BURST Magazine Issue 17, May 2014 by BURST Magazine

Lady Gaga

May 2014 Issue 17 | $1.99

A punk gypsy rock opera

THEMother

Monster

Gogol Bordello

A Survivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Guide

ANASTACIA Inside BURST

One of the most promising rock bands of the year

Pop Evil

From Dazed and Confused to Dallas Buyers Club

Matthew McConaughey

The Resurrected

Opens her heart & soul

Robert Rodriguez -Vol 2-

ISSN 2241-5386

9 772241 538000

Photography is a miracle. Do you believe?

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3 Burst Magazine

pages 6-23 Articles

pages 24-40 Interviews

pages 42-45 Albums Reviews

page 52 Director’s Cut

anastacia She has been called a “freak of nature” or “the little lady with the big voice”, simply because of her vocal skills; if you don’t see her and just listen to her without knowing how she looks like you will certainly think that this woman who sings is a wellknown African-American female vocalist.

page 54 Film Reviews

Read the whole story and interview on page 24 Cover photo by Ralf Strathmann

Introducing

with

itchin’ arbara

On pag

page 58 TV Series Beginner’s Guide

by Barbara Pavone

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publisher

Raphael Aretakis

editor in chief

Spiros Smyrnis

senior editors

Christina Alossi Sissy Fanouraki Jo Gogou Angie Rouska Panagiotis Tsoutsis

editors

contributing editors

proofreaders photographers

Helen Marie Joyce Kostas Krasonis Eleni Lampraki Korina P. Barbara Pavone Kostas Tsotsanis Dialekti Angeli Giorgos Kotrozinis Paschalis Koutsogiannis Alexia Lampropoulou B|S|Orestis Joe Prostredny Mike Ritchie Helen Marie Joyce Matina Katsarakou B|S|O Jo Gogou Raphael Aretakis

USA photographer

Joe Prostredny

special guest

Karolina Pacan

Design & Layout

Raphael Aretakis

advertising

Eleni Lampraki

art advisor

Aikate D.

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Frank Zappa Music of a Madman! By Kostas Krasonis

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7 Frank Zappa’s music has been a point of controversy for over 30 years. Some find it offensive, while others have been influenced by it significantly. No matter what’s your view on his material, one thing is for certain: Frank Zappa is one of the most critically acclaimed, contentious, influential artists of the 20th century! Zappa was born in Baltimore in 1940 and from an early age became interested in music and especially avant-garde compositions by Varese, Igor Stravinsky and others. While in high school he started playing in rock bands and it was around that time that he met future vital members of his band, The Mothers of Invention, along with his lifelong friend and collaborator, Don Vliet later known as Captain Beefheart. In 1965 he was asked to fill the lead guitar spot in a band called Soul Giants. He accepted and immediately became their leader, ultimately renaming them to “Mothers” (the record company insisted on the “of Invention”). Then, in 1966 with the Mothers’ debut album “Freak Out!”, the world came to learn Frank Zappa’s innovative musical talents. The album was a fresh look on society, its lyrics seemed to fight the establishment and its complex compositions made the audience take notice of the new wave a man named Zappa was bringing. The next three years found Zappa and The Mothers of Invention releasing four more albums with styles interchanging between Rock & Roll, doo-wop, Jazz and orchestral (to name a few). On the side, Zappa released

a solo album in 1968 titled “Lumpy Gravy”, a musiqueconcrѐte album with orchestral themes, spoken words and the use of electronic noises, an element that will reappear later in his career. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the bands’ presence in the music scene though, was their live performances. A visual extravaganza that included improvised acts by the band members, audience participation and Zappa’s fiendish humor.

later that year did the opening narrative for “The Illinois Enema Bandit”.

Zappa was in charge of all music arrangements and was often dissatisfied with his collaborations with various orchestras as he felt they couldn’t deliver what he had envisioned.

The 80’s began with Zappa releasing Tinsel Town Rebellion (1981), an album notable for its edgy political satire, use of Sprechstimme (a technique between speaking and singing) and the participation of the now world famous guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, 20 years old at the time. That same year, a series of guitar-only albums was released that focused on Zappa as a guitarist; Shut Up ‘N Play Yer Guitar, Shut Up ‘N Play Yer Guitar Some More, and The Return of the Son of Shut Up ‘N Play Yer Guitar.

He disbanded the Mothers in 1969 due to financial issues along with some personal differences with some members and pursued his solo career releasing a ground-breaking album, influential to the whole Jazz-Fusion genre, Hot Rats (1969). Many albums followed. Solo works which were more Jazz-oriented as well as works under the Mothers name with more rock-inclined pieces. Throughout the 70’s Zappa was mostly touring with several musicians such as Ian Underwood on keyboards, Napoleon Murphy Brock on sax and flute, drummer Terry Bozzio and bassist Patrick O’Hearn among others. Due to legal battles with record companies over the royalties of Zappa’s material, touring was more or less the only way to make money but it also increased Frank Zappa’s popularity. In 1976 he appeared on Saturday Night Live and joined forces with the memorable John Belushi to perform “The Purple Lagoon”. SNL announcer Don Pardo performed “I’m The Slime” and

During his career, Zappa fought against censorship – a fight that made it all the way to the U.S. Senate – and that along with the royalties issues seem to have had an impacton his compositions which became more complex and less satirical. An inkling to classical music seemed to manifest itself during the late 70’s.

Soon after that, in 1982, the hit single from “Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch”, “Valley Girl” was nominated for a Grammy. The song was about San Fernando Valley girls and their distinct verbal mannerisms. His daughter Moon Zappa provided vocals. Later in the decade, Zappa focused on his classical material, collaborating with Kent Nagano and the London Symphony Orchestra releasing “London Symphony Orchestra vol.1 & 2” (1983 and 1987 respectively). He also spoke at the Ohio State University’s American Society of University Composers. His fascination with elec-

tronic sounds and the manipulation of sound editing characterized the rest of Frank Zappa’s work. Since the 60’s he had been editing pieces of studio recordings and live performances, managing to intertwine them with a technique he called Xenochrony. Now, nearly 30 years later, he got his hands on a Synclavier, a digital synthesizer which according to Zappa could bring to life any music piece conceived, no matter how complex, and with utmost precision. Fascinated by the Synclavier, he went on to release several albums and collaborated once again with an Orchestra. This time it was with Pierre Boulez, a very famous conductor and an influence to Zappa himself. The recordings were released in “Boulez conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger”. The arrival of the 90’s was marked by the realization that Zappa was terminal with inoperable prostate cancer. In 1992, while ill, he participated in the Frankfurt Festival after an invitation by the German Ensemble Modern which focuses on modern composers. It was his last performance. He died on December 4, 1993. Frank Zappa’s legacy cannot be described with words. Artists like Steve Vai, John Frusciante, System of a Down, Primus, Mike Portnoy , Devin Townsend are just a few that have been influenced by Zappa’s musical genius. He opened new doorways to musical breakthroughs in genres such as classical, electronica, jazz fusion and so many others. A complete artist, Frank Zappa will remain a legend, a great innovator, perhaps the Leonardo Da Vinci of the music world. Burst www.afternoiz.com

To Venus and Back Fall - Winter 2014

#nikolaostsironis

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Lady Gaga: Mother monster

by Christina Alossi

All photos are stills from Lady Gagaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Applause Directed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, via GE Projects and The Collective Shift, New York Produced by Gabe Hill Illustrated by Jo Ratcliffe, stylist Brandon Maxwell and make-up artist Yadim.

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10 “All we hear is radio ga ga radio goo goo radio ga ga”.... And this is somewhat how the road to glory started for Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, most commonly known as Lady Gaga. A name from the lyrics of a Queen song and from what her voice inspired in her producer and friend, Rob Fusari, who sang Radio Gaga to her whenever he saw her. “Lady Gaga”, he wrote in one of his messages, and since that moment, Stefani, was put aside and locked away, giving live to the mother of all the monsters with the special voice; a voice that many resemble to the one of Freddie Mercury. She was born in New York, her parents were Catholics working hard to survive. Stefani played the piano since she was only 4 years old. It seemed like even though she tried to stay away from attention, dress more ordinary, all eyes were on her, judgingly. From a very young age she had discovered what she could express herself with, acting and singing. Her first attempts were disappointing, but Stefani, regardless all her eccentricity and being raised in a traditional way, she held on until her goal was achieved. Her inspiration comes from artists like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Queen, David Bowie and many more classic rock stars. Her se-

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cret that made her earn respect and become famous? Her smart voice and the mixture of pop and rock culture in her songs. Violence, sex, religion, drugs, freedom, liberation, sexuality, money and female emancipation; discovering the unique traits of a personality. These are some of the basic themes in her songs and some of the messages she tries to pass on to her fans, her “Little monsters”, as she calls them honorably. She also has a tattoo of that phrase on the hand that she holds the microphone with. There is a mystery behind Lady Gaga, behind her eccentric looks, weird dresses, pant-less clothes and the imaginative hair styles. All that rely to a single book, Andy Warhol’s “Andy Warhol: From A to B and back again”- a guide and a strategic towards fame. The House of Gaga, a team of carefully selected people that dress her, do her make-up and hair and take care of the special effects on stage, was an idea she had. It makes it all so unique and separates her. Gaga is a pop art fashion performer and the package is complete. Everything from the songs to her weird nails has its own part and all keep her own identity, a fashion statement in each appearance. Lady Gaga’s videos are like

short films with a Vaudeville aesthetics, Drag Queen looks, impressive clothing, glasses, nails, hair, high heeled shoes and focus on the male power over the female body’ thus encouraging women to rise up and take things into their own hands. “Don’t be a drag just be a Queen”, as she states and in the “Born this way”. The messages here are: love yourself as it is, do not care about others opinion, you are special, do not waste your youth, live now. All this combined with a video where good and evil are born on the same day and the birth of the freaks (Monsters) is as important as the rest are. The particular video, as all Gaga clips, contain subtle and obvious support messages for the homosexuals. She herself is a member of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender), a community free of prejudices, without social outcry but with equality and equivalence regardless of sexual orientation or religion (It doesn’t matter if you love him or capital H-I-M Just put your paws up). But she knows how to elegantly provoke and “touch” religion taboos, like in “Judas”; where she reached the boundaries of blasphemy by showing faces like Jesus and Judas as biker-club’s members. She got away with it though, in the end it was not perceived as an insult.

Lagy Gaga has been diagnosed with the disease lupus, the same disease that took the life of her aunt (only 19 years old). Though she never met her, it is an inspiration for her, the date of her death is carved on her body. She has said that she hasn’t faced any symptoms yet. She had only had a surgery for an injury in her right hip, from which she has fortunately recovered. That though may have been related to her dancing and having nothing to do with Lupus. Lately she has been posing happily and in love, like goddess Aphrodite, along with the actor/model Taylor Kinney, whom she met in the shootings for the video “You and I”. Listening to Lady Gaga again you get a different perspective on her. Her course, her videos, how well thought they all are and how dedicated she is to everything she does. At the surface one may think that they are the typical music videos, fancy costumes and team dances. If you read the lyrics though and notice how she moves you will realise that nothing is random. Being a Marilyn Manson fan, his whole eccentric, vulgar persona, full of violence, sex and images that disturb the typical viewer, I would say that Lady Gaga easily can be seen as his feminine, pop alter ego.

XStorieS Ray Music Stars by Jo Gogou

On Film!

Several artists of the music scene had the chance to participate –or, even better, to starin one film and TV series- or more. Some of them kicked off their career as actors, others kept it up, while others have been mostly recognized through the big screen, ultimately deciding to put the mic aside. Frank Sinatra As we go back in time till we reach the distant past, we encounter a true trailblazer; Francis Albert “Frank” Sinatra, a.k.a. Frank Sinatra, with a resume full of participations in films, made his debut in cinema alongside Michèle Morgan and Jack Haley in the film Higher and Higher in 1944. Plus, he starred in a musical in Broadway in 1940. Of course, that was only the beginning, with 19 more movies to follow, in which he costarred with other shining stars of the golden era in question.

William P. Gottlieb Collection (Library of Congress)

1952 From Here to Eternity 1953 Suddenly 1955 The Man with the Golden Arm 1958 Kings Go Forth 1955 Guys and Dolls 1956 High Society 1957 Pal Joy 1957 Some Came Running 1959 Never So Few 1959 A Hole in the Head 1952 Meet Danny Wilson 1949 On the Town 1964 Robin and the 7 Hoods 1960 Ocean’s 11 and Sergeants 3 with the Rat Pack 1944 Step Lively 1965 None But the Brave (directed by Sinatra) 1968 The Detective 1961 Come Blow Your Horn 1957 The Pride and the Passion

Cher The legendary Cherilyn Sarkisian aka Cher is not only a singer, but also a very talented actress, having a huge list of films and famous co-protagonists in her resume. The big and the small screen alike have played her works since the end of 1960. Good Times (1967) is considered as her first role in film. It’s a musical comedy helmed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist), in which Cher co-starred alongside Sonny Bono. And while her career in music and film is reaching for the stars, here comes television to add one extra step to her ascent to stardom, with the series The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, also accompanied by her husband at the time, Bono. The big screen seems to love and support her, with the audience reaching out for her, by finding in her the new, fresh face they needed. 1967 Good Times 1969 Chastity 1982 Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean 1983 Silkwood 1985 Mask 1987 Suspect 1987 The Witches of Eastwick 1987 Moonstruck 1990 Mermaids 1996 Faithful 1999 Tea with Mussolini 2003 Stuck on You 2010 Burlesque 2011 Zookeeper Television 1971–1974 The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour 1975–1976 Cher 1976–1977 The Sonny and Cher Show 1978 Cher... Special 1979 Cher and Other Fantasies 1983 Cher: A Celebration at Caesars 1991 Cher Extravaganza: Live at the Mirage 1996 If These Walls Could Talk 1999 Cher: Live at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas 2003 Cher: The Farewell Tour 2013 Dear Mom, Love Cher Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi, Jr. a.k.a. Jon Bon Jovi, the 50-year-old hot rocker, who still succeeds in driving all the female fans crazy when on stage, couldn’t miss the big screen. He broke his cherry in cinema in 1990, by taking part in John Fusco’s western titled Young Guns II. A few years later, in 1995 to be more precise, he is seen portraying one more character in the film Moonlight and Valentino. His career in

film continues up to 2011. In the meantime, he also appears in an episode of Sex and the city, the TV series where no sex taboos exist.

Photo by Jo Gogou

1990 Young Guns II 1995 Moonlight and Valentino 1996 The Leading Man 1997 Destination Anywhere 1997 Little City 1998 Homegrown 1998 No Looking Back 1998 Row Your Boat 1999 Sex and the city 2000 U-571 2000 Pay It Forward 2001–2002 Ally McBeal 2002 Vampires: Los Muertos 2005 Cry Wolf 2006 National Lampoon’s Pucked 2006 The West Wing 2010 30 Rock 2011 New Year’s Eve Lita Ford The singer, songwriter and guitarist Carmelita Rossanna Ford a.k.a. Lita Ford, receives a role in the movie Highway to Hell in 1992, by portraying a character named “The Hitchhiker”. As years go by, more participation in films and TV series follows, including “Herman’s Head” Season 2, Episode 24 “Love Me Two Timer”, 1993 “I Want To Be Loved” (2005)”I’ll Be Home for Christmas” alongside Twisted Sister in A Twisted Christmas (2006) The Surreal Life 2007 “Brütal Legend” Video Game (2009) “Big Time Rush”, kids show @ Nickelodeon, as Big Time Moms Mother’s Day starring as Burst www.afternoiz.com

12 herself (2011) Guest -Queensrÿche’s Frequency (2013) Coolio In the Rap scene, it’s Artis Leon Ivey Jr.’s, a.k.a. Coolio’s turn to hit the big screen. His debut in the screen kicks off with his participation in Sabrina The Teenage Witch series in 1996. The sweetness that he left behind one year before with the movie Gangsta’s Paradise, by also giving us a soundtrack to listen till today, wasn’t enough for him, so he decided to give us even more. Several other films and TV show appearances followed till today, which are the following: 1996–2000 Kenan and Kel 1997 Batman & Robin 1997 Duckma Season 4 Episode 2: ‘Coolio Runnings’ 1997 Burn Hollywood Burn 1997 Muppets Tonight 1998 The Nanny 1998 On the Line 1999 Malcolm & Eddie Early Edition 2000 Leprechaun: In The Hood 2000 Submerged 2000 Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth 2000 The Convent 2000 China Strike Force 2000 Dope Case Pending 2001 Get Over It 2001 In Pursuit 2002 Static Shock 2002 Stealing Candy 2002 Charmed Season 4 ‘Lazarus Demon’ 2002 Move 2003 Daredevil (Scenes deleted, restored in 2005 Director’s Cut) 2003 Tapped Out 2002 Charmed 2003 Pterodactyl 2003 Red Water 2004 A Wonderful Night in Split 2004 Dracula 3000 2005 Ravedactyl: Project Evolution; short film 2006 Gang Warz 2006 Grad Night 2007 Three Days to Vegas Futurama: Bender’s Big Score 2008 I Am Somebody: No Chance in Hell 2012 Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off Gravity Falls Celebrity Wife Swap Meat Loaf You surely remember the song «I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” sung by Michael Lee Aday, a.k.a. Meat Loaf. Many of us have maybe lost his steps a year later, in terms of career in music and film alike, however there are things some people from the audience do not know. In 1975, the metalrocker and composer appeared for the first time in the The Rocky Horror Picture Show starring as Eddie, leaving everybody speechBurst www.afternoiz.com

less with his talent. For some, or even better, for some who know the films in which he has participated, either with a starring role or with a cameo appearance, the list is longer than the one depicting his course in music till today. By having us counting 37 movie and 27 TV appearances, ranging from musical to drama, Meat Loaf surely knows how to move the audience.

