HOSTILE DAWN - BOOZE N BLOOD EP (Cd Review)

01.Tormented Past
02.New Identity
03.Booze N Blood
04.Prepared To Fight


Keith Barker (Vocals)
Darren Whyte (Guitar)
Charlie Fry (Guitar)
James Woodman (Drums)
Steve Taylor (Bass) On This EP
Darren Johnson (Bass)


When a band describe themselves as a "speeding car crashing into a brick wall" then they sure as hell aint gonna sound like Dragonforce or Metallica (Thank Fuck!!).
This is a pure modern heavy metal that comes with beer and tattoos and a middle finger aimed at everyone.

Four great slabs blast through the speakers, the perfect mix of riffs and drums and shout in your face until it explodes vocals, its fast, aggressive and for a self released cd very well produced.

The perfect antidote to EMO

Rating 10/10

For Fans Of : Pantera, Biohazzard, Crowbar, Hatebreed, Lamb Of God

STU


Possibly the best note i have yet recieved with a cd

9BLIND - IMMUNE EP (CD Review)

01.Immune

02.My Heart Bleeds

03.Promises

04.Un-Angel

G-reg (Drums)

Markus (Vocals/Guitar)

Terence (Guitar)

Joe (Bass)

Nice to hear someone sing as opposed to shout and growl, with much of this Hardcore/Alt thats what you normally get, but then 9Blind are not your run of the mill band.

What we get here is 4 well written and produced songs full of melody, riffs and some pretty aggressive drumming with quite piercing double pedaling.

For melodic metal then "My Heart Bleeds" rates highly as one to play late at night, but if you want full on metal with a little layed back breakdown to catch your breath then "Promises" is the song for you, providing you play very loud!

The only track i didnt like was "Un-Angel" it was way too slow and melodic for me, well put together though, but not for me.

Rating 8/10

For Fans Of : Johnny Truant,Fightstar, Waterdown

STU

SILAS - SILAS (Cd Review)

01.In The Grind

02.Rollin On

03.Angels Lie

Dave Runham (Vocals)

Mike Ross (Drums/Guitar)

Matt Drumm (Bass)

Tom Ross (Drums/Guitar)

It has to be said that Dave has an amazing voice, its bluesy yet agressive and sits perfectly with the panteraish metal that his band create.

There is a great deal of thought behind this music, its not just in your face riffs and drums, there is attention to rhythm and structure, it lifts this way above average and really deserves to be taken seriously.

The second track manages to incorporate some death metal influences and creates a huge wall of power that is pure headbanging fuel.

Finally the band get to play with the styles with a stonerish song that evolves into a reggae song, some great harmony vocals really push the music to a very professional standard.

Question here is why are this band not signed??

Rating 10/10

For Fans Of : Pantera, Down, Dry Kill Logic, Disturbed

STU

THE MERCY HOUSE - LIKE A RAT (Cd Review)

01.Like A Rat

Drew (Vocals)

Dany (Guitar)

Kiran (Guitar)

Nick (Drums)

Anthony (Bass) NOTE : Not On This Track

So Mercy House let loose another one track cd, question is can it live up to its fantastic predecessor "Inversions"???

Well its another great song, got a led zeppelin vibe to it, some really nice guitarwork throughout from acoustic to electric, its a good solid album track.As always its a perfect vocal delivery from Drew, his range and power simply blows away any peer you care to mention.

However this track has one draw back and that is the mix of the song does not sound right, its like the backing vocals bleed over the lead vocal too much and it sounds "odd", now that may be the reaction they are after, after all there is nothing wrong with throwing the listener off sometimes, so im sure they hate me now for saying that !

I think the song Break The chains (Listen to it on their myspace) would have been a better choice to release as a single, for that song is brilliant.

Hey now dont get me wrong,its a mix thing not a song thing.

