RMP Magazine #14 by RMP Magazine

RMP Magazine #14

THANKS TO

CEO

Writers

Kenny Leys // CEO

Cameron Smith // Copywriter liaison

David Marote // Managing Editor

Lisa Leysen Jesse Mouart Marianna Rousaki

Design

Holly Reijs

Jolien Krijnen // Chief designer

Arne Vangheluwe

Ray Slavenburg

James Copland

Lizzie Baker

David Gilmore

Editors Frederik Geuvens // Editor in chief Krystal Cole

Photography Daria Colaes Matt Howard Charlotte Davidson Jurriaan Hodzelmans Patrick Moore Larry Wentworth Jenny McCord

www.rock-metal-punk.org 2

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CONTENT

Inter view//Newmoon

I n t e r v i e w / / F o u r Ye a r S t r o n g

16 I n t e r v i e w / / Boys jumps ship

I n t e r v i e w / / Vanna

Inter view//Vinyl me, please

Album r eviews

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Thanks To

A W

FROM THE EDITOR

Hello again! Vacation time! Whether you just finished that terrible school or got a break from that slaving boss of yours, the future is bright and all the free time of the world is laughing around the corner. Although it seems that for performing artists this just might be the busiest time of the year. With all those festivals, shows, events and what else going on, it looks like those in the music business have their hands tied for the next weeks. From promoters and bookers to stage crew and artists, all those fine people are sweating their asses off to provide you with some of the best musicians that the music industry has to offer. Same here at RMP headquarters; we can barely keep up with all the good shows going on where we want to be front row to bring you the best pictures and latest news and interviews. But it’s our duty, goal and privilege to provide you all of those goodies so we’re not complaining. All we need now is some nice weather to accompany those days spent out in the field so that we can create a new masterpiece of RMP magazine for our loyal readers to relive those moments over and over again. So until then fill up that idle time with our latest issue of RMP Magazine. In this fourteenth magazine we’ll feature interviews with up and coming Belgian shoegaze indierock sensation Newmoon, Boston’s very own Vanna, the northerners of Boy Jumps Ship and Four Years Strong. To complete this package a new set of reviews and some of the best events happening soon are added to get you into battle mode. Time to hit the road again!

David Marote

Managing editor RMP magazine

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THE EDITOR’S CHOICE

Altitude – Benihana Altitude is a young punkrock band from Belgium that recently released their first full album Benihana on the Belgian label Thanks But No Thanks Records. The title of the album Benihana, which is the name of a skateboarding trick, gives away the style that is staple for these guys: skatepunk like made famous in the 90’s by bands as Blink-182 and NOFX and they do a hell of a good job doing so. They already played with some local and international punk rock heroes over these years. Like the epic Strung Out-Homer-Altitude show at the ‘new’ Lintfabriek some years ago. Benihana was released on May 16th this year and given the roots of their music this date is no coincidence, ‘May 16th’ just happens to be a song by Lagwagon and lately the actual date also is acclaimed as International Lagwagon day. So look out for Altitude taking you to a higher level at a stage near you soon.

Andr ew Cr eam / Don Blake – split The United Kingdom and folky punkrock, a style of acoustic punkrock that Albion has been giving away regularly and probably spearheaded by Frank Turner leading it into mainstream success. Well, looks like Mr. Turner would be better off focusing on his full band Möngol Horde now because there’s a new Brit in town! Andrew Cream has been paving his way for a while now from the lukewarm beer serving pubs up to sunny Florida State, USA as part of the insane line-up of The Fest. Andrew already released some work in the past and still continues his hard working ethic of DIY touring and spreading his music. Now a new EP is at the gates ready to break out, but this time he brought reinforcements by fellow UK poppunkers Don Blake. Together they released five tracks to the world where Andrew bites the bullet first with two acoustic tracks. The other three gems are left for Don Blake who just blasts full on electric punkrock up our faces. The overall feel of this release is best concluded by naming the first Andrew Cream track: ‘Celebrating Variety!’ Andrew Cream and Don Blake will be hitting the road soon for a small UK tour where Andrew gets some musical back up by the guys from Don Blake with his music.

Die Antwoor d – Donker Mag Die Antwoord maybe be an odd choice for some of you since we’re straying away from the usual rock, metal and punk path. But if it’s a comfort to some, the attitude of South Africa’s rap ravers Die Antwoord contains more punk attitude then 90% of this years Warped Tour! Ninja, Yo-Landi Vissers and DJ Hi-Tek, the protagonists of Die Antwoord, created their own little universe out of thin air where their self-made style of Zef rules supreme. From the aesthetics to the music and rhymes, Zef is fresh and ready to take the world by storm. The raps over hard rave beats and the flow from Ninja’s mouth are not made for sensitive ears. Feminists politically correct individuals and goodie two-shoes better steer away from this album because both male and female genitals are widely discussed. Donker Mag is their third album and the gateway to global success if you ask me! With their previous albums and hit tracks they already claimed their place at various festival bills but Donker Mag is the most diverse album so far and will appeal to a broader audience. From the trademarking raps flowing over rave beats they take some sidesteps into more experimental sounds and song schemes. In the end this leads to an album filled with magnificent, diverse tracks. I still go nuts each time I hear that crazy sample that kicks of ‘Girl I Want To Eat U’. For those who like to try something different, give it a try!

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Writer // David Marote

ewmoon is a brand new band from Belgium formed out of the ashes of Belgian hardcore punk band Midnight Souls. From a two-man shoegaze project after the split of their previous band to a full-on rocking group with their debut coming out this summer on Secret Voice records, we at RMP decided it was time to get some answers to our questions and witness a new moon rising over the Belgian sky.