2009 Ghost Hunters 2001 Rustin 2009 Monk 2001 Focus 2010 Popstar to Operastar 2002 The 51st State 2010 WWE Raw 2002 Wishcraft 2010 Glee 2002 The Salton Sea 2010 Ghost Hunters 2004 A Hole in One 2010 This Week 2005 BloodRayne 2011 The Celebrity Apprentice 2005 The Pleasure Drivers 2012 Fairly Legal 2005 Crazylove 2006 Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny 2007 History Rocks 2008 Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise 2009 Tiger Force Forever: Unleashed 2009 Citizen Jane 2010 Burning Bright 2010 Beautiful Boy Snoop Dogg

Official Facebook photo

1979 Americathon 1979 Scavenger Hunt 1985 Strike Force 1980 Roadie 1985 The Equalizer 1981 Dead Ringer 1992 Tales from the Crypt 1986 Out of Bounds 1997 The Dead Man’s Gun 1986 The Squeeze 1997 Nash Bridges 1991 Motorama 1998 South Park 1992 Wayne’s World 2000 The Outer Limits 1992 Leap of Faith 2006 Masters of Horror 1993 To Catch a Yeti 2007 Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 1993 Angels in the Outfield 2007 Private Sessions 1997 Bean 2007 Go-Phone commercial 1997 Spiceworld: The Movie 2008 The F Word 1998 Black Dog 2009 Hannity 1998 The Mighty 2009 Tiger Force Forever: Unleashed 1999 Crazy in Alabama 2009 Masters of Horror 1999 Fight Club 2009 House 2000 Blacktop 2009 Bookaboo 2001 The Ballad of Lucy Whipple 2009 Don’t Forget the Lyrics 2001 Face to Face

Not only does the man with the many names, Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. a.k.a. Snoop Doggy Dogg, Snoop Dogg, or Snoop Lion, include a huge list of albums and artistic collaborations in his resume, but he also has lots of films, which are equally significant. His first film was Murder Was The Case in 1994. No surprise there: the film in question was Dr. Dre’s debut as a director, alongside Ricki Harris, Fab Five Freddy and F. Gary Gray. Snoop Dogg was also eager to star as himself in the big screen, as well as to compose the soundtrack to the film in question.

Official Facebook photo

1999 The Wrecking Crew 2000 Hot Boyz 2001 Training Day 2001 Baby Boy 2001 Bones 2001 The Wash

13 2003 Malibu’s Most Wanted 2003 Old School 2004 Starsky & Hutch 2004 Soul Plane 2005 Racing Stripes 2007 Arthur and the Invisibles 2009 Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder 2009 Falling Up 2012 Mac & Devin Go to High School 2013 Turbo 2013 Scary Movie 5 2013 High School 2

prince” John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne, succeeded in turning his life not just into a film, but into a reality show! By participating in South Park (1998) and CSI (2013), he achieved being part of even more films, either by lending his voice or by his physical presence.

Alice Cooper The Lord of Darkness, singer, songwriter and musician Vincent Damon Furnier a.k.a. Alice Cooper, didn’t just paint his face while singing “Poison” on stage; he also starred in the The Muppet Show, leaving us speechless. Plus, he includes a diverse range of movies in his resume, by also unfolding his stage performance on the big screen. To that end, in 1970 he participates in the film Diary of a Mad Housewife alongside Neil Young To this day, his roles remain numerous and special. 1974 Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper concert/feature film. The Snoop Sisters, 1975 Alice Cooper: The Nightmare V special. 1976 Welcome to My Nightmare 1977 Alice Cooper and Friends TV 1978 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band The Muppet Show, Sextette. 1979 The Strange Case of Alice Cooper . 1980 Roadie 1982 Alice Cooper à Paris TV special 1985 Monster Dog 1987 Alice Cooper: The Nightmare Returns concert video. Prince of Darkness 1988 The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years documentary film 1990 Alice Cooper Trashes the World concert video. 1991 Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare 1992 Wayne’s World 1995 Episode of Something Wilder Episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast 1997 A Fistful of Alice 2000 Alice Cooper: Brutally Live concert video. 2001 Episode of That ‘70s Show The Attic Expeditions feature film. 2005 Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey documentary film. 2006 Episode of Monk Alice Cooper: Live at Montreux concert video. 2009 Suck feature film. 2010 Horrorween 2011 Road to Wacken Live performance in 3D and interviews. 2012 Dark Shadows Bigfoot Ozzy Osbourne The godfather of Black Sabbath and “evil

1962 Follow That Dream/Kid Galahad/Girls! Girls! Girls! 1963 It Happened at the World’s Fair/Fun in Acapulco 1964 Kissin’ Cousins/Viva Las Vegas/Roustabout 1965 Girl Happy/Tickle Me/Harum Scarum 1966 Frankie and Johnny/Paradise, Hawaiian Style/Spinout 1967 Easy Come, Easy Go/Double Trouble/ Clambake 1968 Stay Away, Joe/Speedway/Live a Little, Love a Little 1969 Charro!/The Trouble with Girls/Change of Habit 1970 Elvis: That’s the Way It Is 1972 Elvis On Tour Michael Jackson

Photo by Raphael Aretakis

2013 Howard Stern on Demand (TV Series) 2011 Earth Troll (TV Series) 2011 Gnomeo & Juliet 2009 Brütal Legend (Video Game) 2009 Golden Gods Awards (TV Movie) 2007 Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind (TV Short) 2003 Dame Edna Live at the Palace(TV Movie) 2001 Moulin Rouge! 2000 Little Nicky 1995 The Jerky Boys 1986 Trick or Treat Elvis Presley

The King of Pop Michael Joseph Jackson, when he was not making great albums, demonstrates his talent as a director, by creating movies or video clips with the aid of wellknown directors. Apart from being a singer, songwriter and musician, Michael was also recognized as an actor since debuting in the film The Wiz in 1978, one of the musicals helmed by Universal, from which it didn’t take long to reach the stairs of Broadway. What followed? Video clips, movies, such as the one who left its true mark, the trailblazing Thriller; a participation with a role for the album under the same name, which was discussed so much. 1982 Michael Jackson’s Thriller 1986 Captain EO 1988 Moonwalker 1991 The Simpsons (created as “John Jay Smith”) 1997 Michael Jackson’s Ghosts 2002 Men in Black II 2004 Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls 2009 Michael Jackson’s This Is It 2012 Bad 25

The Don Juan de Marco of the music industry and the King of rock n’ roll Elvis Aaron Presley, was the one to have set the course of many other musicians, several impersonation acts in Las Vegas and lots of record labels, who made a fortune with his talent. Elvis was the kind of charmer every girl has dreamed of, the one who got to become a legend and leave this life with a huge question mark.

Björk

Naturally, the audience and the director’s camera adored him, so he couldn’t be left out of the big screen, either through musicals or through romantic films of that era. In 1956, he stars in the film Love me Tender, by portraying Clint Reno, who dies on stage... This is the only movie in which he stars, where he is seen dying.

She was loved by the camera for the first time in 1986, in the movie “The Juniper Tree”, based on the story of the brothers Grimm. In 1994, we see her appearing in the film “Prêtà-Porter”. Each time Björk received a role in a movie, an award nomination followed, leading her to take home the Best Actress Award in 2000 for Von Trier’s “Dancer in the Dark”, a role that was the most challenging thing in her career, according to her own statements.

1957 Loving You/Jailhouse Rock 1958 King Creole 1960 G.I. Blues/Flaming Star 1961 Wild in the Country/Blue Hawaii

The frozen girl from Iceland Björk Guðmundsdóttir , with the signature vocal texture in her albums, wins the hearts of fans all over the world. Thanks to her innocent face and her sweet melancholy, she becomes more and more accepted regardless of her uniquely eccentric and artistic videos and live shows.

2000 Dancer in the Dark 2005 Drawing Restraint 9 Burst www.afternoiz.com

14 2007 Anna and the Moods Courtney Love The Curt Cobain widow Courtney Michelle Love, apart from singing and songwriting, also has other artistic tendencies up her sleeve. Although many people judge her and hold her responsible for several things, they also find several heroines she portrayed in the big screen quite appealing. In 1984, Love participated in the 17-minute short film titled Club Vatican. To this day, she still has us counting several appearances in films and documentaries alike. 1986 Sid and Nancy 1987 Straight to Hell 1988 Tapeheads 1996 Basquiat/Feeling Minnesota/The People vs. Larry Flynt 1999 200 Cigarettes/Man on the Moon 2000 Beat 2001 Julie Johnson 2002 Trapped 2005 Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal’s Caligula 2011 Courtney In Wonderland Beyoncé The American composer, songwriter and singer Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is also an actress, who found herself as an acting talent in the big screen in 2001, when she portrayed Carmen Brown in the musical Carmen: A Hip Hopera. There was more to come one year later, with the comedy Austin Powers in Goldmember.

1976 The Man Who Fell to Earth 1978 Just a Gigolo 1981 Christiane F. (Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo) 1982 The Snowman/Baal 1983 Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence/The Hunger/Yellowbeard 1984 Jazzin’ for Blue Jean 1985 Into the Night 1986 Labyrinth/Absolute Beginners 1988 The Last Temptation of Christ 1991 The Linguini Incident 1991 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 1996 Basquiat 1998 Gunslinger’s Revenge (Il mio West) 1999 Everybody Loves Sunshine 2000 Mr. Rice’s Secret 2001 Zoolander 2006 The Prestige 2007 Arthur and the Invisibles 2007 SpongeBob SquarePants 2008 August 2009 Bandslam

Four Rooms 1996 Girl 6/Evita 2000 The Next Best Thing 2002 Swept Away/Die Another Day 2006 Arthur and the Minimoys

Madonna

1968 Sympathy for the Devil/Performance 1969 Invocation of My Demon Brother 1970 Gimme Shelter/Ned Kelly 1972 Umano non-umano 1978 Wings of Ash 1978 All You Need Is Cash (mockumentary) 1981 Fitzcarraldo 1982 Burden of Dreams/Let’s Spend the Night Together 1987 Running Out of Luck 1991 At the Max 1992 Freejack 1997 Bent 1999 Mein liebster Feind (aka My Best Fiend) 2001 Enigma/The Man from Elysian Fields/ Being Mick 2003 Mayor of the Sunset Strip 2008 Shine a Light 2010 Stones in Exile/Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones 2011 Some Girls: Live in Texas ‘78

The Queen of Pop Madonna Louise Ciccone, except for being a singer, songwriter, dancer, director, and producer, is also an actress –a jack of all trades we should say. Her career in the music industry is more or less known. She would leave nothing wasted, at least nothing she can’t do; that’s why she portrayed Bruna in the film A Certain Sacrifice (1979). Her career in film is not insignificant at all, since she appeared in the following:

No matter how weird it might seem, it is possible for music and film to be combined in a single career, by also filling the pockets of a talented artist with lots of money.

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Sir Michael Philip “Mick” Jagger might be considered as a bad boy; however, he’s still a Sir when it comes to music, let alone when it comes to his career in film. He kick-started his acting career in 1966, in Peter Whitehead’s film “Charlie Is My Darling”, a movie clearly being centered on the life with the Rolling Stones. It seems that in this way, his shining star on the screen was also recognized, so in 1968 he participates in the first two official films of his career.

Although the Slipknot & Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor might “terrorize” us behind his mask, this doesn’t mean that he does the same when it comes to other aspects of his artistic life. Songwriter, performer, writer and actor alike, Corey made his first attempt in acting in 1999, by participating in the documentary on Slipknot’s career, titled Welcome to Our Neighborhood.

David Bowie

1970 Pierrot in Turquoise or The Looking Glass Murders

Mick Jagger

Corey Taylor

2003 The Fighting Temptations 2006 The Pink Panther 2006 Dreamgirls 2008 Cadillac Records 2009 Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!: Wubb Idol 2009 Obsessed 2013 Life Is But a Dream 2013 Epic

The absolutely unique character of David Robert Jones has moved us in a musical, artistic and cinematic level in every way and whenever he can. Bowie is one of those artists, who makes us get in touch with the craziest and weirdest thing in our mind, since his debut in the big screen in 1969 in The Image and in The Virgin Soldiers; two films within a year, during his first steps in the world of cinema. Till 2009, you will find a diverse collection of films that feature him.

Last but not least, her career in the theater or in her own productions cannot remain unnoticed.

1985 Vision Quest (aka Crazy for You)/ Desperately Seeking Susan 1986 Shanghai Surprise 1987 Who’s That Girl 1989 Bloodhounds of Broadway 1990 Dick Tracy 1992 Shadows and Fog/A League of Their Own 1993 Body of Evidence/Dangerous Game(aka Snake Eyes) 1995 Blue in the Face(aka Brooklyn Boogie)/

In 2001, he participates in another documentary yet, titled We Sold Our Souls for Rock ‘n Roll, with his official premiere on the big screen taking place in 2002, in a 1975 remake and in Rollerball movie. 2002 Disasterpieces 2003 Cable TV (Episode four, season two) 2005 Voliminal: Inside the Nine 2009 Of the (sic): Your Nightmares, Our Dreams 2013 Fear Clinic (coming soon)

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Chapter II.

Machine Head Vs Avenged Sevenfold A series of unfortunate lawsuits and alleges By Sissy Fanouraki | Photos by Raphael Aretakis

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17 In the previous chapter you read a short story between Machine Head and a founding member, the long-time bassist Adam Duce. However, not enough details have been released, so, be prepared for another round of confrontation pretty soon. In this chapter we will discuss the “ferocity” between Avenged Sevenfold and Machine Head. Trick or Treat? It all started when Machine Head’s frontman, Robb Flynn, posted on the band’s facebook page some vicious comments about Avenged Sevenfold’s new album and a few days later Avenged Sevenfold’s frontman, M.Shadows responded. On September 9th, 2013, Rob Flynn posted on THE GENERAL JOURNALS: DIARY OF A FRONTMAN... AND OTHER RAMBLINGS, some nasty notes regarding Avenged Sevenfold’s new album “Hail To The King” (released in August). He

congratulated Avenged Sevenfold on its ‘covers’ album and wrote 10 jokes about it. Two days later, on September 11th, Avenged Sevenfold’s frontman, M.Shadows, speaking to Canada’s 106.9 The Bear Radio Station, responded the following: “I have no ill will towards those guys. I’ve met Phil a couple of times; he’s cool. Robb is cool. And I think the guy has the right to go make… if it’s really a joke, in his mind… Some people might see it as being as an underhanded… joke. But, to me, if he just wants to go in there and write whatever he wants, I think that’s totally cool. Everyone has an opinion and everyone should be entitled to say whatever they want. So it’s no skin off our backs.” As expected, he didn’t take Flynn’s comments seriously, and all the remarks made by the rest of the band-members, in various interviews, were above all diplomatic. Some fans did take Flynn’s comments into consideration while others may have found them a bit spicy or even ‘tricky’. Why is that? Apart from those two posts, the spiteful jokes from Robb Flynn and the cool response of M. Shadows, nothing else happened for a while. Fans took the situation in their hands and cross talked vividly. “With any success, a lot of voices come out…” commented Zacky Vengeance, Avenged Sevenfold’s rhythm guitarist.

