PLACEBO | TAKING BACK SUNDAY | THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND
“We’re gonna do this band
NEW MUSIC FIRST
til we
die.”
GREEN RETURN WITH THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR +
MASTODON
BLACK SABBATH
GOD FORBID CKY
CURSIVE
YOU ME AT SIX
WIN!
VIP TICKETS FOR
+
“I committed a lot of crime to support my drug habit.”
WIL FRANCIS
AIDEN MAN COMES CLEAN
STEEL PANTHER
THE WORLD’S FILTHIEST BAND!
MADINA LAKE
FOOTBALL FANATICS
ENTER SHIKARI
BROKENCYDE
THE DREADED RETURN!
MY PASSION
BOYOS DISS COBAIN
COALESCE
THE PAPER CHASE
EVERY TIME I DIE INCUBUS
ANTI-FLAG
SPINNERETTE
THE BLACKOUT www.rocksound.tv
£3.80 JUNE. 2009 ISSUE 123
USA $8.99 / CAN $10.95 / AUS $9.75 06
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FEATURES EDIT 42 WIL FRANCIS (AIDEN) WELCOME TO MY WORLD
44 CSDIV DESIGN DESIGN DEVILS 46 CKY BULLSHIT DETECTOR 48 GOD FORBID THE TWO OF US 50 DEVIN TOWNSEND Q&A
46
52 BLACK SABBATH REVOLUTIONARIES 72 THE PAPER CHASE 74 DOWNLOAD PREVIEW 106 COALESCE 115 LAST WORD YOU ME AT SIX
54
Wil gets out his big chopper
42
6-7 RSVP Got something to say? Get that shit off your chest…
8-24 THE NOISE
Who’s making a racket in the world of rock? Read on and find out! News from Enter Shikari and Wolfmother as well as the latest studio reports from Every Time I Die and HORSE the band. Also this month: Your chance to win an XBOX 360 + Guitar Hero: Metallica, plus Nass / Wakestock festival tickets!
25-36 EXPOSURE Bringing you the the best new bands in music. Fact. This month: Steel Panther (providing the sleaze), Sucioperro, Narrows, My Passion, Codes In The Clouds and more…
78-93 REVIEWS ROCK SOUND reviews and rates over 100 new releases in music, films, DVDs, games and books. Featuring Green Day, Anti-Flag, Placebo, Cursive and more, while Canada’s finest Cancer Bats tackle the singles.
96-110 LIVES The hottest gigs from around the world reviewed, including Mastodon, AC/DC, Give It A Name Incoming, Camden Crawl, Baroness and Deathstars. Plus, we bring you an all-access A-Z of the best upcoming gigs, while BrokeNCYDE give us the goss about life on the road…
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Woah! What a year it’s turning out to be – with the recession and Swine Flu to deal with already, all we need now is for Creed to reform and we’re totally doomed. Oh, wait… Shit! Yes, Scott Stapp and co are getting back together for a new album and tour. God help us all (as Stapp might say). Anyway, at Rock Sound, in between twittering, we’ve been busy tweaking your favourite music monthly. You’ll notice a few of those changes this month, see if you can spot them. There’s more in the pipeline in our aim to improve the magazine and make it your ultimate guide to the best new music. Not sure if you’ve heard already, but there’s this great little punk band from California and they’ve just unleashed their new album. We thought it was so damn good that we’ve given them the RS seal of approval and stuck them on the cover. We reckon they’ve got more talent than Susan Boyle and could well have a serious hit on their hands. But we’ll wait and see. Speaking of new punk bands, we’ve got some fantastic homegrown talent in the shape of The Ghost Of A Thousand and The Blackout – both of whom have fantastic new records out this month and should definitely be added to your playlists. Right, off to do more tweaking (and twittering). Darren Taylor, Editor
And who would play them in the film of their life… Rock Sound, Unit 22, Jack’s Place, 6 Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NN Tel: + 44 (0)20 7877 8770 Fax: + 44 (0)20 7377 0455 e-mail: info@rocksound.tv twitter.com/rocksound EDITOR: Darren Taylor (Edward Norton) darren.taylor@rocksound.tv twitter.com/rocksoundtaylor DEPUTY EDITOR: Darren Sadler (Adrian Edmondson) darren.sadler@rocksound.tv REVIEWS EDITOR: Darren Taylor SUB EDITOR: Jen Walker (Juliette Lewis) jen.walker@rocksound.tv EDITORIAL ASSISTANT / STAFF WRITER: Faye Lewis (Edith Piaf) faye.lewis@rocksound.tv GAMES EDITOR: David Jenkins (Harrison Ford) FILMS EDITOR: Rachel Kellehar (Katie Holmes) DESIGN: Alistair Cook (Bill Murray) alistair.cook@rocksound.tv ONLINE EDITOR: Andy Kelham (Steven Seagal) andy.kelham@rocksound.tv WEB DEVELOPER: Sonic Network ROCK SOUND SLAVES: Tarik Algin, Trevor Baker, Duncan Bryceland, Jim Burt, Richard Cartey, Helen Catchpowle, Richard Childs, Alex Deller, Mike Diver, James Dominic, Robyn Doreian, Victoria Durham, Lewis Fraser, Neil Gardner, Noel F Gardner, Eleanor Goodman, Shane Harrison, Mike Haydock, Chris Hidden, Darren Johns, Emily Kearns, Rachel Kellehar, Mike Kemp, Adam F Kennedy, Ronnie Kerswell, Jonathan Long, Amy Mcgill, James Mclaren, Joe Marshall, Ken McGrath, Iain Moffat, Dan Morgan, Giles Moorhouse, Tim Newbound, Paul Raggity, Oli Robertson, Mike Watt, Plum Woodard, Ben Yates. HAPPY SNAPPERS: Tom Barnes, Duncan Bryceland, Nigel Crane, Steve Gerrard, Kate Hoggett, Zen Inoya, Mark Latham,
Mei Lewis, Danny North, Owen Richards, Graham Smith, Andy Stubbs, Joe Watson, Gary Wolstenholme. US & CANADA CORRESPONDENTS: J Bennett, Nick Green, Chantal Hennessey, Hardeep Phull, Kevin Stewart-Panko, Corey Taylor (8), Robin Laananen (photos), Chris Mottalini (photos) SPECIAL THANKS: Roxi Eastaugh, Tom Gilmour ADVERTISING MANAGER: Lianne Sparkes (Kate Winslett) Tel: 0207 877 8776 lianne.sparkes@rocksound.tv EVENTS COORDINATOR: Chloe Brown (Ellen Page) chloe.brown@rocksound.tv PUBLISHER: Patrick Napier (John Turturro) Tel: 0207 877 8779 patrick.napier@rocksound.tvnet Newstrade distribution by Marketforce. If you have any trouble getting hold of Rock Sound in the shops please call: 020 3148 3333. Subscription rates are as follows: UK £34.97, Europe £46.00, US/Canada £46.00, Rest of world £66.00. To subscribe or if you have a problem with your subscription please call: 0844 249 0217 or email: rocksound@dovetailservices.com Rock Sound cannot (and will not) accept responsibility for any unsolicited manuscripts and photographs or for material lost or damaged in the post. All material remains the copyright of Rock Sound Ltd. No part of Rock Sound may be reproduced in whole or part without the prior permission of the publisher (and that includes scanning and uploading it to the net, kids!). Or our lawyers will be round (and they’re very scary!). ABC Member of The Audit Bureau Of Circulation July-Dec 2008: Average net circulation 20,011 ISSN: 1465-0185 COVER PHOTO: Nigel Crane Printed in the UK by St Ives (Roche) Published by Rock Sound Ltd – a 100 per cent independent operation. Text printed on 100 per cent post consumer recylced waste.
