NO HEROES – ISSUE FOURTEEN

ISSUE FOURTEEN – APRIL 2012

MASTODON RICKY ADAM THE SNOWDROPPERS LETLIVE IN TRENCHES RAISED FIST HEAVEN SHALL BURN MARATHON SICK OF IT ALL

ISSUE FOURTEEN CONTENTS

Bands You’ve Never Heard Of ... p.8 Quickfire: Toy Boats ... p.11 Marathon ... p.12 Raised Fist ... p.14 In Trenches ... p.16 Ricky Adam ... p.20

Mastodon ... p.28 Sludge & Stoner BYNHO ... p.36 The Snowdroppers ... p.38 letlive ... p.42 Heaven Shall Burn ... p.46 Sick Of It All ... p.50 New Music ... p.52

www.noheroesmag.com www.noheroesmag.com Editor-In-Chief: Editor-In-Chief: Sarah Sarah Petchell Petchell

Music Music Editor: Editor: Oliver Oliver Cation Cation

All All layouts layouts by

by Cooper Cooper Brownlee Brownlee and and Sarah Sarah Petchell Petchell

Words: Words:Sarah SarahPetchell, Petchell,Oliver OliverCation, Cation,Lochlan LochlanWatt, Watt,Raj RajWakeling, Wakeling,Wade WadeDoom Janik

Photos: Simon Atkinson, Nye, Ben Photos: SimonCraig Atkinson, Ben Clement, Clement, Ricky Ricky Adam, Adam, Jordan Jordan Compte Compte Cover: MastodonCover:

by TimMastodon Tronckoe

This Page: The Dillinger Escape at The Sydney Soundwave Atkinson ThisPlan Page: Dillinger Escape 2012 Plan by

by Simon Simon Atkinson

Ed’s Letter PHOTO: SIMON ATKINSON

Soundwave has been and gone, and it looks like the next big thing in 2012 is going to be Hardcore 2012. Yes, the annual two-day hardcore festival is back (after a hiatus in 2011) and Graz at Resist and Nigel at Trial & Error have outdone themselves with this year’s line-up. You’ve read about it already, so just go out and buy a ticket already.

But it is also the work of the smaller promoters that needs to be applauded. These guys are bringing out acts like my favourite new find of 2011, Basement, or German experimental metal act The Ocean, or even touring some of the best local acts like Hoodlum Shouts, Night Hag or Northlane.

Anyway, onto this issue. Issue 14 sees the introduction of a new contributor by the name of Lochlan Watt. For those that don’t know, he used to be the editor of Death Before Dishonour, he now runs Monolith Records and he also hosts The Racket on Triple J every Tuesday night. For this issue, Lochlan spoke to Heaven Shall Burn ahead of their appear-

ance on Soundwave.

To top it off, one of my all time favourite bands, Mastodon, is on the cover. We spoke to guitarist Bill Kelliher about everything going on in their world while they were here at the beginning of March.

Raj spoke to his housemate and lead-singer of blues/punk/rock ‘n roll act The Snowdroppers about having an alter-ego, while I spoke to my favourite photographer, Ricky Adam, about his new book. That article was incredibly important to me and I’m so glad that I get to share with you all the talents of one of the most incredible people I know.

Add to that interviews with Brisbane’s Marathon, the band of Soundwave letlive, Raised Fist, and Sick Of It All, and this is one of the biggest, most solid and most diverse issues we’ve ever put together.

Check it out and, as always, let us know what you think.

Sarah x

The views and opinions expressed in No Heroes are not particularly those held by the publishers.

All content is copyright to No Heroes 2012.

For more information, please email: info@noheroesmag.com

Bands You’ve never heard of AMIA VENERA LANDSCAPE Website: http://amiaveneralandscape.bandcamp.com/ Label: Unsigned It seems like Italians do slow, sludgy metallic hardcore really, really well. And while Amia Venera Landscape have been around for a while (their most recent album, The Long Procession, was released in 2010) they are a band that have flown under my radar, until now. Having formed in 2007, the six-piece combine nervy post hardcore riffs with wide, sweeping and crushingly heavy instrumental suites to create some of the most huge and overwhelming soundscapes I’ve ever heard. But it’s not just the sound that is huge: the average song-length is somewhere around the seven minute mark, and that’s not a bad thing. The most recent news to come out of the band’s camp is that they are working on new material. All I can say to that is, FINALLY!

BEWARE Website: Nil? Label: Back To Back Records Picking up where bands like Champion and Carry On left off, Beware are bringing the positive pro-active hardcore back to the masses. This fresh faced Philadelphia band has dropped an EP Won’t Get The Best Of Me on Back To Back Records and is starting to develop a name for themselves. Beware take back melodic hardcore as bands like The First Step and Betrayed grow to be established names and Youth Crew is too frequently referred to as that music from the 80’s. They remind me of when I first got into hardcore and would sit for hours with a bands demo on repeat on my discman, religiously learning every word. If you like Bane, Champion or Miles Away, check out Beware.

DISTANT WRECK Website: http://distantwreck.bandcamp.com/ Label: Unsigned Straight out Melbourne, Distant Wreck are on the rise. With their new album, Grief, Distant Wreck have taken the next step, from just another local band to a band to take note of.

As they continue to play shows, they are honing their talents, impressing audiences and converting kids. Distant Wreck blend Modern Life Is War and other contemporary, thoughtprovoking hardcore bands into drudging music with passionate lyrics for an experience which is cult like. Self-releasing the 10-track Grief, Distant Wreck are ready to conquer the hearts and minds of Australias lost and longing. Go grab a copy of Grief and support a young band making a name for themselves.

FAT JANITOR Website: http://fatjanitor.bandcamp.com Label: Unsigned Finding Fat Janitor was more of a stumble than a find: a matter of browsing through the “shoegaze” tag on Bandcamp and settling on the band with the weird name and the dark and creepy album art. This band from Glasgow, are one of those essentially hardcore bands that are trying to defy genre definitions. There are noise elements, shoegaze elements, melodic hardcore and even some mathy moments and atmospheric passages. It might sound schizophrenic on paper, but when you listen it is one of the most interesting debut EP’s that I have heard in a long time. Check out Lurk available for free download through Fat Janitor’s Bandcamp page to get what I’m talking about.

MARGINS Website: http://marginsband.bandcamp.com Label: Casadeldisco This Melbourne four-piece are probably as far away from punk, hardcore or metal as you can get but their spacious and sublime instrumentation is what have earned them a place here. Essentially an atmospheric, instrumental work, Margins are all about the listening experience. They’re the sort of band that you would chuck a pair of headphones in, turn off the lights, lie still and listen. With their second full-length, Divide, Margins have delved into new territory from their self-titled debut, trying new things with instrumentation (such as the inclusion of lap steel and glokenspiel), but one thing remains the same. This is music that exists outside of genre, scene, musical peerage and all that other music politics bullshit.

MIDNIGHT SOULS Website: http://wearemidnightsouls.com/ Label: Reflections Records Belgium’s Midnight Souls formed in late 2009, and with only an EP, 7-inch split and a fulllength to their name, they will easily fit into the music collections of those who are already fans of bands like Dead Swans, Modern Life Is War and The Carrier. Depressocore is the term bandied about for music such as this, but I see a lot more heart in it than that. Having toured with the likes of Daylight and More Than Life, the band are scoring a legion of fans across Europe, with it only a matter of time before the movement spreads below the equator and they start earning fans across this country. Keep an eye on the progress of these guys. I know I for one will be watching and waiting for the inevitable bigger things to come.

TOY BOATS

INTERVIEW WITH HUGO COSTIN-NEILSEN

BY SARAH PETCHELL

So for those who don’t know, what is Toy Boats?

Toy Boats is me and the songs I write.

You started out in hardcore bands, so how did you get into writing solo, acoustic style music?

When I finished High School a lot of my friends who I played in those bands with either moved away or went traveling so those groups disbanded. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with my future and didn’t really want to start something that would keep me in one place, but I knew that I still wanted to make music.

I started writing songs and learning covers by myself in my room.

This turned into playing some songs I wrote in front of my friends and at parties. I really loved how nervous and relieved it made me feel, being able to pour myself out and have no one but me to rely on / blame.

I decided to record some songs I wrote with my friend Joe Paine at his house, which became the 2A.M Bones demos. After recording these songs with Joe, I decided that this is what I want to spend my time on.

What sort of artists do you look up to and draw inspiration from?

People who put themselves on display, who write all of their vulnerabilities, strengths, aspirations, fuck ups and happiness and show that they aren’t things to be ashamed of. They give a lot of courage and inspiration to me.

Do you think being from Byron Bay has influenced the way Toy Boats sounds at all?

Not really the place itself but definitely the people I grew up with.

Some were healing and some were wounding but they’ve all shown me so much and contributed a lot to who I am. I think that comes out in the music.

What type of feelings are you trying to evoke with your lyrics for Toy Boats?

I want people to find their own emotions in the songs and respond to them in their own ways.

One of the things that sets Toy Boats apart from other solo artists is that the lyrics are emotional but not full of self-pity.

Was it a conscious decision to eliminate those sort of negative elements from the lyrics?

Sort of, I get pretty down on myself sometimes but I don’t really

want to heavily project that on to other people through my music. I want people to feel inspired, not lifeless.

You recently signed with Resist Records. How did that come about?

Dani was at a show I played in Brisbane last year at X&Y bar. I gave her a demo and she emailed me about a week after asking what my plans were for Toy Boats in the future, I was pretty shocked and excited. We emailed for a while and after a few months I went down to Sydney and signed with them!

Resist are releasing your debut EP Diamond Teeth. How excited are you for your first release to be out?

Really really excited!

What are you the most proud of with the EP? Sam Johnson recorded and produced the EP and helped me achieve my best on it. I’m really proud of the whole thing.

So what’s next for Toy Boats?

What are your plans for the rest of 2012?

Tour, tour, tour, write, write, write.

Marathon

WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL

When it comes to heavy music, Brisbane is a veritable melting pot. So when the members of Marathon came together to start writing music, not only did they have a wealth of experience behind them (having all played in bands before) but they also had the influence of an extremely eclectic scene.

While they’re debut EP, Never Safe, was the perfect example of Converge worship, the band’s newest release, I’ll Never Look At You The Same Way, brings in more diverse influences for a more diverse sound.

We spoke to guitarist Ryan Sim about what has been happening

in the Marathon camp, especially as the band is about to embark on their first interstate tour in over a year, and how line up changes have worked in their favour.

better at talking to people and at organising shows. You get better at talking to one another and writing songs.

To start with, we know that Converge is one of the more obvious influences on Marathon, but what are some of the more unexpected influences?

“Musically, bands that would be unexpected are things like Fugazi are really present in my mind.

Then some noise rock stuff like Shellac and Unsane, especially because it seems like we’re more moving in that direction as well.”

“If I’m going to speak from my own experience, in my first band I don’t think I was the easiest person to work with. I think when you first start making music, whereas when you’ve been doing it for a while (and I think this is true with Marathon) you just want to work together on the songs. I’m not saying that it takes a ten year journey to get to that point where you can just focus on making good songs.

You guys have all been in bands before, so how have these experiences informed and influenced the way Marathon runs things as a band?

“You just get better at it. You get

“It’s just a matter of getting better at anything. The more and the different types of bands that you’re in, the better you personally are going to get at your instrument as well, and the better you’re going

that doesn’t work out, but at the same time it’s hard to get new people to come into a band, learn the songs and get into the flow of how that band works. But it has to be worth it.

“The highlights have definitely been all the shows that we’ve done. We’ve only ever done a couple of tours, but all the shows have been really, really good.

There has never been tonnes of people, but they’re enjoyable to play. We’re one of those bands that has the capacity to play with a wide range of bands. We’ve never just played hardcore shows or punk, DIY shows.”

to get at dealing with different people.”

Do you think that being from Brisbane has had an influence on Marathon?

“Yeah, things seem to work differently up here. I mean, Brisbane seems to be full of hicks and rednecks more so than other cities, and I don’t mean within the music scene, because people oiun the hardcore scene to disconnect from the shitty aspects of wider society.

“There is a lot of frustration with the way that people in Brisbane view the world. Racism and sexism are a lot more prevalent up here, which is frustrating. There’s also not a lot to do, compared to places like Sydney and Melbourne.”

It has been about two years between releases for you guys, so what have been some of the highlights and lowlights during this time?

“For the band I would say that it’s always a struggle when people leave. It’s hard when you’re making music with your friends and

You mentioned about when band members don’t work out and you have gone through a few members, so has there ever been a point where it’s seemed easier to end the project rather than find new people to fill the gaps?

“At one point it was kind of just me and Craig who were still interested in continuing to make music. But it really doesn’t make a difference because at the end of the day ‘Marathon’ is just a name.

We just would have found more people to play with and started a new band. There’s never been a reason to drop the name. That’s just what the music falls under.

“With the four people in the band now, we’re all working really efficiently together and it’s going really well. It sounds weird on paper because the four of us are all completely different to one another. But this makes it easier to come up with ideas and discuss things with one another as well.”

The new 7-inch, I’ll Never Look At You The Same Way. How do you feel now that it’s done and out?

“Well in the first place. all the songs on it I feel really good playing live. I don’t really enjoy playing songs off Never Safe so much anymore just because they’re so old, but these songs I really enjoy.

“Mikey has brought a his kind of quirks to the songs that Nick sung on the 7-inch, but live they become Mikey’s in the live setting and that’s really cool. Even with

his own song, we’ve been opening with that and it comes across really well.

“It’s funny with Stu playing drums because he is able to stand back and have a critical viewpoint since he wasn’t the one that recorded the tracks. He also made the songs his own when he sat down and listened, then started to play them.”

Is there anything that you would have done differently?

“I haven’t heard it on vinyl yet, but I get a bit unsure as to whether the gutiar sound is heavy enough or not. Maybe I should have spent a bit more time playing around with amps to get it right. But I think the drums and bass definitely sound huge. I’m just not sure whether the guitar sound that we got matches that intensity in the rhythm section.”

