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£3.80 AUG. 2009 ISSUE 125
USA $8.99 / CAN $10.95 / AUS $9.75
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No.125 AUGUST 2009
MAIN FEATURES
38 LACUNA COIL 66 BILLY TALENT
Dogging, being licked, lingerie and kicking blokes in the balls – hey, you asked for it! We ask Lacuna Coil your questions…
54 BLINK 182 & FALL OUT BOY
The demise and resurrection of Blink-182 AND Fall Out Boy’s future plans. ROCK SOUND gets a world exclusive chat with Pete Wentz and Mark Hoppus…
© Nigel Crane
64 ANTHRAX
ROCK SOUND shoots the shit with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian to discuss new album ’Worship Music’, reunion tours and Meat Loaf. Obviously!
Rock Sound braves the cold of Newcastle to get the lowdown from Toronto’s premier touring vamps on everything from recording their new album ‘III’ to the Muppets…
72 DEVILDRIVER
“I’ve got all kinds of owls: glass ones, candles, taxidermy, ones from Panama from the 60s that are impossible to find, paintings by professionals, amateurs…” Okaaaay?! DevilDriver reveal all…
76 THE MARS VOLTA
Drugs, inspiration, disappearances and At The Drive-In, Omar and Cedric open up to ROCK SOUND…
"I can say categorically that we wouldn’t be a band without theM." PETE WENTZ ON BLINK-182
rocksound.tv [3]
FEATURES EDIT 42 CLOWN (SLIPKNOT)
WELCOME TO MY WORLD
44 DESIGN DEVILS NAT DAMM
46 KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
BULLSHIT DETECTOR 48 STEADLÜR THE TWO OF US
50 JONNY DAVY
46 102
(JOB FOR A COWBOY) Q&A 52 METALLICA REVOLUTIONARIES 70 KILL CASINO 115 MASTODON THE LAST WORD CAMDEN’S INSTRUMENT THEFT REACHED EPIC PROPORTIONS
ONE ER M a H S F *CK A H MUT
Darren Taylor, Editor
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, featuring Biffy Clyro, The Used, Linkin Park, Baroness, Deaf Havana and more. Also this month: your chance to get your grubby mitts on a load of garb from Glamour Kills Clothing, Jansport and Rock Bootique!
25-36 EXPOSURE The best new bands you need to know about, featuring Blakfish, Outcry Collective, Portugal. The Man, Swashbuckle, Hollywood Undead and more…
82-97 REVIEWS ROCK SOUND reviews and rates over 100 new releases in music, films, DVDs, games and books. Featuring Billy Talent, Darkest Hour, The Shitty Limits, He Is Legend, DevilDriver, and more, while Steel Panther tackle the singles.
98-111 LIVES The hottest gigs from around the world reviewed, including a massive Download Festival special, Truck Fest, Coalesce, Aiden, BrokeNCYDE and loads more…
[4] rocksound.tv
When Blink-182 announced they were putting their issues behind them and reforming, short-wearing punks everywhere wet themselves with excitement – and we at Rock Sound peed a little too. About to head out Stateside on one of the most anticipated tours of 09, in our world exclusive we bring together Blink’s Mark Hoppus and touring mate Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy to get the inside scoop. We’ve also crossed to the other side now. We’re into the second half of 09 and it’s already shaping up to be a real corking close to what’s been a fantastic year for music (excluding or including the death of Wacko Jacko – depending on your views of the man). The autumn release schedule is looking pretty damn tasty with new records in the pipeline from Paramore, Brand New, Biffy Clyro, Lostprophets, Muse, The Bronx’s alter ego El Bronx and more. Even one of Rock Sound’s favourites, if somewhat sporadic, bands have decided to get in on the action and release a new record... yes, Keelhaul are back. We kid you not. Did anyone see last month’s cover stars, The Gaslight Anthem, performing with The Boss (Bruce Springsteen for those young‘uns) at Glastonbury and London’s Hyde Park? What a truly memorable moment! With Supersonic, Truck, Sonisphere, Reading and Leeds festivals still on the horizon, there are still plenty of fantastic bands to check out this summer, most likely with plenty more unforgettable moments in store too. We’ll see you in a field somewhere. Bugger, I still haven’t got the hang of this moonwalking lark…
And the band they’d like to join… 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 (Baroness) darren.taylor@rocksound.tv twitter.com/rocksoundtaylor DEPUTY EDITOR: Darren Sadler (Faith No More) darren.sadler@rocksound.tv REVIEWS EDITOR: Darren Taylor SUB EDITOR: Jen Walker (Girls Aloud) jen.walker@rocksound.tv EDITORIAL ASSISTANT / STAFF WRITER: Faye Lewis (Smashing Pumpkins) faye.lewis@rocksound.tv GAMES EDITOR: David Jenkins (Rolling Stones) FILMS EDITOR: Rachel Kellehar (Radiohead) DESIGN: Alistair Cook (Take That) alistair.cook@rocksound.tv ONLINE EDITOR: Andy Kelham (Converge) 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, Joe Marshall, Ken McGrath, Iain Moffat, Dan Morgan, Giles Moorhouse, Tim Newbound, Paul Raggity, Oli Robertson, Mike Watt, Plum Woodard. 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) SPECIAL THANKS: Alex Andrews, Nadine Pena, Bob McLynn, J Bennett, Robin Laananen, Andy Kelham, Johnfold Wright. Congrats to Ronnie Kerswell who married the beard of her dreams and now becomes a Kerswell-O’Hara. ADVERTISING MANAGER: Lianne Sparkes (Incubus) Tel: 0207 877 8776 lianne.sparkes@rocksound.tv EVENTS COORDINATOR: Chloe Brown (Led Zeppelin) chloe.brown@rocksound.tv PUBLISHER: Patrick Napier (Steel Panther) Tel: 0207 877 8779 patrick.napier@rocksound.tv 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: Robin Laananen 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.
