Rapper Ice-T is set to premier his directional debut later this month. Ice-T’s documentary entitled “Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap” is to be screened at BFI Southbank in London on 20th July 2012 with Ice-T hosting a questions & answers session at the event.
The documentary revolves around Ice-T interviewing several influential rap icons including Chuck D,KRS-One, Nas, Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg & Kayne West. The documentary will also feature these key figures having their skills put to the test by Ice-T. A trailer for the highly anticipated documentary is available to view below.
Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive are renowned for their high energy live shows and with the recent addition of Emmure, The Word Alive & Structures to the line up, this November trek is set to be one of the most brutal tours of 2012.
The band start the UK leg of the tour in Birmingham and close in London before moving on to Europe. The UK dates are as follows:
NOVEMBER
14 – BIRMINGHAM Ballroom
15 – MANCHESTER Academy
16 – LEEDS University
17 – LONDON Roundhouse
In further Parkway Drive news the band have announced they are releasing a documentary style DVD entitled ‘Home Is For The Heartless’ (also a track name on latest album ‘Deep Blue’). The 75-min documentary was shot in 42 countries on five continents. The DVD captures the bands’ journey as they travel to many obscure destinations around the world and embrace local culture. ‘Home Is For The Hearless’ is said to be an in-depth look at the life of Parkway Drive on stage and off as they tour the world.
The DVD will hit the stores on 9th July 2012 and is available to pre-order as part of a bundle package on the bands official merchandise store.
Front man of the iconic metal band Lamb of God, Randy Blythe has been arrested and charged with manslaughter. The arrest took place before the band was set to perform at Prague’s Hard Rock Cage on 28th June 2012. Allegedly Randy’s arrest is in relation to an incident that took place at Club Abaton, Prague back in 2010. Local police have issued the following, ‘We have arrested the singer and charged him with the crime of bodily harm and resulting in the death of the fan’.
Reports suggest the incident occurred as a fan jumped onto the stage and was involved in a tussle with Randy resulting in injury with the fan’s death being linked to the injuries. Before further details are released these claims can neither be confirmed nor denied. The only comment from the band on the situation is a tweet reading “Freerandyblythe”. However, Lamb of God’s American PR team have announced a statement which may lay rumours to rest (for a while at least)…
“LAMB OF GOD management will be issuing an official statement on Monday regarding the charges made against singer Randy Blythe. As no formal charges have yet been made and the case is only in the investigation stages, it would be premature to make an official statement filled with false truths or innuendos.
Having said that, management wished to address today one false piece of information that has been included in many of the news stories released so far. Under no circumstances was there a fight of any kind involved. This incident deals with a fan that three times during the concert jumped the barricade and rushed Randy during the performance. It is alleged that the third time, security was not able to reach him and that Randy pushed him back into the audience where supposedly he fell and hit his head.
Again, until the investigation is concluded this weekend, nothing more will be released, but clarity and the facts needed to be addressed on this one reported point which is totally inaccurate.”
The Menzingers first caught attention with their 2006 demo tape, since then they have produced several critically acclaimed releases as well as joining legendary punk label Epitaph Records with Epitaph founder Brett Gurewitz commenting:
“These guys play the kind of pure punk rock that I grew up with. They are seriously talented songwriters and I’m happy to welcome them to the Epitaph family. I think the band is a great fit here”
The band are set to hit the UK in September with support coming from hotly tipped American band The Front Bottoms and Yorkshire punks Above Them. The dates are as follows:
SEPTEMBER
19 – BIRMINGHAM Hare & Hounds
20 – MANCHESTER Moho Live
21 – GLASGOW Captain’s Rest
22 – LEEDS Cockpit III
23 – SOUTHAMPTON Unit
24 – BRISTOL Croft
25 – LONDON Borderline
The Menzingers current album ‘On The Impossible Past’ is out now and available from: http://www.themenzingersstore.com/
Gallows have burst back into the consciousness of the punk scene with the announcement of a new album, tour and FREE single download ‘Last June’ available via www.gallows.co.uk
The bands next full length release will hit the shelves in September, the 12 track record will be the bands first since the departure of Frank Carter and the arrival of former Alexisonfire man Wade MacNeil as vocalist. The album will be self-titled with the following track listing:
‘Victim Culture’
‘Everybody Loves You (When You’re Dead)’
‘Last June’
‘Outsider Art’
‘Vapid Adolescent Blues’
‘Austere’
‘Depravers’
‘Odessa’
‘Nations’
‘Never Enough’
‘Cult Of Mary’
‘Cross Of Lorraine’
In support of the release Gallows will be hitting the road and touring across the UK with the opener taking place at Brighton’s Haunt and the tour closing at Camden’s Underworld. Support will come from Feed The Rhino and Brotherhood of the Lake
OCTOBER
03 BRIGHTON Haunt
04 EXETER Cavern
05 BRISTOL Fleece
06 MANCHESTER Club Academy
08 NEWCASTLE O2 Academy 2
09 GLASGOW King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
11 NOTTINGHAM Rock City Basement
12 SHEFFIELD Corporation
13 STOKE Sugarmill
14 WREXHAM Central Station
15 LEEDS Cockpit
16 PETERBOROUGH Club Revolution
17 BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy 2
19 LONDON Underworld
A surprising entry straight into this writer’s Top 5 albums of the year so far, upon first listen, Purity Ring may seem like one of those average electronic-based, female-fronted, indie-leaning acts that seem to be popping up all over the place. However, their debut album is one that will make you fall hook, line and sinker for them after just a couple of listens. The ethereal vocals and unpredictable accompanying synth-led sounds are pieced together in such a way that the catchiest of hooks seem totally unobvious and organic yet will be stuck in your head for days.
