VultureHound - Issue 19

WOLF ALICE | ASKING ALEXANDRIA | IN FLAMES | WHERE NOW FOR DC?

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DECEMBER 2017 ISSUE 19

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI REVIEW

BEST OF

2017

THE FIRST DOCTOR

ALBUMS TV MOMENTS FILMS VOICE OF AMERICAN DAD’S STEVE + STAR OF THE ORVILLE

DAVID BRADLEY INTERVIEW

SCOTT GRIMES

Scan to order in print

JULIET SIMMS

MARILYN MANSON: PORTRAIT OF AN AMERICAN ICON

STONE SOUR - PHOTO: NATHAN ROACH

WELCOME FROM EDITOR W

W

elcome to the final issue of the year.

As is tradition, we’ve picked our top films, albums and TV moments of the year.

This month’s cover star is Game of Thrones’ David Bradley who chatted with us about his return as the First Doctor in the Christmas episode of Doctor Who.

R U O S E N O ST

We also got the chance to chat with Scott Grimes, the voice of American Dad’s Steve, spoke to us about the new Seth MacFarlane live action show The Orville.

As well as interviews we’ve more reviews, features and opinion from music, film and TV.

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VULTUREHOUND EDITORIAL

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Wrestling magazine from vulturehound

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04 VULTUREHOUND DECEMBER 2017

SCOTT GRIMES

WORDS: GRAE WESTGATE

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cott Grimes has become a familiar voice in homes across the globe as horny young Steve Smith in Seth McFarlane’s animated comedy American Dad! He’s now preparing to set out on another voyage alongside Seth in the shiny new space adventure The Orville. We were lucky enough to catch up with Scott to discuss the show, as well as his life as a teenager, and the possibility of a Critters reboot…

SO, PITCH THE ORVILLE TO US… The Orville is an exploratory vessel, exploring the universe 400 years from now. It’s from the mind of Seth McFarlane, so it’s not dark and pessimistic; it’s positive, there’s still humour in the future. People laugh, they drink… They’re human beings just trying to spread through the universe. Obviously, it stands on the shoulders of the wonderful giants that are Star Trek and Star Wars; we’re all big fans.

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE COMPARING IT TO GALAXY

INTERVIEW:

T T O C S S E M I GR THE VOICE OF S ’ D A D N A C I R E M A R A T S W O N D N A STEVE E L L I V R O E H T F O

QUEST. DO YOU THINK THIS IS A FAIR COMPARISON? Well, Galaxy Quest is one of my favourite films of all time. I can’t believe they never made a series or a sequel… I just love that movie… The difference is, Galaxy Quest is about people from present day being taken to an alternate universe, taken out of their comfort zone. The Orville is legitimately about the future, and people in the future who are 400 years from now and are comfortable in this utopia. It would be more Guardians of the Galaxy, I would say, just because it is what it is; they live in it, they’re not taken there. There’s a little Twilight Zone in there too.

ARE YOU AWARE OF THE BRITISH SHOW RED DWARF? I’m only aware of it because people keep telling me about it!

When we started filming, people kept talking about it. They love that show, and I have to see it!

WITH GUARDIANS, THE NEW STAR TREK MOVIES, AND NOW THE ORVILLE, WHY ARE WE SO OBSESSED WITH THIS SPACE-BASED FUTURE? DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 05

SCOTT GRIMES

Y’know, I wish I knew the answer to that! I grew up a giant science fiction fan. My grandpa turned me onto it with movies like Forbidden Planet. I just like the escape. That’s what it is for me. I’ve never been into soap operas, which is also a kind of escape into somebody else’s dramatic life, but I think there’s just a little nerd inside everyone who needs a space show!

Or, the opposite, which is like Middle Earth, which I also love.

But, I never loved space television shows, because I always thought the special effects were kinda cheesy. They didn’t spend the money back then. Now, we live in a different world. People do all of these amazing special effects!

YOU’VE WORKED A LOT WITH SETH NOW. WHAT IS IT ABOUT HIS HUMOUR THAT MAKES HIM SUCH A GIANT IN MODERN CULTURE? Well, if I knew what was special about it, I would copy it and make

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all the money he’s made! All I know is that it’s different, and it comes from Mel Brooks, Charlie Chaplin… all the great writers and directors… he’s such a fan of pop culture… movies, comedy… you throw that all together and you get this man.

It’s a brand new way of speaking.

He writes lines the way you would think them, and want to say them…

“Oh god, I would love to say this, but I can’t, I don’t know how to.

Is it appropriate?” That’s what he does; he speaks the words that most people would want to be able to say, and he does it with such great comic timing.

HAVING PLAYED STEVE NOW FOR THIRTEEN YEARS, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE BEEN ON SUCH A LONG JOURNEY WITH THE SAME CHARACTER? It’s fucking great! It’s the greatest gig I’ve ever had! My job on that show is just to say the words just as Seth wrote them. They edit them, make them funnier. But to play a perpetual fourteen-year-old

kid has been terrific. We treat the show the same as we would a real show, not a cartoon; we do readthroughs every week, we try to make it funnier… It’s never been really much different from doing a live-action thing; we concentrate on it just as hard, because the money’s good and I wanna make everybody proud! So, to play Steve Smith has been great, and also to incorporate music, that’s been a fun thing to include. The show would’ve been cancelled by now if we didn’t keep evolving!

WAS IT DIFFICULT FINDING THE VOICE FOR STEVE? That’s a funny story, because I never really did voices, and Seth called me up and said “I’m doing this show called American Dad!, can you come up with a voice?” I went in, so nervous, because Seth has all these amazing voices! And I just came up with this one voice that was really harsh, kinda like an exaggerated version of what Steve is now. But it was the only voice I could come up with, and I was scared that he’d hear the voice and

go “Okay, great. What else ya got?”

And I didn’t have anything else! So, I did this voice and he told me it was good, but not to try so hard.

So, I didn’t try so hard, and that was the voice we settled on! The thing is though, it’s more about the humour you can bring to the character, not just the voice, and thank God, ‘cause it’s all I had!

It’s kind of a rip-off of Urkel from Family Matters and Spongebob.

HAVING DONE SUCH A RANGE OF THINGS NOW, WHAT DO YOU FIND MORE REWARDING? THE VOICE ACTING, OR THE LIVE-ACTION STUFF? Live acting. There’s more you can do with it. With the voice acting, it’s more difficult because you’re trying to create the comedy out of something you can’t see on a face.

Seth and I did a whole episode on The Orville where I had to combine the two. We go undercover as these aliens and we had this prosthetic make-up all over ourselves, so you couldn’t really see our facial expressions and we had to sell this comedy with voice alone. I prefer being able to run around and being able to think on your feet.

ON THE TOPIC OF PROSTHETIC ALIENS, WITH SO MANY HORROR MOVIES GETTING REBOOTS AND REIMAGININGS RECENTLY, IF A CRITTERS REBOOT WERE TO ARISE,

WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN BEING INVOLVED? In a New York second! I did two of those movies, and I had a really good time. If I ever directed, I would love to do a horror movie.

So not only would I be in Critters, I would love to direct it. I’m putting that out there now!

HOW WOULD YOU BRING IT TO THE MODERN AUDIENCE? WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? I wouldn’t star in it. I wouldn’t do that. It’d be ridiculous to see Brad Brown as a forty-six year-old dude. I love how, especially the second one, looks like a B-movie.

I would definitely make it look like a B-movie. You couldn’t do a huge Hollywood two hundred million version of Critters. It wouldn’t work! I’d still use puppets, and try to get as many homages to the original as I could.

LIKE REIMAGINING THE PLAYBOY SCENE WITH THE STAPLE IN THE GIRL’S GUT? (laughs) You know, it’s so funny!

When I was a kid… Well, I was sixteen! I was old enough to know what a naked woman was! But it took me a while to get that joke! I didn’t understand it! But, y’know (as Steve) I’ve never actually touched boobs before… Except for my mom’s… Let me tell you about my mom’s boobs… (laughs) Man, I should stop there!

Watch The Orville only on FOX, and you can catch up with American Dad! “Late Night, Every Night.

Literally!” on FOX

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 07

stone sour

WORDS: LEE HAZELL | PHOTO: NATHAN ROACH

R U O S E N O ST LIVE tone Sour returned to the O2 Academy in Brixton for the first time in three years. It’s been an excruciating wait as they seemed to have hit all the other corners of the earth twice before gracing Blighty with their presence.

Still, they seemed to be aware of their transgressions as they were apologising for their prolonged absence for almost as long as they were playing alternative rock anthems.

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Stone Sour are a band in the middle of an identity transmutation. They open their set the same way they do on their new album, Hydrograd, with a faux-Eastern-European accent greeting us and calling us “bastard”. It’s an amusing way to open a gig and presents us with a statement of intent that reinforces the focus of their latest release.

Stone Sour really want to bring the roll back into rock. They are very interested in rectifying the sins of all those bands taking themselves too seriously with dour and moody metal, a sin Stone Sour (and especially Corey Taylor) has had a strong hand in keeping alive this century.

They bring all the party tricks to keep the mood light; a confetti canon, pyro (the sparkly kind) and Josh Rand even breaks out the Barbie-pink guitar. Corey looks genuinely happy to be there and seems sincere when he calls this town his second home. Admittedly, living in a metropolis like London helps to swallow these platitudes and I’m glad I’m not seeing them in another city to hear him contradict himself.

He does, however, punctuate almost every song with a small speech either thanking the crowd or introducing us to his bandmates. He does this over and over again and it puts little road bumps in the way of their otherwise relentless momentum.

The crowd are electric throughout and Stone Sour keep it that way.

Even when they lay off the accelerator to slow the action down, they keep the audience engaged by encouraging singalongs. They love the band, and Corey gets welcomed like a conquering hero. It’s a fantastically entertaining night, with a couple of pacing issues, but the band never allow the night to get stale or dull and they keep adding new layers and dimensions with every track. Awesome stuff.

Stone Sour are touring in Europe throughout December and return to the UK in June, 2018.

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PHOTO TAKEN AT CARDIFF MOTORPOINT ARENA

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 09

MARILYN MANSON

PORTRAIT OF AN AMERICAN ICON

MARILYN

MANSON WORDS: TIM BIRKBECK

017 saw Marilyn Manson release studio album number 10, Heaven Upside Down. To celebrate, VH’s Tim Birkbeck looks back at the albums that made the self proclaimed ‘God of Fuck’ one of the most iconic rock stars of recent times.

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Portrait of an American Family (1994) Portrait of an American Family may be very rough around the edges and lack the direction of Manson’s later work, but it was clear the songwriter and the band wanted to make an impact.

The song ‘Cake and Sodomy’ is just

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a gross yet brilliant concept, but for a teenager looking to rebel against any form of authority, it’s the perfect anthem.