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DOWNLOAD 2009 Bring Me The Horizon, Killswitch Engage, You Me At Six, Suicide Silence, Dir en grey, Enter Shikari, The Blackout, Trivium and a bazillion more bands talk to Rock Sound TV at Download 09.
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POLAR BEAR CLUB The band talk to Rock Sound TV about their RSsponsored tour. Male nudity in the van anyone?
The Used return with ‘Artwork’ The Used frontman Bert McCracken reckons the quartet have followed through with their promise to invent a new genre on forthcoming fourth album, ‘Artwork’. “We’re all so sick and tired of this genre that we’ve been placed in, or had a lot to do with helping to get in people’s faces. We’re just a little bit over the whole screamo / emo situation,” said the singer. “Our original plan was to set out to destroy a genre of music and at the same time create one called gross-pop; this music’s pretty gross, and at the same time it’s really catchy and poppy.” Produced by Matt Squire (Panic At The Disco, Taking Back Sunday), the 11-track album was recorded in several sessions over five months at studios in Culver City, San Diego, Hollywood and Silver Lake. This is the band’s first record with new drummer Dan Whitesides, and Bert told us the quartet are delighted with the results, following their most protracted period of recording to date. “I’m really stoked, everyone’s really happy with it,” he
enthused. “I think in a big way it kind of reflects a lot of The Used from our self-titled record, in that it’s a little bit less precise and polished this time around.” The singer added that he wasn’t lacking sources of ire when penning the lyrics – with popular culture particularly pissing him off. “The general state of art in our society and in our culture is extremely bad in the United States,” he said. “Things like reality TV shows – I’m sure in the UK you get a lot of that shit too, but we’re just bombarded with the types of things that we would never want to watch or listen to over here, like bands trying to come up just to be famous, and they don’t really give a shit about art or songs in general.” Expect ‘Artwork’ to drop on August 31 on Reprise / Warners. The band play Sonisphere in August and their own headline show; see gig guide for dates. www.theused.net
THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND Vocalist Tom Lacey tells Rock Sound TV about why he is hardcore’s Del Boy.
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Phew, there’s been a lot to report this month on www.rocksound.tv. The festival season officially kicked off with DOWNLOAD 2009 and Rock Sound TV spent the weekend standing around in the sunshine nattering with pretty much every band on the bill. Tough life. When not out of the office getting sunburnt, we’ve been getting the entire internet in a lather by revealing an early tracklisting of the new BRAND NEW album, announcing PARAMORE song titles, LINKIN PARK side-projects, ENTER SHIKARI tour dates and a whole lot more. Before GUILFEST kicked in we confirmed that FALL OUT BOY are not breaking up, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE are tracking their new record, BIFFY CLYRO will be touring later in the year and that SLIPKNOT’s frontman COREY TAYLOR has a soft spot for SUSAN BOYLE. Yeah, us too on the last one. Right, Sonisphere looms and we need to get ready for another weekend of Rock Sound TV. For the latest head to www.rocksound.tv whenever the mood takes your fancy.
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
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With album number five on the way, ROCK SOUND caught up with Biffy Clyro and got the lowdown on their process…
REVOLUTION ROCK
Biffy hit happy new heights in Hollywood iffy Clyro bassist James Johnston has told Rock Sound the band’s forthcoming fifth album, ‘Only Revolutions’, is set to sound “huge”. “We’ve got some massive riffs and some really exciting melodies,” said the four-stringer. “It has its anthemic moments, and some of it’s quite brutal – there are some really claustrophobic, intense riffs, and it’s been a while since we’ve had anything like that. We just keep getting happier with everything that we’re doing.” The band are currently recording the album in their second of two five-week sessions at Los Angeles’ famous studios, Ocean Way Recording. Garth Richardson and Andy Wallace are again performing their respective production and mixing roles, after working on the trio’s last full-length, Rock Sound’s Album Of The Year 2007, ‘Puzzle’. ‘Only Revolutions’ is set to feature some as-yetunnamed guests, and James told Rock Sound that the band are trying out some different instrumentation this time around. “We’re having a little go at some synthesisers, which is something that I thought we’d never do,” he explained. “I think we’re going to have a bass clarinet, which is a really odd sound, and we went out to a percussion shop and bought a whole bunch of really strange African percussion. We got a Nigerian gong, which sounds really bizarre – I bet [drummer] Ben $100 that it wouldn’t make it onto the album. Unfortunately it did.” The band began demoing new material for the record last summer, working through until earlier this year, writing and rearranging songs in their farmhouse practice space. The album is tentatively set to feature 11 or 12 songs, with confirmed titles including ‘Boom, Blast And Ruin’ (which was previously, erroneously reported to be the album’s working title), ‘God And Satan’, ‘Cloud Of Stink’ and ‘Many Of Horror’. It will also almost certainly include last summer’s smash single, ‘Mountains’. James added that the band are striving to give the album’s tracklist a perfect ebb and flow. “There are a few songs with some quite intricate time signatures – head-
scratchers, I guess – where maybe it’ll take you a little while to figure out what’s happening. You always need respite from that, and we’re figuring how to balance that out.” ‘Puzzle’ was recorded in Richardson’s Canadian hometown, Vancouver, at Bryan Adams’ Warehouse Studio, but this time the band fancied a change of scenery and some pleasant weather. More importantly, Ocean Way Recording has a rich history.
