Firebrand After Dark Issue 17 by Firebrand's Rock&Metal Express

Issue 17 - November 2014

PLUS Rock Diabetes SOiL Bloodbath Cavalera Conspiracy The BossHoss Setfire

04 09 11 30 42

18 - Pulvis Et Umbra 22 - Psychostick

12 26 35 36

- Rock Diabetes Live Review - SOiL Live Review - The BossHoss - Pulvis Et Umbra - Cavalera Conspiracy

- News - Top 5 Videos - Top 5 Album Covers - Games Dungeon - Gig Listing

37 - Andy Jackson - Setfire 38 - Bloodbath - Antemasque

Cover Photo By Belotti.S

www.firebrandrr.co.uk www.facebook.com/firebrandafterdark

*All content and layout are copyright of Firebrand Magazine. Any attempt to distribute Firebrand Magazine to another site for purposes of download is strictly prohibited. All Firebrand Magazines are property of Firebrand. *

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Meet The Team! Editor In Chief Rick Palin

Another month flys by as we rapidly approach that humbug time of year. The plus side to this is that we are now getting the early anouncements for next years festivals which have had some interesting feedback but at least we havent had anything that controversal yet. It goes without saying that the European festivals have once again produced blinding lineups with the likes of Hellfest and Graspop leading the way, putting togther some cracking lineups. Some of you might have noticed that we have had a few issues with our Twitter a/c lately which I am hoping seems to be resolved now, so if we have 'unfollowed' you on there thank the hacker(s) who managed to hack the a/c.

Senior Media Consultant Rachel Whiston Editor Lee Walker Reviews Team Aaron Price Anthony Clegg Gavin Griffiths Graham Pritchard Joey Lowebins Phil Kane Rob Birtley Stephen Brophy

Download Content Team Rick Palin Judith Fisher Content Download sales@firebrandrr.co.uk Advertising Enquiries sales@firebrandrr.co.uk Review/Interview Requests afterdark@firebrandrr.co.uk

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Contact Telephone +44(0)207 0978556

NEWS

Crossbonefest 2015 announces second headliner 5. Poisonous Streams of Hraunn 6. Seed of Apep If you hadn't planned to visit Crossbonefest next year then those plans are now offically screwed. They just 7. Vilddjurets Återkomst Grafvitnir was formed in the dark forests of announced some amazing news that will make you Sweden in 2007 to perform Scandinavian Occult go apenuts with joy. Black Metal and act as a herald for the Chaosophical This years edition of Crossbonefest will double in size, so 4 stages to satisfy your senses instead of Tradition of dark, forbidden fruits. With a lineup that describes itself as The Faceless Emanations Of two. And since these stages need to be occupied the Primordial Chaos and comprises Niantiel, Tishin and Crossbonefest crew released some new names Modrius (GRÁ, CURSED 13), it is not surprising that today: Dry Heaves, Cocaine Piss, Daggers, Outline, River Jumpers, Sects Tape and the friday headliner its members are all practitioners, adepts and occultists of the Luciferian Tradition. Drawing its Dopamines. inspiration from Occultism, Grafvitnir 's lyrics explore Here are all the bands that play so far: the subjects of Numerology, Astrology, Witchcraft, Mean Jeans, Toxic Shock, Fights And Fires, Your Highness, The Windowsill, The Priceduifkes, The Bat Transcendence and Luciferianism. More information about GRAFVITNIR can be Bites, Muncie Girls, Ill Wills, High Hats, Citizens found on the band's Facebook page at https:// Patrol, Dr.Schnabel, Direct Effect, This Routine Is www.facebook.com/Grafvitnir.Official Hell, The Real Danger, Sons Of Buddha, Not Scientists, HEARSERIDER, Clean Shirts, Cheap Drugs, Apologies, I Have None, Sunpower, Fever, Dry Heaves, Cocaine Piss, Daggers, Outline, River Methane confirms headlining spot for Sweden's Jumpers, Sects Tape and Dopamines. Metal Inferno Festival Date: 20th and 21st of March 2015 Methane will be headlining Friday December 5th at Location: JH The Basement (Houthalen) the 2 day Metal Inferno Festival in Kramfors Sweden Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/ at Bollsta Folkets Hus. The southern metal quartet events/416267598509107/ is returning from thier U.S. mini tour and finishing 2014 in Scandinavia. The Metal Inferno Festival is a yearly fund Scandinavian Occult Black Metallers Grafvitnir raising benifit for "The Hero's House" a foundation Debut Track And Reveal Details Of Upcoming that supports the families of children who have been Sophomore Full-Length Album hospitalized with longterm illness and The Childrens Cancer fund. The festival hopes to generate 100 With a release date set for the 5th of December, 000 SEK this year for donation. Sweden's Carnal Records have today revealed "This is a killer welcome home and to be asked details of the upcoming album from Scandinavian to play for such a worthy cause is an honor. I hope to Occult Black Metallers Grafvitnir . The seven track see die hard rattleheads and beardbangers out in full album, entitled "Semen Serpentis", will be the band's support!" Said Tim Scott in a statement to the press. sophomore full-length release and a follow up to Methane recently released a music video for 2012's "NâHásh". Grafvitnir themselves have the song 'Hang Me High' which can be seen on chosen the 22nd November to debut the track Youtube. "Where Time Has Ceased To Be" from "Semen Serpentis", because that is when the Moon is black in Scorpio. "Where Time Has Ceased To Be" can be heard above and at https://soundcloud.com/ carnalrecords/where-time-has-ceased-to-be "Semen Serpentis" deals with the subject of the Serpentine bloodline, and artwork and photography for the album are by Occultum. Track listing as follows: 1. Where Time has Ceased to Be 2. Descendants of the Serpent 3. Av Ormens Blod 4. Sword of the Damned

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Cold Snap sign with Eclipse Records, third studio album ‘World War 3’ set for January 13 release

Ensiferum announce special guests for 'One Man Army' European Tour!

Eclipse Records is thrilled to announce the signing of Cold Snap from Varazdin, Croatia to a worldwide deal. The band brings a crushing mix of metal with an impressive history, having consistently toured Europe for the past several years, and performing at the legendary Wacken Open Air Festival. The band have just released a new music video for the song ‘Rise Again’, which consists of live footage shot during their recent Summer, 2014 tour. It may be viewed at the Eclipse Records YouTube channel. “After 12 years, we can finally say that Cold Snap arrived in the right hands”, says lead vocalist Jan Kerekes about signing with Eclipse Records. “through Eclipse Records we believe that our music will find its listeners and turn them into fans.” Cold Snap recently recorded their third LP World War 3, an album jam packed with 12 intense tracks that was produced by the iconic Norwegian metal producer, Tue Madsen. Overall, World War 3 is as chaotic as the war the title alludes to. At any given second, something can and will be thrown at the listeners, and chances are, they won’t have an answer for it. This causes the audience to never grow tired of what Cold Snap has to offer. Each track comes packed with energy and adrenaline, all wrapped up in an overall sense of cohesion that can only be found among a group that are not only band mates, but brothers, much like the soldiers that fight the World War Cold Snap presents to its audiences. Cold Snap will release World War 3 through Eclipse Records on January 13th, 2015. For more information on Cold Snap, please visit these websites: www.Facebook.com/coldsnapofficial www.Twitter.com/coldsnap_hr www.EclipseRecords.com/cold-snap