Who made who? On October 4th, another issue occurred “Did Avenged Sevenfold actually copy Machine Head logo?”. A photo was posted online, featuring side by side Avenged Sevenfold’s new stage logo vs. that of Machine Head. Unquestionably, there are some weird similarities between these two logos, even though lion crests and Roman numerals are broadly used. Those similarities were the following: (1) Lion crests with axes (2) Roman numbers at the bottom (3) Band logo/name in the centre (4) Combination of black and white in the centre Photo uploaded at Blabbermouth.net (Official Facebook Page), October 4, 2013 with the title: New AVENGED SEVENFOLD Logo Vs. MACHINE HEAD Logo

So, what do you think? Are Avenged Sevenfold copycats and nothing more, or is there something unspoken behind that cruel battle? Fans were and still are drawing their own conclusions and of course posting and sharing them amongst friends and other social media! That’s the spirit… and just for the record, Avenged Sevenfold’s skull with wings logo is somehow familiar to that of Overkill. What about that? Well, from what was written, including some fan posts, I’ll give you my juicy point of view. Robb Flynn made a smart move after all… Seriously, every musician or band has an opinion – good or bad – about other bands and fellow musicians, but most of them tend to keep it for themselves. In this case, Robb Flynn verbally attacked a specific band that, believe it or not, has a 4 million plus fans – not to mention that “Hail To The King” sold 159.000 copies in its first week of release in the US and charted as No.1 on the US Billboard 200, the UK albums chart, as well as the Finnish, Brazilian, Canadian, and Irish charts!!! I really don’t know what Robb Flynn had in mind but one thing’s for sure, his comments brought a lot of attention to Avenged Sevenfold’s new album and it certainly augmented Machine Head’s fan base too; it’s a win – win situation, commercially and critically acclaimed, for both bands!! Burst www.afternoiz.com

Knockin’ On

Heaven’s BY helen Door marie joyce

Fact File Days on Earth: 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991, (aged 45)

Associated Act: Queen, 1970 – present. Freddie Mercury, 1985 – 1988. (Ibex/ Wreckage, Montserrat Caballé) (Genre: Rock// Hard Rock// Glam Rock// Classical & Contemporary Opera Crossover).

Biggest Influence: Led Zeppelin, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Little Richard, Cliff Richard and general Bollywood, Rockabilly, Classical music.

Quoted: “I’m just a musical prostitute, my dear.”

Freddie Mercury has rightfully claimed the rock star legend status which will withstand time. His astonishing vocal range and his on stage über showman charisma, has granted Queen the privilege of becoming one of the timeless bands in the history of modern music. A very private person off stage, selfabsorbed and an introvert Freddie received uninitiated attention from the press with regards to his sexuality, which swayed between hetero and homo, but weighing down more on the latter. His contraction of AIDS in the mid 80’s paved the way for a great loss in the musical world, although he never publically admitted to suffering from the disease and especially linking it to his sexuality. Ironically enough, he died one day after issuing a public statement that he was in fact, tested positive for HIV and had AIDS. Mercury was a bornto-be musician, being the creative drive behind Queen together with whom he played around 700 shows across the globe. An ingenious song-writer; he has written songs with very complex melodies and elaborate harmonies which he combined with his immaculate singing voice, that spanned over four octaves with grace, and with power. Freddie’s youth Born Farrokh Bulsara, of Parsi (Persian) decent in Zanzibar which was under British protection at the time, Freddie had a younger sister Kashmira, spent most of his school days in India, studying at British style boarding

All photos are property of their rightful owners. BURST is using them to accompany this article. We have no right on the photos. Burst www.afternoiz.com

school, and taking an early interest in music. By the age of 7 he could play the piano, and at that tender time, Bollywood music was a big influence on him; he had a favourite female singer he was particularly fond of. By the age of 12 he formed a school band The Hectics, with fellow students, mostly covering songs of Rock n’ Roll artist Cliff Richard and the early R&B soulful blend sounds of Little Richard. His aptitude for rhythm and melody was clear since he had an inept way of effortlessly recreating songs he heard. It was around this time that he started to call himself Freddie and at the age of 17, he and his family fled to Middlesex, England amidst political strife and from fear of persecution. It was there where he immediately pursued a creative degree and successfully completed a diploma in Art and Graphic design from Ealing Art College in London. Following his graduation, he pursed his

musical hunger and joined several bands trying to find his place and identity. Being a free spirit, an inherent bo-ho, he and his then girlfriend, Mary Austen, sold second hand clothes and accessories in a market in Kensington as their way of helping the pennies come in. In Mary Austen, Freddie had found a shortlived carnal affair, but a deep long-term spiritual connection for the years to come. Yet Freddie had not found a fulfilling creative outlet. The bands he had participated in had flopped or fallen apart, or moved one step ahead and two backwards. So he gave Liverpool based band, Ibex (later renamed to Wreckage) a shot. He even lived above a Liverpool pub for a time, sticking by the band. It was a futile endeavour as they never made it however, in one of their live appearances in September 1969, they did an encore with the then-members of Blues Rock band Smile, Brian May

19 Mercury’s every orifice and in conjunction with the music of Queen, in which he was the biggest cog, they delivered powerful performances that it is such a shame for generations of next to only have youtube.com to thank for. Mercury wrote intricate and complex songs, often fusing musical genres such as Rock// Hard Rock with neoClassical elements. His often operatic singing style ranged between baritone, tenor, across four octaves, graciously gliding between deep lows and rock growls, through to effortless high belted soprano pitches, with tender falsettos. The colouring he was able to give to his voice enabled him to be in complete control and carry off songs like “Bohemian Rhapsody” which is a multi-chord musical masterpiece in itself: Song Alert! Bohemian Rhapsody has no repetitive chorus or verse or bridge, it is not structured as a typical rock song. In fact, its structure is much more operatic and it moves through six distinct parts: the melodic intro, of a cappella vocals and a gradual piano, pre-empting the listener to expect a storyline of some sort to unfold; then a ballad of two verses; then a half minute guitar solo; then an abrupt opera part full of alternations in rhythm and harmony, vocal multi-tracking and a choir; then this changes into a true Heavy Rock//Metal part that is overpowering combined with Mercury’s angry singing; and finally an outro which subdues all emotions.

and Roger Taylor. Freddie quit Wreckage, and joined Sour Milk Sea, which was another failure to launch, but then in 1970 he did not resist the calling to get together with May and Taylor. He thus formed Queen, ignoring all the gay connotations that Freddie was fully aware of, as he believed in the regal flamboyance of the word as being fitting for the act. It was a direct shout-out to the world that this group would be the ultimate Glam Rock band to date! Mercury and his Queen During this time, Farrohk Bul-

sara formerly reinvented himself, something which is not atypical in eccentric personas. Freddie, now, Mercury, had two sides of the coin to him. The private, personal, sensitive side, and the character who took over this introvert person when his foot landed on stage. Mercury will be remembered for his vibrant live performances, which he seemed to relish and thoroughly enjoy. Kurt Cobain has tragically expressed his envy very publically in his suicide note, mentioning “…when we’re backstage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begin, it doesn’t affect me the

way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy.” Cobain was right; Mercury was ostentatious, full of energy and with sky-high vocal standards, he achieved the unachievable when on stage. He managed to connect with the person at the very last row at the very end of the vast stadium. His theatrical aura left no one in the crowd unaffected, uninterested, or uninvolved. This was Bowie’s opinion of him at least: “…he could hold the audience in the palm of his hand”. Charisma exuded from

In terms of formal musical education, Freddie was a humble pianist. He had received some years of proper training in his youth, and his skills on guitar were rudimentary. He also claimed to not have received any vocal training at all, and that he could almost barely read music. He consequently didn’t have a lot of confidence in his playing abilities and often recruited professional musicians with high profiled resumes (such as Fred Mandel who has played with Pink Floyd and Elton John) to play as guests. As a song-writer Mercury was innovative and his goal was to conjure something new each time: “I like to Burst www.afternoiz.com

20 see what’s happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things” he has said. He was influenced by and identified with Led Zeppelin: “We were disliked by the press in the early days because they couldn’t put their finger on us, and that was the case with Zeppelin as well.” Of course, he also loved The Who, The Beatles and admired David Bowie. His musical inspiration came from a variety of genres: Rockabilly, Progressive Rock, Metal, Gospel, Opera, Blues and Disco, hence his comment about being a “musical prostitute”. With Queen, they released 15 studio albums (1 posthumous), 6 live albums, with numerous successful hits and envious chart positions across all of their works. Mercury didn’t stop there, as his artistic nature yearned for something different. And so he ventured into the solo-artist unknown in 1985 with ‘Mr. Bad Guy’, a heavily synthesized piece of work and a successful job of testing unknown waters; it also landed him a posthumous Ivor Novello Award. Additionally, in 1988 with soprano Montserrat Caballé he recorded ‘Barcelona’ which is a mixture of popular contemporary music with classical and opera elements, which although confusing at the time, was a great commercial success. There are also yetto-be- released boot leg duet copies of Mercury and Michael Jackson, as they were openly working on “State of Shock” together, which Jackson later completed with Mick Jagger, which showed Mercury’s interest in Pop music as well. Freddie Mercury exposed Mercury was targeted by the media for his bi-sexual orientation as although he had some girlfriends, he also enjoyed relationships with men. His affair with a male American executive ended his relationship with Mary Austen, whom he recognized as his ‘wife’ and placed her on a pedestal no other lover could reach. They remained very close friends and she supported him through all his hard times; she was a muse for numerous songs among which “Love of Burst www.afternoiz.com

My Life” is the most distinct. In his will he left her his Kensington mansion, which she had picked out for him, rather than leaving it to his current partner, Jim Hutton. While others believed that Mercury hid his bi-sexual orientation, or his gayness, others took his flamboyant persona on stage as the epitome of sexual outness. Kerrang! reviewer, Dave Dickinson commented that Mercury was a “posturing tart” in Wembley Arena’s performance in 1984. However, Mercury never politically aligned himself to any Gay rights groups. It was a personal thing he did not want to either admit or deny. By 1987 he was fully aware of being positive for HIV and he retreated to a resort in Ibiza where he spent some time and put together ‘Barcelona’. Around 1991 his appearance was notably frail and he denied many public appearances as he felt exposed for him disease and his sexual preferences at a time when his body and soul was waning. He continued to deny his disease to the public, to protect his close ones from being dragged into the media frenzy, and did so even more fervently after the tabloids were screaming: “It’s official -Freddie is seriously ill.” Many have judged Mercury for his lack of out-ness with regards to his disease, and criticised his introversion as an infringement upon awareness for AIDS at a time when HIV positive and homosexuality seemed to be booming, hand in hand. His death marked the end of a spectacular career, full of love and admiration and I am certain that had he not bitten “the dust” when he did, he would have remained the world’s ultimate musical paragon; and, here’s to wishful thinking, I would have certainly anticipated a collaboration with the even-more-so eccentric Lady Gaga who has openly expressed her admiration of him. Those two I am convinced, are kindred spirits.

Enjoy Freddie

would you kill for a photo? www.argophotography.com

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Gogol Bordello

A punk gypsy rock opera

by Dialekti Angeli

The first time I listened to a Gogol Bordello’s song – I think it was the ‘Wonderlust King’-, I couldn’t stop tapping my feet on the floor and after the first 30 seconds I stood up and start dancing like crazy! CRAZY! That’s it! That’s the word that best describes Gogol Bordello.

Poland, Hungary, Austria and Italy, but he soon realized that Europe will always treat him as an immigrant. That’s when he decided to move to the United States, probably the only place in the world with a unique understanding of the cultural specificities.

It was July 2010 when I saw them performing live, during the Rockwave Festival. Everyone around me was dancing and jumping and singing along. I was so carried away by their energy, by how subversive their show was, and by their sound, that I found myself dancing my heart out in a pit of jovial strangers. Seeing Gogol Bordello performing live, felt so powerful, in a way that is almost unmatched by any other show.

He started working as a DJ in New York when he met Sergey Ryabtsev, a Russian violinist and Yuri Lemeshev, an American accordionist. He soon met the rest of the band members and he formed Gogol Bordello in 1999. That multinational band counts over 10 years of discography and legendarily frenetic live performances. Just like their music, the band’s name derives from the combination of two terms. The ‘Gogol’ part comes from the Ukranianborn Russian dramatist Nikolai Gogol. The dramatist has been an ideological influence to the band since he smuggled the Ukranian culture into the Russian society, while Gogol is trying to infuse the western world

A bit of history Eugene Hütz, is the mastermind of Gogol Bordello. After the Chernobyl accident this “punk immigrant” sought better luck in Kiev. He passed through Burst www.afternoiz.com

with their sound. As for the second part, ‘bordello’ means brothel in Italian. Allow me a wild guess. Maybe they‘ve chosen this word for all the coming and going of the musicians, or maybe because of all of the brindled clothes Eugene – mostly – and the rest of his bandmates wear during their live shows. It sounds so fitting! That strange fusion One can’t describe Gogol Bordello without using the word ‘phenomenon’. Their music is a unique fusion of the Roma folk and Eastern European music one along with punk rock. The mainstream American and northern European ears were not used to that kind of sound. During their countless tours they have been overwhelming to unsuspecting audiences and have managed to grow a substantial fan club all around the world. Eugene Hütz, the frontman of the group, performs momen-

tous lyrics with a unique rebellious and anarchistic spirit. Hütz delivers a Red Bull-ish level of enthusiasm, drifting his audience to a frenetic dance. The multinational assembly on stage is so large and motley, that a spectator can’t decide who to look at first. The Ethiopian-born bass player, Thomas Gobena who handles the bass as if it was an extension of his own arm; the accordion player, Pasha Newmer, who jumps around the stage with the relentless energy of an Energizer Bunny, despite the fact that he has an instrument, which weighs 18 lbs, strapped to his chest; Sergey Ryabtchev who plays the violin with an unthinkable level of mastery; any one of the four remaining members of the group who perform on stage, testifying their bodies and souls; Hütz and his band of pranksters is an must see! Undeniably! Yet, there are those who dismissed Gogol Bordello as kitsch. Haters will always hate, ignor-

WordsOf Wisdom by Karolina Pacan

You are stronger you are beautiful My dear Friends and Fellow Warriors, today I wanted to write you about an everyday subject, called self-appreciation. In the media we are constantly bombarded with advertisements to make us believe, that we need certain products to feel better, or to be more attractive. In fact, self-care, like hygiene, is important but if you don’t feel good inside from a spiritual side, then no lipstick or deo spray will fix your mood. If you could write 3 things that you like about yourself, what would you choose? Are you able to find maybe 5 or 10 valuable things about your own personality? If yes, then congrats for you! Try to develop those qualities in the best way possible. If you can’t find positive things about you, then just sit down… And ask yourself, what am I am good at? Can I sew? Cook? Sing? Paint? Or take care of animals?

ing both the power and the energy of the band on stage as well as their unique sound and their highly political lyrics. The road so far This orchestrated chaos that is Gogol Bordello could be called many things but not boring. After fifteen years of service, Gogol isn’t just one of the most famous punk rock bands but one of the most stable. The band’s debut album, Voi-la Intruder doesn’t reflect their dynamics since the production was almost absent. The accordion and the violin were conducting a race with the microphone, and on top of that, Eugene was singing those drunken tales of green card marriages and begging the listener to ‘start wearing purple’. Their second album, Multi Kontra Culti Vs. Irony is a

much more accomplished record. This time the music is smoother and more instrumental. Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike is the band’s third album. The thundering drums, the ska sound of the guitars, the gypsy accordion and the violin are some of the most characteristic aspects of this album. Gogol is often on the verge of total chaos. But it’s this tension that makes them swing even harder. This album brought the Eastern European gypsy punk revolution to the world. Gogol’s entire career is built on this album and it has been the backbone of the band’s concert set list ever since. In 2007, the band released Super Taranta! Unlike the Gypsy Punks, Super Taranta! adds a little to the group’s vocabulary. And it’s understandable because when you‘ve given everything in an

album it’s hard to surpass it. Gogol Bordello’s fifth album, Trans-Continental Hustle, follows the same motif. Just like the previous four albums this record’s theme is largely about Hütz’s odyssey and how he wishes for a place where life can be celebrated and everybody respects the differences. Hütz refuses to put distance between himself and his artistic creations. Pura Vida Conspiracy is their latest album. The music here feels less like a retreat than an offensive move. When the past records overwhelmed the listeners, Pura Vida’s most rambunctious moments are approached very carefully. This album feels like the fullest musical expression of the band’s borderless sound since Gypsy Punks. All in all, it is a fun and exciting listen. Both instrumentally and lyrically speaking, it’s top-notch.