Driven by the throbbing swirl of toms and hi-hat action, the searing, feedback-tinged slash of power chords, and the ingenious use of movie dialogue, meant the album reeked of sex and social deviance, and proved irresistible to anyone with newly arrived hormones.

The Triptych: Antichrist Superstar (1996), Mechanical Animals (1998), Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (2000)

Antichrist Superstar - the first of the albums that would make up his ‘Triptych’, was where Marilyn Manson really stamped his mark on the music world. If the name wasn’t already enough to cause a stir among the conservative older generation, Manson’s lyrical content also rubbed people up the wrong way.

Opening track, ‘Irresponsible Hate Anthem’ contains the lyrics’, “Everybody’s someone else’s n**** I know you are, so am I / I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers…”, and, unsurprisingly, instantly got people’s backs up.

Not only was the album artwork to 1998’s Mechanical Animals striking, but the album itself marked a shift from the industrial and alternative metal style, into an experimentation with 1970s glam rock.

Manson’s vocal style also took a slight change; he was testing his range a bit more and playing with different ways to use his voice as an instrument. In the song ‘Mechanical Animals’ this is very apparent, there are electronic elements added to his voice and the chorus offers up a rare chance to really open up his lungs to sing rather than scream.

If Antichrist Superstar was a call to arms for the weirdos of the world, then Mechanical Animals is the direction Manson wanted his loyal followers to abide.

The final album of Manson’s triptych, Holy Wood… probably offers up the most raw and aggressive records from Manson. With ‘The Love Song’ and ‘The Fight Song’ acting as back-toback pieces showings two sides of the struggle Manson was going through at the time.

Holy Wood… is a relentless march through the Manson Manifesto of the back off all the Columbine allegations that the the perpetrators were wearing the band’s T-shirts during the rampage,Many saw this record as a declaration of war for Manson against the media, and it is clear that such a link is an easy one to make, but Manson does show a bit of vulnerability in ‘Target Audience’ where it is clear that he is trying to distance himself from the tragedy as much as physically possible.

This record is testament to its creator’s commitment to fighting back at a society hell-bent on martyring him.

The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003) This record represents a changing of the times for Manson, it is the first record since Antichrist Superstar not to feature long time collaborator

Twiggy Ramirez, and it would also be the last record with keyboardist Madonna Wayne Gacy and guitarist John 5.

At first critics didn’t take to the album, with many saying Manson had lost his shock factor by just going over the same topics again and again, but upon revisiting the record I see The Golden Age of Grotesque almost as a rebirth after the aggravation his last three records had caused.

Remember this is a record that gave us bangers such as ‘This is The New Shit’ and ‘mOBSCENE’ which will be landmarks in the Manson career.

But delve a little deeper and the record actually offers up some real underrated tracks. ‘Slutgarden’ and ‘Spade’ give the record a real dark gritty edge to the almost tongue-incheek songs which appear earlier in the record. The latter in particular has a really unsettling electronic undertone throughout and there is almost a strain and hurt to Manson’s vocals, which is something not shown all too often.

Eat Me, Drink Me (2007), The High End of Low (2009) 2007 appears to be where the Manson shtick appeared to be tiring. Having given earlier credit to the singer/ songwriter starting his records as he means to go on, on this occasion there is a wish for a change of pace.

It seems strange to be blasé about Manson and his songs, dealing as they do with murder, mutilation and all the rest, but after six albums, is there such a thing as ‘too much’?

But If Eat Me, Drink Me was a blip, then The High End of Low is probably one that the self proclaimed ‘God of Fuck’ will want to put on the shelf and completely forget.

Now that’s not to say that Manson showing a vulnerable, personal approach to his music should be dismissed, but in parts it does come

across as self-pitying, which gives the impression of a slightly sad man-child sulking.

Where had the aggression and rawness gone? Is Manson just releasing records for the sake of a record deal? It doesn’t seem like the type of thing he would do.

However, if the album doesn’t deliver brilliantly musically, what it does deliver on is providing a pointed satirical commentary on noughties America.

The one saving grace of the record is the punchy ‘We’re From America’ where Manson releases a scream of ‘God is an excuse’ over tom-toms playing a relentless, menacing glamrock beat.

During this time in Manson’s career he was more in the media gossip columns for his personal life rather than his music, and when listening to Eat Me, Drink Me and The High End of Low, that is something which clearly impacted his musical output.

Born Villain (2012), The Pale Emperor (2015) After the low came a glorious return.

Manson and co strip things right back to basics and the record has a very minimalist feel to it. But it is the slow burn of some of the songs, not seen in the previous seven releases, which builds an element of suspense and tension in the music.

This works perfectly in ‘Pistol Whipped’ which is a true return to form, an eerie build before the rhythm kicks in, is then layered by Manson’s crackling voice before launching into a hook chorus where the guitars build to a crescendo.

At a point when many believed Manson’s best work was behind him, Born Villain proves not only that the

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MARILYN MANSON connection between Manson and his fans is a strong one, but that the rock icon still has much more to say.

After a solid return to form, The Pale Emperor is an album making up for lost time.

‘Deep Six’ is it Manson’s way of saying “have you missed me?” It has a catchy chorus, with rhythmic tom and hi-hat work and intertwining with Manson’s gravelly voice, which kicks in and dips at just the right places.

I know it is quite a bold statement, but you could finish the record there and I would be happy, but The Pale Emperor just gets better and better as it goes along.

There is a dark morality at the heart of Manson’s music, and it runs throughout album number nine. It feels like Manson has taken all the best parts of his previous work, brought them into 2015 and made one hell of a record.

There are bursts of belligerent stadium glam that hark back to 1996’s Antichrist Superstar, but more common is a bleak, bluesy rock infused sound.

Lyrically, Manson plays with all the old themes – power, torture, drugs, sex and violence, dependency and emptiness, but there is a deadlier focus to his work and it comes across loud and clear.

Heaven Upside Down (2017) This isn’t so much a record to turn heads more a reminder of who Manson is.

And that is what Heaven Upside Down feels like, right from opening track ‘Revelation #12’ it has that familiar sludgy guitar sound combined with the rasp of Manson’s voice.

A little less aggressive than some of

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MARILYN MANSON

PORTRAIT OF AN AMERICAN ICON Manson’s earlier material on albums like Antichrist Superstar and Holy Wood, this album allows the darkness to come through in other ways; with a low hum here, a creepy vocal rhythm there. This isn’t so much in your face Manson rather than playing with your mind through his lyrics.

Not one to shy away from the controversial, the cleverly named ‘Say10’ - which was the original working title of the record - is a big, snarling anthem that’s built for stages where the man himself can conduct his followers.

And in true Manson style it would not be a Marilyn Manson album if there were not any religious reflection,

and the punchy ‘Tattooed in Reverse’ delivers; “So fuck your Bible and your belt, make this song into a dirty bomb”.

But the real masterpiece on the record is the near eight-minute epic, ‘Saturnalia’ where Manson’s distinguishable voice takes centre stage and really takes the listener on a journey.

Heaven Upside Down is a roll call of Manson’s favourite things; corruption, love, mythology and Christianity, relayed by an unbridled torrent of wordplay, and is befitting of such an influential and controversial rock n roll icon.

TV OF THE YEAR 2017

TELEVISION MOMENTS OF 2017 UTTER PRIDE - RUNAWAYS unaways has been a firm fan favourite for comic book readers since it first hit our shelves back in 2003.

One of Marvel’s most original tales since the sixties, Runaways centres on a group of teenagers who discover that their parents are in fact a team of supervillains. Thereafter they… well… run away… Since its very first incarnation, there has been rumour of a movie, and alleged scripts being passed back-and-forth from studio to studio to no avail. Amidst the inundation of several Marvel series no one asked for’ (Inhumans anyone?), a cheer came up from internet land when Hulu announced that their contribution to the MCU (which will also soon include Cloak and Dagger) would kick off with this peppy romp filled with sorcery, timetravel, and freakin’ velociraptors.

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THE FALL OF CHUCKBETTER CALL SAUL lthough we all know where Jimmy/Saul (Bob Odenkirk) will eventually end up, it’s no less gripping to discover ‘why’.

However, one of the many fine moments of season three concerns the fate of someone else, Jimmy’s brother, Chuck (Michael McKean).

His humiliating ‘defeat’ to Jimmy during the New Mexico Bar hearing was an exhilarating watch. Yes, it was predictable (we always knew Jimmy had a plan), but seeing the counter-attack unfold, cheering on Jimmy as he overcame his older brother, made us complicit in the consequences that were to come by end of the season. Seeing an irreversibly broken Chuck kicking away at his desk in the final shot of the final episode was nothing short of heartbreaking.

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HALF A MIND BOJACK HORSEMAN his year, Bojack Horseman was less about Bojack than normal, branching out and expanding the roles of its side-characters. Some of the strongest material was given over to the backstory of Beatrice Horseman, Bojack’s mother. At the end of episode two, after seeing Bojack’s grandmother fall apart after the death of her son, including a beautiful timetravelling duet, young Beatrice finds her mother, post-electric shock therapy, telling her never to love too deeply. With just half a sentence, they broke their audience’s hearts ‘Why I’ve half a mind...’. This was Bojack at its best, painful, oddly beautiful and achingly true.

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NOEL FIELDING EATS A FLOWER – GBBO kay, look, I love The Bake Off. I always have. There’s something bizarrely addictive about watching complete strangers making fabulous cakes, and every year I find myself getting emotionally attached to the annual batch of amateur bakers. It’s one of the few shows that consistently manages to get a get a rise out of me. Maybe it’s the yeast. When the show moved to Channel 4, losing Mary Berry and Mel and Sue, I, like most of the nation, had my doubts. However, the new network pulled through, delivering an almost carbon copy of the original. Sure, the chemistry between Sandi and Noel isn’t quite the same, and Prue is a slightly different breed of doddering old lady, but Channel 4 pulled it off. And the highlight?

Yeah. Noel eating that flower.

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THE F-BOMB – STAR TREK: DISCOVERY fter 21 minutes and 56 seconds of ‘Choose Your Pain’, the fifth episode of Star Trek: Discovery, fifty-one years of inter-galactic televisual innocence was finally laid to waste when an F-bomb was dropped callously onto the Discovery’s main deck. Intriguingly, the character chosen to smash this prime directive was not Jason Isaac’s brusque Captain Lorca or a wrathful Klingon lump, but socially naïve and thoroughly likeable motormouth Sylvia Tilly. This certainly wouldn’t have happened on the Enterprise; imagine Scotty screaming down his communicator ‘I’m giving the fucker all I can, Cap’ain’ or Kirk telling Spock to ‘lighten the fuck up’. Won’t someone think of the children?! We assume this little fracture in the space-curse continuum is a oneoff and future F-bombs are as hard to find as high-quality Dilithium Crystals in the gamma quadrant.

