Tracklisting:
Intervals – “Ephemeral” (A Voice Within)
Verse Vica – “Cities I: Cerulean” (Endeavour)
Möngöl Hörde – “Casual Threats of Weekend Hardmen” (Möngöl Hörde)
Polar – “Black Days” (Shadowed By Vultures)
Canvas – “Griever” (No Love, No Hope, No Future)
Architects – “Naysayer” (Lost Forever // Lost Together)
Fighting Bears – “Gutsy Question, You’re A Shark (Live at Preston FM)” (Preston FM Acoustic Session [21.07.14])
Devil Sold His Soul – “Devastator” (Belong ╪ Betray)
Empress AD – “From Where I Cannot Reach” (Still Life Moving Fast)
The Contortionist – “Language I: Intuition” (Language)
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Time to look at some of the best albums of 2014…
Intervals kicked off the show. Unfortunately, since the release of “A Voice Within”, vocalist Mike Semesky has left the band (late November), and the remaining trio are searching for a replacement – so here’s hoping they’ll be on their feet soon, making more awesome music (though honestly, their music is still kick-ass sans-vocals). In the interim they will be performing as an instrumental act, the way they began before the album’s release. You can pick up the old stuff – and the new – from their BANDCAMP page. In fact, here’s a wee video of a track from their “In Time” instrumental EP, from back in 2012.
Verse Vica will actually let you download a full copy of their debut record, “Endeavour”, as well as an instrumental copy, through their own BANDCAMP page. This is pretty cool, and I may well have to use a track as a bed in future shows – but even cooler than that is you can pay what you want (or indeed nothing) for the damn thing! Additionally to that, the album is bloody awesome, and for a band that, as far as I can see, is doing this all without a label, I’m going to laud this with the “Best Independent Album of the Year” tag, as it is, as far as I’m concerned. Check out the guitar playthrough for “Cities I: Cerulean”, below (sans vocals!).
Let’s face it: there weren’t many cooler bands this last year than Möngöl Hörde. Their self-titled debut is up there with the best I’ve heard and it’s a hell of a lot of fun. When you add on some great festival appearances and a fantastic tour with sludge-metal anti-heroes Palehorse and alt-rock upstarts Oxygen Thief, you have to say that they’ve given the best and left us all begging for more. What with Frank Turner being uber busy with his other projects we may have to hold our breath a damned sight longer, but I’m sure when they come back around it’ll be worth it! Here’s the guys thrashing around to the awesome “Casual
Threats of Weekend Hardmen”…
Polar got out there early in the year with “Shadowed By Vultures”, the band’s second album, and a big step up from the boys too. Though there were a few big-hitters on the release, my unofficial “Summer Anthem” was “Black Days”. They’re playing the album from front-to-back in February too in London. Check that shit out!
The first album from Bedfordshire’s Canvas made waves in the Autumn, released by Transcend Music. A brooding, dark melodic hardcore shrouding it from the start to finish, “No Love, No Hope, No Future” is a challenging and rewarding listen. Keep an eye out for them in January as they go off on a small number of dates around the UK with Bad Sign.
There’s not much that needs to be said about Architects. They can do little wrong these days, and 2014 has been another superb year for Brighton’s favourite sons. “Lost Forever // Lost Together” has won a handful of awards, tours have been selling out, and their upcoming tour with Every Time I Die, Blessthefall and Counterparts looks like one of the tours of 2015 already. Get a ticket while you can!
A quick detour to one of my favourite local bands, Fighting Bears, who I was ecstatic to get in session acoustically this summer. In fact, there’s a video that shows just how fantastic their session was. Make sure you head to our SESSIONS page to download their exclusive session track for free, as well as plenty of others from other bands we’ve had in over the last 2 years…
And a quick mention to Devil Sold His Soul – “Belong ╪ Betray” – definitely my favourite EP of 2014, and a long time coming. Check them out on tour in the Spring.
Empress AD have been making copious noise this year. 2014 saw “Still Life Moving Fast” draw a line under all their work since the band’s inception in 2011. They’ve already started with the writing for album number 2, so expect more from the London boys in the not-too-distant future. Here’s a video from 2013 for a track that ended up on “Still Life…” – “Blurred Perception”.
And finally, although by no means of any order (aside from the show’s playlist, of course), we finish with The Contortionist. “Language”, the band’s third album, demonstrated a further shift from their deathcore origins. A more ethereal sound, washed out guitars and heavenly vocal melodies heavily outweighing the more guttural screams. It’s all very beautiful and stands up by itself proudly among the current crop of technical and progressive metal bands. Tellingly, the band have been announced as one of the first acts to appear at 2015’s TechFest. The festival at Newark Showground keeps growing but the entry price remains one of the best when it comes to value for money. Check out the rest of the line-up (so far) below.
That’s all for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Tracklisting:
Radio Alcatraz – “Exchanging Hunting Tips With The Devil (feat. Jamie Lenman)” (It’s All Coming Up Roses!)
Mastodon – “The Motherload” (Once More ‘Round The Sun)
Oxygen Thief – “Co(Extra)Ordinates” (The Half-Life of Facts)
Enter Shikari – “Never Let Go of the Microscope” (The Mindsweep)
Interview with The One Hundred
The One Hundred – “Unleashed” (Subculture)
Pick of the Month
Digits – “Embers” (Digital Download Single)
Servers – “Universes & Supernovas (The Ride)” (Leave With Us)
Buried in Verona – “Illuminate” (Faceless)
Local Band of the Year
All Consumed – “Enraging” (All Consumed)
Funeral For A Friend – “1%” (Chapter and Verse)
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First show in our new slot – Mondays fortnightly at 11pm on Preston FM. As we’re nearing the end of the year, I’ve mixed a few of the year’s best tracks into our normal glut of new music from the alternative scene.
Plus, we had an interview with The One Hundred too! Tim and Phil from the band sat down and chatted tour-life, musicianship and their amazing year, which ended with a huge UK tour opening for djent/grime scene kings, Hacktivist. The band have been announced for next year’s Takedown Festival at Southampton University in March. They had a cracking lineup last year. Check out the band’s they’ve announced so far!