I have a pretty smile, deep eyes etc… Try to look inside yourself, meditate, and reach your inner mentor. Disconnecting for few minutes from reality will help you to reconnect with yourself with your real personality. No shame, no excuse, no one will judge you. Write down the things you will discover, and read them over and over. Let your beauty shine, you know that people who dare to be creative can change this word? Don’t hide yourself any longer. Let it shine! (Remember: Be empathetic, never harm others to reach your goal)

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25 Inside BURST!

anastacia Interview by Korina P. Photos by Ralf Strathmann

She has been called a “freak of nature” or “the little lady with the big voice”, simply because of her vocal skills; if you don’t see her and just listen to her without knowing how she looks like you will certainly think that this woman who sings is a wellknown African-American female vocalist. She seemed to have fallen on Earth like a meteorite and hit the music scene really hard, when, in 2000 her first studio album Not That Kind made people around the globe scream her name. Did she enjoy that? She totally loved it, because she was born to become a superstar. But Anastacia is not just that, she is a phenomenon. She even created her very own music genre; the sprock sound (combination of soul, pop, and rock). She has been on a long journey in her life and career, as she has faced many difficulties until now. But she never gave up her dreams and hope. As she once said, she likes to look at her challenges as a gift and her voice as tool. And I don’t know many other artists on this world who have such powerful tools at their disposal. Her name (Anastacia) and the title of her new album (Resurrection) are strictly connected as both mean “re-born”. On her new video she looks refreshed, strong, hot and totally determined to take the power back into her hands. Anastacia is reborn and she is back for good. Do not make the mistake of missing the return of this classy lady; it will be your loss.

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26 Hello Anastacia and welcome back! Is everything fine there with you?

Can you tell us how the whole writing process has been?

I am fine, really fine! Thank you very much!

I feel like it has been amazing and empowering. I would say that it happened fast but in fact it happened slowly. There are periods of time when it felt like it was going by fast, I’d write a few songs in a week and then maybe I wouldn’t have any writing sessions because I wouldn’t be feeling that way or something. But, at the same time, when I finally was listening back to maybe what this album would sound like, in the demos, not even being mixed and mastered, I started really getting a clearer picture of the whole thing. Like I said, I have seen a big change in myself mentally and physically. There is such an inner string in every album I can write because I can get out my feelings. Let alone writing an album through a very hard health experience that you feel like it helps you get through it. I have done that before in an Anastacia record back in 2003 when I was fighting again with cancer. It actually helped the process and I wasn’t nervous about doing it again, I was actually more excited to do it again because I was more like “Oh my gosh! I am so excited to see what comes out this time”. I will confess to you that I was as surprised about the outcome, I was like “Oh my God, this is awesome!” (laughs) When I listened to the final product I was thinking that I have really grown up! (laughs)

Let’s begin! Your sixth studio album, Resurrection, will be released in May. I assume you have chosen this word, resurrection, because it is a strong and interesting word, full of life. Actually, it is the translation of your name in Greek. It is the description of something that is, essentially, re-born. So, finally, do you feel re-born? Absolutely! The main reason why I used this word is because in the very beginning of my career someone had told me that my name in Greek means resurrection and I have always been so honored about this name. Even in 2005 I named my own perfume resurrection. When I really felt that I was starting to write a new album or feeling like I wanted to write a new album and then all of a sudden the cancer had come, the metamorphosis of my spiritual world had already reached a point when resurrection had been happening to me. On one side I realized that with the cancer again I was completely unbelief that the new music I would be writing would be of the title album resurrection, so I came with this title before I wrote any songs and knew the album would be called resurrection 100%. I loved this title and I am very happy to present the title that way. So, there is a beautiful story behind the title as you already had the title in your mind a long time ago. In an interview you referred to the new songs as “cathartic and inspirational ones”. You wrote this album while you were facing pretty hard times and you described the whole process as a cathartic one which led you to find yourself again. Writing this album was your opportunity to share your experiences and even turn them into words of encouragement! Burst www.afternoiz.com

Oh sure you did! (laughs) And in my opinion you came back much stronger than ever before. I can already sense that. I definitely feel like that. Awesome! Can you give us some more details about the album music-wise? You said you are going back to your own chosen sprock sound. What should we expect? This album is a 100% sprock album. I really believe that this album shows the growth that I’ve gone through as a woman,

27 an artist and as well the growth in my own spirit. I think that the only difference that you feel in the songs is the essence of the music, the songs are like remenissions of the Anastacia album days and left alone it’s typically me, it’s so me. People did such comments to me when they listened to my new album and this is wonderful because I feel like I have been able to go through different things and be able to find that I feel comfortable musically. I feel comfortable even in my skin and even I am more comfortable now that I can’t even begin to tell you that I didn’t even feel like I wasn’t comfortable ten years ago! (laughs)

about the songs on the album. You got me on this! (laughs) So, you stated that writing songs helped you pull through the dark moments and additionally the fact that you are able to speak your story has been a great help.

You decided to cooperate with some old friends (producers) for this album, am I right?

I wrote songs that recall to my health situation, as well. There is a song that I wrote just before I went in the very first surgery, it is called Stay. This is a song that pretty much says “I am not ready to go yet. I wanna stay. I really want to stay part of this life”. Another song called Lifeline is actually dedicated to the disease cancer, in this song I am talking to cancer in a way. I wanted to be given a lifeline, I chose to have a double mastectomy I knew I had a lifeline. The song itself and all the words of it are about cancer. This is a song that I actually did not like, this one was particularly written for a movie called Hunger Games and then the producers decided not to use it. So, when I got to listen

You are absolutely right on this. (laughs) I was really glad to work with Sam Watters and Louis Biancaniello again. Sam and Louis had written “Left Outside Alone” along with me, “One Day In Your Life”, “You’ll Never Be Alone”, “I’m Outta Love”. Like I said, I have written so many amazing songs with these two guys and we tried to do that in “Heavy Rotation” album but we didn’t really find that there was anything that worked out. And then for this album I decided that I wanted to come back and resurrect myself in a way, like in the beginning of my career, and it’s so wonderful to have my old friends again working with me. So, you are saying that you are going back to your roots and your old friends are coming back to work some miracles with you again. I guess this will please your die-hard fans Anastacia! (laughs)

For example, the first single of the album, Stupid Little Things, is about trying not to overthink everything, making situations much bigger than they actually are. You already said that you wrote one love song for your loyal fans, what about the themes of the rest of the new songs?

to the song it wasn’t a song I could use but I fell in love with it. I was like “I need to have this song, I love it so much” and I hadn’t even known, I just loved what it was about and I felt like I really understand it. Four months later they rejected the song and I was almost done writing my album and that was the point when the producer came back and said that if I still wanted to sing that song I could finally do it because they actually didn’t want it anymore and words can’t describe how happy I was that I could finally use that song on my new album. I was thinking that it was a big honor to have a song that I didn’t write, which feels so connected to something my fans will assume that was written completely for me. Songs can be about something else and you can still relate to it in a completely different way. I just love that thing about music. So, you ended up with a nice gift in your hands. It was amazing an amazing gift. Oh yes it was! Despite your origin, you seem to have much love for Europe and as well it seems that this love is reciprocated by European music lovers, which has been tested and proved through great album sales figures. How can you explain that?

At the very beginning of my career I was signed to a USbased label Sony which is actually a worldwide company. I am American as you said but there was some certain time, that I am not sure exactly what happened, because I was such an innocent girl. I didn’t know how all these things were working with the record companies and the business. I was just so happy that somebody signed me, I didn’t really care what was going on. It was a very substantial part of my coming out to have my record released in the stores and have some backing behind it. They decided to shut the whole project in US and go straight to Europe. They got a new person to be in charge and that was the point when the success happened so dramatically overseas. I pretty much remember doing the first record and about a year after, pretty much never been home, they were acting like “hey we’re gonna do this for the next album as well” and I was like “what?!”. I couldn’t believe that they wanted me to do another album, I hadn’t even toured, I didn’t do anything, maybe I did just one or two shows and then all of a sudden we did the next album. I did the next album and the promotion followed. At the end of 2002 I had a Christmas break and I got cancer. It never really worked out to necessarily make US set in to my busy schedule but at the same time they weren’t really pressed to

“I really believe that this album shows the growth that I’ve gone through as a woman, an artist and as well the growth in my own spirit”.

It’s great! (laughs) They waited so long and they stayed very true, I feel like I owe to my fans so much. I am so excited to be able to share all of this with them. In fact, I even dedicated a song to them on this album, it’s a love song written for them actually. And I was about to ask you Burst www.afternoiz.com

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“I am a songwriter, I like a hit more than anybody, I know a hit when I hear it, I am that kind of person that doesn’t write for anybody else but myself. I know how to write for myself, so usually I think that I have been successful because when I write a song I do it for me”.

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30 make US happen because they were already making so much money from everywhere else and it was not a loss to them. It was a game for the record companies, if you know what I am saying. I was actually falling in love with the process of gaining fans and creating my fanbase, I never experienced that kind of relationship before in my life, I had never been super-fanatical with other artists so to quite understand that relationship more, I figured it’s close to understanding what a family is like; we all have some families. I consider my fans as my faNily, I use this specific word, faNily, for them. I personally realized that it’s such a different part of the career. I never could imagine, it was a surprise for me. I would take all the bad things in the world in order to continue having my fans! (laughs) It is so awesome, there is so much fun and they feel the same vibes that I feel when I write my songs, they relate what I have to think or say, we understand each other. I think it’s nice to know that people out there understand me too. I am maybe crazy but it’s nice to know that people understand my craziness! (laughs) You have a very powerful mezzo kind of voice. Have you ever considered participating in an opera or doing more classical oriented stuff? I recall you did a live performance of Andrew Lloyd’s Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar and it was a great success. It was wonderful to be able to do that but in the way I think about it, performing on Broadway, it’s like 8 shows in a week! (laughs) I kind of consider myself down to earth but 8 shows in a week? There is no way I would do that. Unless it would be like a part time gig and I could do like 3 or 4 shows and negotiate with Broadway doing half-time of it then I would so be on board. Check out my tour dates and maybe you’ll see something interesting pretty soon. As for your question, maybe when I am older and I may feel like I can do that, but now I just feel like I love the music I do and I love the variBurst www.afternoiz.com

ety of it. I don’t know if I would want to do the same thing organically every night. I think I would probably throw extra words in the songs and a lot of extra lines in the script just to keep it friendly and interesting and I don’t know if this would be appreciated. (laughs) Oh don’t say that! (laughs) Why should it not be appreciated? New and fresh ideas every night or maybe even different plots every night; that would be wild and so much interesting! (laughs) Do you think so? I really like your way of thinking! (laughs) Back in 2012 you released a cover album entitled “It’s a man’s world”. Was this title kind of a statement made by you? Do you feel that way? I mean, there are so many talented and successful female performers nowadays. In addition, it seems that women have the relative advantage of appearance which aids fame and success. At least, this is what seems to be the music industry’s point of view nowadays, if you look at the big-selling names. I gave this title to this album because it was a cover album and only men songs were being featured on it. I thought it was a clever play on words and it was me singing men songs. Of course this phrase does not portray today’s world. But I loved the title. However, of course I don’t think that it’s a man’s world. (laughs) It’s even more hilarious that this is the title of an Anastacia record because I am so not that kind of girl. You definitely don’t seem like that kind of girl and that’s why I was kind of skeptical about this title. No way, this is not a man’s world! (laughs) What really impressed me was one post you made on your facebook profile page a while ago. You were giving some tips to your fans

on how to promote Stupid Little Things. This is not usual, a superstar asking for immediate promo from her fans and even giving them some cool advice on how to do it. In addition, many artists nowadays launch indiegogo and kickstarter campaigns in order to raise money directly from their fans and make their dreams come true. Many artists claim that this is the future of music industry now. What is your opinion on this? With internet a lot of things have been changed. With the downloading and everything things are not completely under our control anymore. We don’t have the ability to control the sales but now as artists we have the ability to speak ourselves. Instead it’s kind of reaching out and making everyone feel part of the journey we are taking. We can’t control if they’re gonna buy the album but if they really feel connected to us, the artists, there is an investment they make spiritually. It becomes a really wonderful journey we are taking together whether or not they buy tickets to our concerts or albums. We can’t control any of that. Some artists want the media to know that the fans are their fans, they are not the media’s fans. There could be publications that wanna say certain things. Of course all of us do interviews and stuff but sometimes it’s essential to be able to have our own voice on twitter or facebook and people to know it’s us who post these messages. This really empowers the artist back again than making the record company and the media so powerful at one point. Now it’s becoming a little bit of an equal game and it’s like we are both there to help each other as long as we consider to respect each other’s boundaries. The artist continues to go to the media and have interviews. I personally love to do that, I feel like I have talked more in the last week than in a whole year. (laughs) I forgot how it’s like but I am so much enjoying this. This is the part that I love the most, being able to do an interview and sharing my experience with someone.

I don’t want to just share this with my fans and only give them the information because the media is part of what I like to do. I like to do the television shows and the interviews. I am different from other artists who are usually more like “just get me on the stage”. I actually like to give more of the story behind this whole thing or give the reasons why this all happens because I think people do want to know all that stuff. Of course they want to know. And to go a little bit further on this, since 2008 the world is facing a tremendous economical crisis which affected even you (according to previous statements of yours). Many artists complain about illegal downloading, lack of funds from their labels and etc. How do you feel about this? Well, I have chosen to take a risk for myself in my own career and not for the record label. We have a partnership with the distribution and I am making my own sacrifice, I don’t get anything in advance, I don’t live the life of luxury, I only make money when I sell records and that is just the way that it is. That’s how my relationship is with my record company. We both make money if the record sells and we both take that risk for the record. I feel like this is an opportunity in general because through the years I have grown as an artist so it’s a little bit easier for me to make that kind of choice than it is for someone who is a new artist. However I felt like I didn’t want to be part of the record company for a deal and continue all this. It’s such a risk to take but on the other hand the minute that your single doesn’t get played on the radio in one week the problem comes out. The days of sticking by an artist, through their own growth as an artist, are gone. You too would be very amazed of them saying that if they came out today they would have never made it because they needed that time to shake their feet. They didn’t have instant hits and they were lucky enough to have the opportunity to do that, experi-

“The minute I got home I was ready to tell everybody I had a double mastectomy. I was so ready to announce it to the world, I felt so obligated to my fans that I had to tell them what’s going on but the minute I heard Angelina Jolie opened up and shared these news I kind of felt like God was telling me that I needed to slow down because now we had Angelina taking care of the world”.