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11 UNANSWERED QUESTIONS – FARGO t was only a matter of time until the wrestling world started to ollowing two amazing take notice of Johnny seasons, each based Gargano. Considered one on a real-life bizarre of the highlights of the murder case, Fargo US independent scene, season 3 offered up perhaps the Gargano has developed a true bizarrest yet. It also gave us an knack for being the most likeable uncomfortably quiet and reserved guy on any show. WWE fans have villain. Unflappable and completely already taken to him, but the in control, the mysterious V.M. best is yet to come for Johnny Varga is the embodiment of quiet Wrestling. (Coire) horror. Completely untraceable, he always has another card to play, and I found myself respecting, even admiring him. His final hoorah, in the last minutes of the season finale, is equally mysterious: a Schrödinger’s cat. Sat in a police interrogation room, he pulls his final card which, he claims, is a Get Out of Jail Free one. And that’s where it ends. Painfully unanswered. Did they finally get the bad guy? More to the point, did I want him to get caught?

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NOT DISAPPOINTING – TWIN PEAKS hether you’ve seen it or not, you’ll probably know about Twin Peaks, yet it hadn’t been seen onscreen since the early 90s which seemingly added to its legendary status. Finally, a third season was greenlit for this year and thankfully David Lynch delivered another bizarre, confusing and entertaining season that had everyone talking. The legacy wasn’t ruined and it remains one of the best shows to grace our TV screens. As usual there were many questions but that’s part of the fun. A mesmerising mixture of old cast and new faces and well worth the wait.

THE SPY – STRANGER THINGS t’s a given that we all love Stranger Things, yes? That’s not really up for debate. The most difficult thing is choosing a favourite moment. For me it’s ‘The Spy’, an episode gripping from start to finish that manages to showcase everything we love about the show. Noah Schnapp delivers a powerhouse performance as Will Byers, Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) gets to cement his status as a legendary badass and overall it’s a perfect balance of humour and horror. Thankfully we didn’t have to wait long on that cliff-hanger, and we can just about forgive them for Chapter 7 right?

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MORALES RETURNS – THE WALKING DEAD n its never-ending lurch through the post-apocalypse, The Walking Dead managed to pull the ultimate trolling this season as long-disappeared Season 1 alumnus, Morales, made a shocking return to our screens. Long forgotten by most, Morales was a member of the original Atlanta survivors who suddenly left the group near the end of the first season. Since then, die-hard fans have been campaigning for his return, and it seems that Gimple finally listened.

Bringing him back in the final moments of episode two, the internet exploded with excitement. Where had he been?

What had become of his family? Would he become a main character once more?

No. Ten minutes into episode three, in a moment that left fans screaming at their sets, he was shot in the head by Daryl.

‘Cause it don’t matter. Not one little bit.

Well played TWD, well fucking played.

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“I WANT THAT MULAN MCNUGGET SAUCE, MORTY!” – RICK AND MORTY f we needed evidence that Rick and Morty had well and truly entered the Zeitgeist, we found it in the opening episode of season 3, ‘The Rickshank Redemption’. The fact that a throwaway, niche cultural reference, concerning a fast food movie tie-in condiment from 1998, would eventually lead to thousands of people hating on McDonalds even more than they (always) deserve is extraordinary. But what’s even more remarkable is that a TV show which revels in (almost) total nihilism, has become the world’s most popular. Sums us all up, really.

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Words by David Bedwell, Colin Lomas, Jozef Raczka, Angelina Trevena, Grae Westgate and Dan Withey

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 15

in flames

WORDS: KATIA FILIPOVIC

INTERVIEW:

S E M A L F N I

In Flames will be in the UK this December: 17/12 - Birmingham, BCA. 18/12 - Glasgow, Hydro.

20/12 - Leeds, First Direct Arena.

21/12 - London, Wembley Arena.

N I L E G N E NICLAS

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ver the years, guitarist Niclas Engelin has dipped in and out of Swedish metal giants, In Flames, but right now he’s very much ‘in’.

A year of almost constant touring throughout 2017 followed an equally busy 2016; which also saw the release of the band’s twelfth studio album, Battles, last November.

VH’s Katia caught up with Engelin........... where he talked about what it was like to tour with a string quartet, the making of Battles and, more importantly, he explained the reason why everyone in Sweden is a musician...

The recording of the last album happened in quite unusual conditions for In Flames (Battles was recorded in California with producer Howard Benson).

Can you tell us a little bit more about it?

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For us, it was really unusual indeed.

It was just splendid. Being able to record during summertime, I mean it wasn’t Summer in February/ March but for us Scandinavians, it was. Let’s get the barbecue going, a couple of beers, and we can make music and record! It kind of gave an uplifting feel to the album.

You worked with a new producer on this album.

How did that decision come about?

We always want to explore, to be diverse and be on the move all the time. We recorded Siren Charms in Berlin, with the producer Roberto Laghi. We worked with him on three albums. That album is recorded during the gloomiest time, in November and December. We recorded at HansaStudio in Berlin which is 200 meters away from the Wall, so there’s a lot of history. I think that it reflected a little bit on that album, because it is a little bit melancholic, dark, but this one was totally the opposite. We went to L.A, California - this is almost our

Van Halen album! Then we worked with Howard Benson for the first time. We had conversations with him before, we talked about music and how we wanted to do this. He is such an experienced and really great producer. So it was very inspirational to be around him. That goes for Mike Plotnikoff as well, who is a really good producer.

Do you think that you want to work in the same conditions again for the next album?

We haven’t planned it yet, but if you look at the history of In Flames, you know that it’s going to be an In Flames album - it’s going to be raw riffage. You’ll have the melody on the guitars and the screaming. But the question always is, in what kind of way do we present it? And that’s always interesting.

I know that In Flames recently toured with a string quartet. Tell us a little bit more about this.

Yes, we went on tour with a string

quartet and it was just one of the most amazing experience ever. Unfortunately, we didn’t do any shows in the U.K. It was mainly Scandinavia and mainland Europe. It was incredibly cool and something that I would love to do again.

Those musicians are so talented, you know? They are the proper musicians! And when they think of music, they think it’s wider.

They are more open minded, whereas in the heavy metal community - it’s rather more sectarian. More like” Yeah man, Judas Priest, yeahhhhhh!!!” (clenches fist and makes horn sign).

The string quartet added so much to our music. Sometimes, after the shows, we would hang out and we would be just throwing songs at them.

Asking them - “Do you know this song?”, “Yeah, of course!”, and then they would just play it. I was throwing a song by John English, ‘Six Ribbons’, and they just nailed it, straight away.

I know that you are involved in another band.

How easy is it to combine this with In Flames?

Well, I have a band called Engel, and we are actually recording and mixing a new album called Abandon All Hope, which will be out in the Autumn. In Flames and Engel are two different worlds and bands, with different messages and approach. It’s tons of fun and inspirational to be playing with other musicians.

I always have the impression that everyone

in Sweden is a musician.

Why is that?

We have this tradition, or at least we used to have it - as they are closing down youth centres - where we had the luxury of hanging out at youth centres and they had instruments all over the place! Bass, drums, whatever you wanted to try.

Everyone was really supportive going “Yeah, I can teach you how to play guitar! Have a go at it! Have you heard this band, Van Halen? Accept?…” So yes, youth centres played a really big part in music being played by so many youngsters in Sweden.

So, how old were you when you started playing?

I started with playing bass. At school, we’d get one hour every Thursday to try out different stuff. That hour was a little bit magic and I tried out the bass.

That was soooo good!

You’v e travelled all over the place, even Japan.

And the metal fan base over there is really quite something.

Yes, that’s true! You know, we are really lucky and thankful to be doing this.

You are quite an influence on younger musicians, that must feel quite special?

I have to pinch myself. I’m such a lucky guy!

ASKING ALEXANDRIA’S JAMES CASSELLS DISCUSSES NEW HEARSE ALBUM WORDS: RAI JAYNE

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ver the past decade there have been some crazy ups and downs for English metal band Asking Alexandria including multiple vocalist changes, strained relationships, and a whole lot of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll but with the return of original vocalist and co-founding member, Danny Warsnop, he tells us what to expect from their new album, the self titled ‘Asking Alexandria’.

It’s definitely a progression. I mean, the last album we made with the five guys in the band as it is now was From Death to Destiny, we finished writing that album in 2013 – a long time ago. We’ve all matured, we’ve changed as people, as musicians since then so obviously it’s going to sound a little bit different, but that being said I think we’ve always kept in mind that we never wanted to turn our back on our loyal fans. We’ve got some super loyal fans, like mental, crazy loyal fans that have been fans of us since 2009 – they follow us around the country, around Europe, wherever in the world we are they’re there at all the shows, you know? So, we never wanted to turn our backs on them, we still wanted it to sound like Asking.

We don’t want it to be like a different fucking band but it’s a different vibe, there’s a little bit of something for everyone on the album. I definitely feel like if people are into the new songs that have been out and we’ve also been releasing little snippets on our Instagram’s, like little tiny bits of the songs. So, if people are into that then they’re going to like the album. It’s got a lot of good songs on it and we’re very proud of it.

‘Asking Alexandria’ is out now via Sumerian Records

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 17 27

wolf alice

WORDS: SAMANTHA MAE | PHOTO: ALEX THORNBER

E C I L A F L O W LIVE

| SOUTHAMPTON, GUILDHALL

olf Alice, a cocktail of raging ferocity and glimmers of euphoria.

All of this and more, served up in their recently released, well received second album, Visions of a Life. With this success under their belt, the run up to the band’s tour has no doubt been full of anticipation to see the fire come alive and engulf us all.

What we have learnt about Wolf Alice over the years is that they go way beyond our expectations, and that did not change tonight.

It is a moment of tranquility with a super sharp sound at incredible magnitude.

Then, as if at a flick of a switch, ‘Yuk Foo’ crashes through in all its glorious fury. This set has all the very best of new and old, with stirring emotion, phenomenal energy and unshakeable tenacity. Ellie Rowsell pours her heart out, while the disco ball scatters soft blue light across the hall for the atmospheric wave of ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’; an unforgettable, fully immersive moment.

We are in their hands and all the better for it.

Having recently finished their own headline run of smaller shows, Superfood open the night with more leg room for an amped up dose of their delectable charm. Blasting in with ‘Where’s The Bass Amp’, there is an instant lift in energy, while the catchy rhythm of ‘Unstoppable’ takes on a darker form than on the record. A feel good vibe with incredible vigour, there is a lot of excitement surrounding this band and it certainly is not going to waste.

Wolf Alice continue to storm through devilishly raw riffs and saucy rhythms, as well as drift along ethereal melodies. All this with seemingly no effort. It is second nature for these four to blitz through an array of different moods in what could easily be a mishap manner. Nevertheless, no matter what comes next, the movement is fluid and utterly remarkable.

