Thursday 30 December 2010

New Years Eve Gig Flyers




Day Of Locusts - Ascent, Fire, Failure, Blood (Demo Review)



01.Ascent, Fire, Failure, Blood


Simon Neill (Vocals/Guitar)
Leon Heinimann (Bass)
Dave Guy (Drums/Guitar)
Grizzle (Guitar)


Drawing on 3 favoured genres, Doom Metal, Progressive rock and Avante garde, back in 2008 Dave from 'Kopperhed' joined with Simon and Leon from 'Living with Disfigurement' to create "a beast of riff wrongness".

Taking their name from the 1939 novel by Nathanael West,which deals with the alienation and desperation of a broad group of odd individuals who exist at the fringes of the Hollywood movie industry.While they describe their music as "Pink Floyd meets Crowbar fighting in quicksand".

Weighing in at 15 minutes this is one very epic debut, stating with some very clever use of effects pedals it moves into superb doom territory, incredibley heavy with devistatingly heavy drums and very strong vocals.
Nice melodic guitar breakdowns puncutuate the wall of sound to create unique structure.
8 minutes in the song gives way to some very quite guitarwork which in turn leads to a very different kind of sound that blends melody with a dark ambience and some slide guitar reminiscent of classic Pink Floyd.

After this melodic break the doom laden riff returns bringing a third style to the song and with some well placed vocal/backing vocal that really adds something extra to the mix.

Just seems to get heavier and heavier as we come to the end, cant help but turn the volume up and move to the rhythm.

Totally stunning track, no faults, in fact needs to be longer!!!!

STU

Rating: 10/10

For Fans Of: Cathedral, Blood Island Raiders, Reverend Bizzare, Triptykon, Sunn o)))

Saturday 18 December 2010

Macmillan Cancer Support Charity Rock Gig At The Gaff January 8th




On January 8th 2011 there is to be a big charity gig at the Gaff in Holloway Road, London, hosted by Deejay Mumin (Club dj/Recharged Radio)it promises to be an outstanding nights entertainment.

For your live entertainment we have :

AL B.DAMNED
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Al-B-Damned/215282925739


LIONSEX
http://www.facebook.com/pages/LIONSEX/5632879926


WASTED SINNERS
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wasted-Sinners/26117543301


UNCLE ROTTER
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Uncle-Rotter/145502885486373


For Aural delights DJ Angel and Deejay Mumin

For Visual Delights the Deadsexy Dolls.

All proceeds from this event will be going to Macmillan Cancer Support as part of Kate "Hardcore" Lane's efforts to raise £2.5k to run the London Marathon for them.

Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. They provide practical, medical, emotional and financial support and push for better cancer care. One in three of us will get cancer. Two million of us are living with it. We are all affected by cancer. We can all help. They are Macmillan.

Charity Registration No. 261017


Event on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107415549328341


Join Kate's Facebook group for the marathon at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=123146724405738


Or to donate directly please go to http://www.justgiving.com/katelane77

Generation Graveyard - Poison City EP (Cd Review)



01.Poison City
02.All Hail The Plague
03.Murder Rock N Roll


Max (Vocals)
Spider (Guitar)
Pete Turner (Guitar)
Phil Roadkill (Bass)
Jonny (Drums)


Based in the depths of hell that is Camden, London the creature from that pit known as Generation Graveyard were formed early in 2008 by Vocalist/Dj Max (Pornscar, Muthafucker - take your pick and Ex Nothin To Lose).
With fellow musicians/Dj's Jonny (Le Shithouse!) and Phil Roadkill (Also a well know nightclub manager), guitarist Pete (Maleficient) and Spider.The band adopt a simple philosophy to their fucked up punked rock n roll : "Fuck the scene. Fuck the rules. Fuck genres. Fuck your twitter, Fuck your clique.This is music for the underdogs, the scumbags and the misunderstood.See you at the bar".

Throughout 2009 they built themselves a reputation as a very explosive live act and continue to increase their fanbase on a daily basis.

After numerous attempts to record demos, they finally found a studio strong enough to hold them and recorded three tracks at the beginning of this year.


Drums and a skuzzy riff kick off 'Poison City', great distorted vocals, nice catchy chorus of "This city is poison, this city will be my grave".

Always a live favourite and now given new life and a heavier edge, 'All Hail The Plague', Max's gruff vocal delivery over a heavy bass line leads into some great guitar work, pounding drums and awesome sing-a-long chorus, love it when Max screams "Death to your fucking age" a pure Fuck You and one worthy of Casey Chaos!