All Consumed have had a good year. In the summer they won the Preston Metal 2 The Masses competition and thus performed at Bloodstock Festival. An absolutely solid live act, 2015 should see the 4-piece release an album, and then who knows what next… For 2014, they are our Local Band of the Year! Check out this little interview they did for Get Your Rock Out at Bloodstock!
Our Pick of the Monthcame from North-East alt-rockers, Digits, who unleashed the first look at their upcoming EP, “Footprints & Embers”, with the single for “Embers” out now digitally. It’s been a trying year for the band, replacing a drummer mid-way through the year, but 2015 is set to see them release their new EP and get some touring in across the UK. Show them your love at one of the dates below and make sure to pick up their new release!
Enter Shikari release “The Mindsweep” next month, and the band keep teasing us with new tracks, including “Never Let Go of the Microscope”. Tickets for their winter tour through Europe and the UK are fast selling-out, as are the album’s pre-order bundles, available through their OFFICIAL WEBSITE. If you’re like me and you’d rather wait and hear the album in full, don’t watch the video below – but if you can’t help yourself, enjoy a little sneak preview of the new album – “The Mindsneak”, if you will…
Funeral For A Friend are also due back on the road in January, with the band’s new album, “Chapter and Verse” due out in the UK on the same day as Shikari’s new album! “1%” is the new single, which sees the boys turning back towards a more “Hours”-era sound, from the hardcore punk that inspired “Conduit”. The lads are off touring the UK first before gallivanting off through Europe. See below for the UK tour dates.
The new Radio Alcatraz album saw release the day of this show, and “It’s All Coming Up Roses!” is definitely an album you need to hear. I’ve spoken plenty about the guest vocalists on the record, but all those aside, this band should be on the lips of the national music press a lot more in 2015 if there is any justice. If you’re still unconvinced, go to PUNKTASTIC, who still (at time of writing) have an embedded player streaming the album in its entirety. Watch out for tour dates in the New Year!
Oxygen Thief impressed this year with the debut full-band LP, “The Half-Life of Facts”, released on the awesome Xtra Mile Recordings. “Co(Extra)Ordinates” was one of my favourite tracks of this year, and the album ain’t half-bad either. If you’re somewhere close enough, the band are doing a few dates down south in February. Check ’em out.
There’s been a lot of good music coming out of Australia in 2014. Buried in Verona were just one of a couple of handfuls of Aussie bands that made a lot of noise this year. “Faceless” is the album out now, and “Illuminate” is another one of my favourite singles from this year.
I’d been meaning to play a Mastodon for a while now, especially since I haven’t been able to get “The Motherload” out of my head since its release on “Once More ‘Round The Sun” this last Summer. Another of the year’s best tracks, albeit, in my humble opinion. Get twerkin’…
But my personal favourite this year (song-wise), technically came out in 2013… Servers released the album “Leave With Us” early this year on the resurrected Undergroove Records, and the first single, “Universes & Supernovas (The Ride)” makes me happy on many levels. I’ll leave you with the video to see why for yourself.
That’s all for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Tracklisting:
Devil Sold His Soul – “Devastator” (Belong ╪ Betray)
Long Song/Short Song
Maybeshewill – “Volga” (Fair Youth)
Sonic Boom Six – “An Ode To The D.I.Y. Promoter” (Punktastic presents: Un-Scene 4 – 30 Seconds To Impact)
Trails – “Echoes in Eternity” (Crooked Trees)
Interview with Hacktivist
Hacktivist – “Deceive and Defy” (Digital Download Single)
The One Hundred – “Downfall” (Subculture)
Radio Alcatraz – “Henry VIII (feat. Justin Sane)” (It’s All Coming Up Roses!)
Krokodil – “Sun Riders (feat. Simon Neil)” (Nachash)
The Best Song Never Heard
Fellsilent – “Immerse” (The Hidden Words)
Northlane – “Rot” (Digital Download Single)
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Another enjoyable hour tonight as we mixed some great new music with some interesting chat and a couple of lesser-heard tracks.
The week before this show I had the pleasure of speaking to Ben (Vocals) and Rich (Bass) from Hacktivist prior to their headline show at 53 Degrees in Preston as part of the Download Freezes Over tour. It was a highly enjoyable and interesting chat, and one which you can hear in its extended and uncut form on the Something Completely Different SOUNDCLOUD page. We also span the new single from the 5-piece. Check out the riffs on this beast in the video below. Try and catch them whilst they’re still out on tour too!
Ben from the band chose this show’s Best Song Never Heard feature too, picking out djent/tech-metal trailblazers Fellsilent. This 6-piece from Milton Keynes called time in 2010 having released just one full-length – 2008’s “The Hidden Words”, but live on, spreading their seed into bands such as Monuments, Heart of a Coward and TesseracT. The band toured with the likes of Enter Shikari and Exit Ten in their latter years, but now the only way you’ll get close to a live performance will be in the form of the below music video, for “Immerse”.
On the next show we’ll have an interview with The One Hundred – out on tour at the moment with Hacktivist as part of that Download Freezes Over tour. In the meantime, here’s the video for their last single, “Downfall”.
Another band out on tour now are Krokodil, opening up for Mastodon on their UK tour this fortnight. The album, “Nachash” is out now and the track, “Sun Riders”, featuring Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil, is racking up airplay on national radio since its release. Check out the lyric video below to see why.
Maybeshewill return to the UK after 2 months on the road through Europe and Asia, Flood of Red. Make sure you catch them play some of the biggest headline sets they’ve played in their existence!
Another tour newly-announced comes from Devil Sold His Soul, whose long-awaited EP, “Belong ╪ Betray”, complete with questionable symbology, is out now through Basick Records , and is certainly one of the best EPs of the year. “Devastator”, the opening, and pretty much the title track, is a masterful piece of art which helps affirm that vocalist Paul Green is more than a worthy adversary to ex-vocalist, Ed Gibbs – he is the future of the band. You can listen and/or pick up the release from BANDCAMP. DSHS go off on tour in April/May, so make sure you get down and see them.