MAIN FEATURES
No.123 JUNE 2009
38 TAKING BACK SUNDAY
Adam Lazzara and co tackle your questions…
54 GREEN DAY
THEY're BACK AND BIGGER THAN EVER! BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG talks to rock sound about their latest opus
60 MADINA LAKE
We put the band through their paces on the pitch…
62 THE BLACKOUT
Welsh rockers diss Kurt Cobain! Seriously!
66 SPINNERETTE
Brody Dalle’s on the warpath…
68 THE GHOST
OF A THOUSAND
© Nigel Crane
Rising Brit punks fight back with awesome new album…
rocksound.tv [3]
E S I O N THE
WHAT THE FUCK is that RACKD GEOSTSIP?@ AILY UPDATES
AN
DON’T MISS THESE AWESOME VIDEOS
NOW SHOWING ON ROCKOUND.TV
.tv
nd u o s k c o r . w ww
DON’T MIss D
MADINA LAKE Having thoughly kicked their asses at football (see page 60), we then made Madina Lake perform a couple of exclusive tracks for us. Good lads.
CAMEL CASTRATING
It all goes on at Denmark recording studios…
C
ows, mere cats, kangaroos and the castration of camels have all been part of the recording process with the new Wildhearts album, proclaimed frontman Ginger. The legendary rockers have completed work on their new album, ‘Chutzpah’, in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen. Ginger explained: “The animals were all living in the farm where the studio was located. The camel was called Mustafa and the poor chap got castrated while we were there. It was a bit emotional for us and so it made its way onto the album. I don’t think we’ve made an album where a camel has been castrated next door. We’ve made a lot of albums where a lot of things have happened but never that!” Recording in a remote area also had a profound affect on the quartet, reckoned the frontman. “The studio was a bit remote but I think it helped in the creative process,” he continued. “Something happens to your head when you’re in the middle of nowhere – I guess when you’ve got no stimulation coming from
anywhere you derive stimulation from your own imagination. I think that’s what happened with us. We had a bit of an imagination overdose. We wanted to make something ambitious but I think we ended up making something more ambitious than we had imagined.” As well as the usual rock ‘n’ roll, ‘Chutzpah’ sees the band experiment with strings, choirs and pianos in the band’s attempt to create something “more baroquesounding”. According to Ginger it’s weirder and darker than 07s self-titled affair. It comes as no surprise, then, that lyrically the subject matter has a lot to do with madness. Said Ginger: “Madness is the main thing, the tenuous link between sanity and madness and how it really has affected us all. Every member of the band has been through their own personal weirdness and instead of manifesting itself as anger which was the basis of the last album, this one is more accepting of what screwed up the world – let’s party!” Expect the album to drop in August. www.thewildhearts.com
TAKING BACK SUNDAY Adam Lazzara and Rock Sound MC, Andy Kelham, talk down to a small boy. Not really! But Kelham does get all the latest goss from TBS at GIAN.
THE BLACKOUT Look! It’s Kelham again. This time getting to grips with those Welsh boyos from The Blackout. Hear what dirt Smith and co have to dish by tuning in now... You don’t want to miss out, do you?
GO TO www.rocksound.tv for all these and more…
BEST OF THE WEB
What a month it has been online at www.rocksound.tv. A punter at a PAPA ROACH gig took a dump during their set, singer Jacoby Shaddix was elated at the news and failed to see the irony of the situation. TWIN ATLANTIC announced that their new mini-album will be released by Red Bull Records as they posted more studio diaries on Rock Sound TV. 30 SECONDS TO MARS ended the feud with EMI / Virgin by re-signing with their former enemies, also ending hopes that the band’s new album would be leaked online by Jared Leto himself. DEFTONES announced a Reading and Leeds warm-up show and FAITH NO MORE announced a pre-Download teaser at Brixton Academy on June 10. Rock Sound TV went to Give It A Name Incoming and came back with news that THE KING BLUES’ next record will be about aliens, no jokes! Bands were added to the DOWNLOAD, SONISPHERE and READING / LEEDS line-ups, while YOU ME AT SIX announced that they were tentatively recording songs for their second album at Outhouse Studios. We also announced that ALEXISONFIRE signed to Roadrunner Records, PARAMORE completed writing and recording their third album and THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM have started creating their next record.
For more news, reviews and exclusive interviews (hey, that rhymed) check out www.rocksound.tv on a daily, hourly or even minutely basis. [8] rocksound.tv
dates and gossip
don’t miss daily up
www.rocksound.tv
Roughton ‘Rou’ Reynolds, Enter Shikari’s frontman, spoke to ROCK SOUND about new album ‘Common Dreads’ and explained why it has been so long in the making…
COLLECTIVE CONCERNS Rou and co return with ‘Common Dreads’
W
e were really conscious of not going away for too long while we were doing this record, but once we got into the studio we had lots of ideas for different song structures. We were suddenly taken aback by the extent of the mission ahead of us. We had a wall chart with all these random riffs and it was a complete mess for the first two weeks. It did take longer than we hoped,” beamed the frontman of Hertfordshire’s hardcore rave crew. ‘Common Dreads’ hits the shops (and illegal download sites) on June 15 and despite the lengthy process (which included losing tracks when a laptop was stolen – as reported in RS last year), the band feel they have formed a stronger identity. “We’ve always been strong in what we’ve wanted to do but we’ve definitely found more of a direct voice on this album. I think that it’s a lot more layered. We had much more time in the studio just to experiment and there’s a vast amount of instrumentation. There’s brass, choirs and it’s a bigger sounding record. I guess lyrically it’s a lot more in your face, it doesn’t hold back, or hide behind metaphors or anything like that.” As reported on www.rocksound.tv, ‘Common Dreads’ as a title sums up the themes of the album. “An album title is quite a big thing to discuss and there were a lot of arguments over its name. We eventually started looking through the lyrics and we came across ‘Common Dreads’, which we felt summed up what it was all about – the common concerns that people are feeling all over the world. There’s so much going on that we’re all collectively worried about, and that’s a shared feeling that we tap into. For example, the track ‘Solidarity’ on the album is an introduction to what the album is about. ‘Solidarity’ is about bringing people
together and again it introduces the idea of ‘common dreads’. We try to pack as much as we can into that song – and at the end of it it’s got a full choir!” But getting a choir involved on the record wasn’t as simple as it sounds… “We couldn’t actually afford to get a decent choir into the studio, so basically the sound is me singing about 50 parts. We then got our manager to kidnap a few girls to do the extra-high parts. I tried to do the parts myself in falsetto but I can’t really do that any more.” With the album clocking up an impressive 15 tracks, Rou’s current favourite is its finale track ‘Fanfare For The Conscious Man’.
