Unfortunately, another piece of sad news to bring you… Independent record label Walnut Tree Records announced yesterday that they will be putting out their final release this summer and then closing doors.
No clear reason for the closure was given in the company’s statement, though with the music industry and general economy coming under increasing pressure, it’s not a shock that another label has suffered. The full statement reads:
“After five years, working on 27 full and 14 distributed releases that featured 68 bands in total, Walnut Tree Records will be calling it a day. I’m working on one final release that will see the label out at the end of the summer, bringing together all of the bands that I’ve been proud to represent since 2007. Thanks for your support.
Tom, Walnut Tree Records – Losing Sleep. 2007-2012.”
Walnut Tree Records have worked with some great names in the industry such as Burn The Fleet, Don Broco, Four Year Strong, Francesqa, Samoans, The Maple State, The Wonder Years, Tiger Please and many more. Here at Crossfire HQ we are sad to see the label go, it’s yet another bold reminder that its important to support independent music.
See Walnut Tree Records out with a bang and pick up one of their releases here.
Southern California’s Of Mice & Men are constantly growing in popularity. The band -who are currently on the Vans Warped Tour- have quenched fans’ thirst for new material with a 2 disc deluxe re-issue of their critically acclaimed album ‘The Flood’ featuring 4 new tracks.
The bonus tracks start with a tantalizing instrumental piece ‘The Calm’. The reverberating clean guitars are a beautiful yet eerie experience to behold, clearly implying the saying ‘The calm before the storm’…
As ‘The Storm’ picks up tempo, Austin Carlile’s strained and emotional screams kick start a typical ballsy Of Mice & Men riff. On the original release of ‘The Flood’, ‘Ben Threw’ and ‘Ohioisonfire’ showed Of Mice & Men’s capability to produce intense riffs and rhythms whilst maintaining an underlying bounce, but they are nothing in comparison to the punishing assault of third bonus track, ‘The Flood’ and final new number, ‘The Depths’. It seems that after the departure of Shayley Bourget, clean vocals have been left to one side with the band focusing on a new level of heaviness.
Presented with flowing continuity, the bonus tracks are an impeccable addition to ‘The Flood’. The production of the tracks is highly commendable in its own right, the magnitude of the atmospherics are on the same level as Bring Me The Horizon’s ‘There Is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let’s Keep it a Secret’. With its new additions, the re-issue can be appreciated by fans from across the metal spectrum with influential elements of artists such as The Devil Wears Prada, We Came As Romans, Pierce The Veil & even Slipknot shining through.
If first time around, ‘The Flood’ begged to differ that metalcore was a dying art, the re-issue demolishes any ideas that the genre is dated and builds a platform from which Of Mice & Men can dominate the current scene. The flood is coming again.
If you read our preview of Hevy you’ll notice that we highly recommend Seahaven as a ‘Must Watch Band’. The Californian quartet combine post-punk, indie sensibilities and a touch of hardcore to perfection (think Brand New/Crime In Stereo) and have an impressive reputation when it comes to live shows.
Hevy is the bands’ debut performance over on our shores but Seahaven have just confirmed they will extending their stay in the UK by joining Balance and Composure, Pianos Become The Teeth and Departures on tour. The dates are as follows:
August
4th Kent, Hevy Music Festival
5th Bristol, The Fleece
6th Leeds, Cockpit 2
7th Glasgow, Stereo
8th Manchester, Moho Live
9th Sheffield, Corporation
10th London, The Borderline
Brutality Will Prevail, Broken Teeth, Demoraliser, Napoleon, Brotherhood Of The Lake, Grade, Acoda, Page 44 and Never Means Maybe are the last of the bands to be added to this years Hevy which takes place between August 03 and 06 at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent.
Although all are worth watching, out of the latest additions, the bands we most recommend catching are Brotherhood of the Lake and Demoraliser. Brotherhood of the Lake for their heart-wrenching emotive hardcore that commentates on dark subjects such as depression with great honesty. And Seige of Amida Records signed Demoraliser for their bone-crushingly heavy metalcore.