Speaking of new vocalists, Northlane just released “Rot”, their first track released with new frontman, Marcus Bridge. It doesn’t disappoint. The 5-piece are over in Europe and the UK in support of Parkway Drive now and through most of December. Check out the video for “Rot” below.
Radio Alcatraz finally release their sophomore album, “It’s All Coming Up Roses!” through Banquet Records on December 8th. Complete with 4 exciting guest vocalists, this 10-track LP is pushing its way towards my Top 5 this year. We got a first radio play for “Henry VIII”, which features Anti-Flag’s Justin Sane. The band will soon be announcing tour dates for 2015, so get yourself prepared with their back catalogue, starting with this one from their 2012 debut…
Trails are quickly becoming one of my favourite new bands, and in particular, new single “Echoes in Eternity”. “Crooked Trees” is the name of their first full-length, out now through Lockjaw Records, and available through their BANDCAMP page too, along with pretty much all their past output. Ones to keep an eye out for in 2015. Look out for tour dates very soon…
And finally, we managed to squeeze in 30 seconds of Sonic Boom Six! The Boom are creating album number 5 – “Operation Boombox” – and you can get involved, pre-order the album and get exclusive access to all sorts of tidbits by heading on over to their PLEDGEMUSIC campaign. You’ve got til about the end of February to get your pledge in, and to give you a taster, here’s a lyric video from a new mixtape they’ve put out. Enjoy!
That’s it for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Tracklisting:
Cancer Bats – “Satellites” (Searching For Zero)
Pulled Apart By Horses – “Medium Rare” (Blood)
Freeze the Atlantic – “Welcome Back To Nibelheim” (Freeze the Atlantic)
Your New Favourite Band
Black Map – “I’m Just The Driver” (…And We Explode)
Heart in Hand – “A Beautiful White” (A Beautiful White)
Pick of the Month
Enter Shikari – “The Last Garrison” (The Mindsweep)
Empress AD – “Deeper in Disguise” (Still Life Moving Fast)
Cale Lane – “Turns On A Sixpence” (Morning Light)
Local Band of the Month
Sweet Deals On Surgery – “Rohypnol’d At A Family Do” (Total Reek Hole)
Krokodil – “Reptilia Familiar” (Nachash)
Reuben – “Dusk” (Racecar is Racecar Backwards)
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A great hour was had – a good mix of new, still-kinda-new and one from 2004 to even things up a bit – but what did we learn this week???
We learned that Rob from Sweet Deals On Surgery sometimes regrets naming songs after cheap puns and in-jokes – the guitarist of the 3-piece spazzcore outfit joined us for a chat as our Local Band of the Month. “Total Reek Hole” is the pun title of their first release – a 4-track EP finding joy in songs with names like “Desk From The Waist Down” and “Elvis Costello is a Wanker”. Puns and in-jokes they may be, but the self-recordings exhibit a raw but quickly developing sound which will serve them well fitting amongst the growing punk/indie scene. Pick up the EP for whatever price you want to pay at BANDCAMP and look out for their live show. Though a relatively young band, they’re booking gigs left, right and centre. Here’s a little video from their recent appearance in Preston.
Black Map are a bit of a “super-group”, you might say, although that term gets bandied about so much these days it’s lost most of its meaning. Ex and current members of Far, Dredg and The Trophy Fire comprise this San Francisco trio, and they are Your New Favourite Band. Having done a whistle-stop tour of the UK & mainland Europe in support of Chicago alt-rockers, Chevelle, the band have now released their debut full-length, “…And We Explode” through Minus Head Records. You can find and stream/purchase the album through BANDCAMP – well worth a listen if you’re in the mood to rock out, and makes excellent driving music – ironic considering the video for the song below…
Enter Shikari for another spin this show for their latest single, “The Last Garrison”, which is my Pick of the Month a lot of their upcoming tour dates through the UK and Europe are near-to or already sold-out, so get online quick to see them on this run as new album, “The Mindsweep” drops in January. Here’s the new video:
It’s time for Cancer Bats to emerge from the shadows once again – March 2015 is the slated date for album number five, “Searching For Zero” – and “Satellites” is the lead track to come from the record, recorded with Ross Robinson (Glassjaw) this summer. Plenty has been said of Robinson’s talent for getting the best out of bands, so we should be in for an album of emotionally charged and executed songs. Here’s the first video to come from it.
A few singles to update you on – firstly from Pulled Apart By Horses, who have “Medium Rare” out now. One of the better tracks from their “Blood” album, the single/EP comes with 3 tracks on the ‘B-Side’. Here’s the weirdly wonderful video for the lead track.
Freeze the Atlantic also have a single out digitally (are there any physical singles any more???) – “Welcome Back To Nibelheim” is also the opening track from their self-titled effort which came out earlier this year on Alco-Pop Records. Two B-Sides on this one, including new track, “Go Faster Stripes”, and you can get hold of it now from the usual sources. In the meantime the band are already working on album three sans bassist Sean Shreeve, who has departed to work on his own project – AltEscape – expect the band to name a new bassist in the coming weeks. Here’s a little video of the band in Preston a few months ago.
And a brand new video – the first from Wigan’s Cale Lane – was released recently for “Turns On A Sixpence”. It comes from their “Morning Light” EP, which they put out a few months ago, and is still available through their BANDCAMP page. Check it out – a rough-and-ready band who put on an engaging live show. Here’s the video:
Heart in Hand released new album, “A Beautiful White” at the start of the month through Century Media/S.O.A.R. The title track is the first music video to promote the album, and it’s an infectious track that is bound to find its way into popular rotation soon enough. Check it out now.
Krokodil put out debut album, “Nachash” through Spinefarm Records this week. The 6-piece – a bit of a supergroup, though this term is becoming vastly overused – go out in support of Mastodon in the UK this month, and their intimidating brand of metal should go over appreciatively on those dates. Check out this video for lead track “Sun Riders”, which features Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil on guest vocals.