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Following this are New York indie rockers Sunflower Bean, with a performance that shines beyond guitarist and singer Nick Kivlen’s fabulous silver suit. This is a dreamy set, but not without a deliciously grinding rhythm. The sweet groove of ‘I Was A Fool’ contrasts the grunge driven psych sound that later fills the room.

This is the perfect balance of satisfaction and desire to hear more.

Wolf Alice enter the stage, soaring into a stunning performance ‘Heavenward’.

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The night closes on an encore brought on surprisingly by chants of ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn’. First the divine delicacy of classic, ‘Blush’, throwing us into a mix of blissful serenity and emotional turmoil.

Then the explosive brutality of ‘Giant Peach’, bigger than ever before, attacking the senses into a state of wonderful ecstasy.

They are full of grit, glamour, and everything in between. Whichever way they go, they give 100% and prove to no end that they are one of the best of their time. The mighty Wolf Alice; a force to be reckoned with, if you dare.

REVIEW

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 19

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04 VULTUREHOUND DECEMBER 2017

DAVID BRADLEY

DAVID TALKS GAME OF THRONES, HARRY POTTER, DOCTOR WHO AND STAR WARS...

WORDS: GRAE WESTGATE | PHOTOS: BBC/BBC WORLDWIDE

INTERVIEW:

DAVID

Y E L D A R B

head of his return to playing the First Doctor in this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, we were honoured to sit down with famed British character actor David Bradley to discuss the challenges of playing such an iconic role, as well as 60s sensibilities, and his possible future in Star Wars…

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There’s always a lot of pressure for someone going in to play The Doctor.

How did it feel going in to play the ORIGINAL Doctor?

There wasn’t any pressure to feel

like I was playing The Doctor in An Adventure in Space and Time, but the responsibility and the pressure came from portraying William Hartnell accurately. His granddaughter wrote a book called ‘Who’s There?’. She gave me a copy of that and that filled me in on a lot of his history. And, of course, having the benefit that we all had of seeing the old blackand-white footage in order to play him. But the responsibility was in doing justice to someone who was a fine actor, one of the best British character actors of his time, and also the fact that he was a very complicated man. He had a few problems, and Mark Gatiss, thankfully, made him a completely rounded human

being for all his virtues and his darker sides. So, you felt it was an honest portrayal rather than a soft-focus biopic. Coming back to it for the Christmas special, it felt like not an actor playing the actor who played The Doctor, this is playing The Doctor. I wouldn’t say it was a pressure, because I’d had the background of playing in Adventure, and all that kind of fed into it and helped. I think I would have found it difficult just playing The Doctor in the Christmas special without having done An Adventure in Space and Time, which was one of, if not the, best experiences I’ve ever had. We did it in the conditions that they did it, and in a very short space of time.

We had a lot of fun along the way.

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 21

DAVID BRADLEY

I D L A P A C R E T E ON P

“PETER WAS AN ABSOLUTE JOY FROM THE WORD GO” Mind you, it’s easier nowadays for actors to work on TV than it was in Hartnell’s time, because they had no time for retakes or anything, and they had to negotiate those massive cameras and all those cables on the floor. Now you can just stop and say “sorry, can I pick it up from the previous line because I messed up?” It was more like a play, and I should imagine that the pressure of doing it in that way in the early sixties must have been enormous!

Being on-set with Peter and Jodie, what makes them such special performers?

Well, Jodie… our paths didn’t really

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cross in the Christmas special, but they certainly did in Broadchurch.

As soon as I heard that she was doing Doctor Who, I was happily surprised because she’s got this great depth as an actress. Anyone who saw Broadchurch saw the range she has. Not only that, just hanging out with her, you realise what fun she is. She’s always up for a laugh. She’s got everything needed for playing the part. She’ll be absolutely brilliant.

Peter was an absolute joy from the word go. I met him briefly when he came to the set of An Adventure in Space and Time. We didn’t know that he was The Doctor then, and he said he didn’t either! (laughs) He was a friend of Mark’s, so he just came in. He found out a while after that that he got the part.

When someone has ownership of such an iconic part for so long, coming in to share the screen with him, I was so thrilled. As soon as they asked me to do it, I didn’t read a script or anything, I just said “yes!”. He was an absolute joy. We had a lot of laughs. We share a lot of territory in terms of people we’ve worked with and people we know, so in between takes we never stopped talking! When I had guests to visit the set, he took so much care to make sure they had a good time. He had quite a lot on his plate to learn, but he’d always chat to my friends and family, conducting a little tour of the TARDIS. He was an absolute gent, and I hope it’s not the last time I get to work with him!

PHOTO: BBC/COLIN HUTTON

R E K A T T I H W E I D ON JO ED

G NEED N I H T Y R E V E T O G “SHE’S HE’LL BE S .

T R A P E H T G N I FOR PLAY IANT.” L L I R B Y L E T U L O S AB

And, of course, you also worked with Matt Smith’s Doctor on ‘Dinosaurs on a Spaceship’…

Oh, yes! Well, I went into the studio on the first day of that and saw this old TARDIS in the corner in the dark, so I had to go over and touch it and open the door and everything. I thought that was going to be my Doctor Who experience!

Little did I know that something else was lurking around the corner!

But Matt was great fun. We flew out to San Diego together for the big Comic Con there, and we were walking through the forecourt of the airport at Heathrow, and there was a big display with a big picture of Matt promoting the show. He’d had a haircut for some other TV show he’d done and he walked over and said “what’s going on here then?” and they said “oh, it’s a Doctor Who thing we’re doing…”.

He was talking to them for a fair few minutes and nobody clocked it was him!

Would you be willing to come back again if they asked?

Oh, if they asked me, yes! I’d bite their hand off! I’m very happy to have been involved. It’s quite something. Something you’d never expect in your career. Something you’ve watched when you’re young; you never imagine that you’ll be involved in something so iconic. I’d say it’s a late treat! (laughs) I’d be very interested yes!

How was it playing with these two aspects of the same character who have existed almost half a century apart?

It’s these two different generations.

Hartnell’s Doctor is from a time which isn’t quite so PC; it brings all that 1960s “gentle” chauvinism…

He’ll say to Pearl Mackie’s character “this spaceship needs a bit of a spring-clean!”. He comes

from that kind of era. There are a few of these little clashes that pop up and show that those fifty years have made quite a difference in attitude. He’s from that time and he’s bringing all that into the scenes. It’s not a big conflict, but it’s a difference of ideas, and I hope it’s as funny as it looked on paper!

Having done Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones… Have you got your eyes set on Star Wars next? (laughs) Well that would be nice!

I don’t know what I could do in that! I saw the last one and loved it. Yeah… Wouldn’t it be nice…

It’d be like a full house in poker. A complete running flush!

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time airs on Christmas Day on BBC1

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 23

MURDER

MURDER SHE WROTE –

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS ON SCREEN WORDS: KATIE HOGAN | PHOTO: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX

here’s a group of people gathered in a room. Exchanging suspicious glances, all wondering why they are there.

They are in an old country house, a large estate, a theatre, a boat on the river, a train stopped in its tracks. A figure appears, they know what’s happened and they are about to reveal exactly who is the murderer.

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The final reel is a familiar staple in any murder mystery where there are multiple suspects. They all have a stake in the outcome or they are connected somehow to the recently deceased. A detective, professional or amateur, in the form of a wise

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old lady, an adventurous couple or a certain Belgium chap, who claims himself to be the greatest in the world. These are all inventions and tropes used and created by one of the most famous crime writers, Agatha Christie.

Her work has been adapted countless times and she remains today the best selling author of all time. Known for her 66 novels, 14 short stories and the longest running play in the West End history, The Mouse Trap, adaptations of her work have been making a ‘comeback’. With the BBC acquiring the rights to her work a few years ago, this, of course was a prime opportunity for her stories to once again grace our small screens.

With a new murder mystery shown

each year, watching an Agatha Christie adaptation at New Year is becoming a tradition. Having adapted her most famous novel ‘And Then There Were None’ into a mini series, it was only a matter of time before her second most famous novel was brought to life, again.

With only 4 years since David Suchet, having played the Belgian Detective since 1989 literally called it curtains, it seems too soon to have Poirot come back to life. But where there is a chance to bring the story to a new audience a theatrical showman such as Kenneth Branagh couldn’t resist.

Playing Hercule himself as well as directing a star cast, Murder on the Orient Express shuttled onto the big screen this month.

Last but not least, there is Branagh’s homage to crime, Christie and going the extra mile when it comes to cinematic moments. The cast, again, are all well known and are given a small chance to perform their characters but unfortunately Poirot has the most to say and it almost ruins the flow of the story. Branagh tries to bring his own Poirot to the forefront, with over the top speeches that at times are too theatrical, especially with that overcompensating moustache.

Branagh can’t seem to let his Shakespeare roots go, hindering his own film.

The most notable adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express is the 1974 version where Albert Finney was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Poirot. Even then it was the practice to have an all-star cast play the suspects in the mystery.

A device probably used to distract audiences as well as entice them to the cinema. Despite when it was made, the film still stands the test of time, as murder mysteries usually do, a puzzle that needs to be solved doesn’t age, unless you already know the ending. Unlike the later adaptations, the original characters are all included.

Almost polar opposite to the 1974 version is the 2010 TV adaptation

It is not the act of murder that is fascinating in Christie’s story, it is how and who. Each adaptation is defined by how Poirot conducts his case rather than the visuals that accompany it. While Albert Finney, David Suchet and Kenneth Branagh all bring their eccentricities to their performances, each new adaptation that arrives has the same core element, Christie’s touch of violence, intrigue and climatic ending. Christie was an author who knew what an audience wanted to read, even though she claimed otherwise. Her stories keep everyone guessing until the end, and no matter how the story is presented, it is always with a dramatic flare and a big reveal.

RIAN JOHNSON BRINGS THE POWER OF ANALOGUE FILMMAKING BACK TO STAR WARS

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ian Johnson’s wild, idiosyncratic instalment of the Star Wars franchise has inspired high praise from fans and critics (and unintelligible screeching from its ever entitled fanbase - but I digress).

A lot of praise has come from the film’s stylistic flair - but the greatest trick that Johnson pulls during the film, is deceptively simple. Throughout the film, protagonist Rey and antagonist Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren, Son of Darkness, communicate via the Force, the cause of which is unknown.

Where any other director might include a flashy special effect, Johnson chooses to convey these conversations through a simple shot-reverse shot technique that quite literally spans galaxies, the two actors talking to each other from different backdrops.

They only appear in the same shot in brief moments that are as chilling as they are exciting, an uncanny feeling coming from something as simple as someone else’s hand entering the shot.

Despite not appearing together, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver’s incredible and very focused performances, along with the simplicity of how the conversation is set up inspires an intimacy previously unseen between heroes and villains in this franchise. There are plenty of visual wonders throughout Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but its most powerful trick is one of cinema’s oldest.

