Zero Magazine Issue 3 by Mike Shaw

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Time To Make

Some

Noise… GENERAL ENQUIRIES Jazz Publishing, The Old School, Higher Kinnerton, Chester, CH4 9AJ, UK. Tel: 01244 663400 Fax: 01244 660611 info@jazzpublishing.co.uk

www.zeromag.co.uk

EDITOR Sion Smith – editor@zeromag.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 Ext. 338 DEPUTY EDITOR Terry Bezer – depeditor@zeromag.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 MOVIE EDITOR Mike Shaw – movies@zeromag.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 RADIO / CLUB EDITOR JJ Haggar – clubs@zeromag.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 REVIEWS EDITOR Kahn Johnson – reviews@zeromag.co.uk BOOKS EDITOR Clare O’Brien – books@zeromag.co.uk STAFF WRITER Andy Lye – writer@zeromag.co.uk ART EDITOR David Gamble – design@zeromag.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 Ext. 313 PRODUCTION MANAGER Justine Hart – production@zeromag.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 Ext. 335 ACCOUNTS Emma McCrindle – accounts@jazzpublishing.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 Ext. 307 ADVERTISING MANAGER Arun Parmar – advertising@zeromag.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 Ext. 302 ADMINISTRATION Jan Schoﬁeld – jan@jazzpublishing.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 Ext. 319 Clare Wilson – clare@jazzpublishing.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 Ext. 324 SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES Katy Cuﬃn subscriptions@jazzpublishing.co.uk backissues@jazzpublishing.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 Ext. 320 PUBLISHER Stuart Mears – stuart@jazzpublishing.co.uk Telephone: 01244 663400 CONTRIBUTORS Tom Canning, Curt Evans, Simon Gausden, Roger Lotring, John McMeiken, Jack Rawstone, Katie Roberts, Dave Shaw, Louise Steggals, Rachel Wilson PHOTOGRAPHERS Scott Cole, Lee Garland, Chiaki Nozu, Tony Porter, Wayne Herrschaft. PRINTING Warners Midlands plc DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Henry Smith – henry.smith@mmcltd.co.uk Telephone: 01483 211222

HAVING TROUBLE FINDING ZERO MAGAZINE IN YOUR NEWSAGENT? Please contact our distribution company for your nearest outlet 01483 211222 or log onto: www.mmcextranet.co.uk/queries.htm

ISSN No. 1747-4388 The views expressed in this magazine by the contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers. While every eﬀort is made in compiling Zero, the publishers cannot be held responsible for any eﬀects therefrom. Reproduction of any matter contained in Zero is prohibited without prior permission.

Eddie Izzard once pointed out that the American legal classifications of Murder One and Murder Two use a potentially flexible idea: the assignment of different degrees of something to different numbers. Based on this idea, here’s maybe how we should grade things in the future based on our ethos: Originality Zero: This would be what most people consider ‘truly original’: something that is Originality Zero has never been done before, ever. An example could be a line of dialogue (in a film, book or just real life) that has never even been thought of before the originator came up with it. Simple enough - and also, clearly, very demanding. Originality One: This is supposed to capture an extremely common occurrence, which has no simple description with currently accepted language. Something is Originality One if the person that came up with it never came across it before. An example of this might be someone that has never seen or even heard of Star Wars (conceivable, if unlikely) writing “When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master,” in a story. A good line, but sadly one that someone else had come up with before. Originality Two: This is when somebody sees something unoriginal, but they personally have never seen or heard of the original that it is based on. As far as they know, this thing is completely new, and they will probably be impressed. An example would be someone that hasn’t seen the Matrix seeing “bullet time” in a film, and thinking it to be an amazing and genuinely original technique. They’re wrong, but this doesn’t affect how impressed they are by it. Naturally there’s a few complications here - some might argue that since you can never know everything that has happened, you will never be able to tell all of the different Originalities apart - and if you can’t tell the difference, then that difference is irrelevant. This may be true, but I’m introducing these definitions for their usefulness: you can at least say “As far as I know, that idea is totally Originality One”. I don’t actually use these phrases, but it’s useful to have the ideas clearly defined in your head. For the record, when I say, “I’ve come up with something original”, that’s shorthand for “I’ve come up with something that is at least Originality One”. That’s probably what most people actually mean by it, but it’s good to have it said explicitly somewhere.

There is plenty of

self-referentiality going on here, but that does not bother me.

People ask me what it’s like to stand in the pyro when I come out onstage. It friggin’ hurts! As long as it looks good and doesn’t kill me, I’ll keep doing it. Goldberg

Cover Photography: Chiaki Nozu Covermount Illustration: Woody

SION SMITH – Editor This issue has been brought to you by more Budweiser and Marlboro than was really necessary, Buckcherry: Timebomb, Beautiful Creatures: Deuce, and, once again, Papa Roach: Getting Away With Murder.

…HELLFIRE! DON’T MISS OUT…

SUBSCRIBE!

AND GET 3 ISSUES FOR £3! LOG ONTO www.zeromag.co.uk

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INSIDE Nov 05 Issue 3 8

SMOKE AND MIRRORS It’s only irrelevant drivel if you look at it the wrong way…

CACTUS MOUTH New album ready to roll, Ginger vents a little more against the world!

STANDING IN THE SHOWER… THINKING You still keep writing, so we keep reading them – if only we could print them all!

PUNK AND BELLIGERENT Is it really ten years since the Almighty called it a day? Ricky Warwick is back with a new solo album and wants to talk about – football! Go ﬁgure!

LOVE LABOURS ON Billy Idol. The man, the myth, the legend – no introduction necessary. Just good old plain hard talking!

THE FLASHING BLADE It’s big, brash and very exciting – Zero takes a look behind the scenes of the new Zorro movie. A lot of Z’s in the same sentence is OK… it really is.

STOP THE CAR! Circa Survive. Purveyors of one of the most original albums of the year are starting to cause quite a stir here. After last issue’s introduction, we thought we’d dig a little deeper.

CITIZEN X Jason Biggs – after seeing his new movie, Guy X, you may never think of that damn pie again!

BEYOND REASON With a new album on the horizon, a hot single just released and a tour beckoning, we took some time out to catch up with Nickelback.

GOT SUICIDE? CandyAppleBlack - the hottest underground comic on the block is unleashed!

THE BULLET TRAIN InMe are out in Japan. So are we. The album is on the stereo and we’re good to go. This band are going to break so big…

LIVE WITHOUT A NET! Another ﬁne selection of things to do outside of the house.

STAY HUNGRY! With Twisted Sister back on the road with Alice in a month, Dee Snider let us into the inner sanctum…

DEAD MANS CURVE Phil Varone, self confessed cocaine addict wonders how is hair is… just say no kids. Just say no!

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THE VOICE OF SILENT FORCE Within Temptation: new kids of the block or the masters? Your choice…

THE QUIET MAN Checking out the new sci-ﬁ spectacle that is Serenity

A FUNERAL OF HEARTS Ville Valo is back! We plied an old buddy of his with drink to sneak up on him in Japan to ﬁnd out what’s really going in the camp.

DOOMED! A look into the heart of the movie that might set the record straight about turning games to movies – Doom!

A BAD PLACE ALONE He’s the master of all he surveys! Who else but Alice Cooper!

WALK THIS WAY Danny Wallace, the man who likes to say Yes enlightens us on the power of the positive.

THE ARENA OF PLEASURE It’s good to see a band having a good time with their material – and seriously, nobody seems to be having more of a good time than Waltham right now. Welcome to the funny farm.

BARKING AT THE MOON America’s hottest ticket, Ozzfest, certainly turned out to be just that. Read on..

OVER THE ROOFTOPS They are legion – those who climb Olympus only to ﬁnd those last few steps a bit more slippery than they looked! Gene Loves Jezebel were one of the very few who had a couple of ﬁngers over the ledge when it all caved in…

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A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE Diamond Nights – one ear on the past, one eye on the future. Great band… read on!

ILLEGAL ALIEN Dean Walker continues his wilderness tour of what to do in the USA when you’re hungry

ARE YOU EXPERIENCED? Flashback in time to the days when Hendrix was considered a God…

100 CLUB SODA More from the kings of the night-time world…

102 AIR SUPPLY John Peel come under the watchful ear of the crew

106 HARDWARE The future is almost upon us. With the advent of the DualDisc format, media entertainment as we currently know it is about to change forever.

110 EAR CANDY More discs fed into the grinder.

122 EYE CANDY From cinema to home, we’ve got them all. Well, some of them at least.

132 BRAIN CANDY More of the paper stuﬀ with a pretty cover wrapped around it for your brain

134 HAND CANDY Calluses on your thumbs? No? Obviously not playing enough then.

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News ✭ Gossip ✭ Stuﬀ ✭ Views

THEY’RE HERE…

Well, the long awaited iTunes enabled phone is here. Well, I say here. It’s actually in America, though it should be here by the time you read this. As expected, the new phone was launched at a previously announced press conference by Apple boss Steve Jobs. Manufactured by Motorola, the Rokr phone works like an iPod Shuffle, randomly playing tracks from a library able to store up to 100 songs. Those tracks can be transferred onto the phone from a Mac or PC via a USB cable using iTunes software. The plan, of course, is to develop future phones that hold more content, and which can access music

directly from the iTunes Music Store over the airwaves, cutting out the need to have a PC in order to download tunes. The new phone goes on sale in the States today via US mobile operator Cingular. The phone will be initially available from the mobile firm’s own

stores for $249.99 (£136), though music fans will have to sign up to a minimum two year contract with the network in order to get one. According to Carphone Warehouse, the Rokr phone will have been on sale here in the UK as of 15 September. It will be available for users of the O2 network and will retail at £209.99 for pre-pay customers, but will be free for those signing up to a relevant O2 contract. There is still much debate over whether or not mobile phones will ever become the device most consumers use to play music. The technology firms are slowly overcoming handset limitations (capacity to hold tracks, battery life), and those who champion mobiles as the music devices of the future always point to just how many people already own a phone. Many of those people will never be persuaded to buy an MP3 player, they argue, but they probably will eventually upgrade to a music-player phone. The big limiting factor, of course, is the mobile download platforms. The fact Apple have decided to launch with a phone that acquires its music via a computer shows that they have recognised just how shoddy most of the existing mobile download platforms actually are (platforms which some of the existing non-Apple music player mobiles rely on for acquiring tracks). And then there is the consideration of just how long it takes for full tracks to download to a phone over even a

“There is still much debate over whether or not mobile phones will ever become the device most consumers use to play music.” 3G connection, and how much that download-airtime costs on most US and European phone networks (ie a lot). But if consumers simply transfer tracks from a PC to their phones, then there is no opportunity for the mobile companies to take a cut on music sales – a revenue stream that most mobile networks are banking on to justify their recent investment in music sponsorship and promotions. Apple and Motorola – and others – are reportedly talking to networks about developing a user-friendly cost efficient mobile download platform to work with ever higher capacity music player phones. Whether Apple and its mobile partners, or another consortium of technology and telephone companies, can achieve such a thing before those bank rolling the mobile music ventures run out of cash, or patience, remains to be seen.

LANDLORDS STILL WANT CBGB OUT The landlords of New York’s CBGB club are standing fast on their refusal to give the club’s owners a new lease, despite a well attended rally on Wednesday night in which musicians and music fans called on the powers that be to change their position. But the club’s owner, Hilly Kristal, seems up for a fight to stay put, telling the crowds at that rally: “We intend to stay. This is not a eulogy. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t come to an understanding.” As previously reported, the building is owned by the Bowery Residents Committee – an agency that helps the homeless – and they want to increase the rent on the property. Kristal says he is unable to meet their rent demands, which is why the BRC want the club out of the building. It hard to see the landlords now changing their position, despite all the punk stars backing Kristal, because the BRC’s PR team are busy telling reporters that they need to make more rent on the building to better support New York’s homeless community, which is a position that is quite hard to knock, even when something as legendary as the CBGB club is at stake. A spokesman for the BRC told reporters this week that he genuinely believed that it was in the “best interest of our clients - the homeless and neediest New Yorkers - to sever this relationship”.

RARE ALICE COOPER APPEARANCE TheRockRadio.com is reporting that a rare Alice Cooper concert film will make its first appearance on home video/DVD on Nov. 8th. Live 1973: Billion Dollar Babies Tour played theatres that year in limited release. The DVD includes 14 songs, plus a new interview with Alice, the original theatrical trailer for the film, and biographies of the original band members.

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ZERO

MCFARLANE GETS DISTURBED!

KORN Strike Out! EMI have struck another deal with a ﬂagship artist that goes beyond the traditional recording contract. EMI division Virgin have entered a partnership with rock group Korn that is being described as a “multiple rights joint venture” in which the major label will make a considerable investment in the band but in return for a share of earnings made outside the recordings sector of the music business, including touring, merchandising, publishing, sponsorship, and film, TV, book and video game projects. To a certain extent, the new deal follows a model pioneered when EMI renewed its relationship with Robbie Williams back in 2002. Other artists and labels have been slow to adopt the model, but some senior figures in the industry believe more and more record deals will have to go beyond just recordings as CD sales account for an ever smaller amount of an artist’s overall earning potential. Commenting on the Korn deal, Jeff Kwatinetz of their management company The Firm told reporters this week: “This deal represents the necessary evolution that our industry must make, aligning interests among bands, management and recording companies”.

DISTURBED recently unveiled the cover art for their TEN THOUSAND FISTS album by renowned comic artist Greg Capullo and producer/director/artist Todd McFarlane. The intriguing album art had been under wraps but incorporates imagery from the band’s past. Lead singer DAVID DRAIMAN explains the album art: “We wanted to bring our old icon, the disturbed smiley face, whom we call ‘the guy,’ to life. I came up with a concept that embodied what the record was about, the ‘guy’ leading an army of people from all walks of life and all colors of skin, with their fists raised in unison, as a symbol of unity, strength and defiance with an azure sky in the background. Being a fan of the SPAWN comic book series and the artwork that Todd and his company have done in the past, we could think of no better team to bring this idea to life. We are incredibly pleased with the piece, and think it is the most striking and certainly our favorite of the three covers.” McFarlane comments: “The hardest part of doing any album cover art is making that piece different enough from all the other CDs that may be surrounding it at a store. I believe that Greg Capullo and I have delivered an image that will be evocative and inspiring. Much like the music that Disturbed has unleashed upon us.”

RedHot Giveaway We’ve teamed up with those neat people over at Red Hot Rock to bring you this supercool comp. We’re giving away 3 separate prizes consisting of: 3 x Download 2005 Crowd Spreads, (6 x 9ft!) and 2 Speaker Staxx Posters (6 x 3 ft!).

If you check out their site over at www.redhotrockshop.com you’ll ﬁnd more fantastic gear to adorn the walls of your room/rehearsal studio/kitchen. How about you do us a favour. If you spend cash out there, grab yourself some pics and take a few shots. If it rocks as much as we think it will, we’ll send you some more stuﬀ and print the best one. You know where we are.

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ZERO

BON JOVI GET FIRST GLOBAL DUALDISC RELEASE FROM UNIVERSAL

Universal Music have confirmed they will release a DualDisc globally for the first time in the form of Bon Jovi’s ninth studio album, ‘Have A Nice Day’. The major have been experimenting with the new disc format in the US for a while now, but the Bon Jovi album will be the first time the record company has released an album in the format worldwide. The DVD side of the Bon Jovi Dual Disc release will include a 5.1 surround sound mix of the album, together with exclusive live tracks from Bon Jovi’s November 2004 concert in Atlantic City, a photo gallery and electronic press kit.

PLATINUMBOWIE

OZZY OSBOURNE RATES REHAB CLINICS

Ozzy Osbourne has been treated for addiction so many times, he considers himself an authority on American rehabilitation clinics. The Black Sabbath frontman, famed for his rock ‘n’ roll excesses, regularly used rehabilitation programs as peace oﬀerings when his wife Sharon threw him out. “When my ass was on ﬁre, when I’d go crazy and everyone was chasing me, and my wife had left home and the kids were screaming and I was never allowed into the house again, I’d check in,” Osbourne said. “Betty Ford is a good one, and a place called Promises in Malibu, which is like a Hollywood resort for wealthy lunatics.” “Hazledon in Minnesota is a really hard one. I checked out because it scared me. They used a thing called tough love where they’re like, ‘You f**king piece of s**t!’ I was like, ‘You don’t need to yell at me.’ ”

From the spaced oddity that was Space Oddity to the invincible Absolute Beginners and beyond, the David Bowie Platinum Collection contains four UK No. 1s, 15 Top 10’s, six Top 20 and 14 Top 75 hits making up 338 weeks of UK chart history. David Bowie could never be contained by statistics alone. Any collection that contains Starman, The Jean Genie, Fame, “Heroes”, Sound and Vision, Ashes To Ashes, Under Pressure and Let’s Dance spells it plainly – this rocks! Has to be done and it’s released on 7th November.

NORTHERN SOUNDS Northern Sounds is dedicated to the new charge of bands that have gained national success whilst staying firmly committed to their northern roots, and to the musical undercurrents and spirit of change that’s sweeping through towns and cities across the North of England. Matt Baker, deputy editor of The Big Issue in the North said: “Northern city skylines are rapidly changing as a result of major investment and regeneration. This is creating a newfound regional confidence reflected in some great music now being produced. Our supplement aims to map out this exciting new musical territory.” In this month’s edition, out Monday 19 September, there are interviews with Liverpool’s Dead Sixties, former Morrissey drummer Andrew McGibbon and a ‘q and a’ with Motorhead’s Lemmy. Tony Wilson tells us why ‘In the City’, Manchester’s International Music Convention, remains a success and comedian Rob Newman reveals his favourite music. And there’s a guide to the live events coming up in October and competitions to win tickets to see the White Stripes and Feeder, and the chance to meet Rooster. The next Northern Sounds will be included in The Big Issue in the North on 17 October. The Big Issue in the North goes on sale every Monday. It is sold by homeless people across the North of England. Vendors buy the magazine for 50 pence and sell it for £1.20, keeping the 70 pence profit they make. All vendors sign a code of conduct which governs the way they sell the magazine and take part in a comprehensive resettlement programme to help them move on to good homes, good jobs good health and a good life.

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SO YOU KNOW . . .

The new single from

CD Single 1. So You Know 2. The Addict Swims Alone 3. Around We Go

7” Picture Disc 1. So You Know 2. The Addict Swims Alone

JUST

7” Picture Disc 1. So You Know 2. Unpredictable

The album

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available now

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ZERO

WELCOME TO DEFIANCE!

ZERO presents

Reformed. Rejuvenated and for one time only! Well, 2 actually. Ricky Warwick recently announced the reformation of the deﬁnitive Almighty line-up and they’re to play two dates early in the New Year. All proﬁts will go to charity. Ricky recently posted the following announcement on their site (www.thealmighty.com) and caused a chain reaction amongst fans around the world. We’ll print more information on the show as we get closer to the dates, meanwhile check both The Almighty site and our site (www.zeromag.co.uk) for regular updates. The dates are Thursday, 5th January 2006 at the Glasgow Garage and Friday, 6th January 2006 at the London Mean Fiddler. We’ve abridged Ricky’s statement here a little – to say he was enthused by the idea is the understatement of the decade. For the full version, check out the Almighty site: It was last September; I woke up in Dundalk, Ireland in agony and couldn’t see out of my eyes (hung over again I hear you all say!) No, this time I wasn’t. I was on my first solo headline tour of Ireland with my band and after a packed sweaty Belfast show had come off stage and instead of going straight to the dressing room to dry off I stood talking to the good folks who had parted with their hard earned cash to come see me perform. The result of this was a highly allergic reaction to the hair gel I was using combined with the sweat it had gone into my eyes and infected them. (Yes, yes I know. It is a pure Spinal Tap moment). So there I was in Dundalk feeling very sorry for myself and left with

no choice but to cancel the evening’s show. I called Sophie who does a fantastic job of running my website for me so she could post the news asap on the site. Sophie came on the phone and before I had the chance to tell her what was going on she told me that my good buddy (and her boyfriend at the time) and ex The Almighty band mate Floyd London had been diagnosed with Leukaemia! I went numb, my eye infection seemed entirely insignificant and I felt like a fool. Sophie remained entirely composed on the phone and told me that basically they were going to start chemotherapy the following Monday. Floyd and Sophie were due to come over to Dublin that weekend to see my show. I said I would call her the next day and put the phone down. I think I spent the next 30 minutes sitting on my bed in my hotel room saying the word ‘Shit‘ over and over again. I was well enough to do the following night’s show in Limerick and called Sophie to check on Floyd, she informed me that he was feeling pretty crap but they were coming to Dublin as with the chemo starting on Monday this would be Floyd’s last chance to drink and hang out. When I saw Floyd in Dublin he looked pale and thin, but he was the same old Floyd knocking back the beers joking and not complaining once. But that’s Floyd he is the most unassuming nicest guy but underneath it all he is a tough little fucker!!! The cancer was in for one helluva fight and my money was on Floyd all the way. As the night wore on Floyd got weaker and by the end of it he needed

to go back to his hotel and get an earlier flight back to London. Before he left he told me he was really glad he had come, I gave him a hug and told him we all loved him… So Floyd was admitted to hospital to start his chemo and probably the toughest battle he has ever had or will ever have. Sophie who was now his fiancée kept us all updated with e-mails to his progress and explaining exactly what the disease is all about and what sort of treatments Floyd was on. I know that Floyd was overwhelmed with the amount of well wishes and support he got and at some points it was touch and go, there were some very dark days indeed. But Floyd like I said is a tough wee bugger and he and Sophie amazed everybody with their strength and courage and in March of this year Sophie called me to tell me what we all had been wanting to hear, Floyd was in remission and was leaving the hospital and coming home. As Floyd himself put it, ‘once I was in remission, but still hospital bound, we had time to think about the disease, how many people are diagnosed with it each year, how they still don’t know why people get leukaemia. Soph wanted to do something about it, raise money for Leukaemia Research so they can keep developing the drugs that are saving lives (like mine) every day. She suggested The Almighty could reform to play a couple of gigs for this cause and kept feeding us this idea.We thought “why the fuck not!”‘ It took a second to say yes as pretty much everyone knows somebody who has been affected by cancer and how terrible a disease it is. So here we are the classic Almighty line up playing two shows with proceeds going to Leukaemia Research. It was decided that the line up with Pete, Stump, Floyd and myself would be the line up for the shows with no disrespect to Tantrum, Nick and Gav (who sweated blood for the band). There will be no new songs or anything like that. This is not about making money for ourselves (every penny is going to Leukaemia Research). This is about Floyd London, our mate, and a chance to get onstage with him and rock out once more because for a few days the reality of being able to do that was very very far away, This is about pure nostalgia we will play like we always played from our fuckin hearts all the songs you want to hear, It will be a celebration with lots of surprise guests and lots of fun. For two nights only the ALFUCKIN MIGHTY will be back. I can’t wait. So let me extend my hand and warmly say WELCOME TO DEFIANCE!!!!

ZERO HOTTER THAN HELL

Another month, another load of rubbish from a bunch of people whose opinions you value about as much as jam… Sion – Hot stuff: Beautiful Creatures and Buckcherry back in town, hair dye and the 87th Precinct. Cold stuff: Add busted knees to list of injuries, O2 lousy network coverage and decaf items. Rediscovered stuff: Warrior Soul, Ovation 12 strings and swordfish paella. Looking forward to: Knee surgery believe it or not. Really shouldn’t have: Tried to throw Rick. Terry – Hot stuff: Iron Maiden at Reading, The Business, drinking JD and coke in the sunshine. Cold stuff: Transplants cancelling gigs, The Skeleton Key, thieving bastard postmen. Rediscovered stuff: Bush ‘Sixteen Stone’, Cinderella ‘Long Cold Winter’, Last House On The Left. Looking forward to: The Corpse Bride. Really shouldn’t have: Shaved my head prior to a heatwave. JJ – Hot stuff: Trivium doing a DJ set in the club, Zane Lowe dropping by to say hello, chatting with Billy Idol, The Marvel Collectibles Magazine and having a coffee with Mike Myers in Liverpool (no way, way, no way, WAY!) Cold stuff: Coffee while u are chatting, missing Korn play in Manchester. Rediscovered stuff: Roctober! Halloween! Rolling Stones touring the UK in 2006! Really shouldn’t have: Popped into Worlds Apart and spent so much money on figures, comics and other stuff I don’t need, but just want!

Mike – Hot stuff: R1 imports of US TV shows Cold stuff: Self-important PR twats Looking forward to: A new mobile and the next Potter film. Rediscovered stuff: Guitar FX pedals, Patrick Dempsey movies Really shouldn’t have: Enjoyed McFly live Kahn – Hot stuff: Dogs (people will wake up and realise I’m right one day) and Wednesday 13 Cold stuff: Mates going missing and people who sound like arrogant twats in an email Rediscovered stuff: Anger, vitriol and hatred Looking forward to: Calming down Really shouldn’t have: drunk that last glass of wine Louise – Hot stuff: www.thinkgeek.com, Marcus Brigstock, The Yo-Yos playing on my birthday Cold stuff: Shit remakes of dumb American 70’s TV shows (Hello Dukes of Hazzard), a fractured leg, trying to get my house decorated Rediscovered stuff: sushi, The West Wing, Tom Waits Looking forward to: Getting hold of the next Ikea catalogue (who needs Harry Potter?!), Motorhead and My Chemical Romance playing in November Really shouldn’t have: Tried to ride that damn horse. Andy – Hot stuff: Cathedral, Opeth, COC finally back in England and Dio’s Evening With tour! Cold stuff: Things manufactured in China, the retail indus-

try and Sharon Osbourne. Rediscovered stuff: Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights and The Almighty Looking forward to: Hammerfall and Stuck Mojo Really shouldn’t have: Worn a jacket in the heat last month. Clare – Hot stuff: Lush Demon in the Dark soap, home-grown tomatoes, Trent Reznor on ReAct now Cold stuff: rain, mud and no money Rediscovered stuff: Powell & Pressburger, sherbet fountains, Wagner’s “Ring” Looking forward to: an Indian summer. Really shouldn’t have: eaten a whole jar of pickled gherkins.

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“FORGET SPINAL TAP. THIS IS THE REAL THING” ★★★★ ★★★★★ ★★★★ NEWS OF THE WORLD

UNCUT

EMPIRE

HOTDOG

“THE GREATEST ROCK ‘N’ ROLL FILM EVER MADE” I-D

IS OUT ON DVD NOV 14

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INSTANT KARMA’S

GONNA

GETYOU Kharma? Karma? No one trustworthy knows quite how to spell it, but everyone knows (roughly) what it’s all about. It’s about getting what’s yours, or ‘what comes around goes around’... right? Well, sort of. You see, I see it like this. You come down here, you do your work, your work sucks, you come down again... repeat until soul is worth keeping upstairs. So whenever you feel like life is akin to some turgid TV rerun and everything therein is an anticlimax of such disappointing proportions that suicide seems like a holiday out of here... you’re right. Largely because you HAVE been here before and probably did something as pussy, spineless and limpdicked as actually doing the deed last time around. Or, for that matter, the last few times around. You see, God hates a quitter, and if you think that’s what’s gonna get you onto His couch in the holy living room, then you’d be a fool so large, cumbersome and dumb that your suicide would more than likely benefit everyone around you. Let’s face it, buddy, murder may be fun but it IS wrong... even if the mug you’re murdering is you. OK, so what has this got to do with me? Do I look like some kinda fucking mung bean-munchin’, bead necklace-wearing hippy fuck to you? Well, hopefully not. But read on, my anti-tree-hugging brethren... The reason why there are so many crap bands around is also down to karma/ kharma. Not words straight out of the Bible, I grant you, but then whoever read that fuckin’ doorstop, anyway? All the way through? You fucking liar. And if you’re telling the truth then you’re one of the faceless mass that makes up Bryan Adams’ market and you deserve nothing more than to wear an insulated kaftan in Hell for the rest of... (sorry, I got myself a little worked up over nothing there. Yeah, nothing, you heard me, buddy). Karma/kharma vs bad music everywhere? Well, by this I mean POPULAR bad music everywhere, and this is exactly what I mean by that... God hates insipid rock bands. He has a reason for putting everyone down here, even murderers (culling of the innocent? Hey, the innocent have done their work and are

outta here, and I for one am a little jealous). But shitty rock bands are an insult to the term bland. And that, my patient few, is something that God will not abide. Oh no. Imagine you’ve done something really bad in a previous life, and by criminy you are going to be punished for it. Would you come back as an insect? Chances are, as an insect, you’re gonna die long before the weight of life has crushed your soul and you’re begging for a cheap ticket out of here. The life of an insect is far too easy to deal with. If I was God (which mercifully I am not), I would make you sinners suffer the crushing defeat of the average. I would

give you everything you could ever want out of life: the fame, the chicks, the money, the extra-curricular benefits, and most importantly, the sense that this is all happening to you because YOU are THAT good. You are better than that which has went before and will ever be. You are divine and your fated plan has sparked into action. You are here... where you belong. You will not even know that you suck as a performer. You will not even know that you play to no one other than yourself. You will not even know that the only reason you are selling in more than double figures is because you vaguely remind others

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of a previous and superior model – the one that will make the history books thicker while you occupy a side bar insert to his or her legend. I will give you all this and more. I will give you the ego – that thing that will make you wish you were born a junkie or a murderer. That little parasitic monkey that needs feeding on a regular basis, that will not let you get to sleep at night for fear of dropping from the public’s affections. That which will slowly gorge on everything that you considered to be the blue-eyed baby you once were, that you will NEVER be again. Satan exists and he has no horns and no tail. He has an electric guitar. He has a microphone. He currently resides in a band that bears his name. He has been booted out of heaven for crimes committed and here he will burn a path to the number one slot, infecting the world with the putrid stench of his mediocrity. Satan goes under a myriad of names... Jon Bon Jovi being but one of many. As God, I would provide you with the

lifeline that a good record deal provides; the security that a lucrative publishing deal secures.You will bite this hand that feeds because deep down YOU are employing these services.YOU are the artist and this is destiny. You would have made it anyway. Then I will take it ALL away and leave you with nothing but some slightly embarrassing memories of the way you were when travel meant limousines and sex meant a choice smorgasboard of pretty young things eager to service your needs in the name of entertainment. You will not be able to breathe for regret. You will not be able to sleep for guilt. You will not be able to maintain an erection for shame. You will suffer tenfold the pain of that cold turkey in Marrakesh back in 1983; 20 times the frustration of that last album only amassing sales in the region of five mill as opposed to the ten mill of the debut. It will all happen so damn fast that you won’t even see the boat sinking, let alone a safe place to drown last. And compared to

the relatively brief tenure of your rock ‘n’ roll residency, the rest of your life will last for an eternity. Two to three years at the top... AND FORTY YEARS AT THE BOTTOM. I’d get you young. I’d get you fresh. The heights that you’d climb would merely make the fall all that more entertaining to watch. And you are an entertainer, after all, are you not? Regretting the gig now? Nothing in life sucks more than an ex-success. And there will be samples of previous glories that occasionally reveal their ugly tendrils in a bid to lift you back to your deserved podium... only to retreat as quickly as the storm that swept away your sheen. You thought Hell was something to fear? If you want real Hell, try living the rest of your days within earshot of children whispering “didn’t he used to be...?”, or lame, middleaged, autograph hunters squeezing your name between Scott Baio and John Ritter. Oh yeah, if I was God I would humiliate you all into finally giving in to the voices and making the ultimate sacrifice. Buying that great farm that was once the scene of such glowing harvest that the world shaded its eyes from its intense greatness and applauded. And when you lie tearful on the carpet of your final hit and testament, and regret the evil that you represented and are thankful that there is still a place left that you enter for free, I will receive you into my arms. A helpless child, tossed around in the slipstream of this monstrous world, too weak to stand the strains of what was once stardom. Another victim of Babylon O.D. And then, you know what I would do to you? I would put you straight back into the pit from whence you came to watch you do it all over again until you learn your lesson, you ungrateful little shit. Don’t be such a putz next time around, and try to have some fucking fun. And as God, I would be mightily pissed off at you. God didn’t create you in His image to make him look bad, did he? God wouldn’t pull a show because of a sick drummer. Or cancel a tour of Europe because of bad weather. God would soldier on in the face of adversity, and if he was to die on stage or in an aeroplane crash then so be it. Go fill those history books with Men and Women worthy of adoration. Paradigms to be proud of, and to hopefully one day emulate as icons of cool. Crap music and shitty bands don’t get off scot-free by any stretch of the imagination. Karma / kharma sees to it that they are one day as debilitated as they were once enviable. This is fate. This is justice. This is the law... all hail the New Flesh. Same as the Old Flesh! Ginger

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Standing in the Shower…thinking. WRITE TO US AT ZERO, THE OLD SCHOOL, HIGHER KINNERTON, CHESTER CH4 9AJ or email: editor@zeromag.co.uk MAIN ATTRACTION

well be their album of the year). Symphony X and Masterplan vocalists doing an album together? For fans of the genre, that’s massive. Same with Michael Kiske, who hasn’t done anything rock since he left Helloween. For people who actually KNOW about these bands, there’s plenty positive to talk about. Only a moron slags them oﬀ for their artwork. Anyway, it just left me very disappointed that your magazine chose this route to go down... and I’m not alone in this view (obviously, as anyone in the melodic rock scene has the same opinion). I’ve been trying hard to drum up support for your mag. Stuﬀ like that just makes it so pointless. At least get someone who LIKES melodic rock to do reviews from albums on Frontiers etc. Bruce Mee

COOK ROCK

Hi – In response to the way you appear to like everything bigger, better and faster than everything else, I thought I’d send you some snaps of my new cooker. We looked at quite a few before we settled on this one, but once I saw it, I knew I had to have it. It’s a DIPLOMAT APL 1304 if anyone wants one – check it out – the knobs go up to 11! This cooker rocks like fuck! Good mag by the way. GF Wow. I gotta get me one of these!

RE: TRIGGER album Call To Arms! This is just a quick note to say “thank you” to whoever took the time to listen to the TRIGGER album Call To Arms posted recently. Thanks firstly for offering some helpful comments, which have been noted. But mainly, thanks for even BOTHERING to respond! I have sent similar packages to all the popular music magazines, and guess how many replied – Zero! So it seems that rock fans/ musicians really are worthless . . . but obviously not you guys, so I am looking forward to your future issues. Dan Trigger Dear Z, On Sunday afternoon I managed to eventually drag myself into town after a heavy night out, and decided to buy myself some reading material while I waited for my bus home. What I did not expect however, as I scanned the magazine racks for a decent read, was to find the first issue of ZERO magazine amongst the others! Since I had lost all faith in such magazines, who constantly seem to cover only mainstream rock bands like Green Day, and since your magazine was novelty (not to mention the free CD which is indeed “music that kicks ass!”), I decided to make a purchase... and my God was it a good one! Not only have you been the only magazine editor so far who has seemed to realise that Nine Black Alps are not just “the next Nirvana” but an incredible band in their own right, but you manage to keep the magazine new and fresh by covering such topics as the London Tattoo Convention and Charlie and The Nine Black Alps Chocolate Factory. Also, I have a huge respect for anyone who provides a means of introducing bands as original as Porcupine Tree to the masses!

All in all, I would just like to congratulate you on a wonderful publication. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next issue already! You’ve just made a friend. Ashleigh Brennan, Ireland Cool. Thanks for the blow job... just keep telling everyone else about it and everything will be just fine!

Cross. Very cross. How can someone ‘review’ the Place Vendome album and not even mention the vocalist is Michael Kiske, the former Helloween singer from the classic ‘Keeper..’ albums, and this his ﬁrst foray back into rock for over 10 years. Their ‘reviews’ of Allen-Lande, Place Vendome and Alien are an embarrassment. If he doesn’t like this style of music, then give these albums to someone who does. Angry and pissed oﬀ? You bet!! I’ve been telling EVERYONE I know in the melodic rock fan-base to go out and buy your magazine, because it is ‘melodic rock’ friendly, and we need it to succeed. You DON’T alienate a large proportion of your potential readership with idiotic and juvenile ‘reviews’ such as that. It is demeaning to the scene, and more importantly, demeaning to your magazine. In my eyes anyway, and those people who actually LIKE those albums (the Jorne-Lande album got 98% review on melodicrock.com - okay, that’s only 1 person’s opinion, but if you look at reader’s reviews, this could

Firstly I guess, I agree to a point. The albums were reviewed flippantly, but that’s kind of what he’s like and as Ed, I have to take complete responsibility as I put them in - so for all intents and purposes, let’s say that I wrote them! Personally, I think all 3 albums are average at best. It just seems like a really low standard from which to judge! To get some kind of perspective on it, I like melodic rock and was brought up on it, but what’s going on today is far from acceptable. There are some seriously awesome musicians in your field but the songwriting standard is lacklustre and very droll. This is my honest personal opinion and unless all you ‘melodic’ guys can step away and start demanding a higher standard, it will kill itself eventually. Believe me I’ve been there. As a (previously) hardcore glam metal guy, I would buy everything, and everything was great without exception just because of what it was.With hindsight, that was just dumb and shortsighted. The same happens in your genre, nu metal, emo metal whatever the fuck metal/rock we’re talking about here. So ultimately what I’m trying to say is, in the massive scheme of things, albums like Kiss Alive, Led Zep 4, Journey Frontiers/Escape are 5 star albums. Albums like Kiss Hotter Than Hell, Led Zep Physical Graffitti and Journey/Raised on Radio are 4 star albums.. maybe even 3 star. How the hell can we rub the ones we’re talking about here up against that standard. It’s so wrong and all the time magazines say things which really aren’t true, (and we’re probably as guilty as the others), how is stuff going to get better? Now, I know it doesn’t strictly fit under melodic rock, but you guys will stick it there anyway - the new Kings X album is fucking killer and we say so. It’s not about getting at people, it’s about telling it as we see it. Finally, the artwork question. I will accept no comebacks on this! That album cover is shit. Period! It’s an absolute unprofessional disgrace to put something out like that in 2005 and expect it to be

taken seriously.The only way to attack something like that is to take the piss. Sorry, but I agree with him there. Album covers are important – it speaks volumes about how you want your material to be seen, how seriously you want it to be taken and so on. It’s half the battle, so all the time it’s allowed, it’s no wonder that melodic rock is not rising to where it should.The visual side is really important and that one in particular is like having a hand written business card when you’re trying to sell a product you believe in 100% So - where to from here? I can’t be the only one who thinks these things. Yeah, we went in like the Italian police at a footy match, but if the ‘genre’ you believe in so much is to rise – and I really, really do believe it can become a force to be reckoned with again, it has to change and stop peddling sub standard material to fill in the gaps. Bring on the backlash!

Hello Zero So what is it then, a music mag or a film mag? I’m not complaining – you do both well. I was just wondering. Particularly like the way your focusing on interesting films, not just the big stuff. I’d never heard of Nightwatch before, and hadn’t read about Green St. anywhere else. And Japanese films too? It’s a weird mixture, but I like it. Mysterious Gemma Looking cool. Keep it up. I’ve just subscribed, so you owe me more films. Who’s on the front next month? Matt Hayes Hey Sion If we are having midgets next week will there also be mullets and skin tight trousers? Should I wear PVC? Nadie

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AEROSMITH ‘ROCKIN’ THE JOINT’ RELEASED OCTOBER 24TH ON CD AND DUALDISC FEATURES 10 CLASSIC TRACKS INCLUDING ‘WALK THIS WAY’ PLUS DVD SIDE OF THE DUALDISC FEATURES 3 FURTHER LIVE PERFORMANCES C

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Ricky Warwick : Serious busin ess â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this football lark . . .

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Punkand Belligerent “Do you want to interview Ricky?” the editor asks. We establish that Pope is indeed Catholic and that bears do use the woods when caught short and things are set in motion. Words: Kahn Johnson E-mails are exchanged and a time is agreed. Only brainiac here goes and forgets. Checking my e-mail some 45 minutes after I was supposed to phone him, there’s a message from Ricky double checking that we had said around midday his time. So, downstairs I rush, kick the wife off the phone and we’re in business. Well, almost. “Hi mate, listen can you ring me back on the landline? The reception’s not too great on my cell.” CELL? CELL? Seem’s Belfast’s finest has taken to life across the Atlantic a little too well. Ricky laughs. “It’s the only phrase I use, honest. Say ‘mobile’ over here and no-one knows what the fuck you’re talking about!” As I’ve kept him waiting, I decide to forgive him (big of me I know)… So just what is Belfast’s finest doing in the land of sunshine and silicone? “I moved over here at the start of the year. I was spending so much time over here anyway – management’s over here, the record company’s over here, and my fiancé is from here as well. “I guess you could say the real reason was luuurrrvvee…” Ricky cracks up laughing. Bang goes the hard-man-of-punk image, eh? Mind you, that image gets blown out of the water when we get onto football, which is inevitable when you consider we’re talking the day after Northern Ireland’s win over England’s over-paid numpties. “Man, what a night,” he starts. “I ordered the game on pay-per-view, got the beers in and watched it in my living room. I thought about finding a pub, but it was only gong to be full of England fans… “I had tears running down my face at the end, I couldn’t believe it. I had my dad on the phone, my nephew… we just don’t get results like that!” Sadly, England do. It has to be said, I’m no fan of the national side, and won’t be while the manager and captain continue to be the idiot twins. Ricky, though, is passionately proud of his home country – and his home city in particular. “To see Belfast as a thriving cultural city is great. Especially if you grew up seeing the soldiers on the streets, and the bombs…” LA must be a bit of a change then? He laughs. “Oh you can’t beat the Irish! LA people

tend to be arrogant and rude. It’s a good place though, you know? There are some good people here and the weather is fantastic!” Which is more than can be said for Yorkshire… Anyhoo, enough of that. There’s an album to talk about. Love Many Trust Few is Ricky’s second solo outing, and received five stars by our very own editor last month (something only usually achieved with copious amounts of bribing. Alcohol and ciggies mainly, if you’re taking notes). Described as everything Tattoos And Alibis was and more, it sees Ricky getting mellower with the music and heavier with the lyrics. “I dug deep this time, you know, and there are eight co-writes on there. I went down to Nashville, which was fascinating – me from my punk background and them from their country background. “I don’t know if co-writing will continue, but it worked for this album.”

“Ah, I don’t know, they were really cool guys,” Ricky begins, recalling his tour a couple of years back with Def Leppard and the then unknown Norfolk bods. “There was a real buzz about them, and they got quite an extreme reaction – crowds seem to either love them or hate them. I remember seeing a similar thing when The Almighty played with Alice In Chains and Megadeth, and I remember saying then that they’d be huge.” Sadly, the same has applied to The Da rkness… “I like them,” counters Ricky. “They’re a good time, fun band you know. There’s some amazing guitar work on some of their tracks.” Speaking of The Almighty (he said, quickly changing the subject…), anything you’d like to tell me, Ricky? “I can announce we’ll be playing two

“I LICENSE MY ALBUMS NOW,WHICH MEANS I CAN RETAIN CONTROL AND KEEPTHE MASTERS. BASICALLY, IT’S MY MONEY NOTTHEIRS!” The co-writing is the only real change in the song-writing process Ricky has made, with Joe Elliott’s studio in Dublin being utilised again, with Joe at the helm. “It worked so well last time, I didn’t see the reason to change,” Ricky says. One thing that has changed is Ricky’s dealings with record companies. “I license my albums now, which means I can retain control and keep the masters. Basically, it’s my money not theirs!” His connections with the Lepp’s frontman go further than just artist-producer, with Ricky again opening for Sheffield’s finest in America. It’s almost like he’s their official support band! “Yeah, I’ve been confirmed as the opening act for the Def Leppard/Bryan Adams tour in America. It’s a good bill, you know, and we’re playing minor league baseball grounds – about 10 to 15,000 people a night.” Not too shabby. Sadly a request to pull the plug on Adams should he start warbling Everything I Do falls on deaf ears… “Ha ha, I don’t think so! But he’s got to play it, you know? It was, like, the biggest selling single in the world or something. It’s not my favourite song of his…” Still, better going on before Adams than The Darkness, eh?

shows in January – one at the Glasgow Garage on January fifth and then The Mean Fiddler in London on January sixth.” Good news, I’m sure you’ll agree, but there is a serious reason for the shows. “Floyd (bassist) has been battling leukaemia. He’s in remission, and doing really well. “We decided to do these shows to raise money for the various cancer charities that have helped Floyd through this. Every penny will go to charity.” Be sure to get your tickets when they go on sale, as this will be the last time you will get to see the classic line-up of Ricky, Floyd, Stumpy (drums) and Pete (guitar). “None of us have any desire to reform, you know? It’s been 10 years since we split, and this isn’t about writing new material. It’s about getting up there and having fun – it’s all about nostalgia.” Love Many Trust Few is out on Sanctuary in America, and Townsend Records in the UK

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w e i v r e t In Vampire with the

SO IT’S NOT A MUSICAL? SO IT’S NOT A GIG? IT’S NOT THEATRE EITHER? SOME PEOPLE CAN BE AWFULLY SLOW TO UNDERSTAND VERY SIMPLE PRINCIPLES BEHIND SOME THINGS. STEVE STEINMAN MAY BE A GENIUS:

The year is 2030. The place is New York City. Steinman plays Baron Von Rockula, owner of the Live and Let Die club. In search of a bride, he has to convince his chosen one to agree to immortality… asically, instead of taking a covers band out on the road, Steinman has put some thought into the idea of taking great tunes on the road and has come up with the concept of Vampires Rock. In one sense of the idea, it’s a covers band that goes out on the road and plays everything that you’d ever want to hear from a covers band – Alice Cooper, Kiss, Whitesnake, AC/DC, Cher… but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Steinman figured that these classics needed something extra to give people some kind of value for money, so he built a show around the idea. It’s so simple it’s genius. Using BC Rich guitars for a bit of visual impact and the same people that build the Iron Maiden stage sets, Vampires Rock is proving to be quite a spectacle, with a series of warm up shows currently being undertaken at reasonably sized venues and running into early December, next year Steinman is taking the show to the arena circuit – which is quite some feat! “We found that it grew quickly and was proving very popular from very early on. The fact that we’ve been able to move to the arenas is brilliant. The arena tour starts on 26 October and runs to the 30th were we finish up in Manchester. Next year, we’ll probably go out on a similar run again. “What people really love about the show is that they know the words to every single song that we do. The show is built around the songs, of course it has to be, but there is a story there and it’s held together by the narration of Stringfellow the bartender. It’s all good fun! Get down! Here’s the dates:

22nd Oct 2005 IPSWICH REGENT Wed 26 Oct HALLAM FM ARENA Fri 28 Oct NOTTINGHAM ARENA Sat 29 Oct SKY DOME ARENA, COVENTRY Sun 30 Oct MEN ARENA, MANCHESTER 1st November 2005 THE EMPIRE THEATRE, SUNDERLAND 5th November 2005 THE GRAND THEATRE, WOLVERHAMPTON 11th & 12th Nov 2005 THE PRINCESS THEATRE, HUNSTANTON 13th November 2005 FUTURIST THEATRE, SCARBOROUGH 18th November 2005 THE PALACE THEATRE, MANSFIELD 19th & 20th November 2005 THE GRAND THEATRE, LANCASTER 27th November 2005 PAVILION THEATRE, RHYL 3rd December 2005 TYNE THEATRE, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE

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ent for ed in the basem , his ck lo en be s ha ound Idol It’s not like Billy posing songs for Devil’s Playgr rpunk, m be co Cy s ’s ar 93 ye 19 twelve since iginal material ﬁrst album of or like it. s but it sure seem

E V O L

JJ Haggar takes Billy for a spin. Live

Pics: Chiaki Nozu

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Seems like the layoﬀ didn’t do Billy any harm at all. At Download this year, he was received with open arms by a sardine-like Snickers tent.