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INTERVIEW // NEWMOON

Newmoon is quite a ‘young’ band, a year or so, but all the bandmembers already know the ins and outs of being in a band. What led to the foundation of Newmoon? Right now we have just passed the 6 monthmark of being a band. Everything about Newmoon has happened so fast; it almost seems surreal. Back in late October/November of 2013 I talked to our drummer Stef about some music I had written. I had everything except for the drums and I wanted him to check it out, and put some drums on the tracks. At first it started out with me just sending him crappy cellphone recordings of the basic idea and we’d e-mail back and forth about what it should sound like. A few weeks later, this practice for another band we’re in, called The Jesus Police, ended up getting cancelled and I asked him if he wanted to hear some of the stuff I’d

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written. We started jamming and it all just felt so natural. We called up our friend Giel and had him come practice with us to see what it sounded like with another guitar in the mix. As soon as we did, everything fell into place. We decided to make Newmoon something ‘real’ and not just a little project we were doing. We still needed a bass player, so I talked to one of my oldest and best friends Robby, who had never played in a band before, and told him he should join and he did. Phili ended up joining as well and everything just fell into place. It’s like we were meant to play in this band together. Compared to your previous band, Midnight Souls, which was a more upbeat hardcore/punk band, how different is playing in Newmoon? To be completely honest, playing in Midnight Souls was entirely different than playing in Newmoon.

For me personally, Midnight Souls was something I had to do to deal with certain problems, thoughts and issues. Playing those songs over and over became a constant reminder of things I was dealing with, and I was just over it. Newmoon is completely different for me. We play a different kind of music, I play a different instrument, I sing and write the lyrics. It’s so much more fun to me, and it allows me much more room to express myself through music. All of the songs are still very personal to me, but in a different way. I try to write lyrics more from a place of experience. Most of the lyrics I write now are based on very specific moments or emotions. Moments I remember being overcome with a feeling, whether that is joy, happiness, sadness or grief. To me personally, every song right now is about a very specific event, but it’s not as biographical

“Midnight Souls was very much a ‘wear your heart on your sleeve’ kind of band, which is not really who I am as a person.”

to the outside world. Midnight Souls was very much a ‘wear your heart on your sleeve’ kind of band, which is not really who I am as a person. Newmoon is more introverted, more reserved. Much more like myself. And I think that’s a good thing. It allows me some distance from the persons or events described in the lyrics. And it allows the people listening to our band to give more

meaning to our songs. Newmoon played its first show on June 14th, a new band, a new start. How was it? Honestly, the guys were pretty laidback about it. We tried our best not to think about it too much and just take it as it comes. But I was kind of nervous about playing live. We are all stepping out of our comfort zone with this band.

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INTERVIEW // NEWMOON

After playing nothing but hardcore or punk music, it’s always a weird thing to get on stage and do something totally different than what you’re used to. I’ve also never really aspired to being a singer in a band, so getting up there and singing in front of people was kind of weird, but I think we did well. There were a lot of people there, and I think most of them were into us, so yeah. I’m happy with what we did. We’re going to start playing out more regularly in the coming months, so hopefully we can only get better.

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You already have a record deal on the way with Secret Voice Records, the label run by Touché Amoré vocalist Jeremy Bolm. How did this deal as the first European band come about and what are your thoughts on having Jeremy as a boss? Here’s the story. We’ve all been friends with Jeremy and all the TA guys for years now. So back in February when we put up the video for Aria, we posted about it on Facebook and stuff, just to get it out there. Nick saw me post about the song, and he was hooked. He told us how much he loved it and asked

us what our plans were. I told him we didn’t have any plans really, so he passed everything on to Jeremy. Jeremy listened to the song and was way into it. The next day he asked us if we would be interested in working with him, which was a no-brainer to us. So basically he heard our stuff, and loved it, and asked us to be on Secret Voice. Working with Jeremy and Nick (and all the people at Deathwish really) has been a dream. They’re all people we respect and admire, and they are smart and experienced. We have not questioned a single

decision Jeremy has made. If Jeremy has an idea, we trust him 100%. If we have an idea he is always supportive and down to help us out. He’s a music fan first, and a label owner second. And that’s what’s important to us. We’ve been approached by other labels that talked about money and ‘careers’, but we choose to work with the people we trust, not the people who want to pay us the most. Secret Voice is Jeremy’s label but it is released by Deathwish, the label of Converge’s Jacob Bannon.

So in a certain way you’re on Deathwish too. How does that feel, since Newmoon has hardcore roots? For me personally, being affiliated to Deathwish is a huge compliment.I’ve been a fan of the label for as long as I can remember, and even more so of Converge. When we were talking about the release, Jeremy told me he had to meet up with the guys at Deathwish to plan everything, I was floored. The thought of Jacob Bannon listening to Newmoon made me so anxious. Definitely a teenage dream coming true (laughing).

But seriously, it feels like a perfect fit. We all know, like and trust Jeremy and Deathwish 100%, so it just made sense to do this. Being part of the Secret Voice family is so exciting too. It’s because of Secret Voice that I got into Single Mothers, who put out one of my favourite 7”s of all time. Nick Steinhardt, who also did the artwork for Deafheaven and Touché Amoré in the past, created the album artwork. It’s very colourful and psychedelic featuring a guy at the shore throwing a spear.

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INTERVIEW // NEWMOON

Is there a certain connection to the album or songs on the album? Haha, the guy in the artwork is actually our friend Ferre, swinging from a rope, before jumping into a lake. When Nick offered to do the artwork we were super excited. All of his stuff looks so good, it’s always refreshing and he always manages to capture the essence of the bands he works with.

Giel took them to the lake to hang out, drink some beers and just goof off. Nick always says that it’s one of his favourite memories of touring he has. So when we saw it, it all came together, it just made sense. It’s a perfect visual representation of our music, and it has deeper meaning to us and Nick. When we saw it we just knew it was the perfect artwork for our 7”.

When he said he wanted to do our artwork we couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough. We gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted and he came up with the entire concept. It’s basically a picture of this lake where we all go swimming in the summer months. A few years ago, Touché started their tour off in Belgium, so the day before their first show,

The keywords to Newmoon seem to be ‘volume’ and ‘reverb’, a connection shared with 90’s indie bands. Which bands would you consider to be some of the main influences to Newmoon and why? There are really so many influences. Obvious ones are My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Nothing and The Jesus

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And Mary Chain. But there’s so much more. We listen to so much different kinds of music all the time. We’re mostly influenced by how certain bands or albums have a specific vibe or feel to them. That’s what we try to create. We want to be more than just a cool song. We want people to get lost in our music, to get absorbed into the mix until a point where they feel like everything just melts into one. Using loads of volume and reverb helps to create that feeling. Is there anything special you hope to achieve with Newmoon? Certain shows, festivals or bands to perform with? A lot of things we’d never thought would happen have happened in the past few months.