Ensiferum has completed work on their upcoming new album, "One Man Army." The band spent the last few weeks at Astia Studio (astiastudio.fi) in Lappeenranta in Finland with producer Anssi Kippo. The album is scheduled for release on February, 20th in UK/Europe. New music, art, track listing, and video clips from the studio will be online within the next few weeks. Next week, Ensiferum will be filming a brand new music video with Grupa #13 in Poland. Grupa #13 is the production house behind some of the most spectacular music videos in metal, including videos from Behemoth, Amon Amarth, and more. Vocalist/guitarist Petri Lindroos comments, "We worked hard and long days one after another while Kippo kicked our asses to make us do the very best, and you can hear that in this album. It's a killer album with killer sound. I'm very proud to a part of this masterpiece!" Bassist Sami Hinkka adds: "Hi folks! We are extremely proud to announce that the album is 100% done! The recording session was incredible experience for us. We can't express our gratitude enough for Mr. Anssi Kippo, who never lost his nerves, was full of crazy ideas and worked like a madman for weeks! The shortest working day was 12 hours and the average was around 16 hours! After all "blood, sweat and tears" it feels great to tell you that the result for years of hard composing and weeks of intense recordings is without a doubt the best Ensiferum album song- and soundwise. Material is pretty diverse and each song tells a tale of it's own instead of being a crappy copy of previous song so no fillers included. Next week we go record the new music video, but that's another story… Stay tuned!" Ensiferum has now confirmed the special guests for their European tour kicking off March, 11th in Bochum, Germany. It will be nonetheless than fellow countrymen Insomnium (voted as "best upcoming band in 2014" by Metal Hammer) and Omnium Gatherum! This line-up will guarantee a neckbreaking evening by three of Finland's best metal bands!

King Diamond "Dreams of Horror" debuts on Billboard charts! King Diamond's "Dreams of Horror" was released last week and has debuted at #28 on the Billboard Hard Music charts! This is the ONLY "best of" album covering the band's entire career.King Diamond and Andy LaRocque meticulously mastered and enhanced these 23 songs into the ultimate editions, chosen by the band from both the Roadrunner and Metal Blade catalogs. Listen to "The Puppet Master" from disc 2 of "Dreams of Horror" and order a copy now at metalblade.com/kingdiamond. http://www.kingdiamondcoven.com http://www.metalblade.com/kingdiamond https://twitter.com/realkingdiamond https://www.facebook.com/kingdiamondofficial https://www.facebook.com/ kingdiamondmercyfulfateofficial

Job for a Cowboy 'Sun Eater' debuts at #91 on the Billboard Top 200! "Sun Eater" is the fourth full-length album from Job for a Cowboy, and was released last week via Metal Blade Records worldwide. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with Decibel Magazine conceding and saying "Fuck it, I can admit when I'm wrong… Turns out that, while I was busy pointedly not paying attention to them, these deathcore progenitors actually became a pretty damn good band." Alternative Press Magazine also declared in their 4.5/5 star review that "they've become a full-on progressive death metal band…the

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songs have progressive sweep and epic power, at times recalling Opeth's heavier work…Sun Eater is one of 2014's best metal albums, period." Praise for "Sun Eater" burned through blogosphere and resonated with fans. This response has led to a #91 debut on the Billboard Top 200, and a #5 debut on the Billboard Hard Music albums chart! On the day of release, the album was #2 on the iTunes metal charts. In Canada, "Sun Eater" debuted at #125 on the Top 200 chart, #15 on the Hard Chart, and #129 o the Digital Music Chart. On iTunes Canada, the album peaked at #4 on the metal albums chart, #17 on the rock chart, and #88 on the overall Top 200 albums chart. Listen to "Sun of Nihility" and order your copy of Job for a Cowboy's "Sun Eater" now at metalblade.com/jobforacowboy. Producer Jason Suecof, vocalist Jonny Davy, guitarists Al Glassman and Tony Sannicandro, bassist Nick Schendzielos, and session drummer Danny Walker have crafted a cerebral and accomplished piece of technical death metal. Job for a Cowboy wrapped up touring in 2013 as part of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival that summer. Following that performance, the band collectively decided to sharpen their focus and set an intent on cooking up a record that encompassed their full dynamic range of talent. The group had all agreed on the main course being a desire for futuristic tones, a wider spectrum of textures and tempos, and an emphasis on slightly more ancestral song construction. The result, "Sun Eater," does not just sound like a new record, it sounds like an entirely new band. Follow Job for a Cowboy online: http://www.facebook.com/jobforacowboy https://twitter.com/jfacmetal Cripper launches third single for new album 'Hyena'! Cripper has just released the third and final single in anticipation of their new album "Hyëna", to be released this week Friday, the 21st of November, 2014!

Please surf over to www.metalblade.com/ cripper to check out the title track "Hyena"! At the same location you can stream the first single "Tourniquet" as well as the third and fourth webisode from the studio recordings. Make sure to pre-order your copy of the album. "Hyëna" will be available as a limited CD+DVD Digipak as well as on vinyl in different colours. The bonus-DVD features the entire 45-minute show Cripper played at the Metaldays Open Air 2014 plus all the bands video clips and studio footage with a total running time of approximately 90 minutes. Point your browser HERE to check out the first two studio episodes. Surf over HERE to our friends at Rock Hard to check out the 2nd single 7"! Ronny Bittner from Rock Hard magazine about "Hyëna": "Stylistically, the Hanoverans deliver just the right mixture between old school and modern Thrash!" Cripper convince with their enthralling mix of old-school and modern Thrash Metal. Served with technical refinement and a lot of groove, they kick ass while being varied and distinct. Since their founding in 2005, the guys and gal from Hanover, Germany left their marks as being a rousing live band, carrying the audience with dashing songs and sweaty shows. On tours with Overkill and Onslaught, Cripper spread their virus throughout Europe. Once a big festival got infected, they gladly book the band repeatedly - therefore Cripper played several times on festivals like Summer Breeze, Metalcamp/Metaldays, Wacken Rocks, Rockharz, Eindhoven Metal Meeting and the 70.000 Tons Of Metal Cruise. With "Hyëna" Cripper release their 4th studio album. The 11 tracks form a very homogeneous album, but still Cripper manage to give each song a very unique flavor - 11 personalities where Cripper's distinctive style is showing through in every riff and every note. Overall heavier and with a different, more transparent sound concept, "Hyëna" is ready to boost Cripper into the ears of the metal community around the globe. The album is only the appetizer, Cripper are looking forward to presenting the new stuff live! Watch out!