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32 mental kind of stuff, to kind of get used to do that and now they don’t. I am a songwriter, I like a hit more than anybody, I know a hit when I hear it, I am that kind of person that doesn’t write for anybody else but myself. I know how to write for myself, so usually I think that I have been successful because when I write a song I do it for me. I doesn’t mean that it’s 100% a hit but it’s always a good song for me and if my fans like it then it ends up being a good song maybe for radio too. I think that’s the most important thing. Yes, that is. Something else that totally caught my attention was your new promo photoshooting. In one picture you pose as an ultimate rock chick, you even give us the devil horns! Should we expect some rock n roll vibe and energy from you in your upcoming live shows? Can you tell us anything about your upcoming tour plans? Of course! Are you kidding me?! This album will give you ballads, a hot serious rock song and much more stuff. It’s so gonna be exciting, doing shows again, because I never got to tour or even perform songs live from my previous album, It’s A Man’s World, which was a cover album full of rock songs. I did AC/DC, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses and etc songs and I never got to sing them live for anybody. I want to do the old stuff, the new stuff, stuff that was never heard because I had to put the pause on that album. So, I am totally excited for the upcoming tour for Resurrection. However, I’ve got to promote this record before I actually go on tour, because it’s been a while since I have been out. My tour can immediately just be on sale, but I am 100% dying to tour and I long to tour. Who knows, maybe I even go to US for the first time. That could be a little miracle! (laughs) And it would be awesome for your US fans. So, you have already some schedBurst www.afternoiz.com

uled tour plans for your new album. We are in talks for tour. Absolutely. I have started talking about the upcoming tour even before the record came out. Even before finishing off with the making process of the new album the promoters were on board to start the talks. We are still in talks now and I really don’t know when the dates will happen. I cross my fingers and I hope it could happen before the end of the year that we can start doing gigs. I don’t know, if I am lucky enough the gigs will start around October and November. I don’t really know how soon it could start but I would love to be able to do this like a mini Christmas present before 2015. That would be my ultimate joy and wish. But if I can’t put it together fast enough before 2015, then that’s when it will start. From what you say I totally understand that you are really looking forward to this tour! (laughs) I sound a little desperate to you, don’t I? (laughs) But I really wanna go out tour, oh yeah. And your fans seem to feel the same way with you as

far as I know.

So, to get serious again, I will not go on and ask you about your battle with cancer, I guess you have already said your story too many times and all of us know of the difficult times you had to deal with. However, now in 2014, being healthy again, what kind of memories did this whole issue leave you with? What kind of lessons have you learned through this whole process?

I had to cancel a whole tour it was really hard for me to cancel something that my fans had been waiting for. Not financially, because I knew I was going to able to give them back their money for the actual tickets but because my fans are my fans. They like to go to other countries, they like pending their exams or take off work, they book a hotel, they rent a car, they plan all this stuff to see me and I knew I couldn’t help throwing away all those kinds of sacrifices they had put out and they may not get back. I felt completely and crazily guilty for that and of course because I had to tell the touring company the reason why I was cancelling the tour. I couldn’t just say “Hello I am cancelling this tour because I am just taking a moment to myself” because then they would have sued me. I had to tell them that I had cancer. So, when I told them I had cancer then I knew that I probably had to tell the world because I didn’t want it to get out as a leak. So I told everyone that the cancer was back, I needed to cancel the tour, I ran in for my surgery on April 21st and two weeks later Angelina Jolie announces that she had a double mastectomy.

When I found that I had cancer

Exactly. In 2013 Angelina

I am so happy to hear that. Greece has been a country I have had vacation in and I had loved performing in as well. I would be more than happy to come and perform if you guys can have me. But let me tell you that I have been waiting until you guys get back on your feet and work touring to happen. I will wait for that because this is a 100% amazing country, so beautiful and you guys cook amazing food there! (laughs) Okay this is not a secret, our food rules! (laughs) I am a girl who likes to eat well. (laughs)

“I am different from other artists who are usually more like “just get me on the stage”. I actually like to give more of the story behind this whole thing or give the reasons why this all happens because I think people do want to know all that stuff”.

33 Jolie revealed that she had undergone a preventative double mastectomy. What a weird coincidence! Would you personally advise to any other woman to do such a thing? Let me tell you, the minute I got home I was ready to tell everybody I had a double mastectomy. I was so ready to announce it to the world, I felt so obligated to my fans that I had to tell them what’s going on but the minute I heard Angelina Jolie opened up and shared these news I kind of felt like God was telling me that I needed to slow down because now we had Angelina taking care of the world. (laughs) In a way I slowed down and concentrated on writing and healing and not necessarily sharing what I was doing until I felt I was healed enough. It was actually a perfect timing in October when breast cancer went up and I decided that it was the right time to tell everyone what I did. It was like such a wonderful way to express it; it was almost raising awareness at the same time that I was sharing a story. That was sort of my experience within a year. It’s an extremely positive experience. Of course it was very difficult, painful but now I feel very happy, sexy and feminine. I don’t know if you can see that in my new video but it is totally there from my side. I don’t feel like I missed out on being a woman by deciding to take this decision and I don’t feel that when I see Angelina either. These days it looks like we can do this kind of thing and not lose our feminine side. It’s nice to talk about it and to share our experience. It’s not a terrible ending. I am pretty sure your words will cross the hearts and minds of many women around the world and give them strength to carry on. Anastacia thank you so much for your time and this wonderful interview. I hope to see you soon on the road.

Giving life to your instincts...

It was a pleasure talking with you, it was a wonderful conversation. Thank you, too.

www.argophotography.com Burst www.afternoiz.com

Devil You Know

An interview with Francesco Artusato By Sissy Fanouraki / Photos by Hristo Shindov

Hello there! How are you? I’m great thanks! Feeling tired? You’ve been on the road for quite some time now… How are things going so far? I have definitely been very busy lately…two bands, making albums, touring…tired sometimes but extremely excited about all this. Let’s start from scratch, though. Devil You Know is a rather new project. When did you actually meet? John and I met 6 or 7 years ago. We stayed friends for a very long time and then finally one day (3-4 years ago) we decided to start writing some music together. A little less than two years ago we got in touch with Howard. We started talking about music and the songs we had and shortly after we all met in Los Angeles. Devil You Know features Burst www.afternoiz.com

the mighty Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage, Francesco Artusato of All Shall Perish (guitarist) as well as John Sankey Devolved (drummer). So, is Devil You Know a supergroup? ‘Cause it certainly sounds like one! Yes and no, I guess. It’s definitely not a side project! We are putting so much effort, time and passion into this. You’ve already released two singles “Shut it Down” and the most recent is “Seven Years Alone” from your debut album “The Beauty of Destruction”, and you’ve also filmed a video for the latter. The single Shut it Down was still a demo version. Seven Years Alone is more a song that represents well the overall sound of this band, but there’s a lot of more! Video came out really well, we are very happy with it. Shan Dan Horan was the director. He pulled together

some great ideas for the story of the video.

plain what his main source of inspiration is.

What’s the meaning and purpose of the titles and lyrics generally, of the album? Is there any beauty in destruction?

Even though it’s a cliché question, I have to ask. Do you have any favorite song(s)?

Album title, lyrics and band name are all Howard’s creation and ideas. It all relates to past and present struggles. The title of the record doesn’t have to be taken too literally. It could also mean that whenever something is stripped down, you reveal the true beauty and can start fresh again. So, which are your major influences in your music and the main sources of inspiration lyrics-wise? We try not to be influenced by other music while we are writing. But we are obviously getting inspired by people, books, movies and art in general all the time. Lyric wise, Howard draws past life experiences into his lyrics and only he can ex-

Almost every song from this record was, at some point, my favorite. “It’s Over” is currently one of my favorite songs since it’s so different from the rest. I’m very proud of that one. You commented that the writing process was surprisingly easy. Why is that? John and I write very fast, we work like crazy! And we really like what the other one comes up with. It’s so easy to constantly write music with him. We had 36 songs finished for when we started recording in the studio. Same thing with Howard, he pretty much liked everything we were writing and it was easy for him to come up with ideas for each part. Tell us a bit about the cov-

35 er artwork and your collaboration with its creator Travis Smith (Opeth, Devin Townsend). Travis has been one of my favorite artists for album covers for a long time. He worked on some of the best album cover in metal in my opinion. I always wanted to work with him. It finally happened and he’s such an incredible artist to work with it. There’s something special about how he captures a concept and how things are shaped, balanced and colored in his images. What can your fans expect from “The Beauty of Destruction”?

was 19…so pretty late for what is usually considered the “right age to start”. But I decided to focus 100% to play guitar right away. Somehow, I felt it in my blood that playing guitar and writing music was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Throughout your career you have collaborated and played alongside some great bands. So, you have too many memories, right? Is there any memory in particular you would like to share with your fans? We just got back from Australia where we played Soundwave

Festival. Just the fact that you are hanging out with musicians from so many bands all day long and then playing on stage either before or after them makes that type of touring so cool and fun. You end up meeting a lot of the musicians that so many times you have heard they were jerks to find out that most of the times they are just chill and cool people trying to have a good time. Apart from being “famous” do you have any other hobbies? I play and write a lot of music. I’m married so I spend most of my free time with my wife and

our dog. Any plans to visit Greece maybe? I really hope so and hopefully soon! It’s a beautiful country, I’ve been there on vacation but never toured, so I am looking forward to meeting some Greek fans! Once more, thank you very much for your time. Hope to see you soon in a show in Greece!!! Thank you!

So much variety in terms of songs. We are fans of rock, metal and so many different kinds of music and you can definitely see those influences all over the record. I think it’s a different album, in comparison to what you’ve done so far, right? Very different! This is the record I’ve wanted to write for many years. I just needed to collaborate with John and Howard, haha! Speaking of diversity, do you push yourselves to think out of the box? How do you manage to write different songs? Is there a “secret recipe” or a “golden rule” in the process of writing? I definitely try to think about a different vibe for different songs. I’m a fan of records where the songs all have their own sound and that’s what I try to do also. We wanted to have a record with the right amount of “faster” material, but also the more melodic songs and the somewhat experimental/different sounding tunes. Francesco, did you always want to become a guitar player, playing in a band? Was it a lifetime dream or just happened? I started playing guitar when I Burst www.afternoiz.com

Pop Evil

Pop Evil is one of the most promising rock/metal bands out there. Their latest album, “Onyx” was a great chance for Burst Magazine to have a little chat with Matt (bass) cause if you wanna be into pop, then you have to be so evil! By Spiros Smyrnis/ Photo by Jayme Thornton Please introduce to us the men behind Pop Evil Leigh Kakaty- Vocals, Davey Grahs- rhythm guitar, Nick Fuelling- lead guitar, Chachi Riot- drums, and myself Matt DiRito- bass guitar. Is there any interesting story behind the band’s name? Pop Evil represents the diversity of the band: from one extreme to the other; whether you are looking at us as five very different individuals, or our song writing. We have the ability to play softer rock ballads (pop) and then switch to heavier rockers (evil).

Which is the feedback you got so far from the “Onyx” album? The feedback has been amazing! People seem to like it better than our first two albums and it has gained is a lot of respect from our peers. You’ve released Onyx on a deluxe expanded version. More info please! In the USA, we have three albums out. So rather than release all of these albums separately in Europe, we are taking some hits off the first two albums and adding it to ONYX. We don’t want you guys to have to pay three times!

Which is the most difficult release for a band? The first, the second one or the third?

Which things led you to take the decision to become professional musicians?

They are all difficult in their own ways. The first is hard because you are trying to make an impression. The second is hard because if it isn’t as good or better than your first release then people will write you off. I feel like the third release determines whether or not you will have any longevity or a career in the music business.

It’s in my blood. Something I’ve wanted to do my whole life. When I was a kid I used to run around the house playing air guitar and acting a fool. I am lucky to have found four other musicians who are also committed to living out their dreams.

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Let’s focus on the lyrics

part of your latest album. I want you to stay a little longer on “Torn to Pieces” song, and its touching subject.

Unlimited strippers, motorcycles and cigars.... Hahaha

This song speaks about losing a loved one in your life. It could be a family member, a friend, or maybe even just a break in a relationship. Regardless, when that person is no longer in your life you may find yourself reflecting and asking yourself difficult questions. Torn to Pieces is about this reflecting process. Anybody who has lost someone close to them should be able to relate to this song.

They are AMAZING. Great bunch of guys that I feel privileged to call my friends. They go out of their way to make sure that we are taken care of on and off stage. Chris Kael has been great to work out with during the day and Ivan cracks us up every time he speaks.

Music industry falls apart. It’s a tough time being a musician. What keeps you going on and on? I think it’s the drive that comes within. The creative process has to come out one way or another, whether we are playing for 10 people or 10,000 people. We just keep doing what we were meant to do and hopefully people like it and support us. If you were in a situation where you have to make a deal with the devil, what would you ask in return?

How is touring with Five Finger Death Punch?

I want you to share with us the strongest memory of the tour so far. Walking through Paris was pretty breathtaking. Seeing all of the spots that I’ve seen photos of since I was a kid. That entire day was pretty surreal. The last words are yours? Thank you to all of the 5FDP fans out there who have been so open to a new rock band touring Europe for the first time! We will be trying to get back over there again this fall, so keep an eye on our Facebook page for details and come to see us!!!!! Matt

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Lost Society By Sissy Fanouraki/Photo by Iiro Palva-aho

Hailz from Athens, Greece! How are you? Hey dude! I’m doing really good thank you, we’re having a free day from practicing, but tomorrow we’re back on it! How are you? Terrific! First of all I’d like to congratulate you for an awesome new album “Terror hungry”! Thanks a lot! We’re all really damn proud of the album and we really can’t wait for it to be released! It’s a real beast! It seems that Lost Society is one of the most promising newcomers and THRASHers! How do you combine 100% in-your-face Thrash Metal and your young age? I think the main factor in the whole thing is that we really give our all in this music, we give out loads of energy because we get so much energy from the muBurst www.afternoiz.com

sic itself! It’s all about having a good time! This is what we all want to do, and it’s so killer that we have a chance to do it! Press presents you as an ensemble of passionate allies. Are you allies or a horde? I’d just say that we’re 4 braindead guys from Jyväskylä, Finland, who just love to play thrash and party their asses off! We’re all brothers dude! For those who don’t know Lost Society, did it all start in 2011 or before? The band was founded in the beginning of 2010 by myself, but it was only in the summer of 2011 when the final form of the band came about when Arttu, Ossi and Mirko joined the band! We did a couple of demos and we gigged around our hometown at the time, and then we got signed to Nuclear Blast in the end of 2012! So things have definitely been

going fast! Whose idea was to name the band Lost Society? It was mine! It was right about the time when the band was formed when I just thought of this name for some reason, and it just stuck with us! And who’s behind lyrics? Is it team effort or a solo project? The lyrics are done by me. It’s basically after the songs are done, I like to listen to them a couple of times and something always pops up in my head and I just start writing! Whether it’s about a true story or just an alcohol induced accident, I’m always whipping up some words about it! What is your source of inspiration generally, as a band and as a person? We get inspired by a lot of stuff, mostly just the music that we lis-

ten to! We practice like 5 times a week, and every time we hit the rehearsal place, we just start playing some new riffs and the songs start piling up! Another great source of inspiration is of course alcohol, but let’s not get too caught up on that, haha..! In 2013 you released “Fast Loud Death” and the music video for the track “Trash All Over You” - uploaded on March 21st, 2013 - has recently hit more than 300.000 views! How do you feel about it? It’s pretty damn big for us! We can’t believe all of the stuff that’s been happening after the release of Fast Loud Death, we really have gone beyond our wildest dreams, and we’re just honored that something like that even has gone down! We won’t let our fans down, more thrash is coming, and it’ll always be faster and louder!! This is your 2nd studio album with Nuclear Blast,

39 right? How did this collaboration occur? That’s correct! Nuclear Blast contacted us the first time when we had won the finals of the GBOB band competition in Helsinki, and a pro-shot video of “Trash All Over You” was sent to their office by a good friend of ours! It was crazy how this happened, but working with Nuclear Blast has been awesome! They really know what they’re doing and we’re looking forward to working with them for years more! Tell us about your collaboration with producer Nino Laurenne and your memories from recording days at the Sonic Pump studios. Nino is just the perfect producer for us! From the first record ‘til the second one, he really knew how to get the aggressive and energetic tone what we wanted for the album! The sounds are basically old school oriented but they still have a modern touch to them, so they stand out! Memories from the studio just include a lot of sick ass jokes, killer recordings and good times partying when the day is over! Hypothetically speaking, if you could choose the bands to go on tour with... what would they be? I think the most killer band to tour with would be Municipal Waste! I think we could really destroy places together. Basically all bands that are a good time to hang out with and kick ass live are bands we’d love to tour with! What are we to expect from the Lost Society phenomenon the next years? It’s going to be about touring and having a good time! Practicing and making new material is always what we’re up to do! We’ll continue to do our thing and spread the word around the world! THRASH! Thanks again for your time! It was my pleasure! Burst www.afternoiz.com