The doomy feedback intro to 'Murder Rock N Roll' soon leads to the chaotic and incendary vocal/guitar attack, perfect gang backing vocals, all driven by a solid high energy drum rhythm.
After the slow headbanging riff half way through we get a short but superb solo before returning to the song that quite simply says Generation Fucking Graveyard!!!

An all too short EP from a band who love and energy for their music just blasts through the speakers.

STU

Rating 10/10


For Fans Of: Kvelertak, Amen, Warrior Soul, New York Dolls, Germs, Dead Boys

Wednesday 8 December 2010

Let Loose are back !!!!

Let Loose were huge in the mid nineties and had many hits
including the 'feel good' Summer anthem
"Crazy For You"which peaked at number two in the charts in June 1994 .
It was one of the best selling singles of 1994 in the UK
and was only prevented from reaching the number one spot
by Wet Wet Wet's 'Love is All Around '.

Other Let Loose songs included:
"Seventeen"
"One Night Stand"
"Best In Me"
"Everybody Say Everybody Do"
"Make It With You"
"Take It Easy"
and "Darling Be Home Soon"

Two of the original members ,vocalist Richie Wermerling
and drummer Lee Murray have recently reunited and
are currently working on material both old and new .
The event below is not to be missed as they will be
performing together live as Let Loose
for the very first time in public since 1996 !!!!


Motorhead - The World Is Yours (Cd Review)



1.Born To Lose
2.I Know How To Die
3.Get Back In Line
4.Devils In My Head
5.Rock ‘n’ Roll Music
6.Waiting For The Snake
7.Brotherhood Of Man
8.Outlaw
9.I Know What You Need
10.Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye


Lemmy (Bass/Vocals)
Phil Campbell (Guitars)
Mikkey Dee (Drums)



How else can you start Motorhead album number 38 than with a song called 'Born To Lose'????
Lemmy sings "Go ahead put the blame on me, another reason to disagree, deaf to all the truth for sure, hear the hammer knocking at your door. But you know it’s all fairy tales".

Its pure Motorhead all the way, the bass, the drums, the guitar it never changes its always true, honest and straight forward rock n roll.

Other things never change either, a line from 'Get Back In Line' goes "If you think that Jesus saves, get back in line".
The rock n roll feel to 'Rock N Roll Music' reminds us that Lemmy has always held a large JD & Coke to said genre and reminds us all that "Rock n Roll music is the true religion. Never let you down you can dance to the rhythm".

There is a slight 'Audioslave' vibe to 'Waiting For The Snake' in the opening riff but dont let put you off!

The dark and quite outstanding song 'Brotherhood Of Man' plays like 'Orgasmatron' part two.
Lemmy growls "You cannot hide the truth from me I know what’s in your heart, Greed and jealousy each equal, all your days now dark. Mighty mountains fall in dust the world falls into hell, Faith in lying prophets, no one to lift the spell".
And if you need more that lays it on the line for humanity then, "We kill for money, wealth and lust, for this we should be damned. We are disease upon the world, brotherhood of man", sums it up.
Song ends with an awesome solo from Phil.

'Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye' chalks up the end of yet another perfect (day) album!
I leave the final word to Lemmy :
"You don’t know a goddamm thing about the real world, Here’s a short sharp lesson, and I mean every word. You tell me that you love me but I’m just some other fool, So bite the bullet, eat your words, I’ll teach you the rules".

STU

Rating 10/10

For Fans Of: Viking Skull, Damned, Ramones

Mostly Autumn - Go Well, Diamond Heart (Cd Review)


01.For All We Shared
02.Violet Skies
03.Deep In Borrowdale
04.Something Better
05.Go Well, Diamond Heart
06.Back To Life
07.Hold The Sun
08.And When The War Is Over…


Bryan Josh (Lead Guitar/Acoustic Guitar/Keyboards/Vocals)
Olivia Sparnenn (Vocals)
Andy Smith (Bass)
Anne-Marie Helder (Acoustic & Electric guitar/Flute/Keyboards/Vocals)
Gavin Griffiths (Drums)
Liam Davison (Electric & Acoustic Guitar/Vocals)
Iain Jennings (Keyboards/Synthesizers)


Formed in 1992 by Bryan Josh the English prog rock group Mostly Autumn have built a loyal following with little media coverage and no major label support and gained the attention of the likes of Jon Lord and Richard Wright and toured with with 'Blackmore's Night', 'Uriah Heep' and Jethro Tull.