It’s getting released through Midnight Funeral, so what’s the appeal of releasing on vinyl through that particular label?

“Obviously vinyl sounds better than CD. That’s it. I think it’s partly because it is a bigger product.

CDs are so small and so easy to throw away, so I don’t think that there’s a need for both mediums, especially when you throw digital formats into the mix.

“I love vinyl, 7-inches especially.

It’s a cultural thing to do with hardcore bands. A 7-inch has always been the medium that hardcore bands will release their songs on.

“In terms of working with Craigos, I would have loved to even release Never Safe with him but we weren’t in a position as a band to approach him. This time around he approached us and that in itself amazed me because he was willing to money into something that we had done.

“Plus he is doing it because he enjoys it! He finds that fulfilling and that’s awesome in itself. I think everything about what he does and how he goes about it is really cool. And that’s what it’s all about with Midnight Funeral.

You can see it in his different releases.”

RAISED FIST WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL – PHOTOS: SIMON ATKINSON

Everyone has one of those gateway bands that gets them into hardcore in the very first place.

For me, Raised Fist were one of those bands. The combination of heartfelt, although sometimes cheesy lyrics (I’m putting it down to the language barrier) with super fast riffing and a pummelling rhythm section has enough power and honesty to draw you in. And then, to top it off, they put on one of the most energetic live shows I’ve ever seen.

Right before Soundwave we spoke to bassist Andreas “Josse” Johansson about what had been happening in the Swedish band’s camp since the release of their fifth album Veil Of Ignorance a

few years ago, and to see what was coming up for them.

As well as Soundwave, you’re obviously also playing that massive set of sideshows with Hatebreed, The Cro-Mags and Biohazard. What are your feelings on the line up and are you excited about those shows?

“Yeah of course. It’s going to be really good shows because it’s really good bands and venues that aren’t that big. I know that there’s a lot going on that day, and the day before and the day after, so I don’t know what to expect so much, except that the shows should be great.

“It feels good to come down there

and play these festival shows and then play these little more cosy club shows. And to do it all on the same tour is also cool.”

Are they the sorts of bands that you personally are more into?

“Maybe not really now. But definitely before more than now. But of course, they’re all really cool bands that have been around for a long time.

“Also, we played a show with The Cro-Mags once at a festival, but we haven’t played with any of the other bands so that’s pretty exciting as well. It can only be a good thing.”

I read an interview online where Alex [vocalist] said that you guys are pretty picky with what tours you take. So what made you decide on Soundwave, especially given how tight the schedules are?

“I think one of the reasons must

“...THERE IS NO POINT FOR ME TO BE ON STAGE TRYING TO BE SOMETHING THAT I’M NOT. I’M NOT TRYING, I’M JUST BEING...” about hardcore that makes you want to keep on going with it?

“I don’t really know. In my opinion, the question is are we even still playing hardcore? The thing is that we don’t care about what people call our music. We just want to make music that we love ourselves and that’s the main thing. We love the music. And then it doesn’t matter if it’s called hardcore or metal or punk rock or whatever.

“But we do it because we love it and we try to do as much or as little as we need to make sure that we keep loving it and that we don’t over-do it. It has been a good thing in our lives and it still is, so that’s the main reason. It’s hard to stop doing something that you enjoy so much.”

be just the fact that Soundwave seems to be one of the bigger happenings in Australian music, so it’s a good opportunity to show ourselves to a lot of people.

We’ve been around for a long time, but in Australia we’ve only ever done club tours. So doing the festival is going to be a new thing and that’s only a good thing.

“And even though it does seem like a tight schedule, over two weeks there really aren’t that many shows. It’s only seven in total. When we go on a European tour, we play every day for about two weeks. There are no days off.

So it’s going to be more relaxed than before. We also only have only 30 minutes on stage every night, so it’s less shows and not even a full set if you compare it to a normal club tour.”

As far as hardcore bands go, Raised Fist have been around for a long time. So what is it

Your last album Veil Of Ignorance has been out for a while now. One of the things that I got out of listening to it was that to do what you guys do, you have to have a lot of heart and do it because you love it. Is that exactly what playing as a part of Raised Fist is for you?

“Yeah it is, for sure. I think it’s impossible to do what we do for such a long time and do it well if your heart is not in it. It is completely necessary that you do it because you want to do it and because you like to do it.

“Trying to play music that you think other people think is cool or whatever, if you do that I think it might be boring or it’s not you, and it’s not being honest with yourself. There is no point for me to be on stage trying to be something that I’m not. I’m not trying, I’m just being. I think a lot of bands say that they do, and a lot of bands do, but not every band.”

One of my favourite songs on the album is ‘They Can’t Keep Us Down’ because it seemed to called out the poseurs in hardcore or whatever music scene.

Is that something that you see as being a problem?

“I don’t really see it as a problem, because there has always and will always be people that try to

do things rather than just do it.

It’s hard to do something when you don’t have the tools to do it and in music one of those things is the passion to do it. We love to make music, we love to perform, we love to do all those things but if you don’t you aren’t going to be able to.

“The most important thing is that we feel ourselves that this is fucking awesome. If I feel that, then I don’t care what other people do because that’s us, that’s what we do and that’s what we stand for.

For me, it’s more important to be honest with yourself and not try too much, but just do.”

It has been almost three years since Veil Of Ignorance was released. Have you been working on new material?

“We have a lot of material. I don’t think we have a single song ready or finished or anything though.

I think we’ve actually got material than we’ve ever had before because when we wrote Veil Of Ignorance we had maybe material for more songs. Then, we wanted to record more songs but there was no point because the record is only so many songs long. We had to choose what we wanted on there.

“I don’t know what it’s going to sound like, but we do have a lot of material and we usually finish off those songs a lot closer to recording. We thought about recording right before Christmas, but a few shows came up that we wanted to do, so we thought let’s do it later. We’re not in a hurry. We’re still around and we’re going to be for a while, so there will be a opportunity to record and release it later.”

So is the plan to record and release something this year then?

“Maybe not this year. We will look at recording probably after our summer. We have a few shows booked in hopefully for the summer and there will probably be more, so after that. The next release should then be in about 2013.”

IN TRENCHES WORDS: OLIVER CATION

So, the new album Sol Obscura is out for the world to hear.

How do you feel about the record?

“Relieved! It has been a fair marathon for us to get it out and the songs have been kicking around for a year or so. It’s great to be able to look at these ideas that were swimming around my brain finally in a finished light. I would say it’s the closest to being totally content with a finished product out of everything I’ve ever done, in relation to releases. So yeah, I think we’re all pretty chuffed with how the songs really grew when it got to the time to mix and master.

Did you go about writing the new record in a different way from previous releases?

“We did. It was a slow process of rearranging and rewriting in general, especially as a group this time. With Relive & Regret, I assembled it pretty much all on my own except for one track. This time, transitions that otherwise would have been rushed or poorly thought out on my part got ironed out with everyone else’s input instead.

“The newest members added a tonne. Rob was responsible for the majority of the track ‘Distant’, and I just added in extra flavour.

This was new for us as a group and it ended up working out to be a really strong track. Myself and our drummer [Adrian Horsman] were jamming regularly at his home studio, which is about an hour into the bushland of Melbourne, in the lead up to tracking mid-last year. So it was easy to work on the material at a leisurely pace.”

Was there a distinct theme throughout Sol Obscura?

“Not so much a lyrical theme. At least, I can’t comment on that because it’s the element of our band that I’m not involved with. But, speaking on behalf of the musical percentage, it is intentionally a bit gloomier and less hardcore influenced that before.

I”t’s kind of expanding on the strong elements that Relive…had and veering away from the less abrasive and more clichéd parts.

I particularly wanted to make sure this was a pretty constant barrage without any hesitation of being experimental. It was to make a unique spin on the subtle

influences we’re drawing from and hopefully it came out at the end with as original a sound as it could be.”

The record was released on Vinyl through Monolith. How important was it for you to go with the new label and on that particular format?

“They were very enthusiastic to work with us and accommodate the humble presentation of our band. Being a young label, it felt like an appropriate collaboration as the intention for this release was always that it would be lowkey. We wanted a limited number release so it wouldn’t be too enormous a task for either party to handle.

“The physical release being restricted to vinyl has its pros and cons as well. Obviously the last record did fairly well in CD format, so a vinyl-only release kind of alienates the mass-accessobility, especially for younger people that are into the band. But also CD sales are on the decline in general so we figured that sticking with a vinyl and a digital download was a happy medium.

“I think vinyl buyers and collectors appreciate the goods they purchase more, and with the resurgence in the past couple of years for this format, we felt it would appeal to our small niche audience.

So yeah, as long as people check it out on either format, I’m happy.”

How frustrating has the almost now inevitable delay in vinyl printing been for you?

“Well, exactly as you say, it was an inevitable risk so when the intended release date passed with no physical products in sight I guess we weren’t all that surprised, just disappointed. Luckily they have arrived by now so all the online orders are being made up as I type this.”

With the release of the second amazing In Trenches album, do you think you have escaped the supergroup/featuring members of… tag and created your own legacy?

“I hope so. It’s never a leg any of us wanted to stand on but it was just the easy reference point from the media point of view. But being that, sonically, it is very removed from what some of us have been involved with in the past, it just

never seemed appropriate to make a point of the connecting the dots. It would be the same as saying something like, “Such and such band, featuring members that work at Coles, an auto-shop, etc.” It’s not definitive of what we’re trying to get across with our sound as a whole.

“I think this release has made that separation from the past efforts we get pigeon-holed with even wider than the last release, especially because the style has shifted even more than it did before. We have kind of carved out our own little niche, where we don’t sit comfortable anywhere within either a hardcore or a metal boundary, nor a doom/sludge setting. I often feel, without wanting to sound too audacious, that we’re kind of meandering out in our own left-field, just the way we want it, and that’s nice and uncomfortable.”

In Trenches have been strangers to Sydney and many other places in recent times. Can we expect to see some touring off the back of the new release?

“I would hope so, but it won’t be extensive. I like to think that the live environment is where we are strongest, but unfortunately “real life” has a heavier bearing in a lot of the members’ every day lives.

As such, time away isn’t the easiest thing for us to organise.

“Early on, we did some strong, back-to-back touring and then the personal availabilities started becoming more and more spare.

Now, it makes us appreciate the limited time away and the live shows that we can get in. I guess because we have no grandiose illusions of “making it” in a large sense, this is basically an artistically-fulfilling hobby.”

In Trenches are known as an intense live act, does that come with experience or passion?

“It’s an important combination of both. The experience makes it more comfortable because we known our capabilities. Then in the passion aspect, the way we convey the songs live is a very unforced and natural representation of what these songs mean on an emotional level for us.

“Plenty of bands will give the spiel that they’re giving 110 per cent and blah blah, but I find it very

PHOTO: JORDAN COMPTE

easy to spot those that are being transparent, fake and routined in the very watered down and contrived heavy music circles that we’re currently sitting on the outskirts of. The personal catharsis of this group comes way before making sure that we look aesthetically pleasing to outsiders, which is all the more evident when I’m hobbling around like a cripple come the Monday morning after a show.”

Australia is holding its own with the quality of heavy music in 2012, who is doing it for you right now?

“Of the often overlooked “real” talent I would suggest Coerce, Idylls, The Broderick, Encircling Sea, and Night Hag as being some great groups that, unfortunately, the majority of “heavy music” fans are never going to bother experiencing. This is extremely disheartening when you see that the flavour of the minute, popular groups in this country are basically boy-bands with distorted guitars and undeserved shoulderchips who have put in one per cent of the work of the aforementioned groups and reap such a

wider scale appreciation from a mass audience in general.”

How have the new songs been going over live at the release shows you have played for Sol Obscura?

“Surprisingly, very well. I think that it’s already better than our previous material. These songs probably take a lot of concentration in a way, and coupling that with what is happening on stage can be fairly… challenging sensorily I guess, particularly if this is your first introduction or listen of us.

But yeah, I’m really surprised with how people are seeming to lock in with these new tracks already and feel some kind of connection to them. It’s humbling.”

Melbourne abounds in Vegan delicacies. Where is the best vegan spot?

The Mercy Seat Cafe. Plug, plug. [ed. Backed!]

Where would you like to see In Trenches by the end of 2012?

Well our drummer, Adrian, and I have started jamming out on new ideas already - just yesterday actually - and there are some left

over older parts that will definitely be re-worked for new material. I can’t say for certain, because if we had “goals” we would just pull the pin on the whole thing.

I would like to think that some new music will surface in the near future, possibly as a teaser for whatever the next, bigger-scale release would be. But yeah, because it was so long in between records, I think it is owed to both ourselves to maintain the enthusiasm, and for the people that dig to the group to get some kind of new music out there again this year. It could be a 7-inch or it could be a couple of tracks online for free.

In an overall sense though, we don’t aim to do anything really.

As I said, this is our weird little hobby. We know that all we are going to get out of it, realistically, is personal fulfilment and very sore backs! So if we can hit the East Coast a couple more times and introduce some more people to the Sol Obscura material along the way, then that’s fine by me.

ricky adam

WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL PHOTOS: RICKY ADAM

Destroying Everything...

PORTRAIT BY KAY CLAUBERG

I GOT INTRODUCED TO RICKY ADAM THROUGH HIS WORK AS A BMX PHOTOGRAPHER. CLOSER INVESTIGATION OF HIS WORK REVEALS THAT BEFORE HE STARTED WORKING FOR DIG! THIS IRISH-BORN PHOTOGRAPHER HAS A VAST PORTFOLIO OF MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY BEHIND HIM AS WELL. AND NOW AFTER SO MANY YEARS, ADAM IS FINALLY RELEASING HIS FIRST BOOK, DESTROYING EVERYTHING...SEEMS LIKE THE ONLY OPTION. WE SPOKE TO ADAM ABOUT GROWING UP IN THE IRISH HARDCORE-PUNK SCENE DURING THE MID-90’S, HOW HE GOT INVOLVED WITH PHOTOGRAPHY AND WHAT IT TAKES TO SELF-PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOK.