“We couldn’t actually afford to get a decent choir into the studio, so basically the sound is me singing about 50 parts.” Rou Reynolds “It was the last track to get finished and it was a complete rush. It started off as something completely different. For us, it was the most interesting to record and also it’s a complete vent of absolute frustration built up over the last seven years directed at our country. It’s a nice outpour for us and it’s cool to have a song that started off as just brass and gang vocals end up really heavy.” New single ‘Juggernauts’ is out June 01 followed by the album ‘Common Dreads’ on June 15, both released via Ambush Reality. www.entershikari.com
rocksound.tv [9]
THE BEST NEW MUSIC They might have a passion for fashion, but it’s not all glitz and glamour for these DIY new wavers…
ON THE RE
ON THE RE
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•THEY ’ CD!
LINE-UP: Laurence Rene (vocals, guitar), Simon Rolands (bass), Jonathan Gaskin (drums, voCALS, electronics), John Be (guitar) FROM: London SOUNDS LIKE: Contagious horror-pop wrapped up in nightmare, despair and sinfully sonic electro shock. CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Corporate Flesh Party’ (album, Style Suicide. Out now) WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/mypassion DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘Crazy And Me’
MY PASSION
Rising From The Ashes “Last autumn, halfway through a tour with Kill Hannah, we woke up to the smell of smoke. We were told to get off our tour bus and run, the next thing we knew, everything was exploding and the doors were flying off. We were lucky to get out alive!” regales heavily eye-linered Laurence Rene, frontman of goth-inspired new wavers My Passion. It’s the sort of gripping tale of adventure expected from a band who wouldn’t look amiss in the Carpathian Mountains reading Twilight, but My Passion create the same artful rock as Scarlet Soho rather than Fields Of The Nephilim. “Make-up and clothes are part of the performance and our identity as a band. When I was young I wanted characters to aspire to who stood out. There are enough people with the boy next-door look. Like our music it’s an alternative to what’s going on. I mean we’re certainly not the first men to
wear make up! So long as it isn’t style over substance I think we would be stupid not to make the most of looking good! Besides, we’re open to different music; we love guitar riffs but I also grew up with a mum into rave.” The band may be young, but they’re wary of the music industry, choosing to release their debut album ‘Corporate Flesh Party’ DIY-style via their own label, Style Suicide Records. “We set up Style Suicide because we were doing everything on our own and it was a base to release music from. ‘Corporate Flesh Party’ is about loving parts of the music industry and learning to avoid the vultures who want your soul! We might be the refreshing change that the UK music scene needs right now!” His mettle will be put to the test on May 18.
MOVING MOUNTAINS
ON THE RE
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[34] rocksound.tv
FAYE LEWIS
“Growing up listening to Poison The Well and Thursday has influenced us just as much as listening to Sigur Rós or Explosions In The Sky,” says Moving Mountains vocalist / guitarist Greg Dunn. “I think we tend to take a lot of post-rock elements, while combining a heavy rock umbrella.” With plenty of critical acclaim surrounding their debut album ‘Pneuma’, released on Deep Elm in Feb 08, this New York quartet return with the next installment of their musical conquest – the outstanding ‘Foreword’ EP, which the band are releasing themselves this time around. Sounding like Isis jamming with Hopesfall, MM are definitely heading in the right direction sonically if the last track from their EP, the euphoric ‘Lights And Shapes’ is anything to go by. “We definitely wanted something more aggressive and more dynamic. We wanted people to be floored by something so we continually pushed the layers, adding more parts to really construct a ‘wall of sound’. It’s tough to say what the future will sound like, but I’d like to continue pushing those limits.” The future looks very promising indeed. DT WWW.MOVMOU.COM
THE BEST NEW MUSIC
RAVENS CREED
SOUNDS LIKE: A powerhouse of skull-crushing, old-school speed metal with the ultimate metal underground pedigree.
It’s easy to get excited about a new band when you hear the history of its members and Ravens Creed are no exception. Formed in 06, Ravens Creed is the twisted creation of one-time Iron Monkey guitarist Steve Watson (who also played in one-time Roadrunner signings Cerebral Fix) and Tony Iommi’s session drummer Jay Graham. The band also feature Orange Goblin vocalist Ben Ward and former Sabbat bassist Frazer Craske. The pedigree is impressive from the get-go but after one listen to Ravens Creed’s full-length ‘Albion Thunder’ and you’ll realise that this is a group who don’t need to rely simply on previous / existing outings. For Ben, the band gives him an opportunity to explore a different side of his creativity. “It’s a chance to vent a different side of my musical tastes,” he explains. “There’s a lot of extreme
stuff that I’m into that I don’t get the chance to do in Orange Goblin as it’s just not suitable, so when Steve asked me to get involved, I jumped at the chance. “The band stems from Steve and Jay’s love for Venom and that classic early thrash sound,” continues Ben. “Steve has a lot of pedigree and he has always wanted to vent that extreme side of music and he’s doing that now.” Sounding English through and through (even down to the album’s title), Ravens Creed may have roots in history but they’re certainly forward thinking in their output, and in ‘Albion Thunder’ the metal genre just got itself a future classic. You’d be a fool to miss. CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Albion Thunder’ (album, Doomentia. Out now) DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘Peace Through Superior Fire’ WWW.MYSPACE.COM/WWWMYSPACECOMRAVENSCREED
IMADETHIS Their moniker may lack basic grammar, but there’s nothing sloppy about the musicianship of IMADETHIS. With a sound that draws on the edgy pop-punk of Go:Audio and Army Of Freshmen, it’s hardly surprising the band are rapidly establishing a healthy fan base. The Irish trio are set to release their debut EP, titled ‘Tiny Little Robots’, in July and have tour dates across Ireland in May and June. We reckon they might go far… just you wait and see. WWW.MYSPACE.COM/IMADETHIS
DARREN SADLER
WOLF AM I
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WHITE LIGHT PARADE*
You know what they say, you can’t keep a good band down – unless you give them a good beating, of course. Formed from the ashes of the recently deceased Kill The Arcade, WOLF AM I (who nabbed their moniker from a mewithoutYou ditty) are the new incarnation; with the odd member change (not that any of the members were odd or anything). They’ve recently recorded their debut album, ‘Lead The Way’, which is set for release on August 03 via Alcopop!; lead single ‘Glasgow Seven’ drops on June 22. WWW.MYSPACE.COM/WOLFAMI YOUNG GUNS
SOUNDS LIKE: Brilliantly British rock ‘n’ roll.
“Every time we read articles on bands, or see new bands on TV, it’s like they’re trying too hard to be different or reinvent music, which is good, but it doesn’t always mean their songs are,” says White Light Parade* guitarist / vocalist Danny Yates. “What we wanted was a real, loud, British rock ‘n’ roll album, like the bands that we’re inspired by.” The Bradford quartet have certainly satisfied their ambitions; ‘House Of Commons’, their debut album, is a fine galvanization of classic UK rock, reminiscent of luminaries varying from The Clash to The Jam, The Specials and Oasis’ best moments. It’s in no way a trendy approach, but that’s hardly the point. “It doesn’t seem to be about the music anymore. It seems nowadays it’s about a buzz, a 12-month fad, about being cool and about shit songs!” laughs Danny, who plays in the band alongside his brother
Jonno. “We’re not about jumping on the latest bandwagon or trying to be cool or fit in; we’re about good, honest songs that people can relate to, which I think makes us stand out.” ‘House Of Commons’, produced by Peter Miles, who worked on The King Blues’ excellent major label debut ‘Save The World, Get The Girl’, certainly boasts a vintage to distinguish the four-piece from the crowd. Heck, with bands everywhere so desperate to latch onto the latest trends, perhaps this timeless bunch are just what we need. “We’re in a recession, our cities are rundown. Our youth have nowhere to go and no way of expressing themselves,” says Danny. “No matter where you are, everyone’s looking for a change!” Sometimes a little bit of regression can equate to a whole lot of progression. CURRENT RELEASE: ‘House Of Commons’ (album, Split. Out now) DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘Wake Up’ WWW.MYSPACE.COM/WHITELIGHTPARADE
TIM NEWBOUND
Previously featured in our Myspace section, High Wycombe punk rockers YOUNG GUNS are gearing up for the release of their debut EP, ‘Mirrors’, which should hit a store near you on June 22. Produced by former SikTh boys Dan Weller and Justin Hill (known collectively as WellerHill), it’s four tracks of rock ‘n’ roll excess all wrapped up in one neat little CD with artwork supplied by former Johnny Truant sticksman Paul Jackson. Nice! WWW.MYSPACE.COM/YOUNGGUNS
rocksound.tv [35]
MY LIFE, MY RULES, MY STORY…
WIL FRANCIS (AIDEN)
INTERVIEW: Robyn Doreian / PHOTOS: Zen Inoya
Wil’s always been a bit of a leg man...
