Stiff Bizkit / Spotlight Cannibal / Darko / Flesh Trench [Live Review – The Star, Guildford, 14/3/15]
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 Read more…

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.
Three guys made this album.
Fuck Suzuki. Their cars are crap. My formerly faithful four-wheeler failed at completing a function even more basic than going forwards, and refused to even start. While Throatpunch City were getting through their set, I was pretty much doing this:
As the originators of the metal style known as djent, Meshuggah are one of the most influential heavy bands in existence today. If you’ve ever sat and scratched your head at an ultra-complex riff until you listened to the cymbal pattern and suddenly it all made sense, you were most likely listening to a band paying lip service to Meshuggah – if not a track by the Swedish maestros themselves. Djent bands the world over owe their rhythmic and tonal signatures to Meshuggah, although the origin of the genre-encompassing word itself is the subject of much controversy.