At first our goal was to get ready to play shows, maybe release a record someday. Both of those are happening in the very near future. We never even thought about getting national radio play, attention from magazines and record labels, so much international response and all these people following us. Especially not in just 6 months’ time. All of those things have made us so much more ambitious, so I think it’s safe to say we have a lot of things we hope to achieve. There are definitely venues and festivals we’d love to play, but neither of those are goals for us. Our main goal is to play as much as we can, write as much music as we can, and hopefully we can reach a lot of people that way. One thing I can say is that we would tour with Touché Amoré in a heartbeat if given the chance. We love those guys so much.

I won’t really go into detail about our goals because I don’t want to jinx anything. The indie/shoegaze scene in Belgium isn’t that well known yet and remains somewhat under the radar. Any bands we should be on the lookout for? I don’t really think there’s a real indiescene to speak of in Belgium. That being said we absolutely love Double Veterans. I hope we get to play with them soon. Besides them there’s so much cool stuff happening out there. Bands like Teen Creeps, I Will I Swear. Cheap Drugs (punx!), Tubelight, Soldier’s Heart, The Spectors,... They’re all great. The new Oscar And The Wolf album is mindblowing. People should definitely get into that if they haven’t already. Newmoon’s social media page quotes: “We’re real poets, man.” Could you leave us with some inspiring words?

I’m not really a shining beacon of inspiration but here’s some advice I can give. Don’t get caught up in ‘making it big’ or ‘winning’. Just do what comes naturally and keep at it. Good things come to those who care. Thanks for the interview and good luck with the upcoming shows and album release! Thank you. Invitation To Hold is out on Secret Voice Records on the 4th of August. Keep the spirit if it moves you!

Next Album : “Invitation to hold”

August 5th

Next Belgian shows: 21/7 - The Cavern//Gent 10/8 - Jour Tibour//Nijlen facebook.com/newmoonpunx

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Download Festival UK, 2014 Photographer // Charlotte Davidson

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Writer // Lisa Leysen Photo Credit // Patrick Moore

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our Year Strong has actually been going strong for over seven years now and are set to release their latest album Go Down In History. Time to have a chat with Dan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor (guitar, vocals) on how the new EP came to a complete. From the choice for a new record label to the comic book that was based on one of their songs, we at RMP thought it was time to dig down in their history.

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INTERVIEW // NEWMOON

You released a comic book based on the song ‘The Infected’ in collaboration with the artist Jamie Givens. I’d like to know more about that creative process and collaboration. It was super fun! The way we did it was: Jamie, Tom and I came up with a rough story idea and Jamie sketched it all out. Once we had the whole thing nailed down, I did all of the dialogue and narration. It was really cool to do, I’d never been involved in a process like that and I would love to do it again someday. Recently you joined Pure Noise Records, what makes that record label so special that you wanted to join them? Well, we talked to quite

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a few labels and at the end of the day Pure Noise felt like the most comfortable and exciting option. Jake Round who runs Pure Noise is a great dude with great ideas. Once we talked to him and heard how excited he was about the prospect of working together, we knew it was the right choice for us.

fortunate to be able to do this for a living. We know that even with the more responsibility, we will find a way to make it work. Playing music isn’t just how we make a living; it’s what we love to do. The balance can be difficult sometimes but in the end, being FYS is part of who we are, as much as our private lives.

Vocalist Dan O’ Conner became a dad recently, but maybe not everyone has kids yet. How hard is it to combine your private life with touring and keeping everybody happy? It’s definitely more difficult the older we get. We have more and more responsibilities and also more and more things we don’t want to miss out on at home, but we are extremely lucky and

There’s going to be a new EP on the 22nd of July called ‘Go Down In History’. Can you tell me a bit more about it? What is it going to sound like? And who did the artwork? We’re super excited about this EP. It’s the first thing we’ve put out in quite a while and were really happy with how it came out.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once we talked to him and heard how excited he was about the prospect of working together, we knew it was the right choice for us.â&#x20AC;?

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INTERVIEW // NEWMOON

We recorded it with our good friend and producer Machine (Explains it all, Enemy of the World), which was great to do. Getting back into the studio with him definitely brought back a lot of the old studio vibes that we had back then. The artwork was done by Sam Kaufman, an artist that has worked closely with Pure Noise for a while. We wanted something simple for this EP, and I think he nailed it. The lyrics to ‘Heroes get remembered, legends never die’ talk about a love/hate relationship? Am I right? Whose relationship are you talking about? That song is about a friendship that’s strong enough to survive all the ups and downs that friendships go through. I’m not going to say

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exactly who it’s about because I want to leave the song open to interpretation. You guys have creative and sometimes long song titles. What makes a song title a good song title? Most of the time it’s either a line from a movie or tv show we love and have recently watched or something that makes us laugh. We have a lot of fun coming up with titles. You guys have been around for a while now. If you compare yourself with how you were when the band just started, what kind of differences do you notice ? Well, we are older and have many more things happening in our separate lives. When we started, the band was all we did.

But the dynamics of the band are still very much the same. We are still best friends who love playing together. Do you have any regrets? Collaborations that went wrong? Songs that you wish you didn’t write? We have absolutely no regrets. Everything that has happened to the band has led us to this point and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. The band is strong, and taking any other path might weaken it. Next Album : “Go down history”

July 22nd

facebook.com/fouryearstrong

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Jera On Air Festival NL, 2014 Photographer // Jurriaan Hodzelmans

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Writer // David Marote Photo Credit // Larry Wentworth

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his is Boston, not L.A., a city that has always has spawned rebels from birth, from the tea party up until today with Vanna. They have just released their new record VOID, an epic tale on subjects such as eternal touring. Up next is the Warped Tour where they will be playing, so we at RMP Magazine grabbed a moment of their time to discuss the new album and found out more about Boston, beards and barbers.

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INTERVIEW // VANNA

For those who are unfamiliar with Vanna, can you tell us something about the band? We’re from Boston and we like to party. In a few days you are releasing the fifth studio album, ‘VOID’ on the Pure Noise label. You recently signed their and streamed the album, how has the release and response been so far? The response has been unreal. Between all the support online with kids all the way to friends texting me telling me how this record has hit home for them and means a lot. That feeling of approval from our friends, fans and family is unmatched by anything I’ve ever felt. How does it differ from the previous albums? The passion is the same. It’s Vanna through and through. We obviously never try to recreate anything; that would be so boring.