19 albums later the band are attempting a slightly different musical direction and with the depature of original vocalist Heather Findlay last year is the debut for Olivia Sparnenn.


Overall the album sticks to celtic folk/rock influences and has little in common with any modern prog rock group i can think of.

Songs such as 'Deep In Borrowdale' show signs of a strong rock influence as does 'Something Better' with its nice guitar riff, however in the latters case the overall song is damaged by stupid lyrics.

Elsewhere i think the term "Ambient" could be applied, definatley too laid back for any listener, unless you still have those "New Age" tapes you brought at Glastonbury 30 years ago.

Very obvious post 'Final Cut' Pink Floyd influences show on 'Go Well, Diamond Heart' &'And When The War Is Over'.

Very talented musicians and great production cannot lift this beyond an average example of a genre that can still excite and be taken seriously by the modern music fan.

STU

Rating 5/10

For Fans Of: Clannad, All About Eve, Corrs, David Gilmore

King Lizard - Viva La Decadence (Cd Review)



01.Viva La Decadence
02.Rain On You
03.Rock N' Roll Me
04.Hell Yeah
05.Video Lover
06.Kan't Kill Rock N' Roll
07.Never Be Mine
08.Not For Me
09.Riot
10.Taste The Hate
11.Outrageous
12.Late Nite Dynamite

Flash 'Roxx' Sawyer (Vocals/Piano)
Niro Knox (Guitars)
Alice Rain (Bass)
Sky London (Drums)

Guests:
Andy Brook (Intro to 'Never Be Mine')


London's own "Monsters Of Rock" first appeared way back in 2002 playing gigs and releasing a couple of demos, but it wasnt until 2006 that the band really began to get noticed with a solid line up that gigged everywhere and produced the 'Late Nite Dynamite' EP in 2007.

Finally their debut album has arrived with songs produced by both Andy Brook (Shush/Catfight) and Chris Tsangarides (Thin Lizzy/Judas Priest).


The title track 'Viva La Decadence' is inspired by the club 'Decadence' in London's SoHo, considered by many to be the spiritual home of all things Glam N Sleaze.
Riff heavy and full of high pitched screaming vocals, great backing vocals, rhythmic drumming and thumping bass, dare i say a perfect introduction to both band and album.


Angry as hell with a cool Crue vibe comes the ultimiate in "Fuck You" songs, 'Rain On You', when Flash sings "No matter what you do, im gonna rain on you" you get the feeling he means it!

'Rock N' Roll Me' with its dirty bass line transcribes from live to studio perfectly, intresting use of dual vocal to add a slight touch of menace and some epic solo work from Niro.

'Hell Yeah' really delivers that sleaze sound, and a very catchy chorus that you cant help singing along to and more face-ripping guitar solo's."You're going straight back to hell.......Yeah!".

Something strangley rhythmic abut the bass n drum intro to 'Video Lover' but then it is a sweet and touching love song about porn :)

'Kan't Kill Rock N' Roll' seems slightly slower than its live counterpart, have to say this ones not one of my favourites and despite the great solo and overall performance the song doesnt quite fire on all cylinders.

But then comes 'Never Be Mine', this is truly outstanding, a slow, dark n sleazy number that has a few timing changes a brilliant breakdown with melancolic vocals that builds into a creshendo that axl would kill for (espeially these days!).

"Just a picture packed away like a broken toy" is the opening line sung over some great acoustic guitar from producer Andy Brook, this is no ordinary rock ballad, in fact i will go as far as to say that 'Not For Me' is possibley the greatest example of said genre.
Flash's vocals are perfect, emotional yet strong, the drum pattern holds everything together helped by precision bass playing and breathtaking guitar solo's.
A song destined to be the 'Dream On' for its generation.

A seemingly out of place piano intro to 'Riot' just works so well that you almost forget that the cool bass line is about to herald the noise fest that always sends the audiences crazy every time.
There is a hint of Alice Coopers "Im Eighteen" running through this, but it is pure King Lizard that blows a big hole in the speakers!
Love the hint of piano later in the song as well and the police sirens is a nice touch at the end.

A fast paced Glam/Metal hybrid 'Taste The Hate' is a furious rocker as is the awesome 'Outrageous'.