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Metal vids to sink your teeth into

1 2 3 4 5

I.N.C No Turing Back https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sQaT81KYBc

Avenger Killers (Iron Maiden Cover) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP6qKxIeJA0

Red House Glory Living A Lie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GQjmwILNWU

Brutai Relapse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl--9wnL0Nk

Dantalion Ravenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dawn https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=0tFNrBMDvLc&feature=youtu.be

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One of the things that we at Firebrand After Dark have noticed is that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always give credit where it is due to the artwork which accompanies the albums. We would like to address by bringin to you, what the team feel are the best 5 covers of the material which we have reviewed this month. If you have any comments about them please feel free to tweet us @fbadmag, comment on Facebook /FirebrandAfterDark or email us at afterdark@firebrandrr.co.uk

Bloodbath Grand Morbid Funeral Pulvis Et Umbra Implosion Of Pain

Andy Jackson Signal To Noise Cavalera Conspiracy Pandemonium

Setfire Deserted Land Firebrand After Dark

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Review and Photos by Reg Richardson This was a one-day rock & metal festival set up by Doug Harvey in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Doug has had first hand experience of the foundation due to his young daughter having Type I diabetes. Diabetes, both Type I and Type II, has an impact on a growing number of families and several of the bands have members who are diabetic making this a much more significant event than simply raising money for a good cause. The Civic Hall hosted bands on two stages throughout the day and unfortunately I didn't get to see all the bands on the small second stage - my apologies to those I missed. Both stages had some fantastic acts on throughout the day, most of which I have already made a mental note to see again. The audience was made up from people of all ages from ankle-biters to pensioners all having one thing in common - coming to help a worthwhile charity and listen to some brilliant rock and metal sounds. As well as the music there were a number of stallholders selling badges& patches, popcorn, jewellery and band merchandise as well as a couple offering services such as face-painting and tattooing.

leg ends and space-rockers Alien Stash Tin were up on stage. Fronted by Jon Wisbey the Tins produced a quality set of songs during their 30-minute set. Jon is also available for make-up/cosmetics parties and face-painting days (allegedly)! Back to the main stage then for Left for Red. Hailing from Stourbridge, also the home town of headliners Diamond Head, this bunch claim to be influenced by bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Deftones, amongst a long list of others, but the one influence the entire band has in common is.....beer! The band played a decent set of driving heavy metal and they were joined on stage for one song my Mat Shutt of Valous.

First up on the main stage was Black Forge an aggressive 3-piece metal outfit from Somerset. Some might think that a 3-piece metal band could be a bit lightweight, but think of Motรถrhead with added energy and you have Black Forge. Their half hour set went over far too quickly.

A change of musical direction was to follow. Next up was The Texas Flood across from South Wales, one of the bands I'd seen previously and this trio were expected to play a lively incarnation of southern rock. They didn't disappoint; with their infectious riffs they immediately got the feet tapping and heads nodding.

With just a few minutes spare I got to see a couple of songs by All Ears Avow a local Alt-Rock band who have a very melodic sound about them. The voice of Claire Sutton really suits the bands musical style extremely well, this could be a band to look out for.

At around the same time on the second stage local

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The last time I saw Danny Felice he was playing with Breed 77 but tonight he brought his new band to the stage, The Heretic Order. Playing under the name of Lord Ragnar Wagner, Danny fronts this doom-laden ensemble with evil intent. The band have the looks and the sound which is completely divergent from Breed 77 but no less entertaining. Danny really got into character for this short set complete with creepy contact lenses and make-up; if you're a metal fan this is another band to look out for. Next on the second stage was Spiral Dive, a straight up and down classic rock band from Kettering. Good, hard driven, rock from this lot, very easy to listen to, no crap just excellent music. The rest of the day was spent at the main stage (sorry all you second stagers). Another crew from Northants, Black Acid Souls, were up next. The band played with just one guitarist and this didn't seem to hurt them too much as they provided another strong set of heavy metal tuneage. Dean Handyside's vocals along with the outstanding guitar skills of Paul Chubbs made for a great sound. A stream of bands followed who I'd never seen before, starting with alt-rockers Syren City from Bristol. One of the younger, and more energetic, bands on the day, they leapt around the stage supplying their brand of what the band describe as sassy post-hardcore riffs. Whatever you want to call it, it was pretty good to listen to and to watch. Ticks the boxes! Sinnergod followed with their dark gothic metal vibe which was nonetheless very melodic. Guitarist/ vocalist Mark Hampson has a rich vocal style that combines well with the darker sound produced by the band as a whole. Songs such as 'It's a wonderful life' need to be listened to...really, it does! The main stage room is filling up nicely as the daylight fades away, fortunately there seems to be no chance of the music fading away just yet as Enemo J hit the stage. Now rap of any sort isn't really my sort of thing, but the way in which it's handled by Craig Hartwell and co does make it more appealing; then there is the argument, is that rap? The band have been tarnished with the nu-metal tag which may or may not be a good thing, but I can safely say that they are entertaining, highly energetic and charismatic. During their set a micro mosh pit was created which involved just two people, one of whom was the honey monster (yes, I said the honey monster) who took one for the Rock Diabetes team as he hit the floor with a bang and lost his head!

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Local (to me anyway) friends Fury came next with their brand of power metal and they played a cracking set to a room that was filling rapidly. This band have attracted a huge amount of interest and their music continues to impress. I suspect a fair number of the audience hadn't seen Fury previously but the comments heard afterwards all showed how much of an impact this 4-piece made. We were down to the final three acts. Jaguar were due on next but due to changes in personnel the band we actually saw was former Jaguar frontman Jamie Manton's J>Unleashed running under the Jaguar banner. This was the surprise band of the day for me. I've never seen Jaguar previously nor seen or heard Jamie Manton but as a frontman this guy is a complete nutcase and why I'd never seen or heard him previously completely eludes me. As seen, J>Unleashed were brilliant, full of energy, full of chat without being full of themselves. Jamie has a cracking rock voice and when supported by musicians such as he had that night you get an outstanding set. The band almost lost him twice as he bounced around the stage on his pogo-stick mic stand but thankfully skill, or luck, prevented his premature exit from the stage.

The band has a new look about it following the departure of former frontman Nick Tart. Nick, who is based in Australia, announced that he was leaving the band after an 11year stint as vocalist to follow a new path and he has been replaced by Rasmus Bom Andersen. After hearing this set I can say that Ras is a very worthy replacement. The band played all the old favourites giving the audience the chance to jump around, sing along and generally go a bit nuts. The main set ended with what can only be described as the band's anthem, 'Am I Evil', the crowd jumped a bit more, sang along vociferously and chanted the band's name. After leaving the stage for a few minutes they returned to perform a couple of encores after which it was all over apart from a short speech from Karl Wilcox. It was a brilliant day all round, organised for a very good cause which I hope benefitted well from the audience. The date has been set for 2015, make sure you're there; support live music, support good causes and if you can do both at the same time what could be better. Well done to organiser Doug Harvey and his conscientious and hard-working team who performed brilliantly supported by the staff of the Civic Hall.

Penultimate band were Skreamer a very well respected outfit from London. Fronted by Sam Morter and Serg Ronchetti the sound was raw, raucous and ridiculously rocky. Alliteration aside, they made one hell of a noise that was in no way dischordant and played the perfect set as a prelude to the headliners Diamond Head. The set had the crowd going right from the start and they were even able to pay their respects to Sophie Lancaster by playing 'Victim'. Obviously the setlist songs weren't enough, the band were encouraged to perform a couple of extra tracks as an encore. A cracking band, a cracking set. It was time for the final band of the day and one that everyone was looking forward to; it was time for Diamond Head!