WORDS: KAMBOLE CAMPBELL

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© 2017 Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

where characters are excluded, plot is rearranged and the murder itself is darker and more violent. There is mystery and intrigue, questioning of faith and what justice really means. With characters having slightly more depth and an air of desperation about them, the suspects, except a couple, are given the chance to define who they are rather than just a group of wellknown actors thrown together on the train. The more sinister tone of the TV episode captures the pain of everyone, even Poirot who says more with an expression then words can.

FILMS OF THE YEAR 2017

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PADDINGTON 2

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FILMS OF THE

YEAR 017 has been a funny old year for films.

There’s been plenty of good films. In fact there’s been a handful of great films out in the UK. Many of these though came from known sources or brought about nostalgia; Dunkirk, Blade Runner 2049, Logan, Paddington 2. Splendid all (and feature in our writer’s Top of the Year list), but with a sense of the familiar. But it was the smaller films this year that brought the surprises; The Florida Project, Get Out, A Ghost Story, It Comes at Night, shine to an exciting new path that US cinema will be heading down.

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Happily major fare from around the globe is gaining a foothold in UK screens. The Handmaiden, After the Storm, Call Me By Your Name and Graduation all made an impact. In a time of where franchises rule the box office and most blockbuster films are connected to some other blockbuster film it is heartening and indeed wicked cool to see so much provocative, innovative and intriguing cinema still being created. MICHAEL DICKINSON

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PHOTO: BRET CURRY

TOP

erhaps the best sequel to a major release in quite some time.

Returning director and co-writer Paul King has done what so many sequels try and fail to do, he’s amped up everything that was right the first time without it feeling rehashed.

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All Paddington wants to do is buy a pop up book of London for his Aunt Lucy for her birthday. So simple, it could have been the plot of one of the original stories. The word “ludicrous” also sums up the tone of the film in the most brilliant way. The cast both returning and new all look like they are having the best time. Befitting of his character Phoenix Buchanan, Hugh Grant steals the show. With the gag rate well and truly turned up King and co-writer Simon Farnaby manage to squeeze more moments of jeopardy and drama. For every smearing of marmalade in the face there are brilliantly executed scenes of emotion.

I welled up on three occasions. Damn these eyes.

WORDS: MICHAEL DICKINSON

ilm as its best, has the power to inspire, to influence to change minds and I’d bet that Okja might result in a fair few people deciding to go for the vegetarian option. The first collaboration between The Psychopath Test’s Jon Ronson & Snowpiercer’s Boon Jong-ho, Okja is more than just a cute commentary on the meat industry, it’s more than just a cute CGI creation, it’s more than just Tilda Swinton’s interesting wig & acting choices, it is a movie with genuine heart.

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Built around the relationship between the titular pigthing and a young Korean girl (a relevatory Ahn Seo-hyun), what works so well is that as well as being a wickedly funny, well-paced and exciting film, this relationship is better illustrated than any number of similar films and using less dialogue and without resorting to cloying sentimentality. It’s so good, you might find yourself forgetting that Okja isn’t real.

WORDS: JOZEF RACZKA

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A GHOST STORY elling a concept to a film company is hard enough at the best of times. Selling one which involves a recent Oscar winner standing mutely under a sheet pretending to be a ghost for 90 minutes is a wholly different beast. Yet under the guidance of writer/director David Lowery, A Ghost Story manages to delve deep into the mysteries of human existence and the futility of life, all perceived from a dead individual’s perspective. Throw in a bucket full of love, grief, loss, longing and a blunderbuss of temporal acceleration and A Ghost Story stays with you long after the closing credits.

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The concept may be adventurous, but the execution is something not far off genius, with few films having ever mixed sadness, desire and the argument between predetermination and existentialism is a way so invigorating yet totally lacking in pretension.

WORDS: COLIN LOMAS

THE THE DEATH HANDMAIDEN OF STALIN he Handmaiden - Based on Sarah Waters’ novel ‘Fingersmith’, director Park Chan-wook transports the story to 1930s Japanese occupied Korea. Sook-hee, a thief, is hired by con artist “Count Fujiwara” to persuade the recluse, heiress Lady Hideko, to marry him. At first it’s her disturbing uncle who is obsessed with Japanese culture and a certain genre of books, that stands in his way, but over time Sookhee and the Lady become very close, changing more than one character’s plans.

The film is essentially an erotic psychological thriller that unfolds over a threeact structure with a love story at the heart of it.

With its twists and turns coupled with exquisite costumes and design, every part of the story is dripping with elegance. including the infamous basement with its sinister objects. A cinematic beauty that keeps you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the end.

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he Death of Stalin is an astonishing tight rope walk that somehow manages to balance one of the world’s most egregious periods of dictatorial tyranny with Python-esque absurdity. In the aftermath of Stalin’s sudden and unexpected death, his toadying and sycophantic cabinet squabble for the right to lead the country in the wake of its most infamous leader’s death. The Thick of It creator, Armando Iannucci, writes and directs a film that mines humour from our most defensive reflexes as he shoots the most hilarious mass murders you will ever see on celluloid. The cast is an embarrassment of riches with Steve Buscemi playing court jester Khrushchev, Jeffery Tambour as the conceited Malenkov, Jason Isaacs as the gruff Zhukov, but top honours must go to Simon Russell Beale’s Lavrentiy Beria, a man so odious and malicious, he could have easily surpassed Stalin in the despot ranks if he were to take over from him as General Secretary.

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WORDS: LEE HAZELL

WORD: KATIE HOGAN

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BABY DRIVER LOGAN hile the likes of Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk and The Handmaiden handled heavy themes and complex drama in such a successful and meaningful way, it was refreshing to find a film this year that conducted its material with a lighter touch, executing it with a flourish here and a glimmer of cinematic hope there. This film is Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver. A love letter to films like Walter Hill’s The Driver, Wright also managed to imbue his own original and technically audacious flavour into the mix with an unwillingness to play by the rules of conventional filmmaking. Editing the action to the music that features throughout, filming all the car chases in camera and reuniting with a classical Hollywood style romance between the film’s two leads, Ansel Elgort and Lily James, Wright forms a masterclass in just how to craft a film that’s helplessly entertaining yet never strays too far from innovation. While it may not be the best film of 2017 overall, according to our list, it easily tops the list for best action movies of the year.

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WORDS: CHRISTIAN LYNN

he X-Men film franchise has been somewhat hit and miss throughout the years. For every X2, there has been an Apocalypse. One thing that has remained stalwart in the last two decades of mutant-based movies, however, has been Hugh Jackman’s performance as Wolverine.

Despite the panning of Origins, and the mixed reception of the Japan-set The Wolverine, Jackman has perpetually given the role his own unique gravitas. Of course, keeping one of Marvel’s most bloodthirsty heroes to a PG13 rating has always kept the beast somewhat tamed. And so, when it was announced that the final film for Jackman’s hero would be getting an R rating, excitement began to peak. What we were presented with was a dark, characterdriven Western, the likes of which had never been seen in the superhero genre, showcasing the talents of Jackman, along with Patrick Stewart and newcomer Dafne Keen. A bloody, emotional, and ultimately heart-wrenching farewell to one of the most iconic screen heroes of the new millennium.

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WORDS: GRAE WESTGATE

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GET OUT ’ve heard of a comedy of manners, but a horror of manners? That is the reality that African-Americans face every day as they are forced to navigate the treacherous territory of White America, a place that makes them strangers in their own homeland. This is the message director Jordan Peele wants the audience to take home from his featurelength debut that shows the audience the dehumanising way society treats minorities through the eyes of a minority being reduced to a gift shop trinket by his girlfriend’s family. The agonising exchanges he has with their upper-class guests as they are keen to emphasise his athletic prowess, his inherent exotic trendiness and his assumed sexual prowess make for far more uncomfortable experiences than any of Saw’s convoluted contraptions could possibly produce. It’s a sickening story that forces us to re-examine how we talk to and treat people who are different to us.

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WORDS: LEE HAZELL

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DUNKIRK A

clock starts ticking...

With Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan crafted a minimal war film that packed a maximal, immersive punch, making it deserving of its place on this list. Depicting one of the greatest military catastrophes of all time, Nolan’s first foray into the war genre – a litmus test for truly great directors – is bare and raw, tense and shocking. It is also a brilliant exercise in beautifully executed technical ability. Following three plot strands - the ground, the sea and the sky - that are interconnected but unravel over different periods of time. The cinematography, soaring and swaying in conjunction with the spitfires, is awe-inspiring, especially if experienced in IMAX, whilst the superb score swells and surges with a sheer unwieldy brutality. Nolan’s rejection of grandeur, heroic monologues and lengthy speeches about king and country, make this perhaps the most authentic depiction of the innate chaos of war in blockbuster cinema history. Dunkirk stands testament to the well-known, yet still neglected phrase, less is more.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 s the due date for Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to Blade Runner approached, there was a sense of anticipation hanging in the air, but also one of apprehension. Villeneuve had been building a reputation as an exciting movie-maker but recent attempts to revisit beloved science fiction properties had, for the most part, been something of an anticlimax. Star Wars may have found a new lease of life following a pitiful prequel trilogy, but this seemed to be the exception to the rule. After a positive start, the new Star Trek series found itself producing comatose instalments, the Alien franchise plunged headlong down a drain of convoluted philosophy and the less said about the pitiful Terminator Genisys the better. With Ridley Scott’s original held in such high regard, there was a feeling that the man who directed the beguiling Arrival absolutely had to follow that success with another belter and avoid tarnishing the reputation of the peerless Blade Runner product.

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A couple of months down the line and the financials don’t exactly make for inspiring reading. At present, Blade Runner 2049 has hardly made enough money to cover its vast budget, but have no fear. Big box office takings do not, necessarily, a classic movie make and financial flops should not be disregarded as cinematic failures. Citizen Kane lost money at the box office on its initial release and Blade Runner itself stalled and was left floundering and misunderstood before reappraisals and re-cuts saw it lauded as a classic.

Mercifully, Blade Runner 2049 has hit enormous highs critically, if not commercially, and will without doubt find itself occupying the top spot on numerous “best of” lists this year, including this one.

The movie-making planets have aligned here and Villeneuve, with immensely valuable support from cinematographer Roger Deakins, writers Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, along with musicians Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch, has created an experience that is enchanting, absolutely all-encompassing and unsurpassed by anything else this year.

Largely eschewing big set-piece action or raucous destruction, the narrative - while incorporating grand scholarly themes is a simple detective story, played out at a relaxed pace. As the existentiallyconcerned android gumshoe K, Ryan Gosling radiates a weather-beaten stoicism that is tempered by a sense of melancholy as he wanders through the breathtaking urban sprawl and bleak wastelands of the future.

