MAY GIG FLYERS

MR STU'S PODCAST THING APRIL 2009 (Free Download)

01.Alexi Sayle

02.Man Of Kin - Primitive

03.Affluenza - Dead Days

04.Spitting Blood - Behind The Machine

05.Feral - Truth Is Lies (Radio Edit)

06.Chaosanct - Dark Directions

07.Achilla - Arashi

08.Muted - Closer To Death

09.From Great Height - Initial

10.Mercy House - Inversions

11.Roxville - Bad Luck

12.Spiderbaby - Dead Chavs

13.Catfight - The Picture

14.Mighty Boosh

15.Nemhain - Second Skin

Running Time - 59.09

Format - wma

Size - 41.2 mb

Bit Rate - 97 kbs

Have'nt done one of these since last November, but in the last few months there has been so much cool music coming out of good old London that i just had to do another.So if you have one of those fancy "Doodads" like iPod or an MP3 player then download this and enjoy.

STU

DOWNLOAD IT HERE : www.megaupload.com/?d=E2AMW0DH

FERAL - EPK (Free Download)

This is a promo pack for the London Thrash/Rock/Metal band.

It contains a video interview recorded at the Gaff.

2 MP3's of "Truth Is Lies (Radio Edit)" and "Twisted Sinister Smile (Radio Edit)" from the debut album 'Live And Wrecked'.

Information booklet.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZP4IE265

RIVER FRESHNEY - NOTHIN 2 CATCH (CD Review)

01.Told Thee It Were Russia

02.Is Scarlett Johanssons Cunt As Pretty As Her Face?

03.Bob Hoskins Goin Mental In A Bin

04.The Lonely Fisherman

05.Weetaprix

06.Its Not Rape If You Shout Suprise

07.Wheres My Fuckin Gin?

08.Titwank

09.We Bite

10.Gay Pride Sunshine (Live)

11.Titwank (Live)

Optimus Doyle (Mouth)

Wez4 (4 Strings)

Lee4 (4 Strings)

Mike4 (3 Strings)

Nic Boy (Cowbell)

We are in Anal Cunt territory here, but at least this lot can play their instruments and you can make out the vocals.

Track 4 shows their Thrash credentials with a very obvious take on the Virus classic "Lunacy".These first 4 tracks are from their first demo recorded early in 2006.

The next 4 tracks were recorded at the end of 2006 for their second demo, and it is a much better offering with mid pace thrash songs meeting a touch of grindcore, "Wheres My Fuckin Gin?" kicks ass.

The last 3 tracks are all previously unreleased.First up is a break neck and quite brilliant cover of the Misfits "We Bite".The last 2 were recorded live this february at the Bridgehouse, "gay Pride" is not one to play any sensitive and/or politically correct friends.

Rating 8/10.

For Fans Of : Virus, Damnas, Lawnmower Deth, Anal Cunt

STU

www.riverfreshney.com

HEAVENS BASEMENT - HEAVENS BASEMENT EP (Cd Review)

01.Tear Your Heart Out

02.Executioner's Day

03.Graduation

04.Saint Routine

05.Fear Of Getting Off

06.Reign On My Parade

Richie Hevanz (Vocals)

Sid Glover (Guitar)

Jonny Rocker (Guitar)

Rob Randell(Bass)

Chris Rivers(Drums)

Quality glam rock is hard to find these days, lets face it apart from King Lizard and Roxville who else produces this kinda thing thats actually worth listning to???

Well this lot do, formerley 'Roadstar' in little over a year they have nothched up over 100 gigs, support slots to Bon Jovi and released this six tracker.

The first four move along with that guns n roses/(Mature) Motley Crue with added Ac/Dc.
"Fear Of Getting Off" reminds me of so many songs like Warrants Cherry Pie and something by Poison that i cant quite put my finger on, but this is the first track that really shines out.

Rating 9/10.