So the final line-up is insanely strong with the bill including Deez Nuts, Deaf Havana, Sharks, Bury Tomorrow, Feed The Rhino, Madball and Devil Sold His Soul plus all the other bands we mentioned above and on our must watch list. Here at Crossfire HQ we’re pumped and if the weather stays this beautiful (fingers crossed!!) Hevy is sure as hell going to be a weekend to remember. Tickets are still available, what are you waiting for? Pick one up now!
The Olympics appears to be a non-stop controversy creator at the moment, whether it be for the authority’s placing missiles on residents’ homes, obscene traffic chaos or going massively over the original £2.3billion budget. But the thing that’s really got our blood boiling is the tale of a young woman who was asked to remove her t-shirt that brandished the logo of 80’s rock band Weapon “as it might offend people.”… Wow. How Ridiculous!
An eye witness reports:
“A young girl and friends go to see the Olympic torch go through their borough. After a couple of hours a steward comes over and asks one of them to a tent. All four girls go to where several police officers are waiting. The girl is asked, ‘What does the writing on your t-shirt mean?’ She says it’s a rock band’s name. She is told she will have to remove or cover it up, as it might upset other people since it advertises weapons. This is happening as the army is standing around with guns…”
When the Olympics are supposedly a celebration of all culture, not just sport, this story sounds even more ludicrous.
On July 26th Dizzee Rascal, Mark Ronson, Katy B, You Me At Six, Rizzle Kicks, Wretch 32, Morning Parade, Little Comets and many more are set to perform at Hyde Park for an Olympic celebration show. God forbid they or any of their fans should appear wearing anything that could be seen as mildly offensive, the authorities would have a field day overdosing on political correctness!
If the only thing the organizers have to worry about is a t-shirt logo it should mean the Olympics will run smoothly without even the tiniest of glitches… We won’t hold our breath!
After having just finished recording their second album, it comes as a bit of a shock that Basement are calling it a day (for now anyway). The band released this statement via social media to inform fans:
“Now Colourmeinkindness is finished, we head out to play a string of shows across America. Due to a number of personal commitments, this record and these shows will be the last thing we do as a band for a very long time. Basement has never been about achieving anything; it was simply an enjoyable outlet for creativity and emotion. That being said, we are incredibly grateful for the support we have received over the last two years. We have managed to do some amazing things and see some incredible places and the people we have met along the way will be our friends forever. We seriously cannot express sufficiently how much this means to us. We all have things going on outside of the band that require a lot of time and attention and now more than ever these things have to come first. – Basement”
Basement’s brand of emotive hardcore has been a highlight of the flourishing UK scene over the past few years. And after gathering many new fans whilst touring with Your Demise, Trapped Under Ice and Man Overboard earlier this year, it’s sad state of affairs to see these Ipswich boys disappear off the radar.
As always Reading & Leeds has an impeccably strong line up. Headliners The Cure, Kasabian and Foo Fighters are joined by numerous big names across several stages including Cancer Bats, At The Drive-In, The Gaslight Anthem, Enter Shikari, The Maccabees, Every Time I Die… The list goes on! But for those who are more interested in finding some fresh blood, the recently announced BBC Introducing is the place to be.
33 up and coming bands have been selected by various BBC Radio Introducing shows and the festival promoters Festival Republic. We’ve handpicked our favourites below with the full stage line up as follows: Attention Thieves, Backyards, Bearfoot Beware, Black Moth, Crooked Tongues, Cut Ribbons, Danica Hunter, Dear Prudence, Dingus Khan, Empror & Duppy Beatz, Escape To New York, Escapists, The Establishment, Family of the Year, Fish Tank, Glassbody, Hawk Eyes, Hildamay, Ifan Dafydd, Lady Lykez, Marmozets, Marsicans, Max Raptor, Mikill Pane, Park Bench Society, Proxies, Rachel Sermanni, Samoans, Sarah Williams White, Seasfire, Wet Nuns, We Walk On Ice, We Were Frontiers.