...Seems Like The Only Option

You’re primarily known as a BMX photographer because of your work with DIG!, but tell us a little bit about the other things that you enjoy photographing.

“It’s true that a lot of people will either know me as a BMX or punk photographer as these are two things that I have been interested in and involved with for many years, long before I even picked up a camera. But I also have a great love of street and documentary photography.

“I actually have a few long term street and documentary style projects on the boil that I like to work on when I get the time. If something genuinely interests me, I’ll take a picture of it. In some cases, a random picture I’ve taken will turn into a bigger project.

“A lot of photographers I know tend to shoot only one particular subject, but that seems strange to me. It’s really good for me to have a few different projects going on that are totally disconnected from BMX so that if I get burnt outdoing one thing, I can focus on another.

If I just shot one particular thing I would burn out for sure.”

How did you get involved with punk rock in the first place?

“I got into Iron Maiden first, when I was 11. It laid the path for other guitar oriented music.

“Around the same time, a friend of mine lent me a BMX video that had some great music on it and I asked him if he could make me a tape, which he did. It had bands like Naked Raygun, Minor Threat and Gray Matter on it and it completely blew me away. I’d never heard anything quite like it.

Not only was the music great, but the bands had stuff to say which added a whole other dimension to it. It was really powerful and also the perfect soundtrack to ride bikes to.

“From there, I started checking out similar bands in my local records hop, trading tapes with friends, going to gigs and everything like that. I still listen to pretty much everything I did back then to this day.”

To you, is there a relationship between BMX and punk rock?

Is there a relationship between

punk rock and photography?

What are these relationships?

“For me, there is a direct relationship between all of these things.

Most of my friends growing up were into punk, rode bikes and/ or skated, and the things I photographed were a direct response to that. As I mentioned, I got into punk rock long before I had a camera, so shooting punk was like second nature. The same goes for BMX stuff.”

You started out as part of the punk scene in Northern Ireland in the early 90’s, so what was that scene like?

“The punk community in Northern Ireland transcended the sectarianism and brought like-minded people together.

“I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the history of Northern Ireland at all, but there is a long history of violence in a country divided up with huge walls built in between each area to stop fighting.

“But the punk scene, in a small way, unified people. I mean, both Protestants and Catholics came to shows, which I know sounds weird to most people, but that’s how it is living there. I won’t go into detail, but let’s just say that it’s had a very dark history.

“In Belfast City, there was a D.I.Y. venue aptly named The Warzone Centre. It provided a place for bands to play, a vegan café, darkroom facilities and a recording studio. It was basically a place where people could go, hang out and get involved.

“Lots of bands played there over the years and a large portion of the photos in the book were taken there as well. The centre shut down a number of years ago, but just recently it relocated and opened up again.

“The punk scene itself was really good. It was fairly small (as you can imagine) and as there weren’t many shows, everyone came out to see whatever band was playing.

“Not only was The Warzone Centre bringing together Protestants and Catholics, it was also providing a cross community project between Cider Punks and straight-edgers.”

“...A lot of the subjects I photograph have a self-destructive personality – I’m going to include myself in that category as well...”

What exactly are Cider Punks?

I’ve never heard that term before.

“It’s just a term for crusty/anarcho punks who drink a lot.”

How do you think your surroundings informed your photographic style?

“As I’ve said in other interviews, Northern Ireland is a very strange place to grow up. The terrorist threat that has been present for many years does have an effect on you, and I’ve tried to stay away from photographing the more obvious negative aspects of where I lived.

“This is the reason why BMX and the punk scene were and still are so appealing to me. It was a break from the norm and was something positive that I could channel my energy into. I was never interested in getting drunk and spending weekends at the bar. I’m not criticising people who do, but it just isn’t for me.

“As for photographic style, for some time now I have been working on a series of photographs which I call ‘Urbanite’. The images are quite dark, bleak, brooding and even somewhat apocalyptic.

I’m not sure why I’m drawn to photograph this sort of thing. It seems I can’t help myself. If I see something that fits that description I feel compelled to photograph it. Maybe I’m just a product of my environment…”

In emails, we’ve talked a bit about the difference between the shows I attend and the shows you go to in Leeds.

What are they like? You go to D.I.Y, squat shows more than anything, right?

“In Leeds, where I live now, there are random squat, house and basement shows. A few of the photos that are in my book were taken in random squats, not just in Leeds, but also in other parts of Europe. The D.I.Y. punk squat scene in Europe is amazing! But I have been to lots of punk shows around the world and in general they are all quite similar.”

What made you decide to pick up a camera and start docu-

menting the scene in the first place? When and where exactly did that happen?

“I remember seeing all this great stuff that was happening around me and when I eventually got my first camera, sometime in 1997, I started to take photos. To be honest, I didn’t think about it that much. I just shot photos here and there.

“It’s hard to explain but it just felt right. And when I began to see the results, it pushed me to take more. No one else was taking photos at shows, so apart from enjoying taking photos, as time went on I also felt it was important to document certain aspects of the punk scene that I was involved with.

“But getting a camera and using it was a defining moment for me.

The medium has enabled me to meets lots of people over the years that I otherwise wouldn’t have. I still run into people who I shot photos of years ago, which is cool.”

What exactly was your first camera?

“You know I really don’t remember? it was one of those cheap ‘no name brands’. I do remember the winder breaking and I couldn’t shoot anything for about eight months until I got a new camera.”

You’ve photographed some truly amazing bands – Fugazi, Refused – what have been some of your favourite moments while shooting bands?

“I always feel a bit self-conscious shooting bands as you normally have to be right up at the front with a camera flashing while a room full of people watch you.

“If a band inspires me, I felt inspired to take photos of them and, in turn, I hope that people who see the photo will go out and listen to that band. I also like to shoot the people in the crowd as well.

“When you look at a bunch of the photos in the book, a lot of the shots are wide, showing both the crowd and the band. Seeing the people, the room, the band, the

energy gives the viewer a much better feel of what it was like to have been there.”

Nowadays your music photography seems to be more for yourself rather than for a public audience. Do you agree? And why is that?

“For the most part my music pictures, as well as lots of other pictures I’ve taken, have always been for myself. But in the back of my mind, I’ve always known that they would get used for something eventually. This book provided the perfect place for some of those shots to go. Other than that, a lot of the music stuff I’ve shot usually ends up somewhere: records, punk magazine, etc.” weeks before it went to print!”

[In fact, one of Ricky’s most famous images – of Refused in a basement in Belfast – was recently used by Epitaph Records on the tshirt above.]

Your book Destroying Everything... is coming out soon.

What made you decide to commit to such a huge project?

“This particular book came about quite suddenly. Just under a year ago, I was going through a bunch of my photos and I realised that I had a lot of images that possessed a certain quality and connection to one another.

“I spent the good part of a year putting the book together in my spare time and during this time I kept thinking that maybe I should wait another few months and see if I get anything else that I could put into it.

“It seemed never ending, but it got to a point where it was now or never. There had to be a cut off point otherwise it would never get finished. I had to know when to stop. However, there are a couple of photos that I shot for it just

You’re self-publishing it, so what are some of the challenges involved with that?

“I could have had the book funded by a big company but I decided against this due to the content of the book. It would have made the whole process a lot easier but it would have totally killed the integrity of the book. There was no way I could go down that route.

After a lot of research, I decided to do it myself. I really didn’t want to make any compromises.

“It was a very steep learning curve indeed. Things like sourcing a printer who could do it on budget, what size the book should be, what weight the paper should be, the cover detail, right down to designing and laying the book out and getting it all sent to the printer were all new processes for me.

“Then there’s the headache of dealing with an overseas printer.

There were a LOT of emails and proofs sent back and forth. I had to scan all the photos, colour correct them and profile them to the printer’s colour profile. This fortunately wasn’t so bad as I do this regularly with DIG, but it did take a lot of time. Some photos took over three hours to clean and prepare for print.

“Then there is also the shipping and distribution side of it. The last thing I want is hundred of books piled up around my house, but I’m getting distribution sorted so that shouldn’t be an issue.

“There are a few people helping me out, but ultimately it’s up to me to sort everything out.

It’s quite a bit of work especially when I still have my duties at DIG! to fulfil. I’m trying not to let it stress me out too much.

“Saying that, I did have a dream the other night that I received a shipment of books and they were all blank! I was ripping boxes open and every single copy was totally blank from cover to cover.

Christ! Hopefully that won’t be the case when they arrive…”

How did you go about choosing images for it?

“I started out with something like well over a thousand photos which was ridiculous! These were edited down to around 500 and then finally 104 photos. A few trusted people that I know helped out as well, which was great. You really need another perspective on it after looking at them for hours on end.

“It was a long, slow and painstaking task but a necessary one.

You just have to be extremely ruthless. There were a bunch of photos that I particularly loved but they just didn’t work within the context of the book so they had to go.

“Also, there were photos from other projects that I have on the boil that maybe would have worked in this book, but in the end it wasn’t necessary to sacrifice them. Besides I had way too many to work with in the first place.

“Regardless of what you’re into I’m hoping this book will appeal to people who do their own thing, are independent thinkers and are passionate about what they believe in. So there you have it: as the title suggests, Destroying Everything…Seems Like The Only Option is a fairly gnarly representation of a bunch of stuff that I have been interested and involved with for the 23-plus years.”

Do you have a favourite photo in the book? If so, what is it?

Can you talk us through what was happening around that photo?

“That’s a hard one to answer. I don’t have a single picture that I like more than the rest. The book itself flows well and each picture in it compliments the next. But all of the photos do have some sort of story behind them.

“Take the photo of Jason with a bloody face giving the V for victory. This was one of the very last photos I shot before the book was completed. Jason was filming for a BMX section in Wales and I was taking photos for a little article to go in DIG!.

“We got to this huge, sketchy looking double kinked rail. The light was going and Jason was debating whether or not to do it.

He said it probably needed to be waxes to make it slide better, but he went for it anyway and it was fine.

“Then he decided to try a different sort of grind on it, but half way down the kink he was bucked off, nose dived at a super steep angle and just dove straight into the concrete ground face first.

“He snapped his frame clean in half and ended up with over 122 stitches in his face. Amazingly, he got up and was walking around until the ambulance arrived. Once I knew he was OK, that’s when I took the photo.

“I have to say that I don’t normally take photos in these sorts of situations but Jason and I have an understanding. I’ve been taking photos of Jason for years in all sorts of grizzly situations and this was just another one.”

A lot of the projects you’re involved with from this book to DIG! have mostly been D.I.Y.

projects. What is your take on D.I.Y? How important is it to you and how has it informed your work ethic?

“D.I.Y. is something that I’ve more or less been brought up with.

Within the punk community I grew up in, the D.I.Y. network is an extremely powerful thing that a lot of people are totally unaware of.

“I guess you could also say that an independent shop owner or someone who owns their own business also has a D.I.Y. ethic.

Maybe not on a grass roots or conscious level like a lot of the punk community, but a lot of people have no other option than to do it themselves.”

You shoot both film and digital, so how do you decided which format is right for which occasion?

“I’ve shot and developed film, and made thousands of prints in a darkroom. I’ve also been shooting digital for the last lot of years.

As long as I get the pictures that I want it doesn’t matter to me what format they were shot on.

For magazine or ad work I usually shoot digital as this is generally what is required. But for anything else I’ll use whatever camera I have one me at that particular time.”

I guess one of the challenges with the rise of digital is that anyone who has a decent DSLR can call themselves a photographer. Has this at all changed the way you approach photography?

“I’m still doing exactly the same thing that I had been doing even before the introduction of digital cameras to the masses. I like shooting digital but I also like shooting film. They are just different ways of capturing pictures.

“But I have noticed recently that there are more and more people out there who build a website and start calling themselves a photographer just weeks after getting a camera.

“I’ve said it before, it takes time to cultivate a collection of good photographs. A good photograph transcends, but bad photography totally devalues good photography. I didn’t publicly show any of my photos until I had a decent set of pictures. Only then did I make that transition from taking pictures

“...A lot of the subjects I photograph have a self-destructive personality – I’m going to include myself in that category as well...” to actually showing them in the public domain.”

What proportion of the book are film photos?

“I’d say over half the book was shot on film, which meant having to get high quality scans made and then clean all the negatives and prints that I wanted to use.

“But what made it even more difficult was trying to find certain negatives and prints from years ago. A few of the photos in the book were some of my very first photos taken back in 1997.

“These were photos that I knew I had but couldn’t find for months because of my crappy filing system or because they were lost somewhere in the DIG magazine black hole. I’ve moved around a lot over the last few years, which didn’t help either.

“Some of the negatives were also in really bad shape. I’m guessing it was down to storage or maybe the chemicals weren’t washed of correctly. A few of the Kodak slide films were in particularly bad shape. Some of them had mould and the film emulsion was eaten away. Luckily, the ones that I needed for the book were OK to use. I just about got to these in time!”

You mention in the intro to the book that it isn’t specifically about BMX or punk rock, so what exactly is the book about?

What are you hoping people who check it out will get out of it?

“BMX and punk are just words, and to most people they don’t mean anything. But you don’t need to know anything about BMX or punk rock to understand the nature of the book.

“The book has got a lot of very raw photos in it. A lot of the photos focus on the youth sub-culture and deal with the frustration of being young and oftentimes directionless: kids winging it, rebelling, doing their own thing.

“Other photos in the book are of bands that I particularly like. The live punk band photos play off the

punk documentary photos nicely adding another dynamic to the book as a whole.

“The title reflects the subject matter: Destroying Everything…

Seems Like The Only Option seemed perfect. It’s sort of a double barrelled title with Destroying Everything on the front of the book and …Seems Like The Only Option on the back.