For Fans Of : King Lizard, Roxville, Guns N Roses, Motley Crue

STU

GUNNER SGT - FOREVER IS A LIE EP (Cd Review)

01.Why Are We Turning Back

02.Dissorder

03.Eye

Colonel Osborne (Vocals/Guitar)

Corporal Apps (Bass)

Major Crocker (Drums)

Perfectly formed 3 track ep from a perfectly formed 3 piece, put together by former Kobrakai guitarist Osborne.

This has all the markings of a post grunge/Nu-Metal sound, yet it retains an originality that is both infectious and endearing.

Sure this radio friendly metal aimed at the Kerrang audience but that should not put you off!
Track 2 is the standout here its blend of melody and metal is well balanced.
Eye has a Nirvana quality to it and im sure i detect female backing vocals???

Rating 8/10.

For Fans Of : Nirvana, Papa Roach, Hollow Limit, Deftones.

STU

www.myspace.com/gunnersgtband

SACRED MOTHER TONGUE, SPITTING BLOOD, IDIOM Live At The Gaff 16.04.09 (Gig Review)

SACRED MOTHER TONGUE

SPITTING BLOOD

IDIOM

16.04.09 The Gaff, Holloway Road

IDIOM

Sanguine were due to open tonight but their van broke down.Basically Idiom want to be RATM and do quite well at it.Lots of bouncing up and down on stage and plenty of happy faces in the crowd.

SPITTING BLOOD

Not surprising that the Gaff packed out when these guys hit the stage, this was billed as their last show (NOooooooooooooooooo!!!!!).As always with jamies mob its full on metal with powerhouse drumming, pounding bass and Daves amazing scream until your head explodes vocals and course some of the best shredding you will hear.

Down side of the gig (apart from the obvious) was the idiots moshing, you know its great to see when your on stage and if you are part of the pit then thats fine too, but they dont care about the people around them, so while they are slamming into each other they are hitting people who just want to watch and enjoy themselves.So on behalf of the 20 or so people who moved away from watching the band i would like to say "Thank you twats!".

Should have headlined guys!

SACRED MOTHER TONGUE

The blurb about this band states "The most convincing british metal band to emerge in a long time", obviously written by someone who is deaf.This lot should have been the opening act, for a start they had 6 fans down the front and were completley average.Dont get me wrong they have good musicians in the band and the vocalist has a nice voice, but the music is just lifeless and dull.

STU

FERAL, XENOCHORD, MAN OF KIN, FROM GREAT HEIGHT Live At The Gaff, Holloway Road 11.04.09 (Gig Review)

FERAL
XENOCHORD
MAN OF KIN
FROM GREAT HEIGHT

11.04.09 The Gaff, Holloway Road

FROM GREAT HEIGHT
Stunning old school prog with a modern metal twist.Lead singer Adam all dressed in white with face paint was a dead ringer for Peter Gabriel and has the vocals to match, but they are no genesis clones, these guys have their own sound and went down a storm.They also did a killer version of Pink Floyd's "In The Flesh".

MAN OF KIN
The heaviest damn metal band around at the moment, they dont so much of take to the stage as launch a full on assault!
Mixing old songs with new ones from the debut album "Lock & Load" they play their very souls out on stage to a packed venue eager to remove dandruff at great speed.

The awesome track "Primitive" erupts the place complete with a guest vocal from Feral's Martin.
Fun was also on the agenda as the band were clearly loving every second and they threw in a metal medley mixing Slayer/Megadeth and Metallica amongst others.

XENOCHORD
Part death part Prog mixed with pure energy, they came they played they slayed.To be honest this band get better every time i see them (Which is a lot).With loads of headbanging fans down the front and songs called "Absinthe" you just cannot go wrong.

FERAL
Tonight they played an extraordinary set comprising of every song they have with added covers.You dont often go to medium sized venues let alone big venues and see a crowd this happy and this excited.

Numerous friends joined them on stage as well as members of Man Of Kin and Muted playing on covers of metallica songs and some of their own.