Rating 7/10

For Fans Of : Roxville, Cavalar, Breed 77, Whitesnake, Audioslave

STU

A THOUSAND LIES - A GOOD DAY TO DIE (Cd Review)

01.When Im Gone

02.Heaven Is Wasted On You

03.Fields Of Eternity

04.Last Of The Believers

05.Become How We Were

Chris Nesbit (Vocals)

Steve Bagnall (Bass)

Dave McQuillan (Drums)

Andy Bright (Guitar)

Steve Barclay (Guitar)

"Haul In, Sit Down and Shut Up, Let Me Begin"......

When you hit play you hear this beautiful melody coming out of the speakers before they explode with this huge heavy metal sound, maidenesque guitarwork and powerfull vocals are backed by a great big drum sound.

"Heaven Is wasted On You" is a broody muthafucker with almost doom like riffs, great melody and harmony.

Track three is a full on metal assault with screaming vocals and some crazy double pedaling.

The final song is an eight minute masterpiece.It starts slow with a ballad quality then this little guitar riff comes through and holds everything together, the song expands into this epic metal song and with some seriously good lyrics ""Ive a last request id like to make, the one regret we have to take, we will never see this day again"...Fucking awesome.

Rating 9/10

For Fans Of : Iron Maiden, Down, Pantera

STU

ROXVILLE, MERCY HOUSE, A THOUSAND LIES, FERAL, FIVE SECOND RULE, SPIDERBABY Live At The Gaff 25.07.09 (Gig Review)

ROXVILLE
THE MERCY HOUSE
A THOUSAND LIES
FERAL
FIVE SECOND RULE
SPIDERBABY

The Gaff, Holloway Road 25.07.09


SPIDERBABY
We kicked off the six pack gig with some great glam pop, considering that the mixing desk had been sabotaged the night before and that the soundman had no idea what to do, tony from the gaff and james from feral did their best to help and get things sorted but not in time to save the band from poor sound.

They played a great set and got through it with a smile, Nathan's guitar playing was on fire tonight, in fact the only weak thing during the whole set was "Erotic Nymphos In Love" a great song and have you seen the video???? but live i didnt think it worked.

FIVE SECOND RULE
They took to the stage plugged in, turned it to ten and exploded in a fury of rock n roll riffs.Lead vocalist Spider is like a cross between Maynard from Tool and Scott weiland, the bands dont give a fuck attitude sits perfectly with the audience who lapped it all up dancing and cheering throughout.

These guys just rock, think Velvet Revolver meets Rocket From The Crypt delivered by great musicians clearly intent on entertainment.

Their final song was a cover of "Word Up" when a girl was brought up on stage and treated to a lap dance from Laura London and her friend, that pretty much set the gaff on fire!

FERAL
Played a perfect set, in particular their rendition of "Twisted Sinister Smile" was outstanding, the song is destined to be a classic (Get in the studio NOW).
Really cant fault them, they perform to such a high standard and have such a great relationship with the audience they are destined to be a major force on the metal scene.
They ended their set with a chaotic version of Motorhead's 'Orgasmatron' with their biker friend Dermot taking on lead vocals.

A THOUSAND LIES
I kid you not this is the best Newcastle band i have heard since Venom.
They are full on metal, screaming vocals, pounding drums and amazing guitarwork.They won over the audience by the end of their first song and after their set they sold a few cd's as well.
My absolute favourite from their set was the last song, it was a really strong ballad that grew into a huge metal song.
These guys need to play london more, they would be huge if they did.

THE MERCY HOUSE
Outstanding classic hard rock, superb musicians and THE voice of rock Drew, a perfect combination.Sure tonights set was chaotic due to the soundman again, but they fought their way through to deliver a fantastic set, highlight of which was the song "Inversions" a superb song with a catchy little riff.
Drews voice powered through to the soul and the guitars sang like angels on absinthe!

