Londoners will be stoked to learn that there’s a jam in Peckham, London on April 25th at Peckham Rye Skatepark. The day will kick off from 1pm-4pm with tunes and the likes of Pete King and the gang doing demos. Check google maps for Homestall Rd in Peckham as it’s on the corner.
Beth Ditto and her crew are back with a new record scheduled for Monday June 22nd. The new Gossip album is titled Music For Men and produced by goldenballs producer Rick Rubin so expect perfection on the production.
The album’s first single, Heavy Cross, will be released on June 15th on Columbia Records.
The Sword had a nice surprise in Paris throughout this latest tour with Metallica. Legendary drummer Lars Ulrich decided to beat the drums on The Sword’s biggest song ‘Freya‘! Watch it below.
German noisemeister Alec Empire was last seen in London on stage dialling 999 telling Police that he was ‘blowing people’s ears off and it was an emergency’. He is now back with a new mini album set for release on 25th May. Look out for him live in the UK at the following dates:
24th April Bang Face Weekender Camber Sands
1st May The Underworld London
2nd May Satan’s Hollow Manchester
3rd May Ivory Blacks Glasgow
5th May The Waterfront Norwich
w/ Diagonal
The Borderline Club,
London 29/03/09
It was at 9 O’Clock in the morning that I got a text from my friend, Awesome Jason. He had a spare ticket to a band called The Sword that he was going to send my way. I knew that these guys have been on tour with Metallica for quite some time but they had flown way below my radar. I went into this gig totally blind. I had no idea who these guys were, what they sounded like or even what they played. I knew absolutely nothing about them. By the end of the evening I knew exactly what this band was all about.
Diagonal were tonight’s support band and I couldn’t be happier to hear these guys were on the bill. I had seen these dudes before at the Rise Above records 20th anniversary show last year and they really shone. A band that not only produce some of today’s finest cosmic jams but also look like they could hold their own on University challenge. Diagonal’s live set is a no frills approach to their trippy music. No banter with the crowd just straight in and down to business. They try and cram all the sax, synth and solos into their allotted time and do a brilliant job grabbing the attention of the audiences ‘third eye’. I’d expect nothing less from these psychedelic dweebs. I mean that in the nicest possible way.
“You will not be disappointed“. Those were the words of one very excited Zac Leeks ahead of The Sword’s performance at the Borderline. The silver fox wasn’t wrong… Unfamiliar with their back catalogue, I couldn’t possibly tell you what The Sword played tonight other than one of the heaviest shows I have seen in a long time. The relentless, galloping riffs were just so heavy it would give any Saint Vitus fan hard-on. The band is so damn tight it’s unreal. They have the ability to shift from brutal shredding into some of the most classic sounding solos with the greatest of ease and covered a bunch of songs from their first EP such as the raging . Their time on the road on these goliath tours with seasoned bands has clearly rubbed off on this young, stoner metal quartet. The only down side of tonight’s gig was the vocals that were simply dwarfed by the band’s sound and power. The Sword finish their set and leave the stage only to return for an encore. The only band I have seen in months worthy of one and a band that look like they genuinely enjoy playing for the sake of playing… and playing hard! It wouldn’t have made a blind bit of difference if they were playing an eighteen thousand capacity arena or a club that holds two hundred. The Swords sound can hold its own.
When a band can project such a colossal sound and such energy you know you are on to a winner. I came away for the show thinking that this was the best band I had seen in a long time. No Shit. If I were Metallica I’d be quaking in my fuckin’ boots because one day, these young whipper-snappers are going to destroy you just like they destroyed the Borderline.
Tom Lindsey
Fuck. Have you ever tried to review a fucking Mastodon record?! It’s not easy! Imagine trying to untangle your headphones with no thumbs. Mastodon’s sound has always been a multi-layered and almost impossible to simplify into a five hundred word review and their latest release ‘Crack The Skye‘ is no different. Mastodon have been around propping up mega line-ups at heavy metal festivals and gigs for years now. Playing second fiddle to unspeakable shit like Machine Head (Yeah I said it….and fuck Rob Flynn, too!) and generally getting buried by the flavor of the month “metal bands”.
