YOUR CITY IS FORGOTTEN - RISEN FROM THE DEEP (Cd Review)

01.It Has Begun

02.The Despoiler

03.Kraken

04.Herald Of The Tempest

05.Colossus

06.Calamity From The Sky

Kieran Spiers (Vocals)

James Mclintock (Drums)

Jack Barker (Guitar)

Alec Whitelaw (Guitar)

Luke Potter (Bass)

New uk hardcore act formed at the beginning of August 2008 by vocalist Kez (Ex - Trenchhead) and drummer Pygmy, then joined by guitarists Jack (Dreaming In Oceans/Ex From the Carnival of Horrors), and Alec, and bassist Luke (Ex Carnivale/Matron).

Okay so hardcore aint my thing and after the first couple of songs i was getting a bit bored, its all shouting and and agression, a shame because i tell you that the lyrics are awesome, very well written and intelligent, you just cant hear them though.

BUT, oh yes there is a "But" when we hit track 4 melody kicks in and there is a little more stucture in the song, sure its still shouting and agression but it has enough breakdowns to make it listenable, Same is true of the next two tracks as well.

What really makes this stand out though is as previously mentioned the quality of the lyrics, "God machines advancing, archaic cathedrals of unbridled hate laying our cities to waste" (Colossus).
So all in all i have to reccomend this album!

Rating 5/10 (Music)

10/10 (Lyrics)

For Fans Of : Job For A Cowboy, Trigger The Bloodshed, Architects

STU

MUTANT - LASERDROME EP (Cd Review)

01.Scrap Brain Zone

02.Laserdrome

03.Turbo Hyper Ultra Mega Power

04.The Rauncher

Sam Klempner (Guitar)

Tom Luchtenstein (Guitar/Vocals)

Josh Ludlowe (Drums)

Jonathan Kushner (Bass)

Arghhhhhh my ears, had this on headphones and nearly went deaf!This new generation thrash band have been kicking around for 4 years now, but only the last couple of years have started to get noticed with high profile support slots and the recent tour with Evile.
In many ways there is not a lot to say because its delivers exactly what you would expect..Hi energy full on thrash.

Each track has solid drumming, lots of punchy guitar and bass with Slayerish overtones and vocals.

Only thing i think its lacks is great long guitar solos, i would put more in!!

Rating 8/10

For Fans Of : Evile, Gama Bomb, Virus, Slayer

STU

VIRUS, AFFLUENZA, MARIANA HOLLOW, FERAL Live At Purple Turtle 22.05.09 (Gig Review)

VIRUS
AFFLUENZA
MARIANA HOLLOW
FERAL

The Purple Turtle, Camden 22.05.09

FERAL
Emerging as one of the forces in the metal hammer coined "NWOTM", thats New Wave Of
Traditional Metal, the foursome have now grown up out of their initial melodic thrash tag
to join the ranks of Green River Project and Cauldron as serious exponents of heavy metal.

Tonights set proved a hit with a 40 strong crowd of headbangers at the front while a few at
the back looked on decidedly unimpressed.Well lets face you cant please everybody, thats
the great thing about the whole metal genre - some you like some you dont.

Only one hitch in their set which was the micraphone cutting out during the first
performance of the new song "The Test", which is a shame because it was great.

MARIANA HOLLOW
Fronted by Rebecca Spinks, a singer of some considerable talent, the band proceed to play the longest set tonight which judging by the crowds reaction was a good thing.
Their infectious melodic and moody rock may have seen a strange choice on an essentially
all out metal bill, yet it worked a treat.

For all the melody there are some sneaking moments of agression in their songs which make
you think of Opeth or Paradise Lost.
A band clearly destined for greater things and an obvious support act for Within Temptation
the next time they hit the uk.

AFFLUENZA
Just for once it would make a change to say that the band were not as good as usual or that
they screwed up, but i cant say that because they produced another perfect set!!!!!
A faultless performance hammering out the soon to be classics like "Dead Days" (Fucking
love that song!) and "Affluenza Strain" they entertain on a very high level.

Great sabbath like guitarwork backed as ever by solid rhythmic drummer and pounding bass
while Al paces the stage like a crazed Wayne Static screaming and growling his well written
lyrics.
As is becoming a habit with this lot you have to say "Great Success".

VIRUS
Reinvented, reborn and out to tear you a new asshole !
Original member Coke lead his army in a full out assault of 'loud as fuck' guitars, booming
vocals and some of the best drumming you will hear this side of Adrian Erlandsson.

Opening with the awesome "Lunacy" the venue erupts with a mixture of headbanging, moshing and hardcore dancing.After the first song a divide appeared with those repelled by the aural assault retreating to the back of the venue while the rest continued to smash braincells.

Virus are picking up an ever increasing young fan base as the new generation thrash fans discover where many of their favourite bands got their ideas from.

Tonight we were treated to two new songs "Skulls Of My Enemies" and the anthemic "Raped By Mutants".
The only things that marred tonights performance were Coke's guitar problems (A loose volume control and an over distorted guitar), the second was that the venue cut their set short, the former can be sorted but the latter was unforgivable, that said, and with the band obviously angry, it was still a great performance.