Just a totally fun end to one of the most enjoyable evening for a long time.Even a drum malfunction with the pedal beater going right through the bass drum couldnt slow this evening down.
No video from Feral's set as the whole thing was filmed for a promotional video currently being worked on.

STU

FROM GREAT HEIGHT







MAN OF KIN

XENOCHORD

FERAL

KINN - DEMO EP (Cd Review)

01.Want Me, Need Me

02.Hole World Down

03.All Alone

Nikki (Vocals)

Tomm E (Guitar)

Lars (Drums)

Fred Lesser(Bass)

This Birmingham based quartet have produced a neat little ep here but one aimed at the commercial end of the rock/metal market, because this has Papa Roach/Black Stone Cherry stamped all over it.

This is the kind of radio friendly rock that leads bands from clubs to stadiums, im sure if the CrueFest came to the uk these guys would be on the bill somewhere.

My favourite track is "All Alone" its a good late night rockers with some slash like guitarwork, cant believe these guys are from the uk, it just shouts American Band at you from every angle.

Rating 6/10

For fans Of : Papa Roach, Black Stone Cherry, Guns N Roses, Heavens Basement, Stone Sour.

STU

www.myspace.com/kinn

FROM GREAT HEIGHT - SPLIT SECONDS (Cd Review)

01.Split Seconds

02.Initial

Adam Ever (Vocals/Synthersizer)

Mike Raymond (Guitars)

Pal Buckingham (Bass)

Gary Boast (Drums)

Excuse my outburst here but "Fuck Me" this is amazing, imagine Peter Gabriel fronting a metal band and you have this stunning progressive metal hybrid that would get genesis (Thats proper genesis with Gabriel not the twat drummer as singer) fans and opeth fans jumping up and down.
2 tracks just aint enough here to do them any real justice, this is just outstanding."Split Seconds" has elements of Rush musically with some really cool phased guitarwork but with such a strong vocal performance and excellent production.

"Initial" starts with an almost classical guitar structure reminding me of Steve Hackets solo stuff,but then it just moves into this prog metal thing again and is spellbinding.

You really need to hear this to experience just how good this is and you dont have to be a prog fan to understand just how good this is.

Wheres the album?????
Rating 10/10

For Fans Of : Peter Gabriel, IQ, 12th Night, Opeth, Peter Hammill

STU

www.myspace.com/fromgreatheight

MAN OF KIN - LOCK AND LOAD (Cd Review)

01.Russian Roulette

02.Territory

03.Dont Let The Bastards Grind Us Down

04.I Swear To God

05.Defiance

06.Primitive

07.Jigsaw

08.Solace

09.Undone

Jaz Oberoi (Vocals)

Julian Martin-Samos (Rhythm/Lead Guitars)

Jon Coakley (Guitar)

Carl Stanley (Bass)

Rob Halliday (Drums)

The emergence of recent uk talent just goes from strength to strength for here we are presented with another example of first class metal.

It has just taken 14 months to go from formation to debut album whilst building up a huge following based on explosive live shows.

To the disc at hand...When hitting play be warned because it doesnt so much start at detonate!Initial reaction is that i haven't heard anything this good in this style since first discovering Sepultura 24 years ago.Perfectley executed with Jaz screaming vocals tearing through the speakers only interrupted for scathing guitar work.

Then we hit "I Swear To God", boy does this fucking punch with a real groove/thrash bang your head up and down until neck death then towards the end its gores really nice and quiet with some seriously melodic guitar and Jaz proving he has a great singing voice, it just ends the song song well.

"Primitive" is another stand out track, a powerchord heavy mutha with a real catchy chorus that is guaranteed to get every singing along live and in the home.

For me the last great stand out track is "Undone" an almost bluesy with some superb guitarwork leads you into a brutal aural assault before switching back to that blues melody and finishing with the agression that echoes throughout this album.

All in all 'Lock And Load' is a masterpiece of modern british metal that you should own.

Rating 10/10

For fans of : Sepultura, Soulfly, Pantera, Hatebreed, Lamb Of God.