“A lot of the subjects I photograph have a self-destructive personality – I’m going to include myself in that category as well. I think everyone is self-destructive in one sense or another. It’s all part of being human.”

What do you think you would have ended up doing if you hadn’t gotten into photography?

“I don’t even want to think about it… But, as I did terribly at school, I would probably still be doing my old cleaning job at the hospital.”

What challenges are left for you? Now that you’re publishing your first book, are there any other goals you want to achieve?

“I have a few other projects that have been on the boil for a while now, so I’ll definitely start looking into those over the next while. Of course I’ll still take photos of stuff that interests me, who know what will happen in the next few years.

Maybe Destroying Everything Part 2? Nah…”

Destroying Everything...Is Your Only Option will be out soon. We will give you more details as we have them.

All of the photos featured in this article will be in the book.

I don’t think there has ever been a more aptly named band than Mastodon. They are a band whose name perfectly embodies the type of music they create: from the slow, sludgy, Southern doom laden rock to the more progressive elements of recent years, you could definitely see their music as the type of soundtrack to some ice age set epic.

MASTODON WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL – LIVE PHOTOS: SIMON ATKINSON – PORTRAITS: CINDY FREY

On Mastodon’s more recent effort, The Hunter, the band have moved into almost stoner, desert rock territory, and away from the eight minute prog epics back to the four minute rock song. It’s a far cry from the critically acclaimed Crack The Skye or even Leviathan, but it’s still the same band, doing what they have always done and that’s being themselves.

While the Atlanta based four-piece were out here during Soundwave, No Heroes sat down with guitarist Bill Kelleher for a long chat about The Hunter, his mum knowing more about his band than he does and how his kids hate it when he…

Well you’ll have to read on to find out what.

So how’s Soundwave been treating you so far?

“Soundwave. I dunno, we’ve only done two shows so far. It’s very wet. It’s a good festival, it’s very well organised and we see a lot

of friendly familiar faces out there, like the Slipknot guys and Gojira and Kvelertak.”

With The Hunter, this time around you worked with Mike Elizondo. What was it like working with him, and how were the sessions different to sessions you had in the past with Matt Bales and stuff?

“Mike Elizondo is really hands on, like he’s always there. When we worked with Brendan O’Brien he’d kind of come and go. When we went from Matt Bayles, nothing bad against Matt but it was kind of a nightmare working with him.

It was really hard, because he would get really easily frustrated with us.

“He was literally pulling his hair out. We kind of knocked heads a few times about certain things, where he wanted things to go, and we just didn’t think his ideas were that great. We always had self-produced, always had done that in the past, and when Matt was trying to tell us to try this or try that, he didn’t really give us a lot of pointers or anything.

“Once we started working with Brendan O’Brien we were like, ‘Oh, this is what a producer is.’

Because he was like, ‘Okay, this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna take this song, and this is the hook of this song. Whether you agree or not, this is the hook, this is the good part of the song, it needs to happen again.’ And we were like, ‘Okay’. With the Crack the Skye record we arranged all those songs every way possible we could, and we really dug in deep with that record, and it was really time consuming.

“Then with The Hunter it was the complete opposite. It was like we went and it was the first time working with Mike, and he was really laid back and he had a lot of really good ideas. We kind of went in there with really small skeletons of songs, like two or three riffs, and he’s like, ‘That’s all you need man. We’re just gonna augment this one a little bit, and we’re gonna play this.’ He was just like, ‘Don’t worry about it, we’re gonna be fine’ and we were kind of like, ‘Alright, if you say so!’

“And we’d get in there, and the

creativity for The Hunter, it just really happened more in the studio, because we did the record so quickly. I mean it was done within a couple of weeks, we had a record almost 90 per cent done.

“So working with Mike, you just work really fast, and there’s just no pressure whatsoever, it was great. I mean working with Brendan went fast, it was like a month that we did with him, but we were over prepared for that record. We’d done so much preproduction and when we went in Brendan had us kind of record everything and then he rearranged it and re-recorded it. With The Hunter we just went in, first shot just kind of like nailed it and walked out happy. You know and I was just like, ‘Cool!’”

Musically, you guys have taken a slightly different approach.

I think this time things are a little bit more stripped back, and maybe a little bit more rock & roll? So with this new material, is there something that influenced that change, or is that something you completely disagree with?

“We didn’t want to over think it like we did with Crack the Skye.

It was like, ‘This riff isn’t crazy enough’, or ‘The song’s not long enough’, or ‘These parts aren’t good enough, we’ve got to make them weird or off time or something’. We really put everything under a microscope.

“That’s how we used to write, but with The Hunter we wanted to go back to having a freedom without saying we’ve got to have this concept and this story and all the songs have to go together.

We don’t want to do all that stuff.

We just want to write a fucking song about whatever. ‘Curl Of The Burl’? You know what that is? I don’t know, but we wrote it anyway.

“We just wanted it more groove oriented, because when we were touring on Crack the Skye, we had this big screen and we played every song back to back from the beginning to end of the record. The crowd was kind of shoegazing, and there’s not too many super exciting tempos on that record. I mean ‘Divinations’,

MASTODON

there’s some hooks and ‘Oblivion’ is a little bit, but it’s a very deep and dark record really. We kind of wanted to reinvent, you know bring back some more life to the songs and kind of just make them more fun and exciting.”

“She was like ‘Oh, it seems like your fans really want to hear you dive back into some of your older stuff, and write more like that’.

Wow you’ve really been reading a lot of the web boards and stuff, Mum!”

Which it definitely is.

“Yeah it just moves. We noticed like, we’d play that set, and then we’d take a little break and play some old songs. And we’d play the old songs and the crowd would just go crazy. It was like, ‘We need to write more music like that again.’ It’s funny because even my mum told me that, which is weird.

Is that something she does?

“Yeah, I guess she does, she knows more about me than I do sometimes. She’ll be like ‘What did you mean when you said this in this interview?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know mum, don’t get so involved reading all that shit, it freaks me out.’

I read in an interview that the

“...we just want to write a fucking song about whatever. ‘Curl Of The Burl’? You know what that is? I don’t know, but we wrote it anyway...” writing process for this album was a little bit more collaborative?

“Yeah. I mean the record came together really quickly. Crack the Skye was mostly written by Brent.

I mean we all arranged it, but he wrote most of the riffs. There’s a few in there that I wrote but mostly it was him. Brent was in an accident, so he was at home on his acoustic and that’s where that record came from. He was playing slowly and everything had the same kind of tempo.

“The other three of us were writing a totally different record, because we didn’t know what was gonna happen with the band, because he was comatose for

a couple of days, and we were just kind of giving him space to come back. So we were writing this other record, and when he came down he was like ‘Hey I’ve got these riffs and these songs.’

Songs like ‘Deathbound’ were from those sessions. The songs were more like that.

“When we played that for Brendan O’Brien, he was just like, ‘What the fuck is that? That doesn’t make sense to me.’ He’s too old it was too heavy for him. He was like, ‘Let’s stick with these songs, because they all sort of sound like something I could work with.’ So that’s kind of what happened.

“With The Hunter, we had all

these songs leftover from Crack The Skye that were kind of eviscerated. We kind of just cut riffs out of songs and parts. So it was more collaborative, but it was more like Brann and I would like write some stuff together and then Brent and Brann would write some stuff together. Me and Brent didn’t really write anything together. There were his songs and there were my songs. Which worked, it’s fine and that’s just how it went.

“We had so many ideas and riffs that we had been collecting on tour, just writing them, recording them one by one and then kind of just dumping them all out at the end of the tour.

MASTODON

around?

“We just really liked his work and we kind of wanted to change it up a little bit. I mean Paul’s a great artist and I think we just kind of wanted to smash the mould of ‘Okay, what concept are you gonna do this time? What’s Paul gonna do this time?’

“So we’d seen some of the guy’s sculptures and we just said, ‘Wow, it looks fucking crazy, it would be perfect for the record cover.’ So he made that, the head for us. And it’s cool because it’s three dimensional and it’s an actual tangible thing. You can take pictures of it from different angles and it just looks really cool.”

“It was kind of like a puzzle, like this one fits with that one. This one kind of sounds like it should go in that song. And that’s kind of what we just did individually and just brought it to the table: ‘Okay Brent you’ve got your songs, record yours. I’ve got my songs, I’m gonna record mine with Troy and Brann,’ and that’s how the record happened so fast. Because otherwise I’d be sitting there learning all his things and playing on his.”

You’re obviously happy with the final result then?

“Yeah, I think it’s our greatest record to date. It just sounds really sonically, it sounds really good I think.”

Another big change for this album is that Paul Romano didn’t do the artwork and I read an interview where Brann said you guys are pretty big art fanatics, so what made you decide to work with AJ Fosic this time

It seems like this album is a big album of departures, and like you said it’s kind of like breaking the mould. So do you kind of see The Hunter then as a new stage in Mastodon’s career, or is it more of a continuation of everything?

“It’s kind of both. It’s kind of a continuation, but it’s just the next chapter really. I mean it’s probably the way we’ll start recording records now. I mean we basically built a small recording studio in our practice pad, so if we have any ideas, it’s so easy to record it and move it around, you know it’s technology… it’s kind of just a new chapter and the next phase of Mastodon. So hopefully the next record will be easy to make and it will be wild and gnarly and just as cool as The Hunter.

“We just have to keep writing for ourselves, and that’s what we really do. We try and impress each other with our riffs and songs and lyrical content. I think that we’ve still got a lot of albums left in us.

We’ve still got a lot of songs to write.”

For you, what’s the optimum conditions for writing a riff.

“I dunno, there aren’t any, it just happens. It’s kind of like the riff god comes down into your brain and puts it into your fingers you know what I mean? I just get a comfortable seat and get my guitar on and just start playing, hacking at it.

“I mean sometimes riffs come

to me when I’m driving my truck on the freeway and talking to my kids. I’ll be like, ‘Oh man, I’ve gotta record this right now’, and I’ll pull my phone out and just like hum into my phone. Kids are always like, ‘What are you doing daddy? You’re so weird.’ They just come to you, like you never know.

“A lot of times for me, if I pick up a new instrument, like a guitar I’ve never played before, I start coming up with new stuff. It happens all the time I don’t know what it is.

You pick up a new instrument...”

Mastodon is a band that has attracted a lot of critical praise, does that mean anything to you or is it kind of an added bonus to writing what you guys write?

“It’s nice to get recognised. I think like the Grammy is, probably the biggest nod that we’ve ever been up for, twice now. For me, I don’t really buy into all the hype. It’s cool that we get metal album of the year, the cover of a magazine, you know that’s great and all, but that’s just like certain people’s opinions. I try to take it with a grain of salt.

“Everyone’s just like ‘How do you feel, album of the year’, and I think it’s great, it’s good, I don’t know what else to say. But Grammys, for me I feel like we’re actually paving the way for other bands. It’s like hey, we’re making music over here, and we’re just like one band out of all these other metal bands, or whatever you want to call us. We’re relevant. I never in a million years would’ve thought I’d be at the Grammys or Jools Holland or Conan O’Brien or Dave Letterman. It’s all cool but I’m just enjoying the ride I guess.”

You’ve toured with bands as varied as Slipknot, Against Me, Dillinger and Deftones obviously. So sometimes the line ups make sense and sometimes they don’t. What’s the weirdest line up you’ve ever been a part of?

“The weirdest was probably Fear Factory and this band called The Hoods. Fucking horrible! I mean I like Fear Factory, like all the guys, but Hoods though are just not a good band. Actually was it Fear

“...She’ll be like ‘What did you mean when you said this in this interview?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know mum, don’t get so involved reading all that shit, it freaks me out.’...”

Factory? Maybe it was Walls of Jericho, maybe it was Fear Factory, I forget, it was so long ago, like 2004. But we’ve toured with bands like Dying Foetus. I don’t wanna talk shit, but it was kind of weird.

“We’ve also done tours with Against Me and Cursive, which I thought was really cool because you get different people in the room. You don’t just get the same fucking metalhead kids. You get a group of different people that like different things and different music and maybe turn some heads your way. Or vice versa. And Against Me is just a great band, so much energy. The energy is there, it’s fucking intense. I mean we’re open minded, we want our fans to see that, we want our fans to be open minded.

“But I did hear a lot of shit from people who were just like ‘Why would you bring this band on tour,

they suck?’ I was like ‘They don’t suck, they’re fucking awesome, open up your fucking ears and eyes… yeah, take the blinders off.’ We don’t listen to death metal 24-7 so why would we wanna tour with those kinds of bands all the time?”

How did the Feist and Mastodon Record Store Day split come about?

“We played Jools Holland at the same time, and I think her and Troy had some words back stage, like ‘Oh maybe we could do a cover of one of your songs.’ And I just thought it was kind of a crazy idea, I didn’t think it was actually gonna happen, but Troy was like ‘Pick a song.’ So ‘A Commotion’ came on and I could hear this being really heavy, we could make it heavy and she could take one of our songs and kind of pretty it up.

“It was just an idea and we just did it. We worked with Mike

Elizondo and it was done like that. He flew in for a day and we learned it and we recorded it, layered it, and it sounds really badass. Really good. I’m excited to see what people think when it comes out.”

I’m interested to hear what she does with your stuff too.

“I’ve heard it, it’s pretty weird.

She did ‘Black Tongue’. It’s cool though, it sounds like her. It sounds like they wrote it, so it’s not just her covering our song.

They made it special.’

So post-Soundwave, what’s next for Mastodon?

“Go home and do some laundry.

We’re gonna go home for about three and a half weeks and then we’re doing a Mastadon, MastOpeth tour, we’re gonna tour with Opeth in the United States for about five weeks.”

