Eryn Non Dae: ‘Meliora’ [Review]
Raw. Relentless. Brutally bludgeoning. Sound like your kind of thing? Then read on… Read more…
Acoda: ‘The Future Is Yours To Defend’ [Review]
Moving on from yesterday’s odd pairing of Guildfordian pop divadom and West Virginian freak show excess, we now come face to face with a set of up and coming talents from the UK’s burgeoning metal scene. Read more…
A Joker’s Rage: ‘The Masquerade’ [Review]
Despite having been a band for barely over a year, A Joker’s Rage have already coalesced into an enviably professional outfit capable of unleashing a pro-level rock / metal onslaught that marks them as newcomers to watch very, very closely. Stealing tricks from Avenged Sevenfold, Motley Crüe, Atreyu, G ‘n’ R, and every other famous sleaze-rock band walking God’s green earth and adding their own extra theatrical spice into the mix, A Joker’s Rage are in stunning form on this EP. Read more…
Dillinger Escape Plan: ‘One of Us is the Killer’ [Review]
On maps of old, any foreign or unknown lands lying outside the safe and friendly confines of the familiar might have been labelled ‘here be dragons’. When drawing up a map of Mainstream Music Land, that foreboding sentence could easily be replaced with ‘Dillinger Escape Plan’. Read more…
Demented Dimensions [Live Review – The Star, Guildford – 18/6/13]
When Guildford promoters Genrebomb put on a show, you know it’s going to be 1) professionally run, 2) crammed with talented bands, and 3) a great experience. Needless to say, this show was no exception. Read more…
We Lost The Sea: ‘The Quietest Place On Earth’ [Review]
Mention the word ‘Australia’, and your mind is likely to be flooded with all kinds of images – kangaroos, barbecues, soap operas, surfers, toned and tanned beachgoers, etc. But other sights and sounds are entirely unlikely to pass through your mind’s eye – scenes of death and grief, grey and rainy days, etc. It’s easy to forget that the blights of life can touch anyone, regardless of where they are in the world. And as for sounds, quotes from Crocodile Dundee and Neighbours are far more likely than dark and enthralling post-metal. Read more…
Erlen Meyer: ‘Erlen Meyer’ [Review]
Never before has an album cover so succinctly summed up its contents. I mean, just look at it:
I don’t think words can do this album justice as well as that picture does. But I’ll give it a shot anyway… Read more…
Dire Insanity: ‘My Escape: Home Recordings EP’ [Review]
As this EP’s complete title implies, My Escape is clearly intended as a demonstration of London/Guildfordian metal band Dire Insanity’s abilities. As a set of early demo recordings, it does the job – this is clearly a group of competent and driven metallers eager to make their mark on the world. But as a commercial release (which it technically is, given that you’re encouraged to pay for it), it sadly falls below par. Read more…
Tobel Lopes: ‘Cabresto’ [Review]
We all know the feelings unique to Monday mornings. The bleary-eyed knackeredness, the aching muscles, the brain filled with thoughts and memories of the weekend that, perhaps, make us wish we hadn’t been born with neurons. What you need is to wake up – to be unceremoniously jolted out of your inertia-filled state of conscious unconsciousness. We all have our own rituals with which to achieve this: a morning workout, jog, cigarette, coffee, espresso, Red Bull, perhaps all of the above. But these options require actual physical effort. At the very least, you need to get out of bed. Hassle. Read more…
Ghost In The Static: ‘Fallout’ (Album Review)
Technology is a double-edged sword. Even the most outwardly innocuous innovations can conceal a dark side: Facebook, for instance, helps many people casually manage their social lives, while others find themselves trapped within an addiction to its constant, never-ending information streams and wide array of captivating apps. At the other end of the scale, there are technologies specifically designed to harm, kill, injure, and maim – guns, tanks, and bombs, for instance. The possibility of nuclear war has terrified the world’s population ever since the fateful destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – and in the world of music, industrial bands have been uniquely positioned to comment and speculate upon the possibility of a post-apocalyptic future. Read more…