The practice of Harrison Ford returning to a treasured old character has brought mixed results over the decade but, thankfully, this trip down memory lane is one to savour. It’s a return to an old stomping ground that stands shoulderto-shoulder with its predecessor; an elegantly crafted, devastatingly beautiful work of art that was worth the wait and all the apprehension in the world.

WORDS: GREG DIMMOCK

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 29

Juliet Simms

WORDS: RAI JAYNE HEARSE | PHOTOS: LILLIE HAND

INTERVIEW:

S M M I S T E I L U J he life of a musician is not all tour buses and million dollar contracts, in fact it is usually far from that - even the most talented of artists can sometimes have it hard.

Juliet Simms has been met with her fair share of obstacles but this inspirational woman is still standing.

She is healthy, she is motivated, and best of all, she is happy, and she isn't going to let anyone bring her

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down.

So for anyone who might not know, could you give us a little introduction to who you are and your background?

My name is Juliet Simms and I’ve been a musician and writing music and singing pretty much my entire

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life. I got my first record deal when I was a teenager and started my band, Automatic Loveletter, made a bunch of records and music videos, toured for years, and then – you know, the music industry is very much a right time, right place, right song, right team kind of thing – all the stars have to align to really break out. It was more difficult for me than it seemed to be for other people, and that’s okay, it doesn’t mean that you’re less talented or anything, it’s just a one in a million thing sometimes. With my band I ended up getting dropped, it was after my fourth or fifth record deal, because I had signed with Sony Japan and then the whole disaster happened there in 2010, the earthquake and all of that.

Everything got pushed back and just ended up falling through the cracks, so I left Sony Japan and decided to record an acoustic record which was an accumulation of songs I had

written over the course of the three or four years of Automatic Loveletter on its way out.

I toured in 2011 off of that acoustic record The Kids Will Take Their Monsters On and after that tour I was kind of like ‘okay, where am I? Where am I going? What am I doing?’ At that point I was solo. My “band” wasn’t really a band, they were hired guns from the record label. The songs throughout the history of Automatic Loveletter had been written by me, recorded by me, essentially it was Juliet Simms, I just had a different name to it. At the end of summer 2011 I got approached by The Voice and was asked to be on the show. I was [unsure], I’d always said that I hated singing competition shows and that it was not authentic and if you’re going to be a musician you have to grind it and earn your stripes and tour not just be handed a record deal, and I thought it was so cheap.

see how I was in real life, not just my dark songs that I write and the moody videos that I put out, that’s not just who I am. Really, at heart, who I am is a sarcastic fucking goofball and in the last two or three years that life has changed for us, that’s really who I’ve become, just somebody that is happy. I’m a happier person and somebody who doesn’t care what people think about them anymore. That’s how I live life now, just completely carefree, but in a responsible way, not carefree in like an ‘I don’t care what happens to everybody, I’m just gonna drive my car into a building’ kind of way, but just not worrying about the little stuff.

But I had done all of that, I had done it the hard way and been that band in a garage practicing and sucking, and living in a van, I had done that so I thought well for me to do it is a little different, you know? So I did the show, I sang for the producers before the live audition and they loved me and I went right on to the live auditions round and I made the show. It was really fun, it was totally different than anything I’d ever done before.

It was, at the time, revalidating and vindicating and I got recognition that I hadn’t ever received before and it all felt very like ‘oh my god this is it, I’m finally going to break through and I’m going to make it, this is really, really going to happen.’ And when it didn’t it kind of really sucked. The fall from that high of a pyramid is pretty hard.

I started drinking a lot and kind of went a little crazy. I spent two years trying to find myself again and find out who I was as an artist.

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But I finally broke free of that and climbed myself out of that rabbit hole. I spent so much time being so serious and so depressed and dark that it was no way to live. Life is a game and you can’t be your own opponent. I think that is the demise of a lot of people and a lot of really great artists, they let themselves be their own worst enemy. And I was really experiencing that for quite a while. Over the last couple of years I was just like ‘this is so not a way to live, this is going to ruin me’. So I changed everything about my life, Andy and I are completely drug and alcohol free, we started exercising, changed our diets, started really focusing on making ourselves happy and being people who just had positive things going on in our lives and it’s changed a lot for us and it’s changed a lot on how I view things.

That’s what I wanted to do with this music video (‘Say Hello’) that just got released, I wanted people to

It’s really nice to see people can be in the rock industry and have that clean life, everyone thinks you have to drink and be into drugs, so it’s really nice. It’s refreshing.

Thank you, I appreciate that. It’s completely a façade, that’s what destroys artists, that’s what kills artists, that’s what makes them go insane and that’s what makes them unhappy. Name one artist, I mean I would love to be proved wrong, but name one artist that kept drinking and going down the drug road that either didn’t die or end up quitting all of that and telling other people ‘don’t do it’. Like who succeeded at the end of that and was like ‘I am so much better that I partied my ass off’?

Now, we all know that people on social media can be pretty brutal and sometimes downright cruel, how do you manage DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 31

Juliet Simms to stay strong in the face of adversity?

Well, what is greatness? Greatness is to love your fellow man and to love others despite all the wrongdoing, the cruelty, and that is what is key here. You know, I see something written about me, whether it’s tearing apart my voice or my music, or the way that I look, and you just have to look at it like okay, this person is not happy because happy people don’t run around creating hate profiles and happy people don’t talk shit about people and happy people don’t go to somebody’s Instagram profile and try to make them feel like shit. So that’s how you to have to look at it, you’re looking at an ugly communication coming from somebody who is probably not a bad person but they’re just miserable. You have to just brush it off, that’s them doing that. They’re living in that state of mind where they have to put others down. Think about how that person feels inside their own body and head. They’re just saying words at me, okay cool, you don’t like me, don’t listen to my music then? Don’t follow me on Instagram? If I am pissing you off so badly your life would be so much better if I wasn’t in it every day, you know? Unfollow me.

It’s funny because it’s so different than when I was teenager, you know?

I would get picked on in school but then I would go home and that was it, it didn’t follow me home. The kids these days, what they’re dealing with is that they get picked on in school and bullied in school and then they go home and it continues. It continues online and it never stops. I guarantee you, nine out of ten of the people who troll me are picked on and bullied for sure. No doubt about

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it. And so when you’re somebody who is constantly being picked on and you’re introverted and devalued, that person can really be an upset person. That person is constantly upset and when people are upset or angry, when they start yelling and saying shit, they usually don’t mean half of the stuff they’re saying, it’s not true. That’s how I look at it. It sucks for them and I wish that we could all just be nice to each other and the internet was a safe place but it’s not so you just have to kind of adapt your own shield against it or viewpoint of it.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

I’ve been given some pretty good advice. You know who is really good at giving advice, my dad, he’s like Dumbledore. He’s totally Dumbledore. You know what’s really good advice that he’s given me, when I was going through my darkness he said to me that everything is not as terrible and as bad as you think it is. So when my dad told me, one day, a few years back, it’s not that bad, you’re going to be looking back at this and laughing one day, that was the best advice I was given because it made me be able to find the strength to overcome it and overpower the voice telling me how terrible I was and sure enough I look back at that and I laugh at it now.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to young Juliet?

Oh my god, if I could go back in time? Okay. Don’t drink. Don’t drink and don’t give your integrity up. Drinking never makes anything better and even if you don’t have a

problem with it you are certainly going to feel like shit the next day, it’s full of calories, it is a depressant and it doesn’t matter if you have a problem with it or not it will make you a little depressed the following day, it’s called The Sads, after you drink. It makes you fall asleep, it makes you make mistakes, nothing good comes from it ever. It might be fun in that moment but it never leads to anything good or productive.

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Speaking of productive, what keeps you busy when you’re not working on music?

Lots of things! I have my company Never Take It Off which is a jewellery company but it’s not just a jewellery company it’s a message-based company based around helping people, getting fans closer to their favourite artists, wearing pieces that symbolise meanings to them and strength and hope and all of that, so I am constantly working on that, I work on that every single day.

I have my fashion blog / Depop store. Next to music is fashion for me and always has been, so it’s really nice for me to be able to work on that kind of stuff everyday including Andy’s new clothing line, Westtower Warrior. I’m so excited to be able to start designing new collections and all of that, we just wanted to release something really simple and classic. What I love

about it is that it’s unisex, like Andy and I for instance, we constantly look like we’re twins, on a normal day we’ll both be wearing the exact same outfit but I will be wearing the ‘girl version’ and he’s wearing the ‘guy version’ so I love that about the clothing line but it’s definitely going to be upping its game in collections to come.

I’ve been exercising and getting into a little bit of acting. I’ve been asked a few times to audition for a few various things. Me and my sister were thinking of possibly starting a YouTube show because when we get together...Angie and I are sisters and our banter and our rapport when we get together, I don’t have that with anybody else, so we’re thinking of that.

We’ve watched you and Angie on Instagram and Snapchat and you guys are hilarious! We also saw you on the Andy Show recently, that was funny, you got

angry at it him during the game of ‘Heads Up’.

Oh no, no, no. I was at like a four.

When I play board games I am vicious, like at one point I am just expecting Andy to tell me ‘I want a divorce’ because I remember two years ago we were in Cincinnati for Christmas and we were going to have games night for the first time and the Biersack’s had never been privy to the Simm’s during games and what happens to us. I mean, horns spring from my forehead and fire comes out of my nostrils and I say every cuss word in the book.

Andy’s grandma looked at me at one point and looked frightened by me. At one point I was screaming at Amy, Andy’s mum, and I was like you are all going to divorce me, you are going to kick me out of the family, you’re all not going to ever speak to me again, you’re not ever going to text me again, I am never going to be invited to Cincinnati again, holy shit, I should not have let this happen! So what you saw on The Andy Show, I didn’t want to

scare the public and for everyone to think I was a psychotic person so I toned it down and I was still a fucking asshole so I’m really sorry.

I can’t help it. I’m like Monica from friends.

Are there any plans for a UK tour?

I would love to come there. I would come there tomorrow if it wasn’t about money but putting on shows and paying band members and crew, it’s expensive and again it’s very, very expensive to be an independent artist. All these bands that come over to tour overseas are funded by essentially glorified banks and when you don’t have that foundation it is just a lot more difficult. I would love nothing more than to come to the UK and play shows, nothing more would make me happy. I know one day I will. I’m going to make that happen.

Read more from our chat wih Juliet at VultureHound.com extended interview

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 33

Mario

WORDS: FRASER OVERINGTON | PHOTO: NINTENDO

O I R A M R E SUP ODYSSEY A

fter what feels like a very long wait, Super Mario Odyssey is finally here! But does it live up to the hype?

The game wastes no time in getting started, beginning with Bowser stepping up his creep game by not only kidnapping Princess Peach, but forcing her to marry him too. From then on, Mario is thrown together with an adorable talking hat called Cappy and whisked away on a whirlwind adventure across a series of wonderful kingdoms on the Odyssey—his hat shaped ship.