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Thank you for taking the time out for an interview with Firebrand After Dark. How did Pulvis Et Umbra start off? Hello Lee, first of all thanks to You and Firebrand A.D. staff for letting me have the chance to be discovered also by your readers, it means a lot to me

You have recently released a new album (‘Implosion Of Pain’) through Pavement Music/ Soulfood Entertainment. How has it been received? Thanks for the question!! The album is getting very nice review from the worldwide press (Us, Italy, Uk and few German ones). The lyric video from Why did you choose ‘Pulvis Et Umbra’ as the Implosion Of Pain was also share on lots of channels such as Blank tv, Pandora Tv (japan) , Yahoo Music, band’s name? Vevo etc and thanks to this video Pulvis Et Umbra I found the expression “Pulvis Et Umbra” on a latin dictionary when I was at school and moving it in the was nominated several time as “artist of the day” or English form “Dust And Shadow” didn’t hit me as well “band of the week” on different music sites J At the same time there’s a funny and ridiculous as the original language so I decided to keep it in that thing about the german press because the ‘zines way which didn’t like the previous release made a simply paste/copy of the past review instead of real I know that you have gone though some lineup listening the new album; this point gave me two sad changes over the years and you are doing confirmation: everything in the band yourself. Why did this 1 – some press write what they call “review” just for transformation occur? You’re right; this transformation became necessary fill space 2 – as my german promoter told me at the end of when You still want to develop music and passion 2012 (Gordeon Music, which I really thank for the even when the other members start to lack of tips) “if the local press doesn’t like Your first release, perseverance, motivation or time due to working issues or other motivation (as for example nobody – they’ll never like also the following ones” except of me – invested money or business contact in the project). The funny thing is that actually some former members are playing other bands so I though a part of their excuses was based on the genre played lol Was it difficult moving from a band which had several members to being one with just the one member? Actually not at all. Being a guitar player and played bass guitar or sing in some previous bands helped for a huge % of the work. Drums was maybe the hardest part to do but thanks to editing software like Reaper, Drum kit from Hell and Guitar Pro a single musician can receive a lot of help for his pre productions . It was an interesting challenge for myself as well and also the next two EPs will be release in the same way How do you think the changes have influenced the development of Pulvis Et Umbra? Well, that’s a nice question because when You’re a one man band You can let ideas flow without limit but at the same time You’ll cannot have the total confirmation about their fitting until You enter the recording studio Will you continue in this format or can we expect to see new members being added to the band? Pulvis Et Umbra will continue as a one man band only for the studio release because – in event of live gig proposal (which are currently on deal to confirmation for 2015) I’m already in touch with some session musicians

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How does this release compare to your previous releases such as ‘Qui Valet Hic Mundus, Quid Gloria, Quidve Triumphus Post Miserum Fonus’, ‘Pure Longobard Noize’, Or ‘Reaching The End’? It’s probably the first album where I’m really satisfied about the production. You can find few influences from “Qui Valet Hic Mundus ...” in the song Lullabye (which I suggest to listen if You’re a fan of OPETH during their “still life” year). “Pure Longobard Noize” was a kind of half demo preview of “Reaching The End” and the thrash metal influence is still alive in the new album as well but it has more presence beside being combined with more parts of death metal and few progressive inserts Can you tell the Firebrand After dark readers a little about the album? Sure!! “Implosion Of Pain” is an album which mix different genres but keeping a guiding line between all the song. The intro “Lift Off” is an electronic intro loop with a countdown sequence which flows into “Lost Moon”; these two songs were inspired thanks to the movie /book APOLLO 13. The song “Psicostasia” is an instrumental track where sitar and violin are the leading ones; this one was inspired by the Egyptian culture which I am addicted to. “Lullabye” is a song which mix melancholia and anger in the music as well as phobia and other moods the lyrics. The rest of the album is leaded by death and thrash metal music influences while the lyrics (all available at www.darklyrics.com) share feelings, moods and personal point of view. I really hope You’ll enjoy as I did

parts related to my next EP while I started to get in touch with a couple of live booking agencies and 2015 will see a Pulvis Et Umbra signature guitar model and new t shirts will be available soon Do you have any messages that you would like to pass onto the fans? First of all, thank to each one of You for support, listen and buy Pulvis Et Umbra music. Each fan is like a friend and friends are always welcome to drop me a line on FB at www.facebook.com/ pulvisetumbraofficial or via mail at pulvisetumbraofficial@gmail.com, would be really great to read from YouI also really hope to meet You all during my holydays or next journey because I’m addicted by travel so let’s hope to see us soon. cheerz

With the album release under your belt what do you have planned for the rest of the year? First of all I hope that more review and interview with great people like You will come to me (plus also get some good sales report of the album hehehe). Actually thanks to this album I got my first two endorsement and recently a Uk fan page for Pulvis Et Umbra was opened on FB; I’m already working on the last arrangements for the music

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Ok guys thank you for joining Firebrand After Dark for an interview. First question what is a Psychostick and why pick it for a name for the band?? A Psychostick is kindof like an uglystick, except that when we beat you over the head over it, it makes you laugh instead of turn ugly. At least, in most cases. The name "Psychostick" came to our singer Rob in a dream one night... he woke up and found me up playing video games at 3am to tell me, "Dude. I know what our band name is going to be." Dogs and Socks?? Where? Why? How? Where: At a friend's house in Kansas City. We used to practice out of their basement there. They had 2 siberian huskies, Elphie and Mishka. Why: Matt was playing with the dogs one day... they love playing with socks. Matt started just saying, "I'm a dog, and I like socks. I like socks, I'm a dog." This cracked me up and I got the idea, "I wonder if we could make a song out of that." How: We had just set up a recording rig and were itching to record some music with it. "Dogs Like Socks" went from idea to recorded reality pretty quickly.

was amazingly perfect, and even if it looks like it was a calculated and planned thing on our part, I assure you it wasn't at the time. The planets aligned on that one for us... we had actually originally wanted to release it much earlier in the year, it just didn't happen for one reason or another. What are your top 5 uses for a beard? 5. Posing on mountaintops, facing the horizon, beard blowing in the wind. 4. Catching food to save for later. 3. Less shaving. 2. More warm. 1. Tickle torment of the girlfriend. What are your 5 top beard types right now? 5. Beard 4. More beard. 3. More beard than that. 2. An unreasonable amount of beard. 1. Sage. So much beard it turns into wisdom. What do you look for in your perfect beard? Beards are art... and there is no "better" or "perfect" in art... only perspective. So in than manner, does the beard evoke emotion as a work of art does?

I hope that the socks used in the video were clean. Was there a cleanliness test done on them before use? Of course they weren't clean... they had dog slobber all over them! But they were hit by the laundry before going to Dog Slobber Land, that's probably what you're actually asking.

In terms of your new album (IV: Revenge Of Vengeance) what can you tell the Firebrand After Dark readers about it? I feel this album is Psychostick after mastering the art of being Psychostick. Our music and funny standards are set high because we wanted to deliver a quality album to our fans who donated to our Indiegogo campaign last year, we know what song All joking aside did you expect the video to go as writing processes yield the best results, we have a viral as it did? process for capturing funny ideas in the moment After we created the video I suspected it had a nailed down, we trim the fat and get to the good chance of it, but didn't expect it to actually happen, or stuff, we've got the production and sound quality to reach as far as it did. It's weird to have an entire consistent, we have the ability to go back and make albums that you spent months on go unnoticed by changes if we think of great ideas later thanks to the media, then put a song together in a few days owning our own studio (which happens A LOT). and have your singer end up on TV. Beards, beards and more beards! You know you guys seem to be all about the beard right now. Why Because beards enhance your metal-ness. Are beards the hot topic? They are lately. What's weird is that when we wrote the song, beards were growing in popularity but weren't a huge thing, and when we released the "Obey the Beard" music video last November, it only dawned on us after the fact that it was No Shave November. The timing

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Have you had much feedback about it? Yes. The feedback has been fantastic. These are the best consistently good reviews we've ever gotten on an album. What are your favourite tracks on it? I love "So. Heavy." and "Blue Screen". "So. Heavy." was the lowest I've ever downtuned in a song, and it really turned out REALLY heavy. "Blue Screen" is what I believe what Psychostick does best and I am very proud of... a lot of the music was written by Matty during a genuinely sad and depressing moment in his life this past year, and a section I wrote while going through something very painful as well. Then we took that serious music, made the lyrics ridiculous, and we converted something negative in our lives to something positive, something that makes people laugh. It feels great to know that something painful in your life can lead to others being happy. If you want to write a sad song making fun of sad songs, it's best to start with a song that's actually born from genuine sadness. This really helps sell it.

the album so that it is an experience with a flow to it rather than just a collection of songs. We wrote a lot of songs on the last album from scratch, were under a lot of pressure. We do even better when we can take our sweet time. When I look at the type of stuff you are releasing I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help but wonder what a tour with you and The Bloodhound Gang would be like. Will this ever happen? That would be absolutely incredible. We'll see what we can do. Can we expect to see you guys over here in the UK at all? Yes. We're working on it... we thought we had a shot of it happening last year, but it didn't. It's a major goal for us right now, we've had fans in the UK asking us to come there for years and years. IT WILL HAPPEN! It's only a matter of "when".