ROXVILLE
First time i have seen them with new vocalist Voodoo (who tonight was also playing bass as As Ash is on holiday.They kicked off with the best version ever of 'Crash And Burn' and never looked back,Guitarist Rocco was right on with the rhythms and strong backing vocals,Charlie has really come forward as lead guitarist and his playing is quite something, rapidly emerging as one of the best guitarists in London, Nicky on the drums is solid and entertaining and finally we come to the new boy.

Voodoo has brooding looks and a voice to match, he has brought a maturity to their sound that the previous vocalist could not, his bass playing was good but he seemed a little uncomfortable with it,i look forward to seeing the full line up with him just let loose on the vocals, its going to be heart-stopping.

STU

SPIDERBABY

FIVE SECOND RULE

FERAL

A THOUSAND LIES

THE MERCY HOUSE

ROXVILLE

A Couple more gig flyers for July

LOST GRAVITY, XENOCHORD, AFTER DEATH, SILAS Live At The Gaff 17.07.09 (Gig Review)

LOST GRAVITY
XENOCHORD
AFTER DEATH
SILAS

The Gaff, Holloway Road 17.07.09

SILAS
Well they may have turned up five minutes after they were due on stage, but they rushed on
and set up and dived straight into a very impressive live set, mixing up metal with jazz and
reggae beats.
Visually entertaining as well with twins on guitar and drums changing around in between songs.

AFTER DEATH
Amazing 3 piece band with two guitarists and no bass and the drummer doubles up as the
vocalist as well.
Blending melody with heavy riffs they entertained big time, really cannot fault anything here at all they are just a great live band.

XENOCHORD
Its a strange and short set from the Absinthe crew tonight, having lost their drummer a week ago they have had just 4 hours with a replacement and lost their keyboard player along the way.

It gets stranger because tonights performance was stunning, its like the band have a new lease of life, they are much heavier and it would seem happier!
So begins another phase and one which will be a pleasure to watch.

LOST GRAVITY
Classic rock delivered with great energy, solid bass with a few fancy riffs thrown in go well with a big guitar sound and powerfull vocals.A great way to end an evening of diverse rock and metal acts.

STU

SILAS

AFTER DEATH

XENOCHORD

LOST GRAVITY

SPIDERBABY - WHERE THE STRANGE ONES GO (Cd Review)

01.Last Disco On Mars

02.Erotic Nymphos In Love

03.Scream My Name

04.Gone In 60 Seconds

05.Naked

06.Stardust

07.Witches Of Suburbia

08.Baby Gone Disco

09.Blaze In The Heart Of Hell

10.Scary But So Much Fun

11.Chilled

Shannon Lee (Vocals/Guitar/Bass)

Nathan James (Bass/Guitar/Keyboard)

Ashleigh Jade (Vocals)

Jonti (Drums)

Starting off with a sample about putting on a bikini, yep Spiderbaby are back!

'Erotic Nymphos In Love' is a sleazy disco/rock crossover that hits the right spot and has a great guitar solo thrown in just to let you know that they can add just the right element of rock when required.

'Scream My Name' is very "Depeche Mode" but with sexy female vocals, great synth sounds punctuate this potential dance floor clasic.

'Gone In 60 Seconds' starts with a sample from a news programme about some nameless (but obvious) britians got talent star,the song has this great old school new wave feel like its 1978! catchy chorus and great lyrics.

'Naked', "Do you like it when i do that" goes the sample that starts this six minute sleaze epic, how can i put this...music to fuck too!

'Stardust' is a goldfrapp/Marilyn Manson electronic rocker again some great vocals and well written lyrics.

Up next is 'Witches Of Suburbia' has a nice quiet intro that goes into a rockish chorus and then drops back to quiet, get 3 minutes in to another great solo and you have the albums slow burner track that will eventually get you.

'Baby Gone Disco' has a "Visage" like synth riff that drives yet another dance floor classic.
The black metal inspired 'Blaze In The Heart Of Hell' (Well okay i lied about the black metal, but what a cool title) this is a simple pop rocker that gets the head nodding in time to the bass drum and is driven nicely with a little guitar riff.