[42] 42 rock-sound.net rocksound.tv
NAME A BOOK YOU CONSIDER A MASTERPIECE… “My favourite one is definitely the Phineas Poe collection by Will Christopher Baer. It’s a three book series: Kiss Me, Judas, Penny Dreadful and Hell’s Half Acre. The way that Baer paints a picture so vivid, horrifying and exciting is very intense. It makes your skin crawl, makes your heart cringe, brings out a sense of loss and then ties it back up with black ribbon so tight you can hardly breathe. It’s fucking incredible.”
uicide, drugs, religious parents and Kurt Cobain, Aiden’s Wil Francis opens up and reveals all… WHERE AND WHEN WERE YOU BORN? “I was born on January 08,
1982, in Seattle, Washington.”
DESCRIBE YOUR UPBRINGING… “My dad was out of the picture long
before I can remember things. For the first few years of my life it was my mother, brother and I, living in a tiny apartment in south Seattle. My mom worked at the grocery store across the street from where we lived. When I was six or seven she met my stepfather Jeff, and we moved in with him. The most difficult part of that time was my parents’ religious fervor: church, read the bible, church. When I started rebelling it was always my stepfather who got the brunt of it. Enter drugs, fucking wasted youth, several trips to jail / rehab and you know the rest…”
WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY? “Our apartment
complex had a decrepit swimming pool with green water and a disgusting film of algae caused by the manager not taking care of it, ever. I was thrown into that pool by a couple of kids who lived there who thought it’d be funny to throw me in by my hands and feet. I couldn’t swim and almost drowned. Luckily a neighbour saw what had happened and jumped in and saved me.”
WHO WAS YOUR ROLE MODEL GROWING UP? “I can’t remember having one until 91. Nirvana had released ‘Nevermind’ and I had started watching MTV. Everything I had ever aspired to – doctor, truck driver, actor, garbage man – fell by the wayside and was replaced with a compelling desire to play the guitar and grow my hair long. It has changed over the years, but my first real role model was Kurt Cobain.” WHAT IS IT ABOUT PUNK ROCK THAT RESONATES WITH YOU?
“Punk rock, to me, is not about following a trend or being part of the ‘cool club’. It’s a way of life whereby I choose to live by my own standards and expectations. The thing that resonates most with me is the fact that I can show up looking exactly how I want to look and say the things that I want to say.”
WHO HAVE YOU MET THAT TRULY LIVES PUNK IDEALS? “Fat Mike from NOFX. If ever there was a guy who could define the word ‘punk’ it would be him. Fat Mike and his band have been playing for over 25 years without the support of a major label, virtually no press, no singles that get played on radio, and everything is done DIY. They continually put out great record after great record. He is someone who I can only aspire to be like someday.”
DESCRIBE THE LOWEST POINT IN YOUR LIFE… “Towards the
end of my drinking and drug-using career there were many. Walking the streets alone at night in downtown Seattle, broke, without a home, dope sick and absolutely hopeless was pretty bad. There was a stretch of time where I had fucked over every person I called a friend and had completely destroyed the relationship between my family and myself. The last six months were the lowest in my life. I committed a lot of crime to support my drug habit and I felt so alone that suicide was a viable option and tried to kill myself a couple of times but failed. I was a heartless shadow of my former youth. I was nothing, an absolute waste of breath, bones and skin.”
WHAT IS THE MOST VALUABLE THING YOU OWN? “My sobriety, my clear-cut sense of direction and where I see myself ending up in this life. There’s no fucking way I would have ever been able to live the life I do if I was fucked up. As a result of being sober, a multitude of amazing things have happened.”
“In my daily life I have a pretty solemn disposition.” WHAT’S THE BEST MUSEUM YOU’VE VISITED? “The Louvre in
Paris. Growing up in suburban America we’re not drowned in teachings of Renaissance art and sculptures, but the one piece of famous art I remember as a child and have continued to see mentioned throughout my life is the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci. That was definitely the most interesting thing I saw there, simply for the fact that instead of it being a picture on the computer or TV it was the real painting in front of my eyes.”
IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANY VISUAL ARTIST (PAST OR PRESENT) WHO WOULD IT BE? “Andy Warhol. If you
review the life and career of this man, you’ll find some extraordinary and unusual things about his methods of making art and doing business. He’s the guy who stated that everyone would be world-famous for 15 minutes, which in today’s society is more relevant than ever before. I would ask him about The Factory, the art scene, Edie Sedgwick, Lou Reed and all the other amazing people that surrounded him.”
WHAT SONG ALWAYS PULLS YOU OUT OF A BAD HEADSPACE? “‘Enjoy The Silence’ by Depeche Mode.” WHAT PART OF YOURSELF CAN YOU EXPRESS IN AIDEN THAT YOU OTHERWISE CAN’T? “I’m not the most rambunctious person you’ll
ever meet. In my daily life I have a pretty solemn disposition. Something happens when I stand on stage. I transform into a monster bent on the destruction of self-hatred. All my worries disappear, my fear is detached, and for that 45 minutes to an hour I get to play the part of a madman.”
DESCRIBE THE NEW AIDEN ALBUM IN THREE WORDS… “Killing emo label.”
The album ‘Knives’ is out now on Victory. Catch Aiden on tour this summer; see gig guide for dates. www.aiden.org
rocksound.tv [43]
With a new album and a huge tour just announced, Green Day are officially back.
GREEN WORRY K C O R DAY ROCK SOUND caught up with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and chatted about his age, Obama, Butch Vig and MCR‌
INTERVIEW: Andrew Kelham / PHOTOS: Sebastian Artz & Marina Chavez
[54] rocksound.tv
B
illie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool, collectively known as Green Day, have achieved a lot in their 22 years together. The band have sold 65 million records, toured the globe countless times and released eight albums of genredefining punk rock. However, perhaps their biggest achievement is new album ‘21st Century Breakdown’, an epic concept record that took years to imagine and articulate. As the band unleash their greatest opus on the world, vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong gives Rock Sound an amazing insight into the album’s creation and the band’s position as the undisputed kings of punk…
DID YOU GO CRAZY WRITING THIS ALBUM? HAVE YOU COME BACK DOWN TO EARTH AFTER YOUR ‘21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN’ EPISODE? “I wouldn’t necessarily call it
an episode but it was definitely close. It was just a stressfully long process and the hardest thing for Green Day is to be is patient, especially in my case. It’s all good now and it seems like everything is going alright so far. Slowly but surely you get a little distance from the album and it allows you to be a bit more objective about the record too.”