“Some of it’s quite brutal – there are some really claustrophobic, intense riffs.” James Johnston “You have to pinch yourself – you’ll be walking down the corridor and there are pictures of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin, and all the microphones that those guys used are the same microphones we’re using for the recording,” said James. “There’s something about the studio that’s just timeless; it’s exactly the same as it was all those years ago, and I don’t think [in the first session] we used any piece of equipment that was less than 30 years old, except for a computer to do some cataloguing, obviously!” Aside from catching The Matches and Manchester Orchestra playing live, the band have also fitted in some top drawer star-spotting while in Hollywood, spying Cypress Hill openly smoking a bong outside The Roxy on the Sunset Strip. “We thought, ‘Who the hell’s going to get away with that?’,” James laughed. “And of course, Cypress Hill can get away with it – they’re pretty much the only people in the world who could!” Expect ‘Only Revolutions’ to drop in October. Catch Biffy Clyro on their Ireland and UK tour in October and November; see gig guide for dates. www.biffyclyro.com
rocksound.tv [9]
THE BEST NEW MUSIC © Tom Barnes
Banging on kitchen pans, recording a motorway and sampling a chainsaw – it’s all in a day’s work for Outcry Collective…
OUTCRY COLLECTIVE PUSHING BOUNDARIES
[28] rocksound.tv
ON THE RE
•THEY ’ CD!
Faye Lewis
!• THEY’ CD
ON THE RE
After adding some finishing touches to debut album ‘Articles’, including “banging on kitchen pans, recording a motorway and sampling a chainsaw”, Outcry Collective singer Steve Sitkowski explains to Rock Sound the reason behind the odd choices of instrumentation. “We were trying to push the boundaries of what can still be classed as hardcore.” With boundaries successfully pushed, the vocalist contemplates his band’s success, admitting that the last six or so months have been good for the band. “When we went on our European tour, we did a show in Hamburg and some guy showed up having travelled for over four hours. I was blown away by that. There weren’t many people at the show, so the fact that he travelled for four hours to be there makes me realise we’re starting to connect with people, as opposed to people just knowing who we are.” A few months earlier the story was very different, as the quartet turned their hands to different jobs in order to save money. “I worked on a building site for a while and, I won’t lie to you, I’m not that good at building site work! I went to a party the other day with everyone who worked there and they were like, ‘We loved you, but your work was rubbish’. That’s more than fair.” So now that their hands are no longer tied up with odd jobs, what have the band lined up next? “Now we’re back from touring, we’ve got to put down some B-sides, so we’re excited about that. I want to tour on this album for hopefully a year and then get straight back into recording the second album, and maybe try out a new producer. I can’t see it being a drawn out affair, though. I mean, there’s certainly no ‘Chinese Democracy’ for us.” Thank God for that!
LINE UP: Steve Sitkowski (vocals), Robert Pryor (bass), Christopher Phelps (guitar), Sam Burden (drums) FROM: Surrey / London SOUNDS LIKE: The kind of band you wish you could be in. CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Articles’ (album, Visible Noise. Out July 27) WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/outcrycollective DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘Out Of My System’
E on the
THE BEST NEW MUSIC
THE SMALL SCREEN LIGHT SHOW [7]
SOUNDS LIKE: A refreshing and much-needed change from the churned out emo trend.
Originally formed way back in 2004, Wolf Am I are starting afresh. Having been previously touted by Rock Sound under their former moniker of Kill The Arcade, things are finally looking up for the Sloughbased quintet. “We weren’t necessarily comfortable with who we were before,” says vocalist Lee Newell. “We wanted to release this album without any preconceptions, so that’s why we changed our name.” Although essentially the same band, a few things have changed. Josh Ward has replaced Chris Davidson on bass, and they’re more strong-minded, knowing what they’re aiming for this time around. “We all had our own separate goals before, whereas now we’re all looking in the right direction,” states the vocalist. “We want to be happy with the music we play, but before we wanted to be successful commercially.”
