Plaid aka Ed Handley and Andy Turner have returned to the fore with this new release on the legendary Warp label, Greedy Baby. The album was written directly for surround sound systems and perhaps would have sounded even more mighty and impressive had it been playing on one, rather than my PC speakers, but nevertheless it’s certainly an impressive build up of eclectic beats and tuneful melodies. Some parts provide the soundtrack to lazy Sunday afternoons whilst other tracks set off an eerie and mysterious vibe that keeps you guessing.
You don’t just get a CD with this release, you get a DVD to accompany it and it completes what was already such an interest album. Each track on the CD is featured on the DVD with the brilliant work of Bob Jaroc. He provides the visual backdrop to the sonic soundscapes put down by Plaid and gives each track its own life with characters as well as just music. This isn’t just an album, this is an experience in sound and art and you’ll do well to check it out.
Lightheaded member Braille has set up his own record label, Hip Hop IS Music and the label has put out this Heavy Rotation mix cd to showcase the talents of some of the artists on the label with remixes, exclusives and brand new songs. This track, Heavy Rotation, is an exclusive featuring the talents of Kaboose and DeepSpace5 member and Hip Hop IS Music artists Sivion, who has his solo album, Spring Of The Songbird, out on the label now.
Typical – I leave Reading after having lived there for four years, only to later discover that a burgeoning metal scene has formed in my absence. It probably won’t be long before Sylosis gain wider recognition, and then there’s Exit Ten; a young quintet who deal a fine trade in teeth-rattling riffs and epic choruses, in a Killswitch Engage vein.
Even in this day and age, the notion of girls playing rock’n’roll is still a novelty to some when it shouldn’t be a factor at all. A band should be judged by their music alone and nothing else and Glasgow quartet The Hedrons crank out some of the finest punked up rock n’roll you’re likely to hear this year by any band be they male, female, animal or alien!
For those of you who love the chilled side of life, we have the perfect tonic, so sit back, take a sip of that favourite boo and let us fill your ears with arguably the best record of the year.
Of all of the eighties speed and thrash metal bands, Voivod were always the most inventive and artistically creative. Originally inspired by the chaotic noise of early Slayer and Venom, as the decade progressed they morphed into a state of the art metal band, incorporating psychedelic and progressive rock influences for a sound that was truly their own and never bettered. And at last, they’re back.
UK MC and DJ pairing Yungun and Mr Thing are back together with a brand new single called Forget Me Not to follow up on the duo’s brilliant and popular Jackin’ For Breaks and gives everyone a change to sample what’s coming up on their upcoming album Grown Man Business. The lead single from it, Forget Me Not, has already been wowing the crowds live on their recent tour of Europe and promises to be a sure-fire hit for the summer.
Good thrash metal is like a really decent super strength lager, one minute you have a taste and the next you are delving into the darkness of life savouring every slurp. Welcome SSS (Short Sharp Shock) from Liverpool UK, a newish band who got their shit together last summer and have recently toured with Walk The Plank.
Betrayal and break ups – countless bands have covered the topic before, Blink have done it with wisecracks and piss takes, but Tom DeLonge’s take on the topic with Angels and Airwaves is the other end of that spectrum. Following up their debut single ‘The Adventure’, “It Hurts”is an interesting choice for second single.
In 2003, singer songwriter Luke Steele and co delivered The Sleepy Jackson‘s debut album “Lovers”, a record that earnt critical aclaim and went down as one of the records of the year, but where do you go once you have made the lights shine in the ether for that tricky second album?