‘21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN’ SEEMS A LESS BOMBASTIC RECORD ON THE SURFACE, WAS THAT INTENTIONAL? “The last record came out blasting with the song ‘American Idiot’ and this album creeps in, but I think ‘21st Century Breakdown’ has some of the most dynamic stuff we have ever written. It gets really aggressive and really loud yet has some of the most sombre moments we have ever put on a record.”
WOULD YOU SAY YOU’RE HAPPY WITH THE ALBUM? WHAT WAS YOUR EXPECTATION OF THE RECORD? “I have
heard the album about 10 million times so I need to get a little distance from it as I’m still inside the record too much from tweaking on it for so long, but I definitely believe this is the best record we have ever made.”
“WE HAD TO LISTEN BACK THROUGH EVERYTHING AND ASSESS WHETHER IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO GO ON THE RECORD, EVEN ‘KNOW YOUR ENEMY’ WAS QUESTIONED.” HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT FROM WHEN ‘AMERICAN IDIOT’ WAS RELEASED? “I’m not sure you know, I still have the same energy
for the band, in fact I think I have more energy for the band than ever before. I think I’m now also prepared to second guess myself more than I ever did before too, I now have the guts and courage to go deeper into writing in different styles than I ever did before.”
WHAT SONG STARTED THE PROCESS OF ‘21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN’? “The first song that we wrote was the ‘Mass
Hysteria’ part of ‘American Eulogy’ and it was created right around the time of Hurricane Katrina. It was a crazy time and a lot of the album, whether it is talking about Hurricane Katrina, religious fanatics or even swine flu, is about questioning your paranoia and declaring your own independence from that.”
DOES THE MEDIA’S HANDLING OF NEWS EVENTS STILL FASCINATE AND DISGUST YOU? “Oh, absolutely. I am amazed
at how much attention has been given to President Obama’s dog. I voted for the guy and he seems pretty cool so far but I really don’t care about his dog. The media just tends to get caught up in strange things that we eventually become addicted to. I know I am just as guilty as anyone else when it comes to this and so I think a lot of the record was me trying to make sense of all the confusion. ‘21st Century Breakdown’ is about trying to find some deeper truths as you realise you have been full of bullshit for so long. It is about trying to see the light and I think you hear it most clearly at the end of the record.”
rocksound.tv [55]
LIFE-CHANGING ALBUM
“I
AMORAL
‘SHOW YOUR COLORS’
EYAL LEVI (DÅÅTH)
[5]
AKRON/FAMILY
‘REVELATIONS OF THE BLACK FLAME’ ‘SET ‘EM WILD, SET ‘EM FREE’ (CANDLELIGHT)
www.legion1349.com
ADAM FRANKLIN ‘SPENT BULLETS‘
[7]
(SECOND MOTION)
As the figure in charge of much of the steering where Swervedriver were concerned, Adam Franklin’s one of the godfathers of nu-gaze, so it’s encouraging to hear him returning on such fuzzily focused form. The dissonant, miaowing melancholy of ’Autumn Leaf’ is a thrill to behold, as is the cascading guitar tapestry of ’Bolts Of Melody’, while ’Big Sur’ and ’Champs’ introduce a spacefaring psychedelia into proceedings, and ’Teardrops Keep Fallin’ Out My Head’ displays the grace contemporaries Teenage Fanclub and The Lemonheads grew into. Consequently, ’Spent Bullets’ is a woozily warm embrace of an album, and anything but a misfire. FOR FANS OF: Buffalo Tom, Kyte, early Doves.
www.adamfranklin.com
[7]
‘KNIVES’ (VICTORY)
Since the departure of guitarist Jake Wambold last year, Aiden have been anything but idle. ‘Knives’ is the fourth release from the post-hardcore Seattlers and marks a darker direction. Where Wil has in the past kept a check on his ‘anti-religious’ lyrical tendencies, ‘Knives’ sees him let loose with tracks like ‘Crusifiction’ where his bile-soaked lyricism packs a similar punch to Marilyn Manson in his ‘Antichrist Superstar’-era. (“Fuck God. There’s no religion. Christ died for shit and was a fucking c**t!“ – being just some of his choice tirades). Despite the clichés, this is a very well-produced affair retaining the punkier elements of Aiden’s sound. FOR FANS OF: Alesana, Escape The Fate, The Blackout
www.myspace.com/aiden FAYE LEWIS
New York’s Akron/Family may be most famous for being Michael Gira’s The Angels Of Light backing band, but they’ve also proven themselves worthy individualists. The “experimental-folk” rockers may have a loose collective appearance – as per their live performances – but despite their coffee shop quirkiness and occasionally sounding like they’re playing for a kindergarten class down at the local library, A/F are capable of startling energy and infectious anthems (‘Everyone Is Guilty’ and ‘River’), raucous noise (‘MBF’), as well as the brooding and slinky ‘Creatures’. Then there’s ‘The Alps And Their Orange Evergreen’, a song Bob Dylan would no doubt trade his arrogant aloof persona for. FOR FANS OF: They Might Be Giants, Trans Am, Do Make Say Think, Great Lake Swimmers
ALESTORM
‘BLACK SAILS AT MIDNIGHT’
‘ANIMALS AS LEADERS’
[8]
Apparently Bellini’s third album was recorded under the shadow of various deaths, personal tragedies and other gristly happenstances. Which is definitely a sad thing, but you’d be hardpressed to tell anything was especially awry from ‘The Precious Prize Of Gravity’. That’s not to say it in any way amounts to a cheery album; it’s just that the quartet’s Steve Albini-helmed panic attack maths-blues sound is so incessantly anguished and high strung that it’s hard to identify any light, shade or emotional variation in there. Magik Markers do this type of thing more interestingly, but that’s not to deny this record’s garrotting-wire taut drama. FOR FANS OF: Magik Markers, PJ Harvey
www.snowingsun.com
[9]
BIG BUSINESS
‘MIND THE DRIFT’
(PROSTHETIC)
[8]
(HYDRA HEAD)
Without even a cursory introduction or giving us a chance to draw breath, Animals As Leaders whisk us off majestically on their instrumental space ship. The Earth recedes, stars flit past and strange surrealistic landscapes drip outside the windows. This record is a space-prog head-trip. Imagine a bubble floating away, breaking up into smaller pieces and drifting off in the wind. Now imagine Dream Theater are that bubble, remove all thoughts of Liquid Tension Experiment, post-rock or Isis and put Steven Wilson at the helm of this masterpiece. Music is art and Animals As Leaders paint all over the inside of your skull. FOR FANS OF: Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, 65daysofstatic, Meshuggah
Back with their third album, this sees these big bastards hitting as heavy as ever, unleashing a slow-burning monster loaded with hooks and wallops aplenty. Having burned through a clutch of guest guitarists, the duo have finally plumped for the talents of Toshi Kasai, whose spidering guitar lines highlight the bigger picture rather than compete blow-for-blow with the existing heft. While not as immediate as its magnificent 07 forebear, ‘Mind The Drift’ nonetheless lays its roots deep with a stellar combination of monolithic riffs, superb songwriting nous and Jared Warren’s mournful yet all-powerful bellow. Balls-out awesome, basically. FOR FANS OF: Karp, Torche, Melvins, Harvey Milk