The definitive King Lizard song 'Late Nite Dynamite' explodes on disc just as it does when performed live, it ticks every box required for perfect rock n roll entertainment.


Stu

Rating 9/10

For Fans Of: Hanoi Rocks, Guns N Roses, LA Guns, Girl, Motley Crue

Catfight - Never Go Back EP (Cd Review)



01.Break
02.Walking On Steel
03.Hayleen


Samara Kain (Vocal/Rhythm Guitar)
Martha Lewis (Lead Guitar)
Nix (Bass)
Magzilla (Drums)


It was at the end of 2008 when Catfight started to take shape, eventually making their debut supporting Nemhain (a band with which Samara had played rhythm guitar for)in February 2009.
Numerous line up changes and one stunning ep followed quickly gaining them a reputation as "THE" band to see live.

By spring of this year they had notched up support slots to just about every genre of band from Thrash to Punk.
They then returned to the studio with legendary producer Andy Brook for a second EP.


Keeping up their grunge/punk influence with 'Break' this opener shows that the band have moved forward in terms of writing and that vocalist Samara has both the confidence and ability to lead the band to bigger and better things.

With an opening guitar riff not unlike Bryan Adams 'Run To You', 'Walking On Steel' is a brilliant, moody and dark song.
Great guitar solo and superb vocal delivery punctuate a worthy follow up to last years 'Kill Me Again' and is definatley Catfight Classic Number Two.

Think i'll call this the "Lesbian Grunge Rocker", not sure why just something about the lyrics i guess!
It has a typical Courtney Love style but none of the arrogance, the song is short and sweet and kicks ass!

STU

Rating 10/10

For Fans Of: Hole, Distillers, Throwing Muses,Nemhain

Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra (Cd Review)



01.Xibir
02.Born Treacherous
03.Gateways
04.Chess With The Abyss
05.Dimmu Borgir
06.Ritualist
07.The Demiurge Molecule
08.A Jewel Traced Through Coal
09.Renewal
10.Endings And Continuations


Shagrath (vocals/keyboards/Effects)
Silenoz (Rhythm Guitar)
Galder(Lead Guitar)

Guests :
Snowy Shaw (Bass/Vocals)
Dariusz Brzozowski (Drums)
Agnete Kjølsrud (Vocals Track 3 & 10)
Garm from ULVER (Vocals On Track 10)
Gerlioz (keyboards)
Andy Sneap (Guitar On Track 3 & 9)
Ricky Black (Slide Guitar on track 10)
Orchestration and choir arranged by Gaute Storås and conducted by Rune Halvorsen
Recorded with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Schola Cantorum Choir


"Abrahadabra", loosely translated as "I will create as I speak", was created by author Aleister Crowley in his work, The Book of the Law.
For those who are intrested the five letters in the word are: A, the Crown; B, the Wand; D, the Cup; H, the Sword; R, the Rosy Cross; and refer further to Amoun the Father, Thoth His messenger, and Isis, Horus, Osiris, the divine-human triad.
To the band it represents an album title consisting of one word that goes hand-in-hand with the new material and the changes in musical and lyrical content.


So eleven months in production to create haunting, epic, atmospheric and ambient masterpiece with an array of musicians and a full ensemble orchestra, the Kringkastingsorkestret (the Norwegian Radio Orchestra), and the Schola Cantorum choir, totaling more than 100 musicians and singers.

The intro 'Xibir' is a pure orchestral piece and gives some clue to the maturity of the bands overall concept and the direction in which they wish to take "Symphonic Black metal" forward.

'Born Treacherous' is the perfect mix of "Traditional" Dimmu but it is the orchestration that creates a quite stunning song.

Powerful double peddling and vocal chorus introduces 'Gateways' a full blown mini epic with layered vocals and guest female vocals, awesome riffing and varied timing changes throughout.

At times 'Chess With The Abyss' bares some comparisons with Kamelot's March Of Mephisto, which featured a guest vocal from Shagrath some years back.
It also has that rare quality of being "Catchy"!

A self title song 'Dimmu Borgir', which translates as Dark Cities, also has a very catchy and infectious choral backing and gives us yet another outstanding song.

A ghostly howl, backward vocals and beautiful acoustic guitar lead into a hyper drumbeat and the song 'Ritualist', weird that the speed of the guitar and drums work so well against the slowness of the acoustic instruments.
Stunning vocal delivery from Snowy works well with Shagraths unique style.