TOM LACEY
(THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND) “A new band that I’m really getting into at the moment is Brighton’s own The Plague Sermon, who are made up of four mean-spirited c**ts who write the most bleak, messed up and cosmic, good oldfashioned noisecore, coupled with a belligerent use of post-rock song structures. If ever Britain were to start rationing food again, these are the boys that’d be making an easy living out of fleecing the desperate and unsuspecting public with their knock-off leather goods and breadfilled sausages. They’re just about to put out a new split EP and it’s singularly the most vital and harsh bit of music that I’ve heard in a long time. Think Pg. 99 jamming with Sonic Youth as Oxbow masturbate slowly across their chests.” www.myspace.com/theplaguesermon
With their debut album, ‘Lead The Way’, released in August, both goals seem achievable. Successfully mixing the sounds of Brand New with the poppier moments of The Used’s debut album (and their debut album only!), Wolf Am I are a refreshing slice of altrock, avoiding the typical Americanisms that so many bands fall victim to. “We’re actually in the studio now working on new songs,” explains Lee. “By the time we tour we’ll have released a new, free single [‘Hometown’], just to fill the gap between the album and what comes next. It should show people where we’re at now.” Where they’re at now is a much-needed and very welcome change from the Alexisonfire copycats. All hail! CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Lead The Way’ (album, Alcopop! Out August 03) DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘We’re Alive, We Are The Future’ www.myspace.com/wolfami
JEN WALKER
© Joe Watson
on th RE
WOLF AM I
Towards the end of first song ‘Collide’, there’s a moment where the vocals of Mattie Vant and Becca Young counter each other to create a harmony. It’s a moment that sticks out as something quite special and makes it all the more baffling why the band tend to reserve the female vocals for the background of choruses only. Nit-picking aside, The Small Screen Light Show are so close to perfect that this demo is bound to have fans of fragile, indie-rock swooning everywhere. AA www.myspace.com/ thesmallscreenlightshow
PAPER MOUNTAIN [9] This Glaswegian five-piece play the sort of tunes that’ll find you in your bedroom with the repeat button on. These two tracks are spine-tingling examples of music so beautifully delicate, you half expect it to shatter with every cymbal crash. ‘Lost At Sea’ centres around constantly shifting drum patterns and the sorrowful longing in frontman Del’s voice. ‘Lifeboats’ is a gently bouncy affair complemented by the flute and melodica that help make this young band sound so special. Music to fall in love with. DM WWW.MYSPACE.COM/PAPERMOUNTAIN
THE WELCOME COMMITTEE [6] Hailing from Southend-On-Sea, The Welcome Committee are a two-piece experimental indie-pop band. Though this two-track EP isn’t unpleasant, it doesn’t really go anywhere or do anything exciting. If you’re looking for something relaxing to fall asleep to (not in a boring ‘Hopes And Fears’-era Keane way), then this is it. A solid influence of The Postal Service can be heard throughout, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing it isn’t great either when the songs aren’t quite up to that standard yet. In short: the tracks are pleasant and listenable but unmemorable. JW www.myspace.com/thewelcomecommittee
send us your demo! You know we love them! Send to the usual Rock Sound address. Please mark your envelope – 'Here's our demo - don't be scared!' – just so we know! rocksound.tv [29]
CHAR Charli don’t Button demo giving howev your t Your c nothin Enter quakin MC L We’ll www.
YOU THE FANS ASK THEM THE BANDS…
LACUNA COIL INTERVIEW: Faye Lewis / PHOTOS: Nigel Crane
“It’s embarrassing when you’re standing still for a picture while being licked!” Cristina Scabbia [38] rocksound.tv
L-R Andrea, Cristina & Cristiano: bemused...
Dogging, being licked, lingerie and toast. You guys truly want to know the most bizarre things. We ask Lacuna Coil your questions…
H
AVE YOU GUYS EVER MADE A FRIEND WHO WAS ONE OF YOUR FANS FIRST?
WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR MUSICAL CAREER SO FAR? Charley, Brighton
Kayla Kasavage, Pittsburgh Cristina Scabbia (vocals): “Oh yeah, several, especially from the fan club. The first one was Matt, who built up our fan site and website. He has definitely become one of our best friends.” Andrea Ferro (vocals): “The people we got to know in the early days of the band have stayed with us long term. Over the years those people have remained friends. However, as we have a larger fan base now, it’s harder to keep in touch as closely with a fan.”
Andrea: “There have been a lot of things that we have done, but playing festivals like Download or touring with bands that we liked when we were young are huge achievements for us.” Cristina: “Being at number 16 in the Billboard charts with our new album, ‘Shallow Life’, is definitely a good thing.” Cristiano Migliore (guitar): “Yes, I never expected that to happen.”
IF YOU COULD COLLABORATE WITH ANY OTHER MUSICIAN, EITHER LIVING OR DEAD, WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHY? Emma Campbell, Perth
Cristina: “Oh, it says ‘picture’!”
Cristina: “So many, there’s a long list, but we’re definitely open to collaboration because music has to be evolutionary. It shouldn’t be stuck in one place, so we encourage collaboration. We’re very open-minded about any kind of music.” Andrea: “Maybe Depeche Mode because we did a cover of their song, ‘Enjoy The Silence’.”
CRISTINA, HAVE ANY GIRLS EVER HIT ON YOU AFTER A SHOW? IF SO WHICH WAS THE MOST… ‘INTERESTING’, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD!
Kayla Monk, Georgia Cristina: “Yes, and it’s kind of weird. One day I came back to a hotel room to take a shower and these two girls and a guy were like, ‘Can we take a picture of you? We’re big fans’, so I said, ‘Yeah, for sure’. The two girls started hugging me, but then one girl started to lick my ear, and the other started kissing my neck. It was sort of embarrassing, because of course I have nothing against bisexuals at all, I don’t care, but it’s embarrassing when you’re standing still for a picture while being licked!”
WHEN CHEESE GETS A PICTURE TAKEN, WHAT DOES IT SAY? Michael, Birmingham
I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE THAT STRUCK ITALY BACK IN APRIL. DID YOU KNOW ANYONE THAT WAS AFFECTED? IF SO, HOW ARE THEY DOING?
Leah Bordow, Kingston Andrea: “It is something that happens very often over there, it’s an area which is hit by earthquakes. It’s very sad. We’re not lucky, because people died, which is a horrible thing, but we didn’t know anyone.”
DO YOU FEEL FLUSTERED WHEN YOU MEET SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE MUSICIANS? HOW DO YOU REACT WHEN YOU SEE FANS BEHAVE IN THE SAME WAY TOWARDS YOU?
