WASTED! Magazine issue 14

MOCKING BIRD | BENEATH THE TIDE | IVY LEAGUE MURDER SCENE | ENTER SHIKARI | YOUNG GUNS

WE GET OUR HANDS ON THE SINCERITY BOYS!

BEN BRUCE!

WE INTERVIEWE D

‘s

(ARE YOU AS EXCITED AS HE LOOKS?”)

INTRODUCING | ALT BEAUTIES | INTERVIEWS | REVIEWS | EVENTS

wastedmagazine.co.uk Facebook | Twiter | Tumblr Editor Zoe Blush Designers Zoe Blush Imagery Josh Andrews Joseph Watts Writers Jessica Gough Zoe Blush Callum Lillie Jake Owens

Event Organisers Dan Laws Zoe Blush Want to advertise in WASTED? Want us to feature your band?

Are you an aspiring Alt model?

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Views and opinions expressed by contributors are that of their own and not of the magazine as a whole.

CONTENTS: THIS MONTH: 03 INTRODUCING: DOOMED FROM DAY ONE & MORE!

[W! #13]

05 INTERVIEW: FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

Hey everyone!

08 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL ALT BEAUTIES!

We start by introducing you to the lovely ‘DOOMED FROM DAY ONE’ with both ‘ANIMUS SADIST’ and ‘HOUSE PARTY MASSACRE’ to follow, that all starts over on page 3.

18 INTERVIEW: AUGUST BURNS RED 21 JANUARY EVENTS 22 REVIEW: EASTPAK ANTIDOTE TOUR 25 ARTIST PROFILE: EDWARD ROBERT

We have interviewed the likes of ‘FOREVERYTHING A REASON’ (page 5) & ‘AUGUST BURNS RED’ (page 18) head over & to read those!

29 ALBUM REVIEWS 31 MERRY CHRITMAS! 18 WE INTERVIEW AUGUST BURNS RED

This month we piled into VILLEGE STUDIOS & took our clothes off for MR MARTIN HOBBY. Make sure you head over to page 8 to see all the Christmas Special Alt Beauties!

We also have the Eastpak Antidote Tour review over on page 22 featuring the likes of ‘A DAY TO REMEMBER’, ‘AUGUST BURNS RED’ & more!

05 WE INTERVIEW FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

03 INTRODUCING DOOMED FROM DAY ONE

So to finish it off, we’d just like to say Merry Christmas! & we hope you have a fantastic New Year & whatever you get up to make sure you get WASTED! Lots of love, Zoe Blush xo

04 ALSO INTRODUCING ANIMUS SADIST

31 MERRY CHRISTMAS!

3

INTRODUCING: BENEATH THE TIDE

BENEATH THE TIDE MOCKING BIRD WHO ARE YOU? We’re Mockingbird, a hard rock 3 piece hailing from Cork/Waterford in Ireland. We play a mixture of hard/blues rock and have been playing around Ireland for the past few years.

The line-up consists of Ian O’ Sullivan (Vocals, Guitar) and Noel and Phil Cunningham (Bass and Drums). Obviously Noel and Phil are brothers and have been play in bands since they were in school. Noel knew Ian from another band they played in before and they often spoke about trying to get a real tight, no BS rock band on the road. After a few jams with Phil the lads knew they had a good sound and decided to do something with it and Mockingbird was born!

WHERE ARE YOU GOING? At the moment we’re just rehearsing like hell to get our new set down. The feedback to the singles we released last year has been incredible and we want to build on that in 2012.

We plan to record in Spring and then spend the rest of the year playing as many shows as possible. Obviously we all work different schedules so we have to really focus and give it our best when we’re on the road or in the studio. It’s all about getting the maximum out of ourselves in the time we have together.

WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT? Well it hard for us to answer that objectively but I hope your readers will hear something different when they listen to us. We’ve all play in different bands over years, in many different genres and after a while it can

become a bit boring, as everyone seems to sound the same these days. Generally if you like good guitar driven rock with catchy choruses, chances are your going to like some of our stuff..