Each bizarre and magical location you visit will be packed full of the game’s main collectable, Power Moons. They’re sometimes in obvious locations or can be unlocked via certain challenges, but many may have you scratching your head figuring out where the next one could possibly be. To progress through certain points in the game, you’ll need to hunt down a set number of Power Moons, but as each area has a fair amount of them for you to collect, you’ll find that there will still be loads to grab even after you’ve hit your quota. There’s no doubt that this game will be keeping completionists coming back for a long time.

Mario games are constantly evolving, and Odyssey is no different. Exploration is an absolute joy and your new friend Cappy brings a lot more to Mario’s established arsenal thanks to his boomerang-like abilities. You’ll be able to find hidden coins, jump higher, smash and even capture certain enemies, which allows you to take control of them and access areas you may have completely missed. Cappy isn’t only a cute mascot—he’s an asset to have by your side and one that is even better when a second player joins you on your quest. Player two can take control of the loveable hat, which is not only great fun, but also incredibly useful. I played as Cappy for a considerable amount of time and have really enjoyed the experience.

At certain points during your journey, you’ll drop down a pipe and find yourself in an 8-bit Mario Bros. style area. These 2D platforming segments are short, almost

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too short, but they are immensely satisfying. They remind you not only of how far Mario has come over the years, but also just how fantastic the franchise has always been. There’s one section that is particularly memorable in New Donk City, but I’ll let you find and enjoy that moment for yourself.

What’s an adventure without being able to do some shopping? Grabbing some new duds for Mario and Cappy is not only entertaining, it’s also a must if you’re aiming to get every Power Moon, as certain areas require you to be dressed in a certain way. Each Kingdom you visit has its own shop, with items that you can only buy using their unique currency. These items range from clothing and stickers, to statues for the Odyssey.

There are also a few, rather addictive mini-games for you to enjoy, including a remote-control car race, jump rope and volleyball… I may or may not have poured a few hours into them. To make each one more compelling, every mini-game has its own online leaderboard, allowing you to see how you rank among other players and of course, your friends – which is great for more competitive players. Overall, Mario’s latest journey is aimed at everyone, from the hardcore gamer to the casual, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. If you’re someone who is looking for a challenge, then there’s plenty of unique obstacles awaiting you once you’ve completed the main story,

REVIEW

ALTERNATIVE GAMES OF THE YEAR LIST

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017 has been a great year for gaming, but unfortunately in a year where the amount of great games we’ve had has been diverse and varied, the same titles keep getting repeated over and over again in these lists. Here is our look at the most overlooked and underappreciated games of 2017.

DIVINITY: ORIGINAL SIN 2 Now, while a lot of reviewers heaped praise upon this game when it was first released and it is seeing some game of the year discussion, it simply isn’t enough.

Original Sin 2 is one of the games of the generation let alone the year. In the decades to come it will be recognised as one of the great RPGs of all time, discussed alongside the likes of Planescape: Torment and Baldur’s Gate.

as well as hundreds of Power Moons to collect, several of which are hidden behind some rather difficult platforming sections.

This fantastical adventure is not only a pleasure to play, it looks and sounds amazing, running smoothly both docked and in handheld mode. The soundtrack, as with most Nintendo titles, is memorable and a whole lot of fun, with the game’s theme song ‘Jump Up, Super Star’ being a standout track—even making it into the iTunes Top 40.

In 2017, the Switch reignited my love for Nintendo and now—a few months later—my love for Mario. From start-to-finish, Odyssey impressed me with its incredible level design, colourful characters, fantastic soundtrack, and wonderful ideas. Most impressive of all is how it all comes together so neatly, with so much to do.

Considering Odyssey’s many different aesthetics, this game could’ve been a complete mess, but it isn’t. It still oozes charm and the developers have managed to keep everything under control.

No matter what sort of gamer you are, Mario Odyssey is a must-play game. 2017 is without a doubt, the year of Nintendo!

Rating

SON OF SCOREGASM Just when you think the year is over along comes a game that blows away all expectations and you have to concede you’ve had more fun with an arcade shooter than you have had with 100 million dollar open world action blockbusters. The frantic action of Scoregasm is thrilling, hectic and balances out a punishing level of difficulty with your desire to play dangerously to get the most scoreage out of any situation.

PURRFECT DATE No experience this year has come close to enthralling me, disturbing me or making me question myself, my life choices and my sanity like Purrfect Date. There is something about being offered a date with a borderline alcoholic feline with a human fetish that feels so wrong and that’s why I loved it.

HAND OF FATE 2 Hand of Fate was an interesting, if unrefined, prototype for what the game would eventually become for the sequel. Hand of Fate 2 takes the card based dungeon crawling of the first game and intensifies the feeling that your fate could be crushing defeat or triumphant victory simply on the turn of the next card, making each and every run nail-bitingly tense LAST DAY OF JUNE One of the most underrated games of 2017, Last Day of June’s whimsical storytelling and heart rending tragedy was, for me, the most unforgettable experience of the year.

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 35 09

MUSIC OF THE YEAR 2017

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AFI – AFI (THE BLOOD ALBUM)

WHY? – MOH LHEAN

TOP

10 ALBUMS OF THE

YEAR t’s no easy task to condense a whole years worth of quality records into such a small list. It’s even harder when you consider the amount of love VH has for an eclectic range of genres. The truth is if we were all about metal we would have slapped the #1 tag on Brutus months ago (or Glassjaw if they hadn’t so inconveniently decided to release their new album 3 weeks out from the end of the year).

However, there’s a lot of love to go around a wide range of music, so our top 10 albums of 2017 really managed to do something special.

To us at least.

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Within there are two debut albums, and a handful of sophomore efforts, some triumphant returns, and a few that turned out exactly how we expected. And, as always, if you agree (or disagree) with our choices, let us know via twitter (@ VulturehoundMag) & Facebook (/ vulturehound)… - DAN WITHEY

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FI have transitioned comfortably from goth punk outfit into a stadium-filling rock band. Davey Havock’s voice sounds as sweepingly tortured as it ever had. There are few performers who manage to tread the line between insecurity and bravado with such ease.

Some complained The Blood Album went too heavy on the electronics - certainly opener ‘Dark Snow’ is synth heavy, but when a band as accomplished as this is using them why not?

ot only do we find Yoni Wolf back in the comforts of a home studio, on the band’s latest album, Moh Lhean, we find him with a newly found sense of acceptance. Gone is the open ‘door therapy session’ feel of albums like Alopecia (2008) and Mumps, etc.

(2012), instead Yoni is exploring and expressing more worldly thoughts. It’s definitely brought a calm to proceedings.

‘White Offerings’, ‘Hidden Knives’ and ‘She Speaks the Language’ are as grand as anything on ‘Sing For Sorrow’, while ‘Dumb Kids’ allows them to exercise their old thrash muscles. The Blood Red Album works as both a tie in to the band’s heritage and is musically forward facing.

Featuring some of their most memorable lyrics and music in several years it’s a strong addition to the catalogue and a great entry point for new fans

However, despite the lack of heart racing, indie/hiphop hybrid musings, there is still plenty to be excited about; there simply isn’t a weak moment to be found.

Yoni and brother Josiah, work from an autumnal musical palette that benefits from being recorded in their homely surroundings.

Tracks like ‘This Ole King’, ‘Easy’, and ‘George Washington’, roll along with warm, pop precision, while in ‘One Mississippi’ and ‘The Barely Blur’ we get two of the greatest songs the band have ever written.

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WORDS: MICHAEL DICKINSON

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WORDS: DAN WITHEY

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WOLF ALICE VISIONS OF A LIFE

CONVERGE THE DUSK IN US

11 BJÖRK - UTOPIA n her latest album, Björk strives for a sense of utopia after a particularly heart breaking time in her life.

With production help from Arca she finds a lightness missing from her previous release along with a new sense of love and loving for the world around her.

Flutes, harps and even bird noises soundtrack these lovely songs and highlight just how close nature has always been to Björk’s music.

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ne of the most anticipated albums of the year certainly did not disappoint.

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This is a gorgeous album that finds Björk healing, and in turn inviting the audience to come along with her as she does.

First came ‘Yuk Foo’, a fiery rage that provided an appropriately rude awakening, only to be followed by the sweet haze of next release ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’. There really was no telling what direction this album was going in. This lack of order is all part of the charm. It is all about the unexpected, elegance entwined with chaos as bliss reels into fury and all the way back again.

Visions of a Life is remarkable in its wild essence, an exciting journey with unknown treasures around every corner. Wolf Alice have gone on to prove themselves beyond belief with their unshakable nerve in this delightfully articulate album. Visions of a Life is graceful; it is the coolest kid in town, but also a humble beauty; it is everything.

WORDS: JACOB DOOLIN

WORDS: SAMANTHA MAE

Since the dawn of man this attempt to find a ‘utopia’ has been at the forefront of our minds and actions. But, rather smartly, Björk knows that finding a solution for everyone is impossible.

She’s just happy digging in that cave of hers striving to find the light to a new world.

hen it comes to Jacob Bannon, Kurt Balou, Nate Newton and Ben Koller – the collective better known as Converge - they rarely put a foot wrong when it comes to what they produce in the studio. So, when new record The Dusk In Us dropped in November, the anticipation was already through the roof - but oh did it deliver.

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As well as being hardcore pioneers, Converge have never been scared to dabble into different realms of their music and test the waters elsewhere. And once again the fourpiece show no fear in experimenting with their sound, and expanding on those jilted rhythms, broken drum patterns and a unique underlayer of guitars, even on fulllength number eight.

WORDS:TIM BIRKBECK

DECEMBER 20172017 VULTUREHOUND 37 OCTOBER STEELCHAIR 35

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CREEPER – ETERNITY, IN YOUR ARMS

ALGIERS – THE UNDERSIDE OF POWER

BRUTUS - BURST

his record was a total smash. The songs form a perfect roller coaster ride of emotions beginning with ‘Black Rain’, a song with the fast, throbbing verses and slow, giant choruses executed with My Chemical Romance-like perfection.

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Other highlights include the contagious ‘Hiding With Boys’, the nostalgic punkiness of ‘Down Below’, and the heartwrenching emotions of ‘Misery’ and ‘I Choose To Live’.

The standout track on the record has to be ‘Suzanne’ with its Jim Steinman influences and glam-rock swagger.

Evoking both Meatloaf and Elton John, this song is a perfect example of the flamboyant diversity this exciting band are capable of.

Creeper are exactly what we need right now; a theatrical band entirely unafraid to push boundaries and to be themselves and since a certain beloved band split up in 2013 there has been an empty space just waiting for a band like Creeper to come along and fill the gap.

WORDS: RAI JAYNE HEARSE

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he Underside of Power might just be the most powerful and important album you’ll hear all year.