Empress AD go on a brief northern tour at the end of November. If you can, get to one of these dates and see one of the UK’s hottest young bands before the year is out.
And if you miss them headlining they’re off in support of Turbowolf too thereafter into December.
And we finished off with “Dusk” by Reuben, who released the 10-Year Anniversary edition of “Racecar is Racecar Backwards” on November 3rd through Xtra Mile Recordings. Included is a second disc with demo versions and rarities. To round off, here’s a video from 10 years ago of in-store show the band played around the time of the album’s original release.
That’s all for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Tracklisting:
Radio Alcatraz – “The Industry Has Failed, Activate The Black Magic” (It’s All Coming Up Roses!)
Long Song/Short Song
Flood of Red – “Ye Die, Ye Die.” (Throw)
65daysofstatic – “Default This” (The Fall of Math)
Canvas – “Eulogy” (No Love, No Hope, No Future)
Slipknot – “The Devil In I” (.5: The Gray Chapter)
Devil Sold His Soul – “Unveiled” (Belong ╪ Betray)
Polyphia – “James Franco” (Muse)
Enter Shikari – “The Last Garrison” (The Mindsweep)
Linkin Park – “White Noise” (Free Download)
Chrysalis – “My Forsaken” (Focus On The Center)
The Best Song Never Heard
Thrice – “That Hideous Strength” (If We Could Only See Us Now)
Kerbdog – “Electricity” (Congregation)
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I don’t think we’ve played that many songs on a regular show before – absolutely packed them in!
I decided to indulge in a Thrice B-Side for The Best Song Never Heard. It gets harder to select a track as some of the rarer gems in my collection are in poor digital quality. “That Hideous Strength” did not make the cut for their second studio album, “The Illusion of Safety”, instead appearing on the B-Sides/Rarities/Acoustic/Covers/DVD release, “If We Could Only See Us Now” in 2005. Possibly the band’s heaviest track, the title and lyrics are based around a book written by C.S. Lewis, for whom the band also based their 2004 track “The Abolition of Man”, based on a non-fiction book by the same author. Here’s a pretty ancient video of the track getting a live outing in 2001!
In one of the coolest tour combinations this year, Flood of Red are now set to appear as main support on the remainder of the current Maybeshewill tour of the UK & Europe (save the last date in Leicester). Check out their latest video, showcasing the band’s passionate live show to the title track of their latest album – “Throw”.
Kerbdog put out their first official release in 18 years last month with live album, “Congregation” also featuring the first Kerbdog studio recording for nearly two decades in “Electricity”. They’re out on a little tour in November taking in some of the UK’s big cities. Some pretty decent supports they have too, featuring Hawk Eyes, Jamie Lenman (London only) and Nine Black Alps (Manchester only) to name but three. Now let’s hope they get in the studio for a brand-new album soon! Here are the dates:
Enter Shikari have been away making a new album, and “The Mindsweep” drops January 19th 2015 through Ambush Reality/Play It Again Sam in the UK and through Hopeless Records in the US (20th). The first single, “The Last Garrison” is out now digitally, and it’s an absolute winner. Go check that out now (or just listen back to the show on MIXCLOUD – it’s on there!), and get yourself a ticket to their forthcoming tour whilst you still can!
Back in the UK next month are Facebook’s most liked band – Linkin Park – although they’re only sticking around for 2 arena dates in Manchester and London. They are on tour throughout Europe in November though, with Of Mice And Men in tow, in support of their latest album, “The Hunting Party”. Decks man, Joe Hahn has recently unveiled his first directorial feature film, “Mall”, to a limited US release, and the band put together a track for the soundtrack. “White Noise” is probably the heaviest LP track for a good while, and the band were giving the track away for free until recently, so instead of that, here’s a look at the film featuring the track in its opening credits…
Another band now in the business of selling out arenas are Slipknot, and they’re taking on 9 UK dates in January on the Prepare For Hell tour. Bringing Korn out in support is a genius move, and the new album – “.5: The Gray Chapter” – is flying high in the UK album charts and pulling no punches. It’s a hell of a time when your mate tells you he heard “The Devil In I” on the radio that morning. This video might just be their best yet too…
Speaking of videos, here’s the latest from Chrysalis to come from their “Focus On The Center” album. One of the more interesting releases this year.
Looking like a boyband but sounding like the happiest band of virtuosos you’ve ever heard, Texas’ Polyphia are the pretty much the coolest cats about. If you’ve not heard of them, go check out their latest album, “Muse” on BANDCAMP. Damn, these guys can play – and they’re colour co-ordinated!
Yet more new videos – first the new one from Canvas, who deliver a brutal slice of misery to proceedings with “Eulogy”, from their debut full-length – “No Love, No Hope, No Future”, which is out now through Transcend Music and on BANDCAMP for your streaming pleasure. The boys from Bedfordshire have just wrapped up an European tour this month. Look out for them appearing all over in 2015. Make sure you check out the album – it’s a banger!
We had to keep a little Halloween in the theme of the show, albeit vague. I thought Devil Sold His Soul‘s new video for “Unveiled” was kinda spooky, so I’ll take that and run with it. The EP, “Belong ╪ Betray” (seriously, what’s with that “╪” symbol and where does one find it on a keyboard?!) is out November 17th through Basick Records and I am champing at the bit to hear the whole thing, which I’m sure will only fuel their fans’ desire for a new full-length as soon as possible! Here’s the video. Don’t be scared.
Radio Alcatraz finally revealed the release date for “It’s All Coming Up Roses!”. Their 2nd studio album will be out through Banquet Records on December 8th and features guest appearances by Jamie Lenman (Reuben), Justin Schlosberg (Hell Is For Heroes), Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats) and Justin Sane (Anti-Flag). I’ve been listening to it for a while, and it’s definitely worth picking up. Along with the release date information, the band put out a video to the album’s opening track – the flamboyantly titled, “The Industry Has Failed, Activate The Black Magic”!
