Sleep Token split open not just one can of worms, but at least two.
The first concerns that most easily maligned approach to marketing music: The Gimmick. According to the press materials which landed in my download folder alongside Two, Sleep Token are “the mortal representatives of the ancient deity known only as ‘Sleep’, led by Read more…
As Animals As Leaders’ only UK show of 2017, this gig was literally one of a kind. As is becoming my custom at Koko, I set up camp near the ceiling and prepared for a bird’s eye view of a very special show.
Nick Johnston (95%) was the only act on this bill I hadn’t seen live before, although having reviewed his previous two albums Remarkably Human and Atomic Mind and chatted to him at length about the former for this interview, I knew to expect great things Read more…
With summer finally upon us, people across the world are flocking to gyms and aiming to achieve the ultimate beach body. The big problem with gyms is the music; calling it crap would be an understatement. You can always listen to your own music on portable players and phones – but after a few workouts have gone by, even our favourite playlists and albums tend to sound stale as they soundtrack yet another hour spent pounding a treadmill into submission Read more…
In 2017, djent has become less a genre or scene and more a musical ingredient, something to be mixed with other (preferably more diverse) influences in the name of progression. With Different Animals, Volumes have nailed that shift perfectly. As evidenced by previous efforts Via and No Sleep, Volumes know where they’ve come from – and where they’re going is somewhere fresh, new, and intriguing.
The further you get into Different Animals, the better it gets Read more…
Listening to The Contortionist is like watching a ball of rubber bands explode in slow motion – and watching them fill the O2 Forum in London with progressive soundwaves was an incredible experience. Before the show – which took place a few days prior to the tragic Manchester Arena bombing, and is reviewed in full here – I got chatting to The Contortionist’s keyboardist, Eric Guenther, about life on the road and his band’s upcoming album and live plans… Read more…
The first time I saw Periphery play live, they were headlining the Face Bar in Reading as part of the League Of Extraordinary Djentlemen tour way back in 2011. The capacity of the room also graced that evening by fellow prog-metal heavyweights TesseracT and Monuments?
300.
Fast-forward just over half a decade, teleport to the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, and you have a prime example of just what can be accomplished if you stick to your guns and keep on innovating. This was not just a show – it was a victory party, with some 2,300 fans in attendance Read more…
Oceano are a brutal band with a thought-provoking and timely message.
Our world is in trouble. This is a fact that has been debated countless times over multiple decades – and yet we continue to slip down the slope. All is not yet lost – but how long do we have left? And what can be done to turn the tide?
Revelation considers the above in devastating fashion Read more…
Given Andy James’ status as a prolific and renowned guitar teacher, it should come as no surprise that this all-instrumental LP represents a balls-to-the-wall metal masterclass.
Exodus is precision-targeted at the Internet’s shredheads. We’re talking ten tracks that span an impressive range of Read more…
Calling SikTh’s new album one of the most hotly anticipated of 2017 is like calling Donald Trump a foul, delusional sociopath. Both statements are pretty dramatic – but they also happen to be one hundred percent true.
Like the current political climate, SikTh’s history has proven both turbulent and unpredictable. Having broken up following groundbreaking long-players The Trees Are Dead And Dried Out, Wait For Something Wild and Death Of A Dead Day; reunited for 2015’s Opacities mini-album; and then split amicably with co-vocalist Justin Hill following one final show at last year’s Camden Rocks Festival (reviewed here), SikTh seem to have finally landed on solid, stable ground Read more…
As a long-time Plini and Steve Vai fan, this interview threw up an extremely exciting idea. Backstage at legendary London rock venue The Borderline, we got chatting about broken ukeleles, clean section circle pits, and that incredible plan…
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