Now I’m not saying that we’re trying to reinvent the wheel with Mockingbird - why would we when it’s working perfectly fine the way it is! We’re just enjoying writing the kind of no frills rock and roll songs that we like and enjoy to play. We don’t take ourselves too serious and just enjoy what we do.

Where we are based in Ireland they’re really isn’t anybody else doing what we’re doing.

We play Rock n Roll, we play solo’s, we have catchy choruses and that’s just the way we like it! Hopefully the punters that come to see us enjoy it too and from the reactions we get at our shows they get their money’s worth and go home happy. Can’t ask for anymore than that, can you?

FUTURE GIGS We’ll be back on the road around Ireland in March this year and will be out in force to promote the new record - and who knows how things pan out we may go further a field and play some European & UK dates during the summer. Watch this space!

WHO ARE YOU? We are Beneath The Tide a five piece Deathcore band hailing from Croydon looking to make our mark on the scene with our hard hitting relentless style.

Vocals - Jamie Turner Guitar - Marcus Kallmeier Guitar - Russell Jarvis Bass - Ryan Nash Drums - Stefan Kallmeier

WHERE ARE YOU GOING? At the moment we’re just looking to play as many shows as we can to try and get our name out there and build ourselves a solid fan base. Recently we had the honour of playing with Liferuiner when they were in London which was an amazing experience for us and we’d love to play some more big shows like that again soon. We also released our first EP at the end of last month so we’re trying to get as many people as possible listening to that as well again trying to build up our fan base.

WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS? We aim to keep writing brutal heavy music improving ourselves as musicians and refining our

WHO ARE YOU? We are The Ivy League Murder Scene, we are what you would call a “post hardcore” band if you really wanted to label us, we are all from around the kent area and have known each other for years, we have all played in different bands with each other before but it wasnt until the middle of 2011 we decided to all make a band together.

IVY LEAGUE MURDER SCENE

WHERE ARE YOU GOING? We can see ourselves as one of those hard working bands that constantly tour then write new material and then keep touring and the only breaks we would have was to get stuff recorded, we all love playing live and we all get along and it would just feel the most comfortable thing to do

sound, play bigger and better shows gaining more and more fans. And we’ll see where we go from there. Like every band we want to be able to do this as a living and tour the world playing the music we love for people everywhere but we know its a long hard road to achieve this but who knows what the future holds.

WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT? Our sound is what makes us different. We incorporate a lot of different elements from a whole heap of genres into our sound. We have a very Melodic Hardcore base with a lot of Death Metal elements as well as some Djent style riffs and catchy sing along choruses all accompanied by a tonne of breakdowns that will make you want to punch the person next to you.

WHY SHOULD OUR READERS LISTEN TO “BENEATH THE TIDE?” If you like music to be brutal and heavy yet melodic and intricate at the same time then give us a listen. Then if you like what you hear come down to one of our shows. We’d love to party with you some time.

WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT? I think our enthusiasm and our energetic persona is what separates us, and the fact that we have a sound that is hard to pin down, i guess the closest thing we sound like would be the punk movement that is happening on the west coast at the moment FUTURE GIGS We have a gig coming up on the 14th of March at New Cross Inn and we also have some other Gigs that are still being arranged at the moment CONTACT: contact info - if you have any anthony.sntbookings@gmail.com http://504370.spreadshirt.co.uk/

SO LADS TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELVES: Well We’re a 5 piece melodic metalcore (NOT HARDCORE) band hailing from Kent. We write music that means something to us and hopefully to others.

DESCRIBE YOUR NOISE TO A FIRST TIME LISTENER? In your face vocals and melodic guitars with positivity in our lyrics (don’t get much of that around here) DESCRIBE YOUR FIRST EVER GIG: WHERE WAS IT & WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE LIKE? Our first gig was at beacon court with, Apethia (RIP), Blind Ambitions and Tides of Virtue

headlining, our good friends Lychway were suppose to be playing this but unfortunately had to pull out.

We had released our debut single ‘Destiny’ before our first show, we were quite surprised how many people were singing along. We were grateful for the response we had from our local scene/ support.

HOW WAS 2011 FOR YOU? WHAT DID YOU GUYS GET UP TOO? Well we couldn’t be more grateful for what happened for us in 2011; We released 2 songs online and a music video, W we manage to tour twice, once being with Demoraliser and the second with our Swedish

brothers in The Seven Year Itch.