MASTODON

Bands You’ve never heard of sludge/stoner/doom edition

WORDS: WADE DOOM

APOCALIPSIS Website: http://apocalipsis.bandcamp.com/ Label: Unsigned Nothing about Apocalysis is typical. Clean, jangly guitars aren’t exactly a trademark of the Doom sub-genre or its many off-shoots, except doom-laiden Mexican Instru-post-metal, evidently! Apocalypsis traverse an infinitely expansive dynamic range, free of vocals more so than void. It’s nothing for a song to dance seamlessly between post-hardcore minor chord shuffling, timey tech chugging and eruptions of dirgy-doom several times each, and often under the five minute mark. A feat effortlessly achieved without the weight of limiting vocal patterns. Instrumental isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re a fan of Blood Mountain era Mastodon then I guarantee you’ll find something for you here.

BEHOLD! THE MONOLITH Website: http://beholdthemonolith.bandcamp.com/ Label: Unsigned B!TM’s blurb reads, “This is music made by fans of METAL for fans of METAL” and despite the cheese, it freakin’ nailed it. Furthermore, B!TM is music made by fans of METAL (especially those that dig early Mastodon). I’m talking mythical beasts, triumphantly heavy riffage and a sweet lead-guitar strut. There isn’t anything new going on here but what you get is slabs of quality second fiddle, perfect to break-up the wait between Mastodon album cycles. In short, B!TM is to Mastodon what Cancer Bats is to Every Time I Die, whatever negatives you may want to associate with this big ol’ dose of reality will be dispelled upon first listen as this back-handed compliment has been delivered with a full heart.

CHEST Website: http://chest.bandcamp.com/ Label: Unsigned Little is known about this Finnish band as their bandcamp.com site has fuck-all info beyond song titles, which kind of rules unless you have a word count. That being said, I now get to skip the bullshit and talk about what makes Chest such a great find… heavy slowjams! Ever tried to lift a waterbed bladder filled with motor oil? Of course you haven’t, but you could easily imagine how impossibly heavy that would be, and now you are somewhere close to grasping the riffs on offer throughout the band’s four track EP from last year, MMXI. It’s all I could find on the band (trust me, I’ve been searching!) and it’s free to download so go do so, learn more about the band and let us know!

HUATA Website: huata.bandcamp.com Label: Throatruiner Records Ok, now there’s two things I like about France, Enigma Absinthe and Huata! This band is everything that you want them to be; Sabbath worship, check! Bass tones that sound like the hum of damaged overhead power-lines, check! Guitar riffs that flirt with effects but don’t fuck too hard with your head-bangin’ rhythm, check! The beauty of Huata’s songs is that you hear all the parts that you want without the obviousness or awareness shining through and ruining the vibe, which they have in spades! Have Huata reinvented the Stoner/Doom wheel? Nope, but they sure do make you want to roll one! And while you’re at it make sure you check out their record Atavist Of Mann.

HYDROMEDUSA Website: http://hydromedusa.bandcamp.com Label: Art As Catharsis Records Ever heard the phrase; “Grass then beer, you’re in the clear. Beer then grass and you’re on your arse!”? Well I’ve got the impression that Hydromedusa purposely subscribe to the latter. “Weed-friendly” is a misleading tag for this group as they can turn real nasty whilst skull-fucking you with a groove that’ll make you thank them for it post-climax. Sleep is the obvious influence but the Adelaide quintet has much more to offer than mere tribute or homage. Hydromedusa has a six track album available via the band’s bandcamp.com page, which is definitely one of last year’s most underrated releases. How the fuck did this band come out of Adelaide?!?

ROYAL THUNDER Website: http://royalthunder.bandcamp.com Label: Relapse Records Before I start, let me just confess that I’m a MASSIVE Royal Thunder fan-boy. I’ll attempt to explain why to myself as I tell you a bit about the band. More often than not the songs churn like a long steamy night spent fighting the heat during half-sleep, with respite giving way restlessness without ever really settling. For mine, the cherry atop of the whiskeysour comes in the form of Brody Dalle meets Joan Jett vocalist/bassist, Mlny Parsonz. The band possesses all the hallmarks of being Relapse Records’ next big thing to come out of Georgia in the US South (read: Mastodon, Baroness, Black Tusk). Trust me on this one, check out the self-titled EP and stay tuned for the new album due later this year.

Now Available for Pre-order Break Even Young at Heart 12” Ltd to 500 Copies On vinyl for the first time, Break Even’s debut EP. Cut at 45rpm for max volume!

Now Available

VVEGAS/ABRAXIS Split 7”

MILHOUSE 7”

midnightfuneral.com

MARATHON 7”

WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL – PHOTOS: CRAIG NYE

JEREMY DAVIDSON IS A LOT OF THINGS TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. TO MANY, HE’S JOHNNY WISHBONE, THE MANIACAL HUMAN SEX ORGAN THAT FRONTS THE SNOWDROPPERS. WITH AN ARMOURY OF SWAMP ROCK, BALLSY BLUES AND SINFUL SOUL, HE AND HIS BAND CONTINUE TO WIN OVER AUDIENCES FROM SYDNEY TO PERTH AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN. To me, he’s a good friend, and for a while now he’s also been my housemate. We’ve always enjoyed a good yak about our favourite music and bands, and more often than not that yak has been over a few beers and a feed. During one of our chats, we agreed it would be fun to do a one on one about the music he plays, the band he’s in, and the person he becomes when it’s show time.

So one autumn evening we strolled down to our local, set the iPhone to record, and let the drinks, and the conversation, flow freely. Jeremy’s experiencing the band life at a level most will only ever dream of. But of course, as for many successful Australian artists, the dream isn’t always, or ever what it’s cracked up to be.

Still, it must feel pretty great to have someone paint you for their entry in the Archibald Prize.

“Yeah, but it didn’t get in. They’ve got no taste! I don’t know art, but I know what I like, and I love myself! If you had have asked me at the beginning of our career, did I expect to be painted for the Archibald Prize, I probably would’ve said yes! Seriously though, it’s a complete spin out man, but there’s definitely that little boy thing in me that just goes… Yeah!

You know what I mean?”

Jeremy often strikes me as a man conflicted by blatant egotism and modest self-deprecation. Even he found it hard to believe anyone could be bothered painting his likeness.

“I asked her, I was like why the fuck do you want to paint me for?

And she said she was racking her brain, and she was a fan of the band, which is cool… I think

she was just pressed for time and couldn’t think of anyone else to be honest!”

He’s less than impressed when I tell him that this year’s winner was a self-portrait of the artist depicted as an invisible man. “Yet me with a microphone stuck down my pants, didn’t get a look in?

That’s why you don’t go for the high art dollar, man, they’ve got no idea!”

Getting back on track, we turn to the band’s present state of affairs - a situation Jeremy and the boys didn’t necessarily envision this far along. Despite their acclaimed debut album, national tours, sold out headline shows, overseas trips and all the other trimmings of success, the band currently has no label, and no management. It’s a situation that could potentially cause major freak-outs, but The Snowdroppers are embracing their newfound freedom.

“I was really worried about that at first, it was like, ‘Oh shit, we’re label-less and manager-less, coming into the recording of the second album, coming into the recording of what will be the greatest album of all time!’ But they’re helping us look for new managers and they’re helping kind of hand stuff over slowly but surely. It’s not as if they did the fucking runner to Abu Dhabi and left us in the lurch.

At the end of the day our priority is the new album, and we had kind of always booked enough shows to afford us the budget for that.”

The security of a self-funded album has given The Snowdroppers all the choice in the world when it comes to what, where, and when to record. It also prompted them to search far and wide for the ideal producer to work with on album number two.

Hundreds of emails later, Richard Jackson, who has worked with bands including Young Legionaire, and Future of the Left, has been picked as the man for the job.

“You want to know what it was, man? He seemed keen. There were a couple of dudes that couldn’t fit us in, like didn’t have the time. A couple of dudes just never got back to us. We had meetings with other people but they just didn’t seem vibed. So we just pinged out a bunch of emails,

and he got back to us and said, ‘I really love it. I dig this about it, I dig that about it, I think you could try this, what do you think?’”

Beyond sheer enthusiasm, Jeremy says Jackson is the guy to take The Snowdroppers sound to the next level. “Each band he works with, he makes it sound like them. Like the mixes sound really natural, and it’s that perfect mix of enough grit but enough polish to let the songs come through. He’s worked with rock bands and he’s worked with indie bands, and he’s worked with folk-ish sort of bands as well. So after a while I listened to the scope of his stuff and thought, this is really cool.”

Jeremy admits it might not seem like the most obvious choice, and to the band’s credit, they approached some of the biggest names in modern blues and rockabilly, just in case they were keen. Legendary Shack Shakers singer Col. J.D. Wilkes was interested, but things didn’t eventuate.

Rocket from the Crypt’s John Reis, and Jim Jones Revue’s guitarist Rupert Orton were approached, but never got back to them. Ultimately, it was a good thing.

“We want the production on the album to bring out the best in the songs. And they’re not rockabilly songs, they’re not psychobilly songs. A lot of it has a bluesy sort of edge. But you know, after a while, I really felt that, well I’m hoping – we’ll do another interview post record – but I’m really hoping Richard can bring out the best in us.”

The new gear is definitely a step in a different direction. The night before our semi-official sit-down, Jeremy played me some demo tracks from the album’s writing sessions. It’s still the Snowdroppers. It’s still got a strong tradition of blues-rock at its core. But there’s something in the chords and melodies that suggests these guys have been reaching for a wider range of influences. Jeremy says a lot of that is thanks to guitarist and chief songwriter, Paul Kilpinen.

“He’s a fan of a hell of a lot of music, and he’s always been a fan of indie music. He’s also always been a fan of classic pop.

Like he’s a huge Beach Boys fan,

huge Kinks fan, that sort of classic pop from the 60’s and 70’s. I suppose that’s how we became friends, we just like good songs, you know?”

Pop is definitely the key word here. And I can’t help but wonder if that’s a risky move for a bunch of guys who have so far built their career on re-vamping the blues, and the catch phrase “Shit fuckin’ yeah!”

Surely not even Jeremy is immune to those second album worries. “I was really worried about it. Last year was a bit of a stress for us, because we were fucked over by this record label so hard.

Long story short, the only way we could make any revenue was by playing.

“So we just played our arses off.

And because we played so much we didn’t have much time to write.

So we got out of the contract, and it was like ‘Oh, we need to put something out.’ We really wanted it to be a vinyl, because we’d always wanted to do that.

“So we’d been asked to do that fucking Wiggles track. Well they

said, we’ll give you however much money, it wasn’t much. We went to the studio for a day to do that track, and then we did our two, kinda scammed it… I think the term is misappropriated! “[Those songs were] kind of a step too far in a direction we didn’t really want to go. We were really kind of, well I was, really confused as to where we wanted to go, what we wanted to write. I kind of had writer’s block, I was just really stressed about it. We put that out and that kind of, I don’t know, maybe just got that out of our system. But it was a really clear indication of what we didn’t want to do again.”

Which begs the question, what do they want to do?

“You don’t want to write the same album twice, but then again we’re not gonna go and do a minimalist techno record, you know? I guess we just got to the stage where we thought damned if you do, damned if you don’t. If you do the same thing again you’ll piss some people off, if you do something different you’ll piss people off, but there’s got to be that degree of

progression, you know? Whether this is too much of a progression only time will tell.”

We went on to muse over the actual value of an album in today’s music market. Jeremy has fond memories of buying records, bringing them home, and listening to them over and over. We both share memories of albums that were significant ‘moments’ in our lives. We agreed that in recent years, the perceived value of an album has been decimated. I had to wonder if all the effort was really worth it.

“I’ve thought a lot about this man.

Be it physical or digital or otherwise, there’s just something frigging cool about an album, I mean from a musician’s perspective. I mean I can see it from the other side, and it might not necessarily make sense. You know at the end of the day I guess it’s forcing musicians to make a decent album.

I’d much prefer to hear a great album with about ten tracks, than a mediocre album of an hour. Does that make sense? I think I’m still sitting on the fence aren’t I? “As to whether it becomes a

moment in someone’s life, no one’s in control of that. Although, someone did call me and tell me they donged to our album once.

I’ve donged to a lot of albums, but none that really stick in my mind.

Actually, one that does, Mezzanine, Massive Attack. That’s an intense dong there… emotional dong.

“I guess too, moving away from classic donging albums of our era, we have and always will be a live band. We recognise that’s what we enjoy doing the most.

So to me, the album has always been a vehicle to kind of keep doing that. Like throughout our rehearsals, I’m always thinking how are we gonna do this live? That’s where it’s fun for me, you know.

That’s where those moments are for me.”

Live performance is definitely Jeremy’s forte. His alter, or maybe it should be ultra-ego, Johnny Wishbone is a major driving force behind the band’s ongoing success. Lewd, quirky, and charged with sexual energy, as Wishbone, Jeremy is adept at keeping the audience moving, cheering, and laughing. In many ways it’s an

extension of his everyday personality, an over-the-top caricature.

“It’s probably one of the few chances I get to indulge my gigantic ego, so that’s probably got something to do with it. I don’t consider myself an artist. I can’t draw or paint, I can’t write, I don’t even think I write music that well.

I’m not a songwriter, I’m barely an adequate musician at best, but the one place where I just feel like I can let go and expel that energy is on stage.

“As to where it comes from, I don’t know. You look at artists, musicians that you respect, and you see where they’ve come from, and they’ve had a bad upbringing or they’ve lived some kind of incredible life. And you’re kind of going, ‘I can see how he had that emotion to portray’, whereas I am the definition of a middle class white boy.

“Johnny Cash said you walk the line, and on one side of that line is just complete success and the other side of that very thin tightrope is just utter collapse and total failure. And it’s trying to balance along that tightrope that’s

quite exciting. we started The Snowdroppers and I kind of realised look, I’m not the best singer in the world, I’m not the best harmonica player in the world, but kinda I’ve always enjoyed music that can laugh at itself … At the end of the day if they hate my music and they hate my voice, at least they don’t walk away saying ‘Oh well they didn’t put on a very good show.’