Is there anything that you would like to pass on to your fans? You guys have rocketed in popularity thanks to the Yes! Thanks for the Indiegogo donations... now that the singles that you put out in advance of the new studio is built and the album is done and out, now we can album. How do you intend to follow this up when the get to the stuff we've been wanting to do for YEARS. next album is released? Thanks for the studio, it will DEFINITELY be getting some Shit, we're already working on the next album... we have serious use, so keep tabs on us. Plenty more great stuff our own studio now! There's nearly a dozen songs we is on the way, the new album is just the beginning. Follow wanted to do that didn't make it on "Psychostick IV: us on facebook (http://facebook.com/psychostick), Revenge of the Vengeance" simply because we didn't get Twitter (http://twitter.com/psychostick), and subscribe to them and we already had a lot of songs. What will be to our Youtube channel (http://youtube.com/ different is that we'll have plenty more time to refine our robofpsychostick) to stay in the loop. songs to make them better, and to develop a theme for

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Chester Live Rooms 26 October 2014 Supports: (HED) P.E., American Head Charge, Wolfborne Review and Photos by Lee Walker 26

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Hearing that a gig is sold out is always a good sign, especially with the unpredictable nature of today’s music scene and gives you a pretty good idea that the gig is going to be a memorable one. Tonight was one of those nights. Arriving at a packed out Live Rooms it was clear from the onset that a lot of the crowd was here for mainly for SOiL just from the sea of their t-shirts on display but lets not forget the other bands on the bill, which to be fair, pretty much read like a 90s metalheads wet dream with both (HED) P.E. and American Head Charge featuring on the bill. With a lineup as strong as this opening act Canadian rockers Wolfborne was always going to have their work cut out for them but perseverance is a great word and preserver this Vancouver based quartet did with Chris Witoski charming the crowd with his vocals while Lanning Kann was looking as epic as fuck with that beard. Playing what was a heavier set than I imagined they would be, which caught a few people by surprise, slowly gathering momentum and drawing the growing crowd in before drawing their set to an end with the iconic hit single ‘Sex Sells’. unsurprisingly the classic skater rock anthem ‘Bartender’ (although the rendition of ‘Ghost Town’ brought a wry smile to my face). Simply put these guys surprised everyone and are only the second band that I have ever came across and said that no matter what you think of their studio sound live they will blow your mind and win your respect.

(HED) P.E. always struck me as a bit of an enigma on this tour with their sound being distinctively different to the other bands on the bill. In terms of studio stuff (HED) P.E. aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and I have to be honest here they aren’t a band that I can listen to via a cd but live these guys have to be seen to be believed. Having been around the block Jahred, Mawk and the guys know how to pull a gig off and have, well almost, matured from their humble beginnings (I guess we all have to eventually start trying to act our age!). Bringing their own unique blend of punk/metal/gangsta rap/reggae, and well whatever else they chuck in. Live these guys are composite professionals and pull of a show all in a league of their own, ozzing in confidence and with frontman Jahred seemingly on fire they plough though a veritable best of set with a couple of covers thrown in. The highlight of which being rather

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I think that I speak for a lot of people when I say please keep put on more gigs like this Chester Live Rooms!

Starting with a sharp contrast in styles to (HED) P.E. American Head Charge set about their set with the brutal aggression that they are known for opening up and seemed intent on continuing to build upon their Download festival slot success. . A few songs in the band made the decision to dim the stage lights to the point of near darkness which prompted a few jeers from the crowd slung their way (I can only put this decision down to the heat from the lights) which took the shine away from the set and as powerful as their set was and despite Cameron Heacock jumping into the crowd on a number of occasions, it is the main thing that will stick in my mind putting a bit of a dampener on their set.

Wrapping the night up was SOiL. For my sins this was the first time that I had been able to catch a show by these guys but I was not disappointed by what I witnessed with the band being as energetic and having the stage presence that I expected with the return of front man Ryan McCombs continuing to push the band to new heights. Unleashing a lot of material from the new album ‘Whole’, SOiL tore The Live Rooms a new one as they plough through an action packed set collimating with Ryan going into the crowd for a crushing rendition of the smash hit ‘Halo’ ending their set and the night on a massive high.

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IGG to Release New Mobile Game: Clash of Mafias adventurers will venture to the Well of Dragons, a new adventure zone that has been ransacked by the Developer of hit game Castle Clash brings more Cult of the Dragon. With the summoning of Tiamat explosive action with crime families and turf wars. from the Nine Hells looming over the land of Faerûn, Global game developer IGG (I Got Games) adventurers must band together to battle one of announced today the upcoming release of their Dungeons & Dragons most fearsome villains. newest mobile title named Clash of Mafias, a “Our team is extremely pleased to bring real-time strategy available soon for Android Tiamat to Neverwinter, as she is one of the most devices. The game is slated for release by the end of iconic villains in Dungeons & Dragons lore,” said Rob November, 2014. Overmeyer, executive producer of Neverwinter. “In Set in a dystopian modern-day city, Clash of order to have her live up to expectations, we Mafias places players in the seat of a burgeoning created one of the largest in-game encounters ever crime lord, set to restore the family name as one to made for our game. It’s a testament to our team’s be both feared and respected. The game strategy goal of delivering a quality Dungeons & Dragons and will focus on building defenses, making different combinations of Bosses and henchmen to serve as gameplay experience.” “Seeing the Tyranny of Dragons storyline come muscle, and making money to pave the way to ruling to life in Neverwinter is exciting for D&D players and an entire city. the chance to face off against Tiamat is the perfect Game Overview: climax to the storyline”, said Nathan Stewart, brand Crime rules the streets! Petty theft, moonshine, director of Dungeons & Dragons. “Rob and his grand theft auto, extortion, violence… these are all team at Cryptic continue to deliver great par for course in the crime central of the world! As experiences and I can’t wait to see what they do for a punk on the streets, you have to do whatever it their next module.” takes to realize your ambitions! From gangbanger to Neverwinter: Rise of Tiamat also brings the Godfather, this city is yours for the taking – You are Soulbinder paragon path for the Scourge Warlock the law! class, granting Warlocks the ability to drain the life Clash of Mafias will feature: of enemies and use it for more powerful strikes. · Territory Expansion: Expand your Base and Additionally, high level players can gather new pieces fight to gain more Turf. The world is your oyster, so of artifact gear for four different equipment slots – crack it open! neck, belt, main hand and off-hand. · Brains and Brawn: Use traps and techs to win battles. With the right strategy, you can crush your enemies without lifting a finger. Big Starpoint Gemini 2 Update Highlighted By · Make your gang stronger: Hire powerful New Freelance Missions bosses to ensure that your rise to criminal infamy! With more than 1,600 very positive user reviews on · Best of the best: Slug it out in the Pits and Steam, developer Little Green Men Games is stoked show the world what your gang is made of! · Hi-Def Graphics: Intricately designed cities and from the community feedback for its immensely popular space sim Starpoint Gemini 2 (PC). The title streets will have you feeling like you’re right in the was released on September 26, 2014 after a middle of a gangster flick! · Show no mercy: Unleash powerful skills on the hugely successful year in the Steam Early Access program. Since then, development has continued battlefield, create your own tactics, and find the apace, resulting in today’s latest update, featuring strategy that suits you best! new freelance mission types and an improved AI. Update Highlights Are: ADDED: Station assault/defense freelance mission The Epic Battle For Faerûn Begins Today With ADDED: Fire at Will HUD icon now blinks to be more Neverwinter: Rise Of Tiamat visible when you're attempting to use light weapons Cryptic Launches Massive Instance with 25-Player while Fire at Will mode is active Boss Battle Against the Queen of Evil Dragons ADDED: Ships and platforms now have new object Perfect World Entertainment Inc., a leading markers to make them more distinct from other publisher of widely-acclaimed free-to-play game objects MMORPGs, and Cryptic Studios announced the UPDATED: Drastically improved NPC AI behaviour availability of Neverwinter: Rise of Tiamat – the They can now dynamically assess the situation and newest module for the action MMORPG set in choose an according course of action. theDungeons & Dragons Forgotten The choices they make differ on their faction and Realms universe from Wizards of the Coast. profession. In the culmination of the Season of Sets of abilities and items that have, until now been Dragons, Rise of Tiamat follows the events of the reserved solely for the player, are now also available fourth Neverwinter module – Tyranny of Dragons – for use to the AI and the Siege of Neverwinter event. Starting today,