Meet& GREET

For A Dozen Matters By Spiros Smyrnis

This column on BURST Magazine, is dedicated to all the bands out there who may not be so popular, but they totally deserve our attention, ‘cause their music will blow your mind and kick your ass! Simple as that! In this issue we meet and greet with the death n roll Greeks under the name of For A Dozen Matters. Enjoy! Ladies and Gentlemen For A Dozen Matters are: (bio and members) The band originally started as a trio. It was formed by Chris (bass) and Hector (guitars and vocals), and somewhere at the beginning Jim (drums) joined in. Chris was former member of SIMULACRA, TRIBE, TRIGGER and IMMORTALLY INSANE, and it was there, while playing with Hector at IMORTALLY INSANE where they decided to form another band together. Hector used to play with bands such as MORTAL TORMENT, THE ALMIGHTY FISHERMEN and lots more. After a long period of rehearsing and jamming, and with a couple of guys joining in and out, FOR A DOZEN MATTERS are now with current lineup, featuring Alex as a vocalist and the main lyricist, Chris as a bass player, Hector, the main composer and guitarist, Fanis, the “machine’’ playing the drums and Nash, our second guitar player. Date of Birth (of For A Dozen Matters)? If we have to set a date of birth, that would be the summer of 2009, where Hector, Chris and Jim, jammed for the first time… but actually, the band under the name FOR A DOZEN MATTERS and the musical style that it represents, we can say it exists since the summer of 2012. Personal Heroes? Burst www.afternoiz.com

As a band, we don’t think we have any heroes in particular… Every single one working class person is in fact an everyday hero… On a personal level everyone has his idols, his role models, his personal heroes… But don’t think they have a lot to do much with music though… The name story? Before Alex joined in, the band’s name was DOESNMATTER… But somehow when he came in, it did matter… so we talked and decided to change it a lil’ bit, so it can sound more… I don’t know… more… so that was the name birth… The feedback of “The Hell that Follows ” release so far… The feedback is literally great… people within the country, heard it and loved it… Just a few months after it’s been released and there are people that keep asking about the second album already!!! Add to that, some great reports from abroad mag’s and zines (Germany and Italy so far), and we can frankly say we’re happy with the current situation. The men behind your new album! Mixing , mastering, production, artwork. The album was recorded in HS studio by our guitarist Hector,

who also mixed and mastered it. All the artwork - layout and everything that has to do with images has been made by our vocalist Alex (Slumberslut)… so blame them for everything… You have 30 words to present us “The Hell that Follows”. Use them wisely! We don’t need 30 words....... 90’s is the best decade ever, as far as music influence… Which is the biggest obstacle in the way of a newcomer band in order to release an album?

We don’t think we have reached a moment of glory yet… But we have lots of moments to remember for years to come… Moments such as our support gig with VALIENT THORR, gigs with bands such as STONEDEVILS (ONE OF THE MOST AWESOME BANDS WE‘VE EVER PLAYED WITH) and MADLEAF (CRAZY MOTHERFUCKERS)… Moments that we’ll have stories to tell, for sure… On the road to hell! (Upcoming gigs and tour plans?)

Nowadays it’s easy enough to make an album. Every single band can manage that, just by using a pc and a sound card… And they can make an album that will sound “ok…’’

The road to hell…??? ahahahahaah… it passes through some summer fests and great gigs during the following months… so be prepared… hell follows…!!!!

But there hides the true challenge… Everyone can “make’’ it but in truth, the real thing has to do with the inspiration, the attitude… the entire approach of a musician’s original idea… As we see it, these are the things that make the difference and not every band has all of that...

Which band would you like to play at your funeral?

Although, we keep listening to a lot of great bands that always have something new to give… and it’s great that these bands come from our country… The moment of Glory for For A Dozen Matters so far!

I really don’t know how to answer that… we keep hanging around with lots of guys, from lots of bands here in Greece, and it’s quite difficult to say… I guess when we die… our friends from all this great local scene… will put a few all star bands down, just for the occasion… and that will be fun… wouldn’t miss it for the world… damn… I‘d be TOO DEAD to even notice it… ahahahahahahaha

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MUSIC REVIEWS

Black Label Society

Catacombs of the Black Vatican

Zakk Wylde’s long history in the music industry has never stopped. He became famous alongside Ozzy Osbourne and later he continued to fortify his career’s milestones with his personal project, Black Label Society. Black Label Society exists since 1999 and no one could image that the band would quickly become a big name in the southern metal music scene. With great records like ‘The Blessed Hellride’ and ‘1919 Eternal’ and a couple weakER ones, Zakk Wylde continues to express himself throughout Black Label Society, returning In April, 2014 with their tenth record, ‘Catacombs of the Black Vatican’. The record’s artwork may look doomy and old-school, however, Zakk Wylde has chosen groove metal songs which, in my ears, sound influenced by southern and stoner metal of the 00’s. There are a lot of great acoustic ballads in the record too, strong and powerful just like ‘The Last Goodbye’. Those are ‘Scars’, ‘Nomad’ (which is a bonus track) and ‘Shades of Gray’. All the songs are well-produced and can be described as party-rock, groovy and steel-heavy. Zakk performs great guitar solos and riffs and sings vocal lines that urge you to sing along the lyrics of each song. I always admired his southern singing style and along with sharp guitar riffs that may reach the stoner metal genre, the albums is a nice outcome, which flows effortlessly through the ears and can be easily memorized and absorbed by the listener. ‘Catacombs of the Black Vatican’ is a lovely record, a record you want to stomp into your disc-player and listen to it until your mood is ultimately lifted! The recipe is simple: a guitar, freedom and alcohol; with these, Zakk Wylde goes straight into work, maybe providing something ground-breaking or innovative, but still something thoroughly enjoyable and dulcet. Kostas Tsotsanis

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Photo by Ear Music

Photo by Raphael Aretakis

Death Destruction

Ronnie James Dio

Delain

The Swedish groove metalheads, Death Destruction, return with their second record this year, a record titled ‘II’. Originally formed by members of Evergray and Hammerfall, the band’s self titled record made quite an impact, creating a large fan base for the band. Now, with their first vocalist Jimmy Strimell out of the band, and Tony Jelencovich in, the band must make a step forward in their career and ‘II’ is the way to achieve this step.

It’s been four years since the legendary Ronnie James Dio passed away from stomach cancer. Although it’s been so long, his memory has not been forgotten and proof of that is the “This Is Your Life” tribute album. This compilation is not just another tribute album. It’s a gathering of musicians who celebrate the life and career of Ronnie James Dio. This album includes some high profile names like: Anthrax, Corey Taylor, Doro, Glenn Hughes, Metallica, Motorhead, Scorpions, Tenacious D and more; all of them with a common goal to honour Dio. The purpose of such names had to do with raising funds, as all the proceeds from this album will go to the “Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund”.

Delain is one of those bands that, like a fine wine, keeps getting better with time. And, as if trying to prove that point, their latest album, “The Human Contradiction”, is their best offer to date. Although the album still remains in the symphonic rock/ metal style that they are known for, Delain has progressed to a grander and more epic style with this album. Many of the songs are darker and more haunting than we have heard from Delain in the past; especially the opening song “Here Come the Vultures” (a song based on the lead vocalist Charlotte’s nightmares). There are lighter toned songs as well (such as the first single “Stardust”); but, overall this is definitely their heaviest album to date with darker melodies, heavy guitars, and driving rhythms. In keeping with tradition, Marco Heitala (Nightwish), is back as a guest vocalist on two of the tracks; “Your Body Is a Battleground” and “Sing to Me”. There are growlers on the album as well with George Oosthoek (Orphanage) on “Tell Me, Mechanist” and Alissa White-Gluz (The Agonist, Arch Enemy) on “The Tragedy of the Commons”. Despite the evolution of style, “The Human Contradiction” is still very true to Delain’s roots with a symphonic/melodic sound, catchy choruses, and Charlotte Wessels stunningly beautiful voice.

The band’s style with Tony on the vocals can be described as groove metal with a few numetal elements on it. The band approaches music with Pantera’s influence in heavy breakdowns and mid-tempo groovy guitar riffs, which are the main structure for their songs to be developed, getting rid of the metalcore vibe they mixed up with their music in the first selftitled album. However, with fifteen songs on the record and most of them containing the repetitive, monotonous mid-tempo and modern aesthetic, the result is not just the right one for the band, besides the well-performed vocal lines and the dynamic guitars. Death Destruction’s ‘II’ is a record which provides us with a few powerful and hit songs like ‘ Divine Justice’, ‘ I am The Plaque’ or ‘ I Promised you Nothing’, but also contains a great number of fillers, which I personally think that lowers the record’s quality and feeds the need for something better, something innovative and more death destructive. Kostas Tsotsanis

This Is Your Life

Regarding the performances, all the musicians involved have given their best, and all the songs are beautifully blended with the characteristics of each one of them. Some of the performances are so good, that one might think that the songs weren’t written by Dio, but by the participants in this compilation themselves; which is a high praise, as it clearly shows the impact of Dio in their careers. Of course this list of songs is not complete, since countless other musicians have already paid tribute to Ronnie James Dio, with the last example being the “3rd Annual Awards Gala” that was held last March. Many more performed there live, like Duff McKagan or Tim Owens. Some of these musicians were asked: In which band was Dio greatest in: Black Sabbath, solo or Rainbow? All of them had difficulties answering this question, as Ronnie James Dio was great in all three eras of his musical career. P. Tsoutsis

The Human Contradiction

The basic album consists of nine studio tracks. The bonus version has two additional studio tracts, five live versions of songs performed at their “My Masquerade” concert in the Netherlands last year, and orchestral versions of “Sing to Me” and “Your Body is a Battleground”. Overall, “The Human Contradiction” is an impressive album. If you are a fan of gothic metal, symphonic metal, or just a fan of stunning vocals set to a heavier style of music, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen!. Joe Prostredny Burst www.afternoiz.com

44 This album is in fact the result of a more mature songwriting effort. As far as its sound, well, some people call it sonic diversity and it’s an electric storm of classic heavy riffs with funky talons – and bits of wah-pedal – that will blow your mind just like a Thunderhawk! Sissy Fanouraki

the band since the debut album “Hate.Control. Manipulate”, released in 2012. Electric Hellride new EP signifies the beginning of a new era for the band; that of music evolving. It seems the band manages to combine genres with some fascinating thrash/core/breakdowns creating thus a unique vibe. It certainly is an excellent yet small proportion of more-to-come… Sissy Fanouraki

Kaisas

Degitalize “Kaisas” is a band that takes us to a different period of time. It consists of three people, Allen Brunelle playing drums, Mark Evans at vocals and for all the rest, bass, guitars, composition and versification, Babis Kaisas is responsible. “Degitalize” is the band’s second LP and its music takes us some years back in time, when we just used to listen and listen to glam/poser hard rock to in the late 80s and early 90s. The production of this LP is very good, very professional and it includes 13 songs, two of which are covers. Amazing vocals, very representative of the kind, the riffs are satisfactory in most songs, but there is a lack of impressive poser solo and unfortunately the bass is a bit neglected, while the drums have the potential that fits them. This is a job that has the stamp of the classic hard rock of other times. Personally, I would like more imagination to connect the past with the present. It’s worth listening to it, especially those of you who are fans of the genre. George Kotrozinis

Spiritz

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Perfect Sides Another very good debut album came into my hands… So, let me introduce you the rock band Spiritz, from Ukraine, and its 1st full-length release “Perfect Sides”. The band is currently looking for a label but this doesn’t stop the band-members from creating radio-friendly tracks that will please Hard Rockers. Catchy melodic guitar solos, hard rhythmic parts, rock attitude with bits of glam and sleaze rock. Spiritz certainly have lots of potentials to amaze us over the years. I really enjoyed the melodic parts. “Insane” literally drove me insane. “Perfect Sides” features the kind of tracks that you could easily listen to on the radio and rhythmically hit your fingers to the wheel while driving. Sissy Fanouraki

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Valley of the Sun is a stoner rock band from Cincinnati and “Electric Talons of the Thunderhawk” is its 1st fulllength album, released on March 31st in Europe. After the release of two very successful EPs – “twothousandten” in 2010 and “The Sayings of the Seers” in 2011 - Valley of the Sun now take its music one step forward. A powerful trio delivers a new trend of the stoner rock sound. Burst www.afternoiz.com

Come Darkness Come Light (EP) Electric Hellride is a Danish groove metal band that is in fact the winner of the last Danish W:O:A Metal Battle! The EP “Come Darkness, Come Light” features four brand new tracks and it’s the second effort of

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by Spiros Smyrnis & Sissy Fanouraki

by Spiros Smyrnis

For A Dozen Matters The Hell that Follows

It’s Not Greek to Me started as a way to express my admiration to Greek musicians and bands that covered the rock/ metal community! I have already written 35 articles and I am happy that I have material for hundreds more. This is the exact same introduction I used for “It’s Not Greek to Me” published on March 2014 trying to write about the new masterpiece of Need titled “Orvam, A song for home”. So I decided to keep this as an introduction to the upcoming “It’s Not Greek to Me” tributes. A band that describes their music as “The deranged sinister brother of a drunk Hobbit” cannot be bad! So as For A Dozen Matter bitches! FOR A DOZEN MATTERS seem to have been accidentally born in Greece, for their sound is as Swedish-influenced as it can take. Deriving from the legacy of great bands of the NWOSDM genre such as Entombed, Black Breath and The Haunted, these scumbags combine all that’s heavy with all that’s death metal in their first piece of work, quoting from the cv that follows the press kit from “The Hell that Follows”. I have to admit that Trailblazer Records (Lucky Funeral, Speedblow, Need, Obzerv) has got another great music thing coming. Just a few days after the jaw-breaking release of Speedblow’s second full length album Behold The Darkness, my ears have bled from listening to the debut album of these groove-badass-screaming-death-n-roll motherfuckaz named For A Dozen Matters. I will write down some reasons why! Maybe a dozen matters should convince you at last. 1: Their music is so goddamn sexy than even a virtuous angel could get a boner. (Horny Angel a Demon virtue is my personal favourite so I have to start with this one first)! 2: They are so heavy, that elephants are afraid of their guitar breaks/riffs. 3: They combine melodic riffs with their raw Entombed influences uniquely. 4: They have an insane humorous approach to their lyrics that we should take very seriously. 5: The amazing artwork which is created by Perverend SlumberSlut (band’s vocalist). 6: Stoner-heads and heavy rockers should love their smoked-up guitar play and rhythm section. 7: Death Metallers should love their brutal breakdowns and cutting-throat vocals. 8: You don’t have to come from Sweden to give some lessons on how Death metal should be played. 9: Greece has one the most interesting underground scenes in the whole galaxy. Embrace it or be doomed to listen to the same old crap! 10: The Hell that Follows has 9 SONGS with the S, O, N,G, S capitals! 11: If groove makes the world move, then For A Dozen Matters’ debut album will turn it upside down. 12: If you don’t listened to them soon enough then you have to deal with all “The Hell that follows”. Cheers!

Pet the Preacher Cave & Sunlight

Reapers Riddle Game Over

High Spirits

You Are Here

It was a Wednesday night. I came home from work. I was very tired but I had to do a review on Pet the Preacher’s “Cave and Sunlight”. I pushed play. That was it. Heavy stoner rock! Bluesy, groovy (oh my god those grooves!) and heavy. This is how I like my music to be played. I loved those badass vocals and the smell of Acrimony in the songs. Even if I don’t smoke I made my brother light a cigarette. I put a glass of Jack with a lemon slice. I wrote few words and then I laid my head in my head. I closed my eyes and sang along with Pet the Preacher and it was fuckin good. Hail to the land down under. Hail to Perth, Australia! Hail to Reapers Riddle! Leaving aside the horrible cover Reapers Riddle have an old-school feeling in their compositions which I personally respect and like. If the production was better , “Game Over” would be a great gift for the hard rock n roll lovers as I’d like to call them. However the guitar parts of the album were great and I have to admit that I banged my head a number of times during the listening of the album. The game is still on folks! I am pretty damn sure that Chris Black wishes he had been playing music in the 1980s. I wish the same thing for him. Maybe if things had happened that way then there were more people interested in his music. “You Are Here” is a heavy metal album, straight from the heart. You can feel the true metal honesty in Black’s songs with some Whitesnake, Van Halen influences while Bon Jovi and Firehouse stand outside High Spirits’ door. If you are missing all the 80s metal feeling then High Spirits will be a nice choice to remember some things by.

