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.
The second thing that needs to be said? Fuck Read more…
Three guys made this album.
Three guys.
Seriously.
What the actual fuck?!
To be completely honest, death/black metal is something I don’t often listen to outside of that scene in Californication where a post-vasectomy Hank Moody holds an ice cube tray against his balls while his daughter Becca sulks in her room blasting said types of metal…but I can happily make an exception when Read more…
Dropped right before Christmas last year, Rose Coloured’s Doorstep Volume 2 compilation doubtless made great stocking filler for a number of Surrey and Hampshire’s resident music fans. It also offers plenty of great reasons to get excited about the Guildford- and Aldershot-centred music scenes in 2015. Read more…
The “death of the album” has been declared many times in recent years – but nonetheless, musicians keep making them and are showing no signs of stopping (and thank God for that!). Almost a decade and a half into the twenty-first century, there still exist bands and artists capable of composing immersive, engaging, and fully satisfying collections of songs that stand up to repeated, unshuffled listens. Here are fifteen of them. Read more…
Cute. Cheerful. Bright and sunny. Nice. Win Some X Lose Some is none of these things. Read more…
This isn’t so much an album as an unforgiving barrage of beyond-heavy ultra-distorted guitars, cage-fighting drums, utterly guttural bass, and brutalising vocals. If you’re only interested in nice and friendly finger-clicking tunes, Badlands is not for you – but if you’re pissed off beyond reason and your tastes tend toward the corner of musicland labelled ‘Extreme Metal’, it most certainly is. Read more…
The first time I heard about The Hell, I was advised to imagine The Lonely Island – only metal. Well, The Hell might not have Justin Timberlake crooning about how “Every Mother’s Day needs a Mother’s Night”, but they do have a bottomless bag of fat grooves and slightly less than serious lyrics. And they’re called The Hell – which should really be enough for any self-respecting metal fan. Read more…
OMSQ never do anything half-arsed. Whether you’re talking about their doomy genre-mashing instrumentals, the passion poured into their live shows, or this interview, it’s more than obvious that OMSQ give a shit – and make a point of doing so. Here, the Belgian forward-thinkers talk art, inspiration, futurism, and much more… Read more…
While listening to this album, I felt less of a listener and more an explorer of some strange, alien world. Read more…
Long-time TMMP favourites OMSQ describe themselves as “The hallucinated journey of our tribe”. If that sounds cryptic to you, just wait until you hear White Suit. Read more…