Save for one track which we think interrupts the pure brilliance of the rest of the record with its disappointing musical arrangement (‘Cartographist’ – why are you not at the end of the record?!) each and every song on this album is a work of glitchy, catchy brilliance, underpinned with a throbbing urgency and littered with slightly disturbing lyrics, erring on the nonsensical. Crawlersout, Belispeak and Obedear mark just a few of the moments of excellence and work well as markers of sheer songcraft as they’re placed strategically throughout the record. Purity Ring are every bit as intriguing and accomplished as the first tracks they’ve released have led everyone to believe. One act that surely live up to the underground hype and should certainly burst out of their ‘scene’ in impressive style.
We are fans of the independent here at Crossfire and Joia are eager to get their music out there on their own. In fact, their debut EP will be made available for download entirely free of charge on 16th July. The eponymous lead track ‘Match Light’ expertly marries the downbeat with a more uplifting pre-chorus leading into a chorus that you can’t help but sing along to. We defy you to not have the “sunshiiiiine” melody in your head after hearing the song just once.
Singer Athina’s vocal penetrates the assured instrumentals with its soft melodious quality, resulting in a perfect balance of lilting guitars and sheer melodic delight. This is definitely one for when you’re feeling a bit melancholy, but it’s not without its glimmers of light, as the EP’s title alludes to. These guys are ones to watch, that’s for sure.
Pop-punk in the most old-school of senses (well maybe not the *most* old school, but not the namby pamby new-school), Gnarwolves’ debut EP is packed with short, sharp nuggets of riotous goodness. Barely stepping over the punk-rock two minute marker with this sextet of tracks, the slightly gruff vocals are earnest and rousing. You can imagine them inciting a drunken singalong of the highest order.
Despite being short in length, there is nothing throwaway about these tracks. Rather they’re anthemic and heaped with raw emotion. In a good way. Guitars rollick along to a joyous drumbeat until ‘Community, Stability, Identity’ breaks things up with a decidedly slower pace, starting off with an eerie sense of quiet and then crashing into a full-on onslaught of instrumentals; it’s reminiscent of something off Weezer’s Pinkerton.
The perfect marriage of party and poignancy is achieved on this EP which harks back to early Saves The Day and Hot Water Music with a dash of something a tad more modern. A cracking debut.
PIERCE THE VEIL
Collide With The Sky
(Fearless Records)
Don’t let the screaming and synths put you off. Pierce The Veil have crafted an album with a depth of sound and intricate melodies that you can totally get lost in. Singer Vic’s vocals soar above searing guitars and pummeling drumbeats but there are interludes of quiet amongst the full-on noise. The overwhelmingly heavy instrumentals are offset by the sheer melody of the vocals throughout although there’s admittedly the odd background scream here and there to keep the intensity up.
The riff on ‘Bulls In The Bronx’ is ballsy and bold, leading into a catchy melodic chorus punctuated with a guttural growl. A bizarre acoustic guitar picked interlude brings a samba-influenced flavor to proceedings before building back into the heaviness. Production is intense throughout this record, with the sound always feeling very big. There are also several guest spots on the album, the most notable being Jason Aalon from letlive. on the truly epic centrepoint ‘Tangled In The Great Escape’. His slightly deeper melodies intertwine with Vic’s higher pitched vocals to create something quite special. The chorus is one of the catchiest on the record yet unassumingly so and elegantly put together. It’s almost six minutes long and a lot happens in that time. Heavy and gracefully beautiful in twists and turns (see the piano epilogue), this is definitely a standout track.
With proggy, screamo, hardcore and punk elements, along with PTV’s unique ability to bring in the unusual instrumentals, this album is an ambitious and impressive effort.
Those who follow John Rattray’s unsurprisingly excellent blog will have had the pleasure of watching this already. For those who don’t, well, you should start. You should also start by watching this superbly documented trip to New Zealand, Riding The Long White Cloud. Here’s what John himself has to say about this project:
“Below, in 5 parts, you should hopefully find a film of a muscle-powered tour that a group of skateboard enthusiasts undertook in New Zealand one summer. My idea was to use the trip as a speculative platform from which to investigate what life might be like in a post-industrial society. That is to say a society whose main fuel source has been depleted to the point of being scarce and expensive. Please let me know in the comments if this objective is not clear from the film. Thankyou.”
Expect great things, and reward your expectations with something beyond them. Check it and find Rattray’s blog here for more goodness from one of skateboarding’s most interesting minds.
Rapper Ice-T is set to premier his directional debut later this month. Ice-T’s documentary entitled “Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap” is to be screened at BFI Southbank in London on 20th July 2012 with Ice-T hosting a questions & answers session at the event. 
