F.O.E.S. – ‘Antecedence’ [Review]
Show me a band who are one third Deftones, one third Karnivool, and one third Arcane Roots, and I’ll show you a band I’ll happily rave about until the end of time. F.O.E.S. (aka Fall Of Every Sparrow) may have an awkward name, but their music is fucking incredible. They’ve definitely found the fast track to instant approval at this end.
Antecedence kicks in in style with Rival Thrones – an immediate and crystal-clear nod in the direction of Chino Moreno & co. that merges massive, churning riffs with epic Read more…
This wasn’t so much a show as a celebration. Judging from the pre-show chatter, Therapy have been very sorely missed – and when their set came around, it was easy to see why. Before that, Thirty Six Strategies opened the night up with a set that was cool and passionate, although to be totally honest the music felt too safe. That may seem an odd word to use in the context of punk-oriented rock, but the fact is that thousands of bands are pursuing exactly the same direction as Thirty Six Strategies right now. As instrumentalists, TSS are good, and their lyrics hint at tough, hard-knock experiences – but given that no two life experiences are precisely the same, it would be awesome to hear those experiences expressed in an idiosyncratic way with a generous helping of weirdness.
When a band reaches the seventeen-year-career mark, one would expect them to become either washed out, or bloated to unsustainable excess. Happily, Breaking Benjamin are walking the rarely-mastered rock’n’roll tightrope with 
I love this album. It’s dark, it’s dirty, it’s fucked up – and beyond that, its sheer depth and authenticity was enough to win me over from the opening bars of first track Still Hurts. There’s no trace of fakery or posturing here. None at all. Fucking hell.
In the music business, few stories are topped off by a happy ending. Trying times, setbacks, and struggles are common – and more often than not, even the most valiant resistance meets with failure.
I normally hate tribute acts. I’ve seen a fair few in my time, and they never fail to bring out a borderline-allergic reaction in me. After witnessing a Rage Against The Machine tribute whose guitarist looked like Alastair Campbell, I secretly swore that 
The first thing that needs to be said is this: Takedown Festival 2015 was really well-run. Organising an event that takes in over 40 bands across five stages, runs to schedule, and delivers a smooth, hassle-free and fun experience for punters is a serious ask – but the Takedown crew rose to the challenge and did an awesome job. Even the security were nice guys. Or maybe paid actors.
Xenophobia is experiencing a real renaissance in the UK right now. Anti-EU attitudes seem to be a real talking point around these parts – and frankly, I think they’re fucking stupid. European people are badass – and if you need proof of that fact in musical form, this album should do the trick.