Grumble Bee – ‘Disconnect’ [Review]

11025350_10203910477067134_927652912_oNine Inch Nails. Tesseract. You Me At Six. Strange stylistic bedfellows maybe, but Grumble Bee (aka ex-PaperPlane man Jack Bennett) has succeeded in welding them all together and creating something you absolutely have to hear immediately.

Two of my favourite TMMP genre categories are “Genre Terrorism” and “Complete Batshit Insanity” – and few acts fit those labels quite as snugly as Read more…

Posted on 28 February 2015

TMMP’s Top Gigs Of 2014

2014 has been a difficult time for underground live music in the UK. With small venues across the country facing all manner of issues, it was heartening to see the team behind Guildford’s Boileroom make it through an emotionally trying licence review process and move on to host some incredible gigs and community-oriented events. With any luck, 2015 will see a change in fortunes for venues like the Boileroom.

From intimate showings from ska legends to inhumanly tight math-pop sets via beatboxing virtuosity and an audience with the professor of punk, here are TMMP’s top gigs of 2014. Read more…

Posted on 21 December 2014

Red Seas Fire – ‘Confrontation’ [Review]

red seas fire confrontationMetal’s been around for a long time now – but it never ceases to amaze me how many musicians are still finding ways to breathe new life into a genre so frequently mocked for its backward-looking retromania.

On Confrontation, Red Seas Fire take all manner of pre-existing metallic mutations and mix them into still another fresh sound. Think Korn’s first album mixed with Periphery’s latest and you have Tyrants; visualise Chester Bennington laying down vocals over a Killswitch Engage / Tesseract jam and you’ll get closing track Compass. The Gold Room, meanwhile, offers fuzzy riffs and hardcore vocals alongside catchy lyrics sure to translate live and a bit of Dillinger Escape Plan-esque mathiness toward the end, while The Grand Escape is pure djent-fuelled filth. In short, Confrontation is all killer, and absolutely no filler. Read more…

Posted on 17 September 2014

Maxi Curnow – ‘STEM’ [Review]

maxi curnow stemPrepare to have your brain broken.

Maxi Curnow is, I suspect, not really human. As a guitarist, he’s capable of channeling Guthrie Govan, Alex Machacek, and Steve Vai; as a vocalist, Curnow can give any leading tech-metal frontman a run for his money. Calling Maxi Curnow “talented” just doesn’t work. The only option here is to go nuclear and pull out “virtuoso” instead. It may be an overused phrase these days, but it has to be said: Maxi Curnow is a virtuoso. Full stop. Read more…

Posted on 27 May 2014

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