We also managed to support Hundredth, Heights, Liferuiner & other bands that we look up to.

HAVE YOU HAD ANY LINE UP CHANGES IN THE PAST? DO YOU THINK THIS IS YOUR STRONGEST LINE UP SO FAR? This is our only line-up we’ve ever had, and we couldn’t be more happier with how it is.

YOU RELEASED A VIDEO FOR YOUR SONG “DESTINY” LAST YEAR. HOW WAS IT MAKING THE VIDEO AND SEEING THE FINAL PRODUCT? For most of us this was our first proper band (bar Jamie and Nathan) so was pretty new to us.

The video was filmed and edited by Tommy Reynolds (Who also filmed Maine River debut video for Worthless Check it out).

We were happy with how the video turnt out for it being our first music video, we plan to shoot another some point in the future.

HOW WAS THE FEEDBACK FOR THE VIDEO? The feedback was pretty good, few negative comments, but what band doesn’t get that?

ANY PLANS ON RELEASING AN E.P THIS YEAR? Yes, we’re currently recording it in sessions, all the writing has been done for it.Expect to see this EP out in April/May aslong aswell as a EP Launch show.

HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT BECOMING APART OF THE REDBULL BEDROOM JAM COMPETITION? HOW DO YOU GUYS THINK YOU’RE DOING? We entered it a while back, voting was going pretty well, but the way they run it, we now think it’s not really worth the time and effort. We would rather concentrate on other things within the band.

WE’VE SEEN A FEW NEGATIVE THINGS ONLINE ABOUT YOU GUYS RECENTLY. HOW DO YOU REACT TO THIS KIND OF

CRITICISM? We only know of one thing been said, but we take it on board, and work on this, we write and play what we enjoy. We’re not out to impresss anyone, we’re just doing what we love to do and have fun along the way.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BANDS BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? There has been alot of achievements for us to be able to pick one. Doing a tour with Demoraliser within our first couple of months of being together was a pretty huge deal for us, our Second show supporting Hundredth and our Liferuiner show in London and few other things.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUNNY OR EMBARRASSING TOUR MOMENTS YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US AND WHO KEEPS EVERYONE LAUGHING ON TOUR? Jack (Our drummer) mooneying down the motorway, and running up the motorway traffic in his underwear.

But for the laughs on tour, we all keep eachother pretty amused to be fair, we’re a jokey bunch of lads.

Also Jamie waking up to a sex toy sheep and missing his wallet and phone... was a pretty odd moment ARE THERE ANY ARTISTS THAT YOU’D LIKE TO COLLABORATE WITH? Can’t really say we’ve put any thought into this, we’ve just been concentrating on writing/recording our own EP at the moment.

YOU OBVIOUSLY SPEND A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER, HAVE YOU EVER GOT TO BREAKING POINT WITH A BAND MATE? Yeah you’re bound to being in van couped up with 5 boys several days straight, but we all put it behind us and just get on with it.

IF SINCERITY WERE AN ICE-CREAM WHAT FLAVOR WOULD YOU BE? Neopolitan, Because it resembles Nathan’s personality.

ADAM WARD, 26

NAME/AGE/LOCATION Adam Ward, 26 , Derby TELL US THREE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF? 1. I’ve done most of my body tattoos myself.

2. I’ve toured with big bands like Sum 41 etc 3. If I don’t have a can of monster or cup of coffee I go a bit crazy.

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? Paint, a lot. Anything really I hang out, I tattoo. I try any keep busy at all times.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVOURITE BAND/STYLE OF MUSIC? The Hush, I been listening to them loads. They are a band to look out for, for sure.

WHAT WAS THE BEST LIVE SHOW YOU’VE BEEN TO & WHY? Any time I seen blink 182, those guy are too funny live.

Up to your neck in ink? Tell us a little about your first, your last & everything in between: My first tattoo is really poorly done I was 16 at the time I had it, but its of flames and dice because I’m bad ass like that haha, but with the number 182 in them.