Devil You Know

“I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do. One thing was for certain: I didn’t want to join anything that sounded remotely like KILLSWITCH”. These were the exact words of Howard Jones the ex-frontman of Killswitch Engage, probably one of the most influential bands of our time. It is very difficult though to ex-Killswitch your sound but Jones did it for the most time of the album. Luckily he had some great help on guitars by Francesco Artusato (All Shall Perish). Closer to Five Finger Death Punch, Devil You Know released an album which has some strong moments “A New Beginning” but couldn’t get more than the average score.

Romantic Rebel

Romantic Rebel’s self titled debut album was released on April 29th, 2014. The female fronted Rock band from Chicago, formed in 2012, delivers great energy. It’s hard, with heavy catchy riffs and 100% rock attitude. Even though it reminds me a bit of Halestorm, Romantic Rebel is in fact much heavier. KT Paige’s voice is as aggressive as that of Liv (Sister Sin) and as rock and authentic as that of Joan Jett. Romantic Rebel is a hybrid of modern but still heavy metal elements and classic melodic riffs. The band’s debut album is ultimately a great first effort that you should definitely listen to.

The beauty of Destruction

Romantic Rebel

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DO YOU HAVE BRAGGING RIGHTS?

BRAGGIE.CO FACEBOOK // BRAGGIEAPP INSTAGRAM // BRAGGIE_APP TWITTER// @BRAGGIE_APP

braggie. Burst www.afternoiz.com

In the next pages... Bitchin’ with Barbara By Barbara Pavone

Worst Movies Ever

By Kostas Krasonis

TV Series Beginner’s Guide by P. Tsoutsis

Also... Articles Movie reviews Director’s Cut Interviews

Photo by Christian Wagner

For the BIG screen... and for smaller ones! Burst www.afternoiz.com

itchin’ arbara with

Unless you’ve been hiding out from society lately and haven’t been paying the least bit of attention to Oscar-nominated films, I don’t have to inform you that The Wolf of Wall Street, which marked Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese’s fifth time working together, is a black comedy full of sex, drugs, money and debauchery. It even holds the record for the most uses of “fuck” in a mainstream non-documentary film. That’s 569 times in 180 minutes, to be exact – not too shabby.

by Barbara Pavone

The Wolf of Wall Street Right/Wrong Burst www.afternoiz.com

Photo by Katherine Dydyk

As offensive as that may be to you – although, let’s be honest, I’m sure it’s not – The Wolf of Wall Street still managed to snag five Academy Awards nominations earlier this year, including one for Best Picture. Even so, it seems the fine folks working for the Federal Service for Narcotics Control in Novosibirsk, Russia found nothing amusing about such an over the top display of badassery and were so insulted and taken aback that they decided to fine three cinema chains and two theatres for screening the movie. It was in February that they submitted a complaint against 10 theatres, claiming that the flick was a blatant example of pro-drug propaganda and that it glorified the use of illegal substances and should therefore be banned. Surprise surprise, the judge agreed and, under the Russian federal statute outlawing the propagandization or idealization of narcotics use, fined said theatres

4 million rubles i.e. about $112,240 U.S. According to the Moscow Times, “Viktor Ivanov, director of the Federal Service for Narcotics Control, said the order to pursue movie theaters had not come from him and no cases have been brought against theatres for showing the film outside of Novosibirsk.” Guess he’s a Scorsese fan. Novosibirsk wasn’t the first city to take drastic measures against The Wolf of Wall Street, though. It was banned altogether in Malaysia, Nepal and Kenya and edited down for audiences in India while it had an extremely limited release in Singapore. It was even criticized in the U.S., although that didn’t stop anyone from seeing it, except those who can no longer bear to experience the Scorsese-DiCaprio love fest in full bloom. *cough* All of these actions not only raise the question of what exactly constitutes freedom of speech in this day and age, but also beg the question: ‘Should law enforcement really be focusing on media?’. The movie is, admittedly, outlandish and some of its scenes border on the absurd, but does seeing Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill indulging in fake drugs on the big screen really glorify the lifestyle? I think it’s safe to say that most, if not everyone, who saw The Wolf of Wall Street knew that it was make-believe. Not to mention, the ending isn’t exactly a happy one, as the cops eventually come calling and punish everyone

with jail time, so it’s actually a cautionary tale, no? If anything, it’s telling audiences that having zero concern for those around you and for your actions will, sooner or later, screw you over. If we start banning movies, then shouldn’t we also tackle video games, TV shows, music and every other artistic outlet than may potentially glorify negative aspects of society? In which case we’d embark on a real slippery slope that, realistically, is better left alone because, at the end of the day, either everything would have to be changed or nothing at all. Besides, shouldn’t law enforcement focus on, you know, actual drug use and crime and leave Hollywood alone, so it can continue making entertainment? Because, let’s face it, that’s all it is – entertainment. If you’ve got a problem with Jonah Hill wearing fake teeth and Leonardo DiCaprio throwing money at women, you can change the channel. If you love it, you can watch all three hours. Either way, you probably won’t be adopting their lifestyle any time soon, no matter how cool it may seem onscreen, right? Right. Back to the theatre chains, they’ve decided to appeal the decision and rightly so. Not only because it doesn’t make any sense, but also because The Wolf of Wall Street was actually approved by the Culture Ministry, so if anyone should be in trouble, it’s them.

To Venus and Back Fall - Winter 2014

#nikolaostsironis

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MatthewMat McConaughey McC Matthew Matthew McConaug 50

From Dazed and Confused to Dallas Buyers Club

The transformation of Matthew McConaughey

cConaughey

By Angie Rouska

Alright, alright, alright… who would have thought that Matthew McConaughey would win an Oscar for his performance? But come to think of it, if you take a look back, it seems that this would have happened one way or another. It’s common knowledge that he was established as the hot Texan starring in all these light love-comedies, but his career has more to show than these movies. The remarkable thing is that within a period of 3 years he set his past on fire and from the ashes a phoenix rose and a hidden talent surfaced.

Born in Uvalde Texas in 1969, McConaughey was the youngest son of a gas station owner who dared not follow his father’s line of business and search for new goals of his own. Although his initial plan was to become a lawyer, everything changed after reading The Greatest Salesman In the World by Og Mandino. “The book’s a kind of philosophy on life. I started reading it right before I was due to take my exams for law school and I got so engrossed in it that I was almost late for my exam! But it was well worth it because that book changed my outlook on life and gave me the courage I needed to chase my dream of applying to film school,” he told Burst www.afternoiz.com

new! Magazine.

His first role was in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, where his line “alright, alright, alright” became a trademark. However, his parts in Lone Star, A Time to Kill and Contact made him a valuable asset in the Hollywood industry. The 90s was a good dec-

ade for the actor, at least in the amount of movies he starred in, but although he worked together with Steven Spielberg on Amistad and had the main lead in The Newton Boys, the films did not achieve any major positive feedback from the audience and the critics. In 1999 he starred with Woody Harrelson in Ron Howard’s

Edtv which marked the beginning of a great friendship between the two men; well, this is McConaughey’s view of how they met, but according to Harrelson, they met two years earlier than this at a lunch-party but some tequila shots made McConaughey have no memory of this (that’s what the man said to Jimmy Kimmel).

And then there was the new millennium and the 00s. During this time McConaughey claimed the right to be voted in People magazine as the 2005 sexiest man alive as his film choices where mostly to satisfy the female viewers. Handsome, with his six-pack all the way! Come-on-girlies-showme-the-money were the studios’ idea. How to Lose a Guy in 10 days, Sahara, Two for The Money, Failure to Launch, although these movies are not his thing, he has to keep all parties happy. “I personally don’t like to go see romantic comedies. But people do want to see them, and they seem to want to see me in them. And quite a few of them have been real successful. I like to think that they’re not shallow --they’re light. And it’s hard work to keep them light, to keep the comedy buoyant. If you dig too deep in those, you

kill them. In some ways, it’s a lot easier to do something like The Lincoln Lawyer (2011). The punches hit, the bullets land and the consequences are life and death. I can click into that.” (IMDB)

His small role in Tropic Thunder was a delight but that was all folks! He may have had a part in three episodes of Eastbound and Down however, he disappeared for almost three years from the big screen. Whatever happened during these years of absence was a good thing not only for him but for us! As Avi Dan has put it successfully in his article in Forbes, Matthew McConaughey decided to rebrand. “McConaughey’s transformation can be explained by one factor: age. At 44 he realized that he couldn’t play the lead in romantic comedies for that much longer and he needed to re-brand himself as a serious actor.” (What Matthew McConaughey can teach us about rebranding by Avi Dan / Forbes.com). My main objection is that he always was a serious actor but hadn’t taken his career so seriously and when he decided to do so… just look at the outcome. He made his comeback in 2011 with three films and if you notice every year after that, he

tthew Conaughey w is doing three films (maybe a coincidence, maybe a wellconstructed plan to success or maybe I am a fan of conspiracy theories).

Lincoln Lawyer was the second film in his career where he is portraying a lawyer; life has a funny way of making him “work” for a little bit as his almost-come-true-profession. Based on the novel by Michael Connelly, the story follows Mickey Haller, a criminal defense attorney, who operates from the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car. He doesn’t have a reputable clientele, but he has his ways and connections. One day a bondsman introduces him to a wealthy kid, Louis Roulet who is accused of beating up a woman and Mickey knows that something doesn’t add up in the story. It’s not the amazing film, but it is well enacted and entertaining.

the local district attorney who does not feel any sympathy for Jack Black’s character (Bernie Tiede). Overall this quirky film features a very joyful performance by the man.

There is always a “revelation film” for each actor. That’s how I call them. It’s the film where an actor you just don’t like or find him/her indifferent stars but their performance is so stunning that you start diggin’ into them after that. For me the revelation film for McConaughey was Killer Joe. It’s a one-man show, you just can’t get enough of him and you are wondering how on earth this guy hadn’t got your attention for so long? Tracy Letts adapted his play and apart from the wonderful cast, he gives a whole new idea to fried chicken. This film is certainly a must-see.

ghey In Bernie, McConaughey works again with the director Richard Linklater, only this time he is portraying –guess what-

In Lee Daniels’ Paperboy, Ward Jansen (McConaughey) is a reporter for a Miami newspaper who returns home with his close friend Yardley in or-

der to investigate a racial murder case. But actually it doesn’t matter who stars (and the cast is definitely superb), this film will be mostly remembered for Nicole Kidman’s masturbation scene.

Mud may be one of the audience’s most favorite 2012 film. The story follows two teenage boys, Ellis and Neckbone, who travel to a small island in the Mississippi river where they discover a fugitive named Mud, who wants to reunite with his old girlfriend Juniper. A coming-of-age drama, a moving and beautiful film directed by Jeff Nichols. Surely McConaughey did well here, so he gave it a try as a stripper in Soderbergh’s Magic Mike. He was the first person cast and accepted the role over the phone. Believe it or not, this role granted him Best Supporting Actor nominations for the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Detroit Film Critics Society, Houston Film Critics Society, Independent Spirit Awards (won), National Society of Film Critics Awards (won) and New York Film Critics Circle Awards (won). The road to success was now open for him. It was Dallas Buyers Club that granted to McConaughey, the nominations as well as the awards of Golden Globe and Oscar for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading role. And it was a well-deserved prize. Although many believed that Leonardo Di Caprio would be the winner, he could not reach the level of work of his competitor. Yes, you have seen Di Caprio in familiar roles as the one in Wolf of Wall Street, but you have never Matthew McConaughey like this before. In order to prepare for the role, he lost almost 47 pounds and stayed indoors for about six months in order to become paler. Although he was feeling weak, from the neck and up was full of energy. One can say that he was lucky enough. The script for Dallas Buyers Club was one of the most stalled in Hollywood, as financial issues and various delays put the film behind schedule. Dennis Hopper, Marc Forster, Craig Gillespie were approached to

direct while Brad Pitt, Woody Harrelson and Ryan Gosling were approached to star. However, nothing was materialized till McConaughey was signed. With a very tight budget, there were no lighting setups and the only camera was hand-held for takes lasting up to 15 minutes. Moreover only 250 dollars were allotted to the Makeup department! (IMDB). Amidst all these difficulties, Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto give two of the best performances of the year. But McConaughey has proved to be a great actor by succeeding the impossible (?) – In a three hour movie directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo Di Caprio, he has managed to impress all of us and “conquer” the film with a scene lasting five minutes approximately! I am talking about the famous humming scene in the Wolf of Wall Street. His career on the big screen continues with the upcoming Christopher Nolan’s film Interstellar which is scheduled for a US release in November 2014. In three years McConaughey has succeeded another impossible thing. Nine films, that all gained positive reviews and appreciation for the actor. Apart from these, he also conquered the small screen with the HBO acclaimed crime drama series, True Detective, co-starring with Woody Harrelson. Now…does anyone remember Matthew McConaughey as Mr. Six-Pack or the Sexiest Man Alive? Burst www.afternoiz.com

Directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cut

Robert Rodriguez -Vol 2By Spiros smyrnis

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53 Hm, Robert Rodriguez Director’s Cut volume 2. I think that I owe you an explanation about my decision to divide in two parts my tribute to the Great Cult-Maker under the name of Robert Rodriguez. Well, fuck that. I don’t have to explain myself, I just did it. Neither does Robert have any reasons to explain himself about why he did Spy Kids 3! He just did it! But let’s get to one thing at a time. For those who may not read the volume 1 tribute to Rodriguez on Burst Magazine’s April Issue (shame on you!) I will quote my previous introduction: After graduating, Rodriguez went to the College of Communication at the University of Texas where he also developed a love of cartooning. Did you get bored with the Wikipedia trivia of his life? Me too! Let’s focus on his film career which we are interested in, or addicted to. Yeah, addicted! That’s much better! So I think it’s time to get back to Spy Kids 3. The only reason I remember this film is the appearance of my beloved Sylvester Stallone in it! I am pretty damn sure that most people feel the same! Carmen’s caught in a virtual reality game designed by the Kids’ new nemesis, the Toymaker (Stallone). It’s up to Juni to save his sister, and ultimately the world, are the two storylines of the movie and Stallone is a bad as it gets. Let’s move on to the return of El Mariachi in Once Upon A time In Mexico. The film ends the Mariachi trilogy the way Rodriguez wanted. Despite the fact that Once Upon A Time in Mexico has by far the most asskicking cast, (Johnny Depp-the time when he was still an actor and not a Caribbean caricature-, the one and only Micky Rourke, Willem Dafoe, the oh girls it’s Enrique Inglesias and thank God he’s not singing Eva Mendes plus all the usual Mariachi suspects like Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo and Cheech Marin) the film is the weakest part of Mariachi trilogy. Personally I remember this one just for the appearance of Mickey Rourke and the unique way Robert Rodriguez, cinema-scoped the Mexican desert by making it one of the coolest places on Earth. “Four tales of crime adapted from Frank Miller’s popu-

lar comics, focusing around a muscular brute who’s looking for the person responsible for the death of his beloved Goldie, a man fed up with Sin City’s corrupt law enforcement who takes the law into his own hands after a horrible mistake, a cop who risks his life to protect a girl from a deformed pedophile, and a hitman looking to make a little cash.” This is the plot summary that Tom Benton wrote in IMDB just to give the reader a hint about Sin City. All you sinners you may have heard of the Frank Miller’s comic that helped Rodriguez to get back on Hollywood’s frontline. Having Benicio Del Toro, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Eliza Wood, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson and Brittany Murphy on board made Rodriguez life easier. Sin City is definitely one of the best movies based on comic books ever made. Amazing photography, fast-as-a-shark editing plus the dark atmosphere made Sin City as one of the guiltiest

pleasures of 2000s cinema. The highlight of the movie is the renaissance of Micky Rourke (couple of years before his ultimate comeback on Darren Arronofsky’s The Wrestler) in the role of Marv. I cannot be objective about this movie ‘cause it’s one of my favorites, that’s why I have a 9inch Marv figure on the chair opposite my bed to look at something cool every day when I wake up. After “Sin City” Rodriguez found his cult way one more time. So he took his pal, Quentin Tarantino and made a homage to 70s exploitation films (Exploitation film is an informal label which may be applied to any film which is generally considered to be low budget,

and therefore apparently attempting to gain financial success by “exploiting” a current trend or a niche genre or a base desire for lurid subject matter. The term “exploitation” is common in film marketing for promotion or advertising in any type of film. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex, violence, or romance. An “exploitation film”, however, due to its low budget, relies more heavily than usual on “exploitation”. Very often, exploitation films are widely considered to be of low quality, and are generally “B movies”; http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploitation_film - cite_note-1 Even so, they sometimes attract critical attention and cult followings. Some films which might readily be labeled as “exploitation films” have become trend setters and of historical importance in their own right, such as Night of the Living Dead (1968) Wikipedia term).