STU

www.myspace.com/manofkinuk

NEMHAIN - SECOND SKIN (Video Single Review)

Amber (Vocals)

Adrian (Drums)

Lisa (Bass)

Lakis (Guitar)

Sam (Guitar)

01. Second Skin (Cover of The Gits song)

So here we are then the first single from the upcoming debut album "From The Ashes" and it's an absolute killer version of 'The Gits' Second Skin.

To accompany the single is their first promo video in 2 years.

Recorded in West London in January with Director Dr.Palser (My Dying Bride, Salvation & Immortal). It features Gramdrax of Ted Maul filling in for Peter Dolving of The Haunted, who duets with Morrigan on the track.

The video took me a number of watches to get into it, now thats not a bad thing, to be honest on the first watch i was'nt instantly blown away, with much of the original asylum idea being changed to this weirder and disturbing mix of madness.

It has some great graphics giving it an old fashioned quality and the miror bits are great, still not sure about the point of Gramdrax eating the chicken, but what the heck it dont matter do it??

I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the band though and the "signature" drum kit that took so long to create.

All in all its as stylish and impressive as the band themselves.

Rating 10/10

STU

And now the video itself..ENJOY!!

MUTED - 3 TRACK DEMO (CD Review)

01. Market Garden
02. Closer To Death
03. Poison In The Womb

Ben McCann (Guitar)

Steve Brill (Drums)

Kyle Proctor (Bass)

Stuart Layne (Vocals/Guitar)

2009 has already produced some great recordings and this is no exception.

London thrashers Muted have always had a cult following and have been a solid act on the gig scene since 2005.

First thing you notice is that they have a singer that can sing as opposed to shout in fact there are some great harmony vocal elements to "Market Garden", the guitar break half way through has an almost 'celtic' feel to it, this is thrash but with real melody.

Track 2 has a real NWOBHM feel, think Diamond Head/Saxon, but unlike those arch copyists Metallica, this band manage to retain originality.

This is my favourite track and will be on my mp3 very soon...And yours too when you hear it.

Finally some cool bass introduces us to a Megadeth (ish) rocker that shows some real talent, proving that thrash is not always about speed but sometimes musicianship and the ability to put together a good song matters too.

I think these guys have been around long enough now, they have put the work in and prduced a very good cd here, time i think for the likes of terrorizer to start taking note and to get them to the rest of the country.

Rating 9/10

STU

www.myspace.com/mutedsound

SPIT LIKE THIS, FERAL, GUNNER SGT, FALLEN ANGEL Live At The Gaff Holloway Road 08.04.09 (Gig Review)

SPIT LIKE THIS

FERAL

GUNNER SGT

FALLEN ANGEL


The Gaff, Holloway Road 08.04.09


FALLEN ANGEL

These guys mix up classic rock with a hint of heavy metal.Its good driving rock that gets the feet a tapping and the head a nodding, which is exactley what you want from an opening act.


GUNNER SGT

From the opening military drumming to the closing "Classic Motorhead Ending" this Kent 3 piece served up some very well executed post grunge rock.Fronted by Dan Osborne who plays guitar and screams and sings his heart out, backed with a solid rhythm section they knock out a perfect 30 minute set.


FERAL

Pulling the biggest crowd tonight and setting the place on fire, the London lad's continue to show why they are growing in popularity on a weekly basis.A faultless set once again everyone in the audience is singing along and those who didnt know who they were were also joining in.


Tonight they threw in an odd cover (For a young band) with CCR's "Green River" right in between two thrashier songs and it went down a storm.

No metallica cover tonight (Hooray!!) so ten out of ten from me.


SPIT LIKE THIS

So taking to the stage with a comment that they are a new band playing their first gig, the legendary glam rockers blast into their set in front of an audience who really didnt know who they were......Okay i'll say nothing here and make of that what you will.


Now here's the thing, vocalist Zion really knows how to work a crowd and believe me he worked this one and turned it around, he got everybody singing along, dancing and laughing and you know what they are fucking great live.