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On this album we just pushed ourselves, tried to do better in every way. Riffs to the max, vocals to the max, everything. Where did you find inspiration to create the songs in your new album? Life, man. No matter who

you are you deal with bullshit and happiness, confusion and clarity. I write what I feel and see. On this record I was finally ready to talk about a lot of shit that had been building up for a good long time, this was my record to let it out.

Your previous release was a 7” EP that was selfreleased. How did such a DIY approach feel to make true? And is the catalogue number of that record ‘CMGT001’ a reference to the birth of a new label? We just wanted to release

songs that we had and sometimes waiting around for labels and business takes a lot of the passion and fun out of it, so we just did it ourselves, and we really enjoyed it.

Music is supposed to be fun, that helped keep it that way for us, and I’m sure we will do it again. What are your main musical influences? Me personally? I listen to so much music, man. Lyrically I pull from older acts like Dylan, Paul Simon, Bowie. But, I keep up with current music too, I try and absorbed as much as I can, so it reflects through what I do. Is there a certain audience you want to speak to? Maybe a certain message you’d like to spread through the music? Everyone. I want to spread out to everyone who will listen. Music is for sharing. Being from the Boston area you probably have connections to the tragic events last year. How does it feel to be from Boston and has it inspired you to write about it? New England is a very hard area; we are strong,

stubborn and resilient. Give us tragedy and we will give you hope, divide us, we will come together stronger than ever before. That reflects in our music scene. Boston/New England has one of the best hard music and music scenes in general. We are so proud to be from that area and we love playing there, nothing beats that home crowd. I always have them in mind when writing, always. I read that Davey has his own clothing line and is a barber too. That is pretty cool and explains the cool beard and haircuts. Do all of you guys have cool hobbies like that? Yup, I barber at a shop where I live and I work with a clothing line called Ruckus Apparel. I just try and stay active and invest my time into productive things. Everyone in the band does the same. Nick owns a graphic design company, Shawn runs a marketing team,

Joel’s a fulltime model, Eric works in the food industry and works alongside his drum sponsors. Everyone tries to stay active, you’ve got to keep moving. You’re playing the Warped tour again, looking forward to being back on the road? I love Warped, it’s the dream. I’m so happy being on stage (and the ground with kids) again. It’s the only place I feel normal. Any plans for a European tour in the near future? Yup! This fall with so really dope bands. Keep an eye out!

New Album : “Void”

Out now!

facebook.com/vannamusic

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Jera On Air Festival NL, 2014 Photographer // Jurriaan Hodzelmans

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Writer // Lisa Leysen

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ewcastle, home of the Geordies, United FC and Boy Jumps Ship. Like their teams colours, black and white, their music walks the tightrope between angstridden lyrics and melodic choruses. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve talked to these lads about their latest EP Lovers And Fighters, from the studio experience and video making to some more inside knowledge about the bands duality that led to an award.

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INTERVIEW // BOY JUMPS SHIP

“A headline tour across the EU would be a great target for us to aim for.” The band is nominated for the PRS Foundation Awards, can you tell me a bit more about that? The PRS are a company here in the UK that collect royalties for whenever you play a show or your music is played in a public domain. It’s a great service

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and they are a great to work with. They also offer grants to help bands get to the next level. After getting through a few stages of the application process, we found out we’d be getting a grant to help us record the album.

We’re incredibly grateful to the PRS for that. You’re from Newcastle Upon Tyne, is there a big scene there? Or did you have to create your own scene? I think there is a scene in every town,

yes, it’s very easy. It’s easier than ever, in fact. Thanks to social media and how easy it is to record your band, you can become a band and have it on the net within a few hours. However, being “successful” really depends on how the band would gauge success. If all they want to do is have fun playing a show once a month in front of your friends then yes, you’re successful, that’s easy. If a band considers making albums, touring and making a living from their music being successful, then no, it is not easy. There is a lot of planning, dedication and sacrifice that needs to be made to get to that level.

it just depends whether you want to be part of it or not. I suppose you could say there are two main scenes in Newcastle, a scene of heavy bands and a scene of not so heavy bands. Because of the music we play we’ve never really fit into either

of those categories. That’s not say we have not made some great friends along the way, though. They play in all sorts of bands, we all support each other. Is it easy to start a band and get successful? To start a band,

You’re part of the pop punk scene, what are the ingredients for a good pop punk song? We wouldn’t particularly class ourselves as “pop punk” at all. Though I think we often get tagged with the genre as we can be quite melodic but with aggressive elements.

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INTERVIEW // BOY JUMPS SHIP

We essentially write songs that we would probably listen to if we weren’t in the band! One thing we would suggest, though, is always aim to write a great chorus, it’s all about the chorus. The music videos are always quite dark and gloomy, is that a conscious choice? I think it is just a reflection of the band’s lyrics. On the surface our songs may sound quite upbeat, but lyrically they are pretty dark. Subjects of triumph over adversity run throughout the lyrics, so I definitely think some of the videos we have released reflect that. On which criteria do you base your choice to work together with a certain director for the videos? Apart from one instance, we’ve always worked with talented video directors from here in the NorthEast of England. That’s a really important factor when choosing those around us who help with artwork, music videos,

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photography etc. We really like to keep it all in house, all local. For your EP Be Gracious. Be Good. you worked with Peter Miles (Apologies I Have None, Your Demise) How was it to work with him? Did you learn a lot? We recorded Be Good. Be Gracious. and our newest EP Lovers & Fighters with Pete. Along with his assistant James Bragg, there is a really relaxed, creative atmosphere in his studio. Due to lack of space, not many studios these days have the facility to put everybody in one room and hit record. With Pete, we could. For our newest EP, that was really important. The studio is on a farm in the countryside with no phone signal. You live there so you can really focus 100% on your job; it’s an amazing place to record. You guys are still a “young” band, what’s the plan for the future? What do you guys dream of? For the immediate future we will be looking to write

and record our debut album. Hopefully by the end of this year. And also continue touring the UK and maybe even Europe. For the further future, we’d love to be out continuing what we are doing but on a much bigger scale. A headline tour across the EU would be a great target for us to aim for.