www.myspace.com/bigbigbusiness ALEX DELLER
KEN MCGRATH
The Jolly Roger of hero metal is proudly unfurled once again as salty sea dogs Alestorm offload their second offering. Not so much a storm in a tea cup as an explosion in a brewery, this beery brew combines riffery that nods towards fellow quest-rockers Destroy Destroy Destroy with an added Celtic edge (check out ‘Leviathan’) – think ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’-era Adam And The Ants jamming 3 Inches Of Blood tracks with William Wallace on vocals and you’ll be close. There are songs of pillaging, plundering and piracy – and even an ode to your dad’s fave après shave slap in ‘That Famous Ol’ Spiced’. Yarrrr! FOR FANS OF: 3 Inches Of Blood, Skeletonwitch, Destroy Destroy Destroy
RONNIE KERSWELL
ALTAR OF PLAGUES ‘WHITE TOMB’
[8]
(PROFOUND LORE)
While the majority of boundarypushing black metal is coming from the States at the moment, Irish trio Altar Of Plagues are paving a new way for isolated European bands. They’re part of a new breed of musicians who are as dedicated to creating atmosphere as they are respectful of conventional guitar / bass / drum setups. ‘White Tomb’ conjures a world of titanic collapse, where passages of dark somnambulist ambience clash with shards of bleak Khanate-esque doom in apocalyptic fall-out. Final track ‘Through The Collapse (ii. Gentian Truth)’ dominates, hitting the peaks found in Manatees’ progression, Isis’ celestial dirge and the blissful noise of early Mogwai. FOR FANS OF: Wolves In The Throne Room, Old Man Gloom, Krallice
www.myspace.com/altarofplagues
H O T
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o f p
W B A
H F
w W t o i t a
H W P
BLOOD RED THRONE
(NAPALM)
DAN MORGAN
[80] rocksound.tv
ANIMALS AS LEADERS
[6]
ANDRZEJ LUKOWSKI
www.myspace.com/animalsasleaders
KEVIN STEWART-PANKO
www.myspace.com/alestorm
IAIN MOFFAT
AIDEN
JIM BURT
www.akronfamily.com
KEVIN STEWART-PANKO
‘THE PRECIOUS PRIZE OF GRAVITY’ (TEMPORARY RESIDENCE)
[8] www.amoralweb.com
(DEAD OCEANS)
We’ve seen black metal jet off in all directions – wildly esoteric, even-more-necro-thanthou, shoegaze, folk – since 1349’s last album, ‘Hellfire’, four years ago. But in what appears to be an attempt to broaden their palette, create atmosphere or impress co-mixer Tom Gabriel Fischer, 1349 have largely fallen into first gear, subtracting much of the velocity of Frost’s drums and Archaon’s axe. The black metal is passable, but massive portions are little more than mechanised groans and sonic non-sequiturs disguised as menace and easily replicated by the ambient buzz of a bustling shopping center or an auto body shop... and not having to pay $12.99 for the privilege. FOR FANS OF: Mayhem, Hellhammer, Darkthrone, Deathspell Omega
BELLINI
(SPINEFARM)
There’s no stopping the genremorphing antics of this Finnish mob. Now almost unrecognisable from their early death metal, they’ve now landed outlandish new vocalist Ari Koivunen. Although still seemingly undecided who they are, venturing from death, to metalcore and now what could be considered mainstream metal, there’s no denying that the delivery is exemplary and the songs are generically strong, with more heroic solos than you could shake a studded bracelet at. However, although this might prove a boot up the jacksy for any mainstream metal fan looking for a quick kick, it’ll sure as heck dismay the devotees. FOR FANS OF: Death metallers sniffing out the big bucks.
would have to say it was probably just one song, when I first heard ‘Epic’ by Faith No More when I was nine years old. I wasn’t allowed to watch MTV, and wasn’t allowed to listen to rock music, and this suddenly entered my life. I’d never heard a sound so extreme! I mean, I know Morbid Angel were around at the time, but when I was nine I didn’t know that, so I heard this sound and I was instantly gravitated towards it. That was life-changing, for sure. It opened me up to the whole metal thing.”
1349
[7]
m f a w t W w
H D
y r w a t s d
ASSEMBLE HEAD IN SUNBURST SOUND
‘WHEN SWEET SLEEP RETURNED’ (TEE PEE)
Modern bands summoning the multi-coloured swirl of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury, aren’t a big deal to anyone outside those bemoaning the original 60s spirit. However, AHISS are one lot likely to bring your weird uncle’s rocking chair to a screeching halt. This quartet chill-out like no other, but also unleash buzz ‘n’ fuzz vocals sounding like a duet between Neil Young and that oddball bird from Amon Düül II while organs, vintage distortion and fiery blues solos backdrop Deep Purple and Quicksilver Messenger Service trading “peace pipes” with Clearlight and Mudhoney. The result is peace, love and cannons being rolled on the vinyl version’s gatefold jacket. FOR FANS OF: Pink Floyd, Blue Cheer, Hawkwind, getting baked on the beach.
www.myspace.com/theassembleheadinsunburstsound KEVIN STEWART-PANKO
BLOOD RED THRONE
[7] ‘SOULS OF DAMNATION’
[7]
(EARACHE)
Norwegian metallers Blood Red Throne are pretty much veterans at this stage of their career, but that’s no bad thing. Confident, accomplished and aware of both who and what they are, fifth album ‘Souls Of Damnation’ may not be as bulldozingly heavy as some of what’s vying for your attention today (or for some of their past catalogue for that matter) but it doesn’t suffer for it. It shows character. There’s plenty of groove in this death thrash mix-up (‘Harme’) and many nods to the genius of Chuck Schuldiner (‘Throne Of Damnation’ which features some subtle bass sproings), while keeping a semblance of black-hearted rock throughout. Nice going! FOR FANS OF: Entombed, Death, Satyricon
www.myspace.com/bloodredthrone666 KEN MCGRATH
B
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D
ANTI-FLAG [6]
HOW DID THE RECENT ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA AFFECT YOUR THINKING IN REGARDS TO LYRICAL CONTENT ON THE NEW RECORD? “Well, I think it shaped some of the focus of the record. Obviously there’s a global economic melt down, a seemingly endless war in Iraq, a rotten American healthcare system, but on election day it seemed there was a matching step backwards for every step forwards – the repealing of several Affirmative Action programs, gay rights were trampled on. The election of Barack Obama as an influence was mostly as a wake up call, there is still a tremendous amount of work to do. Ding dong the cliché is dead, let’s keep working towards progress.”
WHAT IS THE GRAVEST CRISIS FACING THE US PEOPLE AT THE MOMENT? “The fact that our government is not held accountable in any fashion. The fact that a corporate coup has taken place and hijacked democracy.”