So they released Grindhouse in two versions a 120minutes film version where Planet Terror (directed by Rodriguez) and Death Proof (directed by Tarantino) were played together, for a limited number of screenings. Later the movies were available in separate screenings but Planet Terror was funnier, cooler and more bad-ass than Tarantino’s movie. How couldn’t it . Planet Terror had Rose McGowan (Cherry Darling) as one-leg stripper who put an ouzi on the damaged one, had also Josh Brolin as an insane doctor William Block, Bruce Willis as Lt Muldoon, Naveen Andrews from Lost who collected human testicles, Freddy Rodriguez from Six Feet Under riding his son

motorcycle, Tarantino as a soldier rapist, Fergie from Black Eyed Peas plus tons of blood, zombies, guns and quotes you could get tattooed on your neck if you’d like to steal some of Rodriguez’ coolness. After an experimental bio-weapon is released, turning thousands into zombie-like creatures, it’s up to a rag-tag group of survivors to stop the infected and those behind its release. Planet Terror has some preview trailers from imaginary films (one directed by Rob Zombie) that made his fans beg for making Machete an official movie. Well, the reason was that finally Danny Trejo (don’t you dare ask me who Danny Trejo is and in which films he starred in) would be the star of the film. So Rodriguez gathered an incredibly all-star cast with Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, Lindsay Lohan, Don Johnson and Tom -long time no see - Savini. “The highly skilled Federale Machete is hired by some unsavory types to assassinate a senator. But just as he’s about to take the shot, he notices someone aiming at him and realizes he’s been set up.” Let me excuse myself for trying to share with you the story of Machete. Machete won’t do this, Machete is a bad ass. That’s why women sleep with him and men are afraid of him. You wanna know why? Because Machete is a killing machine. Yeah if you think that Machete was one-movie guy then I guess you’d better think again! The U.S. government recruits Machete to battle his way through Mexico in order to take down an arms dealer who is looking to launch a weapon into space. Charlie Sheen is Mr President under the name of Carlos Estevez, Mel Gibson is Satanic Voz, Michelle Rodriguez is as sexy as in the first Machete movie, while Sofia Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family) has a shooting boob system playing Desdemona and El Chameleon are Walt Goggins, Cuba Gooding Jr, Lady Gaga and Antonio Banderas. You want more? I am sure you do. Then you will have to wait for the third part of ultra-cult saga Machete kills in Space. In Robert Rodriguez we trust suckers! The rest is history! Adios amigos! Burst www.afternoiz.com

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Transcendence (2014)

By Jo Gogou

If you had to choose between a life with natural or artificial resources, what would it be? That surely is no easy answer, as we can’t really know the results each choice will bring and what would actually help the evolution and development of living things, besides ourselves. Two scientists seem to have a dream, if you like, to create a new life form; not the robot kind of thing that will eventually try to take over and destroy the human kind… Em, could it actually be like this, in like a romantic way? Could nature recreate itself while human hands damage it? Could a wound be healed without losing important fiber from your body? These are questions running through your mind, but from a kind of android perspective. Dr. Will Caster is a scientist and a researcher, specialized in artificial intelligence. His goal is to create a computer that can “feel” and that will contain the whole planet’s knowledge and information as well as the full spectrum of human emotion. An assistant and co-helper in all this will be his partner/wife Evelyn and their friend Max Waters. As almost anyone, Will Caster has enemies that he was not aware of. The problem is not personal though, it concerns his work in a global level. Nothing better than to give your dream a shot, right? And so he did. An accident, well an attempted murder actually, endangers the professor’s life; the outcome is that the experiment they were planning ends up being run on Burst www.afternoiz.com

human ‘guinea pigs’ and this is the dark glimpse of the future. Recording emotions, thoughts, even diseases are now stored in a global database, the one that will soon be called transcendence. Soon enough humans will experience this other side. The day has come. The miracle some expected will prove to be a nightmare for others; all depends where you stand on. Certainly judging things from your side only is not helpful, and neither is not experiencing them for yourself. Many enemies, risking their own lives to hurt others, keep trying to reach their goals. Conspiracy theories, scientific games and a genesis experiment turns into flesh and blood (many times literally). The hunting begins and it looks like a global board game. One that you think you can win just by killing its creator. If you think about that, well you are not the only one trying to shape things like God or do his work… We are all little Gods, parts of wisdom and parts of creation.

The Borderlands (2013)

By Angie Rouska

Official photo

The Borderlands is a foundfootage horror film, which surprisingly gives a refreshing twist to the genre. The directorial debut for Elliot Goldner investigates the supernatural phenomena that take place in a small church, somewhere in the British country. The story follows the usual pattern; a “miracle” happens in a small church during a baptism and the Vatican wants to investigate the matter further. A team is being sent upon Father Crellick’s request. Deacon (Gordon Kennedy), a grumpy veteran investigator and Gray (Robin Hill), the techguy and the agnostic of the company, arrive at the place and they try to figure out whether the events that Father Crellick describes are real or fiction. Kennedy and Hill have a great chemistry making a wonderful duo and there enters Aidan McArdle who portrays Father Mark, Deacon’s superior, a real “ball breaker” who wants to wrap up the case as quickly as possible. But as the investigation continues, it takes them one step further to the truth and a higher assistance is required. Unfortunately, any further information on the plot will spoil all the anticipation and climax that the director builds so carefully. During this research, Goldner chooses to emphasize the contradiction between

the “people of the religion”, all these Vatican Fathers, and the “non-religious” ones, such as Gray. It is remarkable how the former ones consider such events as mockeries and hoaxes while the latter ones want to believe. Although the film is using some of the genre’s clichés, it never fails to keep you on the edge of your seat. This is basically due to a solid and well-structured script. The investigation and the revelation of information are gradual and the peak is reached in the end! Therefore, you have no other choice but to watch it till the very last frame. Apart from the casual jump-scares, there is a moody claustrophobic atmosphere that feels like, to use the social media language, a constant poke. But all these are supported by the location and the scenery. We are talking about a remote church with a cemetery and this does not feel good lads! Not only this, but there is this superb work that has been done on the sound design; microphones, sound radars, surveillance cameras, following the film’s pace, leading to the answer about this “miracle”. The outcome may not apply to some of the viewers, it may look far from real or even stupid but for those who enjoy a good DnD session will definitely enjoy The Borderlands.

Do you dare? Dom Hemingway (2013)

By Angie Rouska

“I am a legend, a myth, a glorious tale to be handed down from generation to generation. I am Dom Hemingway!” And what a glorious tale it is… or maybe not? Let’s take things from the beginning. Dom Hemingway is a film directed by Richard Shepard (The Matador, Mexico City), starring Jude Law, Richard E. Grant and Emilia Clarke. It is the usual Brit-mob film which moves from comedy to drama, however it doesn’t seem able to find the right balance. Dom Hemingway is a notorious safecracker who is being released from prison after 12 years. That’s the price he paid for not becoming a snitch and ratting on his comrades on a theft they carried out. Now the time has come for his silence to be rewarded. He travels with his buddy, Dickie Black, to France to meet with the “boss”, Mr. Fontaine who holds the reward for Dom. A wild weekend at Mr. Fontaine’s villa becomes Dom’s bad luck as things do not turn out for the best. But he is a troubled character with survival issues and also a father who attempts to meet his estranged daughter after so many years.

this character despite the fact that he gained 30 pounds especially for this role. Hemingway is an extravagant personality with a poetic side and Law emphasizes this contradiction with great attention and respect. He may be offensive and getting in all kinds of trouble but his wits win the audience over, even from the first frame where he looks at the camera and says “Is my cock exquisite?” continuing with one of his many theatrical monologues in the film (and those monologues are so amusing). Although Richard E. Grant and Emilia Clarke are sufficient in their roles and a pleasure to watch, especially Grant as Dickie Black, they lack the required attention and next to the powerful character of Dom, they just look simple and plain. If there is any reason to watch this film, that is Jude Law’s performance that indeed creates a legend but unsupported by a solid script, this character cannot stand as a unique one among others of familiar films. He indeed deserves something more than this.

Shepard’s story is a loose one; it doesn’t know how to evolve. At some points it reminds me a lot of Guy Richie’s works and at some others it becomes cheesy and repeats dramatic clichés. But if the film lacks in depth and story, it wins in characters and performances as well as music. Jude Law is brilliant as Dom Hemingway; he looks like he enjoys portraying Burst www.afternoiz.com

Next (2007)

By Kostas Krasonis

W OR ST MO V I E S EV ER

A Nicolas Cage film among the worst movies ever made? How did that happen? I believe Cage can be a very good actor but his good/bad choice ratio is close to 1/20. That means one good movie and/or performance for 20 bad ones. And this isn’t one of the good ones!

Next is a sci-fi action thriller about a Las Vegas magician, Cris Johnson (Cage) who has the incredible gift of seeing into his future; but only for 2 minutes at a time, except when he has a vision of a hot girl entering a diner. Cris goes to that diner every day in hope to meet that girl who never shows. The FBI and especially FBI Agent Ferris (the always reliable quality-wise Julianne Moore) tries to recruit Johnson to use his gift so that a nuclear weapon would be intercepted. Johnson sees all that in his head and manages to get away from the feds and devote his life to finding the mysterious hot girl. Eventually she does show up in the diner and our guy runs a few scenarios in his mind before deciding which one would do the trick and he finally gets to know her. Let me challenge this amazing plot and say that the hot girl is played by Jessica Biel who is, of course, way too beautiful and sexy and out of Cage’s league; so there’s another wrong thing about this movie. As cool and romantic and funny as Cage’s character tries to be in this film, there is no way in hell a girl like Biel would ever give him a second glance. Not at his age and with the weird hairdo he’s sporting in this movie (no offence Nick!). Sorry for the interruption, let’s get back to the plot, shall we?

Photos are stills from the movie. Burst www.afternoiz.com

Well, Cris and Liz (Biel) go to Arizona together where Liz volunteers and teaches some underprivileged immigrant kids (aww how adorable!) and

there Cris is all loved up and charming and they sleep together. Meanwhile, the terrorists have been aware of the FBI’s interest in Johnson so they decide to take him out in Arizona. The FBI is also there. A relentless manhunt begins with Johnson on the run with feds and terrorists behind him. At this stage he is able to dodge bullets, spinning cars, giant logs and vintage locomotives! After all this fuss, Cris ends up in custody. Liz is taken by the terrorists. Agent Ferris asks Johnson to stretch his gift as far as he can to help the authorities. He succeeds and sees Liz being trapped with explosives and dying two hours into the future. That gives them time to prepare and prevent this by catching the bad guys at the harbor. During the following scene Johnson is able to replicate himself numerous times (!) and then sacrificing all of his replicas in the Mexican stand-off with the main terrorist to beat him up and save Liz. Then the nuclear bomb goes off end everyone dies! It turns out that over half of the film was a dream Johnson had after sleeping with Liz that first night and now he is ready to co-operate with the FBI only if Liz is left out of the whole thing. In other words, a huge middle finger to the viewer! This movie is an eye-sore and I wouldn’t recommend it, not even to my worst enemy!

BURST is against animal cruelty.

“Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks: they’re only animals.” -Theodor W. Adorno-

www.argophotography.com No animals were harmed in the making of this fur coat

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The Show The Walking Dead is a TV show that belongs to the horror/drama genre, and it is based on a comic book with the same name. The show first aired in 2010 with only 6 episodes and has reached the fourth season in 2014, with each of the rest seasons consisting of 13-16 episodes. After the huge success of the first four seasons, it has already been renewed for a fifth one. The show is set up in a post apocalyptic era, not far from the present time, where people reincarnate after their deaths into zombies, also known as “The Walkers”. It follows a group of people led by an ex-deputy sheriff Rick Grimes, and it shows their struggle for survival in a hostile environment without food and provisions and against rival groups of people. Burst www.afternoiz.com

Finding Answers

Psychological Profile: Rick Grimes

After the initial shock, people start forming small groups in order to be able to defend themselves against these walkers. One of these groups, led by Rick Grimes, is trying to get out of the city towards the wilds, as it is no longer safe. Eventually, they start wondering about where to find answers regarding what causes people to turn into zombies and the best choice for such answers is the Atlanta Center of Disease Control. Upon reaching there, they learn that a virus that was let loose is responsible for turning people into zombies with the entire population already infected.

Finding Shelter It is essential for their survival to find a place where they will have access to food and supplies, but at the same moment to be safe against intrusions from the walkers. So season two finds Rick and his group of people ending up in a remote farm which is owned by Hershel Greene. The isolation of the farm looks perfect for a permanent settlement but the dream doesn’t last for long and they are forced to abandon it, after they get overrun by walkers. Third season begins in a new setting, as Rick and the survivors from the farm find shelter in an abandoned prison. They manage to get some peace behind the safety of the bars, but a new threat arises; that of a rival group of people led by the mysterious Governor. The fourth season ends up with Rick’s group scattered into smaller ones, after an attack on the prison by the Governor and in search of a new haven, the so called Terminus.

Finding Supplies Everything about the show is based on survival. In order to survive, people have to use all kinds of weapons at their disposal with the most common ones being knives, cross bows, daggers, hammers, clubs, and even katanas, as the lack of ammo for firearms or machine guns gradually becomes a big problem. People have to deal with the absence of food, so they start raids on abandoned houses, super markets and drug stores to gather any provisions left. They may need to travel many kilometres away from their base in order to find provisions, so a permanent settlement allows them to start growing their own food. Another major problem that people have in this post apocalyptic setting is the absence of medication. As a result even the smallest infection or a common virus can be lethal.

Trivia One of the main characteristics of the show is that each season refreshes its cast with new characters, since a lot of the main or secondary ones die. As a result, only a handful of people have survived from the initial cast of the first season. The TV show follows the story arc of the comic books but also has some major differences. One of them is that the TV show is killing some of the characters prematurely or creates new ones that are not in the comic books.

Rick is a deputy sheriff and after he gets shot in the line of duty, he falls into a coma, and wakes up in an empty hospital trying to understand what has happened. He quickly realises that the world has changed as people are becoming zombies. By the time he wakes up, any form of government has started to break down, but he still chooses to wear his deputy sheriff’s uniform. Eventually he reunites with his family and uses the authority provided by the uniform to assume leadership of the people around him. This creates tension between many people and especially with his old friend and colleague Shane, who has already become leader of a group of survivors. In time, he gets rid of the uniform, as it no longer represents any kind of authority, but his son still keeps wearing his hat. After a while, people around him start to trust his judgement and follow his decisions. Regarding these decisions, there are times that he forces

his will like a dictator, as he believes he’s doing the right thing in order to protect his people, while there are other times when he seeks their advice. He has also made some very hard decisions that have to do with either not allowing people to join his group, or removing others due to their behaviour, or even killing people in cold blood in order to protect their way of life. Regarding his relationship with his son, he is in constant confrontation with him as he thinks he’s too young to carry a gun and participate in raids. He also worries about his behaviour which doesn’t correspond to a person of his age, but eventually he recognises his maturity and starts trusting him with a gun. As time goes by, the events around him start to affect him mentally and after his wife’s death he ends up having hallucinations. He quickly recovers though, when there is an imminent threat to his people, by the Governor.

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195 million children worldwide suffer from the effects of malnutrition. In 2011, MSF treated 408,000 children in more than 30 countries. Copyright: Francesco Zizola

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