Proxies:
After selling out physical copies of their EP ‘The Lost Demos’ in a matter of minutes, having toured with the likes of Hadouken! and Canterbury, releasing a single featuring The Blackout’s Sean Smith, and, with over 16,000 followers on Facebook is a bit of a surprise that Proxies are on Reading & Leeds smallest stage! Well we can assure you they won’t be there for long, watch this electric young band up close and personal while you still can!
Hawk Eyes:
Describing their debut album as, “sleek and modern and hardcore and suitably post-post-everything,” and themselves as, “Band, four people, Leeds, riffs, spend a lot of time in a van,” Hawk Eyes are a no frills, yet exceptionally fun, British rock band. We can guarantee that Hawk Eyes won’t be playing these smaller stages for much longer so catch their intimate set while you can…
Samoans:
Samoans are masters of the fretboard. Their distinctive brand of progressive math-rock draws influence from the legendary Reuben and Maps & Atlases. The raw emotion in the vocals is comparable to early Biffy Clyro, making Samoans are compelling and intense live band.
We Walk On Ice:
After featuring on Fred Perry’s Subculture ‘Best New Music’ section and filling out some of London’s coolest venues, We Walk On Ice are one of those buzz bands that you need to catch. Renowned for surf-pop-soundscapes, We Walk On Ice are the perfect accompaniment to a British summers day (weather permitting).
Attention Thieves:
Born in the vibrant Reading music scene, Attention Theives combine straight forward rock with some gutsy punk spirit. You may recognize front man Alex Green from tech-metal band The Arusha Accord, but Attention Theives are on a completely different end of the alternative spectrum with a much more accessible sound. Constantly living life on the road and frequently treating fans to new music videos, Attention Thieves deserve this exposure.
‘Handwritten’ is more of a natural evolution than ground-breaking revolution for The Gaslight Anthem, with not a great deal changing sound or format wise. But this is no criticism as again the band presents another solid album that portrays their All-American Rock’n’Roll/Post-Punk style.
With a mixture of Bruce Springsteen charisma and Hot Water Music emotive rock, title track ‘Handwritten’ and first single from the album ‘45’ are nostalgic perfection. There is something about The Gaslight Anthem ‘s vintage sounding guitar tone that touches the heart and sends the mind back to a time and age that not many of us have visited.
The main area of evolution for the band is the lyrical content which appears more open, personal and engaging. A perfect example of the lyrical maturity coming at the end of the album, the beautifully captivating acoustic track ‘National Anthem’ is the definitive moment of the record and the perfect conclusion. Brain Fallon claims to have written the song in one take, yet again demonstrating his unrivaled song writing talent and emotional awareness.
You can always trust in The Gaslight Anthem to deliver but although ‘Handwritten’ is bloody good, it seems nothing will quite match their second (and mainstream breakthrough) full-length ‘The ’59 Sound’. Despite ‘Handwritten’ hosting its own potentially stadium filling anthems and vintage gems, ‘The ’59 Sound’ still remains the bands’ strongest effort to date, arguably this may remain the same for a long time, after all you can’t beat perfection.
So Hevy is only a few weeks away and after several festivals (including Download & Isle of Wight Festival) being complete wash-outs this year, Hevy have decided to defy the elements and gain a roof!
A statement on the official Hevy website reads, “Using production wizardry and festival witchcraft, we’ve put a roof over every stage for this year’s Hevy Festival! We’ve merged our 4 existing stages into 3, with 2 alternating Main Stages under one roof (which means there are now no clashes for all major bands) and our Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage boasting it’s own tent. All this without compromising set times!”.
So now we know that we aren’t going to get too soaked at the festival, which bands are on the must see list? Obviously main stage headliners Andrew WK and Descendents should be seen- this goes without saying but there are plenty of other acts across the board that should make it onto your timetable. Crossfire reveals all.