New Album : “Lovers & Fighters”

Out now!

facebook.com/boyjumps shipmusic

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Jera On Air Festival NL, 2014 Photographer // Jurriaan Hodzelmans

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Writer // By Jesse Mouart

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o you consider yourself a music lover? Are you disap pointed about some new albums that came out? Do you feel like it is time to seek and find some new and great music? Then Vinyl Me, Please is definitely your cup of tea. Each month Vinyl Me, Please presents the most fantastic releases that are enrichments to your vinyl collection. Here you will read everything about their ideology and why Vinyl Me, Please distinguishes itself from a regular record of the month club.

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INTERVIEW // VINYL ME, PLEASE

First things first, could you explain to our readers what Vinyl Me, Please is and what you guys do? Vinyl Me, Please is a record of the month club. Each month, we feature one record we think is essential to any collection and ship it to our subscribers worldwide complete with an album-inspired cocktail pairing (recipe) and a limited edition art print. In addition to the record, subscribers get access to The Standard, a weekly digest complete with playlists, a vinyl buying guide, free downloads, interviews, and product reviews/ discounts. Our goal is to create an experience that cuts through the noise (literally) and offers people a consistent, high-quality stream of music. There are no algorithms here. There’s no favouritism. It’s about the music as an art form, and our goal is to present the best of the best on a regular basis.

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Why the choice to do this with vinyl and not CD’s? The common argument is “vinyl just sounds better.” While there’s some debate around whether or not that’s actually true, the presence of vinyl is what cannot be denied. It’s big, it’s beautiful, and it forces you to be intentional about your listening. You can’t fast forward, skip, or repeat. It requires you to listen to the album the way the artist intended it to be listened to. Simply said, we love vinyl because of the experience it creates. CD’s. Woof. Why do you think vinyl is that popular? Isn’t it just some kind of a retro hype? No, definitely not. We strongly believe it’s more than a fad or a resurgence, as most people call it. Vinyl sales have grown more than any format for the last 5 or 6 years running and it’s becoming an integral part to any artist’s product strategy,

There’s no favouritism. It’s about the music as an art form, and our goal is to present the best of the best on a regular basis.

often being paired with a digital product of some kind. Vinyl also offers certain innate qualities that other formats simply lack. It’s not to say it won’t ever slow down, but we don’t think there’s any reason why there shouldn’t (or won’t) be a turntable in every home in the future. Talking about the retro aspect, are there also old, but epic albums you try to breathe new life into? (Yes or no, please explain why)

Yeah, definitely. Our whole methodology is providing records we believe essential to any collection, and that includes the classics. We’ve got plans over the next few months to run some amazing reissues that have been sitting on shelves for 30+ years. It’s an incredible feeling to be able to resurrect some of the forgotten or unappreciated records that had such huge influences on the music we listen to today.

RMP Magazine #14

INTERVIEW // VINYL ME, PLEASE

I understand it is not just an album that you receive. What else is in the package? We believe in the album as an art form, which serves as our physical product. But we only get to feature 12 records a year, and there’s so much great music out there that we can’t simply ignore the rest. The Standard, our weekly digest, aims to cover the “everything else” category, with a focus of offering a wider spectrum of content. This includes things like playlists, brand and product reviews, pre-release streams, exclusive downloads,

RMP Magazine #14

and a lot more member-exclusive content. I assume there is some kind of team who selects the albums, how does that go? Isn’t a “good” album something personal? We have a team of music supervisors, DJs and enthusiasts, all contributing to the effort. When it comes time to pick a record, we usually start with genre. That gives us a narrowed focus to find something and then we all go out and find a few records each that we think are essential. From there, we have a healthy debate where we come up with a

shortlist of potential features. “Good” music is subjective, but “great” music has a certainly quality to it that’s enduring and worthy of everyone’s attention, even if they may not prefer that genre or style. There are some albums that are simply too good to ignore, no matter who you are. Those are the records we try to find and feature. I understand that the quest that you guys have is to send us albums which aren’t just good, but even exquisite and worth adding to a collection.

You could say that the albums are an enrichment to our lives. Is there really an album like that every month? Because I thought albums like that are rather rare. Great question. We require subscribers to have an open mind when they’re a customer of ours. They’re likely to get hit with a lot, but all of it is guaranteed to be great. Sometimes it takes a few spins for a record to really grow on you. But, as we’ve found with our own listening habits, the best records are often the ones that take us a while to really appreciate.

How do you get these albums? Is it a deal with certain record labels? Or do you do some “pre-”research to find the best ones and order them based on that? We pick records based on the music alone, and then we do whatever we can to see them through. In most cases, we’re ordering such large quantities that we’re pretty quick to get a response. We don’t work with a single label or distributor because that’d limit the scope of what we can feature dramatically. Rather, we just follow the great music wherever it leads.

Can bands send in their own vinyl records, if they can and don’t make the cut, do they get any feedback? Most definitely. We have a number of ways we can feature artists already and we’re working on building out a few more. We actually had one artist that sent us 100 copies of their record, which we included in random boxes as bonus records and it ended up being great for them. People got the record and loved it. It ended up being a great exposure opportunity for that artist, and we love stuff like that.

RMP Magazine #14

INTERVIEW // VINYL ME, PLEASE

We try to give feedback when we can but sometimes there’s too much music and not enough time in the day. We do make an effort to listen to everything that comes through, though. What kind of audience do you reach? For instance I’m a big hardcore lover. Do think Vinyl Me, Please could satisfy me? We target people who have an open mind when it comes to music. We try to feature such a wide variety of music that we like to think we’re helping people step a bit outside their comfort zone by sending them something they wouldn’t otherwise have known existed or thought that they would like. We get most excited when we get that kind of feedback, which happens pretty frequently. Part of the thought is that so much of our lives are defined by music that listening becomes a

RMP Magazine #14

process of self-discovery. It can be scary to take chances on new music, but in the end it’s incredibly rewarding. We recognize the service isn’t for everyone, however. People with very specific tastes are not likely to get much out of our service if they’re not willing to be adventurous in some way. So if you listen to exclusively hardcore, then you’re probably not going to like VMP much (although we do have hopes of running a hardcore record in the very near future). How do you see Vinyl Me, Please in the future? Are there any ambitions that you would like to share? Are there any new projects, which will help people like and choose for Vinyl Me, Please? I’m going to lump these last two questions together because they’re both incredibly important and somewhat related. Essentially,

our goal is to provide a high quality service that helps people experience music on a deeper level to truly appreciate its richness. To that end, we have a number of ways we’re going to expand our service in the future that are focused specifically on offering a better experience around the things that are most important. This includes additional, member-exclusive perks, small intimate listening parties where people can connect and interact around a common appreciation, an online community where people can connect no matter where they are in the world, all while not forgetting our core business of offering great records, month after month. And of course there are a few other secret things we’re working on that you’ll be seeing soon. facebook.com/VinylMePlease

RMP Magazine #14

BEST THREE PARTY’S

Three of the biggest parties taking place over the next couple of months. Do all those concerts and festivals make you feel dizzy? Don’t you really know where to start or do you just want to try something new? No worries, we’ve put out some of the top upcoming events that you sure as hell don’t want to miss.