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It’s no over-exaggeration to say there are few albums that can come close to matching the ferocity and pointed rage of an album that is heavy with the weight of revolutionary struggle and anti-colonialism. Tracks like ‘Walk Like a Panther’, ‘Cry of the Martyrs’ and the title track ‘The Underside of Power’ are rally cries, carrying a rage that is inexplicably missing from most of what 2017 had to offer.

This is a defiant album of ‘finger pointing’ – drawing attention to the systemic racial atrocities woven through the history of America. But don’t just assume it’s all about looking back – this is an album for the here and now. If the last 12 months have shown us anything it’s that sometimes the wrongs of the past don’t always communicate themselves to the present. This is something Algiers is trying to put right.

WORDS: DAN WITHEY

elgian trio Brutus are the punk band you never knew you needed in your life. As far as debut albums go, Burst is unapologetically unrestrained as the name aptly sums up this concentrated sonic energy ball pretty goddamn well.

We use the term punk in its purest form here, because there’s simply nothing that resembles a singular influence that defines Brutus justly or 100% accurately. A furious ‘fuck you’ mash-up of hardcore, black metal, postrock and an insanely heavy dollop of pure, unrestrained rawness that would send Gordon Ramsey into a donkey dick of a rage.

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You simply cannot deny their biting conviction, nor their stomping boot mark they’ve indented on the underground. Brutus will have you screaming, flailing, and if you’re like me, tearingup with blissful joy. Burst is both parts chaotic beast and vulnerable beauty. Their sound should be celebrated as much as their importance should be embraced.

WORDS: HYWEL DAVIES

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11 JULIEN BAKER – TURN OUT THE LIGHTS ulien Baker has a way of constructing songs that hit you right in the gut. Turn Out The Lights arrived with more of that emotional lyrical punch and haunting guitar work that made her debut, 2015’s Sprained Ankle, such a special piece of work.

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We get a full spectrum of a relationship breakdown here. From the initial hurt, to the feeling you’ll never completely understand what’s going on. Tracks like ‘Sour Breath’, ‘Everything To Help You Sleep’ and ‘Shadowboxing’ all give you a realistic viewpoint on suffering. Yet despite the hurt, Baker does allow a light to shine through, even if it’s just a little bit.

Emotive, hopeful and honest, Baker can easily hold her head high walking into 2018 safe in the knowledge she made one of the best musical contributions 2017 had to offer.

WORDS: TIM STOCKWELL

THE HORRORS - V h, V. The album to tell all critics of previous release, ‘Luminous’ where to shove it. The Horrors have made a huge return with their fifth album, teasing us not only from start to finish, but over and over again within each track. This year has served us well for excellent music, but no album has stood out as much as V, with all its standalone tracks and fluid movement, it is quite simply THE album.

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From the moment it starts with the synth meets industrial ‘Hologram’, V soars into a supersonic realm of glory, all while the lyrics whirl us into existential crisis, seriously, “are we hologram?” From here we get classic Horrors sounds awash a far more polished production than we’ve ever seen from the band.

V is superbly poetic, but the big seller is this exquisite production.

Every sound is significant; there is absolutely no waste. Previous albums have comparatively been a blur of excellence (and we really have loved every moment), but this is the clearcut precision we never realised we’ve been waiting for.

One moment we are in a flow of gentle rock n roll, the next we’re thrusted into an unsettling bridge, all the away across to a dynamic throw into delightful turmoil; and that’s just in one track. The album as a whole takes us everywhere, a

strong industrial tone ever present, just every now and then plunging into gothic sensuality and charming synth pop.

‘Point Of No Reply’ is a particularly masterful contrast of sombre tones overcast with pop. It really is astounding how one track can be so multifaceted; from mystical sounds and soothing strings, to throbbing with club vibes. Overall an ethereal piece, but there is so much to be found underneath.

A particular favourite is ‘Ghost’.

Opening with a sense of vulnerability, and filled to the brim with emotion through the strain of guitar.

A somehow romantic take on industrial; vocals as deep whispers, propelling into an ecstatic synth display towards an electrifying second half.

Later in the album we are treated with a lick of psychedelia, as well as pop and grunge, rock and rolled into something fantastically delectable. Closing track ‘Something To Remember Me By’ is a poignant message to all the critics. It is as pop as The Horrors go, ending the album in wonderfully high spirits. V is truly unforgettable, album of the year and then some.

WORDS: SAMANTHA MAE

DECEMBER 2017 VULTUREHOUND 39

star wars

WORDS: RYAN POLLARD

STAR WARS I D E J T S A L THE hen The Force Awakens came out in 2015, it revitalised the Star Wars franchise for a new millennium, despite some criticism of retreading familiar ground. Love it or not, The Force Awakens was a massive worldwide phenomenon, so expectation was high to see if this would be as good, if not better, especially after J.J. Abrams stepped down from the director’s chair (temporarily) and let Rian Johnson take the helm. Well, The Last Jedi blows all expectations out of the water, and then some, being the riskiest of the Star Wars movies by taking massive chances and risks, which may divide some audiences, but for me anyway, it massively succeeded in its own right. Like The Empire Strikes Back, this is darker than The Force Awakens, yet it’s also its own beast to the point where this feels more like a movie that has transcended beyond what Star Wars was always about by acknowledging the past while also building a new future.

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Throughout the movie, there are moments of pure, genuine magic that will truly resonate with audiences, and will most likely leave people openly weeping.

Sometimes with fist-pounding joy, sometimes with raw pain or sometimes out of nostalgic delight. But more than anything, this feels like a completely different movie, introducing sequences and scenarios that are fresh, invigorating and very bold new additions to the franchise. What Rian Johnson has crafted is something that is beyond remarkable, and his voice and his vision is present throughout, which is also evident in his other films like Brick, The Brothers Bloom and Looper. With him calling the shots, this movie is a demonstration of masterclass direction and writing, and he even subverts the typical three-act structure, opting to go for almost a five-act structure that actually works really well for this kind of movie. While it is true that the story can be very uneven, this movie makes up for that with its brilliant characterisation, character development, and in deliverance of size and spectacle. The beginning of this movie immediately gets you excited, but THAT last hour is truly a killer.

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Daisy Ridley once again kills it as Rey, proving to be the real beacon of light and hope in this new trilogy, while both John Boyega and Oscar Isaac still offer great support and are given more to do this time round.

Newcomer Kelly Marie Tran is a excellent addition to this new roster of characters, and her dynamic/ chemistry with Boyega is both fun and heartwarming.

Adam Driver is terrific as Kylo Ren, taking the character to extreme new depths and terrifying places that makes him more and more the crucial key antagonist of this new series. With sad, tragic passing of Carrie Fisher last year, everyone was curious as to how they would handle her in this movie, and they indeed do Leia justice here, giving her some great scenes to work with, and Fisher really went out on a high note. However, Mark Hamill is the ultimate key that lifts this movie up and keeps its beating heart alive as Luke Skywalker, delivering his best performance as Luke to date. Benicio del Toro on the other hand, I’m not so sure about…

PHOTO: JOHN WILSON..©2017 LUCASFILM LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

REVIEW

In the end, The Last Jedi subverts all expectations; you may think the movie goes one way, but then it slyly pulls the rug out from under you. Go into this movie completely dark and avoid spoilers like the plague because you are going to be surprised at the level of extraordinary achievement that is accomplished here.

If The Force Awakens was a safe springboard, this is the ultimate game-changer that takes the franchise into uncharted territory for both the upcoming Episode 9, as well as Rian Johnson’s new Star Wars trilogy. With all that going for it, now is the time to be a Star Wars fan.

Star Wars The Last Jedi is out now

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FINAL WORD

FINAL WORD WORDS: COLIN LOMAS

WHERE NOW FOR DC?

hat is most disappointing about Justice League is that we all knew it was going to be rubbish. Even with the excitement around Wonder Woman, could she alone drag this ailing bunch of supermiserabilists back from the brink? Nobody really believed so, and this was indeed the case as she was helplessly sucked down into the depths of glumness like a 14 year old listening to Morrissey in a dark Amazonian bedroom.

In fact, there hasn’t been a decent DC film since Nolan hung up his bat-boots. So what exactly can DC do to stop the rot?

some of those with past glory, but all could be easily remodelled to fit the modern universe.

Well, for starters, lighten up. Even as far back as Iron Man, Marvel have employed writers, actors and directors who can mix in some comedic respite. Given the constant employment of Zack Snyder, a man who could reboot Sooty and Friends as a tedious three-hour CGIfest, DC seem to have intentionally gone the opposite way. DC’s single foray into the lighter side, Suicide Squad, could have worked; a good solid cast, sharp dialogue, moments of slapstick, but was let down by a bloating of peripheral characters and Cara Delevingne’s hopelessly obscure Enchantress. Even the much-lauded Wonder Woman is surprisingly much glummer on second viewing.

So where to now? The films currently in production don’t exactly get the pulse racing; Justice League 2, Aquaman, Shazam and Wonder Woman 2. Could DC wipe the slate clean and start again? It’s possible yet it’s a risk that audiences will buy into yet another Batman or Superman reboot, and given Gal Gadot will no doubt be kept on as Wonder Woman, the new stories will start to baffle somewhat. Possibly the most sensible route, given Marvel’s recent success, is to pick some lesser known characters and take risks with directors. Taika Waititi’s addition to Thor: Ragnarok was a stroke of genius and produced the freshest Superhero film for years, yet with Snyder at the helm once again for Justice League 2 and James Wan (known mainly for Saw, The Conjuring and Insidious) putting final touches to Aquaman, this seems unlikely.

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Of course, it has been said that while Marvel have the best superheroes, DC have the best villains, yet it’s difficult to envisage so given the recent baddie output.

Lex Luthor’s baffling geek remodelling, David Thewlis’ grumpy Geography teacher and most recently an almost laughable Steppenwolf are hardly on a par with Heath Ledger’s Joker. Poison Ivy, The Riddler, The Penguin, Mr Freeze, Darkseid are all waiting on the bench.

Admittedly, Jim Carrey and Arnie haven’t exactly covered

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Possibly the most unforgivable element to all this is that no-one is really interested in new Batman or Superman movies these days. Henry Cavill has never wore the red S with any conviction and it’s unlikely he’ll extend his contract; Ben Affleck doesn’t bring anything new to the Wayne table yet is plodding on with a new Batman film and Justice League 2. Gal Gadot brought something fresh, yet whether she can develop Wonder Woman as DC bleed every last drop out of her is unknown.

DC have so far been fortunate; recent films have been depressing and downright poor, yet audiences have always flocked to see them. So why change the formula?

Yet Justice League has changed that; poor ratings plus a severe drop in box office revenue may finally force the executive’s hand to try something different; even Batman can’t fudge P&L figures. We can only hope.