“I think it was my year 12 music teacher. I remember something he said once that was very true, and that was music should invoke a reaction. Be it good or bad, it doesn’t matter, but if they don’t care, that’s the worst. You don’t wanna make music that people don’t care about. You want them to either love it or hate it, you know what I mean? You don’t want them to go ‘I don’t care.’”

My interview with Jeremy never really had a clear beginning or end. Realistically, it began when I met him, and continues to this day. But that night, with our schnitzels smashed, our schooners sculled, and our wallets emptied, we decided to call it a night.

letlive

WORDS: SARAH PETCHELL PORTRAITS: BEN CLEMENT LIVE PHOTOS: SIMON ATKINSON

THERE WAS ONE UNIVERSAL TRUTH TO COME OUT OF SOUNDWAVE – LETLIVE WERE ONE OF THE GREATEST LIVE ACTS ON THE ENTIRE BILL. NOT BAD FOR A FIVE-PIECE FROM LA WHO CATAPULTED INTO THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE PUNK-HARDCORE WORLD WITH THE RELEASE OF THEIR THIRD ALBUM FAKE HISTORY. I HAD ALREADY TALKED TO THEM ABOUT THE ALBUM A COUPLE OF ISSUES BACK, BUT WHILE TALKING AGAIN AT THEIR SIDEWAVE (ALONG WITH ENTER SHIKARI AND YOUR DEMISE) WE GOT A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LOOK AT THE BAND, THIS TIME SPEAKING NOT ONLY TO VOCALIST JASON AALON BUTLER, BUT ALSO BASSIST RYAN JOHNSON AND DRUMMER ANTHONY RIVERA, ABOUT THE CRAZY RIDE THESE GUYS HAVE BEEN ON IN THE PAST YEAR. The interview started with a discussion of how expensive the arcade games upstairs at The Metro Theatre are. Apparently $2 is a travesty! Even more so is the fact that I had no idea how much they cost, with Anthony calling me out on not being a “cavegoer” (apparently a fancy word for a person that goes to arcades...Must be a U.S. thing).

Now that I’ve seen you guys live, all that I can say about your live show is, “WOW!” How much does getting up there and performing like that every show take out of you? Or is it more of a release?

Jason: “I think it’s a little bit of both, but more so while you’re up there it’s not a conscious thing.

You don’t have a high level of cognition of what it’s taking from you. Maybe at the end or the next day we realise, but we play consecutively when touring, so we do it every night and hope that we get 30 minutes to an hour of time to do whatever it is we do.”

I guess this is more for you Jason, but where do you think all that frenetic energy comes from?

Jason: “I don’t know.”

Ryan: “From what you eat during the day with all the calories and the energy that you store.”

Jason: “Jason said that. Put down that Jason said he eats a lot and stores that energy. But honestly I just think it’s just the fact that you get that 30 minutes to an hour to do what it is that you want to do, and I think it would be a disservice to the performance, the band and the ‘art’ not to do as such” Is there much difference between the kind of persona you project on stage and who you are offstage?

Jason: “Yeah, absolutely. It’s like a pretty glaring disparity between myself on stage and myself now.

As you can see, I haven’t jumped off the balcony yet or smashed my face into anything.

“But it’s a matter of appropriating yourself. I can’t walk around the streets yelling at people, talking about my deepest, most innermost thoughts. But there’s an ode to performance as well.”

I spoke to you just after Fake History got re-released through Epitaph and you mentioned that the album had been reinvigorated for you. Do you still feel that you’ve got more to say with it or is it now the end of the cycle and time to move on?

Ryan: “I think we’ll always have something to say with it. I don’t think it will ever entirely close because it is a big part of everything. I think all of us are definitely ready to get some new things out there. But speaking personally, I still identify with it.

“We’ve done so much with it live especially, that we’ve all found our own ways to elaborate on what the original idea was and that’s helped fuel the love for the songs.”

Anthony: “I think ti’s something that we’re all really proud of and when it go re-released it was an extra, because now we’re on this label it shows that someone else gets it. I’m really proud of that and the fact that it’s distributed across the planet and brought us here in 2012 to Australia and see kids sing along, hug Jason and freak out.

But for us it’s exactly the same.

It was something to be said and done, and it will continue to be as such for a long time.”

I did read that letlive are actually in the process of writing a new album, so what can we expect from it and how does it flow on from what you guys did with Fake History?

Jason: “We’re going to go a shoe-gazey, brass route... I think the best way to put it is that it will be the same essence and the same attitude that has constituted letlive and placed our feet in this whole game. And with it, an obvious sort of move towards a maturation and evolution of the band.”

One of the things I do love about the album is that it is so passionate and open, and lyrically it’s ambiguous but intensely personal at the same time. Is that something you plan to continue with the new record?

Jason: “Yeah, certainly. I think with letlive we would like to believe that it’s more so an idea than just an aesthetic or a sonic stamp or a trademark. So with the new record, and with all records to come, we would hope to continue that idea and let people have their own versions and thoughts of letlive.”

“Things like that just make us feel even more like the proud parent.

It’s just one of those things that we’re now ready to have another baby, so let’s go!”

Not to devalue what you guys did previously, but signing to Epitaph seems to have afforded you guys a world of opportunity. Did you ever think you would end up doing massive tours of Europe with Enter Shikari, or even playing Soundwave?

Anthony: “I think we had pipe dreams, as every band does.”

Jason: “I don’t think it’s a matter of exhausting anything. I think the fervour is exactly the same, but the thing that has changed is who has subscribed to it. There has been an obvious increase there.

Ryan: “Yeah, I think everybody would love to do these kinds of things, whether it’s actuality for us now or not. We were kind of reserved in that respect and just left it to chance and, thankfully,

the album made it to people that we never really thought that it would make it to. People identified with it.

“It has been very, very nice to have that happen. Considering exactly where we are now and where we would hope to be in the future, it’s great.”

Anthony: “I always like to take a moment and appreciate it, because there is so much work that goes on between stating the pipe dreams, being young and starting to play and instrument and to the point where we are now.”

Ryan: “And the building blocks of playing the smaller shows are still very integral to everything, even in the future. Going back to that kind of a setting will be very kind of humbling, but just as fun.

Things like Soundwave are fun and I love to play them, but you can’t forget your roots. It’s always great to go back to that smaller setting and appreciate those situations.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I read that you guys

hadn’t even played the East Coast of the US until late 2010.

Jason: “Yeah, that’s correct.

Ryan and myself started touring in this band in 2006, and it was myself booking tours, pleading with people to let us play their venues, making it clear we didn’t want guarantees. I don’t even think we had merch at the time.

“Eventually, people started giving in to my overbearing requests, but the routes were terrible. We would work jobs just to get the gas to get to the next show. So we would just stick to the west end of the country. We had been doing that by ourselves as well, so finally we started to click up with other bands in 2008, before finally heading easy in 2010.”

Ryan: “It’s very, very hard when you’re on the west coast because of how much distance there is between coasts. The cities are all very secluded where you play, so to get to the next city is like eight to ten hours. Back then, we weren’t even asking for money so it would be literally playing a show, like idiots without having any money to pay for it, so to

make a ten hour trek costs quite a bit of money.”

Jason: “You almost feel like a subjugation, like there’s a force that’s keeping you from touring because all these bands with booking agents and managers a creating a blockade for you to tour because you’re not going to bring the venues any money so they’re not going to want to book you. It’s a very different beast.”

Anthony: “But then you become part of the blockade!”

Do you ever feel afraid that you’ll get to the point that you’ve exposed yourself too much with your music? Where do you draw the line?

Jason: “Every day. It’s not a conscious thing, but it definitely rears it’s ugly head every 30 minutes or so. That’s something I really can’t answer. I don’t know.

“I don’t know where the gauge is because it’s a completely internal thing. To be completely honest, when I’m not performing or if I’m not in the dimension that is letlive, I’m certainly not willing to talk

about myself in these aspects. I can talk about the band, but not about myself.

“The emotionality is a very beautiful thing, but it’s also illuminating the fact that it is hard to be open.

But we’re trying our best, just like everyone else.”

What kind of goals did you guys have when you guys were starting as letlive? And I guess you’ve exceeded those expectations now...

Ryan: “It’s weird how that goes.

The stages that you go through every single terrace you hit, there’s a different expectation.

Right now, looking back, I never would have thought that playing to this many people would be normal. It’s an insane thing to experience and to sit there and look at the crowd in front of you and see how many people are around you, it’s a bit overwhelming.”

Jason: “I feel like it’s just a drop in the ocean. I feel like there’s just so much to be done and experienced and said. We’re grateful for the smallest things, but then the most humble man would call that arrogance.

“But the point is having something to aspire for. Myself at least, I was certainly a bit grandiose in my ideas. I thought that maybe if we write the album then they will come. It was like a Field Of Dreams philosophy. A few people have done that, but to do that and hope to garner is one thing, but to actually do it, and to see it happen, flattery is not even close enough to being a big enough word.”

Ryan: “I think also when you get to this point too, you have to put on your blinders. You can’t really expect much because everything can change for the better or the worse. I think as long as you stay true to the fact that you’re enjoying yourself along the way, there are so many things you’re experiencing and so many people you’re meeting that are just as beautiful as the situation, that’s the best point.”

The Kerrang Awards and all the media attention that you’ve gotten in the last 12 months, how are you guys coping with the hype? Or are you just ignoring it?

Jason: “It’s not a matter of ignoring it. Hype lives on its own. Its in its own separate realm that runs concurrently, but it has been created by someone other than ourselves. All that we’ve given is the music.

it is its very own thing. We have people come up to us at shows talking about us being in magazines or whatever and we don’t know anything about it. Obviously, then after so many people say the same thing, it’s cool.

“Hype isn’t shit until it’s proven.

We haven’t set any standards except those that we’ve set for ourselves. Whatever we do, we’ve done on our own accord and as a result of our own devices. I don’t know anything about hype.”

“As long as people are hearing about us, I think that’s the main thing. It’s that saying that any press is good press. It doesn’t matter if people hate us or give us a chance, it’s the fact they got that opportunity to make that decision.”

Ryan: “I am excited to disappear and have zero expectations for hype.”

Anthony: “It’s funny how much

Jason: “It means they’re listening and they’ve made the decision that letlive is something that they want to be a part of.”

Heaven Shall Burn WORDS: LOCHLAN WATT – PHOTOS: SIMON ATKINSON

Heaven Shall Burn has been at it since 1996 - channelling their rage towards social and political injustice through a veganpowered metal machine that has maintained a sharp trajectory from the beginning. The German group is an established set of ideas and ideals just as much as it is a fortified sound. Through the course of six albums they have combined the musical inclinations of Bolt Thrower and At The Gates with the message of bands like Morning Again and Earth Crisis (minus the whole militant straight-edge gang mentality thing), eventually honing in on a trademark sound they can call their own. With this writer having previously spoken to guitarist and lyricist Maik Weichert for the ill-fated Death Before Dishonour Magazine back in 2008, it was time for a catch up.

So what has Heaven Shall Burn been up to lately? Have you been active this year yet, or laying low until Soundwave?

“Last year we focused on playing all the European countries outside Germany. In Germany we only played the huge Wacken Festival, which was amazing of course. But beside that, we focused more on countries like Sweden, Belgium, and played a huge festival in Poland for the very first time, which was really cool because it’s our neighbour country, but we almost never play there which is actually a shame.

“We did a lot of stuff outside Germany last year. We went to Korea for a festival, which was pretty cool too. Although it was quite unreal you know, just flying there for 60 minutes of playing, on a flight like 13 hours or something, but it was definitely worth it.”

So how many shows do you think you played last year all up?

“I guess it was about 30 or 40 shows. We do like cherry picking.

We only play the shows we want to play. We don’t make our living out of the music, although we could live off the music right now because it is going really good for us with record sales and shows and stuff.

“We have jobs outside of music, and that is really important, so then you don’t have to play shows you know. You can play the festivals, and the shows you know that will be a blast, and we don’t have to play shitty shows that will ruin our reputation.”

With regards to only cherry picking shows and not touring extensively, do you feel much pressure from labels or booking agents to get on the road full-time?

“I think they gave up. In the beginning they tried to apply all that usual business schemes to us, with record touring, and then you have to do this, and you have to do that. But they found out that we just work the band the way we are, and now they totally support that and try and find out the best solutions for us to have it the way we want it to be.

“They are very helpful, which is why we re-signed with Century Media. They got how our band works, and what our view of success is. For us it is, we go on stage, and we really want to play, and we are keen to record. We always do what we want to do, and that allows us to put a lot of passion into the music and maintain the success that we have.”

Back in 2008, you guys had just released the first part of the Iconoclast trilogy, which you have since finished off. Where does the band go from here?

Are there plans for another release?

“Oh yeah of course. We always say we’re like five friends playing together. We’re like a group of bowling friends: we meet twice a week, except we rehearse. We love to write new stuff, so we always have plans for new material and a new record. It goes really fast, once you have a name for the record, and you read the lyrics again, and you notice a direction in everything, then maybe make a concept out of it. But that’s not the case yet.”

When do you think we can expect the next album to be released?

“I think we’ll record in fall 2012,

which means like maybe October or November, which is fall on our side of the world of course, not on your side... yeah so, I think we’ll record then, but then it depends on the label, but I think it will be the beginning of 2013.”

Do you think we’ll hear the Heaven Shall Burn sound be diversified or varied in any ways, or has the band’s sound been pretty much cemented?

“I’m really sure our fans will recognise Heaven Shall Burn after listening to ten seconds of the record. That’s always the aim we’ve got - we have a brand and we don’t want to disappoint people.

Me, as a fan of music, I’m always really sad if I fell in love with a band, and saw the next record do something totally different they should start a side project or something you know, not ruin the band they once created. That is my point of view.