GET YOUR TICKETS!

Photographer // Matt Howard

RMP Magazine #14

BEST THREE PARTY’S

ALCATRAZ HARD ROCK & METAL FESTIVAL 2014 // Kortrijk (BE), Friday August 8th – Saturday August 9th

The Alcatraz festival is starting to become a force to be reckoned with. The fairly young festival is getting large names, especially into the metal genre. This seventh edition will be taking place, just as last year, on the VIVES campus, only 15 minutes from the French border. We believe that the festival name is even more suitable now because a school makes a damn fine prison. Good news for the prisoners: school’s closed in August, so the only thing you have to do is enjoy some metal tunes. Let’s get locked up, shall we? If you are no stranger to Belgian metal festivals, you must have heard about Diablo Blvd. A lot of the popularity from this band is due to the fact that the lead singer, Alex Agnew, is a famous Belgian (ex-)comedian. Nevertheless, this heavy metal formation is a worthy opener for this festival. The other Belgian pride on this festival is the well-known Channel Zero. Normally they would have played last year’s edition, but after the death of drummer Phil Baheux, Channel Zero cancelled their upcoming shows. We are glad they’ve found the time to come to Alcatraz this year and we are sure that it is going to be one hell of a tribute to their dearly departed brother. The female fronted Lacuna Coil will be entertaining us, also, this year. They’ve just brought out their new album Broken Crown Halo and we hope that Cristina Scabbia’s voice will be up to the task, because it has a tendency of instability during live concerts. If it goes south, well, at least your eyes won’t be mad at you. The Scandinavian band Arch Enemy will also be presenting a new album, War Eternal, next to a new lead singer. The departure of Angela Gossow stunned the metal world, but we believe that her runner up, Alissa White-Gluz (former The Agonist), is a great replacement. Her raw vocals will please just as Gossow did before. If you are more into some good old Shock Rock, you won’t go home unsatisfied. W.A.S.P. (We Are Sexual Perverts) might be old farts, but they are not ready to retire yet. Compared to other bands their age, they really know how to bring it and to keep the show alive. Staying in the same theme, what do you think of Twisted Sister as one of the festival headliners? Fucking awesome, right? Dee Snider is back with his crew to shake things up and let the world know that they are not taking shit from no one. The other festival headliner is the eccentric Marilyn Manson. Maybe eccentric is even a soft expression, because the antichrist superstar has shocked the world several times with his decors and his very famous outfits. If you’ve never seen him play before, which we hardly believe, you should definitely check him out. Hopefully you won’t get sacrificed on stage! By Jesse Mouart

RMP Magazine #14

BEST THREE PARTY’S

WACKEN OPEN AIR 2014

// Wacken (D), Wednesday July 30th – Saturday August 2th Wacken Open Air is one of the most well-known, most insane, most gigantic metal festivals in the whole wide world. If you never heard of it before and you call yourself a metal head: Blasphemy! Best part is that the festival is blowing out 25 candles this year. This is going to be one hell of an edition. Unfortunately, it is sold out. Sorry folks, better luck next year! The bigger bands only start playing on Thursday. One of those bands performing on this day is the glam band Steel Panther. These guys don’t take themselves too seriously and their hilarious lyrics work perfectly with the big German beers! One of the true metal names on the Thursday agenda is the Swedish power metal band Hammerfall. Be ready to sing along to some powerful lyrics accompanied by some shredding guitars.Their new album, (r)Evolution, is coming out at the end of August which means that they will probably do some new stuff live. Cool, right? There isn’t much time Friday to sleep away your hangover from the last two festival days and the next band won’t go easy on you either. Heaven Shall Burn had already mentioned during an interview with your favourite magazine that they would be playing the Wacken festival. So be a part of their melodic death metal storm and don’t you dare to leave the pit harmless. Take out your leather vest with the ace of spades patch because Motörhead is back again with their iconic lead singer and legend Lemmy Kilmister. Getting some years older, a little bit more deaf, and with a more intelligible voice, he still knows how to do it. Yes, the man and the band might not be like they used to be, but it is no Ozzy Osbourne, if you get what we mean. Be sure to have some juice left on Saturday, because it is going to be one hell of a ride. Let’s start out with the death metal band Amon Amarth. By their looks, you would believe they just came from their Viking ship, ready to burn down and loot a village or two. It really is a fantastic live band, so definitely a must. One of the black metal legends the last festival day is the band Emperor. This band is the reason why a lot of black metal bands today are black metal. Being a Scandinavian black metal band, they also have some church burnings and deaths on their name. This is not true for every band member, but you get the picture. We cannot end this preview without mentioning Dave Mustaine and friends. The band Megadeth is one of the biggest thrash bands out there and are definitely one of those must see icons. We believe Megadeth is one of the best options to make sure this edition is going to stay in your memory for a very long time. Besides, this band perfectly fits to the Wacken slogan: Faster, Harder, Louder. By Jesse Mouart