Jainika Patel, New Jersey Cristina: “Absolutely, you can’t help but go, ‘Wow!’ We’re still fans of other bands.” Cristiano: “You always get very excited because it’s somebody you grew up listening to. When you have that level of respect it’s really exciting.”
rocksound.tv [39]
About to head out on a massive US tour together, in a world exclusive ROCK SOUND caught up with Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus for the inside scoop…
I
n a recording studio tucked down one of the many sun-baked corridors of North Hollywood, Motion City Soundtrack drummer Tony Thaxton is showing Rock Sound a few photos from his camera phone. The first is an x-ray of his broken arm, the scar from which is still clearly – and likely permanently – visible snaking up the sleeve of his T-shirt. The second is an x-ray of the same arm, this time with a metal plate attached to keep the bone in place after it didn’t heal properly. The Minnesotabased band are in town to record their new album with Blink-182 bassist / vocalist Mark Hoppus, who co-owns the studio with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. Earlier this year, Barker and Hoppus got together with estranged guitarist / vocalist Tom DeLonge to reform Blink after nearly five years apart – years that Barker and Hoppus spent together in +44 while DeLonge re-entered the stream of commerce with Angels & Airwaves. With a new Blink album already in the works, Hoppus, DeLonge and Barker are set to embark on a two-month Stateside tour with Weezer, Motion City Soundtrack and pop-punk mega-darlings Fall Out Boy – arguably the inheritors of Blink’s millennial culture empire during their hiatus. To promote the excursion, Hoppus recently remixed a Fall Out Boy track that was subsequently downloaded to 100 custom USB “octodrives” and hidden in various locations across the US. The pair then proceeded to give the drives away to fans by revealing the hiding spots via their Twitter accounts. After getting booted off of Twitter for making lewd comments to both of them, Rock Sound sat down with Hoppus and Pete Wentz for a world exclusive.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN EACH OTHER?
WENTZ: “I’ve known Mark since we played on the side stage of a Blink tour. I think it was in 04 or something. It was Blink, Taking Back Sunday and Cypress Hill. We went out to dinner at some place near the Troubadour.” HOPPUS: “We did? With who?” WENTZ: “It was when Fall Out Boy was tiny. It might’ve been with Jerry Finn, because we were trying to get him to produce our record.”
SO THAT DINNER WAS YOUR FIRST INTERACTION WITH EACH OTHER?
WENTZ: “No. We were total jackasses on that tour. We were dicking around a lot; we had kids stage-diving and stuff. We figured we could get away with it because we were miles away from the real show, but they told us we couldn’t do it for insurance reasons. We didn’t know anything about touring at that point, but then Mark came in and said, ‘No, you guys aren’t in trouble. It’s all good. Go eat some cake’. I thought, ‘That dude’s awesome. That’s how I want to treat bands on my tour’.”
THERE WAS CAKE?
WENTZ: [laughs] “Yeah, in catering.” HOPPUS: “I remember that cake. Don’t you guys have bacon on your rider for every single show?” WENTZ: “Yep. All-day bacon, dude. That’s how we stay in shape.” HOPPUS: “There’s nothing healthier…”
[54] rocksound.tv
L-R Pete Wentz & Mark Hoppus: he da man...
”I DON’T HAVE A CLOTHING COMPANY OR A LABEL, BUT I LOVE TO PRODUCE BANDS THAT I THINK HAVE A LOT OF TALENT.” MARK HOPPUS
HERO WORSHIP!
WORDS: J. Bennett / PHOTOS: Robin Laananen
rocksound.tv [55]
BEST ALBUM EVER
“‘
BLUTVIAL
‘I SPEAK OF THE DEVIL’
MIKE VENNART (OCEANSIZE)
(SPINEFARM)
With the likes of Wolves In The Throne Room and Nachtmystium drawing black metal towards more ambient and decidedly American territories, it probably wouldn’t hurt to see some more bands emerge that are A) a little less melodic and B) a little more British. Enter Blutvial, whose street cred is assured thanks to guitarist / bassist / drummer Aort’s position with much-adored avantgarde black metallers Code. Although ‘I Speak Of The Devil’ does occasionally nod towards such areas, this is a far more primal beast; a visceral, pummelling reminder of just how dark and dangerous-sounding the genre can still be. Lovely stuff. FOR FANS OF: Reign Of Erebus,Vandöd, Gorgoroth
Sing To God’ by Cardiacs is my most favourite record. It’s a double album that’s all killer no filler. I love records where you just know so much thought and sweat and dreams have been put into them. I also think it’s the defining Cardiacs record; it displays all of their grandeur and soul along with their inherent English eccentricity and psychedelia. Getting into Cardiacs was a natural progression from Mr Bungle, who I was mad on at the time.”