Billy Idol now lives in Los Angeles, high in the Hollywood Hills. His back catalogue boasts three gold, three platinum and one double platinum disc. His live shows have sold out arenas across the world. It was not an easy journey, something the lyrics to one of his early songs (English Dream) reflect: “They shut all the doors…. But I kicked ’em down...”. He fought against drink and drug addiction, refused to comply with the music bosses demand for conformity, and survived a near fatal motorcycle accident which left him with a serious compound fracture to his leg, a broken arm and confined to bed for six months. “I thought…Thank God I wasn’t wearing my favourite leather jacket,” he recalls and as the prospect of death stared him in the face. His dogged determination has helped him through everything. William Broad ceased to exist during what Billy refers to, as ‘the summer of hate’ (or 1976 to the rest of us) when he decided to set about realising his true dream. Joining forces with Tony James, another fellow student, they formed Chelsea – which led to Generation X (with Tony James on bass, Mark Laff on drums and Bob (Derwood) Andrews on guitar). They played their first live show in November 1976 and in July 1977 they were offered a contract with Chrysalis Records. Punk,

however, began to run its course and after their third album and amid increasing disillusionment, Billy decided it was time to make a break and headed off to America. New York City was his first destination. It was the start of some wild years as the 1980s brought huge successes for Billy with his co-writer and guitarist Steve Stevens. First came 1982’s self titled debut, followed the following year by the legendary Rebel Yell. Vital Idol (’85) and Whiplash Smile (’86), a huge tour all followed. Very soon, the trappings of life in the fast lane began to take their toll and toward the end of the ’80s, Billy decided he needed to make some changes. He uprooted from everything familiar, including his writing and recording partner Steve, and settled into the relatively slower pace of life in Los Angeles. A new band, a new album and a new life followed, complete with an offer of a prominent role in the Oliver Stone movie of The Doors and another world tour to promote the already successful Charmed Life album. These plans were interrupted when Billy suffered the near fatal motorcycle accident in February of 1990. The 90’s progressed, however, and we all got introduced to the wonders of the internet. 1993 brought us the Cyberpunk, and then Billy took a break. He felt he wanted to take some time to ‘live a little’, enjoy his life and in particular his children. A brief guest appearance in The

AND EVERYBODY SEEMED “TONOBODY HAVE AN OPINION ON WHO BILLY

BILLY TALKS THROUGH THE TRACKS ON THE ALBUM Super Overdrive: I was thinking of the Richard Branson rocket, especially that first flight when it started to wobble just as it was leaving the atmosphere. Rock and roll is like that – very fragile, and it can kill you, but you can ride it to places you’ve never been. Brian had the riff and I said, ‘Well, what are we going to call it?” And Steve looked down at his distortion pedal and said, ‘Super Overdrive’? We were laughing because it was so brilliantly dumb. I was in super overdrive with my music, but I’ve also been in super overdrive when I was just crazy. World Comin’ Down: That’s kinda written from a kid’s point of view. I remembered all the things that I went through as a kid, and how school is just the world in microcosm. There are times for everyone as you grow up to resent authority, but you have to break the rules to be true to yourself. Now, they really penalize you for that. I’ve never been able to learn anything that I wasn’t interested in, just couldn’t make myself care why the litmus paper was changing colours. Rat Race: That’s the adult me talking to myself. Our public lives turn into rat races, but then you discover your private life is a rat race too, and the problem is inside yourself. It’s so easy to get sucked into things and then wonder why you’re doing them, which can cause damage. Somehow you’re not going to be the same person again, the person you’re proud of. Sherri: I wrote it from a girl’s point of view, something I’d never done before. I’d pretty much done everything by the age of 16, so I know how easy it is to run away from things and then discover that there’s really no place to run. You’ve got to make the best of what you’ve got right here. It’s difficult to tell anyone what to do, especially when you’re Billy Idol, but then, we all grow up a little don’t we? Plastic Jesus: I was playing this thing on acoustic guitar one day and Steve Stevens said, “That sound’s like Plastic Jesus.” And I said, “What’s that?” We couldn’t find a recording of the original, so I’m sure the melody is different. We just downloaded Ernie Marrs’ lyrics, which had the feeling of a hillbilly song. I identified with the guy being an alcoholic carrying around his booze in the plastic Jesus. There might be a little Donovan in the chorus. The weirdest stuff comes out when you squeeze the sponge. Scream: Totally filthy. It’s three o’clock in the morning and the sex beast is on the prowl. It’s such a Billy Idol song, it’s almost funny. But it really roars. Yelling At The Xmas Tree: My dad never came home drunk like that, but I did a few times. And I did spend an entire Christmas once yelling at the tree like it was my manager or somebody. I don’t think my mother ever had sex with Santa Claus. But maybe. Who knows? Romeo’s Waiting: A few years ago I found myself in a strip bar with all the other losers, and I started to see it from their point of view. They’re the most romantic people in the world, because they’re thinking that the chick is dancing for them, that they’re going to save her. Romeo was always a bit of a loser. A total loser, when you think about it. Body Snatcher: My mother was an O’Sullivan and she always said that people with an O in front of their name heard the Banshee wail. And I have heard the Banshee wail. I’ve been in that place when I thought the body snatchers were coming. I’ve nearly killed myself on the motorcycle, and I’ve nearly killed myself with drugs, so I’m very lucky to be here. But this is more about something dark taking over your soul, the melancholia thing. Evil Eye: Continues the same theme as Body Snatcher. Heroin is a relationship drug. That’s how I got into it. I fell in love, and we fell into heroin. That was a long time ago, and it took a long time to shake it. Lady Do Or Die: A mix of Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen. You’re on the road, and you decide that playing music for living isn’t so bad. Music as a way of freeing yourself from prison. Cherie: The challenge was writing a song that says ‘I Love You’ and making it real. I did it by flashback to my childhood in the punk revolution. You have everything but you’re still looking for something more, so you lose what you had. And yet you’ve still got your memories, even after you fuck up so badly. So I’m saying, ‘Thanks for helping me. You made my life great, even if we’re not together anymore.’ Summer Running: I was riding my motorcycle and rejuvenating the life I nearly destroyed in Body Snatcher and Evil Eye. When you ride, it’s almost like meditating and you can ask yourself all the important questions: What do I really love? What do I really believe? What do I really want to do? You can answer those questions if you just find a place where you can stop and think. For me, that was the motorcycle. For somebody else, it might be a Winnebago. I learned that I had to get back to having a great band again, writing great songs again, celebrating those moments when you’re alive and healthy. You go on for all the people who can’t do that. You do it for them, I think.

IDOL WAS. BILLY IS THIS, BILLY IS THAT… HOLD ON, WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHO BILLY IDOL IS? I’M FUCKIN’ BILLY IDOL!

”

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BILLY LOVES GUITARISTS, BILLY DOES:

Who’s Quadrophenia live stage production, and a short appearance in Adam Sandler’s film The Wedding Singer seemed to start to lay down a fresh rock ‘n’ roll track. By a quirk of circumstances Billy hooked up once again with his old friend and co-writer, Steve Stevens and they found the bond they had once shared was still evident. It turned out that he and Steve didn’t hate each other as much they thought. Brian Tichy, a killer drummer boiling over with song ideas, also came aboard and the band was complete with motorcycle mate Stephen McGrath on bass and Derek Sherinian on keyboards. They toured medium-sized clubs, gradually warming from ‘80s nostalgia to a shit hot rock and roll band. After a Greatest Hits collection (EMI was expecting sales of 100,000 and it exceeded all expectations when the CD went platinum-plus), a VH1 Storytellers and Behind the Music, they needed some new material. With Keith Forsey (Billy’s producer since Generation X) again at the board, both star and support system were complete. The recording began in November of 2003 and ended in November 2004. Zero ﬁnally caught up with Billy and we all really wanted to know, where the fuck has he been? “Well,” comes back the voice, “Ice Ice Baby killed me! SBK which was a small label when that Vanilla Ice record came out, became huge and bought up lots of record companies including Chrysalis which I was on. Nobody and everybody seemed to have an opinion on who Billy Idol was. Billy is this, Billy is that… Hold on, who the fuck are you to tell me who Billy Idol is? I’m Fuckin’ Billy Idol! “So I was set adrift and it took forever to get free. In 1995, I ran into a brick wall. I had no band anymore, and the music business was getting quite soulless. It seemed like the big record companies

“James Burton is someone I love so much, Scotty Moore is someone I would kill to play with and Steve Jones is fantastic. He has the right attitude, he really digs in. “I have played with some great people – including Steve Jones – and also John Mgeoch, who was brilliant, tastefully brilliant. “But of course I also am lucky that every night I look over to my right and there is Steve Von Stevens, ready to blow like a space shuttle.” I tell Billy that Steve Stevens is back and doing what he does best, playing like a fucking demon, and Billy laughs. “Yeah, Steve damaged his wrist in an accident, so he could not play properly for a while and when he did get back on track he started to do all the ﬂash things he can do and everyone went fucking wild. I was telling him ‘yeah, that’s Steve Stevens, that’s what they want to see you do’, and when he does it and the crowd reacts he gets that ‘look’ in his eyes and it takes me to a place where I am smiling and rocking and the whole level goes up again. “I hope people enjoy that because often artists look at what is in or out of fashion. If guitar solos are out of fashion, and you have someone like Steve, are you going to say to him ‘hey, don’t play your guitar like that, kick back’? I don’t think so! “I think that European audiences are going to love this show when it comes over. The last time I was out on tour in the UK, I had the dreadlocks and a million synthesizers and I should have been taken out and shot, but this time round I’m doing what I do best, having a party, having fun. Also, when we arrive we will be in our seventh month of touring and we will be on ﬁre, that I can assure you!”

I just stopped putting out records when I knew they would turn out shitty, and I waited until I found a company [Sanctuary] that really wanted a Billy Idol record. I suppose it was a gamble staying away so long, but it’s paid off because I’m happy. I’m happy to be Billy Idol with a quality Billy Idol record. How’s that for a marketing tactic?” It has to be said, the peroxide punk seems happy and relaxed these days. “I’m back stronger than ever, because not only did I hook up with Steve Stevens again and write some fantastic songs on this record, but myself and Steve got together in the summer of 2003. We had a few great tracks like Summer Running and Romeos Waiting – I co-wrote some songs with Brian (Tichy) also during autumn 2003 and by spring of 2004 we had enough material to go and record what we all felt was a strong enough record. “We had around 20 songs of which thirteen made the latest record and a few will hopefully surface on the next record. It’s now an internal power within the band, I guess we are now a band as opposed to being just Billy and Steve, which means that we are all reading from the same page and hopefully able to take this on to greater things. “I now have a forward vision of what the next record will be like, if you have the energy and the hunger you can go on and this is now a 3 pronged attack writing team. It’s brought everything up to date, it’s not a retro thing where we are trying to recreate the 80s, we are moving forward with our sound. “The album is produced by Keith Forsey, who knows what I do so well, he just puts the icing on what is now an amazing cake, it’s a complete album where you get the best of the past

“

I DO READY STEADY GO AND KISS ME DEADLY IN THE LIVE SET, AND WHEN YOU DO THOSE SONGS YOU ARE RIGHT THERE, AND THEN YOU THINK ‘MAN, WE DID SOME GOOD STUFF’.

”

were mostly interested in eating each other and promoting music as product. They didn’t really believe in rock and roll anymore. How was someone like me going to fit into that? “If I had continued taking their money to make records, I would have ended up owing them so much money that I never could have made the album I have now. They wanted my soul in hock, and I refused to fall into their trap.

embracing the future. In fact this is like the first Billy Idol album in a way that it’s looking forward at where to go next.” Judging by the performance at this years Download festival, I can conﬁrm that this ain’t no retro trip. The new songs sound just as good next to the old songs, and everything as Billy says gets ‘Idolised’ “I loved that show,” he enthuses. “The audience

was right there with us, they held us up, the new energy that we’ve got comes out in a good way, the show goes up a notch as we go along… rock ‘n’ roll should be fun, I’m really lucky to do what I do” Next year will be 30 years since the birth of Punk Rock – does it seem that long to Billy? “Yeah, in some ways, then again no!” Cool. Clears that up then… “It seems like I have 10 year cycles, I was a young kid, the King Rocker for 10, then in New York for 10, then set adrift for 10, and now I hope I’m back on a great new 10 year cycle that has no break. “But that whole Generation X period is so important. I do Ready Steady Go and Kiss Me Deadly in the live set, and when you do those songs you are right there, and then you think ‘man, we did some good stuff’.You become very proud of yourself, actually, and it’s a great feeling to dig those out and get a great reaction to them. “We tried to ride the roller coaster, the energy of the first Generation X album carried me through, to where I was in the 80s – things like Wild Youth, a Generation X track that we did a ‘Dub’ version of, which laid the foundation for Vital Idol, the Solo remix album, so those early days really came into play in later years. “It went from gang lyrics, to about myself personally in the ‘me me me’ 80s, but everything for a reason I guess. I sit here in 2005 feeling good about my record, my band, my life, some people seem to be saying I am born again. “In fact they heard it wrong; I said I was into porn again – not born again…” It needs no other justiﬁcation. And if you’re Billy Fucking Idol, who howled Rebel Yell, growled White Wedding, rocked the Cradle of Love and manhandled Mony Mony, you don’t need any other reason to continue swinging on the monkey bars in the Devil’s Playground. With massive thanks to Sanctuary Records, Charles M. Young, Sharon@ThePublicityConnection and The Billy Idol Fan Club: www.billyidol.com

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Specially-priced CD includes limited edition bonus disc www.dopearmy.com

COME AND TAKE A RIDE! debut album out September 12th

“Fast Times at Ridgemont High-type songs--very anthemic and very cool” Iann Robinson, MTV VJ “In a nutshell, this one fucking great driving album” ZERO Magazine www.walthamtheband.com

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www.rykodisc.co.uk

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The

Flashing Blade Zorro even risks his life to save the Laura Ashley curtains if he can.

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Listen to this, too good to miss, 5-4-3-2-1 . . .

It’s all too easy to sit and listen to the‘stars’ of big movies talk about how great their co-stars are, how much of an honour it was to work with such a group of talented people and, if they’re really desperate, about how the director is a ‘genius.’ Mike Shaw goes underground to find an alternate ending…

Pick up pretty much any magazine and you’ll find an example of this. Or just watch Jonathan Ross on Friday night, and see how some lobotomised A-lister trots out line after line fed to them by the movie’s marketing team. The thing is, we know that the most interesting stuff on a film set happens behind the scenes. That’s where the real stories, the real people and the real interest are. When we first talk to Gary Powell, stunt co-ordinator on The Legend of Zorro, he’s in Romania filming another movie. The guy never rests. No two films a year and months of promotion for him – it’s just non-stop, hopping from set to set, putting his life in danger for the millionaires who take all the credit. “It’s my job to come up with the ideas for stunt action in the film for the director,” he explains. “Then it’s a case of choosing the right stunt team, choreographing the action and fights and training the actors, and that’s just the start of it!” One of the stunt team that Gary chose for this film was Nikki Berwick who, as a young and attractive woman has carved a niche for herself as stunt double for some of the biggest female names in cinema. In Zorro, she was the stand-in

for Elena, played by Catherine Zeta Jones. “She’s genuinely one of the nicest people I’ve worked with,” says Nikki. “Along with Angelina Jolie, who I doubled for in the Tomb Raider movies.” In every line of work there are unpleasant people though, surely Gary must have come across some real egocentric tossers? “We get on very well with all the actors, you actually find they are all very down to earth people,” he says. “I have been really lucky and worked with some really nice actors – people like Antonio Banderas, Tom Cruise, Pierce Brosnan and Gerard Depardieu – and what’s really nice is they actually appreciate what we do for them.” It’s the things that Gary and Nikki do for the actors that sets them apart from the rest of us. They put their lives at risk just to make our moviegoing experience that little bit more exciting. There must have been some seriously dangerous moments during the making of Zorro? “Most stunts are dangerous but you limit the risk as much as possible,” explains Gary. “The train scene in this film was particularly dangerous, as unlike a car, a train won’t stop instantly if something goes wrong.”

“NOT ONLY IS ANTONIO A FANTASTIC ACTOR, BUT HEWOULD ALSO BE A GREAT STUNT MAN! HE IS MORETHAN CAPABLE OF DOING ALL HIS OWN STUNTS AND FIGHTS, BUT FOR SAFETY REASONS SOMETIMES IT’S NOT ALLOWED.” www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 27

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“Don’t tell me . . . humus and taramasalata?”

was The catering on set o so bad that Antoni own started bringing his packed lunch.

“I TRY TO DO AS MUCH AS I CAN BECAUSE I LIKE TO BE VERY HONEST WITHTHE AUDIENCE AND I LIKETHEMTO RECOGNISE ME INTHOSE SCENES.” ANTONIO BANDERAS ON DOING HIS OWN STUNTS

That sounds a little worrying. “Yeah, but the barrel roll I did in the Bond boat in TheWorld Is Not Enough was probably the most dangerous thing I’ve ever had to do,” says Gary. “If that had gone wrong it could have been very nasty.” “The most dangerous stunt for me was in a Bond film as well,” says Nikki. “In Die Another Day I was doubling for Rosamund Pike in a scene where I was standing on a glass floor which broke away beneath me. The glass was so thick that if I landed on it I could have been cut quite severely.” Just knowing that your life is in danger would be enough to put most people off. Aren’t they ever freaked out by what they do? “I don’t really think about it,” laughs Gary. “I’m sure if we did we probably wouldn’t do half the things we do. At the end of the day, to us it’s just another job. And where else could you jump out of buildings, set fire to yourself and crash cars and not get in trouble?!” Both Gary and Nikki have worked on some enormous movies in the past, so how did The Legend of Zorro compare? Well, I’ve been lucky enough to work on some of the biggest films ever made,” says Gary. “Things like Braveheart, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan and the Bond movies, but that was when I was a stunt performer, this is the biggest film I have worked on as a stunt coordinator. It was a big challenge to make this a great film, because the first Zorro was so successful.” Nikki agrees: “This was one of the busiest films I’ve ever worked on. Pretty much every single day I was doing stunts or fight scenes.” The Mask of Zorro, released in 1998, was the launchpad for Catherine Zeta Jones’ career, and it took over $250m at the worldwide box office. Sadly, we’re all too aware that sequels can be hit or miss, so will the legions of Zorro fans be kept happy by this follow up? Gary is confident: “I recently spoke to the director Martin Campbell, and he is very happy with the outcome of the whole film, so I would say yes, they will be kept happy!” Lots of movie stars will happily chat away about how they wanted to do all their own stunt work, but weren’t allowed to because of legal constraints. Unsurprisingly, Antonio Banderas is no exception, saying: “I try to do as much as I can because I like to be very honest with the audience and I like them to recognise me in those scenes.” C’mon Gary, that can’t be true can it? Surely that’s just madeup to make him sound exciting and adventurous? You can tell us.... “It’s true! Not only is Antonio a fantastic actor, but he would also be a great stunt man! He is more than capable of doing all his own stunts and fights, but for safety reasons sometimes it’s not allowed. For one shot, which involved Zorro swinging into camera for a close up, we got Antonio to do it. Most actors

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Behind the mask….. Other than a superhero, what kind of man wears a mask? Well, this sort I suppose: LEONARDO DICAPRIO THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK After Romeo and Juliet and Titanic, the pretty boy gets locked up in a dungeon and forced to wear a metal face-case by his insanely jealous brother. Ha ha ha. TOM CRUISE VANILLA SKY Rich and powerful, and after having sex with Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz, the Cruiser’s face is mangled in a car wreck. Suppose it was about time he had a bit of bad luck.

Banderas: A better swordsman than many of the stuntmen.

“THE FIGHT SEQUENCES ARE MUCH MORE INVOLVED THAN THE FIRST MOVIE INTERMS OF SWORDPLAY AND THERE IS A HUGE SETPIECE CLIMAX ON ATRAINTOWARDTHE END OF THE FILM.THERE IS SO MUCH ACTIONTHAT ITTOOK AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF PLANNING.”

GUNNAR HANSEN THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE Mental hillbilly, fan of sledgehammers and cutlery, seeks perky teenagers to hack to pieces. Non-smoker preferred. Must like pets. Ask for Leatherface. ARI LEHMAN FRIDAY THE 13TH Simply by wearing a hockey mask (and killing people) young Jason Voorhees managed to make himself frightening. I bet an equally-sporty cycling helmet wouldn’t have had the same eﬀect. JIM CARREY THE MASK Rubber-faced dick puts on an ancient mask, and magically transforms into…. a rubber-faced dick, only green.

would probably only want to do it once, but Antonio was enjoying himself so much that even though we’d got the shot he wanted to carry on. His enthusiasm to do all this stuff was fantastic. When Antonio puts that mask on, he really does become Zorro!” It’s not just Gary Powell who’s singing the actor’s praises either, it seems everybody loves the swarthy Spaniard. Even the director can’t help himself: “The truth is that Antonio is a better swordsman than many of the stunt men. He is someone who just gives it his all and it shows on screen,” says helmer Martin Campbell. “The fight sequences are much more involved than the first movie in terms of swordplay and there is a huge set-piece climax on a train toward the end of the film. There is so much action that it took an extraordinary amount of planning.” “This movie was made with a lot of sweat and, sometimes, even blood,” says Banderas. “But I think the people will appreciate that. In a way it takes you back to an era when Hollywood regularly portrayed these kinds of characters and made this kind of movie.” Catherine Zeta-Jones agrees, although is quick to point out that the director has not based the movie entirely on violence: “He really allows the humour to come through amidst all the action, and it makes the movie so much fun. Also, there is no heavy violence in the movie. It relies on the beautiful artistry of swordplay. The fights are amazing, wonderfully paced and stylised.” Assistant sword master Mark Ivie was equally impressed by what he saw: “The sword fights in this movie go a step beyond the last one. They are much more dynamic and complicated since they take place in more dramatic and difficult locations. There’s a scene

over an aqueduct, on a moving train, and even a sixperson fight in a winery.” The Legend of Zorro is set several years after the conclusion of the first film. Alejandro (Banderas) and Elena (Zeta Jones) are married with a 10-year-old son, Joaquin. Set in the Californian territory in 1850, Alejandro continues to do the work of Zorro to protect the poor and oppressed residents from the greed of the overlords, but he is torn between his duty and his desire for a more normal life. Joaquin misses his father who is rarely at home, and when he is, the youngster wishes that his old man was more like his hero, the mysterious Zorro. When Elena forces him to choose between his family and his fearless alter-ego, Alejandro is caught between his obligation to help the downtrodden and his duties as a husband and father. Director Campbell says: “Zorro protects the common man – not many heroes before him did that. He really is a man of the people. He doesn’t have any special powers or gadgets, only a sword, a whip and his wits. “Mind you, there are some pretty extraordinary things Zorro does with those props, but ultimately he is a flesh and blood man, not a digital character like many of today’s super heroes.” He’s got a point. Created in 1919 by Johnston McCulley for his novel, The Curse Of Capistrano, Zorro comes from a time before comic book heroes borne of a post-war paranoia, and before a screenwriter knew that a computer could make anything they wrote appear real on the screen. Back then it was down to clever camera work and fearless stuntmen and women. Some things will never change…

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Some bands meet at school. Some bands are formed amongst friends. Others answer an advert in a magazine. But there are probably few who have come together the way Circa Survive did. We talk to singer Anthony Green and bassist Nick Beard to ﬁnd out what it is about this band that meant they were both prepared to make huge sacriﬁces to make it work.

The band were sure they’d left the keys under the mat . . .

Words: Louise Steggals Pics: Brooks Reynolds

Anthony Green made the life changing decision to stay and pursue this band at the airport, enroute to returning to his already successful band and life back in California. Nick Beard was all ready to quit music completely and head back to school in California when he heard about a band needing a bassist. With the other members leaving their own established bands to form Circa Survive, the pair both left California, Green returning to his home town and the people he loved, Beard leaving everything he knew behind, including all his friends and family, to pursue something he knew he needed to do. “It was weird ‘cause I’d just split up from my old band,” explains Nick. “We were just on the verge of trying to get serious, touring full time. When we broke up, I didn’t want to do anything like that anymore. I was gonna go back to school, get a normal job. I really didn’t have an interest in doing things music wise anymore. Then I was talking to our guitarist and he told me about the band. He sent me the demo songs, like Handshakes. It changed everything. When I heard it I was like “wow – ok”. Even though it was all the way across the country I thought “I’ve just got to do this”. For Anthony the decision to come home was much easier to make given that he was already deeply unhappy in California. “I feel that if I had caught that connection to California, I would have been out there for like a week tops and just flown home. I think I’d have been home anyway.” Both had a lot of explaining to do to the people they were leaving behind. For Nick, he had to explain to his parents that he wouldn’t be going back to school after all. “I thought my parents were going to be really upset but they were really supportive. Especially after I’d told my mom that I was going back to school and she was happy about that so I was kind of dreading telling her!” he laughs. Anthony however had to explain to a band that was on the verge of signing a major record deal that he wouldn’t be coming back. “They were really upset, extremely upset,” he recalls. “All of them still are pretty unable to accept why I did it and I

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“ALL OF THEM STILL ARE PRETTY UNABLE TO ACCEPT WHY I DID IT AND I THINK THEY ALL TOOK IT REALLY PERSONAL. NONE OF THEM UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WASANTHONY GOING GREEN ON THE BREAK THROUGH.”UP OF HIS FORMER BAND.

think they all took it really personal. None of them understood what I was going through. “It’s a shame,” he sighs “because I tried to be clear with what I wanted, I tried to be clear that I was totally confused and all that shit and I don’t think they ever really understood what was going on.” What was going on was a typical scenario in the Californian music scene. Small band gets cult following, big labels start sniffing around. “The band (Saosin) got really popular, really quickly and it was just in a small segregated scene, not that big deal at all. But it was enough to get all these offers.” It sent Green into a head spin as he came to terms with the idea of making a living from being in a band. “The whole time I was even in it, I’d never anticipated being able to do anything like that full time. I never in my life thought I could be a full time musician ever. Just figuring out I could do this and make a living from this, I didn’t know what I wanted. Originally it was like “yeah I want to do it” and I moved out there because we were gonna sign with this indie label. All of a sudden we were gonna meet with all these major labels and that was all I wanted, as much money as I could get, the biggest label…I didn’t care. I started to get this mentality but then I realised it was the antithesis of everything I wanted to

do in the first place and it just changed so quickly. I went home to Philadelphia and I met with my buddies, especially my one really close friend who’s in Circa Survive with me (Colin Frangicetto). I was just like “hey all this shit’s going on” and he was like “yeah I’ve seen it before where people just jump into shit”. I really didn’t want to sign to a major label. I came over and realised I didn’t want to do anything that they wanted to do anymore”. Perhaps it not all surprising, given that California has a feeling of insincerity and bullshit to a large part of its music scene and industry, where it’s not necessarily how musically gifted you are but how hot you dress. “I wouldn’t say it was bullshit,” muses Green “but when it becomes more about having dyed black hair and black shirt and having the fucking coolest clothes, you know what I mean and looking really good…that seemed what it was all about where I was, with all the bands. It was really all about image. Black gloves, nail paint, studded belts!” Although they are now almost starting from scratch, both seem more prepared for treading their way through the industry maze and dealing with all the highs and lows it may throw at them. “All of our old bands have gone through what this band has been through so far,” says Nick. “It’s definitely helped us to get to where we are as quickly as we did.” More importantly they have found the support of the right label as Anthony explains. “We’re working with EqualVision and they’ve been really good to us. We all talk openly about what we want and we all have the same idea of what we want and that makes it really easy.” Equally important is the fact that playing music is now much more enjoyable, particularly for Green. “The thing that sucked about what happened in California is that we went from playing really small shows on our first tour, to playing huge ass shows. The way it works is that when you start doing that, it’s really difficult to go back and play smaller shows which are way more fun in my opinion. This has given me the opportunity to play a lot smaller shows with a lot more of an intimate

audience. It was really cool to have to do that again. It’s cool to come back to California or to Philadelphia and play shows and have them sold out and have our friends and their friends and the band going totally crazy.” All of the experience has led to an emotionally fuelled and powerful album in the shape of debut, Juturna which both love, and love playing live. “With this band, more than any other band, every time I play the song live there are different things about the lyrics or the melodies that make me relive and really get into it,” explains Anthony. “I can really identify with the record still, even though it’s been out for a while in our heads. It’s definitely really cool to play the songs live.” “All the relationships in my family and my close inner family – from my parents to my brothers through to all of my friends, the guys in the band and a couple of other people – all those relationships are basically what the record is about.” Juturna is just the start though. “I hope in a year we’d have the process of writing and recording a new record,” muses Nick. “I really like playing shows and touring!” Anthony is in agreement. “I’d really like to make another record that, in my opinion is better than this record. I love this record and I think it’s amazing but by this time next year I want to be satisfied that we’ve made a record together that establishes the proper growth of our band.” It all sounds extremely promising for when the band makes their first trip out of the US and head to the UK. “I’m kind of looking forward to everything,” enthuses Anthony. “I don’t know what differences there are between the US and the UK when it comes to playing shows. I’m just excited to see what the deal is. Some people tell me that the kids get way more into it over there and are way more energetic. I’m just really looking forward to playing.” “I’ve never been out of the United States except Canada so I’m kind of excited,” Nick continues. “I think we’ll do some tourist things. We’re not planning anything specific but we have, I think 2 days off so I’m assuming we’ll probably do some stuff. I was looking at the cities we’re playing and I thought wow, this is gonna be super-easy! Normally when we do a US tour we have to drive for ages.” And they promise that we should expect a great show from the boys as Anthony explains. “We started rehearsing yesterday and we’ve got all this pent up energy so we’re really ready to come over there and like, freak out!” Get it on!

“I’VE NEVER BEEN OUT OF THE UNITED STATES EXCEPT CANADA SO I’M KIND OF EXCITED.NICKI THINK WE’LL DO SOME TOURIST THINGS. BEARD www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 31

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ZEROFLICK

X-MAN

Words: Mike Shaw

JASON BIGGS IS TIRED. SO AM I. “DO YOU WANT TO FORGET THE INTERVIEW AND GO AND SNUGGLE FOR A BIT?” HE ASKS. AS APPEALING AS THAT SOUNDS, I TURN HIM DOWN. I’VE JUST WATCHED HIS LATEST MOVIE GUY X, AND NOW I NEED TO ASK HIM QUESTIONS ABOUT IT. “SURE, I UNDERSTAND,” he says, in mock hurt, and leads me through to the suite where he has faced a steady stream of journalists for the past 48 hours. As worn out as he is, Jason is nonetheless entirely engaging and at ease. He is one of the few Pie veterans with a career to speak of, and in person retains the goofy charm that originally endeared him to audiences. His new film represents a substantial departure for the actor, with its dark tone and quasi-political undercurrent, and he spends the majority of the picture playing it straight. It feels like the move is a deliberate reaction against the light films he has starred in to date. “It was deliberate in so far as I’ve been looking for something a bit darker and edgier to do, just because it would be a welcome change for me, and it was, in terms of performance,” he explains as he settles into an enormous sofa and surrounds himself with cushions. “Also, I’m a fan of the darker, edgier stuff but I’ve done so much broad comedy of late – which I absolutely love doing by the way – but I just wanted a bit of a departure. I just thought it’d be fun for me to try and mix things up.” It’s clear that Biggs has been asked the question a hundred times, and he has the answer rehearsed to perfection – but with his business head removed, Jason Biggs is still a 27-year-old ‘dude’ – a young guy at heart having fun while he can. He throws out terms like ‘super-psyched’ when referring to legitimate theatre and pretty much most things are ‘fuckin’ awesome’. But is he growing up professionally and leaving comedy behind? “Any ambitious actor will tell you that they want to do everything, and I’m no exception. I don’t think ‘Oh I need to change my career trajectory’ I just want to mix things up. I’m not going to leave the broad comedy stuff behind though.” Set on an American army base in Greenland, Guy X tells the story of a group of military misfits who end up in this barren outpost together. As such, it has a creeping, sinister atmosphere and paranoia about it. “It does – it’s got this edge to it,” agrees

“ANY AMBITIOUS ACTOR WILL TELL YOU THAT THEY WANT TO DO EVERYTHING, AND I’M NO EXCEPTION. I DON’T THINK ‘OH I NEED TO CHANGE MY CAREER TRAJECTORY’ I JUST WANT TO MIX THINGS UP. I’M NOT GOING TO LEAVE THE BROAD COMEDY STUFF BEHIND THOUGH.”

ESSENTIAL BIGGS

Prozac Nation 2004 with Christina Ricci

Jersey Girl 2004 with Ben Aﬄeck

American Pie 1/2 & Wedding 1999-2003

Anything Else 2003

Biggs. “It’s very surreal and it raises a lot of interesting questions, but the thing I love about it, is that it doesn’t attempt to answer those questions – and I like being part of a film that does that. I like its edginess. It’s really cool.” The film tackles and criticises the propagandist nature of the US military – the smokescreen that’s put up to say ‘move along, there’s no problem here’. Given the chance to talk politics, Biggs becomes animated: “I’ve always been fairly diplomatic, I have my convictions and I believe in them. I am a Democrat, and I have always voted Democrat. I consider myself very left-wing, open-

minded, but if it was the other way round I might have had an issue doing this movie.” On a roll, he continues: “But having said that, I didn’t do this movie because I’m left wing, and I have issues with the propaganda and corruption and really wanted to send a message – I just did it because it’s a great story. Then again, I probably wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t liberal and open-minded. The movie’s not anti-war – if anything, it’s pro-soldier.” Perhaps the experiences onset stirred-up some deep, hidden desires to join up? “Nah. I was just happy that I got to wear army fatigues on a daily basis,” he laughs.

Saving Silverman 2001

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JASON BIGGS’ FAVOURITES FAVOURITE FILM A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, THE MARX BROTHERS FAVOURITE BAND U2 FAVOURITE TV SHOW THE SIMPSONS FAVOURITE WRESTLER RANDY ‘MACHO MAN’ SAVAGE FAVOURITE LADY JULIANNE MOORE FAVOURITE STANDUP DANE COOK FAVOURITE BOOK SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE, KURT VONNEGUT

Jason Biggs and co-star Natascha McElhone on the set of Guy X

You just lose your identity, you become a number.” The likes of Jim Carrey and RobinWilliams have learnt that major plaudits that go hand in hand with more serious roles. Would more parts like this appeal? “At the moment, what’s coming out are not straight roles – but I’d love to do some more of it. It was fun for me, but it was tough. There were times filming when I instinctively wanted to go… bigger.” Despite sounding new to this serious-acting lark, Biggs has done this sort of thing before. As well as roles in the stage version of The Graduate, and off-Broadway

“AT THE MOMENT, WHAT’S COMING OUT ARE NOT STRAIGHT ROLES  BUT I’D LOVE TO DO SOME MORE OF IT. IT WAS FUN FOR ME, BUT IT WAS TOUGH. THERE WERE TIMES FILMING WHEN I INSTINCTIVELY WANTED TO GO… BIGGER.” “I was exclusively in fatigues, there was no change. Every day I was like ‘I wonder what I’m wearing today? I betcha it’s green.’ I wore the same thing every day, everyone else wore the same every day, and you just kinda become part of the system.” Becoming part of the system without realising is one of the main themes of the film – odd that the cast would experience something similar. “Yeah – it’s weird how we all began to feel like that.

productions, his appearance in Kevin Smith’s Jersey Girl opposite Ben Affleck required little clowning, nor did his part in Prozac Nation with Christina Ricci – who he also starred with in Woody Allen’s Anything Else. “Yeah, I’m a lucky bastard. Working with her doesn’t suck.” It must be disappointing that Prozac Nation didn’t get the large release it deserved. “Well apparently a lot of that was due to fallout from 9/11,” explains Biggs. “It’s a bummer, the film kinda ended up in purgatory. But people who really wanted to see it are going to soon because it’s getting a release, which is cool. I wish that more people saw Christina’s performance. That movie not coming out has been more of a topic of discussion with people than anything else.” However, despite enjoying the challenge of a dramatic role and his insistence that he wants to continue with them, there isn’t anything similar for Biggs on the horizon. “My next film is called Antarctica,” he says. “Another movie shot in the cold. It’s a Disney family, action-adventure, which is a new world for me. I play the comic relief guy – so I’m still doing my comedy thing. Then I’ve got this independent comedy called Pleasure of your Company that I’m really looking forward to.” The pleasure of my company? Jason, the pleasure was all mine. www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 33

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Got Suicide? Words: John McMeiken

Welcome, to life inside the world of Candyappleblack creator Regent St. Claire. We reviewed the comic in the last issue and it got a bit of a buzz on in the oﬃce, so it was one of those things that just had to be followed up before mass hysteria took over: We all know Regent here as the main man in the hippest underground act never to be unleashed onto the public. For many years he was the one we all wanted to see break through – first with his band Castle Blak, then Blak, which then morphed into Monster Island, they owned some of the best tunes and well… there are plenty of casualties on the road to rock n roll heaven. They just happened to be one of them. Then Regent disappeared for what seemed like a very long time, so what happened bro? Looks like you’ve been writing some stuﬀ! Yeah, I’ve been seriously writing stories since I was like 12, wrote my first screenplay in 1990, and published my first book of poetry in 2000. I’ve also been writing film and music reviews and celebrity interviews since about 1990. Was there a point where you thought you’d throw your all into Candyappleblack? I think that point came around xmas 2000. That’s when I decided to adapt the Candy film screenplay I had co-written with Anthony C. Ferrante, into a comic book series. In a nutshell, for the heathens ou there, what’s the back story behind Candyappleblack? In my travels, I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff in life. A lot of real suffering. A lot of broken systems and broken people. I’ve stumbled over quite a few dead bodies, and I’ve had more exposure than anyone should ever have to suicide. The one thread that ran through it all, was that nobody seemed to be able to say: “Hey, these people are hurting. It’s real, and its probably going to get worse before it gets better, IF it EVER gets better.” I felt that a starting point was to acknowledge that this suffering was there, and stop the old whitewash and “give ‘em a cookie cuz everything will be all right.” So I wrote a story about a bloodless bureaucracy in Heaven and the last angel who cared about humans. I see you changed artists (both inks & pencils) half way though the story (the 2second part of the story looks & feels darker) was this planned or was your hand forced also have they done any other comic books? www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 39

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Marc Deering, and John Toledo) were absolutely amazing. Others… were nightmares. Nuff said. Have you written yourself into the story - I know so many authors that do in some form. If so, are there little bits of you or has one character got the best of you! I know they say that most writers base certain characters in their stories on themselves, and I suppose there’s a bit of me in Cayce, but really, he’s based more on my father, and things about him that I sadly only learned about him after he died. When you were a kid, which comics did you read, and do you still read comic books? Actually, and I’m sure this’ll make me look like a real lame-o, but I rarely read comics as a kid, except for the Kiss comic book. I’ve been a movie guy from a very early age, and I really only got into comics in the early 90’s. The titles I collect are few, and are basically limited to: The Crow, Milk & Cheese, Black Kiss, Preacher, and Johnny The My mentor through publishing the Candy books was a guy named Mark Panic who was working at Tokyo Pop at that time ( I think he’s now at DC). He told me straight-up that (1) comic book artists are the single most irresponsible, immature, and self-centred group of people in the world (even worse than musicians), and (2) that because of that, I would end up having to fire and hire several of my artists over the span of making the 7 books. He also told me that EVERY comic book publisher went through that kind of problem. I didn’t believe him at first, but he proved to be 110% right. Several of my artists (like Marc Sasso, Eric Theriault,

Homicidal Maniac. I loved the idea of the pages of Cayce’s journal appearing on the inside cover of each issue - where did that idea come from? That’s actually one of my own very favourite parts of the books. I can’t recall if it was Anthony’s or my idea initially, but I was the one who created them all. The concept was to be that the angel had written in lots of little journals over the 1,000 years that he has been here, and that quite a bit of his philosophies and ideas from them have actually influenced humanity, and even been incorporated into our world. Whether it’s a page from one of his many diaries, or a

“Its tough to get millions of dollars to make a movie about suicide, but we currently have a handful of really dedicated people who are attempting to do just that.”

page talking about the angel’s contact with Jim Morrison that was found by a surfer in Venice, or a secret letter from Winston Churchill to his wife, or a suicide note found near a dead Japanese man that wasn’t written in his handwriting, my hope was to bring this story out of the realm of fantasy and into the real world. You may have noticed, that for the most part, the angels don’t do a lot of “supernatural” things. That was intentional. Yes, they have some non-human “abilities,” but this is a story firmly grounded in the world that we all walk in every day. Which comic book artists do you admire? I love Jonen Vasquez, and James O’Barr, and of course my evil twin, Marc Sasso. My co-publisher Heidi Schmid once asked me, if we had all the money in the world, who would I hire to paint the Candy covers, and I immediately said Marc. Its rare to be able to work with someone like Sasso, a guy who is so incredibly talented, and such a real person, and who you click with on every level, artistic and otherwise. By then way, he just did Halford’ s most recent CD cover, and its supersweet! Will Candyappleblack be coming out in the ever-popular `Graphic Novel` format? That depends. I had always planned on doing that, but it takes money, and I’m trying to focus my resources on my new graphic novel, `Sanction` right now instead, because it’s a much more “timely” book for what is going on in the world now. What’s that all about then? It’s a post-apocalyptica fable. Think of films like “Beneath The Planet Of The Apes,” “Hardware,” “A Boy And His Dog,” “Mad Max,” but a much, much worse scenario. Sort of what Bowie describes in the opening of “Diamond Dogs.” Radiation sickness, rape gangs, cannibalism, rats the size of cats and that kind of thing. But in the middle of it all, is a Monkey’s Paw -esque story mechanism. At some point it became clear to me that trying to have a rational conversation or debate with the religious right/conservatives of my country, was futile because they are fanatics, as fanatical and closed-minded as anyone we are currently fighting overseas. So I wrote an imaginary future where the greed and avarice of our leaders and their religious nutball supporters, brings the world to the edge of extinction, and one man wakes up in the middle of it all, with no knowledge of who he is, or what he has done. He is also in tremendous pain, since he now is made of lots of little pieces of other people, all crudely sewn together. Sort of a new twist on the Frankenstein riff. Three “entities” offer to give him his

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memory back in exchange for his killing a handful of 8 specific people. For each of the 8 he takes out, a new welt/scar will be raised on his skin, until after the 8th, the scars will reveal an image on his flesh that will give him his memory back. It’s horrific, lyrical, grotesque, and graphic, but in a way, I’m sure it will make a lot of people smile for very obvious reasons, especially those of us who are bitterly disappointed that 51% of our people actually voted Bush in for a second term. I don’t want to give too much more away about the story, because its also a mystery of sorts, but I’m currently looking to co-publish it with a bigger company who can really market it properly, to a mainstream as well as comic book audience. There’s got to be a few red meat publishers out there who despise the US administration as much as I do, and would love to see them get their due if only in a book. Marc Sasso is nearly done with the wraparound cover painting, and the script is also nearly completed. I’d love to use Candy penciler John Toledo, and Candy inker Marc Deering. I’ve spoken to them about it already, and they’d both love to do it. I am also actually planning on bringing my “No Sleep!” co-host Jason Vance onboard to help me finish the script. He’s got a twisted and creative literary mind and has a lot to offer. What was No Sleep!? “No Sleep!” was a TV show about cool and unusual movies that I co-wrote/co-hosted here in LA with my best friend Jason Vance, for about 3 years, and was tirelessly produced by Camille Leon. We aired 19 episodes, and tried a few times to get it picked up by a commercial network, but we loved having total control over every aspect of the show so much that it would’ve been tough for us to give away any of that creative control to anyone else. Still, we’d love to do more episodes, but not without the staff and the money of a commercial network anymore. There’s some talk out there about Candy the movie – that can’t be a walk in the park given the subject matter! Its tough to get millions of dollars to make a movie about suicide, but we currently have a handful of really dedicated people who are attempting to do just that. I think that there have now been so many movies about really grim subjects that have made money, that we now stand a pretty good chance of getting funded. I’ve been sitting across the table at meetings with huge film companies and they’re like: “But they don’t all die, right? The

angel saves them, right?” And I’m like: “Yep, they all die. Every fucking last one of ‘em. We don’t punk out. This ain’t ‘Highway To Heaven.’” Given that money was no object then, who would be the perfect person to cast as Cayce? Well, I have to qualify this by saying that there have been a handful of musicians who have turned out to be very fine actors. David Bowie, Will Smith (esp. in “6 Degrees Of Separation”), Mick Jagger (esp. in “The Man From Elysian Fields”) and Sting, to name just a few. So when I say that given my druthers I’d choose Trent Reznor to play Cayce above all others. I say that because I think he has the depth, the charisma, and the broken-ness to nail it. I mean, hey, you’ve read the books. You KNOW that Cayce IS Trent. And of course getting Manson to play Marlowe (the Devil’s son) opposite Trent… well… that would just be the ultimate casting grail. But if we have to use a non-musician, I like Billy Crudup, Clive Owen, and Goran Visnjic. What do you think of other recent comic book movies, such as Constantine, and are you looking forward to V for Vendetta as much as us, here at Zero? I liked “Constantine” a lot. I feel like its kind of Candy’s distant cousin. And I LOVED that one scene where the Devil shows up to personally claim his soul when Constantine slits his wrists. That actor’s Lucifer is right up there with Viggo’s in “The Prophecy” and Terrence Stamp’s in “The Company Of Wolves.” And of course I’m chomping at the bit to see “V For Vendetta.” I have the mask in my in-box at home. My 3 year-old son reminds me every day that it’s “a bad guy,” but then he always tries to put it on. Do you think you may visit the character of Cayce in your future work? Candy is actually one-half of a story. The second half is called “Dominion,” and I wrote it right after we finished the Candy screenplay. In Dominion, Cayce sets out with Marlowe to find his father, and the revelation of the story is bigger and heavier than anything you’ve ever read in any comic book. Simply out, it tells the story of how and why God died. Though the screenplay is about half done, the story is totally done. So Cayce will be back in Dominion, but never again after that. Who is the coolest person on this planet, and why? Hmmm, I think it’d be a toss-up between Trent Reznor and Joe Frank. Joe is a Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist who does radio broadcasts of his writings which are almost impossible to describe. Let’s just say that I can spend hours listening to those broadcasts, and they always open my mind and make me think about things in ways I never could before. And as for Trent? I understand his art. Plain and simple. I think he and it have a great honesty that transcends everything else out there. Plus, the NIN song Hurt has always been Cayce’s theme song. Finally, what is the single most helpful piece of advice anyone has ever given you? “Embrace that which defines you.” I can’t recall where I read that, but it was a long time ago, and it’s been my motto for my whole life. Sounds like good advice to me kids! So If you like your comic books dark and gothic, and wished you had got into the likes of The Crow, Spawn, Constantine and Sin City before they became block-busting movies, Then check out: www.candyappleblack.com and become part of `the next big thing` before anyone else. Trust Me! To check out of the rest of this interview, which we did about Regent and his music, whip over to www.zeromag.co.uk and follow the links.

“I know they say that most writers base certain characters in their stories on themselves, and I suppose there’s a bit of me in Cayce, but really, he’s based more on my father, and things about him that I sadly only learned about him after he died.” www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 41

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THE

BULLET TRAIN

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“People always just want to dismiss us as this fucking teen angst band!’ Fumes charismatic InMe vocalist Dave Mcpherson, grinning from ear to ear whilst simultaneously delivering the mother of all rants. ‘It gets to the stage when you kick back and think ‘What have we got to do for people to just focus on our music and disregard all of the other stuff.” Ladies and gents, welcome to the doubleedged sword that is being a full-time member of InMe. The bands 2002 debut album Overgrown Eden was a monumental breakthrough that saw them catapulted from the safety of their day-to-day Essex lives and into the limelight as one of Britain’s hottest rising bands. Add to this sell-out tours aplenty on a worldwide scale and giant heaving album sales as well as all of this happening while they were still merely teenagers and you’ve got to be impressed right? Well everything is not quite as it seems. Going hand in hand with all of this are also the obvious clichéd accusations of not paying your dues and making easily digestible ‘kiddy rock’ of which there is clearly no merit for. You know it’s just bitter speak from people that want to jump on the ‘cool’ bandwagon of bashing the successful and trying to shoot down a rising star but it’s an

issue that the InMe boys are more than willing to address with us all. Right fucking now. “We were kids when we wrote the songs for our first album so naturally kids would like our band and come to the shows’ Dave continues. ‘That started the ball rolling in that people viewed us this band of kids for kids. I don’t discriminate against my nan because of her age or my little cousin because of his, both are entitled to their opinion on whatever subject and both are entitled to like whatever they want and it doesn’t make it shit because of their age. All these people that are like ‘Fucking kids’ and ‘Fucking teenage bands’ and it makes you think were they not kids once? Is there some sort of prime age that you reach when you’re allowed to dictate what’s cool and what’s not? It’s bullshit to be honest! Can you only be in a band between twenty and thirty because obviously if you’re over thirty you’re too old and if you’re under twenty you’re just teen angst shit. Bullshit.’ “We’ve just been pigeonholed as this little teen angst band and I’m virtually in my midtwenties now.’ He continues, all the while smiling into his pint glass. ‘We’re going to get into our thirties before we lose that bloody

2005 has seen Essex hard rock combo Inme mature into one of the United Kingdom’s most prize assets. Zero asks just how this transformation came about and how it feels to make the doubters eat their words. Words: Terry Bezer Pics: Chiaki Nozu

tag! Every story has to have a certain focus and on Overgrown Eden it just so happened to be our age. We’ve never fitted into any sort of scene and we certainly don’t fit into any of these scenes that seem to be popular right now but that’s the way we like it. As long as there are people out there that want to listen to us and come and see us play then we’re happy. If people want to constantly dismiss us as this teeny-bop band then there’s nothing we can do for those people but as long as there are people out there willing enough to judge us on the songs on this new album then we’re happy. If they don’t like it fine, if they do then that’s www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 43

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“THE FIRST ALBUM DONE PRETTY WELL BUTWE’RE NOT JUST GOINGTO FIND A SUCCESSFUL FORMULA AND DO IT OVER AND OVER BECAUSEWE’RE NOT JUST ANOTHER SHITTY POP ACT LIKE BRITNEY SPEARS OR COLDPLAY.” SIMONTAYLOR

great. Right now all we want is for people to focus away from the perception that they’ve got of us and our age and just concentrate on the album we’ve made.’ Opening your ears to White Butterfly, the band’s second album, it’s clear to see that InMe haven’t so much taken a step towards becoming a great band as a giant sized leap. Gone are the lumbering almost nu-metal riffs and occasional whiny tones of Overgrown Eden and in their place stand a confident rock beast that Britain should be proud of instead of ridiculing. InMe have created an album that is not only a superb slab of heaving melodic rock but have taken the bold decision to not just take the money and run by trying to ape previous success’s and hope for a shed-load more album sales. They have instead gone back to the drawing board and re-written the blueprint for what to expect from them and come out a far stronger and better

band for it. It’s just a simple case of raising their game and upping the ante and consequently InMe have released what can only be described as one of 2005’s most unexpectedly stunning releases. “We definitely made a conscious decision to do something different this time.” Says bass player Joseph Morgan. “If you do something that people consider a success and that you’ve done well then obviously you don’t want to repeat yourselves and do the same thing again and again and again. That’s when people are going to get bored of you really, really quickly. You just have to use your ears and see that we’ve done something quite different that isn’t just for one particular group of people on this album. Our first album is the same sort of debut record that everyone has. It’s raw and angry and bitter but when you start work on the second album you have to grow and mature and take the best bits of what you’ve done before and make this new album better by improving on the rest of what you’ve done. We got a lot of ‘potential’ on that first album www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 45

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“CANYOU ONLY BE IN A BAND BETWEENTWENTY ANDTHIRTY BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IFYOU’RE OVERTHIRTYYOU’RETOO OLD AND IFYOU’RE UNDERTWENTYYOU’RE JUSTTEEN ANGST SHIT?BULLSHIT!” DAVE MCPHERSON.

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and we just wanted to realise that and be the best we can be. We just saw the first album as the first step in learning and people took to it. What were we supposed to do!? Sit there and say ‘Hold on, you weren’t supposed to like us on this album! We’re growing!’ or go to all of their houses and take the albums back off them and say ‘No, you can’t have this!’?” “The first album did pretty well but we’re not just going to find a successful formula and do it over and over because we’re not just another shitty pop act like Britney Spears or Coldplay.’ Snorts drummer Simon Taylor. ‘We’re a real band and every band out there that gets the respect that they deserve don’t just settle on making a career out of just one type of thing.’ “We wanted to grow and let that be a natural progression of who we are as a band.’ Mcpherson adds. ‘There’s always room for improvement and we’ll always be looking to improve. If you’re saying that you’re at your peak then you’re fucked because you can only go downhill from there. At the same time we’re not just these grunge, metal teenagers anymore. We wanted to make this record be a lot bigger than what people think we are capable of and we also didn’t just want to be completely angry on this album. We tried to add a little bit of romanticism and not just be bitter and pissed off about the world and everything in it.’ It’s also important to realise that despite all of the success InMe have enjoyed to date, the band remain superbly grounded. Throughout our interview, when they refer to their success it will be followed up with an ‘Obviously we’re not that big’ or ‘We’re not Madonna or anything’ style follow-up. This is a band that has seen their meteoric rise take them from recording their first album in Lincolnshire to Los Angeles for its follow-up as well as shows across the globe. In fact, more than just about any other band who have broken through in the past three or four years, here is a UK based act that has the right to have a little bit of swagger about them. Even when sat with a few beers before the tape starts rolling they talk sheepishly about their recent festival performance in Japan and when I enquire how many times the band have toured out there Simon simply says ‘Four’ without the slightest hint of trying to grab his ankles and insert his head directly into his anus. “It’s one of the weirdest feelings to go from

playing in the studio one minute to each other to the next minute selling-out shows with people and just going crazy for you.’ says Dave. ‘When you’re 17 and 18 and people suddenly care who you are and what you want to say it’s maybe a little bit daunting especially for someone who was as introverted as I was. The first time I saw myself on the cover of a magazine I just shit myself. What else can you do!? Do you shit yourself or start thinking that you’re the boys and nothing can touch you? If you fall flat on your face after giving it large then you’re going to look like an asshole so you just get on with things and try not to get caught up in it all. We’ve all found it pretty easy to stay grounded.” “We still eat, sleep and shit like anyone else so we don’t see ourselves getting too big for our boots any day soon.’ Joseph laughs. ‘The thing about the UK press is that they’re almost waiting to see you fall flat on your face. They build you up so quickly and then if you don’t give them what you want then they’ll smash you down.” “We were young and people would be praising us all of the time when really you know the next morning they’re going to write about how you’ve lost it and have a toast over your failure.’ Dave shrugs uncaringly. ‘You just have to take it for what it is. The press can have their

say but as long as people out there know that we are a real band that write real songs and care about our music and not some cheap teen band then the people can say what they like.’ And here lies the very engine that makes InMe the band that they are and that’s you, the fans. There are plenty of detractors out there that are all too keen to have their two pence worth and take the usual standard pot-shots and bone-headed arguments about the band being simple music for kids or passing them off as just another ‘Flash in the pan’. But in perfect honesty, whether the band are thirteen or thirty, InMe have got to where they are on the back of good song-writing, hard work and an audience willing to lap it up at any given opportunity and there’s no amount of ridicule that can argue with that. “At the end of the day fuck anyone who just wants to slag us off without listening to the music we make.’ Says Dave stuffed to the brim with vitriol. ‘We may never be the coolest band to like out there but there are plenty of people that are out there that say ‘Fuck what everyone else has to say, we’re going to the InMe concert.” A-fucking-men.

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Stay

Hungry! Words: Sion Smith

Pics: Wayne Herrschaft (Main)/Chiaki Nozu

Step back in time – just enough time to remember when it was cool to have hair. The eighties. They were odd days to grow up in. I know, I was there. They were looking to be pretty dark days too. Kiss had done some funny shit and although we all stood tall and loyal to the last, we weren’t really sure it was the right thing to do. Depending on where you lived, two weird things happened. The ﬁrst is historically known as the Wrexham Rock Festival. Held in 1982 (fuck!) at the football ground of this medium sized town that I grew up in, the bill by today’s standards was pitiful - but back then, when jack shit happened anywhere at all, ever, the prospect of a day headlined by Motorhead and supported by Tank, Budgie et al ... was damned eventful. On the other hand, if you didn’t live there, the second thing that happened of significance was Channel 4’s show the Tube. Responsible for single handedly bringing the country’s attention to a host of crap we weren’t interested in, it did have its moments. In the first of these scenarios, I couldn’t tell you what the Wrexham Rock Festival was like. I saw Twisted Sister and then went home, knowing that whatever came after that couldn’t possibly be as important. In the second scenario, Twisted Sister stunned the new wave, but nevertheless 14 million viewers of The Tube, into deadly silence. Literally ripping the make up off his face to prove they could kill with or without it, Dee Snider smashed his way into our psyche and the heart of a nation of rock kids desperate for something to hold on to. The history of the band is well documented. Even your grandparents will have a clue who they are and to rather a lot of us, their return to playing is more than welcome. When I caught Twisted Sister last year at the Astoria, I had mixed feelings about even being in the same town. If the show was good, all would be well, but if the show was bad, it would cheapen 20 years worth of memories. I’ve seen it happen – it’s a dangerous game this reforming lark. Dee Snider: On form and on top of the world.

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“IF YOU STAND THERE AND SAY:‘BOY THE YEARS HAVE BEEN FUCKING UNKIND TO THIS GUY’, THEN YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN TROUBLE!”

the road bills, not for fame because there would be none forthcoming, but just because it would be, well, cool!

Anyway, the band hit the stage and those immortal words rang out: “Good evening...” and the chills went down the spine. The lights went up and chills went down everybody’s spine – the joint erupted. Seriously – I haven’t seen a band so on fire since the last time I saw them – and that was another lifetime ago. Underneath this little personal foray into the past and present is a story. It’s a story of how a band can fall apart, very seriously so, and years later put it back together again. Not for any reason other than because it would be cool to do so. Not for money, although it helps pay

So Dee, what goes on in between the covers? “Well, I’ve never been so busy losing my mind. But I guess there are worse things, they’re called the nineties, when I couldn’t seem to do anything at all! “I got a bunch of stuff on the go – there’s a horror channel starting up, I’m involved in Van Helsings Curse and there’s Strangeland 2 – for the last five years my Strangeland property has been stuck in a court battle – the company that made the first one has been indicted by the Federal Government and like they do in England, they just throw locks on the doors and then figure it out. Meantime, I’m sitting here saying ‘Hey, that’s mine’ and they go ‘Well, it’s nobodies until we decide to give it back to you’, so that’s cost tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees just to get that back. I’m finally getting it back and I have a lot of studio interest and that’s something I expect to move forward with soon.” Strangeland was a good movie – how does the second one compare? “I have no reason to lighten up, as a matter of fact, I’ve got an idea that I want to release simultaneously the cut version and our version – the last time they made me cut it down to an R certificate. That was brutal watching the censors cutting up my movie. They were like ‘You have to cut that bit’ and I’m saying, ‘But it’s somebody cowering in terror’ and they

just go “Well it’s too upsetting!’ ‘I didn’t show anything happening though! I just showed the reaction and that’s too much!’ “It was a real battle, but this one is just as dark and disturbing as the first one. It picks up a year after the last one – its called Strangeland: Disciple. It’s really built a nice cult following over the last few years – that’s been the upside of the wait. I bumped into Robert Englund at a convention and he pulled me to one side and said ‘Dee, you’ve got a bona fide cult hit here’. It was kind of cool to get his sick seal of approval!” I point out that he should have known better really. He really should have known that they’d go after him particularly with that editing knife. If you’re a stranger in the Strangeland, check out the inset copy… we’re just getting warmed up here. Looking forward to the tour yet? “These upcoming shows are going to be interesting. We get along great and we’re playing great, these are the first cohesive shows, our first run of dates of any kind! The most we played in a row has been 3 dates! Compared to back in the day, touring for 13 months at a time, now we’re hitting the road for 3 DAYS! HOLD ON BOYS!” But – and it’s a big but – I caught you at the Astoria show last year and you’ve still got it y’know. It never went away! “People keep telling me I haven’t lost a step. We had this one review from Spain and it went through the whole band saying what each person was like and then it went ‘Dee sounds

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Strange Days Basically, Dee wrote a movie, he co-produced and starred in it. It’s the story of a schizophrenic, sexual sadist who lures victims through the internet and forces them to submit to tribal rituals against their will. He inadvertently abducts the daughter of a police detective...and the chase is on. We were going to give you the low down on the whole production, but then we found this comment on an amateur movie review site that gives advice to parents about movies – I don’t think I could do the movie more justice than they did themselves! Here you go – it’s brilliant!

OUR “WORD TO PARENTS:

Although it’s questionable how many kids will want to see this film, most parents will probably be appalled at its content. That’s simply due to the sadistic nature of the killer, a character who not only tatoos and pierces his own body to the extreme, but also tortures his victims in the most sadistic ways. Not surprisingly, violence and bad attitudes are extreme, and many may find such scenes unsettling, distasteful or downright gross and appalling. Profanity is heavy with at least 8 “f” words and an assortment of others, and the “Sex/ Nudity” category also gets a heavy rating with several encounters occurring along with many glimpses of nude victims. Simply due to the nature of the content, we strongly urge you to take a closer look at what’s been listed should someone in your home wish to see this film. Of special note for those concerned with bright repetitive flashes of light, a few instances of that occur here.

”

Is that the best thing anybody could ever say about your ﬁlm or what! You have to check the whole thing out. Somebody actually sat there and made a list of each disturbing scene! Go visit now! www.screenit.com/movies/1998/ strangeland.html

better, looks better and is performing better than he did in the eighties!’ But for me, what set my focus on what Twisted needs to be live, was when I saw UFO in their first reformed reunion. I went to a show in New York, but they looked like they used to and they sounded like they used to. I was in the crowd screaming and losing my mind – it was like I was in High School – and I’ve never done this in my life – but I went to the next city to see them again! I wanted to feel that way again. “I told the other guys, this is what people should feel! One of the guys in the Murderdolls had a column in Metal Edge and he wrote ‘When a reunion is bad it makes you feel old, but when a reunion is good, it makes you feel young and seeing Twisted Sister made me feel like I was in High School again.’ “That’s the key – if you stand there and say “Boy the years have been fucking unkind to this guy”, then you know you’re in trouble!”

The bad thing about your reunion was that so many people came out of the show and said ‘Hey, hang on – how come twenty years went by and they’re still the one of the best live acts around?’ Kind of like they’d been cheated or something! “Well, I’m not surprised that you say that. We get a lot of email from kids to whom we’re retro – and they say stuff like, ‘Hey, what’s going on. What the fuck am I going to see these days! That’s what I want to see! I wanna see a rock show, I don’t wanna see a guy on stage who looks like he pumps gas during the day!’ “So, it’s a frustration in a certain way that its time has passed, and you know that you’re capable of doing it as well as you ever did it but the marketplace, well it’s just not realistic. Even if the people wanted it, nobody would give it time or attention so the people would never have access to it. No matter how good it is. Take the latest Billy Idol record is killer! That guy doesn’t miss a beat but will it go through the roof like he used to? I don’t think so. “It hurts me when people come over and I tell them I don’t plan on doing this much longer and they go, ‘But you’re so fucking good at it!’ But nothing’s forever y’know. I don’t wanna outstay my welcome! At twenty shows a year, I don’t think that’s fucking possible! We’re getting close to the end y’know. It’s not the end of Dee Snider. No fucking way.”

It’s not been aired over here but how did the ﬁlming of ‘Meet the Sniders’ go? “It’s a pilot that they’re previewing on different families – it was interesting. They said that, as much as the first show was engaging, they didn’t feel like there was enough conflict for the show to continue. Gee, I’m sorry that we’re not a bunch of fucked up assholes for you. I actually like my wife and my kids and they like me, but we’ll see what happens.” Hey – big question for you. On this coming tour, are we likely to see Alice and you guys pulling ‘Be Crool to Your Scool’ out of the hat? “You know, I never thought of that! I should call him on that one! He’s in the fucking building! I never pushed it before because we were always at festivals, but we’re in the same building! We’ve got 2 weeks, night after night – if there’s not one Be Crool to Your Scool during the tour, it would be a crying shame!” You got that right. Call me jaded and cynical, but this is one tour that’s going to be hard to beat in the remaining months of they year. If you ever loved everything that was right and holy about the eighties – go and see Twisted Sister on this tour. You know it makes sense. Check out Dee’s other stuff over at www. deesnider.com

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20/9/05 20:35:38

Dead Man’s

Curve

“How’s my hair?” Phil Varone looks like shit. Annoyed by the incessant questions about his self-destructive lifestyle, eyeliner crudely smudged around hollow, dilated eyes, he tries to discourage the confrontational on-camera reproach with the sadly faded charisma of his narcissistic humor. Maybe everyone can’t be a rock star, but anyone can be an addict… Words: Roger Lotring

Phil (right) with Fabio Jofet, the director of the movie.

“STILL, NOT ENOUGH TO SCARE HIM SOBER, HE ARRANGED FOR HIS DEALER TO MEET HIM AT THE AIRPORT AT THE END OF THE TOUR, RATHER THAN HIS KIDS.”

Hanging out after dinner in Room 609 at the Muse Hotel in Times Square, Varone is getting dressed for the New York premiere of Waking Up Dead, the 90-minute documentary about his plunge into drug addiction. Pulling on the very same socks exhibited during one of the sexually off-color scenes in the movie—his lucky ones, trimmed with hot rod flames—sober and years healthier, his eyes gleam mischievously when he asks, “How’s my hair?” Waking Up Dead was originally the idea of director Fabio Jafet, who stockpiled a wealth of footage while filming Under The Skin, the Skid Row DVD released in 2003. Editing together a rough cut as something of a cinematic intervention, those several minutes ultimately caught the attention of The Terminator executive producer John Daly and Film And Music Entertainment, Inc. “Once we did the trailer, that got the initial interest,” says Phil, who admittedly thought that type of movie would have little appeal. Varone began his career in 1988 as an ambitious kid playing drums with Saigon Kick, the Florida-based band that commanded their hometown scene before signing with Third Stone Records, an Atlantic Records subsidiary partially financed by actor Michael Douglas. The success of their 1992 single, Love Is On The Way—which ironically features barely any percussion—began to undermine the camaraderie, combining with managerial disputes to ultimately break up the band. After several years attempting to recharge his career, as well as a failed venture as a restaurateur, he replaced Skid Row drummer Charlie Mills during an extensive arena tour opening for his childhood icons, Kiss. Countless offers to try any number of substances during the years with Saigon Kick had surprisingly no effect on him. “I never had any desire,” he remembers, until after years of turning it down, something clicked in his mind to try cocaine. It was an immediate problem, he says, because the high felt so good. But there was little rock and roll glamour in what quickly became a serious habit, peaking over three days with two 8-balls and a bottle of Gatorade. “I didn’t give a shit about supermodels, parties, nothing,” he says. “I just wanted my fucking cocaine, and I wanted to be left alone.” The movie includes stark backstage footage of paramedics administering to the resulting onstage cardiac attack following that overindulgence. “That was the Poison tour,” he recalls about the summer run two years ago. Still, not enough to scare him sober, he arranged for his dealer to meet him at the airport at the end of the tour, rather than his kids. “That was a defining moment right there,” he says, shameful that after four months on the road, his priority was cocaine. Now, after hundreds of hours of editing, watching himself onscreen, “it makes me sad that people would think I’m that guy,” he laments, but admits “that shit took over my life and turned me into a fuckin’ bastard.”

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“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON INYOUR HEAD. YOU’RE SANE FOR TWO MINUTES, ANDTHENYOU GO INTO MORE DEPRESSION ANOTHER SECOND LATERTHAT’S WHAT HAPPENED TO ME.”

It’s an amusement park thrill ride through Manhattan rush hour traffic, radio publicist Munsey Ricci at the wheel, swerving between buses and blaring taxicabs to get Phil to Tribeca Cinemas on time. The small theater on Varick Street in the Village is the intimate, Robert DeNiro-owned showcase for independent films, and the location for the Friday night premiere. The continued process of editing resulted in multiple versions before this final cut, becoming a vehicle for a surprising flow of creativity from someone who says he’s been repressed by bandmates or drugs throughout his career. Rather than a typical storyboard layout, the two partners wrote a timeline of Varone’s life as a guide to correspond the footage. “Every time normal movies get changed, it costs hundreds of dollars an hour,” but owning their own equipment facilitated numerous changes, striving for a better pace and greater impact that exhausted the filmmakers. The final cut screened at Tribeca is captivating in the sometimes wildly absurd, but more often heartbreaking rock and roll misadventures that wrestled with the drummer over the course of four years. Watching his life through candid footage, and more painfully the hurt eyes of his family and friends, the intensity can be disturbing. Sitting in the second row with Jafet and his wife, it’s not easy to connect Phil now with the onscreen emotional

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rollercoaster of the cocaine high and plummeting depression. “You don’t know what’s going on in your head.You’re sane for two minutes, and then you go into more depression another second later— that’s what happened to me.” One-on-one therapy depicted in the movie, as well as support from Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, were his method of sobriety. After the screening and Q&A session with him and Fabio that followed, Phil was quietly asked if Narcotics Anonymous was his means of sobriety, too. “I haven’t gone to a meeting yet,” he said earlier, explaining that he isn’t comfortable with the communal aspect. But he is readily open to talking to people individually, “kind of like Nikki did for me,” he says. It is a rock and roll documentary, and music is an integral part of the film. The soundtrack features former Saigon Kick vocalist Matt Kramer, as well as Skid Row frontman Johnny Solinger, and former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson’s new bands, Temple Of Brutality (with W.A.S.P. drummer Stet Howland) and F5. “Everybody came through with these songs for us,” Varone says about working around typically expensive licensing, and the soundtrack is available exclusively for download at www.albumunderground.com. Currently negotiating US distribution—as well as Europe and Japan—the commercial success of Waking Up Dead will be DVD retail sales. “We have a really good offer right now that’s really interesting, that we’re entertaining big time.” Varone promises that the DVD will feature an abundance of bonus material, with an anticipated release in time for the Christmas market. The creativity of producing movies has him excited, and Phil is busy writing ideas for television and movies, as well as the beginning of an autobiography. He’s also breaking into artist management, “but I’d like to conquer touring one more time,” says the drummer, who was in the running this past summer for the Ted Nugent tour. “I just remember being a kid, and you always saw those videos, and they walked the ramp to get on that big stage. That’s all I ever thought about, and I lost touch with walking the ramp.”

20/9/05 21:04:58

Sharon walks like an Egyptian.

TheVoice of It’s hard to get a balance when you’re known for different things in different places. Harder still if you’re a band who’s known for certain songs in some countries, and other songs in others. Holland’s Within Temptation had just that problem, and wherever they go, and whatever they release, they’re constantly being labelled as something different. Words: Andy Lye • Pics: Chiaki Nozu

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W thin T mptatition

Within Temptation’s third full-length release, The Silent Force, hasn’t been out for long in this country, but it’s almost a full year since it was released in the rest of Europe. The new edition, exclusive to the UK, comes with new bonus tracks and a DVD of live footage. But it’s the sticker on the front of the packaging that is the first topic of discussion with vocalist Sharon den Adel. Why the hell are we talking about a sticker? Well, the reason is the quote that is printed on it from a review of the album that reads: ‘Extravagant, hopelessly romantic popmetal at it’s best.’ Pop-metal. I wasn’t sure I entirely agreed with that, and nor was Sharon: “Well, no, me neither, but everybody has a different way of telling people what they think the music is about, but it’s very difficult for us as well because we have so many mixtures of a lot of styles. We don’t have a label for ourselves. But it’s very difficult because we have this very Celtic influence, this very metal influence, and also hard rock and symphonic… Of course you have some similarities with other bands, but still it’s very difficult to say to what genre we really belong.” To keep up with bands mixing varying influences and creating new styles in this way, the metal World has become full of watered-down sub-genres, and no one seems to know which one Within Temptation should go in. “And there’s so many different ones, also! And they’re always making new ones, so I’m always curious because it’s like “OK, what are they going to call it this time”, you know? Because it started off as doom metal, and then they said it is fantasy metal, then they said it’s what everybody calls gothic metal, then epic metal. There’s many things everybody has called us.” But however you try and pigeonhole them, there’s been a marked rise We played at the Java Island, in popularity of any metal with female vocals in recent years. Particularly which we called temporarily vocals in an operatic style like Sharon’s. In the case of Within Temptation, ‘Within Temptation Island’! We Sharon attributes this rise in popularity to actually having material had a very good year after all the shows available everywhere, something they have never had before. that we did, so we wanted to end it with something special for our fans, we hoped “We’ve never had before a simultaneous release, so every time we that a lot of people would come, and they had to release our albums country by country because the label we were did! We wanted to do a special show where with before BMG was very small, and because it was a small label just we could do everything we are capable of concentrating on the Benelux, it didn’t give us any coverage outside on stage, so we had a special décor, a lot of when we started, to get people to know about the band. Then because we guest musicians on stage, a fiddle player, released Mother Earth in other countries and it was not at the same time people on stilts… carrying my dress! again, so always we were going from one country to another and losing a “They put me in a cage and put me in lot of time in between instead of writing another album. And I think that the air. I hate these things because I’m that way we grew but slowly in every country. Then with this new album, afraid of heights, and Robert forgot to which was released in the rest of Europe a year ago, that was our first tell them to put the cage down on time simultaneous release, so a lot of people got to know us all of a sudden, again, because he was so wrapped up in you know? Then there was a lot of countries where they’d never heard his guitar playing, so I went down on the us before and that’s the reason for us, because we have a bigger record wrong time, although most people didn’t even realize, but I thought ‘Oh company who released the album in more countries.” my God! This sounds like Spinal Tap!’ So, with their new album being available in several countries at once “A band called The Heideroosjes, which is like ‘field of roses’ or ‘wild for the first time, and with their popularity steadily increasing, Within roses in the field’, if you translate it to English, a hardcore band but very Temptation have enjoyed their most successful year to date. Upon release in melodic and the reason we chose for them to be one of the supporting acts was because I’ve sung with the guys in the past. Another band November 2004, The Silent Force entered the charts in the band’s homeland I also sang with was Orphanage, they gave us our first chance to be of Holland at number one, and was certified Gold after just three weeks. It their support act many years ago, so we thought well maybe we can do was also placed in the top five in Germany, Belgium and Finland, and in something back for them and put them before an audience that could the top thirty in six other countries, and in early 2005 the album had sold

Within Temptation Island

“It started off as doom metal, and then they said it is fantasy metal, then they said it’s what everybody calls gothic metal, then epic metal. There’s many things everybody has called us.”

see them again, because they have been away for a while. And we had After Forever, I also sang on their album, and we’ve had some contact after that, so it was very nice to see them. So we had all supporting acts that we’d done something in the past with and had some connection with, and felt that the audience would appreciate these things as well. “There’s going to be a DVD also from it, it’ll look very professional because there was a lot of ﬁreworks and a lot of special eﬀects on stage, and that gave a lot of theatrical atmosphere to it, and that’s something we really like. The big show! Every song something happened. I’m going to check it myself because I’m going to do the back stage things together with the company. The DVD is going to be released hopefully at the end of this year.

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W thin T mptatition over 400,000 copies throughout Europe. The band then won the Best National Band Award at the Edison Awards ceremony, which is the Dutch equivalent of the Brits in the UK and the Grammies in America. With this success came the invitation to join metal legends Iron Maiden on select dates of their European tour. A tour that proved very enjoyable for all involved. “They’re all very nice, very nice guys. I didn’t meet them all, I just met the drummer but he was very cool. He was very funny, all you English are funny, you have the same kind of humour as we do although you are even more funny. On the same tour there was also Paradise Lost and they had the same sense of humour, and their crew, they were so funny.” As ever with the European metal calendar, these months were also littered with the immense multi-day festivals that take place annually. Within Temptation were to enjoy slots on many of these as well, including the mighty Wacken, Rock Im Park and Rock Am Ring events in Germany, Sweden Rock, Pinkpop in Holland and Werchter in Belgium. The Rock Am Ring set was filmed for German television station WDR and footage of five songs was used for the bonus DVD with the UK edition of The Silent Force. It’s evident from this footage that the crowd in attendance was both huge and excited by the band’s set. “It was cool! Because even for us, you know, Rock Am Ring is a really big festival, and we only played there I think a year or two before this year but on the really small stage there, and a lot of people were very enthusiastic also, but we never thought we would get on the really big stage, or the one before the biggest one. But it was amazing, it was just the right

“Something we like to do, as an extra for people is to have something for the eye as well as also for the

atmosphere, the sun going down, people were in a very good [spirits], there was a good vibe, and I think we had a lot of fun on stage and because of the good reaction of the audience, you also get an ‘adrenaline extra’, of course. So it was very nice, I really like doing the shows there because the audience was so great. I’m glad it’s on tape!” However, it was clear the issue of varied releases prior to the new album had come in to affect here as well, with the crowd awarding the most enthusiastic response of the five songs on the DVD to the title track from the band’s last album Mother Earth. “I think that when you have this simultaneous release thing, you cannot be focused so much on one country as you did in the past. Like when we released Mother Earth we did a lot of shows in Germany, and with The Silent Force we didn’t, because we did the rest of Europe as well. Well

we don’t have that many days, so you have to spread it a little bit more, and I think people didn’t know the songs that well yet as they did Mother Earth, because for Mother Earth we did a very long tour in Germany at that time, so I think that’s why everybody was like “Oh! Now I remember it! Now I know where this band is from!” you know? And it was played continuously in Germany because they loved the video, and so I think a lot of people that like a little bit of heavy music will know this song.” With the UK release of The Silent Force at the end of August, the band headlined the Bloodstock Festival in Derby at the start of September, followed by a full headlining show at the Astoria in London with the mighty Cathedral. “They’re one of the first bands I ever heard when I was introduced to metal in general, it was Cathedral and Death I think. I started a little bit late, I started at like 18 or something like that with metal, I was more into the grunge and that sort of music and more of the old heavy metal like Iron Maiden kind of bands and Van Halen, so I discovered them a little bit later, through Robert (Westerholt, guitars).” For the London show, the plan was to have as much of a full stage show as possible. “We’re going to try and put as much as possible in there that still looks nice. It shouldn’t be stuffed and put everything on just to have everything on. It should still look beautiful, you know. We’ll try and make it as

“Every time we want to do something different, so next time we’ll try and think of something else again.”

big a night as possible and also to do as much of a show as we can because that’s something we like to do as an extra for people, to have something for the eye as well as also for the ear.” Once all the shows and promotion in England are finished, the band are planning a small holiday before commencing work on more new music. “We’ve already written some songs, not to play them already live, but we have a lot of rough ideas, so I don’t think people have to wait that long. Probably before next summer we’ll have a new album out.” Here in England we may have missed out so far, but it seems the rise of Within Temptation is just beginning, with the rest if Europe saying ‘where the hell have you been?’ (If you haven’t already, this is the point where those of you that still think being ‘underground’ is cool say “But I knew about them years ago! They must have sold out!” Go on, you know you want to.)

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ZEROFLICK

THE T E I U Q N A M

o n m l k j fghi o n m l k j fghi o n m l k j fghi ike Shaw Words: M

Every year there seems to be a couple of genres that dominate that year’s cinematic releases; this year has seen comic book adaptations and modernisations of old sitcoms aplenty, but Serenity promises to provide something a little outside of the norm

cience-fiction, apart from the blockbuster pulling-power of StarWars and War of the Worlds has been particularly neglected this year, but the man to inject new life into it this winter is Buffy theVampire Slayer and Angel creator JossWhedon. Back as writer and director with Serenity, Whedon’s first writing attempt at a major feature film started a phenomenon with Buffy the Vampire Slayer back in 1992. Although considered a flop at the time, it went on to spawn the supremely successful Buffy series, which ran for seven seasons before being laid to rest by Whedon in 2003.

Sticking to the medium that led to success with Buffy and spinoff series Angel, Whedon next created Firefly, a TV drama set 500 years in the future, and following the crew of a small spaceship as they attempt to survive in a vast galaxy. Firefly quickly gained support among critics and fans. Whedon explains: “Firefly was the kind of show that I love and that I hadn’t seen for a while. It had real humanity to it. It also had extraordinary special effects for a TV show.” Despite all this however, Fox inexplicably cancelled the series halfway through its run. Following cancellation, Whedon decided to finish telling the story by reuniting the same cast for feature-length adaptation Serenity. The film centres on the eponymous ship and its crew – a group of outcasts from the galactic civil war, which saw them fight and lose against the governing coalition, The Alliance. The action really starts when it becomes clear that two fugitives from The Alliance who have been given sanctuary on board, are guarding a dangerous secret. The crew is captained by Malcolm Reynolds, played by Nathan Fillian, last seen by Whedon fans as the psychotic, misogynistic

clergyman in the final series of Buffy. As Mal, Fillian creates a convincingly jaded veteran, seemingly hardened by the galactic troubles, and unsympathetic towards his fugitive companions. However, Whedon’s clever and sensitive writing provides some much needed relief to Mal’s hard façade. Fillian says: “As empty as Mal is, as hard as he is, he desperately clings to and protects what makes him whole - which is the ship and everyone on it.” The other real star among a more than capable supporting cast is Summer Glau, who plays the psychic and unhinged fugitive River. A beautiful enigma, Glau dominates the scenes in which she appears, and is the catalyst for some of the most exciting action sequences Serenity has to offer. It’s hard to predict Serenity’s success; it could easily slip under the radar of film-goers due to its sci-fi categorisation or it could become a surprise success for those looking for something a little bit different. Either way, take this opportunity to enjoy Whedon’s work with a smaller budget, because he’s now on board as director for 2007’s Wonder Woman (that’s right, another comic book adaptation). After that, there’s no stopping this master of the fantastic.

“FIREFLY WAS THE KIND OF SHOW THAT I LOVE AND THAT I HADN’T SEEN FOR A WHILE. IT HAD REAL HUMANITY TO IT. IT ALSO HAD EXTRAORDINARY SPECIAL EFFECTS FOR A TV SHOW.” www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 67

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The Funeral of Hearts Stepping off the airplane shuffles an unlikely huddle. Five snuff-wielding ragamuffins are seductively led by a tall, brooding gentleman, these days bearing a strong resemblance to Johnny Depp. Having bid farewell to the colds of their Finnish homeland, they’re greeted by a stiflingly humidity. Sweltering heat, so close it gets more under your skin than a tattooist’s needle. It’s 38 degrees in the sun. This is Japan. The band pouring with sweat is HIM. They’re more accustomed to 30 below. But so thrilled are they just to actually be here, it’s like they’ve acclimatized already. They come through the airport all set to grace the 15th annual ‘Summer Sonic’ festival. Dates in Japan’s two major cities, Osaka and Tokyo. So begins the promotion for the fifth HIM album, ‘Dark Light’ – except the delay in reaching this much Promised Land has been mournfully long.

Ville listens at the wall to what the rest of the band are saying about him.

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We asked Dave Gulvin, long time friend and adviser to HIM, to hook up with his old friends in Japan – was it a good idea or not to ask him to write a piece? You choose . . .

Their four previous albums were never released over here and joining them backstage at the second date in Tokyo, I can’t help but wonder if somehow it isn’t now all a little too late. Japa-Meta, the Japanese glam-fused cyberpunk genre that HIM would have once sat comfortably with, all but died out here some years back. I shake off the thought. “Nah,” I tell myself. “It’ll be all good.” A few hours, a couple of beers and some vodka later, parked up at a table in artist hospitality, I’m introduced to a US publicist from HIM’s new label. After a hesitation, he suddenly realizes; “Dave Gulvin?” he says. “You’re Dave Gulvin?” “Uh-huh.” “Pleased to meet you,” he says, “I heard so much about you.” The penny drunkenly drops as to why he’s so keen. Y’see,

back in the UK, I used to be the product manager for BMG (now Sony-BMG) - as well as disciple and missionary for HIM. Some industry folk credit me with having been behind breaking the band in the UK. I was even paraded one time by a BMG suit in front of Madonna’s manager, Peter Mench, who, when introduced to me notably remarked, “Ah Dave Gulvin. The sixth member of HIM!” Afraid not, sir. After a somewhat wasted audition to become HIM’s triangle player, Ville Valo turned me down flat ages ago! Joking aside though, it’s all credit I can humbly swallow if only because I know it was more my personal endeavour, than the efforts of the record company at the time. But c’mon, let’s face it; I had lots of help. From the royal ‘we’ y’know? The Finnish Family HIM. Destined to come good, having been marooned amidst an isle of British cynics. Beside our table, HIM are already hard at it doing Japanese media interviews. Even Linde, the guitarist normally more silent than Zechariah, is talking to a guitar mag. I can testify to Ville’s ambition to seek out and conquer new markets, but shit, this is serious. And it’s all happening not long after they

“WHAT DOES YOUR TATTOO MEAN?”I ASKED. HE PAUSED, TO ALLOW THE INHALE OF SMOKE, BEFORE HE ANSWERED ME WITH,“NOTHING.”AND CHOOSING THE REST OF HIS WORDS CAREFULLY, HE ADDED,“IT’S JUST… A PRETTY PATTERN.”I TOOK THIS TO MEAN THAT HE HATED ME. www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 69

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shade beneath. The position fairly separated him. And he rarely spoke. Preferring to smoke and sip his iced-beer whilst scrutinizing me from beyond the plume. Sitting closest to him I could sense a powerful intellect, all the while gazing at the spectacle of his sleeved tattoo, luminous in the cloudy sunbeam. “What does your tattoo mean?” I asked. He paused, to allow the inhale of smoke, before he answered me with, “Nothing.” And choosing the rest of his words carefully, he added, “It’s just… a pretty pattern.” I took this

“THE NIGHT DRAWS ON. THE BOOZE FLOWS. SO DO THE SMOKES. AS DO THE JOKES. ITS TOTAL PISSED UP FUN! I’M TOO WASTED TO ACTUALLY WORRY ABOUT GETTING ANYTHING ON THE NEW ALBUM FOR THIS ARTICLE.”

played a sparkling set to an enthusiastic if sparse Japanese audience. For me, watching them only a few feet from the stage, it’s like the old days in the UK. They take me back to 1999, the time when I first met them in a pub in Putney. A guy called Gavin phoned me. I don’t recall his second name. I do recall he was a former editor of Smash Hits magazine, then working as a product manager for BMG/RCA. “Hi Dave, it’s Gavin from RCA.” “Hello.” “How are you?” “Alright.” “Great. Listen Dave, I was wondering. Are you busy right now? Look, see I’ve this band I’m supposed to meet up with. They’ve come to England. I really don’t know why, but they’re here. But I’ve a meeting to go to. They’re waiting in the Eight Bells. Do you think you, I mean - could you hang out with them? Just for an hour.” “What band?” “They’re called HIM.” “You’re kidding…” “They’re from Finland.” “I know.” “I’m product marketing them. But Dave, say, you’re a bit of a Goth…” “I’ve heard their album.” “Great. You know how I used to like all that Mission stuff too, but really, I wouldn’t have anything to say to them. Go introduce yourself will you. They’ll like you. Tell them about all that underground tour marketing stuff you do. Buy them a drink. You can always claim it back.” That afternoon, the enigmatic singer perched with a foot up in the corner of the pub under a windowsill. Sunlight streamed in through the glass. Except that Ville Valo kept his brow safely docked in the

to mean that he hated me. The rest, is a story too long for the pages of Zero. Suffice to say that I fell in love with their decidedly weird music - at that time almost universally detested. I ended up replacing the likes of Gavin and after five years of toil and much 3am boozing with Ville Valo, the Love Metal album eventually saw HIM crack the UK market. All-important to them, because we are the home of Black Sabbath: “The reason for our band’s very existence,” Ville often says. I catch up with him again on the bus ride back to the plush ANA Hotel, in Roppongi. He moves his bag so I can take a seat and then he hands me a ‘here’s one I prepared earlier’ Jack ‘n’ coke. As usual, we’re both getting steadily wasted. He turns to me and croons. “Are you ok?” “For sure.” “Truly?” he slurs. “We worry about you. Are you… truly ok?” It’s August in Tokyo and the first time I’ve seen him since I retired from working with them a month or so ago. What he’s referring to is my mind. Back in 2004, the band had wanted me to move labels with them and stay as their UK marketing manager. They wrote it into their contractual demands whilst negotiating new label deals, including BMG-JIVE, based in the USA last year. I was still at BMG UK and my company bosses found out about them wanting me to take me away if they switched labels. In July 2004 HIM ended up signing to Warner Bros on the Sire label. “Don’t worry my darling Templar,” Ville reassured me. “We’ll take care of you.” He’s worried now, because that ‘care’ didn’t quite work out. At this point, let’s just say… err… um… “stress” led to my being

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admitted to the infamous Priory Hospital. A place where anorexics, heroin addicts, alcoholics, princesses, rock stars and super-messed-upBupa-covered marketing types go to get fixed up. I was an outpatient there for seven months from September 04 to March 05. Meanwhile, Sony merged with BMG and I was made redundant. By June this year Warner’s put in place a vague deal for me to act as a consultant. So I attended the first UK marketing meeting at their Kings Road office with Seppo, HIM’s manager. They asked questions. Not always very good ones. Examining my every answer. It was clear they didn’t want me interfering. Still, you can only answer what you’re asked. I left the office feeling, despite their obvious enthusiasm, things were frighteningly far removed from all I’d known before. Eventually I came to the conclusion I was clutching on to HIM like they were the one ‘precious’ in my life. Or was it that they were they clinging on to me? I don’t know. Either way, it was time to let go. It was wrecking my head and I didn’t want to end up as corrupted as poor Gollum. Whatever. Ville and I had drinks in our mitts tonight; so dwelling on the sentimental was never really on the cards. We moved on to talking about yesterday’s super scary earthquake and composing crummy songs about drugs. Back in Roppongi, a foreigner friendly area of Tokyo, I joined Ville at the Hotel bar intending to ask him some questions about the new album for this article. But I never got around to it because I’m not very professional when I’m getting fucked. More of the US entourage soon showed up anyway. Ville introduced me. “This is David,” he says. “He knows me better than I do myself.” I giggle in my glass at the total bollocks of that particular comment. Nevertheless, I enjoy watching the Americans hanging on the singer’s every word. He’s clearly enjoying Japan. He loves new places. And he’s picking up the fundamentals of the language fast. “Sumimasen?” he says to the waiter. “Beeru mo ippai.” Surely, I don’t need to translate? After a while a few of us decide to head off to a local ‘izakaya’ - the Japanese equivalent of a gastro bar. Only healthy. Before we get up to leave,

Ville pipes up smartly, “Who’s paying the bill here?” He‘s an expert in how to let the record company pay the bar tab. But he’s also the only Rock star who has ever bought me drinks, and paid for dinner too. Amongst many other characteristics, it’s one of those things that make Ville the special, composite rock star he truly is. Since no one from Warner-Japan is about this evening, the US publicist kindly offers. Feels good to actually be the hanger on for once! And thank god for that. It’s \6000 (£25) just to sit down in here! The night draws on. The booze flows. So do the smokes. As do the jokes. Its total pissed up fun! I’m too wasted to actually worry about getting anything on the new album for this article. In favour of a last tube back to my cheap hotel in Ueno, eventually I leave them wandering up a main road searching for another bar. Running across the road for the subway, I fall badly. Sprawling on the tarmac and slashing my elbow; the drink is way too heavy on my mind. Bad enough, but Christ knows how much Ville drunk that day and he’s still standing. Finns! They’re like the bloody Irish when it comes to booze. A day later, and back at the ANA, I’m there to help supervise the photo shoot. We’re sharing the shoot with Japan’s legendary Burrn! Magazine, who’re already there to interview Ville. I take the opportunity of listening in so I can poach some of his thoughts about Dark Light. He begins with the title. “In Finnish my last name means ‘light’. And ‘dark’ means ‘to lose it’. It sums me up. It’s a nice juxtaposition of opposites - it’s about delving down inside and searching for unexplored areas of yourself.” He mentions Tim Burton as an influence in terms of the atmosphere of surrealism permeating the album, before qualifying this with: “Some parts of the songs are more straight–forward, in your face. But there’s melody and big choruses in there too. You know…we’re still searching for that perfect album. We’re getting closer. Perhaps we’re nearly there.” Warner Bros were kind enough to send me an advance copy of the album titled Dark Light – Almost There. (This, I

Ville reads from the Necromicon

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presume, referred only to the mixing stage). Dark Light is archetypal HIM. Ville Valo and co compose the kind of sound that, were they ever to fall passionately in love, the Lord and the Devil would have sex to. And with each recording, there is always new shade, but in the end, it’s the abiding blend of the sensual and the suicidal. Just like its predecessors, Dark Light makes passionately for this oh so melodramatic fray. Yet it’s always a drama played out with unassuming eeriness. Indeed, the new album is reminiscent of HIM’s much criticized third opus, Deep Shadows and

“VILLE VALO AND CO COMPOSE THE KIND OF SOUND THAT, WERE THEY EVER TO FALL PASSIONATELY IN LOVE, THE LORD AND THE DEVIL WOULD HAVE SEX TO.” Brilliant Highlights. And same as that album, this is two or three songs short of the kind of “absolute perfection” Ville is ever searching for. So why then, the unshakeable knot in my stomach? What, I wonder, is the brewing dilemma I have with it? As these questions unexpectedly take root in my head, Ville is explaining how the band unceremoniously fired, renowned US producer, Andy Wallace. For making them sound, “like every other American band”. In so doing, he delivers me the answer. The problem I have with it has nothing to do with the music; it’s all in the aftertaste. Despite Andy Wallace’s sacking, the air surrounding HIM does have a whiff of corporate America. Of dress down Friday. The perfume really doesn’t suit them. For example, take, Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly, the stately and utterly infectious first single - I remember Ville playing it to me in a hotel back in June this year: “We don’t know what to call it,” he said. “It’s just become, Butterfly Song” “Call it as it goes,” I suggested. “Rip Out The Wings Of A Butterfly.” “You think so?” “Yeah. It’s like Buried Alive By Love. No other band has titles like that. That’s what makes you what you are.” Sure enough the song ended up that way. So hang on. Why has the single been altered to Wings Of A Butterfly? For the reason that it’s a more media friendly title? Oh how vile. Is that what instinctively occurred to me when I attended Warner UK’s marketing meeting? Was it whispering voices of change? Thoughts of compromise? Casual speak of crossover? A sinister disregard for the past, dressed up as a sincere

respect for it? Is the ‘precious’ heartagram in the hands of people that will never truly identify with it? I can’t shake the feeling how HIM might be Lambs to the slaughter. This is what makes me uneasy in my chair. I’ve been awfully naïve. I had HIM down as an unshakable, uncompromising household. A family entity, unique in all the music business. I sacrificed everything because I thought I’d found a royal family among the royal we. I was hopelessly mistaken. Families are just an illusion in the music industry. I’ve learnt too, that mediocrity is more likely to be rewarded than excellence. My illusionary family recently moved into a new home. Leaving me and some of the other relatives effectively written out. Alas, they’re the hidden casualties. Perhaps some of them will be fans, just disappointed about a haircut. Some of them might be long serving techs or press officers or street teamers, the ‘HIM Reapers’. People marred by what I chose to call Corpo-lateral damage. It’s not premeditated harm. They’re just old faces having to make way for the fresh. Warner’s biog declares all for me: “Dark Light is in many ways classic HIM… but at the same time, this is a new HIM.” I guess my problem with it is that I’m too romantic. I’m in love with the way HIM was. I don’t want a new HIM. I want the soggy-oldcloth-cat it used to be. The classic HIM. The royal we and the Fellowship of the Heartagram. That maybe so, but I’m not entitled to it. After all, HIM belongs to HIM and to not me.O

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ZEROFLICK

DOOMED

Words: James Machin

You glance at your watch for the ﬁrst time in what seems like hours. 4am. Your heart is pounding as you hesitantly round the next corner in a labyrinthine system of corridors on a nightmare trek into the very bowels of hell itself. How many have you killed already?

ow many of the unutterably blasphemous creatures hurtling murderously and unceasingly towards you in the dark have met their demise at the business end of your BFG? (That’s Bio Force Gun.... or Big Fucking Gun if you’d prefer.) Either way, the point is that you lost count long ago. You can almost smell the cordite in the air and feel their inhuman viscera and gore congealing on what little remains of your standard issue marine body armour. So you’ve got to work tomorrow – you can still get a good three hours sleep. But only if you can just... finish... this... level. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you clearly weren’t there in the early 90s when a company called id Software threw a bloody gauntlet down at the feet of the competition with a title that not only defined the genre that was to become known simply as “first-person shooter”, but also tore a gaping wound in the wider global consciousness, provoking much concern among the self-appointed guardians of our moral welfare over the corrupting influence of violent video games on the nation’s youth. For my part (and I hope I’m not alone) the

malignant influence of the game manifested itself more in the form of sleep deprivation rather than any sudden penchant for killingsprees and random slaughters at my local shopping arcade. Yes, I’m talking about Doom, of course; that familiar tale of boy meets gun, boy takes gun to Mars, boy blasts demons accidentally unleashed by secret government research laboratory (are there any other kind?) back into hell from whence they came. It’s been estimated that, thanks in a large part to its shareware release, the original game was installed on over 15 million computers. It’s therefore little wonder that the legion of once sweaty-palmed teenagers who devoted bleary eyed hours, days and weeks to Doom in the 90s are taking a keen interest in what director Andrzej Bartkowiak has done with what, for many, will remain one of the most visceral and

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defining gaming experiences of their lives. Indeed, the online gaming community has been rife with gossip, rumour and speculation about Doom the movie for as long as the project has been languishing in (appropriately enough) development hell. Twelve years after Doom’s original release, and five years since the idea of a movie version was first touted, it’ll be reassuring to many that id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead has been heavily involved in this production since the outset. Visiting the set in Prague, he remarked approvingly that, “everything, even down to the signs besides the doors and the graphics on the computer monitors are right down to detail from the game”. And how did the first screening of the trailer go down in id Software HQ? “We hung around the plasma monitor in one of the conference rooms with everybody in the company there. You could feel the electricity build in the air. At the end of the teaser, which

I guess is something like 90 seconds long, there was simultaneous applause”. Of course, however faithful in spirit the film is to the game, there’s still the problem of fleshing out a plot the simplicity of which, while ideal for shoot ‘em up gaming, perhaps wouldn’t hold a mainstream cinema audience’s attention over the course of an hour or two. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who plays the grizzled Sarge in the film and is a fan himself, thinks that the free reign given to the production team by Universal Studios has allowed the film to develop into something a cut above the average game-to-movie conversion. This is something that might make those who still shudder at the memory of Tomb Raider, or even Super Mario Bros. (Dennis Hopper as a dinosaur, anyone?), rest slightly easier at night. “My first question was, ‘is it going to be rated PG-13 or rate R?’”

It’s a commonly held belief that all movies based on videogames are shite. But why? Before 1993, the closest there had been to videogame movies were the Last Starfighter, Tron and The Wizard. That all changed with the release of the Super Mario Bros. movie starring Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper – a pathetic piece of crap that had very little to do with the game and should have been given a one-way ticket to Beirut. The movie bombed, failing to capture the attention of the public as well as alienating the fans. 1994 saw the release of Streetfighter: The Movie starring Jean Claude Van Damme and Kylie Minogue. This celluloid travesty had nothing to do with the game either (where in the game was there a stupid invisible stealth boat?), and was only notable for being the late Raul Julia’s last film. Paul W.S. Anderson, director of Shopping, was behind the camera for Mortal Kombat in 1995. Written by the guys responsible for the game’s design, the movie had a cool soundtrack (Fear Factory, Type-O Negative, and Napalm Death) and no fear of depicting the game’s infamously brutal fatalities, consequently it became the best of a bad bunch. Role-playing games gained widespread popularity with the release of Final Fantasy VII, and a movie version of the game was rumoured, but it wasn’t until the release of Final Fantasy X in 2001 that a film was released. However, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was not based on any of the games and lacked any real connection to them. It is however worth watching, not as a ‘game movie’, but as an example of outstanding computer generated animation. Anderson returned to videogame movies with Resident Evil in 2002. With strong production values, a large budget and Milla Jovovich starring, it became a stand-out in the list of game-to-movie adaptations. However, there were still problems – most notably a complete lack of gore, and too many liberties being taken with the story and characters. The same goes for the sequel. Even last year, fond memories of great games were desecrated by shoddy movies, and House of the Dead is a perfect example of this. Mad German director Uwe Boll created a diabolical interpretation of the Sega classic, with lots of slowmo gunplay, full frontal nudity and plenty of headshots (shit, written down it sounds good. Look, it’s not. Don’t watch it.) Uwe Boll (ocks), who has previously stated his dislike for video games, is not stopping there though, and is down to direct movies of, Bloodrayne, Fear Effect, Far Cry, Dungeon Siege, Hunter: The Reckoning, and Halo. Evidently, a quick buck has got something to do with it. It seems that the reason behind the failure of gameto-movie conversions is that the original stories and ideas are lost in the Hollywood bullshit machine, and end up alienating the fans that are the most likely to see the movie. Hopefully Doom will be different. MB

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ZEROFLICK

The studio’s answer was as simple as it was welcome – the movie should be everything the game is, which is unapologetic and ground breaking. Given this mandate from Universal, the producers where allowed to develop a script which they felt could expand upon the Doom universe enough to create an interesting story without alienating its fan base and compromising the frenzied gore-splattered intensity which gave Doom its appeal in the first place. Producer Lorenzo DiBonaventura sums it up by saying: “We had great partners and it was a very easy process as a result. I think that’s why we got to actually make the movie.” The man spending most of the screen time knee-deep in the dead will be better known to most cinema goers as the flowing-locked heir to the throne of Rohan Éomer in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. New Zealand native Karl Urban could be forgiven for having misgivings about risking the ire of yet another army of fan-boys by getting involved in another project based on much-loved source material. However, he found that the intense pressure and intense determination to get it right on the set of LoTR was reassuringly evident on the set of Doom as well. While (understandably) admitting that LoTR was, “a unique working experience, one that is in many ways impossible to top,” he told Zero how the character of Reaper held great appeal to him “because his story is one of a reluctant

Doom might have The Rock, but plenty of other wrestlers have made the leap to movies. Hulk HoganMr Nanny (as well as a million other cinematic abortions) The Undertaker Suburban Commando Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler Man on the Moon Rowdy Roddy Piper They Live

hero and of triumph in the face of adversity.” Another attraction might have been the chance to run around with some nifty hardware. He was trained for the part by an ex-SAS soldier of 25 years experience in the regiment, and given a crash course in weapon handling and safety, communicating with hand signals and firing manoeuvres. “I make no claim to have mastered the game, but in real life I can change a mag on the run and count rounds like no man,” he laughs. The training might have been tough on him, but he’s under no illusion that the demands made on the film by its core audience might be tougher. “I think it’s one of the most faithful renditions of a game ever done, but there will always be those who remain unsatisfied because, at the end of the day, you’re watching as opposed to actually playing.” And he does know about the playing. Karl got the call offering him the lead in Doom while on the

“I THINK IT’S ONE OF THE MOST FAITHFUL RENDITIONS OF A GAME EVER DONE, BUT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE THOSE WHO REMAIN UNSATISFIED BECAUSE, AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU’RE WATCHING AS OPPOSED TO ACTUALLY PLAYING.”

Andre The Giant The Princess Bride Brutus The Barber Beefcake Santa Claus With Muscles Macho Man Randy Savage Spider-Man Triple H Blade: Trinity Stone Cold Steve Austin The Longest Yard

set of The Chronicles of Riddick, where he would unwind after a hard day’s shoot by playing Doom 3 with Vin Diesel on Vin’s 10 foot projector screen. Though not yet a household name, he surely must be considering the implications for his career of this first leading role? He quotes Matt Damon, with whom he worked on The Bourne Supremacy, saying: “You’re only ever one film away from success or failure. Time will tell.” If there’s one thing that’s going to make Doom stand out from the average sci-fi/horror fare on offer at your local multiplex, it might well be the SFX. The Rock is particularly enthusiastic about the difference made by getting masters of creature creation Stan Winston Studios on board, rather rely on the

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“WITH A COUPLE OF VIDEO GAME MOVIES IN THE PAST, WITHOUT NAMING NAMES, I WASN’T TOO CRAZY ABOUT THE CGI MONSTERS BECAUSE THERE’S NO WEIGHT TO THEM, AND THEY LOOK KIND FLUFFY AND LIGHT REGARDLESS OF HOW SCARY THEY MAY LOOK.” THE ROCK

Karl Urban’s favourite.... Favourite Film Get Carter, The Man Who Would Be King, Bullitt , Witness and Queen Margot.

Favourite Band Nirvana , Coldplay, Sigur Ros Favourite Book Papillion, The Alchemist, Perfume and Lord of the Rings Favourite Stand-up comedian George Bush Favourite Lovely lady Orlando Bloom Favourite TV show Deadwood

now ubiquitous CGI. He explains: “With a couple of video game movies in the past, without naming names, I wasn’t too crazy about the CGI monsters because there’s no weight to them, and they look kind fluffy and light regardless of how scary they may look.” Punishing long hours in make-up for the actors playing the minions of hell have borne fruit in monsters that are, in The Rock’s opinion, “just awesome. Gravity and weight. They really kick a lot of ass in the movie, I promise you.” This can hopefully only add to thepotential of the film to allow the audience to spend

their time in the cinema happily buying in to the Doom universe. After all, Stan Winston, who has worked on everything from Edward Scissorhands to The Terminator series, has long claimed: “I don’t do special effects. I do characters. I do creatures.” Not that anything about Doom is ever going to be too touchy-feely, not if The Rock is to be believed: “In the first three or four minutes we set it up and by minute five we’re gone. The intensity’s there and you’re on a non-stop train ride to hell.” Awesome. Doom opens on October 28. www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 77

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Alice makes sure everyone knows about his porcelain veneers.

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a e c a l P AB d

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Things in AliceWorld are looking up. His latest album Dirty Diamonds has been greeted by old fans as being even more of a return to form than The Eyes of Alice Cooper and by younger and newer fans as being something relevant in a world ﬁlled with bands trying to recreate that ‘unique’ sound of the seventies. It’s all good stuﬀ, and Alice is feeling positive. What in the hell are you doing up at this hour of the day? Well, we have a day off today. I got a new affiliate for my radio show in Milwaukee, so we’re going there and then onto Denver – it’s a travel day! Spot of golf along the way maybe? No, we’ve played the last three days and we’re playing tomorrow, so we’re taking a day off! Normally, we would be! You must have been asked a hundred times about Dirty Diamonds by now, but I’m going to have to ask you as well – are you pleased with it? We’ve had a great response – I think it’s because we’ve gone back to that seventies songwriting style. Just simple 3 or 4 minute songs, but trying to make them lyrically and hookwise, fun to listen to. Well, nobody out there is saying ‘hey it’s just another Alice album’! It visits a few of the places we’ve been to in the past – you never know what you’re going to come up with when you’re writing. The whole idea on this album was to put all the emphasis in the songwriting and the performance, and not really a lot of emphasis on production. The whole album was done in 14 days, we’d write the song in the morning, take a lunchbreak, record it in the afternoon and evening and we were done. That way, you never lose the excitement of the song. You know – the thing about this business is the fact that… well, I read this the other day: somebody had asked Bob Dylan why he was still recording and making records, and he says ‘well, that’s what I do’. The financial thing has nothing to do with it. I think most of us could have retired 25 years ago easily, but you sit there and think ‘what are we going to do – garden?’ My favourite thing to do at night is go on stage. So at this point, you

just get up, you write an album, you produce a show around it and you go on tour. To me, I can’t think of a better job than that! Do you feel that Alice still has something to say? I’ve always found that people are the greatest source when you’re a lyricist. Everybody I look at has got a couple of songs in them. I look at them and go, there’s two or three songs about this person – some idiosyncrasy or hypocrisy that’s a great song and you just have to find it. So to me, writing songs like Sunset Babies, well it makes me bewildered. Every single girl on Sunset Boulevard has a Chihuahua. To me that is so uniquely odd that I have to write a song about it. In the show we have at the moment, we have Paris Hilton attacked by her own dog – it’s a public service. That’s your daughter Calico who plays Paris isn’t it? Yeah – and last year she was Britney… and of course the beheading of Britney was extremely

popular. I think the ongoing thing of Alice being the executioner of divas is working well! Well, Alice has gotten to that place where he can’t shock his audience anymore and has turned it back on itself into theatre. Of course – Marilyn Manson has said the same. You just can’t shock the audiences any more. Nothing is as shocking as what everybody sees daily on CNN. CNN is more shocking because the reality – when the guy really is getting his head cut off – well, it certainly does water down my guillotine! I think the audience now is shock proof – in fact, the general public is shock proof and it’s because of technology, so what’s wrong with just entertaining y’know. For me, I say, let’s make Alice what Alice has always been – he’s burlesque, he’s vaudeville, dark comedy and it certainly has the songs to back it up. Alice has always been just an observer of life anyway. My lyrics have always been a satire – at the very least, an American satire. I’ve always looked at Alice as a Frankenstein – he’s all these parts of Americana all sewn up into one character. A lot of it is violent, a lot of it horrific, a lot of it is funny and a lot of it is sexual. The one thing I can’t do anymore, I can’t speak for fifteen year-old kids anymore. I can stand on stage and do I’m Eighteen and mean it as much as I ever did because that’s what that song is and Alice the character is ageless. I could write that song for Good Charlotte or The Bravery or whoever, but I can’t speak for the youth anymore. I can only speak now as an elder statesman.

“CNN is more shocking . . . when the guy really is getting his head cut off – well, it certainly does water down my guillotine!”

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Martial Arts and er ... ironing: Has Alice ever dabbled in any martial arts? No. I’m too lazy! I watch them constantly though. If I’d seen it when I was young, I would really have gotten into it, probably more than golf. It’s just something that really interests me, but I’m 57 and I sit there and you realise that half of these guys are acrobats and are trained in ballet before they start – and I’m not about to! I watch this stuﬀ before I go on stage to chill out. Peter Frampton however likes to iron. He loves it – and I thought that he was the only one, but then I found out that Robert Plant does ironing too. Can you imagine walking into Robert Plants dressing room and seeing that? I took a few fencing lessons though – does that count? I studied under the guy who taught Tyrone Power, Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn. He showed me the stuﬀ that he taught Rathbone and Errol Flynn. I asked him who was better and turns out Rathbone was the best swordman. ZERO: your number one source for completely useless information!

The last time we hooked up, you were talking about maybe one day, somebody else playing Alice – I didn’t get it at the time, but were you serious! Well, when I go into a Halloween store and I see a Zorro costume and a Dracula costume and an Alice costume, that says to me that Alice is such a defined character that you can sell that costume and a kid can become Alice Cooper – so why can’t somebody play Alice twenty years from now. The songs are all there, the blueprint is there – if we’re going to play Zorro, he’s a pretty defined character. I can’t see why someone in twenty years from now can’t put on the make-up, pick up the swords and a snake and do their own version of Alice Cooper. So it’s not a practical project as such then! No, I always thought of it as being exclusively mine! You know what would be really cool – actually doing it as regeneration live on stage – like Dr Who! Ha – man, I love that show. If you think about it though, there’s 28 albums to go through! The idea of Alice is that he’s the Moriarty of rock n roll. It doesn’t have to be Alice Cooper the guy – he could take on another form. OK – so with this album being knocked out pretty quick, are you going to go back in and do another? Yes. I’ve done four albums in the last five years, and I’ve got an album that’s already written and one that’s about half written, so as soon as this tour is over, I wouldn’t be surprised if we’d be right back in the studio. If you’re coming up with great songs, get them down! There might come a time when you can’t get one good idea, but we’ve got so many ideas, we figured we might as well record them all.

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Alice’s Top 5 Guest Appearances Freddie’s Dead – The Final Nightmare The sixth Freddie flick was not great. It even had the dreaded 3D effects to drag the stragglers in off the streets. That said, flashbacks of Freddie’s childhood result in topnotch cameos from Alice as Freddie’s father and Rosanne Barr as his mom. Plot? What plot… it’s an Elm Street flick. Prince of Darkness Directed by John Carpenter, Prince of Darkness isn’t half as bad as the critics made out – at least it wasn’t back then. Alice was just about returning to form musically and it certainly did his profile no harm, although the same could possibly not be said for Carpenter! Donald Pleasance lent the cast and the story some credibility as a bunch of students unwittingly release Satan into the world in the form of a mysterious chemical. Like I said, sounds rough, but very entertaining Twisted Sister – Come Out and Play The hugely underrated Twisted Sister album number 4, was swarming with a host of SMF anthems – not least the nugget Be Crool To Your Scool. Dual vocal duties from Dee and Alice made this a sleeper favourite in metal circles. Their combined love of all things schlocky and horror-like also led to one of the coolest accompanying videos of the year. If memory serves, you’ll also find Billy Joel and some bloke from the Stray Cats on the track. Wrestlemania 3 OK, it wasn’t a huge guest appearance but it was a landmark moment. Riding into the arena on the back of one of those dumb-ass trolley/trains they used to use back then, Alice rode high alongside of Jake ‘the Snake’ Roberts – snake in hand. Needless to say, between them, they whupped the Honky Tonk Man’s ass... The Muppet Show – 1978 (Episode 55 if you want to be really anal about it) Endearing to the last, back in the seventies, the Muppets ruled television. If you weren’t on it, you were a nowhere man. Long before MTV came along, Henson was knocking out slapstick puppetry and hyping it up with huge doses of rock and pop. One of the more memorable shows belonged, of course, to Alice. This rendition of Welcome to my Nightmare was easily on a par with anything the band ever came up with in their live shows, and Alice’s performance was so surreal, it’s remembered by fans globally as one of the highlights of the seventies. Alice also performed You & Me (with Miss Piggy) and School’s Out with the monsters. When a bunch of rod puppets try to upstage you for offering them a contract with the devil, you know you’re a happening guy. It’s worth checking out the whole show to see Beaker invent a germ enlarger so that scientists don’t have study small germs. Brilliant!

u brought

time yo them the ﬁrst . . . OK, we saw m. the to n tio our atten

Well, Alice is one of the very few artists whose audience will always remain loyal whatever happens! The loyalty of my audience throughout the world is amazing. This last tour through Europe, the average age had dropped 15 years. We’re looking out in the audience and I would say that I’ve never seen so many teenagers at my show –all wearing my make-up, all knowing the new songs and the old songs. If you go down to the mall right now and pick out a sixteen year old kid and ask them who their favourite band is, they’re probably going to say AC/CD or Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath – somebody from that era. These kids know their classic rock! It’s just a shame it’s been tarnished with such a shit title! Well, here’s the deal – and this is the only soapbox I’m going to step on today, OK – right now, the music business is not based on what’s good, it’s based on what’s next. So if McCartney comes out with an album that’s better than Sgt Pepper, it’s not going to get played. If U2 were coming out right now as a new entity, they’d never get signed because they would say they’re too old. So what we’re talking about is an industry that has nothing to do with the quality of the songs, it has everything to so with what’s next.

It makes music so disposable – this is a really bad place to be right now – but you come from the same era as me (ish). 30 years ago when we put a record out, we were up against Simon and Garfunkel, the Supremes, the Beatles and whoever made the best record got played. Now, that has nothing to do with it. I know that Robert Plant has a new record out and it’s just not getting played! And also, you’ve got someone like Slash who can walk down the street and be identiﬁed as the ‘guitarist in that new band Velvet Revolver’ –almost like there’s a hole in the universe where a whole generation disappeared who don’t know of Guns n Roses! And then there’s us old pirates who people just accept as being here since the beginning of time!

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WALKTHIS WAY

We have some questions that we reckon Danny wouldn’t have said yes to.

Writer, TV presenter, and soon to be (kind of ) movie star, Danny Wallace is getting everywhere. His books Join Me (where he setup a cult and instructed them to do nice things for strangers) and Random Acts of Kindness (365 of the many nice things that were done) have gained him a reputation as an off-beat karma-tastic altruist, and with his latest paperback Yes Man flying off the shelves, his unstoppable march into the homes of everyone in the country continues. This invasion was strengthened this summer with his BBC TV series How To Start Your Own Country (the clue’s in the title) – but he spared a little bit of time for ZERO. Rumour has it that Yes Man’s going to be a movie. How cool is that? It is indeed. And it is very cool. Is it also true that Jack Black is playing you? Well, he bought the rights along with Warner Bros, so it looks like he will – though you can never be sure with films. Would you rather someone else? I think he’d be perfect. A scruffy, unshaven man playing me. Good casting. Are you going to have much control over the movie? Well, I’ve got input, but I wouldn’t say control. It’s not like Hollywood fatcats would take a look at me and fear me. But they do take suggestions seriously. For such a huge company, Warner Bros have proved remarkably lovely. Parts of the book read like script dialogue - is much of it having to change? Well, they’ve already re-set it in the US, so stuff about curries, pints, red buses and the mad preacher who walks down Oxford Street might have to be cut. Have you thought about getting involved in screen writing? I wouldn’t mind giving it a go. But it’s the pitches that would do my head in. To get films off the ground, you have to be ultra-organised. I am not, sad to say, ultra-organised. Is everything in Yes Man genuinely the truth? I exaggerate, re-order bits and do all the tricks that you need to do if you’re going to tell your real life as a story - but no more than I would if

we were down the pub and I was telling you the story. Your recent BBC series involved you trying to set up your own country. If you could invade and rule any country in the world, who would you take over? Something small and manageable, like Tuvalu. I am a man of small ambition. But it’s quite nice in Tuvalu. Although thanks to global warming, it’s likely to be under water in ﬁfty years. But I’d probably want to have retired by then anyway. How’s the Join Me cult going? Growing every day - and spreading across the world! We’re all very excited about the Sony PSP. Are you much of a gamer? When I was growing up, I worked on various games mags – Sega Power, Super Play, stuﬀ like that. I loved ‘em. Then I had a break for a few years. Now I can’t get enough of multiplayer Call of Duty. Did you secure the book deals before embarking on the Join Me and Yes Man missions? No, but the book people keep their eye on me now... if they phone me, and I happen to be on some tiny island of the coast of Africa, they demand to know why... My girlfriend’s magazines, which I sometimes accidentally look inside, are describing you as the sexiest TV star of the year. How does that make you feel? Like an object? Like a piece of meat? Or like a bespectacled super-stud? Like perhaps it’s not me that needs the glasses.

Danny Wallace’s Favourite Things Favourite ﬁlm? Nuts In May Favourite band? The Infadels Fave TV show? Curb Your Enthusiasm Fave wrestler? Andre the Giant – gone but never forgotten Favourite lovely lady? Mine. But Cat Deeley would do. Fave stand-up comedian? Ross Noble Fave book? Anthropology and a Hundred Other Stories – Dan Rhodes

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GLJ: Older,

ll playing.

wiser and sti

OVER THE ROOFTOPS The classic

line-up.

Bands falling out, name disputes, litigation – it’s nothing new in Rock And Roll. But the story of Gene Loves Jezebel is a particularly sorry one, not least because the main protagonists are identical twin brothers, the founder members of the band Jay and Michael Aston from Pawthcawl, South Wales. Words: Daniel Owen

he band had a history of turbulence and was beset with mixed blessings since its formation in the early 80s. On the down side: guitarist Ian Hudson suffered a nervous breakdown a week into the band’s first US tour, their accountant badly advised the band and they ended up with huge loans borrowed from his leasing company, their label in the early 90s, Savage, went bust. On the up side: their success, particularly in the US, seemed certain – they sold out the Universal Amphitheatre in LA in 1988 in 15 minutes. They were on the front cover of every hip mag, their songs were

used in Miami Vice and they sold more than one and a half million albums. After initially signing to Situation 2, a Beggars Banquet subsidiary, the band released two albums, first Promise and then the acclaimed Immigrant. They achieved a cult following in the UK based on their genuine “differentness.” The press carried rumours of incest between the twins – dismissed as rubbish by them both. Their unique fashion sense, created by Jay, was undeniable. Pipe cleaners entwined with ribbons in hairdos ragtag urchin sartorial abandon. Jay shaved the sides of his head leaving a “tarantula top” (his expression) years before Ian Astbury did the

same in Southern Death Cult. Immigrant edged into the UK indie album chart as their first US tour was undertaken. New bass player Peter Risingham (Rizzo) helped carve the sonic direction the band was taking. “When Pete joined it was like we finally had a proper musician to pin everything down,” notes Jay. Following his nervous breakdown, guitarist Ian Hudson couldn’t carry on after four gigs and London guitarist James Stevenson (Chelsea, Gen X, Kim Wilde), who shared their management, was flown out to finish the tour. He was invited to join permanently after the tour was completed. Upon returning to the UK the third album Discover was recorded and

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“HE SAID THAT FIVE GRAND WASN’T ENOUGH, HE WAS BEING INCREDIBLY GREEDY AND SHORTSIGHTED. AT THAT POINT JAY GOT UP FROM HIS CHAIR, WALKED ACROSS THE ROOM AND PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE. I HAD TO PULL THEM APART OR JAY WOULD HAVE ANNIHILATED HIM.”

ESSENTIAL GLJ d days when The good ol g! was speakin everybody

released on Beggars Banquet proper. It became their first UK top thirty hit. The band played hard, touring constantly all over the world. Their following was fanatical. Steve Sutherland from Melody Maker, later editor of the NME, was a big fan. He described them as “maddeningly pretty boys straddling a groove.” The androgynous, pretty boy looks attracted a large female following. “There was only one band that attracted more girls than us, that was Gene Loves Jezebel” The Cult’s Billy Duffy concluded later. But tensions between the twins were high. They were competitive beyond sibling rivalry. Early on they had shared the vocal duties, in fact Michael had sung most songs on both Promise and Immigrant albeit with Jay’s banshee screams in abundance. But Jay was proving to be the songwriter. The first single he both wrote and sang, the goth classic Desire, is the band’s most famous song and Jay’s unique vocal ability is showcased to the full. But arguments about who would sing what often escalated into screaming matches. With 1987s The House Of Dolls, Michael became further marginalized, singing lead on only two tracks. Breaking point was reached during the video shoot for Motion Of Love, the band’s biggest UK hit, when Michael didn’t show up until the end. And then in LA for the video for the song Suspicion, Michael had to lip sync to Jay’s vocal, or there would have been no role for him as he was hardly featured on the track. The old adage about girlfriends and publishing breaking up bands was proving predictably true too. On the latter count, Michael was upset James Stevenson had more writing credits on the new record than he did. And as for the girlfriends – Michael’s girlfriend Amber caused ructions by winding Jay’s girlfriend Kim up about being bought a business class ticket for the band’s forthcoming US tour when Jay had told Kim she couldn’t come. During the writing sessions for what would be the fifth album, Kiss Of Life, Michael called a meeting with the other band members and announced his decision to quit. “To be honest he was pushed out,” states James. “I knew the power of the twins, it was really the gimmick of the band. I spent hours on the phone to Gary Gersh, our US A&R man, to figure out how we could avoid the split but the twins were at loggerheads. Michael had a huge ego but wasn’t as talented as Jay. Jay really has a

unique gift. Michael really had no sense of rhythm or pitch and when I came up with music for Kiss Of Life what Mike and Jay did with it was night and day, the title track in particular. Mike hogged their home studio for days and his singing was just rubbish, it sounded like someone ranting madly over the top of the music. Jay turned it into a fantastic song on a cassette player in his bedroom because he couldn’t get near their studio.” As a result of being perceived the singer in Gene Loves Jezebel – despite the fact that by this time Jay was singing most of the songs – Michael walked into a lucrative deal with Virgin (in fact, the company never released his album). Kiss Of Life was recorded by Jay and the rest of the band without him. Ironically it begat their biggest US hit, Jealous. But the three years between House Of Dolls and Kiss Of Life took a toll and the world found it hard to accept “the band with the twins” without the twins. It was another three years until 93’s Heavenly Bodies, the band’s sixth album, made for Savage Records (who also signed Bowie for the US). Unfortunately the label went bust shortly after its release. The band also had debts. Not to their label as most bands do (these are only recuperable from royalties), but returnable loans, lent to them by a leasing company to tide them over during lean times. Trouble was, the band’s accountant, Martin Stainton, was a director of this company. Stainton, accountant to the likes of Rod Stewart and Duran Duran, was later to make the front page of The News of the World when he disappeared without trace during an investigation into these unbusinesslike practices. Bands are businesses like any other and as partnerships, if it goes tits up, any member can be liable for the whole debt. In the case of Gene Loves Jezebel this fell on James’s lap. “Suddenly, after Savage went down and Jay decided he wanted a break, they all came after me,” he says. “The rest of the group had fled to the far corners of the earth but I was in London with a valuable flat. We o wed about 100 grand spanning back five years. When I found out our accountant Martin Stainton was a director of the company he’d encouraged us to borrow money from I knew he was in trouble – that’s not the impartial financial advice he should have been giving us. I spent years negotiating with City Mr Pinstripes and they finally accepted a 2 grand settlement for a 60 thousand pound debt. I got no thanks from anyone in the band.” But Heavenly Bodies was a huge hit in Portugal, of all places, and the gigs there

“MIKE HOGGED THEIR HOME STUDIO FOR DAYS AND HIS SINGING WAS JUST RUBBISH, IT SOUNDED LIKE SOMEONE RANTING MADLY OVER THE TOP OF THE MUSIC.”

Discover For our money, the definitive GLJ album. Some will argue that House of Dolls is the man, but with three massive singles; Sweetest Thing, Desire and Heartache appearing on here it’s debateable! They’re not the whole reason the album appears top of the list either. There were other potential singles lurking in the shadows and the new revamped and re-released version has a bonus disc featuring all the b-sides and remixes that only ever previously made it to vinyl. The original vinyl release also came with a free live album. Had they included that and made the re-release a triple album, well.. game over! The House of Dolls The House of Dolls saw the band develop into a huge arena act in the making by twisting their sound to a more guitar-fuelled edge. Suspicion and The Motion of Love should have been huge, huge singles but the changing face of rock at the time was like a lead pipe to the back of the head. Still, if you’re looking for a good place to start, this is a good a place as any. Promise Critical acclaim? Whatever that is, it followed Promise for the band. The seeds of what would become a very accomplished band are sewn on their debut here with tracks that somehow still stand up 20 odd years later. Upstairs, Bruises and Pop Tarantula lead the album in strongly and again, the re-release leaves no stone unturned in its quest for a definitive collection. The 2 disc set features a massive 16 extra tracks. Hunt it down Immigrant The second album out of the melting pot further pushed the boundaries of what the band were able to achieve. Also available as a reissue, it features Waves and Five Below – to be frank, the sleeve notes and packaging for all the reissues is stunning. Get it on. And… Amongst all of the controversy and fighting, Jay managed to release an album called Unpopular Songs. Acoustically based, it serves to both act as a showcase for his unique songwriting and as a stop gap between albums.. although between whose albums, we’re not sure! Amongst the highlights; the sultry Love Keeps Dragging Me Down, So Sad and The Goodbye Girl. Fans of the band from days of old will not be disappointed.

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“THE BAND RETURNED TO THE UK AND REMOVED THE THREE TRACKS FROM VII MICHAEL HAD SUNG ON AND RELEASED IT WITHOUT ANY OF HIS INPUT INCLUDED.” helped pay off other debts – to the VAT and Taxman in the UK most notably, but also their US agent William Morris who had advanced them $30,000. Meanwhile, relations between the twins had improved. In the dynamic of their complex relationship the twins shared a house together in Los Angeles. “Michael can be quite paternal about Jay”, says James. (Michael is the older twin by 15 minutes). They even worked together on some songs for the first time in five years and discussed creating a new version of Gene Loves Jezebel. Then Jay came back to London and made his first solo album Unpopular Songs. Michael had made two solo albums, one under the moniker Edith Grove, the other, Why M e? Why This? Why N ow? under his own name. Gene Loves Jezebel, meanwhile, was in semi hiatus, performing sporadically, mostly in Portugal, as the four-piece that had existed since Michael’s departure in 1989. In 97 Michael rang Jay to say he could book a tour as the “Pre-Raphaelite Brothers” in the US. They could do some Gene Loves Jezebel material as well as songs from their solo offerings he suggested. But when Jay arrived in LA to rehearse for the tour he was incensed and shocked to find it was all booked as Gene Loves Jezebel with a bunch of LA Musos he had never met before. Michael had also managed to convince a rich fan, Taylor Robison, to put up the money to record a new album with both twins. Jay refused to contemplate this unless James Stevenson, Pete Rizzo and drummer Chris Bell were involved. Michael was forced to agree. But when recording began the atmosphere was icy. The other members were furious, Michael had gone out as GLJ, riding roughshod over them, particularly as he had left the group in 89. Especially James Stevenson who had been fending off the UK debts as Michael made money in the US from the name. The album was made in Henley-UponThames. Jay and Michael were hardly speaking. Jay went back to LA, where he now had his own place, after four days and the rest of the band tried to finish it alone, Jay having completed all his vocals before leaving. When the album VII was finished but before it was released, the band, with all the members from their most successful and high profile period, undertook a “full reunion” US tour. It was to prove the last time the twins ever worked together. So what was the final straw? James: “We were nearly at the end of the tour, discussing finances in a hotel room in LA. Michael

Solo: Jay is sure the other guys will turn up shortly.

had nominated himself band manager and to be fair he had done a lot of work to get the tour off the ground and a lot of the pretour organizing. Problem was Jay, Pete and I looked like earning 500 dollars each for the six week tour. Michael was holding 8 grand he reckoned was his commission of the gross. I said be reasonable Mike, take 5 grand so we three can at least have fifteen hundred bucks each. He said that five grand wasn’t enough, he was being incredibly greedy and shortsighted. At that point Jay got up from his chair, walked across the room and punched him in the face. I had to pull them apart or Jay would have annihilated him. “We did the final three gigs without him, as a four piece once again. A couple of days later Pete was looking in LA Weekly when he came across an advert for a forthcoming Gene loves Jezebel performance at “Scruffy O’Shea’s”, an Irish pub in Marina Del Rey. Michael had put together the LA musicians from before and was calling it GLJ. I can’t tell you the contempt I have for those Americans who

the fan who owned it. “It was ridiculous, we didn’t find out about the trademark until it was too late to oppose it” says Jay, “He’d left the band in 89 and we’d made two albums without him, how could he sanely argue that he and a bunch of LA tossers were the band?” But argue he did and in litigation weary America, when Michael fired off his paperwork to promoters who were booking Jay’s GLJ they often pulled the gig, fearful of the mention of the word “lawsuit”. “Then he tried to get me deported” Jay says angrily, “I was living in LA and Michael didn’t realize I was there legally with a work permit, so he made up some nonsense that I was hassling his family and tried to get a restraining order, thinking they’d deport me for being there illegally. He will stop at nothing, nothing is beneath him.” Michael continued to hawk his version of the band around the lower end of the US circuit, often playing just for door money. At first he used the name Michael Aston’s Gene Loves

“HE’D LEFT THE BAND IN 89 AND WE’D MADE TWO ALBUMS WITHOUT HIM, HOW COULD HE SANELY ARGUE THAT HE AND A BUNCH OF LA TOSSERS WERE THE BAND?” were happy to go along with Michael when they knew we were the band and were actively using the name.” The band returned to the UK and removed the three tracks from VII Michael had sung on and released it without any of his input included. Jay, James and Pete decided to seek and injunction to stop Michael using the name and the legal battle began. The litigation was so upsetting to their mother that Jay decided to withdraw. Michael’s lawyer interpreted this as Michael having won the case, citing other cases where the plaintiff withdrew and the judge had found in favour of the defendant. In Gene loves Jezebel’s case there has never been an actual court judgement. Then Michael got the US trademark and managed to wrest Genelovesjezebel.com from

Jezebel but soon dropped his name as the prefix. Now there were two Gene Loves Jezebels – and have been ever since. Fans of the group often don’t know which version is performing until they turn up at the venue but Jay’s band usually sticks to Europe while Michael usually plays North America (he still lives in LA). “What it really needs is a proper court case to sort it out once and for all,” argues James “but for the man in the street litigation is simply too expensive. The bottom line is, Jay hates working with Michael and always has done. He feels his talent is compromised when he works with his brother. But Michael thinks the twins working together is a beautiful thing and he needs Jay much more than vice versa.” To some it might be beautiful, but it’s hard to deny that the outcome has often been ugly.

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DIAMOND NIGHTS

Closer to Thin Lizzy than any lame comparisons you might like to conjure.

While some are seemingly abandoning the “classic” rock vein and hopping on the nearest passing bandwagon, a few are still passionate about the music of their past. Words: Kahn Johnson

One such band are Diamond Nights. Heralded as a breath of fresh air, they are happy to nod to the classics without being a retro band. Their debut album, Popsicle, has a touch of Thin Lizzy about it, and lets face it – that’s no bad thing. “The Thin Lizzy thing is a huge compliment, ’cos we’re all big fans,” says singer Morgan Phalen. ‘All’ is Tim Traynor (drums), Rob Laakso (lead guitar/keys) and S. D. Rumsey (bass). According to Morgan, the band started out life in New York when he bumped into old school friend S.D., which is a different story to the one on the band’s page on their record label’s website, but hey – Morgan’s telling the story here. “The bassist and I had been at school together, and then we kinda bumped into each other again in New York and ended up starting a band. “The two of us played out for a while, found two more and it all came together. This line-up is about a year-and-a-half old now.” Morgan had been imagining a band for quite some time, starting out – like most of us – when he was in his teens.

“When I was growing up I used to go to the park, and see all the remnants of teenage parties, and you’d go up on the slide and someone would have scratched ‘Ozzy rules’ or ‘Def Leppard’ into the side of the slide, and I’d start to imagine what these bands might sound like,” he recalls. “Sadly, when I finally heard them they sounded nothing like I expected, but I still had this image in my head of what a band should sound like.” Fortunately, he has surrounded himself with people who share his view, but they don’t all come from the same musical background. What makes the band differ from those the world will be pitting them against is the variety of influences which seep into their music. “We’re big garbage collectors as well,” laughs Morgan. “We collect remnants of prior eras. We all have big appetites for music, and we always wanted cheap records so we used to go scouring the bargain bins in record shops looking for the 25 cent records! “What we’re doing now is condensing everything into one project. We’re a bit like a radio, giving transmissions from a lost dimension. We’re the 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s, 90s

“THEY DEAL WITH THEIR MUSIC LIGHTLY. ANYWAY WE’VE BEEN AROUND LONGER!”

and 00s all rolled into one!” Comparisons are already being made with Lowestoft’s finest, The Darkness (probably the best thing you can say about the current UK rock darlings), but they are wide of the mark. It’s not a comparison that bothers Morgan though. “They deal with their music lightly,” he ponders, “Anyway we’ve been around longer! We’re just content for the world to listen and respond as they see appropriate.” And soon the world will be able to. Popsicle made itself known on September 13, and the band are already preparing to tour the world. For as long as it takes. “We’re heading out on a short tour over here (America), and then heading to Europe for about a month. “We plan on touring indefinitely! We love meeting new people and new audiences.” If there is any justice in the world, there will be some bright days ahead for Diamond Nights (did you see what I did there? These things aren’t just thrown together you know…), but Morgan is keeping his feet on the ground. “I’ve been in so many projects that no one has heard, the fact we’re being heard, reviewed and interviewed is a huge bonus. Plus it’s quite humbling, and it makes you appreciate everything,” he admits. “I just want to grab the horse’s mane and see where it takes me! If it all falls apart tomorrow, I can live with that”

MORGAN PHALEN ON THE DARKNESS

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illegal alien e PORN IN THE USA

Tour Diary Pt3

he got one hell of a lot more When Dean Walker moved to LA in search of that all elusive record deal, than he bargained for!

Stewart Copeland and the manager of The Police tours. Fuck me! The Police were the first band I ever saw. So we go in and the place is boss! Dead atmospheric. I start talking to this guy and tell him the tale of how when I was six, my dad took me to the NEC in Birmingham to watch The Police. I was on me dad’s shoulders at the front barrier, it was absolutely brilliant, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do since and right there in front of me is the poster for the very tour. “That’s synchronicity” this bloke says. “You’re telling me!” I say “I’m Ian Copeland, pleased to meet you.” “I’m Dean Walker, I’m blown away”. We talk for hours. Then it turns out he used to go out with a bird who lived by me when he was stationed in England during the Vietnam war and they drank in the same pub I drank in. You tell me, how fuckin’ bizarre is that? I have become good friends with Ian, Jules, Sean and all the rest of the crew down there, I’ve talked song writing with the Isley brothers, kung fu with David Carradine, yeah and mashed up with Sean on the decks and what’s cool is my video is on rotation in the screening room! I’ve nearly had my ears bitten off by Mike Tyson’s dog, had my life go full circle and I was nearly run over by a fire engine, nothing changes. I’ve only been back a day! I have still got the Viper Rooms to come tonight. Oh yeah I’ve done a couple of gigs too.

DAY 22 Does anyone remember what day it was when I left? I haven’t got a clue, I am going to disappear up my own arse soon if I‘m not careful. Anyway, as Arnie once said, “I’m back and it feels go-ood! I’m off to the pub. The Fox & Hounds to be precise, on Ventura Boulevard. I love that name, it’s an English pub owned by Gary who once played for QPR… allegedly! I meet a guy called Adam at the bar - he says he recognises me from my voice after seeing me play the Lava Lounge a few weeks earlier. Adam says I should check out a dive he knows in Beverley Hills called Backstage Cafe.

Walking along Rodeo Drive towards Backstage Cafe, coming towards me is a girl walking a pit bull; I love dogs so I lean down to stroke it. She says, “Be careful it’ll go for your ears.” “What?!” “Yeah, it’s Mike Tyson’s dog, we’re doing a pilot for a new MTV show called ‘Pimp My Dog’ look there’s the camera down the road” What the fuck! Pimp My Dog? You’re pimping a dog that’ll bite someone’s ears off. “The ear thing was a joke” she says. “Oh right, tell that to Evander Holyfield”. Anyway, we carry on into Backstage whereupon Adam tells me the guy who owns the joint is Ian Copeland, brother of

“ANYWAY, DID A GIG LAST NIGHT AT THE VIPER ROOMS, GOT INVITED TO SOME GUY’S HOUSE. THE HOT TUB AND POOL PARTY WERE IN FULL SWING, UNTIL ABOUT AN HOUR AGO WHEN THE LAST OF THE STRIPPERS LEFT!” DAY 23 It’s 4 o’clock in the morning and all my friends are dead. Betcha that woke you up. Actually it’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the sun is shining and all my friends are alive and kicking. Well almost, they are certainly alive. That’s the

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“NOW ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS I AM NOT A VIOLENT PERSON BUT I WANNA PUNCH THIS GUY’S LIGHTS OUT. SO I VENTURE OVER IN A STEVE MCQUEEN SORT OF WAY, WELL, WE ARE IN HOLLYWOOD, TO PUT HIM IN HIS PLACE. LET’S FACE IT, CHELSEA HAVEN’T WON ANYTHING OF WORTH SINCE MOSES PARTED THE RED SEA.”

opening line of one of my songs and it was in my head so I thought I’d say it. It’ll stick in your head when you hear the track, so there! As Willy Nelson once said, “I’m on the road again, back on the road again”. But what a road, a long and winding road, Fuck! That’s that other lot from Liverpool again. Anyway, did a gig last night at the Viper Rooms, got invited to some guy’s house. The hot tub and pool party were in full swing, until about an hour ago when the last of the strippers left! There are still some ladies in the pool

and the place looks like an earthquake has hit it, and as I said, it’s 3 o’clock, the sun is over the yardarm, so I’m off to the Fox & Hounds for a beer. I need a sorter, and the match is on Liverpool v Chelsea. “Pint of London Pride please Gary”. As I glance around, I notice a sultry looking female in a red dress sat at the bar. We chat, she’s vivacious and bubbly, I like this bird. It turns out she’s the manager of Cello Studios – Candace Stewart – now that’s something! Did you know some of the best albums ever recorded came out of there – Tom Petty, The Beach Boys and of course that other lot from Liverpool. Candace is great, I have subsequently become good friends with Candace and her husband Brian. Not only is he a diamond geezer, but a boss guitarist who’s always ready with advice on nice chops and changes. Back to the story - there’s a great atmosphere in the pub but the match doesn’t go according to plan. We get beat and I am pissed off. I have been a Liverpool fan since I was a single cell organism in me dad’s bollocks, have been through two major disasters with the club, sang Nessun Dorma in Italian in front of 15,000 people on the world famous Kop at Anfield. Now I’m crying in me beer and here’s this Chelsea fan giving me hell from across the bar. Now anyone who knows me knows I am not a violent person but I wanna punch this guy’s lights out. So I venture over in a Steve McQueen sort of way, (well, we are in Hollywood), to put him in his place. Let’s face it, Chelsea haven’t won anything of worth since Moses parted the Red Sea. He thrusts out his hand, “My name’s Steven, have a pint” he says. “You were great last night, do you want to come on the show?” “What?” “Yeah, saw you at the Viper last night, thought you were great. I produce a footie show every week - actually it’s every day now. Would you like to come on the show, talk footie and

we’ll play your tunes if you like”. It transpires Steven and his mate Nick do a syndicated football show called World Soccer Weekly & World Soccer Daily – www.worldsoccerdaily.com. I have become a regular guest host, talking footie to people all around the world and playing my tunes at the same time. Heaven or what. It’s the dog’s bollocks. I have been given the nickname of ‘The Scouse Prince of LA’. Needless to say his lights stayed on.

DAY 24 Another sunny day in paradise and I am off to play the opening night of some new thing or other at the Spyder Club, part of Avalon. The gig goes according to plan, everyone loves it, great audience, even the door men take time out to personally thank me, that’s always a good sign. A fan comes up to me at the end of the show with a DVD in hand. “There you go” he says “I’ve just filmed you”. So now I’ve got a bootleg of myself! It’s going up on the website for sale. C’mon why not, another day another dollar! Go for a couple of beers, off to bed before dawn cracks. I’ve just got to get rid of dawn, she’s doing my head in! (I know it’s an old one but I just had to use it!) Off on another journey tomorrow . . ..

DAY 25 Off to San Francisco and on to New York. Boris the mad Russian, remember him? Well he has loaned me an SL55 to do the trip in. It’s that new, the paint’s still wet. So me and my three guitars set off. Do the coastal route, absolutely breathtaking. Arrive in Frisco and go for an Italian down at Haight Ashbury. Great vibe going on down here, love and peace abound. Halfway through the meal, two birds, existentialists I guess, on the next table start arguing. The next thing, one of them lays the other out like a light with one of the best left hooks I’ve ever seen. Ten minutes later I’m giving a statement to the law. Those Mammas and Pappas have got something to answer for. Play some boss gigs in sweaty vibey places, meet up with some new friends from my last visit including Peter the sculptor, people have gotta see his work, it’s fab. WWW.DEANWALKERMUSIC.COM WWW.MYSPACE.COM/DEANWALKER www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 97

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JIMI HENDRIX  LIVE AT WOODSTOCK: DELUXE EDITION

●●●●● Did you really have to be there? I think you did. Not only is this excellent two disc set a deﬁning moment in Hendrix career, it also serves as a sign of the times. We’ve all seen footage of Hendrix at Woodstock before but for a fan to have this amount of material at their ﬁngertips with a superb sound and picture repro is awesome. Great menus let you roll around the set list with ease and the result is one excellent package that fans of Hendrix – even fans of music in general – shouldn’t be without. Features all the classics we know and love along with never before seen versions of Foxey Lady, Spanish Castle Magic and Hey Joe. Cool.

EXPERIENCE JIMI HENDRIX

●●● A good place to start for those of you game for investigating the man, the myth, the legend. Featuring Purple Haze, Castles Made of Sand, Voodoo Chile amongst others, Experience isn’t the cream of the crop, but does give some insight into how Hendrix was seen at the time – which is vastly diﬀerent to how he is viewed now! There are far better DVDs on the market but this selection of live material and rare interview footage is certainly worth taking a look at. Worth checking out if only to see Wild Thing from Paris Olympia in 1967. My, how things have changed.

JIMI HENDRIX  RAINBOW BRIDGE

●●●● Originally a full blown theatrical release (which nobody seems to do anymore), Rainbow Bridge is a melting pot of lifestyles, politics and music set in Hawaii with it’s tour de force being Hendrix’s concert from Halekala Volcano in Maui. However, the film is actually about Pat Hartley and her mission to meet up with a group of like minded people and set up an ‘alternative community’. Expect lots of dope smoking and psychedelic visuals and you won’t be far off the mark! Previously unavailable as an uncut release, this was filmed just 3 months before his death in 1970.

THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE: ELECTRIC LADYLAND

●●●● With Experience members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, manager Chas Chandler and engineer Eddie Kramer telling much of the story, Hendrix is still the main man in this hour-long inspection of the making of his 1968 double LP Electric Ladyland. The isolation of elements of the multitrack tapes is amazing and is perfect in demonstrating Hendrix’s genius for building performances in the studio. This moving documentary will add new insight to the next time you listen to the seminal album examined here.

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AREYOU EXPERIENCED? I

f you mention Jimi Hendrix to people, each one of them will remember a different part of his legend. Try it. See how many different responses you get. Unlike most “popular” celebrities, Jimi isn’t famous for just one incident. Unless you want to generalise it all as “playing guitar”. For example, there’s playing the guitar with his teeth.

For those who were unaware, the 18th of September was the 35th anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix. No, scratch that, Jimi fuckin’ Hendrix. The man who became a legend in the space of just three years and three albums. The man credited with revolutionising electric guitar playing. As many would say, simply: The Man™. Words: Andy Lye/Reviews: Daniel Owen

There’s playing the guitar behind his head. There’s the burning of his guitar, the Woodstock ’69 show, the fact that he played a right-handed guitar upside down because he couldn’t afford a left-handed one. The list goes on. But the most important thing about the legend of Jimi Hendrix is that he changed the way the electric guitar was played. Forever. No one can argue that the electric guitar has never been looked at in the same way since Jimi, and while some may consider the man’s own musical output overrated, his influence on music cannot be denied. I’m sure those of a more technical mind than I could explain at great length exactly how he changed the face of guitar playing, but even the most ignorant on the situation should at least be able to see that he did things a little bit differently at the time. Continuing the groundbreaking work of Eric Clapton and Cream, each of Jimi’s albums, AreYou Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love and Electric Ladyland, turned the music World upside down, perfectly fusing all of Jimi’s influences, from rock, R&B, blues and jazz in a way never before heard. Songs such as Voodoo Chile, Purple Haze, Foxey Lady, Little Wing and Red House have been covered more times than it’s possible to keep track of, but never with the passion or intensity of the originals (save for possibly Slash and Zakk Wylde’s live version of Voodoo Chile). Aside from the obvious impact Jimi had on the technical side of rock music, he was also a consummate showman. From stunts like the burning of his guitar and the smashing of his equipment, to unrehearsed improvisations, and unexpected tributes like his famous impromptu version of Sunshine of Your Love on live television upon hearing the news that Cream had disbanded, or his medley of God Save The Queen and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band live at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, no one

“I’M SURE THOSE OF A MORE TECHNICAL MIND THAN I COULD EXPLAIN AT GREAT LENGTH EXACTLY HOW HE CHANGED THE FACE OF GUITAR PLAYING, BUT EVEN THE MOST IGNORANT ON THE SITUATION SHOULD AT LEAST BE ABLE TO SEE THAT HE DID THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY AT THE TIME.” knew what to expect at a Jimi Hendrix Experience show. A wild edge that had not been seen before in live music. Not since Elvis anyway, and Jimi made him look like a cabaret singer. Some listen to Jimi’s legendary interpretation of Star Spangled Banner from the equally legendary Woodstock ’69 show and think “noise”. Others think “genius”. We all know, deep down, who’s right.

JIMI PLAYS BERKLEY

●● Fans have always been divided on this release. Some rate it as among the best, others prefer to just live with the CD. For our money, it’s just average. The most successful part is the remastered sound – let’s face it anything from that era that gets remastered is a good thing whatever it is. The remastered visuals though leave something to desired and really aren’t going to convince anyone to upgrade from a VHS copy to this. A bit dull really considering the subject matter to hand.

BLUE WILD ANGEL: JIMI HENDRIX LIVE AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT

●●●● Documenting the guitarist’s legendary performance in front of 600,000 people at the Isle of Wight festival in August 1970, this ﬁlm showcases Oscar-winning director Murray Lerner’s previously unseen archive footage. Among the many musical gems on oﬀer, is an amazing medley of God Save The Queen and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and there are also new interviews with Experience band members Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox. A look at a moment in rock history

HENDRIX: BAND OF GYPSYS

●●● This documentary of the band’s live performance at the Filmore East during New Year 1970 contains some of the best guitar work Hendrix ever produced. Complete with new interviews and rare footage, the DVD features additional material never broadcast on television or video, and also includes the only known colour and black and white footage of the Band of Gypsies in concert. Although a lot of the documentary is stuﬀ we’ve heard before, the live footage is worth the cost alone. Extras include unreleased music and rare concert photographs.

JIMI HENDRIX: THE DICK CAVETT SHOW

●●● The Dick Cavett Show represented Jimi’s US network television debut and this release features live performances of Izabella, Machine Gun and Hear My Train A Comin’. Jimi’s interviews touch on his stint as a paratrooper in the US army to his famous rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, and display an alternative side to the guitar virtuoso – a passionate, humourous and intelligent interviewee. Additional features include a new behind-the-scenes documentary, interviews and a commentary from Dick Cavett.

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CLUBS

The

TIVOLI Buckley, North Wales

Dr. Feelgood

In October 1987 a nightclub in Buckley, North Wales, called ‘The Tivoli’ or as the locals call it ‘The Tiv’ opened its doors to the public. The opening night was to show the way for the future with a band called ‘Motorhead’ hitting the stage. Now the venue / Club is situated in the middle of nowhere, it’s 10 miles from Chester & 10 miles from Wrexham, so really it should not exist! But the whole ethos behind the Tiv was to quote former owner the legendary promoter & club owner Howard Croft ‘its like a ﬁeld of dreams, if we build it, they will come’ Come they did!

ith this statement made loud and clear the venue became known as the place to be if your style of music was Metal, Indie or Rock! In the following years bands such as Saxon, Magnum, Dogs D’amour, FM, Dr Feelgood, Quireboys, Thunder, Wildhearts, Warrior Soul, Stereophonics, Travis, Backyard Babies, Oasis, Fear Factory and Coal Chamber to name just a few, graced the club and its stage. To fill in the slots between bands and for the nights when bands didn’t play the club found DJ’s including one of today’s residents Robbie and the Tiv legend was cast in stone. Years followed and the Tivoli’s reputation grew for being the best rock venue outside Liverpool. Following a change in ownership the club lost its way and for a short while became

a dance venue. With another change in owners and new management changes had to be made. The first thing in the new look Tivoli was to extend the club, add a floor and some new bars. With this finished, the hunt was on to find a rock Dj to move the venue on. Following a huge search and many wannabe’s the club finally went back to its roots and called up Robbie! With the Classic rock catered for they then started the search for a Dj capable of bringing in the new rock crowd. After many false starts they brought in Dj 2 Tall Paul, who had worked in some of the biggest and best clubs in the northwest & was also involved with production duties with many big metal acts. This sealed the future and the club has gone from strength to strength. Friday Rock nights was back. The Tivoli regularly holds promotional

nights both with drinks and music. Some previous promotions have included NIN, Chimaira, Clutch, Pantera and Breed 77. Add to this the coaches the club lays on from Chester and Wrexham, getting out for a good night couldn’t be easier. Live music has taken a back burner over recent years but plans are afoot to bring back that live heyday with booking agents & managers being once again approached to play the venue, It would be fabulous to see some major acts return to the Tivoli to play live once again alongside some of the 21st century’s future acts. As far as dress code goes, go on we dare you, see if you can embarrass the Doormen or the Dj’s. The club opens its doors at 20:30hrs and closes at 01:00hrs with last entry at 23:00hrs (you just have to love the welsh licensing laws).

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CLUBS

Paul & Rob’s

Top Tunes Poison – Alice Cooper Closer – NIN Temple Of Love – Sisters Of Mercy Raining Blood – Slayer Sympathy For The Devil – Rolling Stones Davidian – Machine head Sweet Home Alabama – Lynard Skynard Bodies – Drowning Pool Pour Some Sugar – Def Leppard Down With The Sickness – Disturbed Sweet Child Of Mine – Guns And Roses Here To Stay – Korn Fear Of The Dark – Iron Maiden

Before I Forget – Slipknot Should I stay Or Should I Go – Clash Edge Crusher – Fear Factory Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin Right Side Of The Bed – Atreya Back In Black – AC/DC Stripped - Rammstien

Quireboys

SOME COMMENTS FROM THE PEOPLE VISITING THE TIVOLI: ‘It’s the DJ’s, when they’re good; they’re very very good. When they’re bad, they’re better’ Aggy ‘It’s a great change to feel young again, listening to the classics from the past’ Debara ‘The only thing missing is the great bands that have played this stage in the past’ Grant ‘I like coming to the Tiv because the music is a good cross section and I’ve been coming here since the 1st night back in 87. The Tiv rocks for sure, they have the best selection of DJ’s in Wales and that keeps the rockers coming back’ Wayne ‘Good Music, Good DJ’s and a friendly atmosphere’ Steve (Mr Slayer) ‘Being able to move between 2 extremes in the diﬀerent rooms’ Grant Backyard Babies

‘Good Atmosphere, Good Music and good drinks prices’ Dave Coombs

Walking through the doors puts you straight into the main room and your ears are assaulted with the latest and heaviest tunes from the rock world, anything from Slipknot to Trivium. If this isn’t to your liking then a short trip upstairs and through another door and you’re greeted with all the classic rock you can ever remember. How’s about Aerosmith or maybe Van Halen. Add to this some of the new bands following in the classic rock vain and you’re going to be in heaven. If all this is too much or you need a break form the relentless music played on both floors. You can find a quiet chill out area midway between the two. Having got your rest it’s a simple matter of jumping back into the fray and immersing yourself in the varied music played across the club. Music policy’s simple just ask, you’ve got every chance, if its rock it may get played, the only comment to make is, if your after your fave tune make sure you ask early as we soon have more than enough tunes to last well past the 1am curfew. Friday Rock nights:

8:30pm – 1am. Admission £4.50 B4 10pm, Last entry 11pm. Wednesday Student Night

8pm – 1am. Admission £3, last entry 11pm. For more information on the coaches, promotions and forthcoming events at the Tivoli or if you are a booking agent / Manager looking to play North Wales use the following to contact the venue on 01244 546201 or at www.tivolinightclub.co.uk Snail Mail: The Tivoli, Brunswick Road, Buckley, Flintshire, North Wales. www.zeromag.co.uk | ZERO MAGAZINE | 101

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Air Supply

JOHN PEEL 1939-2004 The very ﬁrst John Peel Day will take place on Thursday October 13th 2005. The day will be a celebration of John’s life and massive contribution to music and broadcasting with as many venues as possible staging gigs across the UK under the banner of Peel Day. John died on October 25th 2004. Prior to this there will be a very special London gig organised by Radio 1 with details to be conﬁrmed nearer the time.

roadcaster John Peel was the champion of British music for nearly 40 years on his late-night Radio 1 show. He led the way in promoting new acts, from David Bowie, through Joy Division to the White Stripes. John Peel was, at first sight, the antithesis of many of the bands he loved. Balding, bearded, softly – if hilariously – spoken, he was more like a favourite uncle than a rock fan. Yet Peel’s uncompromising encouragement of new talent transformed the face of music all the way from hippy to house. His Radio 1 show ran three nights a week and in 1998 he became the presenter of Radio 4’s Home Truths, which won four Sony Radio Awards in 1999. He also presented a programme on the BBC World Service, taking his passion for new music to the wider world. He was born John Robert Parker Ravenscroft in Heswall, near Liverpool, in 1939. The son of the owner of a cotton mill, his childhood was blighted by his distant parents and he was brought up mostly by a nanny. He attended Shrewsbury public school, which he hated, an ordeal which was offset by the moment he first heard Elvis Presley singing Heartbreak Hotel. “Everything changed when I heard Elvis,” he later reflected. “Where there had been nothing there was suddenly something.” After National Service between 1957 and 1959 he went to America. With Beatlemania in full swing, John Peel and his Liverpudlian connections proved irresistible and he soon became a DJ for WRR

radio in Dallas. He once said: “They’d got this idea that if you lived in the UK there were probably only a couple of hundred people and they were all bound to know each other.” Returning to England in 1967, he joined the pirate station, Radio London, before transferring to the BBC’s new national pop channel, Radio 1. He was to remain there for the rest of his life, the only survivor of Radio 1’s first line-up. CHANGING STYLES: Right from the outset, Peel changed the rules. He played every track without interruption, to the delight of those wishing to tape his show, while providing a witty and knowledgeable running commentary, seemingly a million Marc Bolan miles away from the transatlantic platitudes of many of his colleagues. In the early days Peel championed acts like Marc Bolan, David Bowie and Captain Beefheart, as he did throughout his career, by giving them studio-time to record legendary “Peel sessions”. But, in the mid-1970s, John Peel moved away from the mainstream rock of Jimi Hendrix and The Who to a new and radical sound, punk. Bands like the Sex Pistols and the Clash paved the way for new Peel discoveries like Joy Division and the Undertones, whose

“IN THE AUTUMN OF 1978, SOMETHING HAPPENED THAT WAS TO CHANGE MY LIFE FOREVER  JOHN PEEL PLAYED TEENAGE KICKS ON THE RADIO FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.”FEARGAL SHARKEY Teenage Kicks was his all-time favourite single. The 1980s brought further joy, most notably in the form of The Fall and The Smiths, both refreshing counterblasts to the increasingly bland fare of the charts. More recently, Peel had branched-out, presenting Home Truths, an eclectic programme about family life, and provided typically droll interjections for BBC TV’s Grumpy Old Men. He received an OBE in 1998 and earned a place in the Radio Academy Hall of Fame. He continued to remain at the cutting-edge of popular taste, featuring ‘world’ music and rap alongside good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. A lifelong fan of the Archers and a dedicated follower of Liverpool football club, how he would have loved that match in Istanbul in May 2005 when Liverpool became Champions of Europe yet again! He lived in Suffolk with his wife Sheila. Tributes poured in from the music world Members of The Smiths, The Undertones, The Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, Blur and Joy Division have spoken about Peel’s influence and legacy. Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr said the band’s early success was “largely due to the John Peel show”. Prime Minister Tony Blair also paid tribute to the BBC Radio 1 DJ. Peel, whose radio career spanned 40 years, was on a working holiday in the city of Cuzco with his wife Sheila when he suffered a heart attack. Radiohead singer Thom Yorke said Peel was his “inspiration” since the age of 14. “Who am I going to listen to now? I’m thinking about you. Thanks John Peel.” Blur singer Damon Albarn said the world would be a poorer place without Peel. “I will miss him deeply,” he said. “I want to send my heartfelt

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was “amazing” and his influence was felt far outside his home country. Tony Blair’s spokesman said the Prime Minister was “genuinely saddened by the news”. He added: “His view is that he was a unique voice in British broadcasting and used that voice to unearth new talent and different subjects and make them accessible to a much wider audience.”

“WHO AM I GOING TO LISTEN TO NOW? I’M THINKING ABOUT YOU. THANKS JOHN PEEL.” THOM YORKE sympathy to his lovely family. John’s memory will never be forgotten because he had the spirit of music in him.” Feargal Sharkey, former front man of The Undertones, described Peel as the “single most important broadcaster we have ever known”. ‘He changed my life forever’ the band’s single Teenage Kicks was Peel’s favourite song and he championed the track and the band on his show in the late 1970s. Sharkey said: “In the autumn of 1978, something happened that was to change my life forever – John Peel played Teenage Kicks on the radio for the very first time. Today, it just changed again, forever.” Johnny Marr, who played with The Smiths on live sessions on Peel’s show, said he was always the best DJ on the radio. “We would try out new songs on the sessions and these often were the definitive version,” he said. Pulp front man Jarvis Cocker said: “In a world that is becoming ever more homogenised and preprogrammed, John Peel stuck up for the ‘sore thumbs’ of the music scene and I really can’t think of anyone who could have done it better or who’s going to do it now he’s gone.” Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher called Peel “a rare breed amongst radio DJs”. The Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield told the BBC News website: “It was because of him I got to hear some of the most obscure but influential music I ever heard. “He was a lifeline to hearing music I would never have heard otherwise.” ‘Dreadful shock’ was the reaction from Bernard Sumner of Joy Division and New Order added, “If it wasn’t for John Peel, there would be no Joy Division and no New Order,” he said. “He was one of the few people to give bands that played alternative music a chance to get heard, and he continued to be a champion of cutting-edge music throughout his life.” Kurt Wagner, of US band Lambchop, said Peel

‘DEVASTATED’ Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt said Peel’s death “absolutely devastated everyone”. “We’re stunned and bereft. He’s irreplaceable because what he had was 37 years of commitment to young music.” Mr Parfitt told Radio 1’s Newsbeat Peel had been on a holiday of a lifetime when he died. “He had gone on holiday with his wife Sheila to a place where he had always wanted to go.” Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq said: “He was groundbreaking for me. He just broke the rules the whole time. He did things that just weren’t done. He was a maverick and he got away with it. “You have to have trust with a DJ, and everyone built that trust with John. BBC 6 Music’s Liz Kershaw said he was “the least musically snooty person we know”. She said: “He was utterly sincere in what he was doing, not because he wanted to be famous but he though he was on a mission to bring stuff to people’s ears. ‘Great joy’ “He really did trawl through mailbags of demo cassettes. That’s why we had Pulp and T-Rex, because he’d been discovering bands like that since 1967.” Singer Laura Cantrell, who was championed by Peel in recent months, said he had an “unabashed love for music”. “I really treasure that I got to know the man and his family, to hear his stories, and to be welcomed by he and Sheila to Peel Acres. “To experience his sense of humour, the great joy that he took in his life was inspiring.” WHAT HE MEANT TO ME: What the fuck do you know about John Peel? Do you feel you know more than me; do you feel you know less? Do you even know what he did? Or are you a ‘personal’ friend? Whatever you feel you know or don’t know really matters not now, does it? John Peel was a Broadcaster, a ‘Radio DJ’ for those who want a cliché, but unlike so many he had charisma and style that never went out of style because it was never in style! The fact that he started at BBC Radio 1FM in the 60’s yet was still there at the time of his death really should tell you all you need to know, especially as other dj’s have come and gone from the station, some of them in various opinions better ‘broadcasters’ than JP. Many of them probably were, but Radio like what it plays ‘Music’ is open to discussion, one band better than another, one vocal stronger, and one guitar louder, it’s complicated, yet it’s simple. All I know is that during the late 70’s John Peel was playing music that to me seemed from another planet, I had come out of the glam rock years with Bolan gone and Bowie lost in Berlin, music seemed lost in a wave of mediocrity that seemed to last all through the long hot summer of 1976, then bang, The Ramones, The Clash, The Pistols, Fuck Yeah, someone was talking to me, you talking to me, Punk! So between 76’ – 82 the only radio I listened to was John Peel who took me down the New Wave with The Undertones, The Boomtown Rats, and strangely for I hated the whole ska / mod movement The Specials at the same time I was switched

onto the Friday Rock Show, Tommy Vance introduced me to the world of Van Halen, AC/DC and Thin Lizzy, so I was caught between the Rock and the Alternative, in 2005 I still am! John moved into the strange world of Joy Division, Bauhaus and the Birthday Party, which really tuned me into some very strange roads where I found the NewYork Dolls,The Stooges amd Hanoi Rocks, Rock had melted into Metal with Iron Maiden, Judas Priest & Motorhead, so I was out of my brain on the 5:15 annoying all my friends with music they just did not understand or in fact many of them could not even listen to what I had on my stereo, but Tommy and John, they knew the score, and every time I went to gigs and met up with people, they all felt the same, it was tribal, it was a gang, I moved on into other things & left John behind from the mid 80’s on, catching his show more by chance than by desire, but a whole new generation of bands were coming through because of his show, but that initial period with John and Tommy lived with me forever, because you see what ever period of music defines your life between the age of 14 –21, it NEVER leaves you, it shapes your future without you even knowing it, then years later a song on the radio, a clip on the TV, meeting an old friend in a bar reminds you of what you had, what you lost, I’m incredibly lucky, I got a job out of rock ‘n’ roll, most don’t, I’m one of the lucky few. That ‘Lost’ moment for so many people was brought back to the surface when they heard the news of John Peels death, they remembered why, where & when, the incredible thing that surprised so many was how many people were touched by John Peel, not just ‘normal’ people but those in the industry, but while we sit and watch a show on the TV called the ‘X Factor’ John’s death reminded us that influential talented people are born, not made, JP had that XFactor, it’s inherent in their blood, JP was a big Liverpool fan & as I sat watching that team come back from 3:0 down to win the European Cup for the 5th time & then days later in Liverpool where 500,000 people lined the streets, one man was missing, one man’s voice was not heard, Liverpool is a sadder place without him. I will close this piece & I will say that from Liverpool to London to the World, John Peel challenged the listener at all times, he was often hard work because for every great song their was a shit one, but you stuck with him through the shit one because there was a great one on the way, John played as much shite as he did great music, but one mans treasure is another mans trash, but when you sat there listening to his show, if a trash song came on, you never switched the dial, for you knew that the next song on the way was treasure, you took the bad with the good, and often that trash became your treasure in later years, the man was just really good at what he did, he had passion, he had a deft delivery, but most of all he had open ears, There will never be another, support Peel day this year & every year and lets use it & remember a great man, fantastic broadcaster and as a reminder of not just how radio used to be, but ought to be. John Peel is Dead, Long Live John Peel. JJ – Zero 2005.

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Viva el Presidente! Yeeeaaaggghhh!!! In the midst of an unpredictable year, what better band to resurface than the once and, if they have their way, future leaders of buoyant, absurdist rock, the Presidents of the United States of America? The newly-reunited PUSA has been in the studio cooking up a new album, a new platform, as it were, for playfulness in rock, featuring 14 songs including the already hit single “Some Postman”.

praise for its sense of pop savvy and quirkiness. Their videos blanketed MTV; they toured the planet, played a live MTV concert at Mount Rushmore, and appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Howard Stern Show and Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve. As if that weren’t enough, the 2nd Presidents album simply titled ‘II’ spawned another top-ten Modern Rock hit, “Mach 5,” and the band contributed a rocking cover of “Video Killed the Radio Star” to the platinum-selling soundtrack to Adam Sandler’s ‘The Wedding Singer’. At the end of the line, Pure Frosting, the band’s swan song for Columbia, included a cover of the Ian Hunter song “Cleveland Rocks,” which was used for many seasons as the theme song to the Emmynominated television series, The Drew Carey Show. For the average artist, such achievements usually mark the summation of a long and healthy career—if they’re lucky. The Presidents, however, accomplished all that and more in just a couple of years. They came back together and Chris admits ‘the only thing was to do a gig, then it snowballed into doing an album that was easier than previous records, we go to a big studio to get the drum sound and stuff, then I’d go home & finish it, the best of both worlds, then we went back to finish off, it was hard work but also fun as always’ The

Does this mean the band is back together for good? “I think so,” says the lead singer. “We’re gonna take things at an even pace and not kill ourselves this time. The key is to keep everything fun and in perspective and cherish it and keep it all positive. If we can do that—and I think we can— I really don’t see us ever splitting up. Besides,” he laughs, “we can’t play the break-up card again. We’ve already done that once, we have so many styles that come from our influences, I am so into Kraftwerk right now & also Spiritualized who just Rock and Relax at the same time, which is so strange, but there is no massive future plan, we have learned from the stuff we fucked up on last time, we are doing week shows in the States and then two weeks in Europe, we will finish then take a break and go back to it again, the audience is going to still be there, there will be no more records unless its great songs, no deadline, we are doing some festivals like Pink Pop and the V Festival in the UK, festivals are ok, club shows are more fun, we have been playing and people who saw us in 1996 have been coming back and telling us they have been waiting so long to see us again, sometimes a lack of reaction does not mean people don’t dig you, they come up at the end and tell you how great you were, but in all honesty, festivals are worth doing for sure and we are the best version of the band we ever been, absolutely’

Karen Moscowitz

he bands lead fellow Chris Ballew admits to being influenced mainly by The Beatles ‘I did not listen to anything else from 2 to 14 years old, I started playing the piano when I was four writing my first song at six, taking titles from books on the shelf like The Scarlet Letter or Moby Dick, then when I hit 14, I discovered this guy in school who used to run around singing Sex Pistols records and I stopped him one day and asked him who it was’ It seems like in the 70’s and 80’s every school in America had such a guy, Chris adds: ‘I went from the Beatles to Arena rock to Punk rock’ Since the band’s split in December of 1997 fans have been sending letters and e-mails urging the band to reunite and asking why they broke up in the first place. Truth be told, their decision to disband came as a surprise to just about everyone. Twelve months earlier, the Seattle-based trio had released II, the follow-up to their wildly successful 1995 self-titled Columbia Records debut. Recorded for $8,000 and initially released on indie label PopLlama, The Presidents of the United States of America went double platinum, rocketed all the way to #6 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart, produced three Top 40 hits (“Lump,” “Kitty” and “Peaches”) and a #1 single on Billboard’s Modern Rock Chart, and garnered two Grammy nominations and a gaggle of critical

Band also had time to remaster the debut album re-release it with some outtakes and demo’s and include a second disc with some visual stuff from Lance Mercer who is a photographer friend alongside visual clips for the singles that don’t get rotation on MTV anymore. Nine years later the songs—smart, tuneful and exhilarating—from The Presidents of the United States of America still hold up. “We gained back the rights to the record and thought it would be fun to put it back out there on our own terms,” says Ballew, ‘first time round everything went too fast, we were not on the same page, but now with some perspective we make it work, also we are more in control of the agenda and the live shows have been off the hizzle as Snoop would say, Live is where it’s at for us! The band was offered several record deals, all of which they decided to walk away from in order to have more control over their music and careers, and to keep it all local. They recently hired Seattle-based managers Mike Tierney and David Meinert at The Blue Team Music Management to coordinate the marketing and promotion of their new album which will be released on the band’s own PUSA Music label, and distributed through Northwest based NAIL/ Allegro Distribution.

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Hardware

Welcome to the Future We really should have seen it coming. The age of advancement is well upon us and you only have to look at the amount of ﬂoor space given over to DVD in the stores to ﬁgure out what most of us want out of a purchase these days. More. Bigger, better, faster and more…

ll hail the revolutionary DualDisc format. On one side, it’s a CD, on the other a DVD. It’s so damn simple that a small child could have thought of it, and if anyone sat back for long enough and thought about it, you have to wonder what the hell took so long. Initially developed about two years ago by four of the major labels and 5.1/Silverline Entertainment, some albums come out on no other format in the US. One of the first out of the blocks was the Springsteen album Devils and Dust and by May of this year, most albums released were as DualDisc. John Trickett, MD of 5.1/Silverline has a good handle on the situation; “The CD format is 20 years old now, and when you see how the DVD format delivers more value for money, it’s not surprising that people will download and pirate music. What we’ve done with the format is to make it a true multi media experience. When you buy the disc, you can play the CD as normal, or you can flip it over and watch the DVD content, but what we can also do is hook it into the internet and constantly update the content, so the disc you’ve just bought has the potential to have material added to it on an indefinite

basis – but you have to have an original disc in the first place.” “We had a ‘soft launch’ of the product back in October 2004 and the real ‘hard launch’ came shortly after early this year. To date we’ve moved over 5 million units, probably closer to 6 and it could even be more.” Intrigued? You should be! I have before me here, a set of 6 DualDiscs from the Warped tour. Each does exactly what it promises. There is no difference in CD sound quality, in fact it’s even better. The DVD side of the discs are also so simple, it defies logic. There’s nothing else to tell except that I see in my head that the possibilities are endless. The new Ian Gillan album, due for release early next year will be on DualDisc. John tells us that amongst other things, you get to choose, for example, whether or not you want Joe

Satriani playing the solo on Smoke on the Water or somebody else – in fact there’s a choice of 4 guitarists! This is just the tip of the iceberg. As the media progresses and artists see the creative potential, the world as we know it is about to tip on its head – and with the price of the discs being kept to no more than what we already pay for a regular CD, you’re just going to love it to death.

“YOU GET TO CHOOSE, FOR EXAMPLE, WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT JOE SATRIANI PLAYING THE SOLO ON SMOKE ON THE WATER OR SOMEBODY ELSE  IN FACT THERE’S A CHOICE OF 4 GUITARISTS!”

DualDisc-a-go-go The titles up for grabs are: Black Fire, Side Sixty Seven, Pulley, The Phenomenauts, Duane Peters & the Hunns and The Skulls. So, here’s the story. Our nice people know their nice people. Their nice people gave us 5 sets of 6 DualDiscs to give away from the above mentioned Beyond Warped series. If you want a set, simply send your name and address in to the usual address, and on the front write “DualDisc/ Warped”. Snip. Entries in by Oct 30th 2005.

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ZERO

Falling asleep at the wheel! WHO’S WHO ON THE CD

Backyard Babies Minus Celsius Taken from their new album Tinitus, the Babies are back in town and they’re ready to blow the house down. They’ve been out on the road forever now – it’s the only way to live for these guys – if you’re still one of the few that have never seen them live, isn’t about time you got out there? You’re missing out…www.backyardbabies.com

Forty Deuce I Still As predicted, the reaction to Forty Deuce on the cover mount of issue 1 caused some serious waves, so we ﬁgured it would be a good time to revisit the band and bring you another dose of ass kicking from the album Nothing to Lose. Watch out for a tour later this year.

Waltham So Lonely Right about now is the time to drop the roof on the car. If you don’t own a convertible, then it’s time to get the angle grinder out – you’re gonna need it! This super slice of perfect radio rock is just the beginning for these guys. www.walthamtheband.com

Black Label Society Sold My Soul Accept no cheap imitations. Zakk Wylde is the absolute master of the strings. Freaks and weirdos out there attempting to be the next god of the groove should stop right here, watch and learn. This track from the forthcoming compilation album Kings of Damnation highlights the period from Book of Shadows. Get down, praise the lord and all that…

Ricky Warwick Anybody Want to Waste Some Time With a ﬁne new album under his belt in the shape of Love Many Trust Few, it’s again time for Ricky to air his considerable songwriting talent. This track sums up the whole ethos of the album. Produced by Joe Eliot, Anybody Want to Waste Some Time is an arm-out-ofthe-window-tap-on-the-roof tune. Diggit. www.rickywarwick.com

BAG I Can’t Shut My Mouth The discovery of one Mr Simmons becomes a real world reality. This track, taken from the self titled debut is one of the rockier moments in an album ﬁlled with as many anomalies as BAG himself. From here on, we’ll just let the music do the talking.

Jynxt Electric Knives Sometimes things jump out of nowhere and make everybody stop what they’re doing and ask ‘who’s that?’ Such is the case with Jynxt. I don’t think it’s fair to speak of their heritage, it will come out soon enough - so meanwhile just sit back, drive and enjoy. Now would be a good time to stop reading the mag while your driving though. More next issue..jynxt.com

Rob Dickinson Bathe Away From the mighty Catherine Wheel to solo artist, the inimitable Rob Dickinson releases his ﬁrst solo album Fresh Wine For The Horses and what an album! With a depth of songwriting you don’t hear every day, we chose this track for the riﬀ that keeps you hanging on forever. Great song.

Porcupine Tree Open Car Audience meet the curveball – curveball meet the audience. It’s only right that after introducing the band in our ﬁrst issue that those of you who didn’t believe us get the chance to hear why we love it so much. Those guitars, those lyrics… the way it changes direction just when you think you’ve got it covered. It speak for itself…www.porcupinetree.com

Man Raze You’re So Wrong Sound familiar to you in as strange kinda way? Meet the new kids on the block – Phil Collen (Def Leppard), Paul Cook (Sex Pistols) and Simon Laﬀy (Girl), get together to pound your head in with this tune. Taken from the Skin Crawl EP, the band are set to release a full length album in 2006. Meantime, this is more than good enough! Beyond All Reason Is This My Last Lie What caught our ears about Beyond All Reason was the hook. Seemingly jumping in and out of several gutters, they bring this track to life with some top contemporary writing and a great production ethic. We like.

Cory Yarkin Gratitude We seem to be getting a bit of reputation for liking pop rock fuelled by female singers. Yup. Bring it on. Radio friendly rock never did anybody any harm and this is simply a great song from an emerging talent.

Sweet Suzie Dirty Mouth Another band that we found in the mist. Sweet Suzie are going places, just let some time pass by and we’ll all be on the same wavelength. Again, you can forward any comments to editor@zeromag.co,uk and they’ll be passed along to the right place.

Nemonix Morning Blues I was reluctantly dragged out to a pub gig and found these guys lurking there. 15 minutes in and it was blatantly obvious that there was something special going on. Risky dropping them in with bands of calibre? Under normal circumstances yes, but just listen and you’ll begin to see. Anybody interested in the band, email editor@zeromag.co.uk and I’ll pass you in the right direction. Gene Loves Jezebel Motion of Love To round oﬀ, we take a trip down memory lane with this lost classic taken from the Thornﬁeld Sessions album.

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Ear Candy ZERO ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR CDS THAT WERE CRAP WHEN THEY ARRIVED

Kings of Damnation BLACK LABEL SOCIETY OOOOO SPITFIRE RECORDS

There’s nobody on the face of the planet like Zakk Wylde. His take on life is exceptionally raw and we like that a lot. It sits well here because you know that he doesn’t have time to waste on things that are below par. But this is about the music and Wylde can be such a chameleon, the Black Label Society body of work can be pretty damn hard to explain to somebody. Luckily, both streams are mostly faultless. Brandishing the heaviest riffs in existence whilst writing songs – real songs – to set them off, is Wylde’s forte. Sometimes people forget that. This awe inspiring collection from his time with Spitfire (1998-2004), ranging from Pride & Glory right up to Hangover Music Volume IV, is seriously solid – particularly when you consider that he’s also been a member of Ozzy’s band for the majority of that period. Disc 1 of the set covers all the bases as you’d expect and really is the cream. From the acoustic nightmare that is Sold My Soul right up to the mindfuck of Stillborn you’ll be hard pressed to find something here that doesn’t come up to scratch. House of Doom resonates with acoustic aggression and an unbeatable groove until it kicks in with that riff. Highlight of the album for me? Counterfeit God. Riffs, solos, breakneck rhythm and a vocal track driven by thunder – if you were looking a song to describe the whole, this is the one. Has to be. Disc 2 features some inimitable cover versions – ranging from Whiter Shade of Pale to No More Tears, and with a scorching version of Come Together, he pretty much manages to show them all how it should be done… yeah, even Sabbath. Throw in the promo

videos for Stillborn, Bleed For Me and Counterfeit God and you’ve got a winner in your hands. Judging by the recent show at the Astoria, Black Label Society have only just begun to get started. Is the best still to come? Quite possibly – and in a ﬁeld of one, they only have their past as a challenger. SS

“BRANDISHING THE HEAVIEST RIFFS IN EXISTENCE WHILST WRITING SONGS  REAL SONGS  TO SET THEM OFF, IS WYLDE’S FORTE.”

DIAMOND NIGHTS

THE HORRORPOPS

POPSICLE OOOO

BRING IT ON OOOO

KEMADO

HELLCAT

Anyone who tells you this lot sound like The Darkness are talking out of their arse. They are much, much better than that. Mind you, so is my cat, but enough of that. We’re not here to talk about Lowestoft’s secondfinest export (the finest being the roads out of there), we’re talking about Diamond Nights. If you want to liken them to anyone, then Thin Lizzy are your best bet. They have a similar vibe and swagger about them, and the same knack for writing catchy rock songs. Opener Destination Diamonds is almost pure Lizzy, riff chugging along while the vocals cruise over the top. And that pretty much sets the tone. Saturday Fantastic trots along in a similar vein, but then comes the first curve ball – Drip Drip, which has its feet firmly in 70s funk, and proves there is more to this American fourpiece than meets the eye. A fact driven home by the frantic tempo of It’s A Shocka, which is followed by Rex Hex (which along with Snakey Ruth is a song Mark Bolan would be proud of ). You pigeon-hole this lot at your peril. The Girl’s Attractive has more than a nod to Billy Idol (which is either a good thing or a bad, depending on your point of view). As you can see, this lot wear their influences on their sleeve, but that’s no bad thing when it’s respect rather than plagiarism which is the driving force. And that is clearly the case here. Diamond Nights are set to polarise opinion as they head across the globe, but I know which side of the fence I’m on. KJ

Bursting out of Denmark in 2004 with bubblegum rock’n’roll debut “Hell Yeah!” this side project from Kim Nekroman, guitarist with tattooed ‘n’ quiffed scene stalwarts The Nekromantix, quickly established themselves as the poppy, accessible face of psychobilly. The arrival of The Horrorpops’ monster second album then demonstrates not only that they have now out grown mere side-project status but shows them moving out of The Nekromantix shadow musically. Perhaps symbolically where the sleeve to Hell Yeah depicted front-vixen Patricia embracing her double-bass Bring It On’s artwork has her smashing it, although ironically its throbbing rhythms are one of the few strong rockabilly elements to live on from the clutter of influences that made up album No.1. While some may miss the diversity that experiments with ska, punk and even 80s goth pop brought to that album, stripping things down has overall resulted in more consistent record for The Horrorpops. Although displaying a more unified sound (which can loosely be summed up as Billy Idol meets Gwen Stefani in a popabilly stew!) Bring It On is rarely repetitive, moving with ease from the punky guitars and cattily spat vocals of a wreaking pit hymn like Freaks In Uniform to the more sultry charms and creeping refrain of seductively purred mid-tempo number It’s Been So Long. Still all good frivolous trashy pop but this time its built to last for at least the week or so it’s gonna take you to extract some of these killer catchy tunes from your head! AB

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AIDEN NIGHTMARE ANATOMY OOO VICTORY

Seattle 5 piece, Aiden (by their own admission), have a visual image that will see them classed as a My Chemical Romance kind of band. And to tell you the truth the music isn’t exactly poles apart either. Possibly closer in sound to AFI , but along the same vain. If I told you they recently toured the UK with the excellent Silverstein and went down a storm, then hopefully you will start to get the sound they are aiming for. Nightmare Anatomy is their first outing for Victory records, but is in fact their second album. As is traditional, the second outing for any band is never easy – but I think Aiden may have pulled it off. From the aural assault that is Knife Blood Nightmare with its chunky guitar and thumping drums to the final track –See you in Hell the playing is tight and production is excellent. Stand out tracks include the epic, slow burning Genetic Design For Dying, Unbreakable with its acoustic intro and the previously mentioned first and last tracks. So if you like your music hard, melodic a bit punky and have bands like AFI, My Chemical Romance, Blink 182 and Good Charlotte on your mp3 player then this CD should be next on your `must buy` list. JMc

palette with everyone from Thin Lizzy through Metallica to Funeral For A Friend, its lyrical content with every emo band on the planet. Nevertheless, Beyond All Reason are a marvel. It’s not often that a new release by a band just out of their teens blows the top of your head oﬀ without obvious explanation or preamble, but that’s exactly what this album does. The ﬁrst thing you’ll notice is the voice. Paul Ventress has an elastic, vaulting wonder of an instrument which can be guttural, sweet, rich or soar to implausible heights. The guitar work from Ventress and guitarist Russ Hampshire is tight, intricate and imaginative, the rhythm section muscular and solid. But even the music is resistant to analysis or explanation: it’s just brilliantly, impossibly good. The power of this release isn’t spin or image or hype, although the radio buzz and major label bidding war have already begun. It isn’t the cult of personality, personable though this quartet of Yorkshire lads seem to be. It’s the power of sheer talent, conviction and energy – a magical force which will surely drive this young band to the very top of the tree. Beyond All Reason? For once, the name is completely apposite. CO’B

BEYOND ALL REASON OOOO AD ALTIORA RECORDS

Beyond All Reason aren’t an original band. Their debut album doesn’t launch the breathtaking aural and emotional oﬀensive of debut albums by, say, Martin Grech or The Mars Volta. It doesn’t come gift-wrapped in a witty marketing concept like Justin Hawkins in a latex leotard. And it breaks little new ground, sharing its sound

supremely delicate, and Morse’s clean electric guitar melodies over the top of the acoustic rhythms are superb while remaining understated, as all truly classy guitar players are. There’s some of the classic Deep Purple groove on the title track and Back To Back, but again, Morse’s guitar is almost indistinguishable from the bass line. His solo on the latter is fantastic however, probably the best of the album, mirrored by a similar eﬀects-laden keyboard solo from Airey. Before Time Began is a strong track with some great instrumental breaks. Otherwise, it has to be said, the remaining tracks are pretty forgettable. Bananas remains the strongest Morse-era Purple album. Still worth it for the fans though. AL

EDEL RECORDS

The follow-up to 2003s Bananas is the first to feature former Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake and pretty much everyone else keyboard player Don Airey, who replaced the retired Jon Lord back in 2003, but after Bananas had been recorded. Mostly heavier than previous efforts (apart from Bananas), Rapture of the Deep still maintains the progressive elements that have always been a hallmark of classic Deep Purple albums. This album is definitely lacking the punchy sing-a-long choruses of Bananas and Airey’s keyboard playing lacks the virtuosity of Lord’s, and seems to exist simply for the sake of having Hammond organ in Deep Purple music. Steve Morse’s solos, although as good as they’ve always been, sound exactly like they’ve always been, and with his riffs muddied by Roger Glover’s bass, he’s really not been allowed to shine in the way a player of his quality should be. This is until the wonderful acoustically driven ballad Clearly Quite Absurd. Ian Gillan’s vocals on this one are

“IAN GILLAN’SVOCALS ARE SUPREMELY DELICATE,ANDMORSE’S CLEAN ELECTRIC GUITAR MELODIES OVERTHETOP OFTHE ACOUSTIC RHYTHMS ARE SUPERB…”

extremes in between. For seven tracks this is a classic, crushing Cathedral album. Then it veers wildly into new and uncharted territory. And not in a bad way. AL

CATHEDRAL THE GARDEN OF UNEARTHLY DELIGHTS OOO NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS

STAIND CHAPTER V OOOO WEA

BEYOND ALL REASON

DEEP PURPLE RAPTURE OF THE DEEP OOO

This album seems to have been a lifetime in the making – just about had everybody wondering if it would ever arrive, and just how would they deal with their angst? Well, they deal with it damn well and have turned in an album of true excellence. Their ﬁfth album continues in much the same vein as you would expect, but Staind have really grown as songwriters and their mental baggage is now ﬂaunted with intelligence and more vitriol than before. Paper Jesus and Cross to Bear are witness to this fact, the single Right Here is as catchy as hell and will almost certainly settle into the Scuzz playlists with much comfort! If anybody was expecting Staind to have become stronger from their previous outpourings of weakness, then they’ll be very much mistaken – Everything Changes will shove that idea down your throat. Staind aren’t going away. They pour meaning into songs like it’s available in a jug and listening to this is like having someone peer into your insides. If you can stand that much introspection, Chapter V is one of the best things you’ll hear all year. DO

After a brief intro (entitled Death AD 2005) it seems this is going to be another classic Cathedral record in the same mould as their last opus The VIIth Coming. Lee Dorian is immense, his vocals much stronger than on the previous album (and they were pretty forceful on that one too!) and the guitar playing of Garry Jennings is some of his best for many years. Tree of Life & Death and North Berwick Witch Trials are Cathedral at their absolute doomladen best. There’s a bit of a hint that things might get a bit odd during Upon Azrael’s Wings, but it ends conventionally enough and Corpsecycle continues in typical fashion, before the beautiful acoustic instrumental Fields of Zagara and the breakneck Oro The Manslayer. But it’s towards the end that it all really starts to go a bit weird. Beneath A Funeral Sun features some eerie children’s vocals a strangely bouncy midsong interlude and some frankly bizarre vocals from Lee. Then something you really wouldn’t expect on a Cathedral album. Following an odd bass intro, the 25-minute epic The Garden features female vocals and more time and mood changes than your average 70s prog yarn. There are parts where the band have never sounded more evil, parts where they’ve never been softer, parts where they’re almost, God forbid, happy, and all weird

27 HOLDING ON FOR BRIGHTER DAYS OOO UNDERGROUND GROVE

Finding a word for this album other than ‘delightful’ isn’t all too easy, although ‘charming’ and ‘enchanting’ do it justice as well. Maria Christopher’s voice is exquisite and takes you on a beautifully mellow journey combined with music that ranges from pipes and guitars to slow hiphop beats that generally fits very well with her dulcet harmonises. Putting this album in your ‘great for hangovers’ play list on your mp3 player is probably doing it a bit of an injustice but the music is really a perfect listen for a sore head. Definitely something to chill out to, it won’t wake you up in the morning and to be honest shouldn’t send you to sleep either, Maria’s voice will keep you listening to hear what beautiful sound she pulls out next. On their third album now this is, albeit self-confessed, their finest work to date. Fans will love it no doubt about that, the sound is excellent, it’s brilliantly produced and captures Marias voice perfectly. People who are after some great chill out music, which in its own right is powerful and emotive, should definitely check this lot out. JR

CRYPTOPSY ONCE WAS NOT OOO CENTURY MEDIA

These Canadian death metallers have been around a little while. The awe-inspiring speed and ferocity of their delivery demonstrates the fact that these guys know exactly what they’re doing on this their sixth album. Martin LaCroix is a gonner and Lord Worm is back on gutteral vocals, which I’m sure will please a lot of people. For me, music of this genre is often about getting head-down in the mosh pit. It’s physical. It’s musical brutality. But for once this strikes me as death metal that you’re supposed to listen to. It’s clever. It’s intricate. It’s technically brilliant and full of light and shade. The changes in time signatures and dynamics are frequent and innovative. But I can’t help but think the main attraction of this is that it’s so bloody fast and precise. So if you think drumming should be a new Olympic sport, this could be an album for you. SE

GOD FORBID IV: CONSTITUTION OF TREASON OO CENTURY MEDIA

The press release for this album describes God Forbid as successfully bridging the gap between hardcore, thrash and traditional metal. It seems to me then that this album does exactly what it says on the tin. The vocal delivery is pure hardcore albeit with some more melodic

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overtones at times. Musically they veer between trad thrash metal devices such as repetitively brutal kick drums and harmonised guitars to aggressive hardcoreesque riﬃng. It’s all executed with a great degree of precision and the slick production does wonders for the overall sound. But despite all of this, there’s little to distinguish it from countless other contenders in its ﬁeld. The marriage of late-eighties squealing thrash guitars with a full bodied hardcore vocal is one that never really gets consummated. Maybe they’ve tried too hard to be innovative with their mixing and matching across genres. Unless you’ve got something really new to bring to the table, it’s probably advisable to stick to one thing and do it bloody well. Of course, the best bit is that it’s a concept album. According to God Forbid’s website this is a post-apocalyptic story tracing the arrival of a hero to save us all. Unfortunately, many of the sixthform-style lyrics are truly laughable. This is backed up by the album artwork which shows the Statue of Liberty falling to pieces – an unimaginative and clichéd image. Overall I’d try to ignore the concept bullshit. If you’re going to listen to this just enjoy the energy, heaviness and technically excellent guitar meltdown, but don’t expect too much you haven’t heard before. SE

HAYSEED DIXIE A HOT PIECE OF GRASS OOO COOKING VINYL

People have been banging on about this lot for ages, but I know my own mind and I know what I like. What I don’t like is people doing novelty cover versions of perfectly good songs (unless it’s Rolf Harris). And then I find myself at T in the Park, bored during Green Day’s meanderings and wandering about. I amble over to the futures tent, where I find that swing a cat is out of the question. Quite frankly, you’d concuss a shrew. So when this landed on my desk, I was a happy bear. Finally I could find out what all the fuss was about. And it’s about fun. Kicking off with Black Dog, and following that up with War Pigs, Holiday, Rockin’ in the Free World and Whole Lotta Love, songs I love and cherish (with the exception of War Pigs) are shaken down and given a whole new life. And ever single one works, hell, even Sabbath’s ‘classic’ is cool. If that’s not enough, Runnin’

With The Devil, This Fire and Outkast’s Roses (which is just hilarious) are also re-invented. Granted, from here on in you have to love country, as a bunch of Nashville standards are dusted oﬀ and added to the mix, but quite frankly they don’t matter. It’s the ﬁrst 8 tracks you’re buying this for! KJ

MINISTRY RANTOLOGY OO SANCTUARY RECORDS

Well, where to start? From the outset, Ministry have shown themselves determined to cast the metal we know and love into a new shape – now known as industrial. Numerous bands (including Nine Inch Nails) claiming Ministry as influence does give the impression of what Ministry used to be, and does represent the innovativeness of their skull crushing sound. But as time has passed, Al Jourgenson has found himself running low on creativity – now enforcing Ministry as its sole member and juggling multiple industrial projects. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ministry, this album features a re-hash of many past successes such as No W reduxed and Jesus Built My Hotrod updated, but doesn’t quite recapture the full power of what Ministry used to be. Having been critical in its inception, Ministry now come out sounding as if they’re falling behind in the industrial genre. With nothing really new on offer, the only saviours of this album are the 3 live tracks and previously unreleased track The Great Satan (which is to be featured on their next release anyways) – even hardcore Ministry fans will find this hard to get into. To be honest, I’m left feeling quite let down by this. SW

MISS BLACK AMERICA TERMINAL OOOO R.E.P.E.A.T RECORDS

It’s not easy being a young British band, especially considering the wash of such bands in today’s music market. It’s equally as not easy trying to capture a sound to set yourself apart from said bands. But Miss Black America just about manage to, mixing ambient soundscapes and multi-layered guitars with vocals that wouldn’t sound amiss on an Incubus album. Instead of trying to force a huge amount of unusual instruments into each song, singer/rhythm guitarist

KARMA AND EFFECT

SEETHER OOOO WINDUP

With the repackaging of the debut album Disclaimer, you can’t help thinking that this album is long overdue, but you also can’t argue with the effect that the song Broken has had on the bands career. That said, any passing traffic buying Karma and Effect on the basis of Broken are in for a big-ass surprise. Bob Marlette has done a peach of a job on the sound of the band. The guitars now have knobs on which you can set to stun or destroy. The lead track off the album, Remedy, carries the weight of that statement the most and is a killer first single. For those who were hoping Seether might show their true colours and get the lead out on this album, be careful what you wish for, this one might just rip your head off. Behind the scenes there’s killer bass and drums going on too and that’s changed the bands dynamic no end. Shaun Morgan has also really started getting those calluses on his throat and is delivering a far superior vocal track than I expected. There still seems to be a trend for lazy fuckers to bundle Seether into a genre they never fitted into which is a shame. A lot of people will miss out because of that. Mostly though, the band have regenerated as songwriters. Where Disclaimer tended to flag here and there, Karma and Effect can go the distance, but it sure as hell needs more than a cursory listen. This goes deep. Just check out the depth of emotion on the track Tongue, the frenetic intro of Simplest Mistake and the hook in mouth effect that Truth will have on you. End result? Karma and Effect butting heads with Papa Roach’s Getting Away With Murder for the album of the year in my book. SS

“FORTHOSEWHOWERE HOPING SEETHER MIGHT SHOWTHEIRTRUE COLOURS AND GET THE LEAD OUT ONTHIS ALBUM, BE CAREFUL WHATYOUWISH FOR,THIS ONE MIGHT JUST RIPYOUR HEAD OFF.” Seymour Glass and lead guitarist Mat Anthony use sparse layered guitar sounds to thicken their sound and add a new ingredient to their musical milkshake – every song heralds hidden melodies and harmonies between wellconstructed hooks, allowing vocals to touch with passages of quite tasteful guitar and create a quite unique sound. Dot Dot Dot is a deﬁnitive sample of this

album, cutting modern vocals with seemingly old school blues licks in a big rhythmic melting pot – a definite winner. Freefall brings on thoughts of Incubus in terms of melody vs. heaviness, and definitely kicks the door down for Miss Black America’s entry to the contemporary music scene. All in all, a varied and aurally pleasing effort suited to almost anyone who likes modern music. SW

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contending for the top spot in the genre in terms of pure skill in orchestration. Not for all, but for fans of the genre, a deﬁnite treat. SW

through a couple of times, I stand corrected. Saga are an incredibly tight live band with fantastic production – making you wonder if this really was live! At points, coming oﬀ like a mix of Erasure and Van Halen, Saga may not make any new fans with this album, but they’ll certainly conﬁrm themselves in the hearts of their current fans. SW

STREAM OF PASSION EMBRACE THE STORM OOO Listening to a band with roots in the Netherlands, America and Mexico might make you wonder how this could possibly sound – the answer is, almost exactly like every other female-fronted “gothic” band out there. But to liken them to bands such as Nightwish and Lacuna Coil without trying to justify why would be lazy – so here goes. The haunting vocals of Mexican singer Marcela Bovio lead most of the songs on offer here, interspersed with the occasional guitar solo and sections of booming orchestration. Standout songs such as Passion combine both the strong vocals of Bovio with the strong rhythm section and make the listener come back for more feeling something unique – only to find another extremely similar song track after track. More for fans of Evanescence wanting something heavier or fans of Nightwish wanting something a bit lighter, Stream of Passion DOES have something for everyone – as long as everyone likes Evanescence or Nightwish. There’s little variety or range in the song structure, but Stream of Passion are definitely

Give Me The Love and Sometimes A River alternate a foot-tapping country rhythm with a bodyrocking soft rock chorus, with comfortingly wary vocals making the listener feel as if they’re being romanced by Uncle Kracker. With a full country-band line-up of various instruments and every band member taking a turn at the microphone, this album holds a number of secret gems such as Drive and Rainbow Serpent. I can’t help but feel this will end up as a guilty pleasure for many! But not me. SW

SAGA CHAPTERS LIVE OOO A double-disk extravaganza from aging Canadian progrock outﬁt Saga summarising all 16 experimental ‘chapters’ throughout their career – what more could anyone want? To understand the ‘chapters’, a journey back through their discography is needed: from their very ﬁrst album in 1978, Saga have included one or two tracks on each album, calling these tracks ‘chapters’ and leaving hints that they are all in some way linked. Fast forward to the 1986 ‘Misbehaviour’ tour, Saga performed all 8 of the current chapters in their correct order, then spent the next 19 years amassing an additional 8 chapters. Into 2005, Saga performed all 16 chapters in correct order and cut it to disk here. I have to say; I approached this with some doubt, believing that recorded live albums are pointless, let alone a prog-rock live album. But having listened

THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT ONE STEP CLOSER OO I’ve never heard an album where every song vehemently deﬁed any form of deﬁnition – The String Cheese Incident, ‘jamrockers’ from America, have left me puzzled. I can’t quite place them beside any band, old or new, and I can’t quite decide whether to love them or hate them. Wrapping up a goody-bag of folk, bluegrass, country, blues and jazz and slapping themselves with the label of “soft rock”, SCI are dancing along the genre lines which have been so strongly in place for the past decade or so. Managing to blend so many genres would make you think the songs would sound messy and uncoordinated, but this is not the case at all – tracks such as

darkness like an intravenous hit of punk-tinged emo-core, Blindside deliver songs such as Ask Me Now and Yamkela with a curious amount of musical awareness and lyrical mysticism. Somehow wrangling a level of infectiousness only seen in bands such as The Killers or The Bravery, Blindside seem comfortable delivering either throat-shredding screamo or ear-massaging ballads, making them a somewhat unique band amongst those they may be grouped with. Despite the relative musical range they provide in their songs, Blindside cater purely for the younger generations – and they do so with boundless energy. But, if you like catchy riﬀs, sing-along choruses and the chance to scream your head oﬀ for no reason, then check this album out! SW

BLINDSIDE THE GREAT DEPRESSION OOO With the amount of overemotional teenage bands ﬂooding the music scene today, you’d be forgiven for thinking Blindside are just another such band. You’d be right, but nonetheless, singer Christian Lindskog manages to prove he can sing as well as scream like a grounded teenager. Melding punk-like energy with the misery of today’s most popular bands, Blindside seem to harness a melodic intensity that ﬁnds rivalry in bands such as AFI and even at points, Queens of the Stone Age. Screaming out of the

SIEGES EVEN THE ART OF NAVIGATING BY THE STARS OOO Being incredibly prog-rock seems to come naturally to self-confessed ‘cult German experimental band’ Sieges Even. Unlike many who attempt it, Sieges Even seem to achieve their

JETHRO TULL AQUALUNG LIVE OOOO R&M

Are we all standing on one leg playing air ﬂute? Then I’ll begin. It’s been a quiet old time on the Tull front recently, with main man Ian Anderson presumably keeping himself busy with his salmon farm. Thank goodness, then, that they got invited over to America to record the classic Aqualung album to an invited audience. Even more thanks that they chose to release it. This album has already been given the re-mastering treatment, but this is diﬀerent. While the audience are making less noise than the crowds on Black Sabbath’s famously quiet Live Evil, Tull are romping along with all the pomp and majesty which has kept them in the public gaze for over 30 years. Released to raise money for a variety of homeless charities, live staples Aqualung and Locomotive Breath are taken back to the place that spawned them. And alongside lesser known ‘classics’ Mother Goose, My God and Wind-up, Tull serve up a timely reminder of what makes them such a great band. As an added bonus, tracks 12-17 are bits and bobs which provide some amusing anecdotes about the recording of the album both then and now. KJ

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goal of being one of the most progressive bands on the scene, and they manage it well. Founded in Munich in 1988 and having had many troubles in between albums, Sieges Even have battled themselves to the finish line in every aspect, changing their name and line-up numerous times before finally reaching their current situation, 8 years after their last album release. And to be fair, it’s been a well spent 8 years. Placing them at the top of their career, this album declares Sieges Even still a valid provocateur on the prog-rock scene – newly procured singer Arno Menses proving he can sing to suit whatever mood is required by the more than qualified musicians behind him. The Weight, topping 10 minutes, is the longest and most musically varied track, and shows how prog is done properly – Styx pulling in a close second. This is definitely an album for those who love prog and have no concept of passing time – truly a milestone in the career of Sieges Even, if not all of prog. SW

JOHN CALE BLACKACETATE OOO EMI RECORDS

From his classical training with composer Aaron Copland through his work with Velvet Underground to all 22 solo albums, veteran muso John Cale has never settled for a single approach. Unlike 2003’s electro-ambient Hobo Sapiens, blackAcetate is a return to buskable songs with choruses you can whistle. Cale’s cracked baritone voice oozes character, although an excursion into wavery falsetto on the opener Outta The Bag is a bit of a mistake. Stylistically the album’s all over the place – hardly surprising when you learn it’s been hewn from sessions that produced some 48 songs. Satisﬁed is a shiny-happypeople party with extra irony; upcoming single Perfect is an uncomplicated rocker, with lyrics that satirise the dizzy euphoria of romance. Hush is a rare excursion into urban funk, aided and abetted by Macy Gray arranger Herb Graham Jr. Gravel Drive, a letter to Cale’s daughter from an all-too-often absent father, is as close to sentiment as the dour old Welshman gets. Perhaps the album’s standout is Wasteland – a touch of 90s Bowie with added vulnerability and compassion. Cale has recently namechecked everyone from Dr Dre to Doves and Bloc Party, and like his near-contemporary Robert Plant,

his latest outing shows he’s still got his eyes and ears open. Maybe one of rock’s most often-cited seminal inﬂuences is now content to sit back, listen and learn. Co’B

JOHN LYDON THE BEST OF BRITISH £1 NOTES OOO

TEA PARTY

VIRGIN

Ol’ John’s had a colourful career. First fronting The Sex Pistols, and then doing whatever the hell he felt like with Public Image Limited, Leftfield, Time Zone and under his own moniker. Here, spread over two discs, is a fairly thorough overview of it all. On CD1, 20 tracks covering all the various journeys he has made, while CD2 is for the devotee, with its various remixes and suchlike. Granted, Lydon is not to everyone’s taste, but he’s responsible for a large number of the bands you love (via The Pistols – represented by Anarchy In The UK, God Save The Queen and Holidays In The Sun) picking up their instruments. He’s also the perfect example of how to do what the fuck you want. His PIL stuff is hit and miss, but that’s not the point. He’s to be applauded for walking his own path and producing the music that got him off rather than pandering to the masses. There are those who don’t have time for him, not that he’s going to give a shit about that, but they’re the ones missing out. Public Image, Rise, Don’t Ask Me, Warrior, Cruel (all PIL), World Destruction (Time Zone) and The Rabbit Song (the album’s token new track) are all great songs which you dismiss at your peril. They’ve got wit, style and killer choruses, and bucket loads of fun – which is something seriously lacking from a lot of bands these days. KJ

SEVEN CIRCLES OOOOO

Opening with anthemic ﬁstpumper Writing’s On The Wall, Tea Party take no hostages in their 7th studio album. Heavy and rhythmic, Tea Party can turn on a penny into reﬂective melodies and display a sensitive side. Heralding a sound

of Worth bring something that feels new, yet ominously familiar to the table. With a melodic sound reminiscent of Hell Is For Heroes and Hundred Reasons, its difficult to form an opinion of Days of Worth that doesn’t begin with the words “but they remind me of…” so you wonder whether you’re listening to a new band or just the summary of the past 5 years of hard rock history. But still, considering the intense rhythmic energy of said bands, I can imagine Days of Worth putting on a formidable live show to back up their fairly standard set of songs. Songs such as State Of Me and It’s A Beautiful View bring hope, but then certain songs make this album feel very hit-and-miss. Presenting themselves to be a fair reflection upon past great hard rock acts, the Surrey quintuplet DO offer sing-along choruses and foot stomping energy, but at the price of a couple of unsatisfactory songs. And, if you can listen to the opening of Take Me Through and not be reminded of My Chemical Romance, consider yourself a true Days of Worth fan. SW

HITECHJET 600 MILES FROM… OOOOO IN AT THE DEEP END RECORDS

DAYS OF WORTH THE WESTERN MECHANISM OOO VISIBLE NOISE

Sporting a healthy mix of tonal clarity, musical creativity and determinedly poetic lyrics, Days

Ìs this the shit that’s supposed to knock our socks off? ` So starts of the first full album from Uxbridge 5 piece Hitechjet. First look at the cover of this cracking cd and I presumed we had the next greatest export from the good ole U.S of A. Everything about this release reeks of pure class. It’s been a while since I’ve been this impressed with a debut album from a new British act. The power, passion and controlled aggression are evident though all

that sounds all too familiar, but at the same time, refreshingly new and desirable, Tea Party embrace the powerful vocals and tight rhythm section at their disposal and still have room for some delicate orchestration that lends an altogether more melodic and smooth aspect to their formidable output. Songs such as Oceans show a gentle side, evoking thoughts of Nickelback and The Calling – yet Overload and Empty Glass shows these guys know how to use a heavy riﬀ in a song. Pulling in thoughts of The Music in terms of sheer all-out riﬀery, and Breed 77 in moments of tribally inspired jamfests such as Luxuria and Coming Back Again, Tea Party are showing to be one of the biggest rock acts to come out of Canada in a long time. As title track Seven Circles draws to a close, I’m left wanting more – rocking louder and better than any other current band, Tea Party have proved once again that they rock. SW

“TEA PARTY EMBRACE THE POWERFUL VOCALS AND TIGHT RHYTHM SECTION AT THEIR DISPOSAL AND STILL HAVE ROOM FOR SOME DELICATE ORCHESTRATION THAT LENDS AN ALTOGETHER MORE MELODIC AND SMOOTH ASPECT TO THEIR FORMIDABLE OUTPUT.”

13 songs – no ﬁllers here. They seem to have shoehorned in the best of bands such as, Jimmy Eat World, Hundred Reasons, Bad Religion, Lost Prophets and made their own sound. Brian the vocalist seems to have a range reminiscent of Cory from Slipknot – one minute he is screeching, screaming and growling like a banshee (I should have left you at the) Roadside, then when they slow things down for the acoustic The Perfect Video the guy can really sing. If you were looking for a single, then I would choose the radio/MTV friendly Making Movies. Listen, Hitechjet want to take you on a journey – this has got everything… brutal vocals, great hooks, sing-along chorus’s, Punk attitude, indie feel and commercial success stamped all over it. Apparently they absolutely shred live as well and have already supported such acts as Kasabian and Million Dead. “Jump in the car and join them on their ride”. JM

KING’S X OGRE TONES OOOO INSIDE OUT

Fuck me. This is King’s X’s 13th album. Thirteenth. Jesus. Like many people, I’d assumed they’d packed up and gone home a while back, so it was

a pleasant surprise when this dropped on the mat. What was an even better surprise was just how good it is. All the trademarks are here, crunchy guitars, beautiful harmonies (but not sugar-sweet, Monky’s take note) and hook laden songs. The last album I heard of theirs was the self-titled effort in 1992, which was a great record and far surpassed it’s predecessor (Faith, Hope and Love). Ogre Tones is every bit as good, if not better, with both Dog Pinnick and Ty Tabor sounding as good as ever. Alone kicks things off brilliantly, steaming in and setting their stall out straight away, while Fly and Hurricane mix up the killer riffs and catchy choruses like the seasoned pros they are. And if Bebop isn’t released as a single, then questions need to be asked. When they slow things down (Honesty and Get Away) it’s not done in the usual ballad style either, quite the reverse. As the guitars lilt and lift, the lyrics start getting heavy instead – giving you something to think about as your toe taps. Sadly, they let the side down is Sooner or Later and Mudd, both of which are a tad on the dirgy side and sound too similar to be next to each other. Still, small quibble when the rest of the album is so good. KJ

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bad thing early on, it switches riffs for an infectious groove on Freedom. On both sides of the Atlantic, there’s quite an underground buzz about them right now. Bringing back killer rock is a hard task these days, but with tracks like these – especially Superfly, which is just about the most intense song around, the future is certainly starting to look rosy again. I guess some of you might not be familiar with the band – singer Joe LeSte was once the frontman in Bang Tango and that’s probably all you need to know to get an idea of where this album is going, so I’ll say no more except that you should expect a better band than Bang Tango were. If you like your rock straight out of the bag, why are you still reading this? Get up, get out and get it on. SS But sometimes, there’s just nothing to say. I was always taught to say nothing if I couldn’t be nice, but blank space looks crap in a mag and gives the editor blood pressure problems, so I’ll tell you what the blurb on this says, just to fill space. “Think early Police, add a dash of Prefuse 73’s electronic subtlety, tons of intricate musicianship, heaping mounds of sincerity and a few emotional outbursts made by exmembers of Botch, Kill Sadie, Sharks Keep Moving and producer Matt Bayles and you’re getting there.” Which is a very long-winded way of saying it’s shit. KJ

DEUCE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES OOOOO SPITFIRE/EAGLE ROCK

There’s nothing like a big slab of rock to start the day with bang – and this fucker bangs like a door. It seems like a lifetime since the debut album hit the decks, and it probably is. The number of people that are actually truly excited about this album is incredible and talking of doors, the one that was holding back these songs has been ripped oﬀ its hinges. Lead track, Anyone, begins the album with riﬀs so dirty they’ve been plucked from the street – the album then does a

MISFITS MEET THE NUTLEY BRASS FIEND CLUB LOUNGE OOO MISFIT RECORDS

THE LUCKY NINE TRUE CROWN FOUNDATION SONGS OO

Mad Sin

HASSLE RECORDS

There’s nothing new here and quite frankly these guys take themselves much too seriously. Daniel Carter got together this band of merry men to go on, what he is calling, some sort of Blue Brothers-esque ‘Mission From God’. Including ex-Hundred Reasons singer Colin Duran in the mix these guys are certainly a talented group of musicians, it’s just a shame there’s nothing new about the whole album. It’s an upbeat cross between Refused and more recent Sum 41 that hints at a Stuck Mojo power groove type sound in places and to be fair, isn’t all too shabby. The album doesn’t give up either which is a plus point, it’s 40 minutes and 12 tracks of pretty intense sound that will be a definite kicker live. The songs are just about the right length as well, most of them lasting just over three minutes. Although this isn’t the most original stuff ever to be burnt to CD it is good at what it is, which is essentially metal with punk overtones. It’s definitely nothing to get too excited over though. JR

MAD SIN DEAD MOON’S CALLING OOOO I USED TO FUCK PEOPLE LIKE YOU IN PRISON RECORDS

One of the oldest names on the psychobilly scene, Germany’s Mad Sin, have been slicking their hair into gravity defying, Elvis-on-follicle-Viagra-quiﬀs and knocking out breakneck paced, horror-besotted ‘billy since ‘87 now. Come 2005 the agenda remains the same, with Dead Moon’s Calling serving up no less that 18 future trash classics concerning monsters, murders, B-movies and The Munsters – whose theme tune makes a cameo appearance on Brand New Gun to give some idea of the cheesy schlock horror on oﬀer here. This may be a familiar plot, about as formulaic and full of twists and shocks as a typical episode of Scooby Doo, but while Mad Sin are doing nothing new their knack for a ludicrously catchy two minute psycho-punk freakout remains unrivaled. As you might expect from such a sprawling tracklisting

there is some filler here, but this is balanced out by a some 24-carat gems. Highlights amid the quick-fire barrage of Johnny Cash let loose in the Hammer Horror effects department sounds include the spooky Misfitsinspired title track, complete with sex kitten with claws guest vocals from The Horrorpops Patricia Day, and the surprisingly poppy Not Invited that jives along to an irresistible toe-tapper of a rockabilly bassline. Finally, as Dead Moon’s Calling enters its closing sequence Radio Psycho pulls out all the stops for a shamelessly silly, full-pelt punky stomp to the finishing line. So it hardly breaks any mould, but nothing broken means nothing means fixing – all good shamelessly schlocky Psychobilly fun. AB

MANNTIS SLEEP IN YOUR GRAVE OOO CENTURY MEDIA

This is metalcore just how it oughtta be. It’s like hardcore with a big, scary injection of thrash. It’s fairly melodic too

– comparatively speaking of course – which gives it an immediately listenable edge that will surely secure them legions of fans. They’re at their best when they avoid the clichéd thrash elements and make the most of their solid hardcore groove. They list their inﬂuences as Pantera, Hatebreed, Meshuggah and Boy Sets Fire, but their sound is fresh, unpretentious and very much their own. It’s uncompromisingly forceful – an essential, no doubt, when you come from Riverside SoCal which I would imagine is not as dainty as the infamous OC. They’ve played over a thousand shows in their native USA which, coupled with their courting of the MTV generation, will undoubtedly have them breaking out of the underground scene into the light of commercial success. For pure, hi-octane metal, you could do worse than Manntis. SE

Fans of the punk maestros are going to really need a sense of humour for this one! Basically, imagine such classics as Last Caress, Die, Die My Darling, Angelfuck and Hatebreeders being piped out of an elevator in downtown LA. This is what you’d hear. It’s described as “well executed, instrumental, retro inspired ‘space age pop’ or ‘lounge’ style”, and it is that (not that I had a clue what that meant until I put it on!). No snarling vocals, no raw guitars, just a bontempi keyboard and a drum machine. That’s not to say it’s bad, it’s just diﬀerent. A bit like Raw Sex covering Megadeth. KJ

MINUS THE BEAR MENOS EL OSO (no stars) UNDERGROOVE

The editor around here likes us to write a certain number of words for each review, enough to give you, dear reader, all the information you need to decide if the album you are reading about is for you.

MISTY’S BIG ADVENTURE THE BLACK HOLE OOO SL RECORDS

Named after a story in 1968’s Magic Roundabout Annual, Misty’s are the ideal act for a May

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MY MORNING JACKET Z OOOO ATO RECORDS

My Morning Jacket are clearly a band for whom music speaks louder than words. After the sparse beginnings of Wordless Chorus, Gideon shows signs of promise; there’s an ambience created by James’ emotive wailing that suggests something brilliant is about to happen… but not just yet. Rather, it takes the sudden surge of Wonderful Man and Off The Record with their much heavier, raw electric guitars and hissing cymbals to convince you to keep listening. But as the weird and wonderful Into The Woods crystallizes into being, with a sound resembling a haunted fairground ride, you’re already hooked by its eerie country-tinged slide guitar and Americana vocals even before Anytime and Lay Low erupt with screaming electric guitars and propulsive keyboards. But the phrase ‘good things come to those who wait’ has never been more relevant than here, as the final track, Dondente, proves to be a dream-like seven-minute masterpiece, with James’, tortured vocals alongside bluesy guitar and building to reach new heights misery in its final explosion of emotion. Although this is an album that takes some listening to before you can really begin to appreciate its brilliance, it won’t be long before you’re enveloped by a delicate mixture of beautiful ballads and high energy country soul that was well worth the wait. CM

Ball or the annual knees-up at the ad agency. They’ve even toured primary and special needs schools where they’ve no doubt terrified the kiddies with Erotic Volvo – a crazed dancer in a multicoloured fat suit who bears a nightmarish resemblance to Mr Blobby. Their frontman Grandmaster Gareth – one of dear departed John Peel’s “new gods” – heads up an eight-piece musical theatre troupe that likes to compare itself to a subversive Muppet Show. It’s all a bit Julian Cope really – with a knowing nod to everything from The Polyphonic Spree to The Divine Comedy. It’s also the kind of eclectic experience that’s best seen live – this band are fixtures on Birmingham’s underground music scene, but right now, they’re on tour with The Magic Numbers. On CD its vaudeville zaniness simply gets wearing after a handful of tracks, despite impeccable musicianship and the kind of attention to detail you only get from the truly, madly, deeply stagestruck. Challenging, often unpredictable and sometimes even funny, it’s not all blithe good cheer and greasepaint, though. Like at the circus, some of the clowning can get sinister; The Story of Love is all noir-ish cynicism and Evil is a dark exercise in wordplay. Celebrity fans include The Zutons, Stuart Maconie, Tom Robinson and Phil Jupitus, and thereby hangs a tale; this is the kind of self-referential stuff that ultimately appeals more to the industry itself than to the public. CO’B

THE MOVE MESSAGE FROM THE COUNTRY OOO

recorded) will provide fond memories and a smattering of rarities, for the rest of us it provides a taste of the time, but little else. Don’t Mess Me Up is a good piss-take of Elvis and Until Your Mama’s Gone is pretty cool, but others haven’t really stood the test of time so well. The Minister tips more than its hat to The Beatles, and My Marge is straight out of the 1940s – which was probably hilarious in 1971… Nostalgic value – huge. Reasons for buying it if you’re under 30 – nil. KJ

HARVEST/EMI

So, what makes a classic album? Does it have to have been bought by the masses? Or just made over 20 years ago? Or is having one ‘legend’ on the record enough? Whatever the deciding factor, I’m not sure this album falls into the category, which raises the question why has it been re-released, even if it does have bonusneverbeforeheardbonus (as they’re known) tracks. Back in the day, The Move were one of the great bands – they were the ﬁrst record played on Radio 1 and were sued by Harold Wilson. Over time, though, other bands from the period have fared better. Tull are still going, for example, while the Beatles are still worshipped. Roy Wood, meanwhile, is left touring with Wizzard in 70s revival shows and talking about Christmas records, Jeﬀ Lynn became a Travelling Wilbury and Bev Bevan passed through the revolving door that was Black Sabbath in the 80s. For lovers of The Move, this album (the last they ever

NIGHTWISH HIGHEST HOPESTHE BEST OF SPINEFARM RECORDS OOO If I told you I had a great idea for a new band – classic heavy metal with operatic vocals, say The Darkness with Charlotte Church on vocals – what would your reply be? Exactly. But this is basically what the Nightwish sound is! To be honest, the only thing I’d heard by this Finnish ﬁve piece until this CD dropped on my doormat, was the awesome Nemo, with its stunning video – and I suspect the majority of readers were introduced in

a similar way. So I was looking forward to checking out the best of their back catalogue. Kicking oﬀ with I Wish I Had An Angel, I was suitably impressed, good song, but something was bugging me, are they just a one trick pony? An average European heavy metal band, like Accept maybe, with a gorgeous opera singer. Maybe I was expecting a CD packed with songs of the quality of Lacuna Coil, a sort of haunting, chunky, goth sound! It must be just me, because they’ve sold over 2.5 million CDs worldwide, so I guess someone out there likes them. It’s just a major disappointment that all the songs were not of the quality of Nemo, although the ballad Dead Boy’s Poem and the cover version of Gary Moore’s classic, Over the Hills and Far Away are pretty hot. However, there’s no excuse for cover versions of Walking on the Air from the Snowman and Phantom of the Opera. Please! Anyway, now I’ve got that oﬀ my chest, the disc also includes a live track called High Hopes, which is pretty cool and hints at what may be to follow. It also comes with a bonus DVD featuring She Is Sin, Dead to the World and Kinslayer. If you love Nightwish, this is probably for you but me; I was never a fan of retro chic. JM

THE NUMB ONES EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN OOO CLEOPATRA RECORDS

“A must for fans of Velvet Revolver and Foo Fighters” huh? An odd pairing. Choosing those simply because they’re popular

right now? Possibly. But equally oddly, The Numb Ones do manage to sound a bit like both bands at diﬀerent points on the album. Leading with your best track (by a country mile) isn’t always the best idea. Opener, and title track, Everything In Between rocks hard. You can hear the VR reference, just. This track is a little misleading, though. There isn’t another track on the album like this one because following it we have a string of Foo Fighters style songs. Arms Length in particular could easily be on a Foos album. Elsewhere there’s a hint of The Wildhearts and on one particularly poor track (The Blanket – the only poor track, in all honesty) there’s even a bit of Green Day. There are a few glimpses at VR on Try It (although it does have a very Foos chorus) and Understand but otherwise, this is an album for Foos fans. The album closes in ﬁne fashion with the excellent acoustic ballad Pure. Possibly the biggest let down of this album is the complete lack of lead guitar playing. Some of the songs are crying out for a short little solo here and there, but there are none. A shame. Some solos would have won this one another star. AL

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WITHIN TEMPTATION THE SILENT FORCE SPECIAL UK EDITION OOOO ROADRUNNER RECORDS

Many Within Temptation fans have been complaining that the band have suddenly gone “poppy”. They’re wrong. The band are no different now than they were on previous album, Mother Earth. There is one difference though, no strings. The Silent Force has pretty much done away with the Celtic string melodies of previous efforts. This could be for one album, could be for good. We’ll have to wait and see. Otherwise, the band are playing the same type of stuff they always have. The other difference now, of course, is that the band are finally popular and less “underground”. Evidently the fans are too fickle and/or elitist for that. More people like them, so the only possible reason is that they’ve sold out and gone commercial. Sound ridiculous? It is. Tracks like Jillian (I’d Give My Heart), Stand My Ground and Aquarius are equally strong, if not stronger than the bands previous output. With the Celtic strings of old gone there’s more room for the metal elements of Within Temptation’s sound. This gives the new songs more power than before, with the guitars benefiting from not being buried under layers of strings and choirs. The background choirs and the keyboards provide all the light and shade, while the bass and drums are brought to the fore. Of course, any band that comes into the public eye with an operatic female vocalist these days is instantly compared to Evanescence. This is both unfair and unrealistic. Just watch the accompanying live DVD. That’ll show you what the real fans think. AL

“WITH THE CELTIC STRINGS OF OLD GONE THERE’S MORE ROOM FOR THE METAL ELEMENTS OF WITHIN TEMPTATION’S SOUND. THIS GIVES THE NEW SONGS MORE POWER THAN BEFORE” 118 | ZERO MAGAZINE | www.zeromag.co.uk

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THE YOUNG GODS

TWENTY YEARS, 1985  2005 OOOO PIAS RECORDINGS

This is the best 20 tracks of the Young Gods high octane synth rock from the last 20 years and it’s a genuinely intense and interesting listen. Less heavy metal than the likes of Fear Factory yet holding more rock than the likes of New Order they continue to ﬁnd a great blend between the electronica and rock genres. This album in turn is a brilliant display of

OLD MANS CHILD VERMIN OOO

just how well the two can be mixed. Two decades ago the Young Gods deﬁnitely had their own sound, the way they fused genres was pretty much unheard of. The problem though, brought to light by this extended epilogue of their music, is that little seems to have changed. Not to say the album is repetitive, at least for the ﬁrst 10

drumming comes courtesy of Danish beat-machine Reno H. Kiilerich, who can hit things quicker than I’ve ever heard before – although the gloomy, cavernous reverb makes it sound like he was recording at the bottom of a mine shaft. Symphonic strings and dashes of melodic keyboard bring a sense of grandeur and beauty to an otherwise dark and aggressive work. If grandiose black metal is your kind of stuﬀ, it’s surely an essential. SE

CENTURY MEDIA

Okay, so without a doubt, these guys are the winners of the ‘band with the stupidest name’ award. But what else is there to say about the sixth studio album from Norway’s multi-instrumentalist Galder? It’s immediately obvious that this is an album that’s relentlessly catchy, has insanely fast and furious instrumental performances and an atmosphere that’s nicely dark and brutal. I personally never like ‘demonic’ vocal styles, but lovers of black metal with surely love Galder’s throat-shredding approach. The talented Galder takes on not just the vocals, but stringed instruments and keyboards too. The insane

In fact, they stink. There has never been a point in my life when I liked this sort of shit. I don’t care if it’s a soft thing, but I like my songs to have a melody. Go back to the UK punks of yore, the Pistols, The Clash et al – one thing they could do was build a song around a decent melody. Something to actually listen to. Hell, check out The Subway or Dope, raw and snotty as they come, but songs you can still genuinely listen to. Not 180mph drums, with everyone racing to keep up while the singer just roars a garbled mess over the top. You want a band that plays fast? Go and by either Peace Sells or So Far, So Good, So What. You want your ears shredded by noise? Stick your head in a jet engine. It’ll be a more pleasant experience than this KJ

SAUCY MONKY POISON IDEA KINGS OF PUNK O GOLF/PLASTIC HEAD RECORDS

OK, I get it – they’re a ‘classic’ band, they re-wrote the rule book, they re-invented hardcore punk Stateside. That doesn’t make them any good.

TURBULENCE OO MEASURED RECORDS

So you want to be a music journalist? Lesson One: Ignore everything PR people tell you about what a band sounds like. It’s invariably bollocks. Take this lot – an Irish fourpiece badged as being “feisty”.

tracks there’s enough going on to keep you entertained, after that though all the synth and electronica crunch distortion does get a bit samey. This ‘best of’ type album is a good homage to their music, fans will love it and it will act as a good platform for people who have somehow missed them in the past to hear the best parts of their extensive back catalogue. JR

It just feels like they had one eye on what might sell rather than playing from the gut. There’s a great quote on the website: “If you’re into harmonies and moody lyrics, check out Saucy Monky.” Harmonies, yes, but moody lyrics? Avril Lavigne is moodier. Maybe they’ll be better live. KJ Are they crap? They’re being pushed in the indie-rock crossover direction, which is a mistake. Call them pop and be done with it. That’s not to say this is a bad album, it’s not, but it’s not good either. Tracks like Speedball, Good Day Down and their cover of I Touch Myself (easily the best song on the album) are pretty nice. And that’s the problem. Their nice. I want them to be letting their hair down and ripping their voices to shreds while the guitars leave my ears bleeding (and the PR blurb led me to believe this was a possibility), but while this is never gong to be the band’s style, the production lets them down in several places with an almost saccharine touch. Boyz is almost cute, Umbrella is quite pretty and Pink Flamingos is harmless enough, but you’re left with the feeling they could all have been so much more.

SENNEN WIDOWS OO HUNGRY AUDIO

Concocted at the musicianfriendly University of East Anglia in leafy Norwich, Sennen’s very English brand of moodily sweet soundscape will either enchant or enrage. Harmony-laden and heavily atmospheric, this is music for long, fragrant summer afternoons spent drifting gently along sunlit rivers with a picnic in your hamper and one hand

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DOPE AMERICAN APATHY OOOO ARTEMIS RECORDS

Fuck yeah! This is what I’m talking about! Come on! A minute into opener I’m Back, and I’m bouncing around the room, punching walls and trying to coerce the cats into forming a mosh pit. (If the RSPCA are reading this, that was a joke. Honest.) The beat pounds, the bass throbs, the guitars rev and Edsel Dope just oozes venom, bile and hatred. I’m guessing he didn’t vote for Bush. I don’t think I’ve been this energised by a record in a while. Survive and No Way Out are just the bollocks, and even when things slow down on the likes of Always, you’re still riding the groove, ready for the next burst of adrenaline. And the whole album isn’t about railing against the system – matters of the heart are addressed on Sex Machine and Lets Fuck, and the cover of Depeche Mode’s People Are People is up there with Manson’s Tainted Love in a masterclass of how to re-invent a classic. The beautiful thing about this album is that it has light and shade, it’s not just a wall of angst and noise. It’s also got hooks and melodies by the bucket load. Basically, this is the album you’ve been looking for if you’re fucked oﬀ, fed up and generally sacked oﬀ with the direction Bush (and by default) Blair are taking your life. And if this lot don’t get sued for Four More Years, I’ll run for president myself. KJ

“THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT THIS ALBUM IS THAT IT HAS LIGHT AND SHADE, IT’S NOT JUST A WALL OF ANGST AND NOISE. IT’S ALSO GOT HOOKS AND MELODIES BY THE BUCKET LOAD.”

trailing gently in the cool water, cathedral bells echoing softly in the distance. It has an undeniable charm – but after what seems like several hours of gently throbbing keyboards, bell-like guitars and reverbed-to-death harmony vocals you long for a little distortion and violence. Frequently compared to bands like Spiritualized and My Bloody Valentine, these unhurried 7 and 8 minute slabs of sound also recall the icy ambience of Sigur Ros – though despite its added English warmth, the material doesn’t have the emotional power to surmount its frequent longueurs. Lurking deeper is an aﬃnity with the trancelike meanderings of early 70s Pink Floyd, all sleepy sunlight and placid euphoria. There’s a sudden change of mood on penultimate track One And The Same Thing, when someone has a rush of blood and cranks up the distortion and the tempo. At just over two minutes it’s an obvious candidate for radio play, but it’s in no way representative of the album as a whole. CO’B

STRATOVARIUS STRATOVARIUS OOO Ah, Finland, the country that gave us the glam-rock of Hanoi Rocks, the majesty of Nightwish and introduced the world to Love Metal in the form of sultry rockers HIM; it’s also home to majestic power metalers, Stratovarius. And with a name that is made up of one of the world’s most well known guitars, the Fender Stratocaster, and the famous violin type, Stradivarius, is it any wonder this is a band who think big? Full to bursting point with catchy hooks and massive melodies, there’s a definite eighties vibe to the driving classic rock sound of their self-titled album, as pounding drums and blistering guitars work perfectly alongside vocals that evoke all the pomp and grandeur of Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson. Tracks with names like Gypsy In Me and Land Of The Ice And Snow speak for themselves, while Back To Madness stands out as a particularly epic, combining strings and twinkling piano with eruptions of Timo Tolkki’s elaborate guitar work. Beautifully fusing their classical influences with crushing metal riffs, Stratovarius provides gloriously overdramatic classic rock at its best. Besides, anyone who can get the word

‘gargantuan’ in a song has got to be good, haven’t they? CM

SOFAHEAD PRE MARITAL PREDICAMENT OO THE BOSS TUNEAGE RETRO SERIES

Back in the arse end of the 80`s/ start of the 90`s Sofahead were `Punking out` the underground UK punk scene. This cd contains remastered versions of their first 2 albums: Pre Marital Yodelling (1127 Walnut Ave) and What a Predicament. Its crammed full of 3-minute indie punk songs that are a bit too depressing to embrace the Punk ethos if you ask me! – The Spermbirds did a track on their seminal first album called You’re not a Punk and that kinda sums this up. Back in `78 I loved 2 thingsLiverpool FC (Who had won the European Cup) and Punk rock – I was 11 and had a picture of Beki Bondage from Vice Squad on my Geography book – all fishnets n crimped blonde hair. I loved all punk – Pistols to X-ray Spex…SLF to Bow Wow Wow- It was all about attitude! What I am trying to say is that I don’t want you to think I don’t like that punk music – coz that aint true- also I like a decent punk band- the sex of the vocalist aint relevant!- its just that Sofahead do nothing for me. Its now 2005 and Liverpool have won the same cup againand I still love punk. I don’t remember Sofahead at all – Sorry! Being someone that was a punk before he loved heavy metal/rock I was excited when I had a review copy of an old punk cd – until I listened to it. If you loved the Sofaheads then – you will probably love this now. Its just that a punk band with a female vocalist have gotta be good – see the distillers for a current reference! JM

THE TOSSERS THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH OOO VICTORY RECORDS

These guys are like The Pogues on acid, but I wouldn’t recommend being on any sort of hallucinogen whilst listening to their music. It’s rampant, fast and generally well put together Irish folk by a group of guys from Chicago that call themselves The Tossers, which probably holds some sort of irony. The opening track Good Morning Da ends on a high repeatedly going over the fact that they should lock up the singer and throw away the key, which probably isn’t too bad an idea. Two tracks down and they’re singing

how no loot and no booze equals no fun. Which is true in some respects and to be honest who better to sing it than a group of drunken American Irishmen? This album’s a lot of fun, good party music if nothing else even if the pace does slow in a few tracks. The production is nice and they have got the Irish folk sound down no problems. The singing has its oﬀ moments when you think the vocalists Irish accent is just about to give in but, thankfully, it never does. If you’re into Flogging Molly, the Dropkick Murpheys, Shane Magowan and the likes you’ll ﬁnd The Tossers are right up your street. JR

VOLBEAT THE STRENGTH/THE SOUNDS/THE SONGS OOOOO REBEL MONSTER RECORDS

No hanging about here. No delicate lead-ins or orchestral intros. Danish metallers Volbeat go straight for the throat from the get-go with a hard rocking riff Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity) would be more than proud to have written on Caroline Leaving. With some of the best riffs this side of Metallica’s last great record, they continue to crush for the next hour, the pick being Danny & Lucy (11pm), Another Day, Another Way and Healing Subconsciously. Vocalist Michael Poulsen, formerly of Dominus, is an exceptionally powerful mix of Keenan, Sully Erna (Godsmack) and Messiah Marcolin (Candlemass). His voice is clean, strong and melodic but with enough bollocks to not sound like a wuss. Volbeat are obviously no strangers to the comedy cover either. The subject this time is Dusty Springfield’s I Only Wanna Be With You. You will laugh. Trust me. Especially as when it starts, you won’t see it coming. Elsewhere they demonstrate their melodic side on Soulsweeper without sacrificing volume or power and with some excellent acoustic playing during Alienized. It’s hard to believe that four of the songs are actually taken directly from the bands 2003 demo CD Beat The Meat. I challenge you to pick out which four without looking at the booklet. With the whole album brilliantly mixed by Jacob Hansen, every instrument is strong with nothing drowned out or muddied. Fans of COC, Spiritual Beggars, Down and other bands in a similar vein can no longer consider themselves valid human beings without this CD. AL

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NEW ALBUM OUT 10 OCTOBER

matadorrecords.com

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21/9/05 10:11:30

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TOMMYLAND: THE RIDE TOMMY LEE OOOOO SPV

This is a bit of a shocker. Ask yourself a question. What are you expecting from this album? A drummer knocking out a few tunes for the sake of creative merit. Something to do at the weekend perhaps? Come on this is Tommy Lee! What you will hold in your hands – and believe me, you will end up owning this album – is 11 fantastic autobiographical songs. This is Tommyland the audio ﬁle. Good Times is slated as the ﬁrst single for release on 7 November and he couldn’t have chosen a much better tune to introduce you to the album, but if you’re not ready for it, that’s where the shock comes in. An acoustically based ballad which also features Butch Walker

“LYRICALLY, TOMMYLAND: THE RIDE SAYS A LOT ABOUT TOMMY’S CURRENT STATE OF MIND. GETTING OLDER HASN’T DAMPENED HIS LUST FOR LIFE, IT’S JUST CHANGED IT A LITTLE. IT’S AS DEEP A LOOK AS YOU’RE GOING TO GET AT THE REAL MAN THIS SIDE OF READING HIS BOOK.” (Avril Lavigne’s producer/writer), Good Times sounds like it could be the next Backstreet Boys single. Personally, I’m not averse to good pop at all so long as it’s done properly – and this is! The production values on all of these songs, is top notch. Tommy is skimping on nothing! The ‘b-side’ to the single is the equally superb Trying To Be Me which features Chad Kroeger on vocals. Does it sound like Nickelback? Yes, it can’t help itself but that’s not a bad thing. From that point on, you’re able to buﬀ Tommys vocals against something else and you’ll discover he’s a fucking great singer too. So, is the album a Butch and Chad all-star road show? Far from it. Shit, those are just the early highlights of the album. There’s also the fantastic Tired with Good Charlotte’s Joel Madden, the infectious Sister Mary with Fuel’s

Carl Bell and Dirty Harry puts in an excellent performance on Makin Me Crazy. Lyically, Tommyland: the Ride says a lot about Tommy’s current state of mind. Getting older hasn’t dampened his lust for life, it’s just changed it a little. It’s as

deep a look as you’re going to get at the real man this side of reading his book. One go on the ride is enough just to see what it’s like. After that, you’re just going to be queuing up over and over again for another go. I need a wristband. SS

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Eye Candy JUST BECAUSE IT LOOKS GOOD DOESN’T MEAN IT IS  BUT IT HELPS

“DEPP AND THE REST OF THE ALL STAR CAST PERFORM ADMIRABLY AS THEIR VARYINGLY GROTESQUE CARICATURES, AND HELENA BONHAM CARTER DESERVES PARTICULAR PRAISE FOR BEING ALL AT ONCE TERRIFYING AND ENDEARINGLY SWEET AS THE EPONYMOUS BRIDE.” CORPSE BRIDE RELEASED: OUT NOW OOOOO Tim Burton’s stop-motion animation Corpse Bride is a horrible, haunting yet heart-warming tale of love, marriage and corpses. Set in a gloomy, gothic Victorian world, Victor, voiced by Johnny Depp, is a naïve would-be groom

due to marry his lady love Victoria. However, an unfortunate turn of events leads to Victor unwittingly reciting his wedding vows to the corpse of a murdered bride, who promptly awakens and drags him oﬀ to the underworld for an eternity of wedded bliss. Victor is torn between his love for life, and his fascination with

the colourful characters of the underworld, and with Victor gone, poor Victoria is left at the mercy of her overbearing parents, voiced with superb comic timing by Joanna Lumley and Albert Finney, who are desperate to oﬄoad her onto a dubious rich relative. Depp and the rest of the all-star cast perform admirably

as their varyingly grotesque caricatures, and Helena Bonham Carter deserves particular praise for being all at once terrifying and endearingly sweet as the eponymous bride. Danny Elfman’s beautiful theme and original songs will ﬁrmly weave their way into your imagination, and the characters themselves will take you from joy

to melancholy in an instant. But the real star of Corpse Bride is the superb animation. The slow deliberate movements of the walking dead, along with the bizarre menagerie of live townspeople combine to form a dazzling spectacle that will make it impossible for you to tear your eyes from the screen. KR

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STONED

RELEASED: TBC OO The story of Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones is a rock legend with all the elements for a top movie: sex, drugs, the swinging music scene, and a charismatic figurehead found face down in his swimming pool at just 27. That’s what it should have been. Instead anyone interested in these events will be left unsatisfied by a film that skimps on detail and skips through the assorted highlights of Brian Jones’ musical career like a hurried flick through a photo album. The film focuses mainly on the mid-to-late period of his life, when he is isolated from the rest of the band at

GUY X RELEASED: OCTOBER 14 OO This low-key drama set on an apparently purposeless US military base in Greenland in 1979 unfortunately evokes only too well the torpor and ennui of life in a small, isolated military community. Soldier Rudy Spruance (former baked goods enthusiast Jason Biggs) is literally dumped out of a plane en route to Hawaii after a bureaucratic blunder. He falls under the steely gaze of Col Woolwrap (Jeremy Northam), who decides that this new arrival is the man to run the base newspaper.

The film attempts to riff on the double-think and everyday lunacy of life in the military, disastrously inviting comparison with the savagely brilliant Catch 22. The dialogue isn’t nearly as clever as it thinks it is, and some of the writing is desperately clumsy; we are only made aware that Spruance has fallen in with “misfits and losers” when they announce themselves as such. (Their behaviour seems entirely normal, unless you think quoting poetry or being over-weight desperately eccentric). Romance is provided for Spruance in the form of female soldier Irene Tiel (Natacha McElhone), also

the current squeeze of Col Woolwrap, natch. The chemistry between Biggs and McElhone is non-existent, and her character’s interest in Spruance never explained. As a lost soul, the waspish McElhone seems distinctly well-adjusted. The ﬁlm creaks into thriller territory when Spruance discovers the base’s secret oﬀ-limits hospital wing, containing several heavily bandaged patients, only one of which seems to be conscious, the clipboard at the end of his bed giving his name only as “X”. Spruance and X soon bond over Walt Whitman poetry,

his Sussex estate. The device used to try and understand him is his relationship with the builder Frank Thorogood, wellplayed by Paddy Considine. For music fans there are incidental pleasures like the young Mick Jagger impersonation of Luke de Woolfson, and the score by David Arnold is top class, but these don’t redeem the overall impression. Stoned is a hagiography, it presents the events as blurry and stylised, but you never feel you are getting to the heart of the matter. There are entertaining passages, and the sexiness of the period comes across well, but not even a cameo from David Walliams in a pair of retro glasses raises this one from the uninspiring. JM

“THE STORY OF BRIAN JONES,FOUNDER OFTHE ROLLING STONES IS A ROCK LEGENDWITH ALL THE ELEMENTS FOR ATOP MOVIE:SEX,DRUGS,THE SWINGING MUSIC SCENE, AND A CHARISMATIC FIGUREHEAD FOUND FACE DOWN IN HIS SWIMMING POOL AT JUST27.”

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River is loveable in spite of her extreme diffidence. Serenity’s main selling point though should be Whedon’s pedigree, as he brings the same warmth to all his characters as he did in hit series’ Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and he retains the ability to break up an achingly cheesy moment with a superbly witty one-liner. Even if you hate the genre, this film offers some good action sequences, and more importantly, a good laugh. KR

RAG TALE

GOAL!

RELEASED: OUT NOW OOOO Goal! is the ﬁrst instalment of a trilogy that will follow LatinAmerican footballer Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) from playing in the streets of Mexico and LA to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. While the established sports ﬁlm formula is still used (everyone knows that everything will turn out for the best in the end), this Mighty Ducks for grown-ups maintains a refreshingly British feel with its humour and excellent soundtrack, which features well-placed tracks from Kasabian and Oasis.

The football action itself is the most impressive thing in the movie, and players such as Shearer, Jenas, Dyer and Bowyer make appearances alongside the actors. As a result of this and because of the hyper-kinetic cinematography, the matches have a genuine sense of reality and keep you right on the edge of your seat. Director Danny Cannon, away from the CSI set, has proved that he can still hit the back of the net, even with an enormous multi-million dollar budget putting pressure on him. This is a breath of fresh air for football and film fans alike and gives real hope that soccer movies can actually hit the spot, something previously unthought of due to more-crappy-than-poo football flops like Mike Bassett: England Manager and When Saturday Comes. While other football movies have failed to score from six yards, this one hits the top corner from 25 yards. Goal! is a terrific film and sets itself up nicely for the next chapter. DS

“THIS IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FOR FOOTBALL AND FILM FANS ALIKE AND GIVES REAL HOPETHAT SOCCER MOVIES CAN ACTUALLY HITTHE SPOT.” and Spruance learns of some disastrous episode in the Vietnam war of which the occupants of the hospital are victims and Col Woolwrap a key player. Expect to learn no more than this, however. Michael Ironside struggles gamely with what little the script can offer him as “X”, but any pathos quickly dissolves into a big “so what?” Add to this the sudden and unexplained appearance of CIA goons and an absurdly pat, and the vague promise and rare flashes of wit in the first part of the film seem a long way away - Greenland, perhaps. JM

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE RELEASED: OUT NOW OOO David Cronenberg’s latest thriller A History of Violence, adapted from the graphic novel of the same name, has an elusive quality that makes it hard to get a really good grip of. The story begins in a familiar enough way: All-American husband, father and diner-owner Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) and

his equally all-American lawyer wife Edie (Maria Bello) are living out a good existence in small town Indiana. When Tom’s diner is taken hostage by two rather nasty individuals, Tom takes his whole community by surprise when he single-handedly disposes of the trouble-makers. His actions are consequently broadcast all over the area, attracting the attention of some unsavoury gangster-types who are insistent that Tom is not who he says he is. As he and his family get a taste of a violent world that was previously unknown to them, their relationships become strained and they all begin to question whether they know their loved ones at all. Mortensen puts in a good, steady performance as Stall, and although he occasionally seems to be playing up to the good guy role a little too much, he shows enough depth later on in the ﬁlm to suggest this is not down to bad acting. The problem with this ﬁlm is that events just seem to happen, and little or no explanation is clear as to why the characters

are acting the way they are. At a mere 96 minutes long, one feels that a longer ﬁlm would have handled the story better. A History of Violence is enjoyable at a push, but avoidable. KR

SERENITY RELEASED: OCTOBER 7 OOOO Now that Star Wars has hung up its lightsaber, sci-fi fans will no doubt be looking for their next cinematic fix. Seeing as huge box-office hits in this genre are fairly rare, it’s perhaps wiser to look for quality rather than media hype, and for this, you need look no further than Joss ‘Buffy’ Whedon’s Serenity. A spin off from the critically acclaimed yet cancelled TV series Firefly, Serenity starts where the series left off, as a strange psychic girl named River and her brother Simon are on the run from the rulers of the galaxy, The Alliance. When the outcast crew of the ship Serenity, captained by firm yet fair Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) offer them refuge, they gradually discover

that River’s fragile façade hides a dangerous secret. The crew must also face harassment from The Alliance, and be on constant guard from the ‘Reavers’, a race of deformed cannibalistic humans. What could sound like a rather standard science ﬁction plot is given new life by some intriguing twists and solid acting. As Malcolm, Nathan Fillion has just the right mix of cheese and authenticity, and Summer Glau’s

RELEASED: OCTOBER 7 OOOO Following sell out previews at the Edinburgh Film Festival and filmed completely on digital handheld camera, Rag Tale is a dark and satirical look at the day-to-day running of a humble redtop newspaper. Eddy Taylor (Rupert Graves) is the editor of a national tabloid but is also sleeping with his deputy editor, MJ (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh). Problem is, the deputy editor is also the wife of the newspaper’s chairman. Cue a series of problems that bring layers of lies crashing down on everyone involved. While this may sound like a fairly average film from the outside, what’s surprising to note is that there was little script for the film at all. The majority of the dialogue was created by the cast during filming which, given some of the snappy one liners, can be hard to believe. The direction might be a little too MTV for some, and some of the earlier scenes are just too wordy, but once you’re15 minutes into the film, the action and the dialogue become controlled and start to flow. Soon, you will hardly notice the twenty-odd camera angle changes a minute. This film is the first part of a trilogy, with the next chapter starting production in November - set in a mental institution and starring Nikki Sixx’s wife Donna D’Errico. Rag Tale might seem fluffy, but underneath beats a heart as grubby as newsprint. TC

Jennifer Jason Leigh in Rag Tale

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BATMAN BEGINS RELEASED: OCTOBER 21 OOOO Compared to Joel Schumacher’s 1997 Batman and Robin, Christopher Nolan could have produced anything he wanted and, providing the man in black didn’t become a strip-o-gram, still be hailed as the saviour of the franchise. What a relief, then, that any accolades he receives will be justly deserved. He has dragged the film back into the dark old days, stripped out any remnants of the gaudy garishness that plagued the last two films and taken us back to Batman’s roots. Long gone are the spangly outfits (complete with nipples), corny lines, ridiculous sets and lumpen Hollywood ‘stars’ desperately trying to cash in on a dying license. In comes the broody, menacing tone of old. As Bryan Singer did with XMen, Nolan delves his characters’ psyche, examining Wayne’s fears and investigating the reasons behind his crimefighting persona. Similarly, just as

Ang Lee chose to do in Hulk, as we focus on Wayne’s personal relationships in the outside world there is quite a wait before our first glimpse of the man in the mask. This lends more emotional intensity to later parts of the movie, and will surely prove to be beneficial in the inevitable sequels, but it does slow the first hour considerably. However, this provides the opportunity to see the cool origins behind the Batcave, Batmobile and bat signal, and also gives breathing space to the excellent supporting cast. Of course, a Batman film wouldn’t be complete without an evil nemesis, and here we are introduced to The Scarecrow. Genuinely unsettling, The Scarecrow is a crooked doctor (played by Cillian Murphy) who intoxicates his victims with a hallucinogenic gas, their terrifying visions eventually driving them to madness. Nolan has produced a modern blockbuster with an admirable lack of CGI, and at no point does the film suffer as a result – the showstopping ‘Waynetrain’ sequence is incredible, as is the

Batmobile’s rooftop car chase… oh the Batmobile… it’s truly wonderful. Built entirely from scratch, it’s exactly what your discerning superhero should get around in. An inventive, multi-terrain, urban tank, that looks like The A-Team were locked in a shed and given the task of recreating a Lamborghini Countach with big guns. If there is a complaint with the film, it’s that in a bid for a reduced rating, some of the fights have been cut and diluted so as to be almost non-existent. Far from conveying a frenetic breathlessness, many clashes are simply a confusing jumble of bodies flying and falling. Nonetheless, taking the Dark Knight back to the beginning has got rid of the nasty technicolour aftertaste that has been lingering for years, and Batman Begins produces the dark, scary and exciting Gotham we’ve been hoping since the resurrection was announced. Extras: Numerous featurettes and documentaries on the making-of and development of the film and stills gallery. MS

“IF THERE IS A COMPLAINT WITH THE FILM, IT’STHAT IN A BID FOR A REDUCED RATING, SOME OFTHE FIGHTS HAVE BEEN CUT AND DILUTED SO AS TO BE ALMOST NONEXISTENT. FAR FROM CONVEYING A FRENETIC BREATHLESSNESS, MANY CLASHES ARE SIMPLY A CONFUSING JUMBLE OF BODIES FLYING AND FALLING.” 126 | ZERO MAGAZINE | www.zeromag.co.uk

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Unfortunately, it would seem that the intensity of the characters and their various idiosyncrasies are best suited to the half hour length episodes we’re all used to, and after a while the whole affair seems a bit drawn out. If you liked the series, there’s no question that you’ll find the film entertaining, just don’t expect a masterpiece. Extras: Making of documentary, The Real Royston Vasey, outtakes, trailers, commentary, deleted scenes. KR

STAR WARS: EPISODE III  REVENGE OF THE SITH RELEASED: OCTOBER 31 OOOO The Phantom Menace sucked, except for the pod race and Darth Maul. Attack of the Clones was even worse, with the exception of Yoda turning ninja and laying the smack down. Despite these disappointments, we just knew that Lucas was going to step up a gear for this latest instalment… didn’t we? Revenge of the Sith has taken the best of Episodes I and II (space battles, lightsabers and things that go fast), and multiplied it all by 1000. The result is the best of all six Star Wars films… with the exception of The Empire Strikes Back. Obviously, it still has some serious deficiencies (acting, dialogue, pointless cutesy bits), but we’ve come to expect that from Lucas, so it doesn’t irritate and depress quite as much as it used to. Hayden Christensen still has the personality of a stillborn baby, Ewan McGregor hasn’t yet given up his job working for the ministry of silly accents, and Natalie Portman is dull, vapid and wet. But – it’s a Star Wars film, and as such deserves a little leeway. There are some serious changes in tone to the previous two films. Far from the calm, levelheaded hippies of the previous outings, here we see the hidden side of the Jedi. The mean side, the nasty side, and it’s not just Anakin – we even see Obi Wan lose it and begin to relish the rush of the fight, and there are some simply awesome fights. An emphysemic droid wielding four lightsabers spinning like circular saws against a solo Obi Wan may sound like a particularly one-sided battle, but the Jedi’s encounter with General Grievous is one of the movie’s stand-out

moments and, providing you have a soul, will turn you into a giggling child. Though let us not forget that Episode III is predominantly the story of Anakin losing control of his hate, fear and vengeance, leading to the hideous birth of Vader. Palpatine’s role in this transformation cannot be understated, and Ian McDiarmid tackles the evil chancellor with real gusto. With crappy girly-boy Christensen not really doing his bit in the nastiness stakes, McDiarmid turns the evil dial all the way up, and in doing so completely steals the show. Lucas even uses the future-Emperor to get political on us, with his thinly veiled attack on Bush and US foreign policy. Slow down there George – that’s almost topical. Throughout the entire movie though, we know that it’s the end of an era, so it’s a poignant moment many of the series’ loose ends are tied up – resonating deeply with anyone even slightly familiar with Star Wars mythology. Just try to fight back the emotion as Vader is born, Luke and Leia are given to their respective foster parents, and we see Tatooine’s two moons for the first time. Episode III delights and depresses in equal measures. It’s a fantastic fun movie, and it’s such a relief that Lucas didn’t fuck it up. On the other hand, that’s your lot, it’s all over, and why couldn’t Episodes I and II have been this good? The film’s not perfect and it isn’t going to reveal any deep truths about yourself or your place in the world - after all, it’s a kids’ film, albeit one that has caught the imagination of a lot of grown-ups, but thank the force that at least this final instalment does the series justice. Extras: Huuuge new documentary, making-of featurettes and weblinks MS

“THERE ARE SOME SERIOUS CHANGES IN TONE TO THE PREVIOUS TWO FILMS. FAR FROM THE CALM, LEVELHEADED HIPPIES OF THE PREVIOUS OUTINGS, HERE WE SEE THE HIDDEN SIDE OF THE JEDI. THE MEAN SIDE,THE NASTY SIDE, AND IT’S NOT JUST ANAKIN.”

THE SIMPSONS SEASON SIX RELEASED: OCTOBER 17 OOOOO There’s so little to say about The Simpsons that hasn’t been said before. Inventive, bizarre, satirical, hilarious… season six stays on the right side of the divide that led the show to an endless parade of pointless celebrity cameos and clip shows. Each new series on DVD brings with it the claim that it contains the best episodes so far – but this one really does. Homer goes to clown college, the Springﬁeld lemon tree, Bart and the comet… there’s a not a dud on any of the four discs. Some of the funniest and cheekiest movie references are also included in these episodes, including more Star Wars gags and spoofs of It’s A Wonderful Life, Close Encounters and a ton more. A brilliant set, from back when the yellow family were TV perfection. Just one gripe however – why the diﬀerent box? Whereas all the others match, season six comes in a giant Homer’s head. What’s the problem? Run out of colours? Extras: Commentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes, TV spots, animatic footage and a multi-angle showcase. LL

THE BROWN BUNNY RELEASED: OCTOBER 10 OO Vincent Gallo is either a cinematic genius, or he directed, starred, wrote, edited, and ironed the costumes for The Brown Bunny; a ﬁlm that, coincidentally, features him receiving unsimulated fellatio from his blonde co-star. This ramshackle road trip sees Gallo play Bud Clay, a disgruntled biker, making his way in a van across America to California. Cross country, he meets a series of blondes, but mentally keeps going back to his main squeeze, Chloe Sevigny, of famous blowjob sequence. This low-key movie will appeal to hard-core followers of Gallo with his unconventional style. But the story is just too weak to bear the weight of his pretension and Sevigny’s brave work aside, there is nothing of interest to report here. Extras: TBC JM

THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN’S APOCALYPSE RELEASED: OCTOBER 3 OOO Everyone should know by now that if you don’t like surreal and mostly sick comedy, don’t watch The League of Gentlemen, and the same goes for this highlyanticipated feature length movie. All the favourite characters from the series return for this bizarre tale of art and life crossing over, including Edward and Tubbs, creepy butcher Hilary Briss, and the truly terrifying Papa Lazarou. The characters of Royston Vasey have to take action when their isolated town faces an apocalypse, so they decide the only option is to face the outside word, and track down their creators.

MYSTERIOUS SKIN RELEASED: OCTOBER 24 OOOO Aliens and paedophiles make an uncomfortable, unpalatable mix – but in this adaptation of Scott Heim’s novel, it works. Two youngsters deal with their childhood traumas in very diﬀerent way. One repressing and

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daydreaming it away, the other embracing it and letting it guide his every waking moment as a rent boy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a million miles away from his role in Third Rock from the Sun, turns in a powerhouse performance that will sweep you along for the duration Harrowing and moving, Mysterious Skin is not for everybody. It can be diﬃcult to watch and at times feels like a punishment for an unknown crime, but it is ultimately rewarding. This will stay with you for a long time. Extras: Readings from the novel, Q&A with writer and director, cast interview, trailer and notes. MS

his luck Juan Villegas travels the Argentinian highways trying to sell his hand-crafted knives to anyone who passes. A simple act of kindness for a stranger leads him to a widow who has a pedigree dog she is eager to give away. Little does Villegas know that this massive animal could be the very thing to turn his life around. Staying the right side of sentimental because of the performances of the largely amateur cast, the ﬁlm is carried along by the hugely likeable central character and the actor’s amazing ability to speak volumes with a simple glance that tells of his every feeling, hope and fear. Just as the characters live their lives, the story moves along slowly with little excitement, but this story of self-worth and second chances has that special something that makes it endlessly endearing. Extras: Making of featurette, production notes and trailer. LL

THE SUPERMAN MOVIES COLLECTION RELEASED: OCTOBER 17 OOOO When I was a kid, I remember a big playground debate being “Who would win in a fight between Batman, Spiderman or Superman?” After much arguing and games of paper/scissors/stone, it was agreed that Superman was the daddy of all male Superheroes, and watching this film box set, you can clearly see why. Containing all four Superman films (including the poor Superman IV: The Quest for Peace) they show Christopher Reeves as the Man of Steel, Gene Hackman as his enemy Lex Luthor, and a host of other stars (Marlon Brando and Richard Pryor included). You really could believe a man can fly, if it wasn’t a film - and being from 1978, looking a little weak in the special effects department. Extras: Plenty for the first film, including commentary, deleted scenes, storyboards and screentests. As for the rest, just a measly trailer. TC

BOMBON EL PERRO

Courtney and EastEnders’ Billy Murray – whose double-crossing eventually leads the siblings to war. With You’ve Been Framed picture quality and some incredibly poor sound in places the small budget is all too apparent. Martin clearly has flair to spare, but because of the lack of cash, would-be stand-out moments sadly fall flat... and we won’t mention the acting. Nonetheless, despite these problems, there’s something compelling about Hell To Pay - and this is largely due to it being no mockney, roll-out-thebarrel, Lock Stock copyist. Written by Courtney and founded in true life, the film is brimful with genuine gangster icons and genuine events. With no winners and plenty of heartache, Hell To Pay makes no attempts to glamorise the criminal lifestyle - it just tells it how it is. Extras: Commentary, outtakes, deleted scenes, an audience with Dave Courtney and featurettes. MS

RELEASED: OCTOBER 24 OOOOO After being cancelled by Fox, it seemed that there would never be any more Family Guy’s. Then the pennies started to roll in from the phenomenal DVD sales, and the money men realised that - although they might not like it, or get it – there’s some serious cash to be made from this crazy, rude, funny, biting and vitriolic ultra-Simpsons. After homicidal infant Stewie sees someone on TV who looks, talks and acts like a middle-aged version of himself, he is convinced that he has discovered his real father. While numerous plotlines shoot in every direction, the youngster goes on the search for this mystery man. Free from the constraints of the network, The Stewie Griﬃn Story has a shitload more fucking swearing and oﬀensive asides, and sexual innuendo goes out the window for straight-up cock gags. Nasty, vulgar and completely childish, this DVD is absolutely amazing. Extras: Commentaries, deleted scenes, stills and animatics MS

COMPETITION

Prizes are ﬁve DVDs, with the main prize of a JVC 28” widescreen TV and a JVC THA55 Home Entertainment System. WOW! We’ve got a BIG TV and a Home Entertainment System up for grabs – Tell us the name of the baby in the show and it could be yours! There’s also 5 DVDs too for the runners-up. Entries to the usual address, please by

KUNG FU HUSTLE RELEASED: OCTOBER 24 OOOO Stephen Chow burst on to the scene in Shaolin Soccer with his zany brand of live action kung fu and visual gags. Kung Fu Hustle sees him perfecting his trade, ramping up the budget and laying on an entertaining romp. Writer/director/star, Chow plays Sing, a drifter who goes around pretending to be a member of the deadly Axe gang. He turns up at a small village and triggers a whole load of trouble and the arrival of the real Axe gang, a bunch of brutalisers. At which point the balletic violence arrives, as Sing is forced to take sides against the Axe men, and unleash some extra large portions of whuppass. Kung Fu Hustle is a thoroughly entertaining romp, inspired as much by crowd pleasers like Crouching Tiger, as old school musicals and Buster Keaton. Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes, behind the scenes, interviews, outtakes, TV spots. JM

HELL TO PAY

RELEASED: OCTOBER 10 OOO Since he was laid oﬀ from his job at a service station, down on

FAMILY GUY PRESENTS STEWIE GRIFFIN: THE UNTOLD STORY

RELEASED: OCTOBER 3 OOO Set in the London underworld, Hell To Pay was shot with virtually no budget by ﬁrst-time director Roberto Gomez Martin. Largely improvised, it depicts the disintegrating relationship between two gangland brothers, played by ex-gangster Dave

UNDERWORLD AKA: TRANSMUTATIONS RELEASED: OCTOBER 10 O Bad movie lovers or Clive Barker completists may just track down this obscure 80s horror flick. The former might be able to take some joy. Underworld is a master class in abysmal filmmaking. From the terrible music, to the awful dialogue; from the ludicrous new romantic costumes, to the feeble ham acting; this film will bring shame to its poor director, George Pavlou. The plot revolves around a drug with the unfortunate side effect of horrific mutation. Victims form an underground society and kidnap a prostitute who shows immunity to the toxin. Cue shouting, screaming, gangsters dressed like Gary Numan, and a performance by a (tennis playing)

The Family Guy Presents Stewie Griﬃn The Untold Story is available to buy on DVD on 24th October 2005 from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

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actor called Clive Panto. This ﬁlm is just wrong. If they had made a directors’ commentary, it would have been the sound of Pavlou screaming for all of its 103 minutes. Extras: None JM

Visited by apparently malevolent spirits, Joey seeks help from her ex-lover, only to discover that one of the visitors taking an increasing interest in her pregnancy is his dead wife. This is not a bad movie, but it’s not as good as it could, and should, have been. There are some disturbing moments, but there is also an attempt to explain the inexplicable, and this consequently erodes the ﬁlm’s core aim, to scare its audience. This is a watchable, but ultimately unsatisfying horror. It has its moments, but they are too few to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. The tension, rather than slowly building, comes in ﬁts and starts and, by the end of the movie, is notable by its absence. Extras: Making-of, trailers, production notes. PA

DEMON SEED RELEASED: OCTOBER 31 OOO Based on the novel by Dean R. Koontz (writer of such horror novels as Velocity and Robot Santa: The Further Adventures of Santa’s Twin) this 1977 classic features Julie Christie as a depressed women who, following the death of her child and her husband leaving her, is raped by her husbands computer, and subsequently has a hybrid baby. It’s a thought provoking ﬁlm, especially the logistics of a PC getting down and dirty with a woman (No jokes about hard drives please. Or RAM), but it does ask the important question of how far should Artiﬁcial Intelligence in computers go? Clearly not this far is the answer it gives, but I wonder in this day of computers doing everything from surveillance to cooking toast, how far away we are… oh wait, many years away. Thank Christ. TC Extras: Trailer

THE EYE 2 RELEASED: OCTOBER 3 OOO The Pang brothers’ sequel to The Eye, appropriately named The Eye 2, follows a young woman, Joey (Shu Qi) as she races against time (nine months, so it’s more of a marathon than a sprint) to uncover the terrifying mystery surrounding her unexpected pregnancy.

TORREMOLINOS 73 RELEASED: OUT NOW OOOO This may be about the making of porn movies but it all seemed pretty innocent to me. Director Pablo Berger’s first offering unites Almodovar favourites Javier Camara and Candela Pena as husband and wife Alberto and Carmen Lopez. Forced by money worries and door-to-door encyclopaedia salesman Alberto’s company bosses to contribute to the so-called Scandanavian World Encyclopaedia of Reproduction (yes, really), they set to it with a Super 8. Their awkward first attempts at frisky film-making unleash Alberto’s Bergman-inspired enthusiasm for directing and turn Carmen into an international porn star – but while their film careers take off, Carmen’s desire for a baby creates a rift in the relationship. The attention to 70s detail is impressive, right down to the frighteningly utilitarian underwear Carmen reveals during her first effort at sexy striptease, but it’s Camara who steals the show with his mournful face at times hilarious and heartbreaking. This probably isn’t a film for true porn aficionados because for one thing, it actually has a plot, but it’ll satisfy those who like unconventional fun that you don’t have to mop up after. Extras: Making-of, deleted scenes, notes, music video, TV spots. JC

palpable sense of doom hanging over the picture to build tension during the interludes. The result is disappointing popcorn fodder that could have been so much better. Extras: Commentary, behind the scenes featurette, cast and crew interviews DL

HOUSE OF WAX RELEASED: OCTOBER 3 OOO Another remake. This time Vincent Price’s 1953 original gets the treatment. In this re-imagining, a group of perky young friends decide to go camping. After some car trouble they go looking for the nearest location where they might get hacked to pieces by hillbillies, and run around in tiny shorts. They come across a small village, which boasts a house of wax ﬁgures that look strangely realistic. House of Wax is actually better than expected. The leads throw themselves into it with gusto; Elisha Cuthbert is convincing, Jamie Lee Curtis style, and Chad Michael Murray is good value. The director, Jaume Collet-Serra, paces the action well and orchestrates a decent smattering of gore, before overcooking the ﬁnale. Extras: Promo heavy, but a blooper reel and the unstoppable Joel Silver liven things up. JM

BLOOD MOON RELEASED: OCTOBER 24 O A Catholic all-girl school is plagued by a crazed killer who murders victims, at a popular nookie spot, with a length of barbed wire. Brian May does the score. Blood Moon is perfectly dismal in every department. When the killer starts removing victims’ eyeballs, you’ll wish he could step out of the screen and do the decent thing before the credits roll. It’s an Australian ﬁlm trying to copy the US model for college slashers, where sexuality is punished by the axe or spike - but it drowns in a morass of poor lighting, and allusions to Shakespeare. For gore lovers, there is one gruesome murder, but the rest are left to the imagination. The movie lacks humour, suspense, and drama, though it does feature an actor from EastEnders – fun, if you can remember who Bruno DiMarco was. Extras: None JM

THE AMITYVILLE HORROR RELEASED: OCTOBER 24 OO Perhaps a better name for this picture would be The Amityville Series of Sharp Shocks? The film is loosely based on the supposed true story of the Lutz family who moved into a house complete with the resident spirit of a maniacal preacher who slaughtered Indians back in the 18th century. While it is in every remake’s interest to offer a fresh take on the original, the premise is largely squandered over the course of the film with far more emphasis on creepy voices and George Lutz’s descent into madness than making the house the embodiment of evil the film wants us to believe it is. There are a few jolts but the nicely eerie moments are few and far between and there’s no

Sydow) decides to destroy Earth, American quarterback Flash Gordon is drafted by mad scientist Hans Zarkov into travelling into outer space to defeat the evil emperor. A cult legend, Flash Gordon is shameless cheese, eminently quotable through some frankly risible dialogue, with a cast who all appear to be completely in on the joke - except maybe Sam Jones who had his entire dialogue voiced over in post production. Kitsch and camp, it’s nigh-on impossible not to gleefully revel in the melodrama while that hair-rock score from Queen pulses in the background. Hail Ming. Extras: Commentaries, trailer, stills, episode of TV series. DL

FLASH GORDON: THE MOVIE  SILVER ANNIVERSARY EDITION RELEASED: OCTOBER 10 OOOO Staple of virtually every Christmas television schedule since time immemorial, Flash Gordon ﬁnally gets itself a special edition. Rooted ﬁrmly in its comic book and television serial roots, when Ming the Merciless (played by a scenery chewing Max Von

THE LETHAL WEAPON COLLECTION RELEASED: OCTOBER 17 OOO By no means new to DVD, this budget-priced box-set houses all four of the series. Lethal Weapon defined the buddyaction-comedy so perfectly, that watching it again, it feels cliché ridden, but only because they did it first and better. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover always had the chemistry of best friends, and Richard Donner balanced the comedy and action cleverly. The first movie seems dated now for crash and wallop, but the edge and the interplay between the leads is still watchable. Number two was weaker, but did have those quotable, South Ifrican villains. They started watering things down with three, featuring comic sidekick, Joe Pesci, and Rene Russo - as a welcome, sexy addition. By the time of Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998, the middle-aged captains were getting pulped by Jet Li, Chris Rock did the gags, and the effect was just too silly. If people don’t already own them, this set is solid entertaining fare. Extras: TBC JM

GHOSTBUSTERS 1 & 2: THE SPECIAL EDITIONS RELEASED: OCTOBER 24 Ghostbusters OOOO Ghostbusters 2 OO They’re here to save the world (twice in fact) in this box-set containing not only the superb

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in Finland. Why? Who knows? Probably something to do with the miniskirts. Extras: Trailer TC

1984 original but its 1989 sibling, a markedly inferior film that revisits the team only to find that it wasn’t just the ghosts that got busted last time, but most of the spark that made the first film so good. Ghostbusters still stands up as both a brilliant comedy and a great ride. The cast all bounce off each other with real chemistry, things move along with a smart humour and the effects haven’t dated too badly. Ghostbusters 2 on the other hand manages to ‘cross the streams’. The cast phone it in and the tired script recycles some of the story from the original - even the villain doesn’t feel that threatening and the saccharine coated ending outstays its welcome. But despite all that, this box-set is still a lot of fun. Extras: The first film is almost identical to the previous anniversary release (although it has a new commentary), while the second has just filmographies and a trailer. DL

URBAN LEGENDS: BLOODY MARY RELEASED: OCTOBER 17 OOOO There’s something about watching straight to video horror movies. Half of you expects the worse, whereas the other half of you wants it to be a great film, so that you can brag to your friends what a great ‘underground’ classic you have found. Having seen the first Urban Legends and the dismally soul-melting second incarnation, this third film was something of a delight to stumble upon. Written by the scribes of X-Men 2, this film focuses on the Urban Legend of Bloody Mary, who was raped and killed by a star athlete after going to the dance with him. 34 years later, three high school girls chant her name one night, stuff happens, people die. It’s the same plot as before, but with a better cast and acting. Probably not a classic of the horror genre, but definitely one to rival some of the recent Japanese remakes. Extras: Trailer TC

DRACULA AD1972 RELEASED: OCTOBER 31 OOO No Halloween movie session can be complete without a good old Christopher Lee horror flick and this one, from 1972 (hence the title), brings the classic tale of Dracula up to date, to the 1970s (which is close-ish to modern day). Johnny Alucard (read it backwards) joins a group of student hippy types and accidentally resurrects the Dark Prince of Terror (Dracula to you and me) played by Christopher Lee, who goes about terrorising a hip and happening 1970s London. Attempting to stop him in his tracks is fellow horror cohort Peter Cushing playing his archnemesis Van Helsing. For such an original idea for a film (has anyone else thought about sticking Dracula and miniskirt wearing girls together?) it has to be said it’s a bit poor. Although interestingly, the film was banned

THE BATMAN LEGACY COLLECTION RELEASED: OCTOBER 3 Batman/Batman Returns: OOOO Batman Forever: OOO Batman & Robin: O Holy cash-cow! It didn’t take the marketing people long to throw this one together. For some, Michael Keaton is still the deﬁnitive Batman (you at the back with the Adam West placard can sit down). In the ﬁrst and second instalments, Tim Burton’s modern-gothic look suits Gotham down to the ground, and Keaton’s Batman has a pitch-perfect look. Not only that,

but the villains - Jack Nicholson’s scene-stealing Joker in the original, Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiﬀer as The Penguin and Catwoman in Returns - are spot-on. The wheels show signs of coming oﬀ with Batman Forever. Joel Schumacher begins spilling the neon-pastel paint pot over those towering spires, Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones are good and average respectively as The Riddler and Two-Face while Val Kilmer just grimaces sternly as Bruce Wayne. Batman Forever passes (just) but oh, how the franchise crashes and burns with Batman & Robin. An abortive mess of a blockbuster, Schwarzenegger and Thurman play their roles ineptly over the top, Clooney turns Batman into Bond and Joel Schumacher, returns to daub everything in day-glo colours. Avoid this chapter like the plague. Extras: Production notes. However, it is worth bearing in mind that separate special editions of each are also being released with a wealth of special features. DL

THE EDUKATORS

MINDHUNTERS RELEASED: OCTOBER 17 OO Feel like you’ve seen it all before? You could very well be watching Mindhunters. The story follows an elite team of psychological profilers (including Christian Slater and Jonny Lee Miller) on the final stage of training under the watchful eye of Val Kilmer. It soon becomes apparent that there’s a killer in their midst and they embark on a race against time to... zzzzz. That the film is directed by Renny Harlin should set the alarm bells ringing, as for every Long Kiss Goodnight there is a Driven. Mindhunters moves slowly with a drawn-out climax that makes you wish for the credits and despite a few promising moments (some of the murders are quite grisly), the film suffers from trying to be far too clever for its own good without offering anything new. In the end, the tepid Mindhunters never rises to anything above average. Extras: TBC DL

RELEASED: OUT NOW OOOO Anti-capitalists with a real agenda, rather than just swapping slogans while sipping their Starbucks? Political radicals Peter (Stipe Erceg) and Jan (an excellent Daniel Bruhl) browse the luxurious Berlin suburbs looking for residents to make an example of. The believe that the capitalist society has handed an unfair advantage to the wealthy bourgeois elite, and as The Edukators, they pass on this message to these consumerculture leeches: Your days of plenty are numbered. When Peter’s girlfriend Jule (Julie Jentsch) gets herself involved, a simple raid is turned into a kidnapping, with captors and hostage learning that there’s more to eachother than is on the surface. What could be a sixth-form exercise in being a nuisance, is given a certain resonance by the excellent performances of Bruhl and Jentsch and excellent dialogue. Maybe not educational, but deﬁnitely entertaining. Extras: None. LL

“WHAT COULD BE A SIXTHFORM EXERCISE IN BEING A NUISANCE, IS GIVEN A CERTAIN RESONANCE BY THE EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES OF BRUHL AND JENTSCH AND EXCELLENT DIALOGUE.” The Edukators is out now to buy by Pathé Distribution Limited.

DOMINION: PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST RELEASED: OCTOBER 17 OOO Stellan Skarsgard plays Father Lancaster Merrin in this prequel, set years before the exorcism of young Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist. After his employment by the Nazis in Holland left him mentally scarred,

Father Merrin leaves the priesthood to become an archaeologist, where he discovers mysterious goings on and demonic possession in East Africa.

Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist is not to be confused with box oﬃce ﬂop ‘The Exorcist: Beginning, which came to DVD earlier this year. Dominion was supposed to be the only prequel, but after studio execs interfered, they decided to put it on hold and go for the gore factor with …Beginning. Needless to say, they are probably regretting that decision now, as Dominion provides an experience much closer to the slow-building tension of the 1973 classic The Exorcist. It’s nothing special, but it provides a few genuinely terrifying moments, and details some important background behind Father Merrin’s complex life. Extras: Deleted scenes, stills gallery. KR

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Brain Candy JUDGING BOOKS BY THEIR COVERS IS AN ARTFORM NOT USED ENOUGH

JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL SUSANNA CLARKE OOOOO BLOOMSBURY

If I go on and on about this book for much longer, someone will make a Jonathan Strange box that I have to put money in. Finally out in paperback for those of you too cheap to know a good thing when you see it, there’s no excuse for not reading it now – unless of course you can’t read, and frankly, I ﬁnd even that a poor excuse. I’m going on record with this. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is without a shadow of a doubt the best ﬁctional book ever written. Forget LOTR blah, blah, blah – it’s even superseded my previous best book ever written - Clive Barker’s Imajica, which has held the top spot for over 10 years. So what’s it all about? Centuries ago, the Raven King was the most powerful

magician in England, but come the turn of the nineteenth century, his legacy is little more then a legend and England no longer believes in practical magic. Then, the reclusive Mr Norrell appears and is persuaded by the government to assist in the war against Napoleon. Whilst in London he meets a brilliant young magician called Jonathan Strange. Eventually, the partnership turns to rivalry and as Mr Norrell becomes further embroiled in his secrecy, Strange becomes obsessed with the Raven King… and so it continues. Sound a bit dull because somebody said Napoleon? You could never be more wrong. Originally having read this back in October last year, I’ve had a hard time settling into anything I’ve tried to read since. Nothing has even come close. Even Gaiman has commented; “Unquestionably the ﬁnest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years.” Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell took Susanna Clarke ten years to write! Ten freaking years! For my money, it’s ten years of her life well spent. Apparently, some jokers have decided to make it a ﬁlm. If what we say out here registers with any of you, please, please, just go read it. There is no room for disappointment. Only wonder… and maybe jealousy! SS

“I’M GOING ON RECORD WITH THIS. JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL IS WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THE BEST FICTIONAL BOOK EVER WRITTEN.”

BEFORE SCOTLAND ALISTAIR MOFFATT OOOO THAMES & HUDSON

Go into any bookshop north of the border, and along with the whisky guides and scenic calendars, you’ll find a wealth of books on the Jacobite rising, the clan system and the Highland Clearances. You’re less likely to find anything on the fascinating prehistory of the land we now call Scotland - its geology and its landscape, its first settlers and first societies. Until now. Historian Alistair Moffatt has written a wildly original and hugely exciting book about how what we know as Celtic culture came together in the far north of the British Isles - beginning 10,000 years ago when the meltwaters of the last Ice Age first carved out the dramatic Scottish landscape. Great colour pictures and two

maps complement brilliantly researched yet immensely readable prose. There are even fascinating little boxouts oﬀering factual nuggets from around the world that reﬂect or mirror Scotland’s story - American Indian culture, the myths of Atlantis and Turkish mud hut designs all make an unexpected appearance. He takes in the story of the north’s own “lost horizon”, the sunken peninsula of Doggerland, smashed by a tidal wave in 5800 BC. He explains why the Picts loved tattoos, why Shetland ponies have such bad tempers and why Celtic warriors fought their battles naked. He recreates the magic of the earliest pagan ceremonies amid Scotland’s great standing stone circles. And most controversially, he explains why 80% of the current UK population are directly descended from the earliest Scottish settlers. So whether you’re a Scot or not - read this book, and meet your ancestors! CoB

THE ROCK ORCHARD PAULA WALL OOOO BANTAM PRESS

In mid-20th century Tennessee, the tiny town of Leaper’s Fork is home to a wealth of colourful characters. There’s Boone Dickson, the irresistible handyman who

moves among the women of the town like a stud stallion; Dr Adam Montgomery, who inhabits other men’s dream’s like a hermit crab; beautiful Kyann Merriweather, mistress of the diner and wise beyond her years. And most memorable of all, there are the Belle women; independent, amoral and as commanding as queens. Irreligious, cigarsmoking matriarch Charlotte makes money grow like seedcorn; wanton beauty Angela is a walking catalyst, dissolving social barriers and stirring every man she touches into greatness. First-time novelist Paula Wall is a mistress of atmosphere. She draws an unforgettable portrait of a disappearing American South and its people, from the louche Ivy Leaguers who spend their winters going

native in its swamps to the “trash” of Stringtown over on the wrong side of the tracks. There’s a real sense here that she cares for her characters, tracing each of them along a journey towards personal redemption - though salvation isn’t always where they expect to ﬁnd it. In stark contrast to the heartlessness of some literary ﬁction, this is a warm and witty book, full of life, good humour and earthy humanity. It’s also a rattling good read. And if the recent disaster coverage has made you want to explore the mysteries of Southern culture, this is as good a place as any to begin. CoB

THE ART OF BATMAN BEGINS MARK COTTA VAZ OOOO TITAN BOOKS

Well, with a great movie under the belt it was inevitable that the paraphernalia would follow. Thankfully, this rather splendid book doesn’t fall into the ‘just for the cash’ bracket. It’s a beautifully laid out and presented dig into everything that happened behind the scenes – everything! The car, the costumes, the storyboards… if you’re an aficionado, then you’d best be hooking into Amazon about now! Exclusive interviews and commentary go deep into the psyche of the movie, but what really stands out is the sketching of pre-production. There’s a fantastic sketch of the Scarecrow, and some quite stunning character work – but where the book really kicks in is with its research into the Batmobile… it’s the car, right, chicks love the car. With a brief that entailed crossbreeding a Hummer and a Lamborghini Countach, we’re able to see the icon grow from fledgling clay outline to a model kit until we reach final destination. It’s seriously quite awesome, but it doesn’t stop there. It also goes into the interior of the Batmobile and takes it apart. Enough about the car, already. With the movie finally breaking the curse of the bat, this book is a worthy addition to any fan’s collection. SS

DIVIDED KINGDOM RUPERT THOMSON OOOO BLOOMSBURY

In a nightmare parody of

J K Rowling’s Sorting Hat ceremony, Britain wakes one day to find its people have been psychometrically pigeonholed. After a revolutionary “Rearrangement”, the country is divided, the people herded into colour-coded enclosures based on each of the four classical “humours “. With every individual classified as Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic or Melancholic, the land becomes a place of borders, guards and restrictions in which good citizens must inform against any deviation from the regional norm and troublemakers are “transferred” - or worse. Taken from his “Melancholic” parents at eight years old, “Sanguine” Thomas Parry tries to make the best of things in the Red Quarter capital, Pneuma. He has a nice flat, a beautiful girlfriend, and he’s being groomed as one of the ruling elite. Until he’s sent on a diplomatic mission to the “Phlegmatic” Blue Quarter, and everything he thinks he knows is suddenly called into question. What diseases threaten the apparent health of the body politic? What is the source of the disquiet he feels? Who are the strange White People who drift across boundaries? Divided Kingdom is both a novel of the fantastic and an acute political allegory, attacking our current greed for safety and security at the expense of civil freedoms. It’s also a picaresque novel in the oldest tradition. Most of all though, it’s a plea for wholeness: like Joyce’s Bloom or Swift’s Gulliver, Parry finds a part of himself in every divided quarter of the realm. CoB

THESSALY: WITCH FOR HIRE BILL WILLINGHAM/SHAWN MCMANUS OOOO VERTIGO

The legacy of the Sandman is as endless as the Endless themselves, but Vertigo have kept a lid on a million possible spinoﬀs which makes this all the more special. In Witch for Hire we ﬁnd Thessaly haunted by her old

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friend Fetch. Lovesick and forlorn, he starts a monsterhunting business behind her back, at which Thessaly is not best pleased -- but when the truth comes out and the pair ﬁnd themselves up against the most destructive creature in the universe, it’s a wonder their relationship survives at all. With a thrust to his writing that very few in the ﬁeld possess any more, Willingham delivers a story that is both deep and humorous – his take on magic is enough to take it out of the realm of the normal and into something a little bit special for a change. The use of one way ghost mirrors is a nice touch, as is Thessaly’s journey into time itself in search of some answers – all done with a few sparks of originality that make this an easy read. Helped along by McManus’s excellent characterisation, and the strength of Thess herself, this little graphic is a bit of a gem. SS

THE WAVE THEORY OF ANGELS ALISON MACLEOD OOOO HAMISH HAMILTON

This is the story of two widowed fathers. The ﬁrst is 13th century French woodcarver Giles de Beauvais, “The Imaginator”, whose unearthly skill and strange “Arabist” ideas lead the medieval church to suspect him of heresy. The other is maverick genius Giles Carver, a 21st century Chicago physicist constantly threatened with withdrawal of his funding. In each time frame, Giles’ daughter Christina will fall into an inexplicable coma and

wake, like the Sleeping Beauty, to a changed world and a new identity. It will take all his skill to reach his daughter, all her love to be brave enough to follow a reality which seems to be constantly shifting around her. Are her memories real? Is the shadowy lover of whom she dreams a protector - or something much darker? Is the man who claims to be her father a brutal stranger? MacLeod has used ideas from quantum physics to describe a speculative universe in which diﬀerent timeframes come together, identities are entangled and communication obeys no local or temporal restrictions. In this weird world anything seems possible, and it’s only the strange powers unleashed by human will and the act of imagination that can make a life-or-death diﬀerence.

THE RING COMPANION DENIS MEIKLE OOO Titan Books Well, unless you’re a complete geek freak who likes to lap up worthless minutiae, this probably isn’t for you. On the other hand, if you are one of those people, step right up. The Ring Companion is an in depth look into the phenomenon of the movie which takes its examination from the original novels and follows through to the original movie and the (inferior) Naomi Watts American remake. Each ﬁlm in the series is placed in its cultural context but more importantly, you can begin to see why Asian horror cinema has taken oﬀ in the west. Those in the know could have told you this years ago, but it also takes a trip down memory lane and drags out material I’d forgotten even existed. The likes of Onibaba and Kuroneko are resurrected --and isn’t it about time somebody dragged these onto DVD? Not great, but fascinating for all the wrong reasons! SS

LABYRINTH KATE MOSSE OOOO ORION

navel-gazing, angst-ridden stuff favoured by so many over-serious young men from Manhattan – it’s smart, funny and deeply sinister, yet written with deep compassion for the frailties of the creative spirit. Novelist Sidney Orr, recovering from a serious illness, buys a blank notebook bought from a mysterious shopkeeper. Gradually everything in his life is called into question – his marriage, his mental health, even the fabric of what he calls reality. When Orr writes in his book, he seems to phase out of normal reality. Time telescopes itself, the telephone rings silently, his wife looks into his study and sees no-one. He embarks on a promising new novel about a man who begins his life again. He dashes off a screenplay idea for a Hollywood studio. But just as Orr is celebrating the return of his creative powers, the rug is pulled from under him. His family and friends drift away. The mysterious shopkeeper reappears in a new, darker guise. Portents and premonitions circle like vultures. Worst of all, Orr’s promising new novel hits a brick wall. Can the words a man writes really influence his own fleshand-blood life story, Auster asks, or does a storyteller operate outside normal reality? Is it possible to remember your own future? Do books carry prophecies their creators know nothing about? In the novel’s last few pages the multiple storylines come together in a murderous climax that not all the characters can survive. Auster claims he wrote the book “in a trance” and the surreal logic of this disturbing novel certainly mimics the idiom of a dream. CoB

SIGHTSEEING RATTAWUT LAPCHAROENSAP OOO ATLANTIC BOOKS

ORACLE NIGHT PAUL AUSTER OOOO FABER & FABER

No-one handles the writer’s novel as well as New Yorker Paul Auster. His brand of speculative ﬁction isn’t the

Looking for a new angle on western culture? A cross between a short story collection and a collection of travel writing, this ﬁrst time collection by expat Thai author is a great way to get one. In At the Café Lovely, a

Phew. It nearly didn’t make it all the way y’know. Seemingly, like everybody else who had heard about this book, the expectation was almost too large for it to succeed even if it was perfect. Thankfully, it’s neither perfect but it doesn’t let you down either. Reconstructing life amongst the Cathars, Labyrinth is a novel of majestic proportions that bears the stamp of greater things to come. In 1200, a young girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true grail. Not able to decipher the symbols contained in it, she still feels that her it her solemn duty to protect it. As we move into present day, Alice Tanner stumbles upon two skeletons during an archaeological dig and finds herself overwhelmingly connected with their story – and so the mystery that spans thousands of years begins to unfold. Now, there isn’t so much a foible with the book, but sometimes the modern day thriller that sits on top of this historical mystery, seems to slip around a little. I can live with that, there are many that it annoys, but then, those who live in glass houses and all that… The publishers have tried the unthinkable and attempted to compare it to the DaVinci Code on the dust jacket – seemingly on the basis that it is a ‘grail mystery’. Thankfully, it’s nothing like it and comes at a many aspected story from a completely different angle. Original and most definitely thought provoking, it’s more than good enough to while away what’s left of the summer. SS

“AS WE MOVE INTO PRESENT DAY, ALICE TANNER STUMBLES UPON TWO SKELETONS DURING AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG AND FINDS HERSELF OVERWHELMINGLY CONNECTED WITH THEIR STORY  AND SO THE MYSTERY THAT SPANS THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEGINS TO UNFOLD.”

teenager takes his little brother to a burger joint for a birthday treat. The day ends badly; unused to mass-produced grease, the junk food makes him sick “all over that shiny American lineoleum”. It’s typical of the queasy clashes between Thai culture and western inﬂuence which inform this powerful collection. For the memorable characters who move through

these tales, westernisation has turned their home into a theme park for rich farangs (foreigners), a “paradise” where the reality of poverty and degradation are hidden behind the scenes. Lapcharoensap is strongest in his depiction of details, often pointed up by references to western brands: the valiant Armani sunglasses worn by a woman who cannot aﬀord surgery to save her sight, the Budweiser bikini worn by a ﬁckle American tourist as she breaks a young boy’s heart, a playful pig named Clint Eastwood. Not every story is told through Thai eyes; Don’t Let Me Die In This Place explores the loneliness of a sick old American dependent on his expat son and his Thai family, desperately trying to connect with his “mongrel grandchildren” and an alien culture. CoB

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Hand Candy BECAUSE RED HOT DON’T BROADCAST DURING THE DAY

MOTO GP: ULTIMATE RACING TECHNOLOGY 3 XBOX OOOOO THQ

This is the game that all you petrol heads out there have been waiting for! All you bikers, and us people who prefer 4 wheels & a shit load of metal to protect us from the elements, have finally been given the ultimate racing experience. So, this is the 3rd installment of this damn fine racing series, and is currently trashing all comers to become the best driving game ever on the X-box, just pipping PGR2 & Burnout 3 to the chequered flag. Why is this better then everything else, ever? Well, it’s all in the handling of the bikes and the options availableevery bike handles like a dream, but the game is not at all forgiving at first. You WILL crash on your first circuit and you will NOT finish first at your first attempt! But you WILL get straight back on and have another go till you DO come first! Believe me, I know. In the first couple of games in this series they were great, but not earthshaking because you simply got to race around a circuit- like in say, F1. Which is all well and good, but sometimes you just want to kick back and cruise (well, if you can call cornering at excess of 100mph cruising!) around some TT style street tracks from locations around the globe. MotoGP 3 lets you do this, it lets you do it online, and it lets you design your own bike. As I said before, this is the best racing game on the X-box, so if you will excuse me now, Donnington Park is calling me and my 1200cc purple and green superbike with Joker stickers- come on! JM

COMPETITION

At the end of the day it’s all about being dressed head to toe in leather, sitting legs akimbo on a huge throbbing . . . er . . . bike. And I mean the type with two wheels. Moto GP3 : Ultimate Racing Technology has hit the Xbox with the force of a rocket powered Carl Fogarty and whether you’re on Xbox Live or just playing solo there’s never been a better time for joining in the fast and fatal fun! But wait! Put that debit card away, we’ve got ﬁve copies of this awesome high speed thrill simulator up for grabs courtesy of those speed freaks at THQ. Just answer the following question: How many times did gap-toothed turbo-nutter Carl Fogarty win the SBK Championship during his career? Answers to : MOTOGP3 COMPETITION, The Old School, Higher Kinnerton, Chester CH4 9AJ. Entries to be in by October 30th 2005.

Resident Evil 4

F.E.A.R PC OOOO SIERRA

F.E.A.R is intense. F.E.A.R gets your heart pumping. F.E.A.R really lives up to its name. This game takes the first person shooter and adds a Japanese psychological horror movie twist to the whole affair. You play the part of a rookie member of the First Encounter And Recon military unit who go to spooky buildings and deal with the supernatural. They’re like Scooby Doo with an MP5 I guess.... okay, bad example. The graphics look good on any system above the minimum requirements with only minor tweaks for the rich few with the superpimped cards. The action and narrative flow smoothly and seamlessly, and you will be exhilarated, nervous and do a jump-in-your-chair/swearout-loud combo in just one sitting. It owes a lot of its style to movies like The Ring, The Grudge (come on, there’s even a little freaky girl on the cover) and to games like Half Life, Halo and S.I.N. But we’ll forgive it as it does it so well. DMB

just one button, like kicking, knocking down ladders, jumping over walls, breaking down doors and a few things we won’t spoil. This time around you’re seriously tooled up and feel like you can take on the zombies and it’s a really good feeling. In fact this game is so cool and polished, it’s everything you wished the previous games were and more as the characters are so much more mobile and kicking a lot more ass. They even thought of the knife having its own button now so you don’t have to go into a menu, un-equip the gun and equip it, how cool is that? This game is a true joy to play, which is a rare thing these days, and the PS2 version of the game has the added value of an extra gun (‘lightning’ rail gun) and more levels than the Gamecube version. An absolutely essential purchase if you love action games. DMB

SUPER MONKEY BALL DELUXE PS2/ XBOX OOOO SEGA

It’s a Puzzle game were you have to guide a cartoon Monkey (who is trapped inside a clear ball) from one side of a level to another. And that’s it. Easiest review I’ve ever done – Next! What do you mean you want more - Ok then! Basically Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is a compilation of both Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2, which came out during the early days of the Nintendo Gamecube. We also get more levels (there are now over 300 levels which get harder as you push on) and twelve mini games. Since its Sega, and was originally on the Gamecube, its cute and colourful, but is far from just another kids game. Gameplay is very reminiscent of the retro classic `Marble Madness`. For those of you who are too young to remember that game, you basically move and tilt the environment to direct a ball around various obstacles to get from one side of a level to the other. Couldn’t be easier huh! The first few levels are a doddle and you start to wonder if this is a kid’s game after all, then you fall off a small ledge, then another. What I am trying to say is, that the difficulty level on this game gets, well very challenging (I still haven’t finished all 300 yet-but I will) .If you get pissed off with the main game, then there is still the twelve mini games which include Monkey Tennis (ah hah!), Monkey Soccer, Monkey Bowling, all are pretty damn good and great fun. So lets follow the lead of Fred Durst and get Rollin`, Rollin`, Rollin`! JM

RESIDENT EVIL 4 PS2 OOOOO CAPCOM

Past Resident Evil games have been around for ages, are an acquired taste and seldom change between games. So why should you pay any attention to this one? Amazingly Resident Evil 4 ﬁnally breaks the mold and is by far the best horror game made and one of the best actioners too. The graphics are amazing, you can shoot in third person and there’s a lot of cool stuﬀ you can do with

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BURNOUT REVENGE PS2/XBOX/XBOX 360 OOOOO ELECTRONIC ARTS / CRITERION

Burnout 3 was the absolute pinnacle of action arcade racing so we always knew that Burnout Revenge would be a game to look out for. It doesn’t disappoint and makes this THE racer to own topping even its prequel’s greatness. If you didn’t already know,

Far Cry

Burnout isn’t just about the racing, it’s about taking out the other racers, and all the surrounding traffic in some kind of horrific glass smashing, metal crushing, airbag bursting rubber squealing chaos. In slow motion. To Rock music. What Burnout Revenge offers above the others in the series is alternate routes, using traffic as weapons, by punting cars into the other racers and using ramps to slam your car down onto opponents. There’s also more of a seamless combination feel to the game as you have to keep drifting round corners, speed boosting and making the other cars

crash to keep your style rating up and the boost meter rising. It’s like a slalom run of death and destruction Revenge still has Crash Mode where you try to find the best way to do the most damage to a whole domino cascade of moving traffic in a mini scenario. For many, it’s a big highlight of the game, and there’s more fun and challenging levels here to keep you on your toes. To top it all off, two player and online modes are still some of the best multi-player game experiences to be had in any game, with lots of adrenalin, laughter, swearing and chunks of metal flying around like wildfire. A side-shunt to roof-slide above the competition. DMB

to be released is Far Cry. So what’s it all about, and why the hell the name change? Well Far Cry on the PC was a stunning ﬁrst person shooter that is based on a series of small island paradises. No dull sci-ﬁ settings here, just lots of sea, sand and slaughter. Apart from the stunning visuals, and peerless A.I. what impressed everyone (me included) about the PC version of this game was the fact that you came across an island with about thirty mercenaries on it and it was left up to you to decide how to get to the other side of the island. Alive! The reason the X-box version is called Far Cry: Instincts is due to the fact that about three quarters of the way though this tense FPS that you suddenly develop the ”instincts” of an animal! You increase your strength, you move faster and are able to “smell” your enemy using a Predator type vision .By the time these feral skills kick in, you are in a whole world of pain as the human mercenaries have given way to some serious gene altered nasty monsters. Another addition to the X-Box version is the ability to set traps using spiked tree branches, which is nice! This game is one of the best shooters on the X-box, no question; it’s just amazing to see the quality of the gameplay. The selection of vehicles available is excellent

and all the diﬀerent weapons just feel “right”. ”Welcome to the Jungle!” JM

FAHRENHEIT XBOX/PS2 OOOO ATARI

Readers in the good ole U S of A will not recognize this game, or the title at leastthat’s because it’s called INDIGO PROPHECY. The reason behind the change? Atari thought the Yanks would have a problem with the word Fahrenheit because of the Michael Moore movie Fahrenheit 9/11 – sad but true. So, to the dual named game – well its basically a traditional adventure game – a sort of interactive movie that plays a lot like Shenmue with the dark foreboding of survival horror games such as Silent Hill 2 or the Resident Evil series. The story is straight out

of Hollywood with some cracking action set pieces that would put some `proper` movie directors to shame. For no apparent reason, ordinary people are randomly killing total strangers. Although there is no link between the murderers, they all seem to follow exactly the same ritual and pattern. Lucas Kane becomes one of these murderers when he kills a stranger in the men’s room of a restaurant. Finding himself in control of Lucas, the player is haunted by strange visions and the desperate need to ﬁnd out what is happening to him. At the same time he must keep one step ahead of the police, especially Inspector Carla Valenti and her teammate agent Tyler Miles. The gameplay twist in this game is that you get to play all 4 of the main characters, Lucas Kane, Marcus Kane (his brother), Inspector Carla Valenti and agent Tyler Miles. I know this may initially sound as if it would be counter productive, but since all 4 only want to ﬁnd out the truth, it makes sense- trust me. Throw in top-drawer graphics and sound and you end up with the most enjoyable old school adventure games in bloody ages. Pick your console, buy and enjoy. John McMeiken

Fahrenheit

FAR CRY: INSTINCTS XBOX OOOOO UBISOFT

There were only 2 games I bought, when I had my new PC the start of this year. They were Half Life 2 and Far Cry. Between you and me, I actually preferred Far Cry so imagine my pure joy that they were both coming out on the big black suitcase known as the X-Box. First of the pair

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Hand Candy BECAUSE RED HOT DON’T BROADCAST DURING THE DAY

DEATH JR. SONY PSP OOOO KONAMI

Tim Burton has a lot to answer for with “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. It’s from this visual style that Konami’s Death Jr. takes its inspiration. The game starts with Death (complete with his scythe) visiting a local museum with his freaky classmates (see he’s a junior Death – Not just a clever name you see) that include a stigmata suﬀerer, a paraplegic

Max Payne is addictive but still challenging (anyone whose seen the meat world “cow boss” will understand). Therefore I can recommend Death Jr. to anyone who wants something a bit diﬀerent for their new PSP. In a bizarre crossover the development team have had action ﬁgures and comics produced, based on the characters, unusual for a video game that’s not already an established name, and unusual that I’ve not got any yet (come on Konami!) MB

DARKWATCH XBOX/PS2 OOOO CAPCOM/UBISOFT

CODED ARMS SONY PSP OOO KONAMI

in a test tube and a dead goldfish. They foolishly open a treasure chest in the museum and unleash an age-old demon that imprisons his ghoulish mates. Death Jr has to free his buddies before his dad (Death Sr.?) finds out and grounds him for eternity (harsh). The game is a third person shooter with really well detailed cell-shaded graphics. Death moves around the levels with ease shooting demons and exploding gimps with a variety of weapons; from twin pistols to shotguns to C4 hamsters (although we’re assured that no furry mammals were harmed in the making of the game). This is a great reason to have a PSP. The design is nice, the sound and effects well suited and it also has a wicked sense of humour (check out the songbird on the opening screen). The gameplay while sort of like a squished version of

So you’ve got a nice new shiny PSP, and what do you want to do the most? Listen to the Natasha Bedingfield music video on the demo disc? (NO!) Try to watch XXX part two again? (Fuck NO!) Ok, shoot shit up with a big gun? (YES!) Konami have delivered the debut of the first-person shooter on the PSP and while it’s brimming with big guns and bigger explosions it’s all a bit…..pedestrian. There’s a poor plot about hackers and artificial intelligence gone crazy (all obviously stolen from the “Big Book of Sci-Fi clichés”) but that’s not the problem. The main problem is control, unlike such games on the PS2 or Xbox, where there are two thumb sticks on the controllers, the PSP has no such luxury on its near-perfect body. This makes aiming at things really, really hard. Having said that the control set up is fully changeable and with practice it’s easy to find your way around shooting eight-legged freaks into enough green gunk to fill Pat Sharpe’s Funhouse. So with all the guns and

I’ll bet you thought they had pretty much exhausted concepts for original ﬁrst person shooters. Think again! Darkwatch is a western-based horror FPS. You play as a gunslinger/train robber called Jericho Cross (cool name for a rock star or a wrestler!) who unwittingly chooses his last job before retirement to be a train that carries the Vampire lord called Lazarus Malkoth. Our (anti) hero lets him out of his vault, and gets bitten for his trouble- and I thought I had a bad day at work last week! Luckily for our Jericho, he teams up with a secret organization called the Darkwatch, who kit him out with some serious hardware as to destroy the evil that is spreading the land thanks to the escape of Lazarus. He can only redeem his soul also when the head vampire has been killed- but we all knew that anyway didn’t we! From the ﬁrst bars of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” this shooter has atmosphere and class by the bucket load. The game world is detailed, smooth and believable. The

shooting stupid robots and sickly bug things it’s not a bad ﬁrst attempt as this kind of game on the PSP. It deﬁnitely gives a good indication of what could be just around the corner for Sony’s six inches of black magic. MB

187 RIDE OR DIE XBOX/PS2 O UBISOFT

Buck lives on the Westside (of where I’m not sure). Buck wants homeboy respect “Gansta” style. So to earn this respect Buck has to race with his “hoe” in pimped up rides in a series of illegal street races. Armed with his “nine” Buck shoots at other racers while his “beeyatch” drives. Extra weapons like assault riﬂes and shotguns along with health pick-ups can be collected on each course to help his

chances of winning each race. The player controls both the racing and shooting elements of the game with Buck hanging out of the window/ sunroof of whatever car he’s using. He can shoot forwards and backwards to eliminate his rivals. The handling of the car is imprecise at best. Taking corners while shooting is not

awesome sound completes the experience. Game play is standard FPS fare although it does have a few tricks up its gothic western sleeve: The first being the stages were it goes all third person and you find yourself riding a vampire horse. The second being the fact you can choose good or evil options as to get different special powers. Also here I think I must mention the AI of the baddies, as it is one of the best I’ve seen on an X-Box game, they hide and duck from your shots- making for a more realistic experience. So if you fancy playing a cracking FPS with a main character that comes on like a cross between Blade and Clint Eastwood, this is the game for you. Something to really get your teeth into! JM

easy and frustrates. What is worse is when you destroy an opponent’s car; you’re treated to a Burnout style “takedown” sequence where the action slows to blurry bullet time explosion THAT CANNOT BE SKIPPED. This totally breaks up the game play and can potentially ruin the race for you. What is doubly annoying is that the destroyed vehicle returns to the track as if nothing happened. This game, despite its edgy “street” setting is nothing more than Super Gangsta Kart; the plot is as meaningless as the random use of the word motherfucker that punctuates the voice track. Unfortunately this will probably sell bucket loads oﬀ the back of games like San Andreas and Midnight Club. I don’t know what a “187” is but it should be a police code for “avoid this shite” MB

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! S A M T S I R H C R O F S E M GA

g here waiting for the PS2 just sittin t 5 sets of 4 games go . ’ve ult We sa Q! As r TH at nte wn of War – Wi neat people over ammer 40,000 – Da ay here from those ckoning and Warh cool stuff to give aw Re ck hard huh! erof Ro y . sup e Da vie – som mo E t ad go WW , De We’ve r of Ash in the Evil neration, Moto GP cte ge ara Re – ch ad the De ys il pla Ev to be yours. ugh! Tell us who me and address. work for this one tho don’t forget your na Going to make you Send you entries to: e. as ple 05 20 ESTER CH4 9AJ and th CH 30 , er ON tob RT Oc NE by KIN R in Entries HOOL, HIGHE S, ZERO, THE OLD SC CHRISTMAS GAME s: me ga the on Here’s the low down The MotoGP series is the definitive motorcycle racing game for the X-box and PC. The game captures all the excitement of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. This time, MotoGP 3 is taking the franchise to the extreme, expanding beyond the realms of Grand Prix racing to incorporate high adrenaline Street Racing. Players can hone their skills on the streets or progress through the Grand Prix championship. WWE –Day of Reckoning: Last year, you rose from the “minor leagues” of the WWE to become not only one of its top Superstars, but the World Heavyweight Champion. Maybe it was too much success too quickly. Maybe you were just not ready to carry the target on your back that comes with being a Champion. Or maybe you were simply betrayed. Whatever the reason, you lost the title and now must find your way back to the elusive path of vindication. This time around, the path will be even more difficult as the line between friend and foe is not always clear. This time around, trust no one…

Enter an all-new Evil Dead experience, as Ash ﬁnds himself arrested, convicted of murder, and sentenced to Sunny Meadows, an institute for the criminally insane. Though better than the madness he escaped hidden within the woods, he quickly learns the evil has only become more malevolent. Deep in the basement of an insane asylum, the mad Dr. Vingo combines technology with The Book of The Dead, AKA The Necronomicon to fulﬁl perverted experiments of his very own. Hell-bent on using science to harness the Necronomicon’s powers, the malevolent doctor unleashes the book’s all-powerful Evil on the world – creating a new breed of Deadites, monsters and experiments gone wrong, twisting reality into a hellish strudel and leaving mankind with that not-so-fresh apocalyptic feeling.

Warhammer 40,000 Lost amongst the ruins of a leveled city lies an Emperor Class Titan, a war vessel of untold power forged in the planet-wide furnaces of Mars, and revered by billions as the epitome of Imperial dominance. The one who controls it will command the power to destroy, or defend, a world. The Imperials will summon it to overcome great evil, Chaos will corrupt it for their own designs, Orks will destroy it in their bloodlust and Eldar will disregard it in their arrogance. The expansion pack to the award winning Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War will build upon the most exciting, visceral, front-line battleﬁeld ever seen in an RTS game. Promising one of the biggest expansion packs ever.

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21/9/05 11:02:45

Words by Sion Smith

THIS MONTH, I GOT A LETTER FROM A YOUNG LADY WHO IS APPARENTLY A LOT SMARTER THAN I AM.

an, she called me out and kicked my ass all over the place, but let me start at the beginning. It started innocuously enough with a vague question about how you launch a magazine and journalism in general. With 4 hours sleep under my belt in the same amount of days, I think I managed to field that one with some degree of success, although I’m not sure I’m qualified to discuss journalism. I write like Ace Frehley plays guitar – however I damn well please. Then came the curveball question: Who is the magazine aimed at? I thought the answer would spring to my lips straight away, but it didn’t. The more I thought about it, the more confused I got. I guess a magazine launch should have a demographic, but we didn’t. A week after mulling this over, I’m confident that it’s OK not to have a demographic. When Aerosmith put the band together, did they seriously think “let’s aim our music at 18-25 year old males”. No. I don’t think so. They put the band together to play some music and entertain some people. The longer the band were around, the more fans came on board, and so the cycle continued. It worked because the chemistry was right. She continues thus: ZERO clearly takes an anti-establishment, pro-rock star line and it is good that the magazine has a strong, identifiable ethos. However, in your interviews your opinions often overshadow, or worse, put words into the mouths of your subjects and I frequently felt alienated by your disillusioned mid-thirties standpoint. It’s great that you’ve

retained your passion and interest in rock music, but I assume there are many people your age who have abandoned their spirits and fallen prey to the sort of lifestyle which you so detest. Do we? I guess we do. (Although I should say, ‘I’ – I won’t bring the others down with me!) I’d never thought about that either. I don’t mean to put words into people’s mouths. I’m seriously curious about figuring out what and how people think. However, I really don’t detest anyone’s lifestyle. What annoys me is people who don’t live. People with talent who piss it away. The “too much on the TV to be bothered” people. She continues: For those who have not, there are already magazines to suit many types of readers and genres, such as Q and Classic Rock. Although you speak generally of the‘next generation – and would like to give them rock stars to be proud of, you denigrate this legion of new rock fans at every turn. Not true. What I denigrate is those who accept less than they should. Period. In your pages, you printed these words: ‘All those things you mention though, they used to be a calling. Now it’s just a job. You go to university and you study hard and you go and see some shows – to my mind that doesn’t give you a licence to write about jack-shit if you don’t know the name of the first Stones album’. I began freelancing whilst studying at university. It was both a calling, because I love music and writing, and a job (although predominantly unpaid), because I had to structure it around my studies. I ‘studied hard’ because I loved my degree and have no desire to waste my life on half-hearted endeavours. I therefore feel that while I do not fit your description, your comments detract from the passion and hard work that people like me devote to this pursuit. This is where I disagree and figure she’s completely missed the point. Guys like Cameron Crowe and Lester Bangs are my icons where magazine journalism is concerned. To the best of my knowledge, neither of them went to school to learn how to do it. They did it because they loved it. Four years at a school that teaches you how to write, is four years of wasted writing time. Doctors, lawyers and vets need to go to school. Writers should just get on with it. Furthermore, no one really has a licence to write about ‘jack-shit’; music should stand alone. Yet, throughout the centuries we have become increasingly fascinated by the art of criticism. If I do not know the name of the first Stones album (incidentally, I do), it is because there is more to appreciating music that learning facts, because I have been too busy saving money for my over-priced education to spend it on all the CDs in the world ever, and because, as you

have rightly noted, few mainstream institutions spend time and money promoting rock music I’m smiling. The key here is “more to appreciating music than learning facts” and “over-priced education”. First of all, yes there is more to appreciating music than that, but if you’re going to write about it, no there’s not. If you want to appreciate music – stay at home and enjoy it. If your education is over-priced, don’t do it! Get a McJob and do what you love instead. I’m not fascinated by the art of criticism, I’m fascinated by peoples desires to rock like fuck! Life is about living it and not about getting a piece of paper which somebody else gives you like some kind of permission to live under certain rules. ZERO also infers that people of age twentyone are ‘little more than kids’ who do not know any better. If, as ‘kids’, Guns ‘n’ Roses can make one of the best rock albums of all time, despite their ‘pockets full of naivety’, then surely a music journalist of the same age can do some damage. Yes. Agreed absolutely. Bring it on. Where is he/she? I want them in my corner. I miss the point here. I wasn’t bringing down people who are 21. Congratulations on achieving your aim. You have made a magazine that examines many aspects of rock music and its culture.You have made a magazine that raises questions about audiences (both readers and listeners), the differences between PR and journalism (are there any today?) and the changing nature of artist management. Best of all, you have made a magazine that invites responses. My main concern is that you are alienating a large sector of potential readership and working against your democratic ethic by projecting such a singular voice. Did I? That wasn’t my intention! What I did was the Aerosmith thing. I put a magazine together that I thought would be cool and that people could have fun with. I’m glad we invite a response and I’m stoked that you think I’ve done all of this on purpose, but I haven’t. I’m not that smart or devious. Personally, I think that by going to university, you’ve learnt criticism and you’ve picked ZERO apart, taken all the fun out of it and destroyed your perception of it. It’s broken for you and there will be no going back. Once upon a time, everyone was willing to go with the flow of Kiss wearing make up. It was fun. Times changed, the make up came off and Kiss went a bit rubbish. Years later, they put the make up back on, stopped taking themselves so seriously and had some fun. The audience came back in its millions and we were all happy again. You can learn more from studying that sequence of events than from four years doing a degree. Trust me.

“GUYS LIKE CAMERON CROWE AND LESTER BANGS ARE MY ICONS WHERE MAGAZINE JOURNALISM IS CONCERNED. TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, NEITHER OF THEM WENT TO SCHOOL TO LEARN HOW TO DO IT. THEY DID IT BECAUSE THEY LOVED IT. FOUR YEARS AT A SCHOOL THAT TEACHES YOU HOW TO WRITE, IS FOUR YEARS OF WASTED WRITING TIME.” 138 | ZERO MAGAZINE | www.zeromag.co.uk

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20/9/05 15:59:26

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Presenting the SoundDock digital music system from Bose. The iPod® slides in. The music begins. And the rich sound of the SoundDock system brings your favourite stored songs to life. The SoundDock system is sleek. Stylish. And designed just for your iPod®. It even charges your iPod® while it plays or while it’s docked. It has a remote that controls the system and the basic functions on your iPod®. Experience the SoundDock system from Bose for yourself for 30 days, completely risk-free. Hear what happens when your iPod® meets the UK’s No 1 Cool Technology brand.

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©2005 Bose Corporation. All rights reserved. Risk-free refers to 30 day trial only. Delivery subject to product availability. The SoundDock system requires iPod® with dock connector. *iPod® not sold separately. SoundDockTM is a trademark of the Bose Corporation. iPod® is a registered trademark and iPod® mini is a trademark of Apple Computer, inc. All other marks are registered trademarks of Bose Corporation. Bose was voted Cool BrandLeaders and No.1 cool technology brand in the 2004 SuperBrands survey.

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20/9/05 15:01:07