And finally, the mighty 65daysofstatic played a one-off show at Manchester Cathedral the day after this show, playing two sets – one of their debut, “The Fall of Math” from start to finish, and the second mainly drawn from last year’s “Wild Light” album. To say it was inspiring would be an understatement. I can happily say I would go to see future gigs in cathedrals based off this experience. Hell of a building, great atmosphere, top sound and an amazing light show. The boys are off to Russia to do it a couple more times in 2015, and have also sorted out Australian tour dates. If they didn’t sell out though you might still be able to buy one of these nice commemorative prints – hey, you they might never play in a cathedral again!
That’s all for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Tracklisting:
You Slut! – “Pie to the Death-Faced Indie Kid” (Critical Meat)
Wax Futures – “Laser Eye Surgery” (A History of Things to Come)
Finch – “Back To Oblivion” (Back To Oblivion)
Your New Favourite Band
Of Allies – “In Screens” (Tempers)
Servers – “Bodies in the Ground” (Claustrophobia – EP)
Pick of the Month
Cavorts – “Got Your Brass” (Got Your Brass)
Empress AD – “Invisible Conductor (Radio Edit)” (Still Life Moving Fast)
Heart in Hand – “Poison Pen Letters” (A Beautiful White)
Local Band of the Month
Egos At The Door – “Salad” (Egos At The Door)
Egos At The Door – “Who’s Got £2 For Barry?” (Who’s Got £2 For Barry?)
Boddickers – “Circadian (Radio Edit)” (Circadian)
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Three bands call it a day in a 3-week period – dark times? Well, maybe not that dark, as these bands are complimented on this show’s playlist by a handful of bands with the world at their feet!
I normally talk about our Local Band of the Month first, and I won’t divert from that today. Unfortunately though, I wasn’t able to speak to Egos At The Door as they had split up 12 days prior to the show – in fairly acrimonious fashion too by the sound of it (see Facebook). Ignore this though and the music behind the madness was pretty crazy too – crazy awesome! See BANDCAMP for a selection of their output. You’ll have to look HERE for their Lockjaw Records full-length, however. This band had just about more bad luck than any band on the road and at home, so hopefully whatever new projects emerge from the ashes of the band will ride the crest of a wave of good karma. Here’s a video of the band doing what they did.
Your New Favourite Band were Of Allies – part of a sea of Yorkshire-based bands that invaded this playlist (coincidentally)! Their self-released EP, “Tempers” is out now. Go to their FACEBOOK page to get that, or go to their OFFICIAL WEBSITE to get a free track in exchange for joining their mailing list. Check out the video for “In Screens” below.
My Pick of the Month was a last minute addition to the playlist, with Cavorts sending me their belting new single, “Got Your Brass”, from the forthcoming album of the same name. It’s up for pre-order now at the OFFICIAL WEBSITE of In At The Deep End Records, who are to drop the record on October 27th. Plenty of balls on this 4-piece from Barnsley. Check out the video below.
Servers complete the Yorkshire connection in this show. Also from Barnsley, the 3-piece rockers put out an EP for current single, “Claustrophobia” last month (available now through iTunes), and as well as a sweet remix of their first single (the awesome “Universes and Supernovas”) and a fantastic cover of the 1999 Top 10 hit by Madness – “Lovestruck” – the band included a brand new track – the cult killers-inspired track, “Bodies in the Ground”. Check out the lyric video below.
So it’s been a month of bands splitting up, and added to Egos At The Door were Manchester hard-rockers, Boddickers. They played what could well be their last show in Bolton last Sunday – unfortunately I couldn’t attend, but they always brought their huge wall-of-sound wherever they went and I shall miss the music of one of the bands I tipped for success in 2013. Here’s the video for “Circadian”. Try and keep the tissues at bay!
And the third to the list of departing bands were East-Midlands post-rock slackers, You Slut!, who called time after ten years and two full-length records. Never the most serious of bands, but nonetheless entertaining and wacky, I’m a wee bit disappointed I never had the chance to see them play live. You can still check out a selection of their material on BANDCAMP. I recommend you give it a go.
Speaking about slackers (and they do describe themselves as “slacker post-hardcore”), please familiarise yourself with Wax Futures. Also hailing from the midlands, this 3-piece calls to mind At The Drive-In and Million Dead. Their EP, “A History of Things To Come” is out now and you can pick it up from BANDCAMP. Check the band out slacking off in the video below.
First time play for Empress
AD on tonight’s show. About time too! They’ve slipped under my radar up until recently, and support slots with Devil Sold His Soul and Turbowolf (as part of the Download Freezes Over tour) should make gig-goers more aware of what great music they’re cooking up near the capital. “Still Life Moving Fast” is the album out now through Roadrunner Records, and the band’s most recent video is for “Invisible Conductor”:
And finally, noughties emo/screamo pioneers, Finch released their long-awaited third full-length, “Back To Oblivion” at the end of September. Mixed reviews aside, they are back, and Nate Barcalow remains one of my favourite vocalists of all time. Check out the slightly-bizzare new video for “Anywhere But Here” below.
That’s all for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Tracklisting:
Reuben – “Freddy Kreuger” (Racecar is Racecar Backwards)
Funeral For A Friend – “Escape Artists Never Die” (Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation)
Avenged Sevenfold – “Unholy Confessions” (Waking the Fallen)
Taking Back Sunday – “Set Phasers To Stun” (Where You Want To Be)
Rise Against – “Black Masks & Gasoline” (Revolutions Per Minute)
Underoath – “Reinventing Your Exit” (They’re Only Chasing Safety)
65daysofstatic – “Retreat! Retreat!” (The Fall of Math)
Story of the Year – “And The Hero Will Drown” (Page Avenue)
Enter Shikari – “Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour (Demo)” (Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour [Demo])
Atreyu – “The Crimson” (The Curse)
Alexisonfire – “Get Fighted” (Watch Out!)