Glassjaw
After tearing up Hevy in 2010, the mighty Glassjaw return to destroy the Rock Sound stage on Saturday. Although combining multiple genres including screamo, punk and psychedelic rock, Glassjaw are most often celebrated for their hardcore roots. The band are nothing short of iconic in the hardcore world, with many present day artists taking inspiration from these legends. Known for their emotive yet ferocious records and aggressive -and at times insane live shows- Glassjaw are definitely on our must watch list.
The Safety Fire
After touring relentlessly with the likes of The Arusha Accord, Periphery, The HAARP Machine and Xerath, The Safety Fire have slowly but surely started to make an impressive name for themselves amongst technical and progressive metal fans. Their debut album ‘Grind The Ocean’ has been complimented by many critics for its punishing riffs and soaring vocal melodies and will most certainly impress this year’s festival crowd too.
Trapped Under Ice
If there is one band on the line up that will demand you take notice it’s Trapped Under Ice. Last seen over in the UK as support to Your Demise where they dominated an obviously strong line up that also included Man Overboard & Basement, Trapped Under Ice define pure and gutsy hardcore. Hevy is the only summer festival in 2012 where you can catch this great band, don’t miss out.
Sharks
Raw and emotive, Sharks are a true DIY British punk band. Their critically acclaimed album ‘No Gods’ (which was released earlier this year via Rise Records) has finally got heads turning in the right direction. Although tamer than many other bands on the Hevy bill, Sharks do still have a strong bite to their The Clash/The Gaslight Anthem; Brit-pop infused rock and roll.
The Smoking Hearts
Despite a continuous touring schedule, every The Smoking Hearts show is just as crazy as the next. Famous for their rather destructive performance, expect to see instruments thrown around, the band in the pit and the crowd on the stage. Despite only forming in 2009 they have already shared the stage with huge names such as Gallows, Bring Me The Horizon & The Misfits. If you want some insane rock n roll to party to check these guys out on the Red Bull Bedroom Jam Stage.
Bleed From Within
If you are after a bit of straight forward metal with no strings attached, Bleed From Within are for you. This hardworking Scottish band have shared the stage with bands such as The Black Dahlia Murder, Suicide Silence, After The Burial, I Killed The Prom Queen and All That Remains and have 2 EPs and 2 Studio albums under their belts. Bleed From Within are currently working on their third album and will hopefully preview new material to the festival crowd.
Gnarwolves
Gnarwolves are awesome. Not only for having a brilliant band name and for their love of skateboarding but for their ridiculously energetic pop punk. Having already shared the stage with the likes of Touché Amore, Basement & The Wonder Years, hype has started to develop around these Brighton boys. Check them out as they open up the Punktastic stage on Friday and see why their latest EP ‘CRU’ recently entered out Buzz Chart.
Seahaven
Seahaven are a buzz band at the moment, one of those underground groups who will soon burst into the limelight for all to see. Forming in 2009 as the brainchild of singer/songwriter Kyle Soto, Seahaven caught the attention of Run for Cover Records (Tigers Jaw, Title Fight, Man Overboard) after self-releasing the EP ‘Ghost’ and went on to release their debut LP ‘Winter Forever’ via RFC records. Hevy have treated fans to a bit of exclusivity as Seahaven’s performance will be their first on UK shores!
Recently reformed At The Drive-In have announced they will playing a UK show in August. The band are acting secretive and haven’t mentioned a date or venue although the gig is thought to be scheduled around their performances at this years Reading & Leeds festivals (their only other confirmed UK dates).
The tickets are expected to sell out quickly and as a result the band is offering fans a chance to register for presale tickets via atdimusic.com/presale. Applicants have until midnight (BST) on 5th July to register their details to be in a chance of snapping up the sought-after tickets early.
Despite fans remaining optimistic for new material the band have dismissed the possibility with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez describing the event as ‘a nostalgia thing’.