AHKMED
[5]
‘DISTANCE’
ARKAEA
‘YEARS IN THE DARKNESS’
(ELEKTROHASCH)
www.myspace.com/ahkmedband
‘HUNG LIKE A HORSE’
www.myspace.com/allleather
[7]
(PROFOUND LORE)
For more than a decade vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Kris Force has been crafting her delicate, string-led works under the Amber Asylum veil alongside a revolving cast of like-minded collaborators. Whilst a far cry from the heaviness of her work with Neurosis, Swans or Today Is The Day, ‘Bitter River’ nevertheless carries considerable weight, borne down by the burden of loss and capable of crushing with the utmost delicacy, all of which serves to ensure that this latest episode represents another finely-spun work of neoclassical-cum-postrock that further cements the band’s status as sole providers of chamber music for the damned. FOR FANS OF: Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Jarboe, Songs Of Green Pheasant
ALEX DELLER
[84] rocksound.tv
‘DESCENSION’
[8]
‘BELOW THE THUNDERS OF THE UPPER DEEP’
[7]
(RELAPSE)
When we hear about ’bands’ who’ve never actually physically played together, the red flags rise and wave wildly. Thankfully, the music of this Swedish / Canadian internet collaboration (featuring members of Deadwood and Of Human Bondage) isn’t the sort requiring technically precise gelling. ‘Below The Thunders...’ is all throbbing soundscapes and barren atmosphere from which the members’ isolation from one another has been beneficial. There’s a driving, mechanised pulse to most of this as layers of processed guitars and distorted vocal wailing ice the cake – a cake made out of scrapyard remnants, crow’s blood and blast furnace slag. FOR FANS OF: Electric Wizard, Khanate, Bloodstar, Godflesh
[8] www.myspace.com/culted KEVIN STEWART-PANKO
(CASKET)
This debut album from a bunch of devilish bastards from Kent sets riff-detector nipples on high alert as a blend of melodic metal and hardcore thrash tears off all the right faces. If you take all of the good parts of Papa Roach (the guitars and hooks) and the power of Killswitch Engage, you get an idea of how these boys end up sounding with tracks ‘Suffer The Sea’ and ‘Nothing Left To Say’, commanding a whole load of respect. If they keep their egos intact and concentrate on their brutal music, these angry kids will end up destroying us all! FOR FANS OF: Avenged Sevenfold, Papa Roach, Killswitch Engage, Machine Head
www.myspace.com/callous PETER CLARK
DEAD BY APRIL ‘DEAD BY APRIL’
[8]
(SPINEFARM)
Not “giving a crap about the frames of any musical genre” is one thing, but making a success of a style which is a combination of polar opposite genres is often a sign of commercial failure. A platitude of hardcore, dance, metal and pop is thrown up in the selftitled debut record from Sweden’s Dead By April, and it seems to have all the right ingredients for anyone wishing The Rasmus became a lot more deathly. Many true metal or indeed pop fans may turn their heads, but tracks like ‘Losing You’ and ‘Falling Behind’ will let Dead By April write their own success. FOR FANS OF: Atreyu, Linkin Park, The Rasmus
www.deadbyapril.com PETER CLARK
ALL LEATHER
With his third album ‘neath the Bergraven banner, misanthropic Swedish miserablist Pär Gustafsson steps ever further from what could conceivably be considered “typical” black metal and continues down the left-hand path trod by 07s ‘Dödsvisioner’. True, amongst ‘Till Makabert Väsen‘’s many murky crevices you’ll find irefuelled blasts of blackened hate and a wide variety of breathy, glottal rasps, but with that the story’s only halfway told. Elsewhere you have mire-dripping sloth, fractured post-rockish guitar lines and, on occasion, some near-gothic overtones, making this latest opus difficult yet strangely accessible and one that’s intriguing, enveloping and deserving of your whole and undivided attention. FOR FANS OF: Shining, Cobalt, Xasthur, Lurker Of Chalice
www.myspace.com/bergraven
ADAM F KENNEDY
www.myspace.com/amberasylum
MERLIN ALDERSLADE
CULTED
(HYDRA HEAD)
(DIM MAK)
‘BITTER RIVER’
www.myspace.com/arkaeamusic
[9] ‘TILL MAKABERT VÄSEN’
In the dingy middle ground notionally separating Justin Pearson’s San Diego spazzcore insectoids The Locust and a gay bondage bar writhe his latest project All Leather. Rather than the Judas Priest tribute act that the name suggests, though, the trio take the anti-macho hardcore of Pearson and guitarist Nathan Joyner’s previous side concern Some Girls and inject dirty, great, synth bottom end to the sleazy shebang, with a side order of homophobia-challenging humour. Five face-splattering EP tunes like ‘I Don’t Hate Fags, God Does’ do a fairly good job of surmising the atmosphere by title alone; brilliantly gutter-filthy electro-punk to soundtrack rampant, unapologetic hedonism. FOR FANS OF: The Locust, Some Girls
AMBER ASYLUM
And so the never-ending saga that is Fear Factory continues as Arkaea, featuring Christian (guitars) and Raymond (drums) of FF alongside members of Threat Signal, release their debut album. With little real identity sub-Strapping Young Lads are blended with less infectious Linkin Park choruses. ‘Beneath The Shades Of Grey’ has hints of FF, but sounds like one of the myriad watered down bands inspired by them, ‘Awakening’ a thundering FF / Meshuggah clone. The occasional big truck rolling DevilDriver-style delivery brightens things up but it’s a tepid affair and another FF offshoot that’ll disappear when the debut fails to sell. FOR FANS OF: Linkin Park, Sybreed
BERGRAVEN
www.myspace.com/blutvial
CALLOUS
KEN MCGRATH
DAN MORGAN
ALL LEATHER
[4]
(CENTURY MEDIA)