“So we give people what they want, then of course we will get their love. We’ll enhance our sound here and there, but we definitely realised that this is a Heaven Shall Burn record. No compromise about that.”

What bands have disappointed you by changing their sound over the years?

“Oh there’s a lot of them, especially in the beginning of the 90s in the death metal scene. Swedish bands like Desultory or Therion. Bands that were also in the hardcore sector, bands like Cave In for example. Don’t get me wrong, they are not shitty bands nowadays, but they are different bands and that is not what I expected as a fan of the band.”

What about new bands - are there any that continue to inspire you?

“Yeah there are always bands who inspire me. There’s an Icelandic band Sólstafir, I don’t know if you would have heard of them, but a very great band, very atmospheric, dark, black metal music. It almost sounds like Sigur Ros going black metal, and that is a band that inspires me a lot nowadays.

“I think the state of metal is really good. There are always young bands coming up, mixing everything together, breeding new styles, so I think everything is still going strong and developing. So don’t worry about that.”

When we last spoke you were an open supporter of being able to illegally download music. Given the even further declining state of sales, do you still feel this way?

“I think that is a problem for the record companies, because they didn’t follow the developments 10 or 15 years ago and now they are just managing to catch up. For the consumer and for the people listening to music, it doesn’t mean they spend less money on music.

Like bands nowadays get the money out of playing shows, concert tickets are a lot more expensive than back in the day.

“Nowadays bands don’t spend two years in the studio anymore, they spend two years on the road to make money. Merchandise sales went up a lot. The income is coming in differently for bands, but people still spend the same amount of money on music. It’s just a matter of where you get it from. That is I think in the first place it is a problem for the record companies, not for the small bands themselves.”

Given that you don’t rely on Heaven Shall Burn to pay your bills, what jobs do you guys work outside of the band?

“Our singer for example is a nurse. Our bass player is a physiotherapist. Our drummer is still studying economics. I’m a bloody lawyer, but I’m more like a jurist, I work with universities, I’m not doing divorces or defending murderers or anything like that. Our other guitarist Alex is a producer, he runs a studio which is also running really good. We do a lot of stuff.”

Another follow up question from last time - you previously mentioned that racism was a big problem in Germany, saying that “people are almost afraid of strangers from other lands”.

Four years on, has the situation improved?

“I’m not sure. At least the media in Germany tries to give another picture about that to people. Everything is a lot more open-minded in the way of globalisation and stuff. I think all the prejudices are still there with all the people, and society separates more and more.

“People don’t have to do so much any more with poor people and foreign people - they live in certain areas of the city and you don’t go there anymore, you know? Everything starts to separate in a way like it is in other

countries already, like the US for example, but it hasn’t been the case for Germany in past years, but that is now developing. Society is separating. There are these groups, those groups, this living area, that block of flats, you know that you don’t go there, which is maybe why people feel more relaxed about it because they don’t see the people they are afraid of anymore.”

As you know Heaven Shall Burn has always been a vegan band, but I was wondering if anyone in the band has ever been tempted enough to break veganism whilst touring other parts of the world, even if it was just to experience an aspect of another culture?

“I’m not sure. I can’t speak for the whole band, but for me I’m always interested in different cultures, and of course food is a big part of different cultures, it defines people and it defines the culture.

“I’m always interested in it, but if you asked me if I was tempted to eat a chicken at a Chinese market stall, then I would say no. I’ve never tried to do something like that and I didn’t think about it. I’m interested in the way it is produced, and how they perceive the food, and certain behaviours they have with preparing it or eating it, but I wouldn’t eat it, no.”

IN TRENCHES Sol Obscura On their sophomore release the Melbourne conglomerate that is IN TRENCHES returns a reworked, more advanced and specifically intensified beast. Without diverting from their overall dissonance and rhythmically complex approach, Sol Obscura sees the band having ventured deeper into heavy dirges and progressive compositions and returned with stunning results. Giant walls of guitar noise reach into the human psyche, with output flowing over 27 minutes across 5 unique tracks. Creations beyond any typical metal and hardcore structures flourish in gritty beauty, the five piece channelling rage through a moving and ultimately forward-thinking release that bites back at the frustrations of modern existence.

10” record available now through MONOLITH. INTRENCHES.BANDCAMP.COM

NUCLEAR SUMMER Nuclear Summer Members of Ryu Vs Ken, Ironhide, The Surrogate and Willows create a fresh, technical sound - sunshine metal.

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WAITING ROOM

IRONHIDE

EP

Create/Collapse/Repeat

Melodic hardcore punk, with brilliant and carefree riffage bouncing over forward-thinking arrangements and urgent screams.

This album smashes through energetic and complex brutality with two vocalists, the band soon after holding true to the title. RIP.

WAITINGROOMBRISBANE. BANDCAMP.COM

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CAPEWEATHER

IDYLLS Amps For God/Plague Hell

EP

Limited edition 7” offering but a sliver of the desperately violent catharsis to come.

Post-life. Pre-cemetery. Sun Distorted.

Dynamic post-hardcore that dives to and from blast-beating chaos and luscious, genuinely Australian melodies.

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WORDS: OLIVER CATION

Sick Of It All SICK OF IT ALL ARE A BAND THAT NEED NO INTRODUCTION TO HARDCORE AUDIENCES. FOR OVER 25 YEARS THEY HAVE PLAYED EVERY INCH OF THE WORLD AND HAVE PRODUCED FLAWLESS ALBUMS HELD IN HIGH REGARD BY THOUSANDS. THEY RETURN TO AUSTRALIA THIS MAY WITH FELLOW NEW YORK GIANTS AGNOSTIC FRONT AND LOCAL HEROES TOE TO TOE. NO HEROES HAD A CHAT WITH VOCALIST LOU KOLLER ABOUT SLOWING DOWN, BEING REMEM-

BERED AND WHY YOU CAN’T GET A GOOD SLICE OF PIZZA IN MANHATTAN. Sick Of It All are coming back to Australia this May with the New York United Tour. How important is it for you to maintain that identity as being a New York band?

“I’m not sure if it is important or if it’s just something that has been a part of us growing up in the New York hardcore scene. It’s always with us. The whole idea of New York United is that New York hardcore is so important to us. It’s a beast that’s got a life of its own and that helps grab attention to it and make it even more historic.

“Nowadays people look and say, ‘Oh it’s just a tour of such and such a band’ and this is an event. It’s us and Agnostic Front, a band that we used to call one third of the Holy Trinity of New York alongside the Cro Mags and Murphys Law.” Does the term ‘New York Hardcore’ get thrown around too much? Is it a genre or a geography?

“Over time it has changed. I find it funny, I’ll read a bio of a band from Belgium and they say they are New York Hardcore. You aren’t from New York, you might play that style of music but you aren’t. As I said though, the term has taken on a life of its own so it

You have had the same line up in the band for the last two decades, how do you make sure everyone stays happy?

“Everyone has their comfortable roles at this point. Like when writing set lists it’s just me and Omar.

Pete says he will play whatever and Craig doesn’t like it because we spend hours debating. Other things will be Pete, Craig and Omar. We have our individual roles and we are comfortable where we are as a band, but if someone wants to change that up we are happy to accommodate stuff.”

Do you think that younger bands need to learn that sort of stuff to ensure their longevity and that they stick together as a unit?

“One of the reasons we are still together is that we are so mellow about everything. We love this and we want to be together for a long time, so why ruin it over a stupid argument or whatever. It’s not just one guy running everything in terms of style and how we are going to do it. That’s the thing, some people have their vision of what a band is going to be but they don’t give time to the other people and their opinions and what they want.” becomes an easy way to describe something. To me they would just be a hardcore band. People have come up with all these labels like metalcore, emocore and whatever, that’s what they need I suppose.”

Who are the best New York bands of the new generation?

“There are a lot, and what’s funny is that some of them aren’t even from New York – they play the New York sound but two of them are from Pennsylvania. One of them is called Wisdom In Chains and another band called My Turn To Win. “There are heaps from New York though. Maximum Penalty, who are an older band, have come back and put their last album Life And Times out and it’s amazing.

There is a band called The Last Stand featuring members of Shutdown and Inhuman that is up and coming.

H2O just finished their covers album Don’t Forget Your Roots, and they covered ‘Friends Like You’. How was that for you as a band?

“It’s funny. Toby started H2O because he was a roadie for us.

He was the worst roadie we ever had. He lost whole pieces of a drum kit on tour…twice. It just got to the point where we had to tell him he couldn’t be our roadie anymore. But my brother Pete said, ‘Toby, I have some songs that don’t fit for Sick Of It All, why don’t you get your hippy mates together?’

“Toby had heaps of musician friends so it became a joke at the end of our set. We would play this emo/scream song before emo and scream existed and we would have Toby come out and sing it and joke around saying his name and that the band was called H2O and that the record was coming out on Dischord or Epitaph or whoever.

“Pete then finally sat down and said that he should do it properly. He sat him down, gave him five songs and produced the first album and that’s how H2O came about.

“So for it to come full circle is great, we are all friends. In fact I sung on H2O’s last record Nothing To Prove on the song ‘What Happened?’ We wanted them to come down to Australia with us but the timing wasn’t right.”

There are reports floating around of a new Sick Of It All album in 2012, any hints?

“We are trying. I know Omar said 2012, but I’m thinking it will be 2050. We are working on it now though. We just started, a few songs here and there and I’m loving it. Just gotta get 17 more songs and we will be ready.”

Anything inspiring you thematically right now?

“Right now in America we are gearing up to the big election and it is very inspiring seeing the stupidity of the candidates and the pandering to the older generation. Like how the Republicans are looking to them and instead of talking about the important issues like the economy, education and welfare, they are trying to win votes by talking about banning Gay marriage and contraception.

It is stupid.

“Every album we have touches on politics. Death To Tyrants was the most political and then Based On A True Story was more introspective but there are still political songs there. It all comes from growing up listening to bands like Discharge, Crass and The Exploited and we still have it in our genes that if you have something to say, say it.”

Where is the best pizza in New York?

“You know what you have to do, you have to get on a train to Brooklyn, a place called Grimaldis. In Manhattan you get decent pizza, but the real secret is that all the really great places moved out to Brooklyn, Queens and believe it or not, New Jersey. Grimaldis is pretty much one of the best in the world.”

new music When listening to 4 Dead, the best results will occur when you blast it louder than your speakers allow, hit yourself in the head with a balloon full of sweat, blood and nails…attached to a plank of wood and put a strobe light under your bed. The long awaited follow up release to Blood And Piss, Anchors picks up right where 4 Dead left off, with fury and wrath. Vocalist Jon squawks and bellows over heart attack drumming, downtuned bass and feedback riddled guitar wizardry. 4 Dead will always be best in a live setting, but the recording presented here allows us to get pretty close, it is raw and vital and dangerous. Australia has far too few bands punching out this sort of music for 4 Dead to leave so long before another release.

4/5 Oliver Cation

Anchors - 4 Dead Trial & Error Records You would think countless releases Anti Flag would have either run out of things to be angry about or have just given up on America, but it seems there’s always another cause just around the corner. This album should keep fans happy with the usual “12 songs in 30 minutes and fuck your society too” formula. There is nothing groundbreaking in this release, but it’s good to know there is still a socio-politically motivated band with songs like ‘Nothing Recedes Like Progress’ and ‘The Ranks Of The Masses Are Rising’ that are poppy enough to draw younger kids in while getting them interested in the world around them. While some bands continue to produce albums for the money or the hell of it, Anti Flag are still trying to do their part in being the change they want to see 3/5 Jessie Stringer

The General Strike - Anti-Flag SideOneDummy/Shock

Of all of the Revival Tour alumni, Tim Barry is by far my favourite. So with that little impartiality aside, let’s talk about his new album 40 Miler, which for a fan like me is probably the most accomplished in his discography.

In the first place, in terms of instrumentation it is one of the more upbeat records, with Barry drawing his influences heavily from bluegrass and the more rebellious side of country music, especially on tracks like ‘Adele And Hell’. Then there are his skills as a story-teller, which are the strongest on this album than they have ever been. There’s a strong dose of humour, self-deprecation and sarcasm that brings the stories to life with Barry’s own humour. Take ‘Fine Foods Market’ for example, where he lampoons everyone from “hipsters with ironic moustaches” to “scum fucks”. Tim Barry: we salute you!

4.5/5 Sarah Petchell

40 Miler - Tim Barry Resist Records

One thing I can’t get enough of is the type of metal you throw on your battle jacket to, and in 2012 Black Breath’s Sentenced To Life is the ultimate riff warrior album. Continuing the trend of the faultless output of the Seattle band, Black Breath nod to Slayer and Entombed, while adding so many layers of crust that it just stays heavy, rather than heading in cheese territory. Sludgy tracks like ‘Endless Corpse’ help to take a breather from the frequent and furious onslaught, without taking away from the pace of the 30-minute record.

But one thing is for sure, this album is about stupid heavy, face-melting riffs and if by album closer ‘Obey’ Black Breath haven’t beat you into submission, then there is no hope for you.

4/5 Sarah Petchell

Sentenced To Life – Black Breath Southern Lord Records BlkOut! are back after their time in the wilderness. This release sees the band taking on variety in their song writing, with opening song ‘Sun God’ a two-minute, atmospheric, build up, , while ‘No Escape’ slows the pace down to a very personal level. For the most part this is still BlkOut!, but it is a band growing up. The sound is an Australian take on the hard riffs that dominate the current hardcore scene, but it also takes more adventurous steps, reminiscent of No Apologies’ landmark Survival album. Obviously not a band happy to record the first 12 songs they wrote, this is a well thought out record. Not every song hits its mark and some of it feels forced, but this is a band looking to take risks in an all too stagnant scene.