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NPCs can use skills NPCs can use equipment NPCs from different factions/professions make different choices Since we have opened up a lot of possibilities for the AI, we'll keep a closer look on balance in combat and tweak things accordingly. AI improvements won't stop here as well - you can expect further improvements in this area!

Ubisoft Montreal. Watch Dogs is currently available for PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC. To stay connected with Watch Dogs, please visit the official website:watchdogsgame.com Facebook page: facebook.com/watchdogsgame Twitter account: twitter.com/watchdogsgame. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris Has Gone Gold For the latest on all Ubisoft games, please visit New “Puzzles 101” Developer Diary available now. The the UbiBlog: blog.ubi.com For the latest news on Ubisoft collectible new developer diary can be viewed on our YouTube merchandise, please visit and like the page here: page www.facebook.com/ubicollectibles. A World’s Fate Hinges on a Dragon Egg in New Guild Wars® 2 Living World Release

Crystal Dynamics is pleased to announce that Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris has officially gone gold and is set to launch on December 9 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. To celebrate this milestone, the team has released a second Developer Diary that goes into detail on the puzzles ofTemple of Osiris. Lara Croft returns in Temple of Osiris, ready to use her brains and brawn to best a gauntlet of new puzzles. In the second Developer Diary, Executive Producer Scot Amos is joined by Lead Level Designer Jeff Wajcs, who discuss the difficult task of perfectly challenging a player. Take a peek at the mirrors, time bombs, twisting gears, and falling platforms you’ll need to manipulate to solve your way out of trouble, alone or with friends. Watch Dogs For Wii UTM Hits Shelves This Week Ubisoft announced that Watch Dogs™, the top-selling new franchise from Ubisoft, will be available for the Wii U™ system from Nintendo on November 21 in the UK. Watch Dogs will take advantage of the Wii U specific hardware with a detailed and interactive map of Chicago displayed on the Wii U GamePad. The game also features Off-TV Play, letting gamers continue to play Watch Dogs solely on the Wii U GamePad. The development of Watch Dogs on Wii U is being led by Ubisoft Bucharest, in collaboration with

‘Tangled Paths’ releases today, sending players on the hunt for a fabled object that could turn the tide in Tyria’s war with Mordremoth. NCSOFT® and ArenaNet™, publisher and developer of the acclaimed Guild Wars franchise, is releasing “Tangled Paths” for Guild Wars 2’s Living World today. This episode continues the Living World’s second season, where players and world leaders in Tyria have found themselves on a path to war with the Elder Dragon Mordremoth. In “Tangled Paths”, Tyria’s powerful Pact continues its preparations as the drums of war grow louder. With the recent revelation of the existence of a dragon egg, players hunt for the fabled object that could help in the fight. Their journey includes new rewards, including the opportunity to continue building their collection of new armour. · The Pursuit Players will scour the Silverwastes to seek out the trail of the Zephyrite masters, and search for signs of their vanished leader. A new dragon could make for a powerful ally to either side of this war, and some of Mordremoth’s most deadly minions are also on the trail. · War in the Silverwastes The fight between Pact forces and the dragon’s armies rages on. Newly discovered underground caverns contain new threats to contend with and dangers to brave. Players will need to coordinate with other forces on the map, call siege devourers to their aid and keep one step ahead of deadly mordrem hunters. · Silverwastes Treasures Players can continue building their collection of Carapace armour with the addition of Carapace gloves. Once players obtain new gloves, they can begin collecting materials to unlock the upgraded Luminescent gloves. New rewards have also been

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added to Bandit Crest vendors. To learn more about “Tangled Paths,” check out the ArenaNet Releases tab at www.guildwars2.com.

before challenging your friends in online or local multiplayer or fight against AI. The game has been released on Steam Greenlight along with the first trailer for the game. The final game has been slated for release in Q3 2015. Steam Page: http://steamcommunity.com/ Mordheim: City of the Damned – Gameplay Trailer sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=341125897 Website: http://ancestorygame.com and website revealed as Early Access releases imminently!

20% discount offered to all Early Access participants Mordheim: City of the Damned, Rogue Factor's turn-based tactical-RPG adaptation of Games Workshop's tabletop game Mordheim set in the Warhammer world, is about to enter Early Access imminently! To celebrate this occasion, take a look at the new official website of the game, as well as the first gameplay video of Mordheim: City of the Damned, explaining some of the mechanics you'll enjoy throughout the Early Access and beyond! And as good news never comes alone, as a thank you for helping us make the best videogame adaptation of Mordheim, players who will participate in the Early Access will be granted a 20% discount. They will be able to help directly by sending feedback through the SteamHub and the official forum. If you want to discover more about Mordheim: City of the Damned, you can take a look at the freshly open official website that offers a mine of info about the game. Register to get informed about future updates in the Early Access, or when any new info releases. Also don't forget to take a look at our videos and images, and follow us on our official social media! The available Warbands at the Early Access kick-off in a few days are: the Human Mercenaries from the Empire, and the Skaven from Clan Eshin. Your warmongering will take place on two procedural maps with randomized elements, and two unique maps, in the classic deathmatch mode. New players need not worry, as basics will be served through four tutorials introducing them to the game! Content will be rolled out incrementally over the course of the Early Access campaign, with Rogue Factor listening as players report their findings having dove into the exciting dark fantasy setting of Mordheim. - Watch the video - Visit the official website Ancestory summoned to Steam Greenlight with trailer premiere Ancestory is a 3D, grid-based card game for PC. You play as a mighty shaman who can summon powerful minions and cast mighty spells with a vast selection of cards. You must fight for control of totems spread across the battlefield in order to win. In between battles, you can build and customize your deck