Finch – “What It Is To Burn” (What It Is To Burn)
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Sending it all the way back to 2004 (and slightly further in some cases)! Where has the last decade gone?!?!
Reuben were first up – one of my personal favourites, put out debut album, “Racecar is Racecar Backwards” (it is – go on, check!) in 2004 through Xtra Mile Recordings (though in actuality it took me until 2007 to fully appreciate their wizardry). The band went their separate ways in 2008, spawning Freeze the Atlantic, FutureAges, and eventually Jamie Lenman’s solo career last year. Xtra Mile are set to put out a Tenth Anniversary Deluxe Edition of the album on November 3rd, which will feature a second CD with 21 extra tracks – demos, live recordings, sessions, etc. – featuring a different version of every track on the original release, plus a few more as a bonus. Pick it up from HERE, and check out the video below, which features a live session version of “No One Wins The War”.
Funeral For A Friend, with a 7th full-length due out in January, put out their first album, “Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation”, back in 2003, and while the band have played a couple of front-to-back shows for that album, the band haven’t outlined any plans to re-release the record. “Escape Artists Never Die” remains one of the group’s main calling cards in live performance. Here’s a clip from their 2004 DVD release to remind you…
We’ve already mentioned it a few weeks ago, but Avenged Sevenfold re-released their seminal 2003 album, “Waking The Fallen” recently, in celebration of its belated 10th anniversary. As part of this, the band put out the originally-scrapped music video for “Unholy Confessions”. I don’t think it’s that bad…
Taking Back Sunday put out an acoustic release in 2013 – “TAYF10” – a live recording of the band playing debut 2002 album, “Tell All Your Friends” from front-to-back at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey – but in 2004 they released their sophomore album, “Where You Want To Be”, and the band never looked back. There’s no plans for them celebrating the anniversary of that album – mainly as John Noland and Shaun Cooper had left the band at this stage, only to return on 2011’s self-titled release. “Set Phasers To Stun” was the third and final single release from the album.
It took until their third album to gain a more universal appeal, but for many fans, the second Rise Against album, “Revolutions Per Minute”, released in 2003, remains the best of the band’s career. Opening track, “Black Masks & Gasoline” gets the nod from me, and has remained one of their live favourites over the years. Here’s a cool live video of the track taken way back from the “Revolutions Per Minute” release show back on April 18th 2003…
Underoath disbanded at the start of 2013 after 7 studio albums and 16 years as a band. Since, Spencer Chamberlain has gone on to form and release an album with new band Sleepwave, which has been well-received. I seem to remember live performances of this track by the band were pretty rare for some reason – but the video was awesome and brought a lot of attention to the Florida 6-piece and their 2004 album, “They’re Only Chasing Safety”. Here’s the video:
2004 also saw the debut release from Sheffield instrumentalists 65daysofstatic. “The Fall of Math” – extremely well celebrated in the post-rock community, is to be performed once more in its entirety, at Manchester Cathedral on October 29th. The band will play two sets – one of the album in full, and another including tracks from their other albums. Get your hands on tickets now! The band also re-released “The Fall of Math” with a few additional tracks from their other work around the time, both on heavy-duty vinyl and on CD too. You can pick that up HERE should you wish. As much as anything, this gives me a reason to show you one of my favourite music videos, for “Retreat! Retreat!”…
Story of the Year are still alive! That’s the news, although bassist Adam Russell had recently left the band. The remaining four members are currently holed-up writing album number 5. After regrouping in 2013 the band released “Page Avenue: 10 Years and Counting”, which featured re-recorded acoustic-like versions of ten of the album’s original tracks. Still, there’s nothing quite like seeing SOTY ripping it up live. One of the best live bands I’ve had the pleasure of watching. Sooooo much energy! Here’s a clip from their live DVD from 2005.
I threw you a curve-ball with some Enter Shikari, who really started to get noticed in 2004 after a couple of successful demos circulated the UK. “Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour” became a fast favourite of early Shikari fans, and the band’s first music video was actually for the demo version of the track. Check it out…
A big-hitter in 2004 was “The Curse”. The second album from Orange County’s Atreyu sold a hell of a lot of copies and picked them up a lot of fans, myself included. The band recently regrouped and are working on a sixth studio album as we speak. “The Crimson” is a personally favourite of mine, and a change from hearing “Right Side of the Bed” again, eh?
Alexisonfire may have disintegrated a couple of years ago now, but their legacy lives on. 2004’s “Watch Out!” featured some cool concepts and a sideways step in a change of direction. “Get Fighted”, although not a single, was certainly one of the most-quoted tracks on social media in the mid-noughties. My greatest gift to you is a dancefloor free of insecurity… here’s a cool live video from the Australian leg of the band’s farewell tour in December 2012.
And of course, Finch have been touring a 10 year anniversary “What It Is To Burn” tour, which stretched from 2012 into the beginning of 2014! So I think I had license to play a track – especially as “What It Is To Burn X” – a live CD/DVD – was released earlier this year. In fact, let’s show you the video of that set-closer from the DVD itself, to further justify its inclusion!
That’s all for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Tracklisting:
Atreyu – “So Others May Live” (Forthcoming Album)
Long Song/Short Song
The Contortionist – “Primordial Sound” (Language)
Hundred Reasons – “Shine” (Ideas Above Our Station)
Climates – “Leaves of Legacy” (Body Clocks)
Capture The Crown – “Make War Not Love” (Reign of Terror)
Obey The Brave – “Raise Your Voice” (Salvation)
Finch – “Anywhere But Here” (Back To Oblivion)
Sick Of It All – “Road Less Traveled” (Last Act Of Defiance)
The Best Song Never Heard
Hate Becomes The Hero – “The Becoming” (Hate Becomes The Hero)
The One Hundred – “Unleashed” (Subculture)
Empty Yard Experiment – “Greenflash” (Kallisti)
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Just wall-to-wall bangers this week – plus, Preston FM’s Geek Overlord, Millie Lavelle, joined us for a bit. Always love a bit of collaboration!