3.5/5 Oliver Cation

Point Of No Return – BLKOUT! Resist Records Cancer Bats are nothing if not consistent. Every single album released by the Canadian Hail Destroyers has been chock full of riffage and swagger, with the overall sound differing only slightly. But what you can always expect is a hybrid of punk and metal without the generic combinations of either. Dead Set On Living continues this tradition, but the difference is that this album’s swagger is menacing. This party has purpose, as this is a Cancer Bats unit that is getting more and more confident in their writing skills, throwing in doom and melody to great effect. Cancer Bats admit themselves that they are a band’s band and this record is unlikely to change that as mortal men are unlikely to revel in the layered chaos and creativity held within. But I will.

4/5 Oliver Cation

Dead Set On Living – Cancer Bats Shock

new music Zoo – Ceremony Matador Records

Zoo is a dramatic departure from the sound every Ceremony fan, new or old is used to. Now, let’s focus on the album on its own merits rather than closing off because not power violence. This is essentially a band recreating them selves. It’s as if singer Ross Farrar went out one day, accidentally picked up a Strokes record said, “Hey, this sounds a lot more fun than being pissed off all the time” and decided to give it a go.

Fans who would hate this album most no doubt began writing off Ceremony altogether after the Rohnert Park release, but those still listening may welcome Zoo as yet another potential favourite. ‘World Blue’ is bound to get stuck in your head and ‘Adult’ is a single for a reason. Previous sound aside, this is a solid album in its own right 4/5 Jessie Stringer

I normally hate comparing one band to another in a review, but with Cheap Girls and their album Giant Orange, for some reason I can’t get past the notion that it sounds like Against Me with someone else doing the vocals. Newer Against Me, not old Against Me. Perhaps because it was Tom Gabel that produced the album.

But if you’re a fan of 90’s alt rock, then this is definitely a record for you. There is enough guitar noodling to define the melodies, and while the drums are almost muddy sounding, to me it sounds more nostalgic than anything. Album highlights for include album opener ‘Gone All Summer’ with its simple yet catchy chorus, and ‘Mercy-Go-Round’ where I feel the band’s talents as songwriters shines the strongest. Catchy and nostalgic, this is an album that has nothing to hide and revels in its simplicity. And that’s not a bad thing…

3/5 Sarah Petchell

Giant Orange – Cheap Girls Rise Records

Hurt 7-Inch – DNF No Idea Records

Combining members of Trash Talk and Touche Amore, the sound of DNF could have been something the internet would cry over for years. Instead DNF is basically Trash Talk 2.0, a much more appetising proposition for those people who enjoyed Trash Talk pre-Eyes & Nines. This is an EP of the most pissed off, abrasive, hardcore-grind imaginable, eight tracks in less than 15 minutes and sounding like a lost Trash Talk demo.

Obviously there are slight variations, as DNF are devoid of any musical sensibilities and that works in their favour. You don’t need distractions when brutality is this delicious. Having jumped out of the blocks so fast it will be interesting to see where DNF go from here, but for a first release from a supergroup, this is pretty darn good and will appeal to Trash Talk fans and any one out for a bit of speed in their diet.

4/5 Oliver Cation

Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light II is the second installment of music recorded by Earth during a two week period in 2011. The five-tracks extends the improvisational, instrumental ramblings incorporating a dark, desert, folk feeling rather than the drone elements for which the band are known. The sparse soundscapes are dominated by guitar and cello with very little drum sound, asides from the odd tinkling of a cymbal (see album opener ‘Sigil Of Brass’). Instead of falling into territory that leads to boredom, the album demonstrates a band with much more diverse musical interests that have allowed them to explore different sides of their creativity, rather than the simply the heavy, bleak and oppressive drone of their formative years.

3.5/5 Sarah Petchell

Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light II – Earth Southern Lord Records Fvck Mountain are a relatively unknown commodity; a Brisbane band comprised of former members of other stuff and that usual drill. While giving this a first listen, I found myself actually full of trepidation, fearing what may lay before me. But by the end of the seven track EP I realised that I did actually have cause to be concerned. This is vile, aggressive music where any melody is overpowered by vocal aggression and distortion.

But perhaps one of the best aspects of this EP is its ability to transcend genre. Fans of all types of heavier music will find something to like here, despite how alienating its tone actually is. Comparisons could be made to Trap Them or Cursed but Fvck Mountain is no imitation - it is truly vicious.

3.5/5 Oliver Cation

Fvck Mountain EP – Fvck Mountain Unsigned I once interviewed Matt Pike while he was sunbaking in a backyard, rubbing suntan lotion over his leathery fit, beer in one hand, sunglasses precariously on face, obviously chilled out and enjoying his day. He would later go swimming with his jeans and sunglasses on, holding a beer upright the entire time. That is High On Fire in a nutshell. Crazy, driving metal with technical wizardy and strong doom elements. De Vermis Mysteriis is HOF’s seventh album in a discography of weed induced wonder. From the opening drum beat you know what you are in for, from galloping guitars and high pitched wails to dirge riffs and crusty cries. High On Fire haven’t reinvented the wheel on this album but they have delivered exactly what was required of them.

3/5 Oliver Cation

De Vermis Mysteriis – High On Fire EOne Music/Shock

new music Hollow Earth appeared from nowhere as a project born from short term members of Shai Hulud. The overarching impression from We Are Not Humanity is of a band pissed off with the world and speaking out. Taking cues from bands such as Turmoil and (unsurprisingly) Shai Hulud, the music delves into metallic hardcore while the vocalist violently propels forward imagery of a doomed world. This EP could sit alongside releases by the likes of Morning Again and Earth Crisis, and while it could sound dated it actually sounds fresh against the thick landscape of cookie cutter hardcore acts. Most importantly, Hollow Earth demonstrates a real urgency through their music, an urgency that creates a raw live feel. The future might be in doubt, but if it includes more music by Hollow Earth, it’ll be fine.

3.5/5 Oliver Cation

We Are Not Humanity EP – Hollow Earth Panic! Records

Hoodlum Shouts are a punk band, but not in the usual rabble-rousing, anthemic way. The lyrics condemn, wrench guts and are absolutely embittered. The music is grey, steely and while definitely not fun, the hardbiting storytelling, melancholic tone and twangy guitar definitely rouse something in you. ‘Gun, Germs, Steel’ is perhaps as catchy as the band gets, even amidst it’s indictment of how Australia was settled. Then while ‘Pushing Squares’ takes a turn towards the pop line of things, before things take a turn for the slow, sparse melancholy of ‘Young Man’ with its incredibly heavy subject matter. Young Man, Old Man is a grim and didactic affair, but all this can be forgiven in the face of exceptional execution of songwriting and performance, giving it a place already in the top releases of 2012, with not a chance of it moving.

4.5/5 Sarah Petchell

Young Man, Old Man – Hoodlum Shouts Poison City Records/HelloSquare Records

I made the mistake of first listening to this album directly after listening to Meshuggah. It was weak in comparison and I lost interest. Coming back to it with a bit of time between the two, I’m able to appreciate this new JFAC slice for what it is. Job For A Cowboy have come a long way since their scene roots. They are now a respected force in Death Metal and prove why on this record. Blast beat drumming and guttural vocals remind more of Deicide than Suicide Silence and the infused melody and technical guitar work is top notch.

‘Imperium Wolves’ is a stand out track, jumping around while maintaining direction; a song to screw your face up and think WTF about. JFAC aren’t the heaviest band in the world, but they are doing lots of things right.

3.5/5 Oliver Cation

Demonocracy – Job For A Cowboy Metal Blade/RIOT! Run in the other direction! I don’t care how brutal you think you are because you aren’t ready for the musical Armageddon offered up by Meshuggah on Koloss. 11 songs of pinpoint feedback and hellish screams, I defy you to headbang, tap your foot or find a beat without needing a chiropractor afterwards. Not only have they mastered speed and technicality, they have mastered the recording process so each note and beat is clearly audible, something which truly perplexes the mind and creates an otherworldly feeling as you try to come to terms with what the ears are hearing. It would be difficult to pick stand out tracks but ‘Break The Bones Whose Sinew Gave It Motion’ is basically flawless. I should review this album in weight, it is that heavy.

4.5/5 Oliver Cation

Koloss – Meshuggah Nuclear Blast/RIOT! If one thing is for certain on The Fatal Feast, it’s that this is the same old Municipal Waste, but this time with an outerspace theme! Crossover thrash, with plenty of angry-sounding riffs, drumming so fast it’s almost machine-like and some real nice bass sounds on tracks like ‘New Dead Masters’. But most importantly, it is fun, and that is precisely what Municipal Waste are supposed to be! With track names like ‘Idiot Check’ and ‘Covered In Sick/The Barfer’, you’re not supposed to take this band seriously, and why would you? There is nothing new here, and that’s the way that we like it when it comes to Municipal Waste. My favourite moment though, is on ‘Standards And Practices’ where ex-Avail now punk rock troubadour Tim Barry sings “corporate slime, they’ll never care if we all live or die”. 3.5/5 Sarah Petchell

The Fatal Feast – Municipal Waste Nuclear Blast/RIOT! No longer Botch junior, Narrows have maintained the standard on their second album Painted. As a follow up to their previous effort New Distances, explores more atmospheric elements of the dark, technical hardcore sound that the band have made their own while losing none of its feral aggression. Each song stands out as distinct while still maintaining the overall Narrows feel: ‘Greenland’ as an eight minute jam is a standout centre piece in the first half of the album, while ‘Face Paint’ is more reminiscent of Botch and SST, bringing the album to a close in a drudge of distortion and melancholy. Narrows have a truly individual sound while still fitting well with the assumed Deathwish/Botch legacy. Painted will continue to cement their reputation and pummel audiences with intelligently heavy songs. 4/5 Oliver Cation

Painted – Narrows Deathwish Inc.

new music Faith – Rise & Fall Deathwish Inc.

No Gods – Sharks Rise Records

With Faith, Rise & Fall have well and truly hit their stride as a band. Every release they do seems to improve on the one before it, as the band evolves and develops its sound and moves it more developed sonic territory. The album opens with some more straight up hardcore numbers, were it not for some of the technical guitar leads in tracks like ‘A Hammer And Nails’. But it is the middle of the album, around ‘Things Are Different Now’ where things really get interesting as Rise & Fall look to post-metal influences in the hypnotic, noodling guitar lead and underlying bass rhythms. And while this is a definite refinement of an existing sound, it still sits comfortably within a repertoire so as not to disappoint long time fans of the band. Faith is pretty much perfection.

4/5 Sarah Petchell

Having never heard Sharks and thinking a specific way about them because of their name and their album name No Gods, I was quite taken aback when the album opened up with the twinkling ‘Till The Wonders Rise’. Sharks dabble in melodic punk fare that would be more relatable to a dolphin or docile whale than a shark. Delicate vocals mix with soaring yet mellow instrumentation and the lyrical content is similar to dialogue from an episode of Blues Clues. Normally I would slam such schmaltz as middle of the road or ineffective, but Sharks shine with sincerity and musically it is far from trite. Influences can be seen from many avenues: pop, pub sing-alongs, the acoustic works of many aging punkers and so much more that this feels like a real product. Sharks aren’t what I thought, but that’s not a bad thing. This is innocent fun.

3/5 Oliver Cation

I’m sure a lot of people were surprised by the announcement that Byron Bay singer-songwriter Toy Boats was the new addition to the Resist Records roster, but Hugo Costin-Neilson’s debut is as solid as any other release on the label. While this is much more of an easy-listening affair, with everything flowing together nicely but having enough variation from track to track to avoid it sounding “samey”. But the thing that is really impressive is how different it sounds from other releases of a similar genre. It’s lacking a lot of the self-loathing, melancholy that seems to typify his contemporaries. Instead, it is upbeat and uplifting, taking queues from the likes of Death Cab For Cutie. A solid debut from a promising young songwriter. I’m looking forward to what comes next.

3.5/5 Sarah Petchell

Diamond Teeth EP – Toy Boats Resist Records

The Turning Tide are a Sydney metalcore band. Fresh faced and doing what they love, it’s hard not to draw comparisons with Parkway Drive as both aurally and stylistically the band harkens back to the Byron Bay juggernaughts. For a debut album, In Time is a polished metalcore release, with all the right elements on offer, with melody firmly intertwined with breakdowns and meaty chugging. Lyrically, vocalist Isaac Buckley has looked to issues of growth and life to form the backbone of In Time, his booming delivery on par with many of the genres front runners. As a debut album, there are no expectations attached to the release, but the band will likely find an audience for their down to earth, chilled yet savage take on modern metal and hardcore.

3.5/5 Oliver Cation

In Time – The Turning Tide Unsigned From the first few seconds of Vulnerable it is apparent that with the burst of the screamo bubble of the mid 2000’s The Used have lost the aggression that was so defining of their earlier material in an attempt to remain relevant. Long term fans may have jumped at hearing of the return of producer John Feldmann but it has not meant a drastic change of sound. The track ‘Now That You’re Dead’ and lead single ‘I Come Alive’ provide a fairly accurate overview of just what you’re in for. Halfway through the album, during ‘Shine’ you are hit with the lyrics “it’s my time to shine”, which is what was stated in the bands first ever single ‘A Box Full of Sharp Objects’. Unfortunately for The Used, that claim only seems to have been true the first time around.

2/5 Jessie Stringer

Vulnerable – The Used UNFD Your Demise have previously been a band that sat on the fence of metalcore and hardcore, incorporating elements of both: breakdowns, 2 step bits, cookie monster vocals and metallic riffage. On The Golden Age they have taken it to a new level, by the time the second song ‘These Lights’ kicks in with pop punk/ mosh call and response (something repeated later on in multiple songs) you know Your Demise are trying to push boundaries. They are mashing pop punk and mosh and metal AND hardcore. Some of it works, there are parts which transition smoothly and sound huge, but for the most part it sounds like an attempt to keep everyone happy. I would love to eat pasta and sushi and curry and a burrito and ice cream all at once, but I don’t, because it would all end up tasting like shit. Exactly. 2.5/5 Oliver Cation

The Golden Age – Your Demise Visible Noise/Shock

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