After a string of EPs, Melbourne’s Ahkmed have seen fit to release their debut on German psyche label Elektrohasch. This hour-long journey into space promises much from its cover artwork, a sun glinting from behind an eclipse, the nucleus in an iris of immeasurable scope. It suggests countless tangents swung around a central axis; in this case, the bass is the hypnotic lynchpin for the guitar to bounce off in infinite spatial directions. Sadly, while there are rare moments of psychedelic wonderment such as the steam-train drums of ‘Temple’, the majority of ‘Distance’ too easily marries Hawkwind-worship with post-rock platitudes. FOR FANS OF: Hawkwind, Mogwai, Mountain Men Anonymous
[8]
CHASE LONG BEACH
ALEX DELLER
BLACK SPIDERS
‘CINCO HOMBRES (DIEZ COJONES)’
[8]
(DARK RIDERS)
It’s all well and good to celebrate the rock of the past and there’s enough bands doing just that right now, but at least Black Spiders are adding some urgency and spice to their balls-out furious rockathons. Taking the best rock ‘n’ roll riffs, adding some stoner / down-tuned dirge, and cranking the volume up to 11, Black Spiders pump out some volcanic rock that oozes class. ‘Stay Down’ and ‘Jitterbug’ are upbeat and meaty, while ‘Meadow’ is a slower stoner effort. A fine job of AC/DC’s ‘Kicked In The Teeth’ (from ‘Powerage’) finishes this EP with style. FOR FANS OF: Motörhead, GU Medicine, Black Sabbath, Supersuckers
www.myspace.com/theblackspiders JAMES DOMINIC
‘GRAVITY IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT’
[7]
(VICTORY)
Amidst a sea of palm trees and beach shorts, SoCal’s Chase Long Beach are here to cheer us all up, injecting their hi-res, high-energy skapunk sounds right into the heart of the deepest, darkest discontent. Many would claim that the final nail has long been driven into this subgenre’s coffin. With ‘Gravity…’ CLB are making it their mission to banish all such thought from existence. Karen Roberts’ vocal has the kind of power and projection to rival Save Ferris’ Monique Powell, evident on the hook-heavy ‘Joe Vs. The Cricket’. She is ably backed up by crunching guitars, powerful brass and driving basslines. Skank it up! FOR FANS OF: Reel Big Fish, Catch 22, Mustard Plug, Save Ferris
www.myspace.com/chaselongbeach OLI ROBERTSON
DEATH BY STEREO
‘DEATH IS MY ONLY FRIEND’
[3]
(SERJICAL STRIKE)
Blame geography. It is, one suspects, Death By Stereo’s dissatisfaction at seeing their Orange County neighbours (AX7, Atreyu etc) go onto global mega-stardom that has driven them to leave behind both the sound that listeners know and love and the label that nurtured them, to become just another set of faces in the middle-of-theroad crowd. ‘I Sing For You’ could quite easily have been written by M Shadows and co, its church bells and ‘Woahs!’ coming across as contrived rather than anything else. ‘Forever And A Day’, however, sounds like ‘November Rain’ gone seriously, seriously wrong. Based on previous output, this is bitterly disappointing. FOR FANS OF: Strung Out, Sick Of It All, Avenged Sevenfold
www.deathbystereo.com OLI ROBERTSON
]
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‘TO THE DEATH’ (CENTURY MEDIA) When Earth Crisis reunited in 07 they must have known that if they wrote any new material it would be judged harshly by diehard fans and critics alike. The band who made history in the early 90s hardcore scene by marrying the sounds of Pantera and Sepultura with the CroMags and Final Conflict weren‘t going to get away with half-arsing a few new songs so they could tour. If a new album was to be released it had to be good, Earth Crisis knew that and acted accordingly. New album ‘To The Death’ is a blistering hybrid of 95s album ‘Destroy The Machines’, 96s album ‘Gomorrah‘s Season Ends’ and the 98 Roadrunner offering ‘Breed The Killers’. The album, their first in eight years, is the crispest
of crossover metallic hardcore, lacking in none of the latter’s intensity but delivered with all of the former’s precision and dynamic clarity as the band give people 11 good reasons to pay attention to them again. You may not care for the vegan straightedge life of activism that Earth Crisis shamelessly promote, but you can’t deny the sound of a band returning to form. FOR FANS OF: Strife, Birthright, Cro-Mags
www.myspace.com/earthcrisis ANDREW KELHAM
DARKEST HOUR [9]
‘THE ETERNAL RETURN’ (VICTORY)
FOR FANS OF: Lamb Of God, In Flames, Shadows Fall www.darkesthour.cc RONNIE KERSWELL-O’HARA
!• THEY’ CD
MIKE SCHLEIBAUM (GUITAR)
ON THE RE
IN THEIR WORDS
•THEY ’ CD!
Following 07s harsh commentary on the state of the world, ‘Deliver Us’, Washington DC bruisers Darkest Hour are back with their fifth Victory-released full length – and by god is this one a killer! Loaded with more brutality than going five rounds with Mike Tyson and meatier than a trucker’s breakfast, ‘The Eternal Return’ is the sound of a band coming full-circle. With Brian McTernan, producer of their 00 debut ‘The Mark Of The Judas’, at the helm, the fivesome have returned to their very foundations, with sonic references to former releases (such as ‘So Sedated, So Secure’) along the way. Still nodding towards their Swedish death metal influences, and with new recruit Mike ‘Lonestar’ Carrigan on board, ‘The Eternal Return‘ is as finely crafted as it is groove-laden with opener ‘Devolution Of The Flesh’ acting as an audio cudgel to the head. ‘Death Worship’ is a galloping, teeth-gritting glory with Slayer-esque stabbing axe chuggery, while ‘The Tides’ features a chorus that’s awash with fullbodied guitars reminiscent of In Flames. Their best offering yet, ‘The Eternal Return’ should position this much over-looked outfit where they belong – right up there with the big boys. Storming.