The last tattoo I’ve had are the ones on my hips I got bored one day so I tattooed them. That night was a bitch to sleep for sure.

My favourite is the dad tattoo on my chest, when I was working in my old studio I had my boss tattoo my dad’s ashes into my chest when he was doing this tattoo. This tattoo is so rad and has so much meaning to it.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FUNNIEST DRUNKEN MOMENT? When I went to hooters in Nottingham and had a tab!!! Me and my buddy’s went and drank

so much beer we was a mess. I ended up running pass the BBC Nottingham building butt naked, after putting my clothes on to get the train home ended up getting kicked off the train because my mate had taken the painting off the wall because he thought it would look good on his wall (drunk talk at the time) we ran for dear lives from the cops and ended up in the bad part of Nottingham.

DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL HABITS OR HOBBIES? Hmmm, three drains can’t walk over them.

FEMALE BAND MEMBERS ARE FEW & FAR BETWEEN, BUT WHICH IS THE HOTTEST? Jenna Mcdougall from a band called Tonight Alive.

WHAT IS YOUR CLAIM TO FAME? There’s been a few, been on tour with Sum 41 for two weeks back in 2005 that was rad. Went to Amsterdam with Bowling For Soup twice, there has been many I lost track.

GIVE US YOUR BEST CHAT UP LINE? You know what I don’t have one……

I just go out wit my buddy’s and drink and if a girl hits on me that’s cool but I don’t chase the girls.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FUNNIEST/MOST EMBARRASSING SEXUAL/ROMANTIC EXPERIENCE? Well I remember having birthday sex with the girlfriend at the time and I remember her housemates all jumping in the room. That wasn’t cool, scared the hell out of me.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 5 YEARS TIME? Having my own studio and doing a lot more art shows and a lot more tattoos. I would like to be in the U.S doing some cool stuff.

sibly make your insides explode. Vocalist Barry O’Connor interacted with the crowd throughout the set and the rest of the band were continuously moving throughout and just looked so tight. Their song “Northern Line Massacre” got an amazing reaction from the crowd with everyone pushing and shoving each other and shouting back the lyrics. As well as the heavy screams they had good clean vocals.

Azriel review Camden Barfly 24th January 2012 As I arrived people were already waiting to enter the venue and I could already tell it was going to be a good night. As the doors opened and everyone went into the venue it was clear they were all here for the same reason, to have a great fucking night.

First up were London metal band Death Remains and what a way to open the show!

They opened with the new internet trend “My First Hardcore Song” which got a great reaction from the crowd. The vocals were tight and heavy which went perfectly with the heavy riffs which were so tight and in time it could pos-

Next up were Glasgow lads Departures. The crowd were already pumped and completely ready for what this band had to offer. With heavy tight riffs all in time with one another down to melodic riffs and tight heavy screams everyone was moving about for Departures.

Vocalist James McKean got down into the crowd and had complete interaction throughout the whole set. One of the guitarists broke a string and whilst he was changing it the rest of the band kept the crowd entertained which was pretty rare but fucking awesome. The whole band were continuously moving and you could see the passion and want during every song. Overall I’d suggest checking this band out as they completely delivered to the fullest expectation at this show.

Now for main support Silent Screams. I was quite eager to hear this band live as I’ve heard a lot of good praise and what a shock I got.

These lads from Coventry lived up to their expectations and even more. The whole set was tight and in time, the clean vocals were perfect and completely in tune and I can’t even put the screams into words. This band have it all. The whole band were moving about continuously, with the tight heavy breakdowns and powerful spot on vocals the crowd went completely fucking crazy for this band jumping about and shouting the lyrics back to vocalist James Ryan.

Silent Screams are by far the best band I have ever seen live and I’d get down to a show and check them out if you haven’t already, these lads should definitely be a lot bigger then they are.