Good musicians and good showmen and lady, outstanding songs like "Sex, Drugs & Heavy Metal" and their superior version of "Sweet Transvestite" proved a big hit.


They drastically cut their set and left after about 25 minutes, that was a shame, but hey thats rock n roll and i guess they were so pissed off that they, err well, pissed off.


STU



FALLEN ANGEL

GUNNER SGT

FERAL

SPIT LIKE THIS

THE MERCY HOUSE - INVERSIONS (CD Review)

01. Inversions

Jon (Bass)
Nick (Drums)
Drew (Vocals)
Kiran (Lead Guitar)
Danny (Rhythm Guitar)

You know sometimes it does not matter what came before, who was in this or that band or how long it all took.
What you do need to know is that The Mercy House are here...Now.

Okay so no back info no deatiled history and just a one track promo cd, not much to go on is it ?

Let me tell you about this track, it reflects the various influences each member brings to the group, it blends melody and agression wrapped up in some really cool black leather from the mid 90’s.

It is both classic rock and modern metal with a rich sound that you simply cannot ignore.

This is just a taster of what is to come later this year, by which time everyone will know who The Mercy House are.

Rating10/10

STU

GREEN RIVER PROJECT, NEMHAIN, THE MERCY HOUSE, ACHILLA Live At The Underworld, Camden 02.04.09 (Gig Review)

GREEN RIVER PROJECT
NEMHAIN
THE MERCY HOUSE
ACHILLA

The Underworld, Camden 02.04.09

ACHILLA
Celebrating one year since their debut performance and their song appearing on the cover mount cd with Metal Hammer magazine, the band hailed as Nightwish meets Opeth take to the stage and spent the next 30 minutes entertaining the small audience.

So there is little to say, the band are good, nice and heavy with very very strong drumming and the vocalist is somewhere between Doro and Tarja.Thing is that the performance lacked feeling, its like they just stood on the stage with no movement, unless you count the slow motion Angela Gossow impressions from the vocalist.

THE MERCY HOUSE
Saw them in a pub last week they were really good, tonight they were on a big stage and they were really fucking awesome.
About half way through the set i noticed that the whole audience area was packed and that everyone was headbanging, dancing and cheering.Their take on classic rock mixed with power metal is an absolute delight, vocalist Drew has an amazing voice that is moving into Michael Kiske (Helloween) territory with a David Coverdale edge.

NEMHAIN
Okay..So Lakis goes to plug his guitar in and there is no sound, thats because the jack into the cab has been broken and fallen inside and guess what?? yep thats right there is no replacement.So i grab a screwdriver and fix the amp within 10 minutes despite being told by someone in charge that it could not be done !

So that solved band return to stage and off they go, the sound is really bad i mean was anyone actually working at the mixing desk???

Still the audience are loving the music anyway (Thank fuck for booze) and have'nt really noticed. Then half way through "Clear My Eyes" the bass goes so i rush around the back find a replacement bass from The Mercy House and get that changed, then the stage geezer says to me only one more song then off, Adrian shouts how long and they manage to pull out 2 more songs with "Second Skin" and "Speed Queen".
So a nightmare gig for sure, but heads held high as it was'nt the bands fault it was shit equipment!

THE GREEN RIVER PROJECT
Mick Priestley's band official debut gig.
They had played one previous gig as part of the Unholy club night with King Lizard as a warm up, which i am told was good but dogged by sound problems.

Hmmm "Sound Problems" so welcome to the underworld home of really crap sound and it does effect their performance.One of the countries most talented guitarists a fantastic drummer and the amazing Andy law on vocals, it should have been outstanding but it was'nt, sure the fans enjoyed what they could hear from the short set but all in all the venue let them and the fans down.

THE GIG ITSELF
This was simply in the wrong place and corners were obviously cut with equipment.But tonight it was The Mercy House who were lucky enough to avoid most problems.

STU


ACHILLA

THE MERCY HOUSE

NEMHAIN

GREEN RIVER PROJECT