I picked out a track from long-defunct Scottish musicians, Hate Becomes The Hero in our Best Song Never Heard spot. The Ayr-based 6-piece recorded a 7-track mini-album back in 2006, and although its release proved to be limited before the band’s demise, most of the tracks made it onto their MYSPACE page, and there’s some poor quality versions on LAST.FM. Check out the tracks – they’re well worth it.
Atreyu are back after a 5-year absence, and “So Others May Live” is the first new material coming from their upcoming 6th studio album, and the band are giving it away for free from their official WEBSITE. Go get it now!
“Language” is the new album from The Contortionist, and is an interesting change of direction for the band previously known for being pioneers of a “deathcore” sound. With a much more progressive and melodic outlook, “Language” certainly pushes the band to another level, and the record is fast becoming one of this years’ best for my money. Remember they’re coming over to the UK & Europe in November and December in support of Protest The Hero!
Snuck a bit of Hundred Reasons into the Long Song/Short Song feature… there’ll be of this nonsense in our “10 Years Younger” special on September 30th (this sucker is 12 years old!)!
I’ll probably be rocking some old-school Finch on the next show too, which coincidentally falls in the release week of their long-awaited 3rd studio album, “Back To Oblivion”. “Anywhere But Here” and “Two Guns To The Temple” are available now digitally ahead of September 29th (UK – 30th in US).
What are you thinking about Climates then? Their debut 10-track record, “Body Clocks” is released through Small Town Records and Artery Recordings on October 13th (14th in the US). They’re touring like crazy people right now with some great bands through the UK and Europe. Here are their current dates:
And here’s the video for “Leaves of Legacy”:
Another great band with their sophomore record out now through Artery Recordings are Capture The Crown. “Reign of Terror” is out now and the band are on tour throughout the US in October. They some angry guys – as backed up by the lyric video to album track, “I Hate You”…
Obey The Brave are more positive. “Raise Your Voice” is an anthem-and-a-half, and the boys are throwing some melody about too! “Salvation” is out now through Epitaph, and the band are over in the UK as part of the Impericon Never Say Die Tour, which arrives at the start of November with some very cool bands…
And check out the video for “Raise Your Voice” too – it’s wicked.
Sick Of It All are set to release album number 11 in the 29th year of their existence as a band. “Last Act of Defiance” is out September 29th through Century Media and “Road Less Traveled” sounds like a band with the energy of a group of twenty-somethings. Long may they continue!
The One Hundred have been celebrating some cracking reviews since the release of their “Subculture” EP, which is out now on UNFD. The band will be on tour in November/December with Hacktivist and Dead Harts as part of the Download Freezes Over tour. Make sure to check them out when they come to Preston on November 19th!
And we had just enough time to squeeze in a track from multi-national post-prog outfit, Empty Yard Experiment, who release their latest album, “Kallisti” internationally, at the end of September. That being said, you can already get the album digitally through the group’s BANDCAMP, so… go check it out! They’re due over in the UK in December on tour, so keep your eyes open for the dates, which are due to be announced shortly.
That’s all for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Tracklisting:
Fighting Bears – “This Air is All Gone” (N/A)
Cale Lane – “Embracer” (Morning Light)
Create To Inspire – “In Light” (Halfway Home)
Your New Favourite Band
Summon The Octopi – “Apricots Apricate (Alligators Alligate)” (Nonversations)
Maybeshewill – “Sanctuary” (Fair Youth)
Pick of the Month
Arms & The Man – “Welcome To Whore Island” (…Are Nothing But Animals)
Architects – “Colony Collapse” (Lost Forever // Lost Together)
Every Time I Die – “Decayin’ With The Boys” (From Parts Unknown)
Local Band of the Month
Dissonance – “Cold Hearts” (Valves)
Pulled Apart By Horses – “Hello Men” (Blood)
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That was a fun playlist, flipping things around a bit with some local heroes at the top of the show for a change.
On that note, our Local Band of the Month were Dissonance, from the Preston area. Previously in existence as As We Began, the guys switched things about a bit and re-grouped in their current form at the back-end of 2013. Guitarist, Jack Shaw joined us for a chat about their journey so far, and their debut EP – “Valves”, which is out now and available through their BANDCAMP page. Look out for them hitting stages in Preston, Bolton and Liverpool in the upcoming months on some pretty big line-ups. Here’s a video for a song not on the EP – debut track, “I/DEALS”:
Your New Favourite Band were one-piece post-rock project, Summon The Octopi. Hailing from Berlin, Germany, Marc Vogler – the man behind the tentacles – releases the debut EP, “Nonversations” on November 17th through Sober Up Records. For now you can download “Apricots Apricate (Alligators Alligate)” for free HERE and check out the trippy video below.
I think I had to make Arms & The Man my Pick of the Month after the release of their ballsy new 3-track, “…Are Nothing But Animals” this week. You can pick it up from the Hitchin lads’ BANDCAMP page now, but check out the new video to “Welcome To Whore Island” below first – the girl in the second half is simply mesmerising!
Fighting Bears were guests on the show back in July after winning their Battle of the Bands heat at “Where’s Mavis?”. We played a track on this show as they were in the Final that night. Unfortunately, in part due to a shortened set because of technical difficulties, they didn’t win (congrats to Jekyll, who won first place). They recorded an awesome acoustic session for us, of which I have since uploaded this video of one of the tracks. Check it out (remember you can still download exclusive session tracks for free from our SESSIONS page).
We also featured a track from last years victors – Cale Lane, who returned to rock the foundations of Ships & Giggles once more on Finals night. The Wigan-based 6-piece are about to film their first music video, so make sure you pick up their EP, “Morning Light” in preparation. You get get it from BANDCAMP.
Create To Inspire were in Preston on Sunday at The Adelphi, and despite only a small crowd being in attendance, the Essex lads brought their “A” game. Their EP is out now for free (or whatever you’d like to pay) through BANDCAMP. Here’s a video of them smashing the place up to a new song of theirs.