Last but certainly not least headliners Azriel take to the stage. After the mighty performance from Silent Screams the crowd were ready for everything they had to offer. The intro was heavy as fuck and the crowd were off their feet from the first riffs. From heavy breakdowns to melodic riffs and heavy as fuck vocals Azriel gave the crowd everything they wanted and even more! They played their new song which hasn’t yet got a name which sent the crowd wild, not only was it the heaviest song to be played on tonight’s show but it got such a positive reaction from the crowd. Vocalist Rob was completely interacting with the crowd and provided more then enough confidence and

BEN SO WHILE YOU LOT WERE QUEUING ROUND THE BLOCK WAITING TO TEAR INTO THE VENUE, WE WERE UPSTAIRS HAVING A NATTER WITH THE VERY SEXY MR BEN BRUCE. W!: HEY BEN, SO THIS IS YOUR BIGGEST UK TOUR TO DATE, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO PLAY THESE BIGGER VENUES? Ben: It’s awesome, because last time we were here they

BRU CE:

were tiny little venues!

London was our biggest and that was what? 1000 cap? 1200? So it’s a pretty big leap, we’re really happy about it.

W!: WE SAW YOU LAST YEAR AT THE BALLROOM, IS IT WEIRD TO SEE HOW MUCH BIGGER IT’S ALL GOT?

Ben: Yeah, I didn’t expect it, this only our 3rd UK tour so I didn’t expect it to get to this sort of level so quickly but we are pretty bitchin’ so…

W!: HOW ARE YOU FINDING TOURING WITH THE CURRENT SUPPORT LINE UP? HOW DO YOU GET ON WITH THE OTHER BANDS? Ben: Oh! I hate them.

They’re dickheads. All of them. Fucking wankers.

Especially Beau, he’s a dickhead. Nah, they’re all friends, we’ve toured with them before. We’ve toured with Blessthefall in Australia and Japan, and they actually live right down the road from me in Arizona so they’re good friends, always fun with them. Chelsea Grin we’ve toured with , always a laugh with them, and With One Last Breath, they’ve been friends for years so its good times. None of them are any where NEAR as good as us though. OR as good looking. But, they’re cool guys I guess…

W!: SO YOU PLAYED WARPED TOUR LAST SUMMER, HOW WAS THAT FOR YOU GUYS? Ben: Well the shows were amazing, they were massive and it was really organised and they took care of us really well, but I didn’t enjoy the overall tour, because like… I felt like I was back at school, there was like a million bands and people hated each other, and there was arguments, and rumours and just childish bullshit all summer, I had enough of it.

W!: DO YOU HAVE ANY SUMMER FESTIVALS LINED UP FOR THIS YEAR? Ben: Everyone’s asking us that… I don’t know. I don’t know yet, I THINK we’ve got a massive support tour in the states and I’m not

sure if the dates crossover…

Our booking agent’s here tonight, and we’re going to have a meeting with them and hopefully have it sorted.

W!: WE’VE HEARD RUMOURS THAT YOU’RE WRITING NEW MATERIAL, IS THIS TRUE? Ben: It’s VERY true! I’ve been writing for the new album for a few months now… It’s heavy as fuck.

Really heavy. Stoked!

W!: ANY CLUES ABOUT SOUND? OTHER THAN HEAVY AS FUCK? Ben: Umm, we’re keeping our choruses that kind of 80’s anthem choruses, because that’s become like signature us now, but like…

Everyone gets to their 3rd album, and this is ours, and goes ‘well we need to make this massive’, and the way to get massive is to go really soft and get as much radio play as you can, less screaming and stuff like that, and we’re sort of taking the opposite approach, and saying fuck you and trying to prove a point that you can get bigger being heavier. I mean we could be wrong! I hope we’re not but we’re taking that chance and writing the heaviest we’ve ever written.

W!: WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE UK CITY TO PLAY AND HOW HAVE THEY BEEN ON THIS TOUR? Ben: LONDON!

And I don’t know, because we’ve not played it yet! I choose London because it’s where

I’m from, fuck the others, they’re all from up north!

The north was good though… Manchester was amazing. But we won’t tell anyone that. I reckon tonight is going to kick arse.

time off, we haven’t practiced together for like 2 years so we just add songs and hope that they go well, so we just pick the easiest ones to learn haha!

W!: HOW ARE THE US FANS COMPARED TO THE UK FANS? Ben: They have different accents. It’s weird. They’re pretty similar really I guess, there’s more of them in the states, just because there’s more people, but I think people here are a bit crazier too, because we aren’t here as often, so when we do they’re really excited.