Of course, Mastodon have headlined their own shows, have their own base of die-hard fans and have released some seriously heavyweight metal albums in the forms of ‘Remission‘ and ‘Leviathan‘ but it is with ‘Crack The Skye‘ that Mastodon catch their fan base off guard with an album from way out of left field. While this album shows that the band have grown and will continue to evolve, die-hards need not worry. The ever present dueling vocals and guitars that encapsulate Mastodon’s trademark sound are ever present on this album but it’s the individual vocal talents of Brent Hinds and Troy Sanders that shine through as both opt for a cleaner, less distorted sound as is evident in album opener ‘Oblivion‘.
In a move away from the guitar driven metal records of the past, the band have experimented with various different instruments adding a ton of depth to the record. There is use of a vocoda on title track ‘Crack The Skye‘ the continuous use of a keyboard throughout the record and even the addition of a sodding banjo as in an intro to ‘Divinations‘. All of this is fused together by Brann Dailor’s drumming. His skill and technique are executed with such precision it’s not even funny. Sanders’ tech bass rounds off the rhythm section perfectly and it’s these two that really drive home the record in places where it could easily disappear up its own prog-metal arse. It’s the perfect accompaniment to Hinds’ and Bill Kelliher’s blistering axe-work.
The jewels in the crown are by far ‘The Czar‘ and ‘The Last Baron‘. Each an epic, ten min, opus to Rasputin and Czarist Russia. For those of you who did GCSE history, this should be a familiar subject. Both tracks are a weird mix of echoing mantras, melodic choruses and layered solos with added groove to boot. These tracks really show case what Mastodon are about. From the technical aspect of their sound to the epic riffs to the mythology behind the song writing. It all culminates in these two amazing pieces of music. I don’t know if the term ‘prog out’ exists but that’s exactly what I was doing when I first heard these awesome tracks.
‘Crack The Skye‘ seems much more calculated and focused in comparison to previous release ‘Blood Mountain‘ and I’m sure people will criticize how “polished” it sounds as well. I think that if you lose production values, the complex nature of Mastodon’s sound gets easily lost. Super producer Brendan O’Brian knows this and has worked with the band to produce one of their best albums to date. Many believe that this is the album that is going to give Mastodon the final push to the “next level”. I’m not so sure. Mastodon have always been at that level for many years in my eyes and if you didn’t get them before, why the fuck would you get them now? Either way, there is no other band out there today doing something as original and something as technically impressive as these four men from Atlanta.
Tom Lindsey.
The name may have changed [drop the MF then hit the caps lock] but the metal faced villain’s output hasn’t with this new solo album, the follow up to 2004’s MM..FOOD.
This album showcases everything that is great about DOOM both as a rapper and a producer with his ridiculously multi-dimensional lyrics flowing around the usual superhero styled samples whilst guest spots from the likes of Ghostface, Raekwon and Atmosphere’s Slug only help to enhance the high standard DOOM sets.
Even when he’s not producing, DOOM is able to rope in the likes of Dilla [R.I.P as always], Jake One and Madlib, all of whom are able to lace tracks which compliment the rapping on show. DOOM even sings on That’s That and though he’s off-key and clearly not a singer, it fits, proving there isn’t much that he can’t turn his hand to and make it sound dope.
The track you can hear is Gazillion Ear, produced by Dilla. Peep it by clicking above and see just why this album is the best thing Metal Face has done since Operation Doomsday.
Abjekt.
The Ghost Of A Thousand will see their new track Bright Lights premiered exclusively on Daniel P. Carter’s Radio 1 Rock Show tonight.
The show, which airs between midnight and 2am on 7th April can also be heard on the BBC iPlayer for seven days after the show has aired. The track is lifted from the band’s upcoming New Hopes, New Demonstrations album which will be released on Epitaph on June 1st and will be available for free download from the band’s site for 48 hours.
Remind yourself about how awesome this band are by checking out the video below:
It’s funny how the art world and skateboarding collide. Here’s an example of more of this madness. Supreme have teamed up with Bristol artist Damien Hirst for a ltd edition deck. The decks were released in-store and online last Thursday, April 2nd. Watch the video below for the plug.