Human Extinction Simulator available to Pre-Order Machine 22 has announced that its next game, "Human Extinction Simulator", is now available to pre-order from the game's official website (http:// www.machine22.com/humanextinctionsimulator). Facing overwhelming odds in a direct military conflict against the Navassian extraterrestrial species, Earth's leaders released to the public the Halting Extraterrestrials Strategy program in a desperate effort to maximize humanity's chances of survival. The simulator presents likely space combat encounters based upon observed Navassian tactical data from previous engagements. In a matter of days the program became known as the Human Extinction Simulator due to the extensive and often catastrophic scenarios depicted. "Easy to learn but difficult to master", these are the words that guided the development of Human Extinction Simulator. Seconds after launching the game, you are immediately able to conduct covert operations or engage in large-scale space battles. The turn-based, no AI cheating and deterministic nature of the game put all the weight of saving humanity on your shoulders. This time there's no counting on luck to overcome this challenge. Pre-ordering the "player deal" gives immediate access to the latest beta version of the game, a DRM-free copy on release and a free Steam key once the game completes the Greenlight process (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/ filedetails/?id=238237915).

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For any review requests please contact the Firebrand After Dark team at afterdark@firebrandrr.co.uk

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The BossHoss - Cowboys From Hell Label: Self Release Released: 3 November 2014 Reviewer: Phil Kane Highlight: Liberty Of Action Website: http://thebosshoss.com/flames/?lang=en

Not sure what this album is supposed to be called because the band’s website reckons its getting released as ‘God Loves Cowboys’, but the review info calls it ‘Cowboys From Hell’. Whichever, ‘Cowboys From Hell/ God Loves Cowboys’ is The BossHoss' first official UK release celebrating not only their tenth year together, but also pre-empting a looming three date UK tour supporting Motörhead and The Damned.

it is a career spanning anthology showcasing what this interesting outfit can do; quite versatile, sometimes bordering on unique, certainly varied. ‘Liberty Of Action’ and ‘Bullpower’ are about as chunky as it gets, ‘Do It’ taps into a 70's Stevie Wonder groove, ‘God Loves Cowboys’ gives country rap/hip hop (yes, I know...) a run out, Motorhead’s ‘Killers’ and Cameo’s ‘Word Up’ get a proper rockabilly makeover. ‘I Keep On Dancing’ is a horn embellished take on The B52s wackiness, ‘Backdoor Man’ flips into a satisfying Blues Band style stomper. ‘Don't Gimme That’ and ‘Sink And Shout’ get a bit too close to Euro pop for comfort, ’Stallion Battalion’ an example of that rubbishy lets-go-crazy castrated party punk thing that only the Europeans can get away with. Solidly guitar orientated, the album is shot through with horns and a hell of a wailing blues harp. Some bottleneck getting thrown in occasionally too. There's no out n out metal as such and the punk is more of the radio friendly Yankee alt variety. Live it all probably sounds great but here it becomes a bit of a mash up that sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t, its power correspondingly ebbing and flowing.

From Berlin, The BossHoss have been going since 2004, sold in excess of a million and a half records in Germany alone and won a bucket full of awards in the process, their celebrity compounded by appearances as judges on ‘The Voice Germany’. The seven-piece outfit has made a name for itself doing countrified parodies of rock and pop songs, but don't expect any Hayseed Dixie style stunts here. They take rockabilly, metal, blues, Euro pop punk and blue grass and have a right good old time mixing them up. The band has released several albums over the last decade during which time they have refined their sound into what the band refers to as “…country trash punk rock”; think Johnny Cash and Elvis jamming with a southern roadhouse biker band backstage at Eurovision with the Meteors and The Kentucky As a peek into the eclectic, almost schizophrenic world Headhunters abusing them at will. of The BossHoss ‘Cowboys From Hell’ does a bang up job, as an album to get you in the mood while applying ‘Cowboys From Hell’ is a compilation made up of mostly the war paint for a good night out it will probably hit the original material with just a couple of covers, which is mark bang on the button. The Motörhead and Damned surprisingly given the band’s modus operandi. Someone audience, on the other hand, may well be left scratching has put some thought into it, for a change, because their heads wondering what the fuck is going on. rather than being a greatest hits or a best-of package,

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Pulvis Et Umbra - Implosion Of Pain Label: Pavement Music Released: 23 September 2014 Reviewer: Joey Lowebins Highlight: Implosion Of Pain Website: https://www.facebook.com/pulvisetumbraofficial

One man metal projects can be hit or miss. The problem is usually the artist has an idea of how to play each instrument but can never take it that step further. There is no such problem here. The man behind this album is Damy Mojitodka who releases his second offering of blended thrash/ death metal.

of this technique really adds to the overall intensity of the album.

Now, there are BM influences on this album, for example, listen to ‘End of Emptiness’ and there is clearly a ‘Thorns’ like presence. One stand out thing here are the vocals, Damy, for the heavy parts uses DM vocals, however there is an air of BM about them, the eerie use

All in all this is an album for any heavy metal fan. It is an offering that will open an insight to other genres, maybe that fans may have been reluctant to try. Overall this is a fantastic album, made all the more impressive that it comes from just one man. Well played Sir, well Played.

Musically he really is a master of his craft. Offering chugging guitar riffs most noticeable on ‘Till it keeps me Awake’ which ironically this track will keep you awake due to the pace and brutality of it, less than three The thing with one man projects is that more often than minutes of abuse to your ears. not it is usually in the Black metal bracket, which is true in a sense but is more towards the thrash/death genre. ‘Psicostasia’ is an instrumental starts with a haunting The tracks on offer are more towards the thrash end of spoken piece and then opens to a catchy mid paced things, fast paced drum beats but also the songs offer guitar riff which builds to a galloping speed and throws slow paced breaks in them before picking up again, in in a few samples over the top to create an almost the same way Cradle of Filth structure their songs. industrial feel to it.

Cavalera Conspiracy - Pandemonium Label: Napalm Records Reviewer: Joey Lowebins Website: http://www.cavaleraconspiracy.com/

Released: 4 November 2014 Highlight: Insurrection

The Cav brothers are back with CC album number three, ‘Pandemonium’. With what is essentially a side project of Max’ other band Soulfly, the band is made up of his brother Igor, lead guitarist Marc Rizzo and new to the fold bassist Nate Newton.

success.

Opening track is a grindcore beast of an opener named ‘Babylonian Pandemonium’. With a Nailbomb (one of Max other side projects) feel to it, namely from the vocals, there is little better way to open the album.

The band really peak on ‘Apex Predator’, the ferocity of Igor’ drumming is at an unreal pace and shows why he is one of the best drummers in model metal, Max’ vocals are gritty, Marc shows off on this track while Nate’ bass rumbles amongst it all.

Tracks such as ‘Cramunhao’ will be particularly pleasing to old school thrash fans due to the way the song is structured with blast beats and quirky guitar solos.