RMP Magazine #14

BEST THREE PARTY’S

IMPERICON NEVER SAY DIE TOUR 2014 // Trix, Antwerpen (BE), Thursday November 27th America has his own Vans Warped Tour. Well, fuck them, we’ve got our own Impericon Never Say Die Tour. What is better about a venue show to a festival tour? A festival tour might be much bigger and more epic on that aspect, but the venue show has more charm and intensity. You either like one or the other more, but we believe our European Never Say Die isn’t inferior to its American big brother. This year is an only hardcore with a little metalcore line up, so this better be your cup of tea… Capsize is the opening band of this hard ass touring company. They will bring us some melodic hardcore accompanied by some melancholic sing-along’s. The next band on bat is the Californian No Bragging Rights. This former metalcore band has been pushing more and more into the hardcore direction. You can still feel the metalcore touches into their music, like the clean vocals and the melodic guitars. Of course are they seasoned with a generous flow of beatdowns. The only European band, More Than A Thousand, is coming from sunny Portugal. They will entertain us with some very energetic metalcore. As it is custom to metalcore, you will hear a healthy dose of clean vocals. For the people who don’t like that stuff, it isn’t the whiny emo clean, so give it a chance. You actually might love their heavy bass drops. Obey The Brave aren’t the new kids on the block anymore. This very young hardcore band with very obvious metalcore influences, has grown an enormous fan base over the last two years. They are also no strangers to Never Say Die and we are happy to have them back. They released a new song ‘Full Circle’ at the end of last year, but they never really mentioned when the album will follow. Maybe we will get to hear on this Never Say Die? If there was a hardcore band with a heart award, Stick To Your Guns would have won it a couple of times. The Orange County guys stay true to the hardcore sound, but also the hardcore lifestyle. They touch very sensitive problems in their lyrics and lead singer Jesse Barnett transforms himself to an excellent public speaker each and every show. You know, hardcore is more than just music, so you better give back or get out. We can say that Comeback Kid is one of the oldest hardcore/punk bands on this tour, but also one of the pioneers of the Never Say Die Tour. They headlined the very first Never Say Die Tour ever. Their songs make great sing-alongs and they won’t bore you for one second. They’ve only recently released their new album Die Knowing, so we can expect some new stuff during their set. By Jesse Mouart

RMP Magazine #14

ALBUM REVIEWS

Aborted The Necrotic Manifesto

The Konbinis Plastic Punks

This Wild Life Clouded

We can always rely on scene veterans Aborted upon the production of solid, ferocious grindcore. Their eighth studio album, “The Necrotic Manifesto”, is no exception. This record is an impressive entry in their catalogue but doesn’t try to cover any new grounds. Musically the album is situated somewhere between the sound of Carcass and Dying Fetus with some atmospheric samples added for good measure. Within this album Aborted performs best when they step away from their trademark savagery for slower, more sinister tracks like “Die Verzweiflung” where vocalist and sole original member Sven de Caluwé channels his inner Duplantier of Gojira. The track “Cenobites”, inspired by Hellraiser, is a standout moment on a record of pulverizing intensity and fiendish technical ability. This is a record of high quality technical grindcore with very little filler. It is as aggressive and brutal as always although it is unlikely to get the band any new acolytes.

The Konbinis deserve an A+ in my book just for their band name alone. Konbini, being a convenience store in Japanese, looks like fun and games! The album title “Plastic Punks” is a dead giveaway of what to expect: sneering punkrock with raging guitars and snotty vocals, the perfect combination for poppy punkers to bang their heads too.

The acoustic punk duo This Wild Life consists of Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso who joined forces amongst the close-knit DIY punk scene in Long Beach, California. What a better place to share their love of music, than working in the same music store. For a long time they played loud and heavy music but that soon buckled: they unplugged the guitars and toned down the vocals with debut album Clouded. The result?

By David Gilmore

By David Marote

RMP Magazine #14

This trio from Rennais in France leaves a good footprint with this new release. Founded in 2011, the threesome takes on a very melodic energetic approach with catchy vocals to join them. Original tracks ranging a wide spectre of punkrock and even a killer cover of t.A.T.u.’s ‘All The Things She Said’ which is a great rendition that would outbeat the original anytime!

A storm of heartbreak and raw-felt lyrics. Clouded digs up the band’s love for hardcore rock, with firmly rooted tracks “Concrete” and “Over It” fuelled with heartache-led lyrics, layered with the lithe guitar plucking of Anthony Del Grosso. “No More Bad Days” is a standout track, perfect for evenings by the campfire. Clouded is the result of small triumphs, countless touring and all the struggles along the way.

By Lizzie Baker

ALBUM REVIEWS

Disinterred Incantation

Masked Intruder M.I.

Disinterred is a Belgian death metal outfit containing five individuals that earned their merits in other projects before forming the unholy legion they are currently destroying stages with. “Incantation” is their first full album, the follow up to their much acclaimed demo, where these horsemen of the apocalypse found a fifth member to join their quest against Christianity.

Pop punk Madison band Masked Intruder is back with a brand new album, “M.I”. The album opens with “I Fought the Law” which grabs your attention straight away with the powerful riffs and a harmonious chorus. “The Most Beautiful Girl” is the second track on the album, and is a typical soppy love song. The choruses are catchy and melt every girl’s heart. They sure know how to get into a girl’s heart and tell them what they want to hear.

From the opening track you can hear that the members of Disinterred know how to raise hell due to their previous on stage antics with former hardcore, punk, death and black metal bands. The seventh circle is coming closer each passing moment with their hard-hitting style of death metal, fiends of Entombed will surely appreciate this incantation towards the dark lord of the underworld. From opener “Sacrifice” to closing instrumental track “Dies Irae” you will be sucked into a deep hellhole never to return. Total disarray guaranteed. By David Marote

Throughout the whole album there are many sing-along parts that make you remember you are listening to a pop punk album. It brings you back into a different musical era. A track that highly stands out on this album is the acapella song “Almost Like We’re Already In Love” which makes the band shine bright with their tremendous vocal talents. “M.I.” is definitely a summer album!

By Holly Reijs

Giving in to Ghosts Chasing Waves This post-hardcore/metalcore hybrid shows off some great musicianship and strong songwriting. Melodic vocalist Michael Thomas’ voice bares more than a passing resemblance to that of Alexisonfire’s Dallas Green. The heavy vocals of James Hardiman give the band a metalcore feel and sound like Atreyu. “Rapture” makes for a strong opener utilizing sporadic gang vocals which are used to great effect in tandem with the alpha male roar of Hardiman. “Sirens” opens with some intricate percussion courtesy of skin thumper Alexander Bargh and some fantastic vocal interplay. During title track “Chasing Waves” the clean vocals are given the lead and as a result it is probably my favourite track on the record. Last track “To The Sun” is a fantastic finale!

By David Gilmore

RMP Magazine #14

ALBUM REVIEWS

Matchbox 20 Exile On Mainstream.

