Mastodon (Live Review – O2 Academy Brixton, January 25 2019)

Some records demand that you crank them up to such ridiculous extremes that your neighbours are practically guaranteed to come round and try to fight you – and Mastodon’s entire back catalogue fits into that volume-dependent category. Since my neighbours are actually pretty nice people, but also sadly fail to appreciate sludgy prog, I’ve not been inclined to inflict the likes of Blood Mountain, Crack the Skye, and Emperor of Sand upon them. For that reason, Mastodon’s main appeal for me up to this point has been based on professional curiosity, rather than Read more…

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Posted on 27 January 2019

Between The Buried And Me (Interview)

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Between The Buried And Me – and their consistently versatile vocalist Tommy Rogers – have had one hell of a year. As a band, they dropped their latest album Automata in two well-received and equally epic parts, while Rogers (aka Thomas Giles) also put out his own solo record, the widely acclaimed Don’t Touch The Outside. As BTBAM neared the end of a recent UK run with Tesseract that took in a monstrous London show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, I caught up with Tommy to look back at 2018 – and ended up discussing a unique BTBAM live experience that needs to happen as soon as the required technology exists…

You’ve got a lot going on right now! You’re finishing a UK tour, you’ve technically put out three albums this year, and you’ve got another tour in America coming up next February. So how are you feeling?

I’m great! Tour’s almost done, so I get to Read more…

Posted on 26 December 2018

Four Seconds Ago – ‘The Vacancy’ (Album Review)

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Although Periphery are primarily worshipped as all-conquering djent overlords, they’ve never been the kind of band to go in for constant, unrelenting brutality. Even Insomnia, the opening track from their self-titled debut album, started off with clean, faded-in backward swells and electronic glitches before Read more…

Posted on 28 September 2018

Voivod – ‘The Wake’ (Album Review)

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Very few bands make it through three and a half decades – but over the course of multiple lineup adjustments, creative direction changes, tragedies and triumphs, Voivod have kept the dream alive since the early 80s. Whether laying down 17-minute songs or covering the Batman theme, Voivod keep pushing their boundaries and stretching Read more…

Posted on 20 September 2018

Black Peaks – ‘All That Divides’ (Album Review)

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Some bands are born special. I first came across Black Peaks (then known collectively as Shrine) back in 2014, within a year or so of their initial formation, and it was obvious even then that these guys would go on to achieve big things. Fast-forward past their Closer To The Sun EP, 2016’s beautifully batshit debut album Statues, massive amounts of touring, and more than a few Read more…

Posted on 16 September 2018

Vennart – ‘To Cure A Blizzard Upon A Plastic Sea’ (Album Review)

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Mike Vennart has a reputation for turning musical messes and chaos into moving, engrossing, living and breathing songs. With To Cure A Blizzard Upon A Plastic Sea, he’s at it once again. This album can be chalked up as another success, awarded the latest approving check mark on a list of long-playing releases that date back to his work with Oceansize and Read more…

Posted on 06 September 2018

The Arusha Accord – ‘Juracán’ (EP Review)

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The Arusha Accord named themselves after a set of failed peace agreements, and their own history has been defined by dramatic struggles and attempts at conflict resolution. After an extended absence and 2017 comeback, both vocalist Alex Green and guitarist Tom Hollings departed into the sunset while the remaining members fought to Read more…

Posted on 01 September 2018

ArcTanGent 2018 (Festival Review)

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Although attractiveness is subjective, ArcTanGent happens to be situated in an official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – and if you visit it and look around, you’d probably agree with the government’s judgment for once. As for the music you can expect to experience at the UK’s most respected prog, math, and post-everything festival, it may serve a very specific niche, but the fans who love the styles in question tend to Read more…

Posted on 21 August 2018

Monuments (The Phronesis Interview)

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On October 5, tech-metal fans can look forward to the long-awaited unveiling of Phronesis, the latest collection of groove-heavy tracks from the band who unleashed The Amanuensis about four years ago. For now, let’s just say that you need to pre-order Phronesis immediately via this link, and read on to dig into an epic-length chat with Monuments guitarist and mastermind John Browne about his band’s post-Amanuensis issues, the story behind standout Phronesis track Stygian Blue, onstage flashers, a ton of advice for up-and-coming musicians, and Read more…

Posted on 14 August 2018