'Scary But So Much Fun' could sum up Spiderbaby anyway!Its a bouncy electronic swing rocker again that guitar work shines through, secretly i think that there is a full blown heavy rock band lurking underneath all that sexy sleaze pop.

The album ends with 'Chilled' a beautiful ballad sung fantastically by Ashleigh, it is the natural progression from the previous albums 'Baby Doll' though not as erotic lyrically, in fact this is quite a dark and bitter song about (i assume) being a married mans mistress.Once again this has a great guitar solo, a real eyes closed "shredder".

Overall this is a a superb album and i would recommend it to anyone, including all my Viking metal hoard friends, this is a fun album, well put together, well written and just plain fun.

STU

Rating 10/10

For Fans Of : Goldfrapp, Electric Six, Scissor Sisters, Blondie

BONUS VIDEO

And here is the promo video for 'Erotic Nymphos In Love'.

This is a video in two halfs, one is happy and colourful with Shannon dancing with a couple of sexy girls which is nice, the other half is much more fun with Ashleigh and Nathan in leather administering an unholy communion to two slaves of wine and cherries followed by a little spanking :)

INFESTATION, VIRUS, DAMNAS, KEMAKIL Live At The Gaff 11.07.09 (Gig Review)

INFESTATION
VIRUS
DAMNAS
KEMAKIL

The Gaff, Holloway Road 11.07.09

KEMAKIL
Old school thrash metal delivered a very high volume.Whilst there was nothing wrong with their music or their musicianship the band seemed a little quiet almost nervous, they went down really well but need to put it over with more confidence.

DAMNAS
Tight, professional and well executed high adrenaline thrash.They blew the venue up!Massive riffs and screaming vocals were the order here, an absolute pleasure to watch, really top quality performance.

VIRUS
They are really moving forward with an onstage presence that demands attention, which they get with large amounts of front row headbanging, a couple of mosh pits and evreybody singing along to both old and new songs.Coke is now clearly at home on stage and stomps around like a man possessed (Though sometimes his enthusiam gets the better of him and he occasional misses the micraphone when singing).All in all a great set that left the crowd wanting more.

INFESTATION
This was to be guitarist Matt's last show, but instead of playing he stood up to share vocal duties with Dave, making this a unique live performance which delivered on every level.Scathing guitar riffs and joined by screaming death metal vocals and high speed drumming held together with solid bass lines.They topped off the perfect metal night perfectly.

STU

KEMAKIL

DAMNAS

VIRUS

INFESTATION

KYRBGRINDER, EL SCHLONG, DUSTEROID Live At The Gaff 09.07.09 (Gig Review)

KYRBGRINDER
EL SCHLONG
DUSTEROID

The Gaff, Holloway Road 09.07.09

DUSTEROID
Classic stoner influenced hard rock like Blue Cheer jamming with Ten Years After with a touch of Cathedral thrown in!They may be a side project band from the bassist of Blood Island Raiders but they are a force in their own right.They played a huge set full of massive riffs, pounding drums and some serious basswork.

EL SCHLONG
You cant quite put your finger on this band, its like death metal and jazz rock blended with humour.All put together by three very talented musicians, they create a great sound and have amazing stage presence.They entertain on a major scale and are a band to watch and enjoy.

KYRBGRINDER
And talking of entertaining, wow, with the drummer taking centre front stage and doubling up as vocalist they too score big on the visual element.But it is true showmanship and really outstanding musicanship that they score top marks, vocalist/Drummer Johanne is amazing his vocals echo Seal back in the days when he was considered rock and former Journey singer Gregg Rolie, whilst his drumming (and stick twirling skills) leave his contemporaries wimpering in a darkend corner.
Add to this solid bass work and some great guitar solos, you have a perfect blend of melodic hard rock, that leaves me to wonder why this band are still unsigned.
It goes without saying that they brought the house down!

STU

DUSTEROID

EL SCHLONG

KYRBGRINDER