If you’re into bands who make a conscious effort to do something different, Calling Apollo are well worth checking out. Here, vocalist Chris Neale chats about creative development, Calling Apollo’s earliest days, and new EP Hunter/Gatherer…
Your new EP Hunter/Gatherer is a real step up from your last release. What did you do to push yourselves to the next level?
We didn’t Read more…
Having had my ears blown by Employed To Serve’s debut long-player Greyer Than You Remember and seen the Woking-based post-hardcore upstarts tear through a riotous Palm Reader support slot, I can safely say that if you love hardcore-related shenanigans and haven’t checked these guys out yet, you need to fix that ASAP.
A bleak and brutal whirlwind of off-kilter riffs, hectic drum abuse, and scorching vocals, Greyer Than You Remember represents pure, no-shortcut quality; over the course of every track, Employed To Serve push themselves past their own limits and into the previously unknowable. Here, ETS vocalist Justine Jones chats about her band’s origin story, self-worth, onstage nerves, and some sick future tour plans…
Your album Greyer Than You Remember is dropping on May 25th. How do you feel right now?
Really excited! We’ve had some of these songs written for a year, so we’re really happy to finally be playing them live and for people to be able to listen to them!
How would you describe your creative evolution over the course of your last few releases and the creation of Greyer Than You Remember?
Pretty drastic! I feel like we’ve forced Read more…
This EP put me in two minds on the first listen under headphones. The songs were definitely great – but the sound was terrible. Waaaay too much treble. It almost gave me a migraine.
Then I tried putting it through proper speakers. It sounded sick. Then some Apple earpods. Still sick.
Basically, the Decoy (and producer Chris Coulter) showed me how shit my new Sennheiser earbuds are. Forty quid, they cost me. Forty fucking quid. Literally in the bin as I write this.
Anyway…the Decoy fill in the grey areas between Read more…
What a difference a year makes.
Fans of Arcane Roots, Coheed And Cambria, Deftones, and SikTh are guaranteed to find something to love inside this EP. Calling Apollo may make their influences obvious, but they’re playing with a wicked mix of punchy riffs, well-defined tones, and great songcraft. It’s certainly a leap forward from Read more…
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Whenever I listen to Black Peaks, I wind up with a massive grin splitting my face like a Halloween pumpkin. Their Closer To The Sun EP has been played so many times at TMMP HQ that I’m sure the ones and zeroes are starting to wear out, and the more recent Glass Built Castles pushed things even further toward trance-inducing bliss overload.
In short, Read more…
I’m writing these words on a cloudless spring day. My laptop is on a table on a freshly swept patio, and birds are chirping happily in the trees. My neighbours are playing fetch with their dog.
Greyer Than You Remember is not an appropriate soundtrack for this.
Calling this album chaotic would be Read more…
Aldershot is on fire right now. Not literally (unless the football’s on), but in terms of incredible musical output. twothirtytwo look set to lead a fresh horde of fucked-off Aldershotians into the future, fuelling that rush with levels of theatrical passion which Read more…
Palm Reader don’t deal in niceties. Where some of their peers might opt for an expansive, solemn intro in order to lull listeners into a false sense of security, Palm Reader give it ten seconds before going straight for the throat. From there, I Watch The Fire Chase My Tongue starts proceedings as Palm Reader mean to go on – with a good metric fuckton of math-ridden, Dillinger Escape Plan-inspired brutality.
Beside The Ones We Love is the sound of a band shoving impatiently against its own limits – and then Read more…
On an average Friday night, the most challenging music you’re likely to encounter will involve a four-to-the-floor kick drum, some cheesy synths, and the chart topping pop puppet of the day warbling over the top. Prog fans on a night out often find themselves hitting a wall beyond which they either choose to go home, or encounter a sudden urge to 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.
The second thing that needs to be said? Fuck Read more…