When recording the album Max stated he wanted brother to just play fast and forget about any grooves. The album title is an apt name and on listen you will That is exactly what has happened, relentless, ferocious understand why due to how fast and brutal it is. drumming from the former Sepultura sticks man. These two have clearly not forgotten their Roots’ (sorry). Musically they are not trying to impress anyone with fancy licks or grooves it’s just straight up metal. Throw in some solos with Max’ vocals and you have a recipe of

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Andy Jackson - Signal To Noise Label: Esoteric/Antenna Reviewer: Phil Kane Website: http://www.cherryred.co.uk/

Andy Jackson is possibly one of the most gifted recording engineers working today. He has built a career around Floyd's post ‘The Wall’ period, co piloting their sound with mentor James Guthrie. His work is much sought after, his efforts nominated several times for one award or another. Although he has taken the odd sabbatical, engineering The Boomtown Rats, Spandau Ballet, and Fields Of The Nephilim as well as playing guitar with The Eden House, if anything even remotely relating to Pink Floyd crops up, Andrew is the go-to studio guy.

Released: 3 November 2014 Highlight: The Boy In The Forest

removed from the sort of thing you'd get if Andrew Eldritch was let loose in a studio full of Floyd out takes.

Atmospheric, almost ambient in places, ‘Signal To Noise’ doesn't push to raise the tempo, letting the structures and arrangements dictate the mood. It is an album to which you contemplate your next move, rather than use it to soundtrack its execution. Its problem is that after a while the seven individual tracks become a little samey and blend into one continuous piece making picking out a particular track difficult; whether this is deliberate is debatable but ‘The Boy In The Forest’ gets the nod So it's not surprising ‘Signal To Noise’ sounds a lot like purely because the whole album is basically distilled into latter day Pink Floyd, keeping just the right side of its seven minutes. Nor does the album push the different to avoid becoming a plagiarist’s lament. The boundaries of invention, it’s all been done before, album is awash with the dark dreaminess of modern treading a path long since pioneered but it does it with a Floyd, a bucket full of guitar effects reminiscent of certain British quaintness, an undertow of heroic Meddle with fluid Gilmouresque vocals and bottleneck, amateurism that is actually quite refreshing. Floyd all picked out with a considered jarring Gothique. completists are going to love it nonetheless, will chance Esoteric describes the album as drawing off Jackson's snap it up, thus guaranteeing Jackson a return on his studio work, an allusion to his sound engineering investment of time and money at least, but to be honest, background, using the title as a reference to the many the rest of us will probably stick with Anathema, who it lyrical themes. Andy explains: "The album reflects on the has to be said, do this sort of stuff much better, or more sorting of what is important in life from the humdrum of appropriately, opt for the genuine article and acquire a everyday existence, and is in itself an analogy for the copy of Floyd’s new ‘The Endless River’ album; good process of the creation of the album". It’s not that far timing there, Andy!

Setfire - Deserted Land EP Label: Self Release Released: Unknown Reviewer: Joey Lowebins Highlight: Revolution Of Machines Website: https://www.facebook.com/setfireofficial/timeline

Think Thrash Metal and Brazil, first thing that springs to mind? Sepultura right? Naturally, they are the biggest metal export out of the country. However, it’s nice to see other bands spreading the word of Brazilian thrash. Most notably of late have been the female group of Nervosa with their album ‘Victim of Yourself’. Now we have Setfire, a five piece band with the Deserted Land EP.

which will remind you of the late Dimebag on ‘Cemetery Gates’. And the solo on here is pretty spectacular.

The band are clearly passionate about the music, the drumming is thrash at its best, particularly the double bass grooves on ‘ Revolution of Machines’ which is a big dose of Heavy Fucking Metal, it is a track that should be heard by all metal fans it is that good. Harsh vocals, dazzling fret work and the bass line thundering The first thing that stands out are the vocals. You would throughout. have thought it was Philip H singing on here they are that good, the range is quite incredible, and he sings Overall, this is an epic EP. Hopefully this band get their right from the bottom of his stomach and pours it all big break as a full length album from these guys would onto this record. be a bit special. There are clearly influences from Pantera on here, take Just one criticism, why haven’t you played Dublin yet??? for example the guitar solo on second track ‘Nordeste’

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Bloodbath - Grand Morbid Funeral Label: Peaceville Records Released: 17 November 2014 Reviewer: Joey Lowebins Highlight: Anne Website: https://www.facebook.com/bloodbathband

Bloodbath, the Swedish Death Metal super group have released their fourth album on Peaceville records.

riffing and thunderous drumming really takes Bloodbath to a new level on this album. With doom like melodies as well they have grasped the blue print of DM to With the departure of Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt from the perfection. One of the best examples is the track ‘Anne’, group the rumours and speculation was growing as to relentless blast beats, gut churning vocals and dancing who the replacement would be. That man is none other fret work make this one of the best tracks on the album. than Nick Holmes of Paradise Lost. Now the first question is always, would they be able to fill the big The band due to appear on a few festival dates in 2015 shoes of Mikael. The short answer is yes. Opening track including Inferno (Norway), Neurotic Deathfest (Holland) ‘Let the stillborn come to me’ puts to bed any worries and Maryland Deathfest (USA) with more to be that the role could not be filled. announced. Recorded in Stockholm at Ghost Ward studios, the inclusion of said new front man has injected the band with a new lease of brutality.

Featuring a couple of guest appearances from Autopsy’ Chris Reifert and Eric Cutler do not expect to play this album with the mother in law around.

Musically when you have members of such well A perfect dose of DM by Sweden’s masters of horror. respected bands as Katatonia, Opeth and Paradise Lost, DM delivered the right way. this album was always going to be something special. Creating an unrelenting dose of DM with savage guitar

Antemasque - Antemasque Label: Nadie Sound Reviewer: Lee Walker Website: http://antemasque.com/

Released: 10 November 2014 Highlight: In The Lurch

Featuring former members of ‘The Mars Volta’ and ‘At The Drive In’ Antemasque have been creating quite a stir with their mix of what has loosely been referred to as ‘American progressive punk rock’. Having a sound which is aimed at a market much younger than myself I’m glad to say that Antemasque surprised me with this flawless self titled offering. Flawless doesn’t quite do it justice to be honest with its mix of cut back sounds and addictive lyrics. Throughout the album you get hints of the bands classic influence’s such as the ‘Holiday In Cambodia’ feel to ‘People Forget’ or the Led Zep feel to ‘Providence’ which leads to you feeling that you are more familiar with the band than you are. As albums go Antemasque is a cracker and should be approached with an open mind as you wont be disappointed by what you hear when you hit play.

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04 Newcastle O2 Academy 05 Leeds O2 Academy 07 Manchester O2 Apollo 08 Leicester De Montfort Hall 10 London Roundhouse Deep Purple December 03 London The O2 Drowning Pool/ Wayne Static January 2015 13 Norwich Waterfront 14 Reading Sub 89 15 Wolverhampton Slade |Rooms 16 Manchester Club Academy 17 Glasgow Classic Grand 18 Newcastle Riverside 19 Leeds The Stylus 21 London The Garage 22 Southampton 1865 23 Brighton Concorde 2 24 Plymouth The Hub 25 Bristol The Fleece Epica December 06 London The Forum Fish December 19 Liverpool O2 Academy 20 Sheffield City Hall I AM I November 24 Bolton Railway Kamelot March 2015 13 Pwllheli Hammerfest VII Kerrang! Tour 2015 February 06 Norwich Nick Rayns LCR UEA 07 Leeds O2 Academy 09 Southampton O2 Guildhall 10 BristolO2 Academy 13 Cardiff University Students Union 14 Manchester Academy 15 Newcastle O2 Academy 16 Glasgow O2 Academy 18 Liverpool O2 Academy 19 Birmingham O2 Academy Lynyrd Skynard

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