A very different feel to 'The Demiurge Molecule' thanks to an out of charachter almost funky drum rhythm, but the song soon settles down into a pounding, slow and doomy song that has Shagrath screaming "I crave perfection", im thinking job done!!!

Creepy horror movie ambience, massive riffs, drums on speed, a middle section of vocal chorus like the Omen soundtrack, yep 'A Jewel Traced Through Coal' has it all amd more.
Have to say the bass really kicks through this one as well.

'Renewal' mixes the extremes of Black Metal with slower breakdowns that seem to "bounce" along.
The vocal presence of Snowy echoes throughout the slightly unusual tempo of the music.

'Endings And Continuations' features a guest vocal from Garm from Ulver, for this final song Dimmu have quite clearly made sure that every element they created for all the other songs appear together just to nail the point home that along with superb mixing and production that they have come of age and redifined a genre forever.


Stu

Rating 10/10

For Fans Of: Therion, Cradle Of Filth, Devil Doll, Apocalyptica

Friday 12 November 2010

UKUNSIGNED ROCK THE DOME 10/12/10



UKUNSIGNED ROCK organised by Ross Tovell present an awesome line up of bands at the downstairs part of THE DOME, TUFNELL PARK (178 Junction Road, Tufnell Park, London, N19 5QQ) located right opposite Tufnell Park tube station on the Northern Line!

A stunning line up to say the least!!!!

ACE MAFIA
Classic rock from the band featuring Richie Faulkner (Lauren Harris Band) and Bruno Agra (Zodiac Mindwarp)
http://www.myspace.com/acemafiarock
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Ace-Mafia/118224754709?v=info


AL. B. DAMNED
Bournemouth horror rock legends who outclassed the Murderdolls with their recent debut album 'The Darker Side Of Me'
http://www.myspace.com/officialalbdamned
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Al-B-Damned/215282925739
http://www.albdamned.com/


GENERATION GRAVEYARD
London death punks who have been compared to Amen, always explosive and about to release their debut EP, be afraid very afraid!!!!
http://www.myspace.com/generationgraveyard
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Generation-Graveyard/55068927130


THE DEATH TRUCKS
Want a blend of blues, stoner metal and punk ? look no further than the Death Trucks whose members together and apart have played, supported and toured with Skindred, Mad Capsule Markets, Mortiis, Panic Cell, Reuben, Johnny Truant, Milion Dead, Sikth, 80's matchbox B-line disaster and many many more
http://www.myspace.com/thedeathtrucks
http://www.facebook.com/pages/THE-DEATH-TRUCKS/241164741816?v=info

HOLLOW SIN
Like melodic well thought of thrash ? good then this group of 4 passionate individuals united by a common goal, to create music for the sole purpose of world domination and beer, will be perfect for you!
http://www.myspace.com/hollowsin
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hollow-Sin/48823135405?v=app_2405167945


As this is close to that yearly festive piss up (sorry i mean yule :), tickets will be £4 advance from the bands, contact them through myspace or facebook now.

Alternatively its still a huge bargain at just £5 on the door!

THE EVENT IS AGES 16+

The only gig to be at this weekend!!!!!

Sunday 7 November 2010

Xenochord - Absinthe (Cd Review)



01.Confession
02.Absinthe
03.Delirium
04.Sunday Morning
05.Refuse To Obey
06.Greed
07.Gasping For Air
08.Maimed By Love
09.To The Living


Csabi Toth (Guitar)
Tomi Szabo (Vocals)
Gabe Nagy (Lead Guitar)
Joe Matrai (Bass)
Pete Aplin (Drums)

Guests:
Tilman Wolff-Moore (keyboards/sampler)
James McIlroy (solo on Greed)


Drawing on influences as diverse as Classical music to Black Metal, Xenochord have been creating original and complex "Progressive Death Metal" since 2007.
Describing themselves with a simple statement, "British Standard - German Quality - Scandinavian Style - HUNGARIAN PRIDE", the latter refering to their heritage.

Perhaps another important element to their music is a love of 'Absinthe', a quality to be admired from all perspectives!

Their debut album "Absinthe" is due out shortly and was mixed and produced by Tilman Wolff-Moore (Spitting Blood/Chaosanct/Samsas Traum) & James McIlroy (Cradle Of Filth/Chaosanct/Order Of Apollyon) who also makes a guest appearence on the track 'Greed'.