WOULD YOU SAY YOU WANTED TO HARK BACK TO YOUR EARLIER SOUND WITH THIS ALBUM? “Yes and no. I would say that Anti-Flag
‘THE PEOPLE OR THE GUN’ (SIDEONEDUMMY)
In light of the recent US election triumph for Barack Obama, many American bands previously rallying against all and political sundry (ie George W. Bush) have recently affirmed their desire to take appropriate corrective action regarding future lyrical content, not wanting their messages to appear redundant amidst a marked improvement in US foreign and domestic policy. One such band, clearly, are Anti-Flag. Having spent the Bush-era rallying against the evils of nuclear weapon testing and cultural imperialism, their first offering of the Obama-era focuses (lyrically) on problems that may well be present regardless of régime: the economy, jobs and the every day problems regarding relationships and communities. Roping in a fine supporting cast for back-up vocals on ‘The Gre(a)t Depression’ in Tim McIlrath of Rise Against and Wade MacNeil of Alexisonfire, it’s clear the band have, and will continue to have, a strong footing within the international punk community. Displaying a more raw, return-to-roots sound than their previous two efforts, ‘The People Or The Gun’ may go some way to convincing older fans that the band still have that true punk fire raging in their bellies. For quality of songwriting and production, however, RS would go with ‘For Blood And Empire’ any day.
!• THEY’ CD
ON THE RE
CHRIS #2 (BASS)
ON THE RE
]
IN THEIR WORDS
•THEY ’ CD!
]
FOR FANS OF: Rise Against, Propagandhi, Against Me!, Big D And The Kids Table [8] EARTH CRISIS www.anti-flag.com
will always sound like Anti-Flag. The four of us OLI ROBERTSON never try to achieve a certain sound or style with (CENTURY MEDIA) any record or song. Our goal has always been to When that Earthpeople Crisis reunited in 07with theyemotionmust have known that if they of crossover metallic hardcore, lacking in none of the latter’s intensity write songs can identify wrote any new material it would judged harshly by diehard fans but delivered with all of the former’s precision and dynamic clarity as ally and ideologically, songs where thebemessage is critics alike. Theequality, band whoand made history the band give people 11 good reasons to pay attention to them again. racial, and sexual, economical music that in the early 90s hardcore scene by marrying the sounds of Pantera and Sepultura with the CroYou may not care for the vegan straightedge life of activism that Earth sonically translates that goal.” Mags and Final Conflict weren‘t going to get away with half-arsing a few Crisis shamelessly promote, but you can’t deny the sound of a band HOW DID YOUR CHOICE OF PRODUCER REnew songs so they could tour. If a new album was to be released it had returning to form. FLECT ON THE SOUND OF THE ALBUM? “Well, to be good, Earth Crisis knew that and acted accordingly. New album ‘To FOR FANS OF: Strife, Birthright, Cro-Mags we produced and recorded the record ourselves. The Death’ is a blistering hybrid of 95s album ‘Destroy The Machines’, www.myspace.com/earthcrisis We’ve worked with producers many times but at ANDREW KELHAM 96s album ‘Gomorrah‘s Season Ends’ and the 98 Roadrunner offering this point we feel like no one can ever understand ‘Breed The Killers’. The album, their first in eight years, is the crispest our band as much as we do. If anything, recording in our hometown of Pittsburgh was more influential. We are able to focus more here, buckle down and not be distracted by any outside entities.”
‘TO THE DEATH’
HOW WAS YOUR STINT ON A MAJOR LABEL? WOULD YOU SAY IT WAS AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE? “I will say it was an awesome experiment. Spending Sony’s money on our agenda was fun and all, but we are glad that corporate layoffs and bottom lines are behind us. Having people who are working on your record getting fired all the time is still a strange and foreign thing for us. We enjoy having a real connection with the people who work on our music and ideas with us.”
HOW COME YOU SIGNED UP WITH SIDEONEDUMMY? “We’ve known them as friends for years and have always talked about releasing a record with them. There were a number of places we could have released this record. SOD were absolutely committed to Anti-Flag, the response to the record has been great. We are excited about sharing it with the world and SOD are working diligently to aid us in this process.”
]
BLOODHORSE ‘HORIZONER’
[7]
(TRANSLATION LOSS)
Including members of Shelter, The Red Chord and American Nightmare, Bloodhorse have crafted nine tracks of sludgy, groove-filled rock that owes a great deal to old and new. The vocals cross Brent Hinds with Ozzy; the guitars too are reminiscent of Mastodon (‘The Old Man’) although the majority is focussed on driving grooves rather than technical intricacies. The band tease with long escalating intros (‘A Good Son’) but still take the time to belt out classic rock-infused hardcore as good as anything before (‘Paranoiac’). Given the calibre of its members, it’s no surprise such range is a pleasure to absorb. FOR FANS OF: The Swamp Donkey, The Sword, Mastodon
www.wearebloodhorse.com DAN MORGAN
BLUE OCTOBER
‘APPROACHING NORMAL’
[7]
CKY
(UNIVERSAL)
As soon as the opening track kicks in with a snarling tirade, it’s clear that Texans Blue October aren’t another mediocre American guitar band. Frontman Justin Furstenfeld can be scarier than Disturbed’s David Draiman on a really angry day, and it’s largely his no-holds-barred vocals and lyrics that make Blue October stand out. That said, it’s not just about shouting the loudest. The quintet’s quieter moments achieve that rare feat of being poetic rather than soppy (‘My Never’), while their uplifting pop songs disguise brave subject matter (‘Kangaroo Cry’). Five albums in, it’s time this opinionated and passionate band enjoyed UK success. FOR FANS OF: Modest Mouse, R.E.M., Disturbed
www.blueoctoberfan.com VICTORIA DURHAM
[7]
‘CARVER CITY’ (ROADRUNNER)
CKY continue to play rock like they just crawled out of a scrap with World Under Blood and Gnarkill, triumphantly emerging JD bottle in hand. Comfortably positioned between Viking Skull and Fireball Ministry, their fourth album ‘Carver City’ inaugurates a different kind of sound to 05s ‘An Answer Can Be Found’, preferring a more insolent delivery overall. ‘Woe Is Me’ and ‘Imaginary Threats’ fizzle with menace, more so than on former releases like ’96 Quite Bitter Beings’. It’s a familiar realm but revisited, this time, without all the bullshit of inner band bustups, and the result is better focused, clearersounding rock. FOR FANS OF: Oil, HIM, Daniel Lioneye
www.ckyalliance.com FAYE LEWIS
CLUES
[8]
‘CLUES’
(CONSTELLATION)
Fans of a certain brand of unhinged Canadian indie have been waiting a heckuva long time for this record, which marks the belated return of Alden Penner, co-frontman of The Unicorns, the Montreal lo-fi pop band who’d probably have taken the world over if they hadn’t loathed each other’s faces so very much. ‘Clues’ confirms his Lennon status to former band mate (and Islands frontman) Nick Diamonds’ shiner McCartney. It’s a grimy, troubled spectre of a record that chases the frightened figure of pop down dark, brass-haunted alleys, labyrinths of guitar murk and Lynchian cabaret halls, lays off sticking the knife in just yet. FOR FANS OF: The Unicorns, Animal Collective
www.cstrecords.com/bands/clues ANDRZEJ LUKOWSKI
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MASTODON (11) SUPPORT: INTRONAUT (6), KYLESA (8) COMMODORE BALLROOM, VANCOUVER
V