The new album of Matchbox 20 is a musical splashing of two colours with these colours being a coming of age against a conflicting tale of love. The collection of songs express a feeling of give and take-to-much or, a “can’t live with and can’t live without” ordeal. There is a continuous underlying presence of fighting. The tension builds with each song and finally is released on the last track with an eruption of feelings. The fight is over and the issues within are resolved. This is the build of the album. The coin that Rob Thomas constructs is multi-sided in the sense that the lyrics seem to be preaching by, for and against one the most complex of human conditions: doubt. “Can’t Let You Go” swings between genre styles as if Matchbox 20 chose to draw on both blues as well as more progressive rock ‘n’ roll as inspiration. It seems as though “Exile On Mainstream” is just an extension of their previous work and the casual adding of a handful of songs each round has ensured that this fight for fame was a loosing battle. And so the “conflicted lovers guide to closure” is a tale that ends in sorrow. Sorrow rooted in the confusing and multi-directional thought process that is the coming of age. With a journey travelled and knowledge gained we end off our listening into the soul of Rob Thomas and the spirit of Matchbox 20 with a feeling of content nostalgia, or closure if you will. The last song, “Come Dancing”, on this deeply emotional album echoes the feeling or thoughts of venturing out on one’s own; embracing the world for the first time, free and venerable. This story continues and we, unfortunately, already know the end.

By James Copland

RMP Magazine #14

Download Festival UK, 2014 Photographer // Charlotte Davidson

RMP Magazine #14

ALBUM REVIEWS

Direct Hit / Priceduifkes Split

Arch Enemy War Eternal

Icons Lifesigns

Direct Hit, Milwaukee’s brat pack of punk, has teamed up with Belgium’s best export product next to beer: The Priceduifkes. Two raging tracks by each band make up this split release on limited vinyl fanatics. Direct Hit kicks off with the poppy sing-along “Wasting Away”. A nice warm-up for their next track ; ‘I Ain’t Dreaming Of A White Christmas’, an original Priceduifkes song that gets the Direct Hit approach for this split. With the energy dripping of this one it looks like Santa is shitting his pants up in the North Pole! To return a favour the Priceduifkes kick off with “Boredom Addict”. Yep, you guessed it right, a Direct Hit song being ‘pigeonized’ by these number 1’s of Belgian punkrock. Next up is “Getwood City”, another fast paced pop punk anthem to get your feet moving. The guys just did a US tour with Direct Hit and Masked Intruder. The Europeans will get their slice of madness when they repeat this line-up for the European tour of Masked Intruder.

Time has come for Arch Enemy’s ninth studio album, “War Eternal”. The band’s new work has been keeping many on the edge of their seats due to the most recent line-up change in vocals; The Agonist’s Alissa White-Gluz has come to replace Angela Gossow!

Leicester-based melodic hardcore outfit Icons have been busy bringing their chaotic live shows to towns across the UK, since 2011. Sharing stages with Bleed From Within and Napoleon, they have built a solid reputation within Britain’s metal scene. After releasing the EP “Lifesigns” they’re eager to play bigger and better shows across Europe. It’s crazy that “Lifesigns” is their debut EP. They have nurtured a sound that takes some bands years to achieve. Opener “Cataclysm” entraps you with its menacing riffs followed by a dose of clean-cut vocals. “Fall Of Avarice” benefits from blistering group mantras, solidifying the band as a whole. Both “Hitch 22” and “Helios” are metal anthems with contagious hooks, forceful screams and vigorous yet melodic undertones. Be sure to listen out for Icons if you are a fan of technical guitar work and raw vocals. If Lifesigns is anything to go by, they are on the way to playing shows on the global metal circuit!

By David Marote

RMP Magazine #14

Surprisingly, while Alissa doesn’t fail to live up to the vocal standards set by her predecessor; most of the album almost fails to deliver a new edge to the band’s sound that seems to have remained more or less the same throughout the past years. Sometimes it feels overproduced and the interludes don’t quite connect well with the rest of the songs’ synthesis.

By Marianna Rousaki

By Lizzie Baker

ALBUM REVIEWS

The Story So Far Songs Of

Bad Cop Bad Cop Boss Lady

The Story So Far has been loved and hated all around the world since their very start. But you can’t deny their true talent. This album consists of acoustic versions of five of their best songs For example: the first song “The Glass” is a lot slower than the original. The vocals are dragged out as well and the soft drumbeat lingers in the background. It is clear to hear that they have tried to sound as pure as possible. “Navy Blue” is the most striking song on the whole album. Parker Cannon’s vibrant voice strikes your ears as well as the soft guitar; it all mixes up really well. The emotion in this song is shown through the lyrics; ‘I hope this makes you sad’ is one line that stands out most dramatically. “All Wrong” comes on straight after “The Glass” and it only lasts 37 seconds. It would have been better to have heard the full version as it is a great song. The acoustic sound really worked well for The Story So Far so they should’ve made this album a little bit longer for all us fans out there.

Good Cop, bad cop is the oldest routine in the book; that’s why Bad Cop Bad Cop is so refreshing. This full-female punk rock band stands out by the simple fact that they give hell like nothing else. Instantaneously you get that claustrophobic feeling of a gangster that has no way out and feels like he needs a good cop. That good cop never shows up in this record.

By Holly Reijs

From the first second until the last one, Bad Cop Bad Cop keeps you close. From “My Life” until “Asshole” this 4 song EP just breathes no-nonsense with its tight guitars, clean vocals and 10 minutes of pure fun. The uniqueness of the synchronized vocals adds another extra dimension to this already impressive whole. We’re looking forward to the full-album, coming out in the end of this year!

By Arne Vangheluwe

The Geraldines The Driveller The Geraldines is a talented group hailing from the area of Mechelen that likes to describe their music as alternative rock following their own path. The guys have been playing their indie sounds for over a year now and already entered some local Belgian rock races, such as Jonge Wolven and FrappantPOP and that’s probably why this rang a bell when I first heard their band name. “The Driveller” is their debut EP featuring five tracks to nod your head too. The overall sound of the band is based in a more 90’s indierock orientation that leans in on bands like Pavement and Dinosaur JR. A promising indie band has risen and I’m predicting that soon you will hear the name The Geraldines more often.

By David Marote

RMP Magazine #14