W!: AND FINALLY, HAVE YOU HAD ANY STAGE BLUNDERS SO FAR? Ben: All the time!

We’ve fallen off stages, we’ve hit each other with guitars!

I nearly fell over a million times last night for some reason, I just couldn’t get my balance. James…

ACTUALLY! In Wales, we came on for our encore, which is an ENCORE, the high point of the show, PINNACLE POINT! And James started Alerion, and forgot and just stopped playing. We had to stop halfway through our encore because he forgot, how embarrassing haha!

W!: SO DO YOU HAVE ANY PRE SHOW RITUALS AS A BAND? Ben: Umm not really… before we go on stage every night we do this little put your hands in a little circle thing and do a little chanty chant… How does it go? It’s like “Who’s the best band in the world? We are. Who’s not as good as us? Everyone else. And then we just shout fuck really loudly”. I have no idea where that came from…

W!: WHAT IS YOU’RE FAVOURITE SONG TO PLAY LIVE? Ben: Err… Dear Insanity I think, we’ve only just added that to the set, so it’s nice to play something different.

W!: HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE SONGS FOR THE SETS? Ben: Well we kind of have to play the songs we’ve got videos for, because they’re the ones everybody knows, and

then…

I don’t know, we just pick the ones we can be bothered to learn, the easiest ones! Because we never get

-

TH @ HMV FORUM EA R B T S LA E N O H IT ELSEA GRIN & W & BLESSTHEFALL, CH Asking Alexandria with Blessthefall, Chelsea Grin and With One Last Breath @ HMV Forum.

It’s been nearly a year since Asking Alexandria last played a show in London, and how things have changed. Gone is the tiny queue and equally small venue, and here we are at the Forum with all its grandeur and fancy bits and bobs. The queue is equally huge; stretching the whole way round the venue is a collection of kids eager to see the show. Let’s get to it.

The 1st band to play tonight are Yorkshire up and comers, With One Last Breath, a sort of metalcore act with some tasty riffs and huge screaming vocals. Considering that they aren’t well known at all, the boys from up north do a really good job of stirring up the crowd, and even get some pits opening up, not an easy feat when the hall is only about a quarter full. They’re touring the UK with Yashin soon, so watch out for these guys, definitely worth a look-see and a dance about. (8/10) Chelsea Grin are the next assault on the ear drums of the collec-

tive this evening. I’ll lay this out simply; they’re a deathcore band. You will bob your head and move around. It needs to be done. They are quite literally ridiculously heavy. It’s awesome!

There’s more than just dumb breakdowns too, with some nice widdly guitar work and insanely fast drumming and some massively impressive vocals, there’s a bit of something for everyone. Sort of. As far as deathcore goes – Top of the class. They might be a bit heavy for most people though. Fun show though… (8/10) Blessthefall are main support on this tour, and to be frank, it’s pretty hard to see why. They don’t have a sound which that similar to Asking Alexandria’s, with a lot more singing and an altogether less heavy approach to their sound. They make a lot more sense when they play some crowd favourites and get the place moving around. The kids assembled go nuts for it too, crowd surfing, shoulder sitting and all sorts, very exciting. So exciting that Beau is sick off the stage. Lovely. He redeems himself by doing a flip off of some stairs into the crowd, which

is pretty cool no matter how you see it. All in all, a good set to get the crowd a bit hyped up for the main event. (8.5/10) Asking Alexandria then… Well, they are pretty much the ultimate marmite band. People either hate them or adore them, which seems a tad odd. Understandably they are very confident in themselves, and play music which isn’t for everyone, but they really are damn good live. They’ve just grown up a lot since April last year, with a far more professional show now, and the way they carry themselves. It seems that a summer on Warped Tour has helped them mature a bit, which is a really good thing, trust me. With a setlist built around fan favourites, and an impressive stage show with all manner of shiny lights and smoke and all that, this is more than a gig to them, it’s an event. This is a real treat for the cynical mu-

sic fan who has seen his fair share of bands play every show like the next, making no effort to make the whole package an experience to remember.

They band also sound really good tonight, credit to those manning the sound desk, and the band improving over time.

