 2008

Frankenbok - The Other Side Of Hell Australian Tour


THE OTHER SIDE OF HELL AUSTRALIAN TOUR


These blokes have been around since 1997 and they still won’t go away!


After releasing Greetings & Salutations (2000 Faultline/Shock), Loopholes & Great Excuses (2001 Dark Carnival), Blood Oath (2003 RoadRunner) and extensive AUS & NZ tours…including top support slots with Slayer, MachineHead, Soilwork, Skinlab, 8 Foot Sativa, Fear Factory & System of a Down, Frankenbok have embarked on their finest works to date.


Murder of Songs is 10 tracks of speed, thrash & bent-out-of-shape melancholy metal with little foot notes from hell about lies, persecution and what it’s really like being Down to the Wire or to Worship before the Dead.


The Last Ditch Redemption is a concept EP about a bad motherfucker who does many unspeakable things. After delving into the hell of his twisted mind he emerges believing that in order to redeem himself he must make amends by helping those who cannot help themselves. With trademark thrashing riffery & powerful catchy choruses, this is a complete balls out rockin’ affair.


In support of these releases Frankenbok will be thrashing their way to a venue near you!


Friday 4th July, Amplifier Bar, Perth, 18+

Saturday 5th July - Leederville Skate Park, Perth, All Ages

Friday 18th July, Shadows Nightclub, Mt Gambier, 18+

Saturday 19th July, The Crown & Anchor, Adelaide, 18+

Saturday 2nd August, The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart, All Ages

Saturday 2nd August, The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart, 18+

Friday 8th August, Blink Nightclub, Sydney, 18+

Saturday 9th August, The Grand Junction, Maitland, 18+

Friday 22nd August, Greenroom, Canberra, 18+

Saturday 23rd August, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, All Ages

Saturday 23rd August, Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle, 18+

Saturday 30th August, The Tote, Melbourne, 18+

Thursday 4th September, Brannigans, Gold Coast, 18+

Friday 5th September, Rosies Live, Brisbane, 18+

Thursday 18th September, Sodens, Albury, 18+

Friday 19th September, TBA, Wagga Wagga, 18+

Saturday 20th September, Victoria Hotel, Orange, 18+

Thursday 27th November, O’dowd’s, Rockhampton, 18+

Friday 28th November, Bombay Rock, Townsville, 18+

Saturday 29th November, Meteor Sports Club, Gladstone, All Ages


http://www. myspace. com/frankenbok

http://www. frankenbok. com

info@frankenbok.com

A flier for some of the events: