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PEACH VAN PLETZEN | STRAATLIGKINDERS FELA KUTI | SHORTSRAW’’’’S GAD DE COMBES

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EDITION 24 | APR/MAY ‘13 | Proud Supporters of SA Music!

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CONTRIBUTORS: Dave Mac, Thomas Whitebread, Terri Love, Mary Honeychild, Mickdotcom, Paul Blom, Alan Ratcliffe, Alistair Andrews, Kurt Slabbert, Damien Albetto, Jess Henson, Alt Guy, Jonathan Pike, Greg Bester, Chantall Nortjé, Sergio Pereira, Nicolai Roos, Johann M Smith, Eliza Day, David Chislett, Kalin Pashaliev and Brett De Vos SALES & ADVERTISING ENQUIRES: Thomas Whitebread (021) 913 9443 | 082 889 2047 Dave McKinley (021) 557 1549 | 084 209 0168 SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE: subscribe@museonline.co.za Never miss a copy! Receive your personal copy Sa’s only FREE magazine dedicated in promoting Live Music, FIRST! Magazine enquiries: info@museonline.co.za MUSE is published six times per Annum in SA only

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From The Editor Better Red Than Ded - The Year of the Black Snake Invoking the Holy: Khethi's 'Woza Moya' 8 Metallica: The Metal Gods Descend Lianne La Havas Lianne La Havas: English Urban Indie Folk Hurt's New Exile Straatligkinders & the Wounds of Rock 'n Roll Jezebel's VPL: Superduper Gad Peach Van Pletzen Legends: Fela Kuti 10 What Now: Bringing Sexy Back Hurts Inside The Machine: Music News Eruption: Rediscovering the Metallica catalogue Eruption Album Reviews New Albums Game Reviews Venue Guide & Live Events

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EDITOR’S NOTE | APR/MAY ‘13 | Proud Supporters of SA Music!

IS THE DJ KILLING THE ROCK STAR?

The full question posed to my wonderful team of writers for this edition was “in 1979, one-hit wonders, Buggles sang Video Killed the Radio Star? Fast forward to 2013 and the global rise of EDM (electronic dance music) culture... is the DJ killing the rock star? It’s a question worth asking and pondering over considering the USA’s recent and well documented love for dance music and with Billboard’s launching of their official EDM chart (what took them so long) which now places the genre firmly in the subconscious of all mainstream media and audiences. Make something official, give it a name and ensure it carries some sort of stamp of authority and you’ll be amazed how the masses will latch on. It’s part of the business model record labels have used for ages. Pigeon-holing music genres are a sure fire way to capture a perceived sound and then push that sound. Grunge, post-grunge, indie, pop rock, alternative, punk, skater punk, punk.... erm I could go on for another 150 variants and that’s just the rock genre. But of course dance music is slightly different. Seven minutes of repetitive sounds is not what one would call a radiofriendly listening experience. The thing is, it’s not really the music one should be focusing on, it’s the way it is delivered in the live arena. Genres will indeed come in and out of fashion as history has proven; just look at the New Wave era of the 80’s. After the heavy rock and punk age of the 70’s, the 80’s threw out guitars in favour of synthesizers and drum boxes. Depeche Mode, Eurythmics and Soft Cell are three prevalent examples of this. Synthesizers [and bad hairdos] will forever be the legacy of the 80’s pop music scene! Back then it also wasn’t frowned upon to see Soft Cell performing a so-called live set with just Marc Almond singing and the other guy [does anybody ever remember the other guy’s name] on a single synth. Granted one can create an ensemble performance on one keyboard instrument but highly unlikely. Anyway, I digress. Fact: More kids are buying DJ controllers than guitars right now. Electronic sounds and synths are being favoured over guitars. But this will change. The 80s were not even over and the likes of Guns ‘n Roses and many other LA rock/thrash metal bands starting coming to the fore. But does one need guitars to make rock music? Well, no, not if you’re Thom Yorke, whose new band, Atoms for Peace is very electronic despite the participation of some rock music stalwarts. The thing is this; dance music (EDM) evokes a different type of audience to a live band performance. Sure one can shake your booty, head bang or mosh to a band... or just sit and chin-stroke too, but the experience is a combination of these and watching people perform onstage. Whether it is a lead singer shaking those snake hips, a guitarist wielding his axe or the drummer smashing those drums [keyboardists don’t count ‘cos it’s hard to look cool and play the keys in a rock band and bassists... well, erm don’t they usually just stand there and smile], what you get is human beings creating alchemy every time the sum of their different instruments connect. With DJs and any sort of EDM show in general, you get flashing lights, video imagery and a guy with his hands in the air – when he isn’t pushing buttons or staring into his laptop. So here’s the challenge to bands and musicians. The times they are a changin’! The new breed of audience, the 18-22 age group - don’t care anymore. Just ask the masses who attended Skrillex. They just want a wall of sound, flashing lights and to have a good time, no matter what. So the challenge is this. Four guys onstage creating music should be, but is no longer, enough. To continue to stay relevant and capture the imagination of new audiences you’ll need fresh ideas, otherwise the guitar may become like the turntable... that thing granddad uses! Enjoy this edition. Filled with real music, made by real musicians... and sometimes electronica too. Dave Mac

WRITERS' OPINIONS JEZEBEL I doubt it. If anything, rock stars kill themselves. Music serves a variety of purposes for an individual/event and in a diversified world, fans often consume that variety with gusto. Video didn't kill radio, incidentally; both were transitional technologies that gave way to digital. Maybe the question should be ‘will live music kill the recording star?’ as most acts with digital tracks sell them on a stage.

SERGIO PEREIRA At the moment, I would have to say yes, because DJ is the new rock star. However, history has a habit of repeating itself and going through phases, and rock music will start a revolution again. Remember how rappers were the rock stars of the late 90s/early 2000s? Same story.

MARY HONEYCHILD The DJ is killing the DJ star. As anything burns hot too fast so it will burn out. Lame ass DJs will die out just as soon as they appear. Real performers will continue to outshine remedial button pushers.

MICKDOTCOM Well, times are very different to, say, ten years back when Dance was already huge. Elements of Dance music have saturated Pop, and even, to some extent, Rock.. the distinct camps from the early 00's - Rave, House, Rock, Metal, have kinda met each other and started hanging out. Most people nowadays appreciate various genres/types of gigs for different energies.

PAUL BLOM It may be more a case of technological advancement, as opposed to the DJ (who often merely utilizes the tools that often bypasses the need for real musical talent). The definition of "Rock Star" is also always in a flux and hardly what it used to be, with anyone getting high rotation easily slotted into that category.

JOHANN M SMITH Economically speaking, probably. But who cares? Rock is about attitude and going D-I-Y, and how more do-it-yourself can you get when you "DJ"? Not to mention you're not limited to a 3-chord theory. Bottom line is: isn't it high-time the rock-star got his/her foundations a bit shook? Call it karma if you like...

ELIZA DAY The coolest thing about technological development and the changing face of music is that everything works harder to be better. I think the different ways to make and access music, be it the radio, via the Internet, on a stage or Mac software, serves to accentuate the awesome differences between new and older technology rather than obliterating the latter. The point is to be heard now and that means music makers are putting their all into being the best for their market.

Better Red than Ded | THE YEAR OF THE BLACK SNAKE | words: Eliza Day

THE YEAR OF THE BLACK SNAKE Eliza Day licks her lips lasciviously as the gazes into the deep dark future of rock 'n roll in the year of the snake….

reetings and salutations to all the beautiful boys and girls of 2013.

It is the Year of the Black Snake and whether that means anything to you or not, it is undeniably badass. Especially for rock 'n roll. The overwhelming stream of inkyBlack bands releasing new and longawaited albums this year has just begun the slow release. The last few weeks have literally bled us black and blue for those of you who have been shackled and vice-locked into headphones. The Year of the Black Snake pretty much accounts for this slick wave of dark rock 'n roll - if you think about the cool connotations. Black is about space, the night, the darkness, the shadows of the abyss and the backdrop of hedonism - everything rock 'n roll lives and dies for. Here's what I'm talking about: The Veils - Time Stays, We Go Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away The Black Ryder - The Door Behind The Door The Black Angels - Indigo Meadow Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Specter at the Feast

The Growlers - Hung At Heart David Bowie - The Next Day The themes and feelings that are being emitted by these albums are decidedly gothic and darkly dreamy. The Black Snake seems to have gotten into the boots of these bad-men bands, who conjure up nostalgic pictures and tell melancholic stories of fuck ups and phantoms. Mortality and what is coming next, be it the morning after or the afterlife, chill the chords of rock ‘n roll this year. Having a special space in my heart for sad cowboys and dead things in general, means I am musically very happy with rock ‘n roll’s relapse into visceral pain. Yay! I always like to see how music and art mimics the social and political reality of the world - it’s somehow always spun into something aesthetically appealing and poetically deft, no matter how banal the news sources are. Currently, we are watching the west revert back to the wild as news reports announce teachers will be allowed to carry firearms again while cinema returns the ‘smoking is cool’ factor to their characters. The kind of criteria to breed that feeling of uber-cool, springs eternally from the signature tropes of the universal sad/bad boys and girls. It’s an exciting balance of cerebral celebrity that is adored and shared online, long

before the last layer has dried on the vinyl or CD. Handing out singles on temporary streams like candy to cultchildren, makes loving this dark wave even more exciting. I am very excited. It makes you wonder who will be taking their new album on tour and heading down south... Speaking of the west and the pending festival season, a little black serpent tells me that wheels are turning to get Dead Meadow and Spindrift out here on tour this year. This is where ya’ll can make a difference by posting your thoughts on these two psych bands in our comments section. Also, keep an eye on them fest polls that come up, ‘cause that’s where clicks can turn into seriously cool line-ups for us to look forward to. Actually, what do you guys think? Who wants what out of SA music this year? After all, who cares what I say... I’m just a dork who spends a lot of time on Soundcloud who can’t throw two chords together. But I do love those who are blessed with the Song of Satan, so anyway, hit me up with your wish list. We can all regroup here one year from now and see how we fared. Enjoy the Black Snake and all the forbidden fruit of 2013. Links: Spindrift: spindriftwest.com Dead Meadow: deadmeadow.com

Artist Q ‘n A | INVOKING THE HOLY: KHETHI'S 'WOZA MOYA' | words: Mickdotcom

Mick talks to multi-talented singer, songwriter, poet and producer Khethi ahead of her soon to be released album “Woza Moya” due out on 22 April.

INVOKING THE HOLY:

KHETHI'S 'WOZA MOYA'

culturally correct. Read in true African Zulu custom, it's sincere.”

hen I catch Khethi for our phone interview, her voice is light. There is a natural happiness that gleams through her vocal chords - she is relaxed, eloquent and effortlessly sophisticated. She is part of a new generation of SA singersongwriters who aren't shy of fusing the light and dark, the dangerous and the carefree. We asked Khethi to shed some light on her musical becoming and the peculiar phenomenon that her album's title references.

What's your favourite song ever? “Woza Moya, it's part of the original national anthem. It's the bridge section removed from N'Kosi Sikeleli Africa, it's the blessing after the prayer. It affects us that it was removed...”

What made you decide to become a musician? “When I was fourteen, living in Pietermaritzburg, my dad drove us to Durban for a Sibongile Khumalo concert at the Playhouse in 1994. Sibongile combines so many genres and disciplines; there's Opera, there's Jazz, and Tribal music. She embodies global influences but is thoroughly local, her work inspired me most. Deciding to pursue music as a career is a bold and sometimes scary move, as all artists know; however seeing the success of real talents like Thandiswa Mazwai, Jill Scott helped me do away with a lot of my insecurities about what the west endorsed as real talent; making it more tangible in my mind.” Tell us a bit about your album Woza Moya? “It was initially to be called 'Meandering Sounds', it moves between genres in homage to influences that make me who I am musically. With this album I'm also focusing more on my local side. It is me talking through music.”

PHOTO: Michael Meyersfeld

What musicians inspire you most? “Growing up my house was filled with the sounds of Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba, Frank Sinatra, Al Jarreau and Dionne Warwick's Jazz phase; I enjoyed singing along to my father’s collection instilling a strong jazz foundation.”

What do you love most outside of music? “I love to travel. I'm very lucky in that music is my passport. I also photograph a lot during my travels, I'd like one day to capture these experiences through an exhibition. I love collaborating musically across genres and cultures, bringing us together.” Favourite track off the album? “That's not fair... I grow an album for three years then have to just pick one favourite track? (Laughs). I'm eager to see the response to Madala Kunene's song. It's not mine, right... Treasures is a track that's like a diary entry of my experiences across the Sub-Sahara. Wayikhomba Lena I'm excited about, it's out now, raising eyebrows. Zulu boy (who features on it) has this line.. it elaborates on a violent theme, though on the flipside it's

Tell us more... “The singing of our national anthem, as opposed to what we did before, which was singing the continental prayer in our native tongue. Africa my spirit, Africa my land, Africa my home, Africa my hope. (Sikelela Nkosi sikelela) Come spirit come and sikelela! I revered this part of the prayer. It's at this point where we connected our prayer beyond the physical self into the ground and way up into cosmic sphere. At the end of this prayer to God, concerning Africa and her children, we invited the Holy spirit in. Woza moya Woza! Woza moya oyingcwele.” What do you love in life? “I value family, travel, this continent and photography. I admire critical thinkers the likes of the recently late Chinua Achebe.”

Any parting thoughts? "Elevate! Ululate! Saturate the Air with your Spirit Large! Rejuvenate! Reset the sense! Select to Advance in a Trance of Enlightenment!" These words rang loud as instruction from the cosmos and so marked the beginning of my new album Woza Moya.. Khethukubonga Zasemgazini Natalie Ntshangase is the Zulu girl-traveller, a Miss KZN from eMgungundlovu, who made a conscious effort to plough into her culture dome, her baseline, by working with legendary artists at home.” Amen. Listen to Khethi’s first single from the forthcoming album called WAYIKHOMBA LENA which features ZULUBOY. Simply search her name on Soundcloud.

Exclusive Interview | METALLICA – THE METAL GODS DESCEND | words: Paul Blom PHOTO: SOREN STARBIRD

METALLICA THE METAL GODS DESCEND

hen you’re young and full of beans and start that band you’ve always dreamt of, those big aspirations and high hopes are fuel for the fire, but even with the most positive outlook in the world, you know in the back of your mind that becoming a global phenomenon is a rarity. So what do you do when your garage band’s progress surpasses all expectations and you become not only the biggest Metal band ever, but also excel within the broader Hard Rock category? You say screw the naysayers and aim even higher! Besides needing real, powerful music to back the hype, it also helps having a driven, publicity savvy drummer from Denmark pushing your band no matter what. Thirty years later and a band that started out as brash young Metalheads who’ve seen and done it all as they rose to prominence into a force to be

reckoned with, traveling the world from the north of Europe down to our neck of the woods here at the southern tip of Africa, Metallica has come a long, hard way, their success not handed to them on a platter. I had the pleasure to connect with Metallica’s laid back lead guitar genius, surfer and Horror fan Kirk Hammet (who recently released his book Too Much Horror Business, chronicling his vast Horror memorabilia collection). He gave me an inside look into a band that has weathered the storm known as the music industry. Being instrumental in creating the Thrash genre during the early- to mid1980s alongside their contemporaries Exodus, Slayer and Anthrax, the band carved their own niche and stormed the gates as they progressed in finding their own musical identity (influencing countless musicians as a result). In this fluctuating, sometimes experimental trip, the rabid fans back them without fail, but the commentators and disgruntled oldschool purists can level some serious criticism.

“The reason I joined the band is to play music and perform in front of people...”

“We don’t listen to much criticism,” Kirk responds. “Our M.O. has always been to make the best music that we want to make. If we’re satisfied with it personally, musically, creatively and artistically, then we feel we’ve been successful in creating something that we strived to make.” And everyone has an opinion… “If you start listening to other people, you’ll go around in circles. People have their own personal filter and have their own opinion on what Metallica should be, but we have to be true to ourselves, you know? We have to answer to the music that is in our hearts and our minds, and serve and honour that music. That’s been our approach since day one.” Those early days kicked off 3 decades ago! For anything to last that long, from a marriage to service in the same job (or a band), is a feat in itself, and holds variations of highs and lows. When it comes to the accomplishments, it’s not hard for Kirk to mention a few.

9 PHOTO: ANTON CORBIJN

“It was spectacular to be nominated into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Another great thing for me was making the album with Lou Reed - that is such a great album, although I know I’m in the vast minority on that,” he muses. "Another high point is this 3D movie we’re working on," a collab with Predators director Nimrod Antal. "I mention that because the stage that we’re using is just amazing and really compliments our show, and having seen the initial footage - that really captures a high point in our performance career.” With a narrative woven in, Through The Never is unlike other concert films. When it comes to downers, besides the obvious tragedy of bass player Cliff Burton dying on the band’s 1986 tour in a bus accident between Stockholm and Copenhagen, an added bass related issue weighs on Kirk. “Another low point would be Jason leaving the band. It’s never fun when you have a personnel change." And of course the St. Anger-era-Hetfield crisis and recovery. "When James took a year off to get his health back - having to wait for that… We weren’t sure if we were going to continue as a band, even Lars wasn’t sure…” As a professional musician, some of the key aspects involve writing, recording and performing your music. Everyone has their favourite part of the process, but for Kirk it’s all about playing live. “It’s really fun writing music and getting the songs together, it’s like a music puzzle and I like it a lot. I don’t necessarily like recording, the tedium and waiting around. But it is a necessary part of the process. I really enjoy being out on tour and playing shows," he enthuses. "Playing in front of an audience and bringing the music to people is really important. It’s fun for me. The reason I joined the band is to play music and perform in front of people in a live situation. For me being on stage and performing in front of people is the best part of being in a band, getting that instant interaction and satisfaction.” And South Africans will be able to share that with him late-April. Aspiring and struggling musicians can never get too much advice, especially

from a seasoned and respected veteran like Hammett. For people playing more extreme music in a country with a small market for it, he has this to say: “Yeah - stay committed, stay loyal and true to the music that’s in your heart and in your mind. And if other people hear that truth, they will react to it and they will be moved by it and they’ll want to hear more.” For their South African shows, fans can expect full-throttle Metallica. “We’re all pretty excited coming back to South Africa. Personally I’m looking forward to getting back there and getting some surfing done!" Regarding the 2 hours of live Metallica music, "We try to play different songs at each show, and make each show different to the previous one. It will be different from Quebec. We’ll break out some oldies but goodies and also play some newer stuff. It will be a pretty

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comprehensive list of songs.” Around the week of 24 April, keep your eyes on the coast - you may just spot a guitar god drop down the face of a wave and carve it up. For more Kirk Hammett insights on their entire catalogue, see Eruption on page 30. Metallica will be performing live in South Africa on 24 & 27 April... check out the events page 38 for full details. See the Quebec Magnetic DVD review on page 32. Late April the amazing documentary Mission To Lars (with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich as its focus) will be the main feature at the Sound On Screen Music Film Festival (together with other fantastic music related movies).

Feature | LIANNE LA HAVAS: ENGLISH URBAN INDIE FOLK | words: Mary Honeychild

LIANNE LA HAVAS ENGLISH URBAN INDIE FOLK “I LOVE THE GUITAR BECAUSE IT’S THE KIND OF INSTRUMENT YOU CAN REALLY EXPRESS WHAT YOU FEEL WHEN YOU’RE PLAYING IT.”

Photo: Alex Lake

ianne La Havas is a warm spirited almond eyed London singer who became globally famous for her indie urban songs that managed to break into the mainstream without selling short her originality. The title lyrics to her breakthrough track Is Your Love Big Enough? spoke to people all over the world and now it’s almost impossible to turn on the radio these days and not hear the cheery upbeat melody of this song. Her mixed ethnicity packaging of half Greek and half Jamaican makes her not only interesting to look at as she sways her thick curly black locks, but also gives her drawback on two very fascinating and inspiring cultures... something she almost subconsciously resonates in her music and one can’t help but love her for it. We talk about her hit song Is Your Love Big Enough? which she describes as... “A positive song with a happy message, most people respond very well to positivity and that is why I think it did so well. I was surprised though but very happy that it got as big as it did.” Artists such as Lauren Hill and Erykah Badu fed the earlier years of her musical soul and formed the basis of her feminine representation in music and the beauty that female driven philosophy in song carries, much like hers does. She manages to be her own open self without the apparentness of someone trying too hard or copying any of her own idols. During her earnest and intensely tuned-in stage performances you’ll often see her singing while playing an electric guitar along with her band. She did however first start out playing the piano

as a little girl. “I started playing the piano when I was really young because my father taught me and I loved it. I only started playing the acoustic guitar when I was around eighteen and now I prefer it. I love the guitar because it’s the kind of instrument you can really express what you feel when you’re playing it.” Whilst it is perfectly acceptable for a pop singer to never perform and simultaneously play an instrument, especially if their only talent is singing, lead singers and front members of bands do like to strum a guitar while performing. It just looks cooler. Lianne is more than just a singer though and takes her guitar playing equally seriously. I am interested to know whether she believes it adds value to a performer or singer to in fact learn or know how to

play an instrument. She believes that the value is indeed there... “It’s not the most important thing of course and there are amazing singers who never play any instruments. But for me, I’d have to say that it definitely contributes to my own musicality and my understanding of notes, how they come together and combine with the lyrics. So, as a singer yes, it surely does add more to your performance when you understand how musical instruments work or how to play them.” We chat about her sound staying true to the original themes of her preferred urban indie folk, despite the success of her music pushing her into global pop star status. At twenty four years old, Lianne has managed to hone a sound and an equally delicious singing voice that is all her own, while the world accepts her as she is. Thankfully there has been minimal record label influence and change on her identity as an artist. Pop music, of course, has gained a bit of clichéd reputation for being phony and manufactured with artists to match [that’s ‘cos most of it is... Ed.] Lianne still appreciates it though... “When it comes to pop, granted there is a lot of crappy music out there, stuff that shouldn’t even exist but it does. However, at the same time one can’t dismiss some of the really great pop music that does happen every now and then, even today still.”

Feature | A WORLD OF BEAUTY FILLED PAIN - HURTS' NEW EXILE | words: Alt Guy

A WORLD OF BEAUTY FILLED PAIN HURTS’ NEW EXILE

urts are that 21st century distillation of Depeche Mode, Joy Division, NIN and general melancholia who quite literally exploded onto the world music scene with their debut album Happiness in 2010, which promptly attained Top Ten status in 11 European countries and has since sold around 2 million copies. Recalls keyboardist/synth man Adam Anderson, “I think with Happiness we’d just come off three years of being unemployed and I really hear that when I listen to that album. And for that reason I think we should always be proud that we

“...When we were on the road, we listened to a lot darker music. People like Massive Attack, Nine Inch Nails, obviously Depeche Mode, Interpol, people like that...”

captured a moment in time. It was a snapshot of what our lives were like at that moment and what we’d been feeling for the years prior to that, which was mostly misery and unhappiness - and in my case poverty. I think you can hear that sorrow and sadness in the first album. Albums should be like that[ capturing a period in time].” The duo’s meeting was appropriate, with its own smudged poetry – the two were outside a Manchester nightclub in late 2005 when their buddies broke into a fight; too drunk to join in, they decided to chat and discovered they enjoyed the same dark, romantic music. This darkness unites the two albums says Anderson, “We’ll always carry

sadness on our backs and our music just inherently is sad - that’s just how it is so that’ll be the consistent thing. We don’t seem to be able to write songs that aren’t like that. I think we were listening to a lot of heavier music [this time around]. We listened to a lot of industrial music like Nine Inch Nails. I was listening to albums like OK Computer by Radiohead that were quite multi-layered, where every time you listen to it you hear something new. So for me it was things like that. But at the same time we listened to loads of pop music - you know, we love the charts and that’s just the nature of our band. If the song’s good we like it, whatever reason.”

ut with Elton John and others joining in on their new release, it was, admittedly, made in a slightly different headspace – while Happiness was the ironic culmination of three years’ jobless passion, Exile comes fresh off the back of financial success and non-stop touring. Anderson, “It’s exciting for us, this is the best moment. It was the first time as well, although we were a bit more nervous the first time. I think we feel that we’ve made a really confident sounding album that reflects what it was like to play live the two or three years we were on the road.” Vocalist Theo Hutchcraft admits there’s been a growth curve: “Lyrically and vocally I’ve improved, my ideas improved and Adam’s programming and his vision for sound got immensely better. The musicianship got better. We wrote more songs on piano and we wrote more songs individually – complete songs which we’d never done before. I think we got the confidence to do that. We were self-assured in the beginning – we had to be – there was no plan B, we had to believe we could do it. A lot of that is tainted at the back of your mind with ‘maybe people won’t like it’ or whatever. This time ‘round we knew that people understood what we were trying to do and got where we were trying to take it and what we were trying to express, it meant that writing songs was more fun. We were like ‘we can do this, this is what we’re good at, this is not what we’re good at, this is where we could go’ so that was the exciting part –

having a bit more confidence.” On pushing the envelope, Theo offers: “We always like to be brave with things. I think that’s the point, I have a bit of a problem with people who play things safe and don’t want to push things - who don’t want to be exciting and do things that are going to at least get a reaction from people. That’s the whole reason you do stuff. It makes you feel alive when something makes you react in a certain way. But there is a darkness to it. I think it can only get darker, which maybe it will later on down the line.” And Darkness gave birth to light. In keeping with tracks like Wonderful Life, which recalls Black’s [It’s a] Wonderful Life, perhaps the definitive gloomy romantic song of the Nineties, their new album also features tracks blatantly referencing dark, or ironically happy, pop cultural artefacts, from The Road, which shares a title with brilliant author Cormac McCarthy’s abject masterpiece, to the Beatles, via Help, cult gothic-cool film The Crow and even Metallica with Sandman. Theo recalls their biggest musical influences, “There is a lot we’ve drawn from on this record. Weirdly it came during the process of the first record; a lot of the influences on this record came out towards the end of that period. But we just didn’t have the ability to achieve them. When we were on the road, we listened to a lot darker music. People like Massive Attack, Nine Inch Nails, obviously Depeche Mode, Interpol, people like that, and we sort of got a

grasp on what those bands do and how they do it and learnt how to push in a darker direction. At first it seems very elusive how people do it, but we learnt a lot more and talked about it when we were on the road.” Finding a favourite track on Exile is not so easy, but Theo says, “I think Help is the song that I always wanted to write, the type of song that I always dreamed of being able to write. There’s nothing particular about it, it’s just very classy. It sounds like a proper song, if that makes sense, that just came to us. Emotionally it’s very genuine. Also because it has a choir made of fans from all over Europe at the end. The fans are very much part of the songs now but it was a great thing for us and for the people who were involved.” It’s a beautiful thing to do, a reminder that not long ago they might have been in their own fan base – reaching out to their fans by recording them into Help’s chorus is a shimmering token of gratitude. Synth man Adam Anderson has the last word, going all paternal and glowing, “I think every time we put something out, whether it’s a song, a record or anything else, it’s like a baby. Once you do it you put everything in to it, you’re happy with it, you’re happy with the way it is, you’re content about how you feel about everything, then you just have to watch it go.” Check our review on Pg. 34

Feature | STRAATLIGKINDERS & THE WOUNDS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL | words: Johann M Smith

“PEOPLE ARE TIRED OF POLISHED POP - THEY WANT RAW STRIPPED-DOWN HONESTY. FIND YOUR VOICE AND USE IT TO SAY WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY.”

STRAATLIGKINDERS

& THE WOUNDS OF ROCK 'N' ROLL

here was a time when Fokofpolisiekar was considered “the Straatligkinders your parents didn’t mind”. That was 2008. What’s followed since seems to most SLK fans like a case of rusting away – instead of burning into oblivion. It was the least anyone was expecting. So what happened? And what now…? Where has all the fame and glory gone? We don't think our "glory" is gone. But it’s going to take time. We know that, we signed up for it when we decided to come back. Taking a break was the best decision we made… putting personal interest in front of band interests is the best thing you can do for yourself – and your band. Do you think you were on the cusp of being SA’s renowned house-hold metal act? If not punk also… We were definitely in the top 5, our FB hits still total 85 000 – and we still don't know how that happened. We obviously never planned; we just never said "no". The trick now is to get out of a cluttered scene… There was a rough patch when some of you were in hospital, and others had engagements broke off. What have you learnt about reality and the difference between it, and the romantic views about life so well embedded in your music?

Nothing is more valuable than friendship. And the music can come and go just like that. Our mistake was to care more about touring and shows than each other. It was hard. We could have easily walked away. How was your last album [Konings Met Verskoonings] received? Some say it’s our best work yet. And we feel the same. Strangely, no one’s commented on its different sound, we thought we were going to get a lot of flack. In retrospect we did what we always did: we just wrote the kind of songs we like to listen to on the radio. How has your relationship changed since Bouwer moved to PTA? We only see each other at shows, tours and video shoots. It hasn’t been a bad thing. We all have different passions and dreams beyond SLK. So this is one of those situations. And with technology always in our mist, you’re always one fingertip away… Shock definitely isn’t an option anymore. So what does an Afrikaans metal act do – if not confront what we’d rather ignore, celebrate what we most often deny and indulge what we fear the most? Honesty will never grow old and irrelevant. People start following you because you have succeeded in saying what they can’t say or [know] how to say. Shock is temporary. Songs need substance and brutal honesty. And we

cannot make a difference, if we are not different. Do you think you fit in the category of “comeback kings” or do we just need a reminder that the fire is still burning? The fire is still burning, but it’s no longer a big bonfire of 5000 people – it’s more of an intimate flame trying to figure out how to burn up those massive crowds, and keeping the fire burning. "Comeback Kings" is an awesome term and hopefully in a year's time we can have another interview and then that can be the title of the story. Any advice you can offer to current upand-coming acts? Be different – a good song will only get you so far. People want stories and honesty when it comes to who you are and what you stand for. People are tired of polished pop – they want raw stripped-down honesty. Find your voice and use it to say what you want to say. So boys, when can we expect your next boom? Or do you give less of a fuck? We don’t want to take a rocket to the top, and then try to figure out how to stay there without losing who we are again. This time we just want to tell our stories. Play our shows. Become a voice for others. And take time to enjoy what we do. We got caught up with the craziness and we don’t want that to happen again. We want to be different.

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jezebel's VPL | SUPERDUPER GAD | words: © jezebel | image: Gad's dad

SUPERDUPER GAD

LIFE IS A PLAYGROUND WHEN YOU ARE THE COMMON THREAD CONNECTING SHORTSTRAW, KING DINOSAUR AND PUBLIC TELEPHONE.

But you're too cool to try. You’ve always been. *Blush* my brain has also seemed to retain apparently useless info about pop culture; it's the perfect source material for King Dinosaur songs.

ad is rad. He likes candy, Stanley Kubrick and he juggles so many bands and instruments, you’d be forgiven for thinking him an indie wizard. Or, more accurately, a whiz kid. From our brief babble, it’s clear why he thinks jezebel’s VPL stands for ‘Variable Personality Logistics’… Jezebel: Gad de Combes, I can't keep up. Exactly how many instruments do you play? Gad: First off, piano/synth, since I was 14 with a bit of jazz training. Then, accordion. I used to just play it on the synth, but I found an amazing vintage one in a pawn shop, so I bought that and practised. My brothers always played drums, and I’ve messed around with them a bit, but only in the last 6 months since I’ve been jamming with Public Telephone. I've got a Melodica, which is a little piano with a pipe and the harmonica. Public Telephone is new. How many bands are you in? I’m in 3 now, it's difficult to keep track. King Dinosaur is my little baby, where I do almost all the writing myself, save for live collaborations. Oh, and I play the ukulele too, a big focus with King Dinosaur. No wonder you don't have time for a real job. This is true. I am currently recording with all 3 bands; Shortstraw is releasing its second album in April, then King Dinosaur in June. Yikes! Do you have time for love? (Besides your blue-eyed puppy dog, I mean) The single life is definitely helping my creative spurt at the moment: no distractions or drama, just me and my head, and ukulele. I’ll always have time for Sammy Davis JNR (he's the blue eyed one).

Does that make you a pop tart? They are quite delicious, so I will say yes. Speaking of which, Shortstraw sounds sweet, but its lyrics are quite cutting. I like the combo of fun and light, and dry and trite. Alastair, our singer, has a biting wit, and a great sense of our "lost" generation.

What does Public Telephone sound like? It’s quite different from my other projects, it's a bit dirtier, groovier. Think Tom Waits meets Pixies meets Frank Sinatra. #nowplaying : soundcloud.com, public telephone, kingsandqueens …YOH! I like! There are only 3 of us, so lots of space and sparseness. I’m hearing Tom and The Pixies. No Frank yet. You forgot to say pacey…racy, tracy-finger-round-yourthroaty. With a blade. I love! Thanks! That’s our fastest song. If Shortstraw is your billboard band, which is the fringe act? King Dinosaur? I would say Public Telephone is kinda like the fringe, while King Dinosaur is like a guilty pleasure. I find I’m by no means trying to be "cool" with King Dinosaur, where Public Telephone has that cocky edge...

...While you like to sing about childhood superheroes. If Shortstraw is dry, is King Dinosaur faux-naive? Yes, I’d say that's quite true; King Dinosaur has a mask of silliness, but my voice is breaking through, I’m finding each new song I write, I’m inserting more of myself into the characters I’m writing about... So you’re growing as an artist, but are you saying you want to be a child for life? Absolutely! Kids have it too good. What do SA kids need from its artists? Maybe just to know that it's not all bad. Who wants to be a kid and listen to songs about violence and turf wars and politics? Life is too often over-thought; sometimes simplicity can be the best clarification. Does that mean you ate three fizzers during our chat? Ha ha, just down to 2 packs of gum and a whole nut bar a week... That’s progress. If you like auto-irony, mad, mod hair and a self-made Jozi muso who dresses every act differently, follow @superdupergad on twitter. He’ll favourite your best tweets!

Interview | PEACH VAN PLETZEN | words: Brett De Vos | photos: Brett De Vos

PEACH VAN PLETZEN Brett De Vos catches up with Bittereinder's Peach Van Pletzen to find out what goes on behind that rad 'stache of his…

hat I like about Peach is that he's completely unassumingly authentic. When you first meet him he could easily be mistaken for a hipster milk-man: clean-cut, sideparting, perfectly ironed and fitted pants, but he actually rocks screens and stages worldwide. He takes almost hours to finish a point and he often gets distracted mid-sentence almost as if at the mercy of own creative short-circuitry. I like to think it's due to a post-drug induced haze from endless tours and backstage orgies, but it's more likely a momentary bout of ADD caused as a reaction to his own radness. “I do a lot of different jobs, but it's all one way or another related to music.” Don't be fooled by his gangly limbs and porn-star 'stache; when hearing about his 'current projects' you soon realize Peach van Pletzen isn't the post hippie slacker you'd expect him to be. He has his own musical project – Yesterday's Pupil, is a member of Bittereinder, just finished

producing Tamara Day's new album Death by Misadventure, recorded and produced a soundtrack for the yet to be released film Jimmy in Pink, toured the world as a drummer in The Queen Experience, created a song using a car for Nissan's new viral campaign and was heavily involved in this year’s MK awards. Although Peach has a definite musical identity, which is very strongly routed in the Pretoria music scene, he works across many different genres and mediums. He chooses to navigate his own way through uncharted territories, always expanding his canon of musical abilities, “I only really take on a project if I'm interested in doing it. Sometimes there's a certain sound that I don't go for in my other projects that I want to get … then I learn how to do it.” It was that drive to succeed that led him to music in the first place, when as a 14 year old he and a few of his friends: Barend (the bassist in Kidofdoom), Werner (the vocalist for Wrestlerish) and Matthew (who has now become a chef: at Boston Deli) went to a local Pretoria battle of the

bands. In what I'm sure can only be described as a school hall made entirely from face-brick, Peach took the first steps of his musical career. He watched Jaco (now, in Bittereinder) win the contest: “...and we were like whoa! that was like awesome! Cool.” “We said next year we gonna win this thing: we immediately formed a band, we started writing and then we made a demo and it was so Kak!” Clearly not one to be discouraged, Peach used his Afrikaaner-'stache incited Jedi-like mind powers to endure the waves of audio turd now pulsating through his parent's house. “The next year when we were in standard 8, we went and we won the thing and that band lasted for seven years, it was quite a heavy band: I played drums and screamed.” Twelve years after seeing Jaco win the prestigious battle of the bands, the two ended up working together: “Then it came full circle… I don't even know how many years later... we formed a band with Jaco who was the guy when I was like 14 that gave me the inspiration to even start music.”

“Some people say everything has been done, but I... I don’t know, I like that thrill of at least trying to do something new.” Let's face it, there aren't too many real artists left in the music industry. In a world concerned with numbers, figures and gossip it's nice to see someone who's grounded in the art of music, “I always wanna have originality: it's the one thing I feel is very important… even if you can be way more popular or way more successful ...I feel it's more important to do something new.” Chatting to the multiinstrumentalist I soon realize he's the real deal. He's more concerned with doing something truthful and original, but unlike the ironically and backwardly elitist attitude of many 'underground' musos, he still keeps himself open to mainstream music. “I'm gonna be frank now: I have three guilty pleasures.” Peach turns to his iTunes playlist and I see a small icon of something I'm sure looks like... 'whoa! Is that Rihanna I see?!' I shout out uncontrollably. “No it's 2 songs, it's only 2 songs,” he laughs. “The thing that swayed me: I saw her performance on SNL and she had the coolest fucken visuals I've ever seen and she nailed it, like it was very 90's and almost like kitsch, but the way they did it...” Peach doesn't give a fuck! Not in the gangster- rap 'I'm about to pop a cap in your ass' kind of way, but in a way that says 'I don't care about social ridicule and standards of popularity, I'm just gonna be honest.' Which I think is way more gangster by the way. “Jaco always says hip hop is about where you're from and it sounds so hardcore and that’s why a lot of those gangster rappers, they go out and get shot at and then rap about it. Jaco, he hasn’t been shot at, so his lyrics are more about what our generation had to deal with - the mess of the past and what was left and how uncool Afrikaans is.” Van Pletzen has long since progressed beyond the musical confines of the South African industry. “You're in this hotel with all your idols. That was – you feel like a rock star. Bear in mind this place has like 14 stages and 65 000 people and everyone from The Roots to Skrillex to ... Everyone.” Peach addresses his musical experiences and achievements with a strange kind of laid back enthusiasm. He tells me about Bittereinder's

performance at the prestigious Lowlands festival in the Netherlands: ... “We setting up and I say to the guys - this tent is empty, this is gonna be bruuutal! ...Then we started playing people started streaming in and by the third song the thing was jam packed from front to back and people were actually jamming along.” He’d been to the Netherlands previously for his first 'professional gig' – playing drums in The Queen Experience. “We played a show in the Netherlands in a stadium: 35 000 people - it was sold out and then it was so popular we came back and did another [bunch of] shows all over, including a two week run in Amsterdam. It was difficult to adapt, when we got back I was like: ‘where's all the coffee shops gone?’” Finally we get to the meat and

potatoes of the interview: as a beard enthusiast myself, I have to know how he maintains such a strong 'stache: “I can shave clean with a razor and the next day I'll have a mustache - it just wants to push through.” Of course! How else could such a strong 'stache come to be, other than in the same grand fashion as a Rosettenville mullet - through pure persistent genetic mutation! “Francois [Van Coke] once told me that I have the widest mustache in the industry – ‘hy sê die langste snor’”. I cannot conclude a conversation about facial hair without mentioning the bearded-buddha himself: Zach Galifinakus: He shares my appreciation: “He does! He's got a good beard - there are some folk, some Mumford and Sons members that will kill for that beard.”

Legends of African Music | HIS DARK MAJESTIC - FELA KUTI | words: Mickdotcom

HIS DARK MAJESTIC

FELA KUTI

ela Kuti was born royalty, despite coming from a middle class family. One of those gifted spirits whose very presence teems with potency, Olufela Olusegun Oludan Ransome-Kuti (Fela to his friends and fans) was majestic, arresting the attention or desire of all who encountered him. He was also a rousing rebel, founding his own state in defiance of the militant Nigerian government.

Embodied. Born into a middleclass, but auspicious family in 1939, inheriting his reverend father’s pulpit passion, and, from his feminist activist mother, his pride and defiance against authority, Fela Kuti would become Nigeria’s most legendary artist, and an icon of rebellion. Sent to London to enroll in Medicine, Fela instead decided to attend studies in the art of sound, joining the Trinity College of Music. Soon thereafter he introduced London to Highlife, Nigeria’s most popular form of music, with his band Koola Lobitos. Fusing Highlife with Jazz, and later swirls of psychedelic Rock, Kuti coined his new music Afrobeat. Exposure to the Black Panther movement in the US further politicized Fela, his lyrics railing against the evils of Power - be it manifest as a militant, brutal government in his own country, or the monumental barbarity guised as sophistication and eloquence, as espoused by Britain. Fela’s satirical songs were epic, rambling Molotov cocktails flung into the ranks of oppressors. Kuti’s songs were ritualistic, designed for the frenzied haze of trance. The trance of sweat. The propulsive, interlocking rhythms that drive his music incite fevered motion into the crowds adoring his stage, writhing at the groovelooped guitars, the dark majestic flourishes of horns. Blatantly ignoring commercial prospects, Kuti’s songs averaged 15 minutes in length, many only resolving themselves after half an hour of turbulent beauty. He also refused to perform songs live once they were recorded, making him the antithesis of Western musical performers, who rely on an audience’s appreciation of memorable songs. For

Kuti songs were chants, invocations, burning prayers or angry denouncements, but most of all they were in-the-moment. Rituals between performers and audience.

He who carries death in his pouch. In the early Seventies, Kuti changed one of his middle names to Anikulapo (He who carries death in his pouch), claiming that Ransome was a slave name. He also formed the Kalakuta Republic, a large commune, which he declared to be independent from Nigeria. In the tradition of the ritualistic aspect of his music, Kuti then set up a nightclub called the Afrika Shrine, which became the home base of his performances.

His band, which numbered in the dozens, was now called The Africa ’70, and Kuti was releasing LP after LP of genre-perfecting Afrobeat. One of these, Zombie, became hugely popular with the masses and devastatingly unpopular with the government. The album was an indictment of the Nigerian military, whom the government then ordered to raze the Kalakuta Republic. One thousand soldiers attacked said Republic, nearly beating Kuti to death, and fatally throwing his elderly mother out of a window. Kalakuta was burnt to the ground. A year later, to mark the negative anniversary of this attack, Kuti responded in a voluptuous positive, marrying 27 women, members of his sprawling band. Despite the tumult of the Seventies, Kuti remained highly successful through the 80’s, with a number of well-received tours of the US. In 1989 he released the anti-Apartheid album Beasts of No Nation, with our very own PW Botha sullying the album’s cover, along with Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher and goofy actor-turned-president Ronald Reagan. 50 plus albums make up Kuti’s legacy, while his stubborn confidence, celebration of Africanness, and political activism enshrine his memory. Despite Kuti’s refusal to conform to radio-friendly format, his influence today is arguably stronger than ever, and lives on in the torch carried by his son Femi Kuti.

Feature | WHAT NOW: BRINGING SEXY BACK | words: Sergio Pereira

Photo: Marcus Maschwitz

WHAT NOW: BRINGING SEXY BACK

t seems like the United Kingdom is rapidly becoming the second home to South African bands especially since the local music industry developed an allergic reaction to all things rock. Moreover, their media (minus Piers Morgan, because he doesn’t really count) is beginning to realise that we don’t just ride lions all day, but actually make some gnarly rock and roll. One band that is feeling the love from their adopted home - and Kerrang!, in particular - is the trio of Tyron Layley, Ryan Morris, and Adam Jenkins, collectively known as What Now, who originally formed in Ballito in 2001.

London Calling Leaving the coastal holiday town to further their career was a no-brainer - if you disagree with me, feel free to go pester Big Concerts’ Facebook page about why no international bands perform in KZN - but why the giant leap to London, England? Why not a move to Johannesburg, for instance? “Well, we didn't want to fuss about; we wanted to go all the way - all or nothing,” guitarist/vocalist Ryan Morris declares. “Fortunately, for us, we all had British passports and ancestral visas, so it was a pretty straight-forward move. On the plus side, Britain is home to some of the greatest bands on the planet.” Despite the departure to pastures new (and perhaps greener), Ryan isn’t predicting doom and gloom for SA music; quite the contrary, actually. “I honestly don't think it’s as bad as it was,” he says, “in fact, it’s getting way better.

When we moved to the UK, in 2005, the South African music scene was very cut off from the rest of the world; this was one of the biggest reasons [for What Now’s move]. You could tour South Africa until you were blue in the face, but your music would never leak into other parts of the world. Whereas if you get big in the UK, you could become known in the US – could, [but] not always.”

“WE WANTED TO GO ALL THE WAY - ALL OR NOTHING …” From Break-Up to Make-Up Sex What Now’s move to England wasn’t a picture-perfect fairytale, though, because, after taking the plunge and chasing their dreams to jolly old England, they split up for two years. “It happened after six months of living here,” Ryan explains. “It was a very dark time for us; we were all cramped up in a one-room apartment in a very dodgy area known as Lewisham. We were broke, missed family and I think we kind of lost ourselves. We all split up, started other bands, and [then] realised that what we had was actually quite special.” With a revitalised hunger and new direction, What Now crafted out a new sound for themselves: a much darker, sexual sound. Move Like A Sinner, the title track and lead single off their second full-length album, thrusts with a seductive Depeche Mode allure, and is the archetype of their new sonic approach. “We have always strived on

producing big songs with big choruses, but I think with this song we definitely tapped into a new sound. Personally, for me, I love ’80s bands and sexy sounding songs. I definitely think there will be more songs to come from this style we have developed,” says Ryan.

What Now, What Now? Move Like A Sinner’s positive reception in the international press has certainly cultivated some credible hype for the band (even back home), and you can’t help but wonder if What Now isn’t more popular in South Africa now than when they were living here. “I think it works both ways; people talk about you more because you are overseas and South African, but at the same time, because you are not in the country for all festivals and shows, people can forget about you,” Ryan states, prior to adding, “I think the internet has definitely increased our popularity, to be fair.” With the release of the album (available via Sheer/2 Feet Music in South Africa) now under their belts, Ryan concludes our chat by telling us what’s next on the agenda for What Now. “We are starting off [with] a small UK tour; then, we will be on to Europe South Africa is [also] definitely on the cards this year. We are just going to tour, tour, tour... release music videos for the next singles and take it from there! Anything is possible for us, this year, with this album.” For more information on What Now, visit www.whatnowband.com.

Music News | INSIDE THE MACHINE | words: Johann M Smith

Inside the MACHINE DEPECHE MODE

epeche Mode have just released their 13th album titled Delta Machine, said to conjure a similar boldness and creativity that made Violator and Songs of Faith and Devotion milestone releases for the trio. “We’ve been playing music together for half our lives,” says Gore. “At this point we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and know we work very well together. We’ve had our welldocumented ups and downs, but now we play to our strengths. We didn’t always.” Meeting at Gore’s Santa

Barbara studio a year ago, Gore says that what they had was promising, “this was the first time ever that we listened to the demos and we liked the overall direction. A lot of the time when we start an album we have a song and it might work quite well, but we want to take it in a different direction and make it better. We’ll try out 10 different approaches to it, and there’ll usually be one that’s reggae. Never works, but we always try it. But this time we didn’t need to do that.” In the past [Martin] Gore was the primary songwriter for the band with [Alan] Wilder also pitching in but in recent years (2005 to be exact) Dave Gahan’s songwriting

has also come the fore, and on the new offering he contributes five of his own compositions and cowrote Long Time Lie, the first time he and Gore have worked together on a song. “I couldn’t get [these] songs down quickly enough. I didn’t have to force it. After I formulated a melody in my head, the words started spilling into that melody, and I would quickly record it. I just let it flow through me. I don’t sit and write words on a piece of paper. They are told to me by the music, if that makes any sense.” says Gahan. Having sold in excess of 100 million albums and sold out most major stadiums around the world, charting more than 50 hits in the US and UK alone, the band could afford to take a slightly different direction on the new album. Gahan explains, “We started throwing around ideas and waited until the songs started taking some kind of form before we attempted to give the album a name. This time, the form they were taking was strongly drawing on a blues influence, that Delta blues thing, sort of crawling and a bit sleazy, a bit dirty.” Gore is quick to add “We don’t want to claim we’re making a blues album, it’s our version of the blues. We’ve been working in our style of blues for quite a long time now. If you go back to Violator there’s quite a lot of songs on there that are very bluesy, and Songs of Faith and Devotion and Ultra as well. I think we’re just embracing that now and making it more obvious in the title.” Delta Machine is available in shops nationwide and online. Read our review on Pg. 34

WHAT MATTERS IN MUSIC TODAY? A BRIEF LOOK AT 2013: HOW IT STARTED and THE ANSWERS IT’S GIVEN SINCE JAN/FEB: Sees the release of IFPI’s DIGITAL MUSIC REPORT: ENGINE OF A DIGITAL WORLD. It opens up with the confident headline: “Demand for music is driving the digital world”. The findings indicate Africa’s become a primary target for legitimate music services driven by global emerging markets the world over. GET IT: ifpi.org/content/library/DMR2013.pdf FEB: Despite all accounts of digital advances ALTERNATIVE FM (AFM) receive a heated response when news broke of their broadcasting license being cancelled (ironically on FB). The good news is, AFM recently announced they’re going back on air soon. Fans are urged to tune in online for now. GO TO: afm.radiostream.co.za MAR 11: YouTube officially rolls out “OneChannel”. It functions like a PVR, only for your PC – so it fits “your programme strategy.” Meaning, the fun is extended to subscribers and visitors. No more random finds and disappearing acts. GET IT: youtube.com/onechannel

album, and announces he’s set to write a rock adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. MAR 15: “Your voice” – the key message in DAVE GROHL’s speech, at SXSW music festival in Texas, urging artist to chide negativity. Recalling Kurt Cobain, he says: “cherish, respect, nurture and challenge it… until it’s fucking gone! Who knows how long it will last...”And concluded: “Now more than ever, with technology, YOU can do this.” Quite a few people have taken his advice since, including business media giant FORBES. YOUTUBE: “Dave Grohl SXSW speech”

MAR 20: The 19th annual SAMA AWARDS announces 2013 nominees.

doccie by German industrial pioneer Einstürzende Neubauten’s; 3-TRIÚR –IN SEARCH OF MUSICAL FORM (looks in on Irish music legends); AFRICAN DRUM (an impressionist portrait of the instrument’s roots and impact); and much more. THE MAKABRA ENSEMBLE is anticipated to perform a live soundtrack to a classic silent film and Paul Bothner Music and Metallica DVD give-ways are to be expected.

APRIL: sees a range of SA music conferences and exhibits coming to the fore – insiders account for a tireless effort. Question is: were you there?

SOS runs late-April into May @the Labia Theatre, CT; Selected titles also showing @The Bioscope, JHB FOR MORE: flamedrop.com/sos

SOUND ON SCREEN: THE RETURN

NEW TERMINATRYX ALBUM “MOST KILLER TO DATE”

On the same day: SA drummer GARTH MCLEOD from WONDERBOOM and SUGARDRIVE dies in a motor accident.

MAR 13: IRON MAIDEN drummer CLIVE BURR dies at age 56. MAR 14: IRON MAIDEN pays to tribute to CLIVE BURR and launches IRON MAIDEN BEER – cask ale named after the 1983 single ‘The Trooper’. SAMSUNG launches THE KLEEK developed by UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP; the ‘streaming music service’s’ sole purpose is specific to Africa and music lovers who want to be closer to their artists. Critics question its exclusivity to SAMSUNG GALAXY owners. Some find out it’s one of many countless others. MUSIC LICENSING DIRECTORY posts an info-graphic titled STATE OF THE MUSIC LICENSING INDUSTRY, a revealing complex situation more ingrained and a far bigger threat than piracy. It’s called “retitling”. GET IT: memeburn.com/2013/03/themusic-industrys-biggest-head-hint-itsnot-piracy-infographic JOE ARMSTRONG survives a personal crises following GREEN DAY’s trilogy

Dave Grohl

Flamedrop Productions have announced 2013’s installment of SOUND ON SCREEN, the annual film festival renowned for featuring varieties of wildly exciting music-related movies and documentaries. Here’s our must-see list: MISSION TO LARS the acclaimed Metallica-linked doccie (a man with Fragile X Syndrome goes on a crazy journey to meet his idol, drummer Lars Ulrich); SOUND OF NOISE the brilliant Swedish-French original (a tone-deaf detective tries to stop a guerilla percussionist group terrorizing a city with anarchic public performances); THE HEART IS A DRUM MACHINE (in-depth look at what music means to people Ft. top artists, producers and scholars grappling with this concept incl. RHCP, Tool, G N’ R, NIN); TENSION: 25 YEARS UNDEGROUND (about a metal band who refused to ‘sell out’); LIEBSLIEDER - a

TERMINATRYX’ next studio album raises the bar yet again on their personal sonic exploration of “industrial-infused metal landscapes”. Talented dark minx Sonja Ruppersburg, along with Terminatryx cofounder (and V.O.D veteran) Paul Blom, have been working on tracks with Theo Crous. Two songs have been completed and are set to launch the band's IndieGoGo crowd funding campaign for the album. The band have announced, “the grooving dark pre-release single Shadow will be sent into the world for free – with another to follow.” Sadly, as of going to print, the IndieGoGo link was still TBC – go check the band’s site now. Not there? You can still show your support in their quest to create their most killer album (to date) by listening and spreading its gospel. CHECK: soundcloud.com/terminatryx FOR MORE: terminatryx.com

Music News | INSIDE THE MACHINE | words: Johann M Smith

association with Hilltop Live are presenting the event and we’ve been promised a live-set that spans from their early struggles, all the way to now – concluding with their last full-length album, Ex Lives. Sadly, their SA pit-stop is part of a larger intensive tour – meaning, the fun only lasts for 2 nights. In an interview last year, Everytime I Die claimed they’ve had SA on their “bucket-list” for a while – so let’s hope they do what Skrillex did a few weeks back: stun us with a surprise performance at our usual –more intimate – mosh pit. Jägies on us… if you do. Fri 26Apr @! Arcade Empire, PTA; Sat 26 Apr @The Assembly, CT. Beware, tickets are limited. BUY HERE: ticketbreak.co.za JOIN: fb.com/hilltoplive

Kings of Chaos

KINGS OF CHAOS: ROCK GODS JET-SET FOR SA KINGS OF CHAOS is a super group of 8 iconic rockers that can be described as “a rock fan boy’s whet dream.” Let’s tally up the members: 1-3 from Guns N’ Roses’ camp – Slash, Gilby Clark and Duff ‘Rose’ McKagan; 4-5 Def Leppard’s – Joe Leppard and Vivian Campell; at lucky number 6, Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach; 7 is Collective Soul – Ed Roland; and lastly, 8 hailing from Black Country Communion and Deep Purple – Glenn Hughes. Collectively, they’ve sold a sweeping amount of 300 million albums. And come this June, they’re yours to enjoy. The experience has been christened as “a feast of musical mayhem.” Sounds like a sunny day in hell with front row tickets to a solo contest judged by Steve Vai. Need we say more? Sat 8 June @GrandWest Grand Arena, CT; Sat 15 and Sun 16 June @Sun City Superbowl. Tickets available at door and Computicket. Bidding starts @ R375.

OPPIKOPPI ANNOUNCES 19th BIRTHDAY THEME: “BewilderBeast”

Remember 90’s indie delight Badly Drawn Boy? Well, you might also recall their album, The hour of the BewilderBeast– the inspiration behind OPPIKOPPI’s 2013 birthday theme. To fit the special occasion, the Oppi team have hired the services of CT based artist Michael Taylor to produce two special pieces fitting the title. Suffice to say, early bird tickets have been sold out (in For the first time since forming in the late addition to Christmas tickets). But hey, 90’s, US metal pioneers Every Time I Die the fun hasn’t stopped yet. There’s talk will be sharing their distinctive breed of of t-shirt collection parties coming up – brutality with SA, when they perform amongst many other wonderful delights, end April. Jägermeister SA in lasting until the event in August. Until then, I’ll leave you with this bold ‘BewilderBeast’ birthday Everytime I Die statement by Oppikoppi: “…make little plans.” FOR MORE: oppikoppifest.co.za

EVERYTIME I DIE: DEBUT SA TOUR

JOSHUA GRIERSON and THE WAY WE USED TO FEEL – heard of the joint ensemble? There are no songs as of yet, but the premise alone sounds way cool. FOR MORE: Check FB.

“UH-A-OH”… ITS OFFICIAL 5GUM are bringing down U.K indie crooners THE KOOKS. The news follows weeks of mental puzzles 5Gum posted on their FB group hinting at who’s coming. FOR MORE: Check FB. Nibs & Rodney Branigan - South African Tour, May 2013 Acclaimed South African troubadour NIBS will be on tour this May with world acclaimed acoustic guitar virtuoso, Rodney Branigan from Texas. The two met in London in 2011 and have spoken about a combined tour ever since. Nibs will be releasing his brand new Anthology album, Crossing Borders, Driving North, while Branigan will be gracing our shores with his outer worldly guitar prowess. Rodney Branigan is a Texas born London based virtuosic guitarist best known for playing two guitars at once... or sometimes guitar and piano at the same time. This may sound gimmicky but it’s not; his lyrics and vocal delivery will quickly make you forget about his personal ensemble of instruments. His style of music is said to be a mixture of folk with undertones of rock, flamenco, classical, bluegrass and jazz. Check out our events page for a full itinerary of his SA tour with Nibs.

Rodney Branigan

Eruption | REDISCOVERING THE METALLICA CATALOGUE | words: Paul Blom

REDISCOVERING THE METALLICA CATALOGUE

feel privileged to have been around long enough to get into Metallica at their genesis and seeing their rise from struggling noisemongers to highly respected and successful international musicians. Indulge me as I take a little personal trip down the Metallica collection (with added recollections from their lead guitarist Kirk Hammett), and hopefully, this will spur you on to check them out, or if you’re an old fan, will have you pull out and rediscover these albums. (For a more in-depth version of this piece, find it at www.museonline.co.za)

KILL ’EM ALL (1983) Paul Blom: I remember the LP's exhilarating opener Hit the Lights barging in, launching into 10 tracks of music unlike anything we’d heard before. Kirk Hammett: We were just babes at that time and had very little experience going into the studio, and we didn’t have a whole lot of money and time, but the attitude was to get in there and do it as quickly as possible.

RIDE THE LIGHTNING (1984) PB: The songs and production quality of this album took a marked step up. Special import vinyl from Ragtime Records (Cape Town). No-one in our school had these albums, and my brother Francois and I relished the outsider status. KH: That was the first time we recorded in Denmark. The material was just amazing, and

going into the studio knowing you had all that under your belt was inspiring in itself. It was a great learning process because we had time to get better sound and experiment.

MASTER OF PUPPETS (1986) PB: Hands down my favourite Metallica album. Those vinyl grooves took a beating! Found it in the very sparse Musica import section. My brother and I took more serious steps to try and create our own band Moral Decay, which became Metalmorphosis. For me Lars Ulrich was an undeniable influence. We played two Metallica covers. KH: Master Of Puppets is my personal favourite too. For me it is the culmination of James, Lars, Cliff and I, really maturing together, finding our momentum and hitting our stride, really gelling together and connecting with each other musically and I think it comes across on those songs

GARAGE DAYS REREVISITED (1987) PB: By this time I was hunting down anything Metallicarelated, including the Garage Days Re-Visited vinyl 12” incl. some cover versions. The second Garage Days EP was the first recording with new bassist Jason Newsted (after Cliff Burton’s tragic death). I wrote to Elektra Records and got a complimentary copy! KH: It was made over about 3 days and was a lot of fun. I remember everything coming together very quickly and sounding great.

…AND JUSTICE FOR ALL (1988) PB: At first the flat drums and clinical production alienated me, but I slowly got into it. By this time I had joined V.O.D (Voice of Destruction) and remember how some of the people had never seen a live band with two bass drums. KH: By this album we started going down another path. We wanted to showcase our music more and stretch out an arrangement-wise, making it more progressive and technical. We also wanted to experiment with different tones, and wanted it to sound different, but I don’t think we accomplished what we set out to do sonically.

METALLICA (1991) [also known as the Black album] PB: This is the first Metallica album I didn’t get on vinyl, but only picked up the CD long after its release. At this time I also started discovering music like Ministry and performed fast and furious Thrash / Death metal with V.O.D which may have made the new Metallica seem too pedestrian. KH: We decided to go the exact opposite direction as ...Justice and simplify our songs and approach. In the wake of that we came up with a bunch of radio friendly songs. It wasn’t an obvious thing to us while making it. It was more an attitude of making it simpler and easier for people to latch onto.

31 mash of Deftones, Cult Of Luna, Isis etc.” Regarding the SINDULGENCE Recollections CD/DVD, guitarist Ryan feels “the music is very unconventional and doesn’t play by the rules at all.”

LOAD (1996) & RELOAD (1997) PB: At this time I was in the UK with V.O.D, recording our Bloedrivier album and getting ready to tour Europe. Their sudden image switch and less extreme songs were a bit jarring and took me a while to accept. My least favourite Metallica period. KH: Initially those were going to be a double album. I see it as our tribute to ‘70s hard rock, trying to write songs in that particular style, to give it more of a Bluesy kind of groove.

JUNKYARD LIPSTICK drummer Lucinda proclaims their debut album Hellbent to be “In-yourface aggression with no apologies”.

GARAGE INC. (1998) PB: A pleasant surprise, returning to more aggressive roots with all the Garage Days cover versions, B-sides, and new covers. KH: Like the original Garage Days, we picked a bunch of songs, banged them out really quickly, and it came together amazingly well – we had a lot of fun.

S&M (1999) PB: This collaboration with the SF Philharmonic takes the already killer music of Metallica to another amazing realm altogether. KH: Working with conductor Michael Kamen was an amazing experience. He was a huge inspiration. The experience of playing our music with an orchestra was just so powerful. The Call of Ktulu version still blows me away.

ST. ANGER (2003) PB: I was excited when this came out, interested to hear what they’ll be doing. I liked the more raw and brash approach. KH: I love St. Anger. I don’t think it got a very fair shake. Many people didn’t recognize that album for what it was. Although I didn’t play my heart out in terms of guitar solos, I still think that it’s a great album.

DEATH MAGNETIC (2008) PB: Somehow this Rick Rubin produced album passed me by (2008 my focus was on recording my band Terminatryx’s debut). KH: We again hit our stride with this line-

up. We rediscovered ourselves. It was a real pleasure to make. I love the way it sounds.

THE NEW METALLICA ALBUM PB: What can we expect from the next album? KH: While we went for a mid-‘80s sound on Death Magnetic, the direction it took is similar to the new one we’re starting now. We’re more focused on the songs right now than when we’ll record it and with whom.

WACKEN METAL BATTLE: South Africa The MK Ondergrond TV show is overseeing the South African leg of the Wacken Metal Battle. What is Wacken you ask? Only one of the world's most prestigious Metal festivals (hosted in Germany)! Across 20 April to 25 May, over 40 local bands will duke it out across 8 venues to emerge victorious with a live slot at Wacken! Final showdown at Arcade Empire on 15 June (free entry). I am proud to be one of the judges together with Louis Du Pisani, Dawid Fourie, Patrick Davidson, Jared Gunston, Cliff Crabb and Sashquita Northey. Search Wacken Metal Battle: South Africa on Facebook for all info on the bands and venues.

ON THE LOCAL FRONT Before we all succumb to Metallica fever, remember there are some cool local band releases to check out (see www.museonline.co.za for more detailed info and In Their Own Words quotes from these acts: MEGALODON launched Darkness in Sonance lateMarch. Guitarist Louis warns you to expect “Sub-tonal low bass, Heavy chugging guitars, Mechanical, Polyrhythmic, Technical, Melodic and Eerie with a pinch of Psychedelic.”

WITH DAWN

13 April sees WITH DAWN releasing their first EP (at ROAR, CT) to celebrate 2 years. “We coined the term PostNumetalcore", says frontman Kevin, "a

About Paul Blom: With a strong leaning towards all things Alternative, for decades Paul has been involved with music, movies, gaming and writing. Bands have included V.O.D (Voice Of Destruction), F8, K.O.B.U.S., The Makabra Ensemble and Terminatryx. Movie productions include short films, music videos, DVD releases, and half a dozen film festivals. Entertainment writing on music, movies and gaming kicked off in '97 for a wide range of publications, plus the creation of various web portals like Flamedrop.com. His work is far from done here. Have some SA Metal news to share? Email Paul: EruptionMuse@gmail.com

ERUPTION ALBUM REVIEWS | Reviewed by Paul Blom

ERUPTION Album Reviews METALLICA Quebec Magnetic At this 2009 Canadian show, as is customary Metallica delivered over two hours of blistering music to an indoor arena of die-hard fans on their Death Magnetic tour. On the centrally placed oblong stage with its gigantic coffin shaped lighting rigs, each corner has a mic to allow frontman James Hetfield to circulate the stage corners for different songs to get a full sweep of the crowd across the set. The main concert disc contains 18 tracks from their stellar career spanning 3 decades. Their early Thrash years are not denied, with songs from their groundbreaking albums Kill 'Em All, Ride The Lightning and the amazing Master Of Puppets (like Whiplash, For Whom The Bell Tolls and Battery.) The song One, from... And Justice For All, defines the track that really started their upward shift (and gets the flame-pyro booming), but the self-titled 'black' album really shot them into the stratosphere (from which one expects Enter Sandman and others). Load, Re-Load and St. Anger is neglected completely. With this being their Death Magnetic tour almost the entire album gets played and you can see they are excited about this new rediscovery of their fire. Metallicaflavoured cover versions include tracks from Budgie and Sweet Savage. The second disc gives you 8 extra tracks from across the spectrum and in addition there are a few messages from the band members as well as veteran fan testimonials. The show is hard-hitting and energetic, each band member giving it their all. Older, wiser, and still kicking ass, this will certainly get you itching for the Metallica dates in South Africa at the end of April. Check out the cover feature on Pg. 8 and our free Ticket and Blue Ray DVD giveaway.

IRON MAIDEN Maiden England '88 Shot in 1988 (when I was in Matric), on the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son tour of these Heavy Metal legends, it has been re-mastered and includes three extra tracks not on its original VHS release. At that stage Iron Maiden was bigger than ever, and a live force that backed away at no contenders. Led by master frontman Bruce Dickinson along with bass kingpin Steve Harris, the one and a half dozen

songs from across their impressive catalogue includes title tracks from the first three albums (Iron Maiden, Killers, Number Of The Beast), as well as classics Hallowed Be Thy Name and Running Free. There are two cuts from Piece Of Mind and Somewhere In Time respectively, five from the featured touring album, but shockingly none from my favourite album Powerslave... These songs ooze pure Maiden, with the band in their element. With the evolution of their mascot Eddie, the ice-bound rebirth stage of Seventh Son’s artwork resulted in the prerequisite matching stage sets. But, it's all about the music and the live energy, not the trimmings. On the second DVD you get the third documentary chapter in The History Of Iron Maiden. The Early Years DVD was part 1, with part 2 included on the Live After Death re-release. Some very interesting facts come to light from new interviews. 12 Years Of Madness is an extra documentary with band, crew and management interviews, supplying a more inside look into this Heavy Metal institution. You also get 5 promo videos from Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son. Never heavy for heavy’s sake, Iron Maiden’s brand of Metal is a great combination of live, theatrical musical skill, powerful delivery, melody and catchy tunes, without seeming tame.

RAMMSTEIN Videos 1995 - 2012 This fascinating Industrial-Metal force from Germany has made as much impact with their dark-tinged music as they have with their flame-filled live performances and visually enticing, provocative and controversial music videos. Be it the werewolf flavoured Du Riechst So Gut, the Lost Highway movie footage inclusions in the song Rammstein, Ich Will's bank robbing stand-off, the dark Snow White fairytale take for Sonne, their trademark flame-induced live performance in Feuer Frei!, the moon based Amerika, fat-suit performance for Keine Lust, a dark rural religious setting in Rosenrot, the uncomfortably humorous oiled-up naked all male clip for Mann Gegen Mann, or the sexually charged (censored) Pussy (which, if you can find it on-line has a full on Xrated porn version). There is also a video for Mein Herz Brennt, plus a passionate piano version. These videos can range from serious and hilarious to intense and silly, but are always entertaining, intriguing

and worth watching over and over again (whether you understand German or not). The 3-disc, 455 minute audio-visual tome includes their 2-dozen music videos, and a making clips, looking into the actual video production, plus the songs, albums from which these come, and the inner workings of Rammstein. Some of the recurring video directors adding to the band's unforgettable and daring visual stamp include Jörn Heitmann, Jonas Åckerlund, and Phillipp Stölzl. Rammstein never spare any expense when it comes to supplying their fans with an all-round work of art, the visual detail translating into the superb packaging, which includes a 56-page booklet and a lenticular cover image shifting between each of the six band members' silver faces as it is tilted.

VOIVOD Target Earth From the mid-80s into the 90s this Canadian act stood apart from the other bands of its time. The period was a richly exciting blast of Thrash, Death and Grindcore bands, and the rise of Black Metal, resulting in some great music coming from that period. But amid this rich mix Voivod could not really be compared to any of their contemporaries. They weren’t trying to be the fastest, heaviest or go to any particular extremes. As a cult band Voivod found an identity that was very much their own with albums like Dimension Hatross and Nothingface, which we knew well back in the day. The progressive style they had during that period has resurfaced in Target Earth, with three of the original members, Away, Blacky and Snake joined by Chewy, (replacing Piggy who passed away in 2005). Piggy’s distinct guitar style has been retained with its dissonant flow and prog riffing, together with the bands erratic but distinct time signatures. What I fear is that while this will be a joy for old fans, it may be difficult to win over new ones, especially many in the current heavy music generation who may want the drums to blast and the vocals to roar. While the pace can pick up and the vocals convey power, it does not go beyond the realm. The band always had a far-out, inter-dimensional streak, including the cover design.

ALBUM REVIEWS

Album Reviews B

DEPECHE MODE - DELTA MACHINE

y their 13th release, especially as what might be termed a niche band, stylistically, one almost expects the expected, the welltrodden. Hell, the dull. But on Delta Machine the band sounds cool and confident, Gahan’s voice effortlessly robust. While fans would never complain of deep shadow in Depeche Mode's work, many critics felt their 21st century output was asphyxiatingly dark and minimalist. Delta Machine certainly doesn't gambol in sundappled prettiness, but the darkness here is lush. The inspiration of mystery and the unknown – rather than the suffocating bleakness of dark, human psyches – conduct the tracks here.

Passenger All The Little Lights It's infrequent when, in today's hyperkaleidoscopic (musical) world, one encounters singersongwriters who relish in wordplay, and poetic resonance. Passenger, Mike Rosenberg's artist pseudonym, is ostensibly this singer/ songwriter’s relishing in the extra expanse of sensual and cranial detail afforded a passenger during meandering road trips. You're not determining when and where to slow down or speed up, or to turn left or right or 'Go Back 400 metres and follow blah-blah...’ You, the passenger, are bequeathed the gift of free-flowing landscapes, of shifting aerial vistas... while the driver's mind is absorbed by dull direction, stressful maps, plunging petrol gauges. “Tobacco stains our yellowed teeth and/ all our fingers and underneath and/ all this Red Bull keeps us wild/gives us wings that gives us rings around our eyes/ and all our girlfriend are long gone/we watch too much Internet porn/ Who needs love when you’ve got silicon and strap-ons?/and shit jobs keep us in ruts/ and keep us signing up for ifs and buts and maybe’s and/ falling over in the street/it’s just a part of every week/ where we lie drunkenly just staring at the stars” Okay and that’s maybe 70% of the lyrics of, like, one verse, and it’s delivered in around a minute and-a half. With giddy Irish accompaniment All the Lights is a very Irish affair, perhaps not in tone or sentiment, but in delivery; it recalls the Dublin, buskin’ wonder who gets a deal. | MD

David Bowie The Next Day Ten years can seem like a long time, longer than most musicians’ entire careers. So it’s no wonder that the hype and collective clamour for the first Bowie album since 2003’s Reality has been overwhelming, to say the least. It’s his first number-one album in 20 years and so far, the fastest selling album of the year. The Next Day is a tremendous surprise. Not only because most thought the 66 year old had retired from music and public life, but also the approach to the album’s direction. It’s a raw, stripped down, essentially rock ‘n roll affair with a good dose of Bowie’s special strangeness. There is an intriguing relationship between the nostalgic familiarities of the songs and the ease at which it sounds so remarkably current. This is notably represented in the cover art, which is 1977’s Heroes cover, masked by a post-itsized white block with the words The Next Day blocking Bowie’s face from 30 years ago. Fans will be happy to hear the return of the ever-evolving icon, and while The Next Day may not reach the heights of his 70’s masterpieces (nothing ever will), it certainly gives one the sense that Bowie is back. | SO

MORE REVIEWS ONLINE: www.museonline.co.za

“The angel of love was upon me/ and Lord I felt so High/radiant rainbow following me around/with irradiated sense/I see and taste sound” Gahan opines in Angel, with a sly bass-riff that echoes their classic I Feel You in the backdrop. A mundane romance, in Secret To The End is carved into majestic space by the diabolically throbbing synth/ bass hooks, while the simplistic repetition of electro percussion in Soft Touch/Raw Nerve cleanly harkens back to their more optimistic early work. Fans, naturally, will be a-swoon, and, I sense, with Delta Machine’s signature heart, but novel texture in today’s wild kaleidoscopes of sound, new fans will be seduced to dark rainbows. | MD

Neil Young Psychedelic Pill This is HEAVY retro. Never one to stray too far from Folk, or his brand of delightfully scruffy Country Rock (the occasional, wild about-turns aside), 2012's Psychedelic Pill sounds like a rather magnificent time capsule, complete with volume fading in/fading out effects. In fact I was kinda convinced this album was just a shining unreleased 70’s catalogue album, which Young had kept faithfully secret until time decreed it would warp and confound unsuspecting minds. It's a warm, analogue, welcome-to- hear Crazy Horse jamming together again, recalling Young epics like Cortez The Killer and Down By The River, all warm, crackling thunder and howl. Sprawling opener, I’m Drifting Back, clocks in at 27 minutes, a slow rumbling whirlpool of 70’s riffs and Young’s gently cascading guitar solos, which casts the spell to suck one into the projected/ingested time-space. “I used to dig Picasso,” Young recalls, “I don’t want my MP3/ Iii don’t want my MP3..” and later reminisces hearing ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ for the first time. This is sonic comfort food, with three tracks clocking in at over 16 minutes long. These are not indulgences – Young is saying “remember the lost years where you visited friends and listened to the whole album, and chatted/ waxed lyrical about it afterwards, beneath a bright moon sky?” It takes TIME to get away from the bright clutter and clatter of today’s music, he’s saying. This is a musical spring-cleaning, melding into a Cherokee Trance dance – and, by the gods, it works! | MD

35 Stereophonics Graffiti on the Train Welsh rock 'n rollers are back with their first album since their drummer's untimely death in a hotel room - yes, having choked on his own vomit. It's a cliché that comes with the territory but no matter because Graffiti On The Train, the title of the new album, is an acclaimed piece of work that has played a fair bit in the charts already. Indian Summer, (a song that shares a title with The Doors) is all-out American, classic men's rock 'n roll. Frontman, Kelly Jones, picks up a page or two from Bruce Springsteen's book of influence. It's a vocal belter and good fun to turn up and then gun down a highway. Take Me has more of an eerie emphasis with Kelly toning down to a drone and a whispering female backing vocal as they sing about midnight trysts between strangers. It has a dangerous quality and a sad guitar solo for those in a melancholy mood. The guys inject some punk tempo and cocaine-lyrics into Catacomb to pick up the pace and keep up the album's momentum. Violins And Tambourines is backed up with the nice, full sound of an orchestra as it is in the first single. Graffiti On The Train - this song hits some raw, grungy lows that harks back to the 90's Britpop/rock era and really compliments Kelly's vocal ability to shriek and yell with style. A mixed bag but a good bag. | ED

Atoms for Peace Amok When the word ‘supergroup’ gets mentioned, it’s almost never a good thing. The inevitable hype of a group of revered musos collaborating is promptly replaced by disappointment when the sum of its parts doesn’t add up. So when Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and longtime producer Nigel Godrich, along with Chili Pepper’s Flea, Joey Waronker (REM/Beck) and percussionist Mauro Refosco got together there was a level of excitement mixed with a degree of skepticism. What started out as hired hands to play Thom Yorke’s solo album, Eraser live, has developed into an actual band. It’s still very much a Thom Yorke project, but with some of the coolest bass lines and percussion, courtesy of Flea and co. A great blend of casual, improvised jamming and painstaking post-production. Yorke’s propensity for glitchy electronica is still the overriding ingredient on Amok and while the complex layers are interesting, the schizophrenic hi-hats, shakers and blips can become tiresome, the aural equivalent of staring at a strobe for 45 minutes. At times the songs feel underdeveloped but there are also enough hooks and catchy melodies to keep you interested. The real strength of the album is however Yorke’s vocals, which are some of his most melodically beautiful to date. In fact, Amok may just be the album that King of Limbs should have been. | SO

What Now Move Like A Sinner The rock scene is strange at the moment. While the tunes from the seventies, eighties and early nineties were filled with sexiness and debauchery, the current climate of rock ‘n’ roll seems more like it’s suited for World of Warcraft virgins than anything else. So, maybe what What Now is doing might sound dated to many – but, honestly, who cares? Good music is good music, and What Now have created just that. Overall, Move Like A Sinner drips with the sexual allure of Depeche Mode and the pop-meets-industrial steel grip of Filter and Stabbing Westward; yet, there are other influences poking around in this eargasmic effort. The swagger of ass-shakers, such as Money Maker, High Class, and If Looks Could Kill, are riddled with the catchiness of Mötley Crüe (in their heyday), while slow-burners, like Jackson, Back To Blood (Part 1), Midnight Swimmers, and Move On, take a little while to get you hooked – but eventually sink their fangs into you and never let up. Sexy, dirty, and playful, Move Like A Sinner will inspire at least one stripper to use it as the soundtrack to their dance routine; if it doesn’t, I give up on this world. | SP

Hurts Exile Returning with a new album after three solid years of touring off the back of the fantastic success of their debut, Happiness in 2010, Exile sees the Manchester duo of Theo Hutchcraft and synth player/ instrumentalist Adam Anderson in prime form. The darker side of the spectrum still guides their work, but there is a more confident propulsion giving momentum to their songs, lending an even more radio ready core to their sound. This is not to say Exile is more mainstream than its predecessor, but one can see their cumulative skills as singer and songwriter honing themselves. Elton John guests on album closer, which is a token of their esteem, and the track, Help incorporates samples of their fans singing the chorus. Exile offers a kaleidoscope of styles and moods, compared to the more single-minded Happiness, with the very dark The Road studying the effects of a car crash while name dropping America’s bleakest novel out there, while more upbeat rhythms and even electric guitar are introduced to their palette. It all comes together very well, a sparkling new chapter in the continuing book of pain and splendor that is Hurts. | MD

Mumford and Sons Babel As the saying goes, don’t fix what isn’t broken. After the release of Sign No More saw Mumford & Sons explode into megastars, selling millions and embarking on sold out live shows closely resembling religious gatherings, there wasn’t much to consider with the follow-up, Babel. More of the same is the order of the day, with extra emphasis on their impeccably crafted live formula. Lead single I Will Wait does a perfect job of capturing and helping us understand what makes this acoustic folk group from West London so popular, especially in the US. Americans do love a good hoedown and with its banjo-wielding, foot stomping epicness, coupled with the thinly and sometimes not so thinly-veiled religious lyrics, it’s a successful exercise in bringing folky bluegrass to the masses. While Babel starts off strong with all its drama and grandiose declarations it does reach a point where you’re left thinking, “a little variety would not go amiss.” Predictability begins to emerge and with every chorus delivered with such exaggerated bombast it does leave questions about the authenticity of it all. But Mumford & Sons have a good thing going and maybe that’s good enough. | SO

Tame Impala Lonerism To sum up this album in short phrases; Tame Impala have created an emulsion of contemporary tech sound and production that is proggy and psychedelic without emulating 60's and 70's bands. There is a lot of cool stuff about the sound direction they've taken since their previous album, Innerspeaker, but most noticeably is how they've expanded and therefore evolved so perfectly. By experimenting with a classic psych sound and adding all the bells, whistles, Moogs and frontman, Kevin Parker's unrelenting layers, textures and add-ons, Lonerism is one of 2012's masterpieces. They've taken a palette of raw colours with Lonerism and mixed it into a fully-fleshed out narrative storybook of songs, heavy with emotion and slight melancholy. It's very hypnotic and Elephant will have you thinking of the trippy elephant scene from Dumbo the whole time. I sure did. Endors Toi literally translated from French means 'to hypnotise yourself' and this is accurate for much of the album. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards is a cerebral, stand-out track that on repeat only gets better. The final track, Sun's Coming Up confirms the marriage of old and new sounds with the mesh of Parker's Lennon-like vocals, organic sea sounds and reverb. Top album. | ED

GAME REVIEWS | Reviewed by Paul Blom

GAME REVIEWS PS3

GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION Finally fans of the God of War series can get to the bottom of Kratos' origin. This action game series first made its appearance in 2005, and this prequel is the seventh incarnation of this bloody Ancient Greek mythological realm where Titans, Gods and mortals clash. The wrath of the Primordials raged for an eternity (creating Earth as their gargantuan bodies fell) - this led to the creation of the Furies (charged to punish the traitors, like those breaking blood oaths). Enter our flawed hero Kratos, who'd broken his oath to his master Ares, the God of War. Chained for this indiscretion, Kratos escapes the Fury that trapped him - and pity the fool who gets in his way (man or Titan)! A barrage of enemies (from small to absolutely enormous) must be defeated with deadly force (usually with Kratos' chained Blades of Fury), puzzles need to be solved, and traps outsmarted. Acquiring three relics will assist you on your brutal quest, including the Oath Stone of Orkos, the Amulet of Uroborus and the Eyes of Truth (which includes construction and deconstruction, creating a shadow version of Kratos and counteracting illusions imposed by the Furies to mess with your head). This is the first time in God of War that you can hit on-line multiplayer mode with up to 8 players. 7/10

ZONE OF THE ENDERS HD COLLECTION For futuristic outer space robot / mecha war fans, this is a classic title to rediscover. This is Zone of the Endersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; first appearance with the launch of the PlayStation 2. Now, jacked-up, this upgraded version of the game and its sequel. With these games you can get ready for superJapanese mode, and will be great for those old enough to remember the TV

show RoboTech, or love giant robot Anime / Manga-style robot action. Set in the 22nd century, Mars has been colonized and there are also colonies orbiting Jupiter. With a new valuable ore discovered (Metatron), the authorities on earth start to oppose the colonists, which in return results in a rebel uprising. Egyptian mythology is built into the themes, with two Orbital Frames (robotic machines) at the heart of the conflict these are known as Jehuty and Anubis. In the first game the lead protagonist is Leo Stenbuck, who comes in possession of Orbital Frame Jehuty and takes on the BAHRAM army (after the Jupiter Space Colony Antilia is attacked). Each massive robot vehicle has specific skill sets and weapons, with sword wielding and serious firepower. The Orbital Frames are geared for swift, fierce action as aerial combat incorporates dashes, burst attacks, shoot & slash, guarding, lock-on, combo smashes and grabbing functions. In part two, The 2nd Runner, the elaborate opening sequences play like a trailer to an Anime movie. It is AD 2174 and it's Anubis vs. Jehuty. Dingo Egret is the new protagonist and with Jehuty, comes up against Colonel Nohman who pilots the sister craft Anubis. 6/10

XBOX 360

DMC - DEVIL MAY CRY The popular Devil May Cry gets a reboot. Lead character Dante battles the evil forces in Limbo City - where humans are fooled by ruling demons into believing they're living content lives. The demons live in Limbo, a parallel plain the lines blur between these realms and people can get pulled into this evil, decaying reality of death and destruction. Dante is not brainwashed and is set on destroying the controlling evil force. The main villain Mundus (aka Kyle Ryder) rules over all demons and humans, and operates as a powerful corrupt banker. He has an age old beef with Dante to settle. Saved by a psychic, Dante encounters The Order, and has a conundrum to unravel - after killing a hunter demon, he calls him Son of Sparda. So you're set to find out Dante's origin, and the parents he never

For more gaming reviews, Check out www.flamedrop.com knew. In despatching the variety of demons in Limbo, small and gigantic, Dante's attack methods include shooting Ebony & Ivory, his two pistols (bringing everything but harmony to those in its way), and wielding Rebellion, his more lethal sword. You can free lost souls along the way and collect souls to help with healing and upgrades. Even though it is filled with action and battles, it often feels a bit like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re more along for a ride than controlling the game. The heavy / electronic soundtrack is provided by Noisia and Combichrist. 16 age restriction. 6/10

ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES After several years of delays, Alien fans will be happy to see this one hitting the shelves. This is very much a sequel to James Cameron's popular Aliens movie from the late-80s. The game places you in the boots of Corporal Winter, part of a colonial marine rescue mission to find out what happened to Ripley and the other marine team on the U.S.S. Sulaco (dispatched to planet LV-426).The ensuing chaos and search for survivors have you facing many enemies (besides the deadly Xenomorph aliens, the ominous Weyland-Yutani corporation is also in the mix (having to battle their commandos and mercenaries) - which results in the ship crash landing. There is a cinematic feel in both the graphics and the music. The first person shooter mayhem takes you through the story based Campaign mode, gearing up with powerful weaponry (incl. the pulse rifle, flamethrowers, shotgun and more) as you try not to get skewered. But it's hardly non-stop shooting, as a lot of creepy mood building is created as you search dark, gory and deserted passages and terrain with your motion tracker (also saving trapped marines). Original stars Lance Henriksen and Michael Biehn make appearances as their characters from the Aliens movie. As you'd expect, this one gets an 18-restriction, so keep an eye on your kids - you're the one responsible for what they're exposed to. 7/10

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