ON THE RE
]
EARTH CRISIS [8]
TELL US THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE TITLE OF YOUR NEW RECORD… “It basically harkens toward the state of the band’s life. With a new member we have new blood, new life. At the end of a record deal that has almost been a decade long, amongst the wreckage of an industry that has fallen apart, we try to keep our artistic vision alive. These are dark times. The world economy is falling apart, the music industry is dying, and it’s as if we live life in the age of death. With the death of our business relationships and the birth of our new brotherhood we push on.” MUSICALLY HOW DO YOU FEEL THE ALBUM COMPARES TO YOUR PREVIOUS OUTINGS? “This record represents the first real blend of all the Darkest Hour ‘sounds’ from over the years. It’s got all the speed and aggression of ‘Hidden Hands Of A Sadist Nation’, the melody and songwriting of ‘Undoing Ruin’, and the progressive playing and over the top shredding of ‘Deliver Us’.” WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS SPECIAL ABOUT ‘THE ETERNAL RETURN’? “To me it’s the sound of a band all grown up. Shit, when we started this band we were 15 and playing shows right away. Over the years we have matured, refined, and grown as a musical sound and now I think you hear the first REAL translation of all that. This is music by dudes that have dedicated almost half of their lives to fucking pissed off, fast as fuck, brutal metal music.”
rocksound.tv [85]
FAITH NO MORE
DOWNLOADTIVAL FES
ARK DONINGTONe &PStev e Gerrard
FRIDAY
Photos : Nigel Cran FAITH NO MORE [10], KORN [9], LIMP BIZKIT [8], KILLSWITCH ENGAGE [8], BILLY TALENT [5], STAIND [7], THE BLACKOUT [6], HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD [6]
It’s a brave move to open a metal festival with rap-rock, so you have to hand it to Hollywood Undead who do an admiral job of kick-starting the event, along with The Blackout, who look a little out of their depth, despite an energetic performance. Staind deliver the goods with a solid set of powerful tunes, with Aaron Lewis on form, although the lack of movement onstage leaves you wanting more. Not so for Billy Talent who go at it like it’s their last ever gig, although the muted reaction from the crowd suggests they’re all warming up for the next highly-anticipated band. Killswitch Engage sound simply monstrous, Howard Jones lifting the crowd into its first frenzy, a souring rendition of ‘My Last Serenade’ capping an awesome performance. Much the same can be said of Limp Bizkit, and with Wes Borland back in the ranks once again the theatrics appear to be back for good. Jonathan Davis sure knows how to work a crowd and today is no different. With one of the best responses of the day, Korn rip through their most loved material and whip the audience into a whirlwind before arguably the most hotly-anticipated band of the festival take to the stage. With a giant, red theatre curtain, the eclectic Mike Patton’s onstage antics, a great light show and an awesome delivery featuring their most adored material, Faith No More prove a perfect end to the first day. Well worth waiting for. JIM BURT
GE KILLSWITCH ENGA
KORN
THE DURSTMEISTER
[98] rocksound.tv
VOX ROCK © Nigel Crane
We caught up with some recognisable faces at Download to get their lowdown… Sean Smith (The Blackout) WHAT’S THE SHITTEST THING THAT’S EVER HAPPENED TO YOUR BAND WHEN PLAYING LIVE? “We shouted, ‘Shut the fuck up!’ when playing with Linkin Park in Greece and it worked. I then encouraged people to throw bottles at us and that also worked.”
SLIPKNOT
Gus (Young Guns) WHAT’S THE STRANGEST THING YOU’VE SEEN AT DOWNLOAD SO FAR? “Someone surfing on an actual surf board! There’s no water here, obviously, so that was definitely pretty strange.” Chris (Glamour Of The Kill) WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF DOWNLOAD 09? “We’ve been putting animals and band names together, so ‘Duality’ by Slipknot became ‘Dualpig’ by Slipwolf. Has anyone got any smack?”
SATURDAY SLIPKNOT [10], MARILYN MANSON [5], PENDULUM [8], DRAGONFORCE [6], DOWN [7], HATEBREED [8], DEVILDRIVER [7], FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH [7], RIPPER OWENS [4] he crowd don’t seem quite as keen to meet Ripper Owens and his tired-sounding metal as much as he is to meet them, but they do make some noise for Five Finger Death Punch who sound far better live than their clichéd material does on disc, and proceed to tear through a short but powerful set, along with DevilDriver’s fiercest metal of the day. Hatebreed command the stage and whip up the audience into a fist-pumping tornado, before Down stir things up with their huge, doomy grime, leaving the crowd wanting more. Unfortunately, all they get is DragonForce predictably widdling their technical arses off before Pendulum’s awesome mix of metal-tinged electronica hits the crowd like a sonic boom, the pick of the bunch being their version of ‘Master Of Puppets’. Without his theatrics, Marilyn Manson seems strangely insignificant and isolated, plodding through a slow and confused set, the only real highlight being the stomping ‘Beautiful People’. However, the contrast couldn’t be greater for Slipknot, who quite literally pull out all the stops for one of the most memorable metal festival performances in recent years. With full-on Tommy Lee-style revolving drum kits, and a mighty delivery of their best tracks, the response from the crowd alone is nothing short of staggering. Awesome JIM BURT
PENDULUM
MARILYN MANSON
rocksound.tv [99]
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