'Confession', Generic and brutal kick off to introduce you to a different breed of metal, sure it has the growling vocals and speed you would expect but this is in a class of its own.

The title track and a way of life, 'Absinthe' from the second the synth intro starts it creates this almost symphonic and rhythmic mood, its slow and pounding and intoxicating and is a fitting tribute to the true king of spirits.

With the mood now set 'Delirium' arrives, a perfect song in every way.The synth and bass intro reminisent of Faith No More's 'Epic' opens up to sweeping guitar solos then fires into devistating power and drum driven agression.
The lyrics are something to behold as well : "I can hear the trees talking, In the blooming desert, I can see the flowers walking, High over the mother earth,
Deep under the silted sea, Sun is shining with dark light,With closed eyes I can see, I can touch the screaming clouds".


'Sunday Morning' always a live favourite, awesome melodic guitar into powerchord structures to die for.

'Refuse To Obey' has an awesome atmospheric sampling intro and superb synth sounds intertwined with a fast becoming trademark of power, deathly vocals and melody.

'Greed' displays furious drumming, simplistic rhythm guitar, moves into a fear factory hi tech metal section and yes an awesome display of riffage from Mr McIlroy.

'Gasping For Air', dark and brooding, once again proving that superb musicianship and expert production can help create pure aural pleasure.

You would not believe the beauty of the pure symphonic intro to 'Maimed By Love' it's up there with 'Therion', then comes the full on metal attack, solid bass and drum work again punctuated by powerfull rhythms and outstanding solos and not forgetting that vocal attack.

Ending with something completly different the song 'To The Living' has another atmospheric intro and fantastic guitar from gabe, but instead of kicking in to a metal piece sticks with orchestration and spoken word, setting an ambient and calming end to a devistating album of sheer brilliance!

STU

Rating 10/10

For Fans Of : Cradle Of Filth, Celtic Frost, Meshuggah, Fear Factory

Saturday 6 November 2010

Cradle Of Filth Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa (Cd Review)



01.The Cult Of Venus Aversa
02.One Foul Step From The Abyss
03.The Nun With The Astral Habit
04.Church Of The Sacred Heart
05.The Persecution Song
06.Decieving Eyes
07.Lilith Immaculate
08.The Spawn Of Love And War
09.Harlot On A Pedestal
10.Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned)
11.Beyond The Eleventh Hour


Dani Filth (Vocals)
Paul Allender (Guitars)
James McIlroy (Guitars)
Dave Pybus (Bass)
Ashley Ellyllon (Keyboards/Backing Vocals)
Martin Å karoupka (Drums)

Guests:
Lucy Atkins (Vocals)
Dora Kemp (Backing Vocals)
Mark Newby Robson (Orchestration)
Andy James (Guitars)

Choir:
Ruth McCabe
Tim Cutts
Craig Miller
Philippa Mann
Dora Kemp
Anna Asbach-Cullen


Love them or hate them the one thing you cannot do is ignore them!
Since forming back in 1991 the Suffolk band have crossed boundaries of black metal and
goth to extreme metal, courted controversy by design and accident, made outstanding
albums and some which should never have seen the light of day!

The last few albums have been pretty average to be honest, but with James McIlroy
once more in the fold i have high expectations of a worthy follow up to the awesome
Nymphetamine album from 2004.

The concept behind the album is the demon Lilith, the first wife of the Biblical Adam.

'The Cult Of Venus Aversa' starts with some cool harpsicord and orchestration and we are introduced to Lilith then comes those trademark blast beats and a screaming Dani.
Its clear from this beginning that some time has been spent working on their sound to create something worthy of the name.

Keyboards and orchestration once again lift the next song, 'One Foul Step From The Abyss', and the next few songs move along with the same level of production and care, each song complimenting its predecessor.

'The Persucation Song' slows the pace with a simplistic but catchy guitar riff and some nice piano playing.

Up next is 'Decieving Eyes' a real heavy "Satyricon" vibe echoes through this but the choral backing lets you know that this is still "COF" at full blast.

'Lilith Immaculate' manages to tick every box with what you would expect and even adds a catchy chorus!

The next two tracks return to the albums formula, but the next song 'Forgive Me Father (I Have Sinned)' is a real surprise in as much as it borders on a commercial goth/metal "single", hell Dani even sounds like he's trying to sing (dare i say) normally, and the female backing works very well, catchy riffs and keyboards.
Way better than that "Temptation" crap they put out a few years back.