ancouver’s Commodore Ballroom often seems more mausoleum than energised as a venue, its sweeping space a repository for notoriously inexpressive local crowds as animated as a bowl of fruit. However, the half-capacity cast assembled for early set openers, So-Cal’s Intronaut, hint that better is to be expected from this eve’s onlookers. As a monochromatic, predominantly male flock files into the place, Intronaut’s vitriol spews forth, the gap between stage and audience ever-shrinking in spite of the fact that they’re surprisingly shoegazey and don’t do much to excite, their sound more sluggish than sludgy. Next up, Kylesa add some pep to the festivities; doublebarrelled tribal drums slicing through the white noise and incessant hum left behind by Intronaut’s volcanic bass. Laura Pleasants does a stellar job on vocals / guitar, flipping the bird to any doubtful dudes in the room who think that girls can’t shred. Their psychedelic set, infused with prog-rock elements, lays an awesome foundation for the galaxy-straddling majesty of Mastodon’s ‘Crack The Skye’ opus to come, and by the time Mastodon hit the stage it’s a veritable love-in. As the first potent strains of ‘Oblivion’ prick at eardrums, the energy in the room swells to monumental levels, a packed house undulating as one. Swaying with the sepulchral tones, echoes of Staley / Cantrell harmonies filter in, complemented by brilliantly multi-dimensional soaring guitar riffs and frenetic drum fills that beat a rhythmic tattoo into tonight’s collective consciousness. Each track from the ethereal ‘Crack The Skye’ seems to fly by, accompanied by a video backdrop that adds colour to the minimalist light show and charts a graphic course through “the space-time paradigm” and beyond. The insanely charismatic Brent Hinds keeps the audience rapt, as he throws himself about through each number, guitar and man as one, and it’s hard to look away, hypnotised by a musician who clearly lives and breathes what he does with dramatic intensity. It’s also clear that each player in this brilliant band has his all to give and they do for some two hours – welcomed by a salivating crowd, singing along with tunes that bob and weave, defying traditional structures, the robust fan participation demonstrating the level of devotion Mastodon evokes. ‘The Last Baron’ closes the ‘Crack The Skye’ segment of the eve, as the relentlessly energetic and engaging foursome head off into more visceral territory, marching through tracks from previous releases; ‘Blood Mountain’, ‘Leviathan’ and ‘ Remission’ – sating the appetites of those in the crowd viewing this as the dessert portion of the set, after feasting on a performance as succulent as a juicy piece of steak. ‘Crack The Skye’ is an exquisite epic of an album that translates mind-bogglingly well live. Tonight is a perfect performance of a perfect album that plombs depths while soaring to breathtaking heights, wrapping you up in its tsunami to break against Druid-infested shores. This eve’s show takes you through the evolution of a band that has built upon its Neolithic roots to masterfully emerge as a formidable force on the world stage as well as the underground one. An awesome amusement park ride through time, space and sound, complete with hypnotic visual accompaniments, an unspeakably wicked soundtrack and some tattooed wizard of a spirit guide at the helm, tonight is truly an out-of-body experience. CHANTAL HENNESSEY
[96] rocksound.tv
Your views on the night’s action... The Barnard Bros, Victoria Nate (left) “What a show! I feel complete and 200 per cent more metal-headed!” Matt (right) “Mastodon are a phenomenal band giving it their all. Fucking awesome!” Angus ‘The Mighty’, East Vancouver “They rocked harder than a Mammoth stampede!”
Pat & Cory, Vancouver Pat (left) “Their live show gets better and better, totally mind-blowing! ‘Crack The Skye’ is their ‘…And Justice For All’!” Cory (right) “The new album sounded great live. Mastodon are hands down the best metal band of the last decade. Fuckin’ right on!”
KYLESA
© Graham Smith
VOX ROCK
LOWER THAN ATLANTIS [5] FACE BAR, READING
Headlining a gig can sometimes be a curse. As Hertfordshire quartet Lower Than Atlantis begin their set on this Sunday evening, they provide the climax to a six-band bill. A lot of people have gone home; half of the remaining punters are too pissed to care. Frontman Mike Duce begins proceedings in charming fashion: “Oi soundman, turn the fucking monitors up, yeah? We can’t hear nuffin’, sounds like a bunch of people fuckin’ shouting at me.” He has good reason to complain about the acoustics; the band deliver a messy, short set. The most interesting aspect of the gig is Mike and guitarist Ben’s fixation on spitting on each other. Lower Than Atlantis are clearly dedicated to entertaining audiences, as demonstrated by Duce as he drops his guitar and lurches into a depleted crowd, dragging the mic stand with him, during final song ‘The Juggernaut’. They’re adept, gobby showmen. Shame this was a pretty shitty show. TIM NEWBOUND
DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL [5] ACADEMY, SHEFFIELD
As Sheffield’s own Rolo Tomassi play to a packed out venue down the street, Devil Sold His Soul have the odds stacked against them. Embarking on a tour which has more T-shirts than bands, DSHS are making a small impact tonight, but that doesn’t make the show any less soul destroying than the youngsters up the road. With boyish looks to match, the band jump onstage to a wash of pounding rhythms and heavy beats. The room physically shakes as the audience are left staring gobsmacked at the stage. As the roar of the vocals rushes through the room, the group’s powerful force takes hold while the band members thrash about the stage. Ultimately, though, the formula lies thin very quickly as we’re left contemplating another predictable melody. As the band move into another progressive unexciting tune we leave with a heavy heart, a big sigh and a sense that Devil Sold His Soul were second place on gig-goers agendas tonight. RUTH OFFORD
PROPAGANDHI [7]
ISLINGTON ACADEMY, LONDON
Following an explosive Sheffield show (during which the venue was quite literally set on fire), Propagandhi’s entrance tonight is perplexing, with Clive Jones from vintage rockers Black Widow introducing them with a round of his 1970 classic ‘Come To The Sabbat’. The band’s set features songs from pretty much every full-length, but the crowd’s cheers for ‘A Speculative Fiction’ and ‘Back To The Motor League’ are just as deafening as those for their latest songs. The sombre, minor-key feel of new release ‘Supporting Caste’ works brilliantly live, and there’s no compromise in the band’s ethics, either, with shout-outs to veganism coming in new number ‘Human(e) Meat’, as well as their statement political talk between songs. Self-described as “a bunch of almost 40-year-olds dressed as 14-yearolds”, the ‘Gandhi are a surprisingly light-hearted bunch, and their full cover of ‘Come To The Sabbat’ for the encore leaves everyone smiling. AMY BANGS
UNEARTHLY TRANCE [7] UNDERWORLD, LONDON
BACKSTAGE ROCK SOUND GUSHES WITH MASTODON DRUMMER BRANN DAILOR…
HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? ARE YOU COMING BACK? PLEASE COME BACK! “We’re here NOW! Of course, we have to come back, the place was packed and they seemed really into us! We had a great show.”
A Sunday evening is far from the best time for doom. After three sets of soporific snail-paced sounds, Rock Sound notices with increasingly heavy lids how each headbang gets lazier, heads descending further to the ground and thoughts of duvets and mugs of warm cocoa filling the mind. Thankfully, it’s around this time Unearthly Trance sneak onstage and blast out ‘God Is A Beast’, the finest and vilest opening notes to new album ‘Electrocution’. Even when the track’s closing riff reaches glacial speeds and threatens to coax the audience into a slumber, there’s always another white hot scream or sludgy speed-up to add to the variation of tempo that’s missing in a lot of similar bands. Unearthly Trance don’t quite live up to their moniker, though. Sadly it’s the newer tracks’ speed and style changes that stop proceedings becoming trance-inducing, the jerks in song structure too stark to leave its audience in a comatose hypnosis. DAN MORGAN
rocksound.tv [97]