STU

FERAL

MARIANA HOLLOW

AFFLUENZA

VIRUS

SNAKEBITE,CHAOSANCT,XENOCHORD,ICON,STORM THE GATES Live At The Gaff 16.05.09 (Gig Review)

SNAKEBITE
CHAOSANCT
XENOCHORD
I.C.O.N
STORM THE GATES
MOTORCITY DAREDEVILS (Aftershow Set)

The Gaff, Holloway Road 16.05.09

STORM THE GATES
Tonight the band seemed pretty pissed off about something and it came over like they didnt
want to be there, which is a shame because they played a great set and got a good reaction
from the crowd even though they didnt pull anyone themselves.

I.C.O.N
Hailing from Burnley "oop north" they came all the way to Holloway road the quartet played
their hearts out with a set of stunning heavy metal songs delivered with great musicianship
and humour.The gathered masses soon warmed to their infectious tunes and much headbanging ensued.

Check out the video for the funny bit where their incredibley tall guitarist bashed his
head on the celing mounted speaker, later in the set he jumped off the stage into the crowd
and sent them crazy.

They have an album coming out soon, i suggest you grab a copy and check them out.Got to get
these guys back soon.

XENOCHORD
I say this in every review but they just keep getting better every time i see them.Tonights set was awesome their sound was perfect and the keyboards were a pleasure to
listen to.
Their ever increasing fanbase were treated to some amazing songs like 'Absinthe', 'Sunday
Morning' and my personal favourite 'Delirium' with its hypnotic hawkwind like bassline
going into some brain crunching progressive death metal.

They entertain on every level, so go see them next time they play.

CHAOSANCT
The return of the "Blackend Power Metal" supergroup making its debut with new guitarist
Paul Scanlon.It was paul who kicked off tonights set by playing the opening riff to "Slither" holding it for nearly a minute getting louder and louder then the rest of the band exploded into the song.

Their performance was a masterclass of unrelenting power, Dave's voice was note perfect
from every growl to every high ear blasting scream, both guitarists attacked the strings as
if their very life depended on it, tilmans bass pumped right through your chest and the
drums were set to pure overkill.

Nothing and i do mean nothing (Broken bass string and moving bass drum) could stop them as
song gathered pace with agression and melody.
Outstanding tracks were "Oppenheimer" and "Dark Directions".
We want more!!!!!!

SNAKEBITE
3 words come to mind here "Southern Trend Kill".These lads have nailed that Pantera vibe
and added their own twist.
Very impressive and full of energy with hell for leather vocals and punching guitarwork and playing songs from their impressive EP 'Never Grow'.

MOTORCITY DAREDEVILS
Playing an aftershow set their classic brought the evening down (I mean that in a good way)you just cannot beat this band for ac/dc influenced rock that appeals to everybody.Great to headbang to and after the evenings aural onslaught it was nice to hear something
less agressive.They also threw in an amazing cover of "Live Wire".

STU

STORM THE GATES

I.C.O.N

XENOCHORD

CHAOSANCT

SNAKEBITE

MOTORCITY DAREDEVILS

KING LIZARD - LIVE 'N' RED RAW (DVD Review)

Live At The Underworld, Camden 28/11/08

Rain On You (New Promo Video)

Building The beast (Stage Set Up)

Behind The Lizard (Backstage Footage)

Photo Gallery

Lyrics

Flash (Vocals)

Alice (Bass)

Niro (Guitar)

Sky (Drums)

I have many videos/dvd's of gigs that i have been too over the years and none of them have ever really captured the essence of the show and often edit out my favourite songs.So it was with average expectations that i hit play........

Great intro with a lizard in red leads us into a very well filmed (wait for it) FULL show (Hooray).You really get the feel of the electricity of the gig, basically its an exciting video.
As for the extras on the disc they are also good, firstly we get a promo of the new recorded version of "Rain On You" which is made up of live clips and the backstage footage with a few added graphics.

The 2 mini documentarys give you a very slight glimpse into the workings of a big show like this.
The first is Building the Beast which is basically putting the stage together and the soundcheck.The second is more fun, but only 4 minutes,this is them messing around backstage with photographers and crew members like Rocco (From Roxville) and the presenter from Quizmania Tim Litchfield.We are also treated to a rendition of "Scatman" by Flash.
The photo gallery and lyrics are pretty self explanatory really.We also get snippets of the fourthcoming album tracks during the menu's.

All in all this is a very good package and its self relesaed as well putting many "official" band dvd's to shame.

Rating 10/10

STU

KING LIZARD, IMPERIAL VIPERS, FERAL Islington Academy 03.05.09 (Gig Review)

KING LIZARD
IMPERIAL VIPERS
THE KRAK
FLOORS AND WALLS
FERAL

Islington Academy 03.05.09

FERAL

This band is not an opening act, so what the thinking was behind putting them on first at 6:30 is beyond all sense especially when you consider that the next two bands were not even rock!
Still ever the professionals they took to the stage in front of a pretty packed house (and not all their fans had made it at this time) and for the next 30 minutes blew the academy away with a standard of music that some might say is far in advance for a band so young!