Finally the breathtaking, 'Beyond The Eleventh Hour' a dark gothic/black metal sleaze fest!
Stunning lyrics are delivered by both Dani and Lucy, the music is "all out" seemingly throwing everything they have into the mix to create 7 minutes of pure classic "COF"

All in all the perfect follow up to Nymphetamine and an album to restore faith in a band that deserve attention for the RIGHT reasons.

STU

Rating 10/10

For Fans Of : Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon, Therion

NOVEMBER GIG FLYERS




Sunday 17 October 2010

Achilla, Feral, Juggern0rt, N.A.M.B Live @ Hollywood + Vine 15.10.10 (Gig Review)

N.A.M.B
Local boys from Hull, 'Not Another Metal Band' open tonights gig with a short but furious set of catchy post hardcore/screamo, nothing to fault musically (if thats your favoured style of music of course).
The band need to tighten up with their stage presence and the backing vocals need to be delivered with a bit more confidence.

JUGGERN0RT
The first of tonights London based bands, the mighty Juggern0rt bring their devistatingly heavy music with not so much a sledgehammer effect, more of being hit by a solid steel wall at mach 10!
Unlike most bands who play this style of music, the technical ability of the musicians is second to none and vocalist James can hold his growls longer than anyone!
A very professional set, delivered with style and humor, highly entertaining and such was the response to them that they had to perform an encore.
If you are in london next month you can catch them along with Feral at the Arch Enemy after party.

FERAL
Performing tonight as a three piece with guitarist Laurence playing bass after just one rehersal, you would think they had been gigging like this for years.
An absolute blinder of a set, the melody and progression on their take of melodic thrash metal sets them almost in a class of their own.
All three of them clearly put their heart and soul into the music which has been wowing audiences in london for 2 years and now has won them fans in the north.

ACHILLA
The final night of their mini tour to promote their debut single 'Arashi'.
With their usual drummer away his place was taken by Neon Fly's Boris Le Gal and his performance alone was astounding and helped give the band a very heavy edge which allowed guitarist Dan to crank it up to 11 (no he really did the amp actually had 12 on it!) and bassist Costas to pound out the bottom heavy chords.
Vocalist Martamaria stalked the stage with her unique vocals and peformance.
Clearly moving away from the early symphonic/prog influence and maturing into a full on hard rock outfit, songs such as 'Arashi' , 'Devils Eyes' and 'Wild Flower' coming across like never before and getting a very positive reaction from the crowd.


KYRBGRINDER ON TOUR!!





Hard rockin' funky, riffy, metal grooves, a keen sense of melody and an engaging appeal is what you can expect from the London based trio that is KYRBGRINDER.

Fronted by four times drummer of the year Johanne James, who is no stranger to the limelight, having played a variety of stages from small venues to major festivals around the world, treading the boards with the likes of Dream Theater, Psychotic Waltz, Breed 77, Hawkwind and Pain of Salvation. Johanne will be well known to many as the 'engine room' of Threshold, who are considered one of the leading lights of the progressive metal scene.

Johanne formed KYRBGRINDER as a means of sharing his unique style of hard driving, infectious melodic rock that refuses to be pigeonholed, appealing to a wide spectrum of fans.

KYRBGRINDER are: Johanne James on drums and lead vocals, Tom Caris on guitar and Alberto 'Albi' Flaibani on bass.

Following the release of their debut album 'Defiance' on the legendary metal label Mausoleum Records they have subsequently gigged extensively building a hard-core fanbase and an awesome live reputation.

The new album 'Cold War Technology' is now out and recieving great reviews, Now's your chance to catch them live!

http://www.myspace.com/kyrbgrinder

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kyrbgrinder/278919146030



Friday 1 October 2010

October Gigs & News

So with new albums from Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir and some great upcoming gigs, there is plenty to keep you going this month.
But to jump ahead to December 17th we see a brand new club opening up in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, it promises to bring Live bands and Dj's playing Goth/Alt/Industrial/Blackend Metal, and its free entry.

ACHILLA

Heading out on a mini tour to promote the Arashi single







SOLSIKK

Support slot to Tarja and a track on a new compilation CD!!









BIG RED PARTY TIME!


OTHER GIGS NOT TO MISS :





And Finally A sneak peak behind the creativity of FROM GREAT HEIGHT :)