Shrine / Throne / LYGER [Live Review – Electrowerkz, London, 7/8/14]
Making the jump from the practice room to the stage can be a worrying proposition, more of a leap of faith than anything else. Onstage, you’re not only relying on your own skills, or even those of your bandmates; you’re also putting the success of your show in the metaphorical hands of the venue and its equipment.
Last night, technical issues came close to ruining it for everyone – but the following bands still got the job done, and deserve your time and respect simply for getting through this show with their sanity intact: Read more…
Here’s how to spot a professional band:
Few bands mark their territory as clearly as Seven7 do. Fusing brutal intensity with seductively exotic scales and topping it all off with harsh, unyielding vocals while channelling and challenging the likes of Dream Theater and Alter Bridge, these guys are nothing if not ambitious. 
UKIP. The BNP (and Nazi-aping BNP Youth). Xenophobia. Racism. Sexism. Homophobia. Hatred, apathy, and immersion in a parallel hyperreality that connects us digitally while disconnecting us physically from each other and the natural world.
I’m not sure if it’s too early to compare a band to Lostprophets, but I’m going to do it anyway. Until recently, that band was one of my favourite acts ever; regardless of what was cool at the time, Lostprophets were always able to blend it all into a fresh sound with a unique edge. Tigers Of Junction Street do much the same thing – and it’s completely won me over. 
This album is so awesome, I reviewed it twice. There’s a long version, and a short version. 
Nothing gets you in the mood for a metal gig quite as effectively as car trouble. When reviewing gigs, you want to be like Mel Gibson’s character in We Were Soldiers – first to enter, and last to leave. For this show, I was not that.