Danny’s vocals in particular are sounding great at the moment, with real power in his lows and an impressive clean voice.

AND they’ve cut back on the crabcore shit. Brilliant. Really impressed with them this time round. Well done Asking Alexandria for proving me wrong. In all seriousness, these guys could well be rock and roll’s next ‘big thing’, they mix stage presence, sound and persona brilliantly, and could easily rise to the top of their game.

And with a new album in the works, it’s only going to get bigger. (9/10) - Jake Owens

REVIEWS & EVENTS A Flash Flood Of Colour – Enter Shikari.

The 3rd proper full length from the unclassifiable lads from St. Albans is, in a word; Brilliant. The album starts on a high note with System… and …Meltdown flowing together beautifully, and setting the tone for the whole 40+ minutes of music on the record.

There is so much to talk about on this album; from Rou’s fantastic political/social lyrics and varied vocal deliveries, to the range of electronic elements; everything from classic drum and bass, dubstep and even a bit of 90’s sounding synth. Lovely. Then there’s the drums and guitars, which fit the music perfectly. There are very few moments where you would want anything different while listening to this CD, it really is that good. Production, as you would expect,

is spot on and deliciously clean sounding, helping to keep all those layers separate and powerful. With 11 tracks of such quality, it is tricky to pick out the best ones, but on a personal level; Search Party, Arguing With Thermometers and Pack Of Thieves hit the spot just right. These songs are also going to be on a whole new level of huge when you hear them live, as APPARENTLY there are extra bass levels to hurt your face even more. Sick.

To summarise then; this is a truly outstanding album, and one that changes the whole rock game. Shikari are THE proof that being pushed into a genre isn’t a good thing, and doing whatever the hell you want is just fine. Should you buy this album? Yes. Do it. It’s fucking brilliant.

- Jake Owens

and tight and are played in a sort of stadium band Off the back of their style (early Guns N’ Roses recent(ish) huge UK anyone?) and the bass is tour, Young Guns return a brilliant finishing touch with their new record to the sound. Then there “Bones”. The album its are Gustav Wood’s vocals, self then… Well what to which on this album sound say? It’s pretty much a big. His range sounds good perfect heavy release. but never becomes whiny Bold words indeed, but and nasal, and there this album really needs seems to be so much to be listened to. Plug in power behind it that it’s someplace, blast it loud all so effortless. The lyrics and just listen. It makes as well are particularly so much sense when well written, expect to you do. The guitars are see these posted all deep and heavy without over facebook with little sounding like they’re in hearts next to them very a puddle, drums are nice soon. Not to say they’re Bones – Young Guns

Beginning their new EP with I Don’t Understand, Crybaby Special and The Monsters throw this catchy track head first at their listeners, making it the perfect song for a smoke filled Camden pub. Mixed with all the flavours that are British scar punk with alternative folk, the trio’s first song flows with qwirky guitar rhythms, with an effortlessly cool bass line. If you think tracks from these three lads can’t be any smoother, Guarding All The Minds rolls in with it’s infectious harmonica playing, bringing a country western sentiment to the heart of this Kent band. It’s difficult to not imagine icons such as Pete Doherty having an influence upon band members Jason Stafford (guitar, vocals and harmonica), Josh Carson (bass) and Lewis Crennell

cheesy, just written about subjects most of us can relate to. Some of the best tracks on here are I Was Born, I Have Lived, I Will Surely Die and You are Not, both of which are massive anthemic tunes which will sound even better come summer with a cold beer in hand. With that pleasant thought in your minds I conclude; this album needs to be brought, and the band are definitely worth checking out live for a performance which is top notch. Well done

(drums), with the unmistakable sound that if of British rock. Finishing with the raw I Don’t Mind, Crybaby Special and The Monsters will leave you eager for their awaited album. It isn’t often you come across a band from Medway who perform bruising tracks which stick with you for days. Singer Jason has been likened to a folk punk version of Fagin, but we think he is a much cooler Johnny Rotten.

The trio will be performing across Kent throughout February.

For fans of The Subways and The Libertines.

- Charlotte Bones

Young Guns, this is a masterpiece.

- Jake Owens 10/10