Loads of big tour news this last week, but the biggest has to be the new Architects UK/European tour next Spring, taking out Every Time I Die, Blessthefall and Counterparts in support. Architects are currently promoting current single, “Colony Collapse” (released on September 29th), whilst ETID have not long put out their latest LP, “From Parts Unknown”. This tour is going to be massive. Get on board now. Check the dates.
Pulled Apart By Horses put out their 3rd full-length, “Blood” this week, and seem to have taken their foot off the crazy bit for the majority of the album. Everything that made their frantic brand of alternative rock attractive has been toned down for record number three, possibly with the band thinking of the increasingly mainstream appearances they seem to be making these days (please see Main Stage at Leeds & Reading Festivals this year). “Hello Men” in particular reeks of tones reminiscent of The Cure and Dinosaur Jr, whereas the joyous non-sensical lyrics seem to have taken a back-seat in preference of actual songs. Nevertheless, there are still some decent tracks on there. This will doubtless be the album that breaks them into the mainstream field of modern rock music. Hopefully their beer hasn’t gone off…
And July 25th saw the release of the 4th Maybeshewill record. “Fair Youth” is out now on Superball Music. The band are on tour now until the end of time (or at least December), so make sure you get down to a show. They’re certainly giving you EVERY opportunity!
*An addition show at The Exchange, Bristol has since been added on December 11th.
That’s all for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Tracklisting:
The Contortionist – “Language I: Intuition” (Language)
Long Song/Short Song
Red Fang – “Throw Up” (Murder the Mountains)
Möngöl Hörde – “WinkyFace: The Mark Of A Moron” (Möngöl Hörde)
Create To Inspire – “Halfway Home” (Halfway Home)
Silent Screams – “A New Normal” (Hope For Now)
The Karma Party – “Democracity” (Illumination)
Interview with Jed Saint – curator of Hey Preston! Festival
Blitz Kids – “Sometimes” (The Good Youth)
Failsafe – “Only If We Learn” (The Truth Is…)
The Best Song Never Heard
Confide – “Zeal” (Shout The Truth)
Finch – “Two Guns To The Temple” (Back To Oblivion)
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That was a lot of fun! A good mix of spanking new and recent favourites!
I was joined on the show by Jed Saint from LowBlow Promotions, talking about a new all-day event happening at 53 Degrees, in Preston on Saturday 20th September. Hey Preston! is an indoor festival, featuring 8 bands of local and national notoriety. Just check out the lineup!
The Karma Party are one band appearing during the day, and – having unleashed their new EP, “Illumination”, to positive reviews in the national press – they will be there to rock the capacity with the likes of “Democracity” and current single, “World War” – a real anthem to take note of.
Blitz Kids too make a stop off at the show, prior to their UK tour at the end of September, so look out for a one-off set from these guys – ones to watch and massively on the rise at the moment.
And Failsafe are back – sort of – lured out of hiding to play Hey Preston! Festival too! Jed picked this track out from their 2nd album, “The Truth Is…”, and if it was me, I couldn’t do much worse than pick this track too. Kindred spirits! This is – I suppose (as Jed put it) – “The Inbetweeners Tune”!
The Best Song Never Heard came from American Christian-Metal crusaders, Confide. Religion-aside, these guys made some good noise before calling a day in 2011… that was until they decided to regroup and record a third album in 2013! Ross Kenyon, formerly of mid-2000s Leeds screamo outfit, Penknifelovelife, joined the band after moving to the States in 2006 and went on to front the band through 2 full-lengths (2008’s “Shout The Truth” (later re-released with extra tracks and instrumentation in 2009) and 2010’s “Recover”) before the band split in late 2010. “Zeal” was the first track aired from sessions recorded with Kenyon, and a planned music video never quite got finished – however a very nice music video was made to promote the original release of “Shout The Truth” through the ill-fated Science Records, for the equally awesome track, “If We Were A Sinking Ship”!
The Leeds and Reading Festivals are up this weekend, so I picked out a couple of the highlights – from the awesome chuggy heaviness of Red Fang and the rampant punk piledriving of Möngöl Hörde. These are my picks if you’re going – make sure you check them out. Here’s the new Fang video for “The Meadows”, and the “WinkyFace” video from the Hörde.
A first play on the show for Silent Screams following the release of their new album, “Hope For Now” last month. The new single is “A New Normal” and really sees the Coventry boys raising their own bar. Hopefully they’ll be out on tour again before the end of the year. Pick up the album now through Artery Recordings.
There’s FREE music on offer from Essex 5-piece, Create To Inspire, who released their long-awaited debut EP, “Halfway Home”, this very week. You can pay for a physical copy from DREAM ATLANTIC RECORDS or get the digital version for free (or whatever you’d like to give) from the label’s BANDCAMP. Check it out – these guys are exciting and ones to watch out for. Bonus – they’re in Preston this month at the tiny little room at The Adelphi! Check out the dates below. If you’re into your Architects or While She Sleeps, mixed with a bit of Comeback Kid energy, then you’ll love CTI.
Here’s the video – don’t you wish you were part of it?
I’ll admit that The Contortionist had rather passed me by until a couple of weeks ago. “Language” will be the Indianapolis 6-piece’s 3rd full-length offering, and it’s shaping up to be a monster of a record from what we’ve heard so far. You can get lead single, “Language I: Intuition” now when pre-ordering the album, which drops September 16th. The band are on tour in the UK and Europe for the first time this Autumn, in support of Protest The Hero. Check out the dates below.
And finally, the news that we had suspected but did not think was coming so soon – Finch are back! And they’re “Back To Oblivion” on September 29th (UK release date) through Razor & Tie Records. They’ve just been over to the UK for Hevy Fest and a small show in London, and are all set to tour the US from September til November. The first full-length for 9 years (discounting the self-titled 2008 EP), and with original drummer, Alex Pappas back on board, we have our first taste of what the future of Finch is going to sound like. Here’s a video of them playing an acoustic session at Banquet Records. Interesting set with a couple of new tracks played…
That’s all for now. Until next time…
-dan10k
Something Completely Different 