What i really noticed tonight was their musicianship,with some quite outstanding guitarwork from Martin, it was the first time i had really taken this in as to how much work he puts into his playing.the same is also true of laurence (the other guitarist) is is no chord merchant but someone who plays the guitar with passion and style, let us not forget the bassist James who flys up and down the fretboard, unlike a lot of bass players who tend to stick to the bottom string and finally Tom on the drums who is in danger of drawing comparisons with a young Bill Ward and John Bonham.

They closed their way too short set with a storming version of "Truth Is Lies" with a guest vocal from Jaz of Man Of Kin, it was one of those great headbanging moments and the ever increasing audience loved every second of it.

IMPERIAL VIPERS

The glam/punk rockers totally packed the venue.Currently touring to promote their recent album 'Broken' they played an energy fuelled set mixing the old with the new and ending with a cover of Motorheads "Ace Of Spades".The band were a welcome relief after the indie crap that was before which had emptied the venue to the bar and smoking area and managed to get the evening back on its feet and dancing.

KING LIZARD

A while ago i said to Flash that it was time for them to "up their game" and toinght they once again proved that they have with an impressive performance.
After the intro tape London's monsters of rock take to the stage and go straight into "Waterloo rats" then proceed to tear the place up with classic song after song, while the newer "Viva La Decadance" is a stand out track with it's catchy chorus.

After Niro's guitar solo we get the first real hint of true greatness.I have to say that the rock ballad "Not For me" will in the future be hailed as an all time classic rock song, its up there with Motley Crue's 'Home Sweet Home' and Guns N Roses 'Sweet Child O Mine' it is that good and tonights rendition was perfect.

A few songs later and we hit another future classic with "Riot", tonight we get to hear Flash's piano intro as recorded for the debut album played on tape (Gotta do it live man) then Alice starts that wonderful bassline that sounds like the Doors 'Riders On The Storm' before nodding to Alice Coopers 'Im Eighteen' and then it's pure Lizard all the way with slow bits and heavy bits and of course a sing a long.
They end with a storming version of "Late Nite Dynamite" and an encore of "Johnny Be Goode".

STU

FERAL

IMPERIAL VIPERS

KING LIZARD

EVILE, MUTANT, RIVER FRESHNEY Camden Underworld 23.04.09 (Gig Review)

EVILE
TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED
MUTANT
RIVER FRESHNEY

Underworld, Camden 23.04.09


RIVER FRESHNEY

In your face thrash metal, mixing comedy, with lyrics that are guaranteed to offend at least one person in the crowd. Great stuff, great stage presence.They know how to entertain and make use of the stage well and their inbetween song banter was funny and suitably offensive.
Essentially what you get is Lawnmower Deth meets Napalm Death with some of the less savoury elements of Anal Cunt.Songs like "Bob Hoskins goin' mental in a bin" and the legendary "Titwank" are crowd pleasers but the bad taste award tonight goes to my favourite song of the night "Gay pride sunshine" which had me in hysterics.


MUTANT

They race to the stage, full of energy, matched by the audience as they launched into non stop moshing and stage diving. one stage diver knocks the singers guitar out of his hands and manages to break a string.
Despite this being headlined by Evile, there were many many mutant tshirts being worn.Anyone waiting to hear some of the new cd "Laserdrome" played live were in for a treat and it sounded amazing.

They ended with "Psycho Surgery" which is received with a mighty roar, the singer/guitarist Tom Luchtenstein said "the underworld was built with a pillar for one reason, to have a circle pit round!" the place then exploded with bodies flying everywhere.Great set, great fun! from a band who are rapidly climing the thrash ladder.


TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED

As Warpath couldnt make it, in fact it seems they have cancelled the rest of the tour, current press faves "TTB" have stepped in to finish the tour.However as they are a Detah metal act they seem an odd choice.They were very well received, though not my type of music personally, they played well and are clearly talented.


EVILE

The moment everyone has been waiting for, the lights dim, and the opening guitar bit from "We Who Are About To Die" plays, they explode into the song, more moshing, more stage diving, people limping around and this is only the first song!
They carry on playing through a faultless set, almost bumping into the hoard of headbangers that have taken over the stage on more than one occasion.

Singer/guitarist Matt Drake announces to the crowd that they didnt expect such a turn out, and is one of the most packed gigs they've played, it was very cramped in the floor area of the venue!
He also announced that the new album is due out soon, and they play 2 new songs "Demolition" which was awesome and had lots of 'headbangy' moments.

The second new song played later on was untitled but was impromptuly named "Jack Bauer's Power Crotch" was good but not as good as demolition.

The classic "Enter the grave" was played towards the end, sending the hordes mental.
When they finished their set, people were limping out the venue, and i swear every single person had a smile on their face, even the mosh damaged ones!

RIVER FRESHNEY

MUTANT

EVILE