Category: Music News

So, it looks like Sonisphere Festival is making a return to Knebworth after all in 2014 following months of rumours. They have just announced that the festival will be co-headlined by Iron Maiden who will be performing their Maiden England World Tour set and also Metallica who have announced they will play a ‘by request’ set.

Lars Ulrich of Metallica has said: “Iron Maiden are a big reason that Metallica exists in the first place. Although we haven’t played together on the same day since 1988, this is the closest we’ve come for 25 years, and for all our fans who share the same love for Iron Maiden as we, the band members do, this will hopefully amount to what many rock fans would consider a dream bill.”

Expect more to follow to add to this solid line up and tickets announcement but this is great news if you love classic metal.

2013 has been a rotten year for this lot. Their frontman Ian Watkins has single handedly wrecked everything they had from his selfish and mindless, outrageous behaviour. The band members have released a statement overnight on the entire situation for the first time since the sick revelations that came from Watkins’ court case:

“Earlier this week, we learned that the allegations of child sexual abuse against Ian were true, and that he would not be contesting them in court. Until then, we found them extremely difficult to believe and had hoped it was all a mistake. Sadly, the true extent of his appalling behaviour is now impossible to deny.

Many of you understandably want to know if we knew what Ian was doing. To be clear: We did not. We knew that Ian was a difficult character. Our personal relationships with him had deteriorated in recent years to a point that working together was a constant, miserable challenge. But despite his battles with drugs, his egotistic behaviour, and the resulting fractures and frustrations within our band, we never imagined him capable of behaviour of the type he has now admitted.

We are heartbroken, angry, and disgusted at what has been revealed. This is something that will haunt us for the rest of our lives. Being in a band has always been a labour of love and a platform to inspire people, not to take advantage of them. It’s still hard to believe this is happening and that someone we were once so close to has destroyed so many lives, lying every step of the way.

Our hearts go out to Ian’s family, the fans and friends he betrayed, and most importantly, the victims of his crimes and others like them. We hope for justice, but also that Ian will truly take responsibility for what he’s done. We would urge any other victims to contact the authorities.”

Jamie, Lee, Luke, Mike and Stu

You know that feeling when you say to yourself “oh..no”, and your face fills with heat, your palms sweat and you are looking into your computer screen going, “shit, i’ve fucked it.”? that’s what is happening to someone right now.

Poor H from Steps got stung today. Look at his mugshot hosted here alongside the worst news of the bloody year about Ian Watkins. Apparently the cheesy pop singer has now found himself on the receiving end of unbelievable hatred on his social networks today. Bad day at work for sure.

Photo: Image: Rainer Knäpper, License: artlibre

Just when you though the Black Flag saga that has stained the punk scene in 2013 could not get any worse, Ron Reyes quit the band and went out with this statement that includes the fact that he was subjected to “infantile behavior and relentless provocation.”

This is ridiculous and makes a mockery of the entire Flag vs Black Flag situation ahead of the release of Black Flag’s first album since 1985 called “What The…” scheduled for release on 13th December on SST.

“On November 24th 2013 the last night of the Australian Hits and Pits tour with two songs left in the set Mike V comes on stage stares me down, takes my mic and says “You’re done, party’s over get off it’s over…” He said something else to me but it was a lie so I won’t repeat it here. So with a sense of great relief that it was finally over I left the stage and walked to the hotel room. They finished the set with Mike V on vocals. There is much more that can and perhaps should be said. But for now I will spare you the gory details.

The writing was on the wall since before we played our first show. So many things went wrong from the start. I was into things like having a good drummer, rehearsing and spending time on things like beginnings and endings of songs, being a little less distracted with tour life and a little more on the ball. You know things that would make our efforts worthy of the name Black Flag… Yes it is my opinion that we fell very short indeed and the diminishing ticket sales and crowds are a testament to that. However It was made clear to me that raising these issues was tantamount to a blasphemous stab in the back to Greg. How could I question him, his efforts and hard work? How could I dare be a fan of OFF! And or be friends and a fan of Flag? I was told that I had to chose sides. But I refuse to treat someone like an infallible Pope figure. No guitarist deserves such unquestioning blind devotion.

And so I have been excommunicated in a very strange fashion. I truly feel sorry for anyone who had to witness the infantile behavior and the relentless provocation I was subjected to both on and off the stage. I regret that under such fierce provocation and taunting I sometimes responded in manners bellow my standard. I am grateful for the opportunities Greg gave me. There were some magical moments at first. I was naive enough to believe in the promise of potential. But in the end the good was no match for the overwhelming bad. I am proud of my contributions including the new album and it’s cover. Come on folks it’s only rock n roll.

I would not be surprised if Mike V becomes the new singer for Black Flag. It is my opinion that they have been planing this for some time. I wish them well. Mike is a true disciple of Greg and so they have a good working relationship. And ironically the tension over the last weeks has brought out some of Greg’s best playing. So it could be interesting.

I will miss playing with Dave Klien. He is a great kid and truly an outstanding bass player. Dave was an anchor that kept me from losing my place on a nightly basis. Trust me that was no easy task for either of us. I truly apologize for being in or more accurately “appearing” to be in competition with “Flag”. They know my heart on this matter. From the beginning I was happy for them and fully supported and understood why they would want to rock those songs and have a good time with friends and family. Yes I questioned their use of the name and logo but in no way questioned their motivation or right to do their thing. I envy them for they have succeeded in ways that were never possible with “Black Flag”.

And once again for the record, I agreed to do Black Flag before I knew there was a Flag. I mean no malice towards Greg or Mike although they will most likely see things very differently. I wish them luck and prosperity. I have learned many valuable lessons this year. And these lessons will enrich my personal and musical endeavors. Cheers. Ron Reyes.”

BBC news in Wales has broken the dreadful news that former singer of rock band Lostprophets Ian Watkins who had previously denied the allegations against him of child sex offences has actually pleaded guilty in a court today.

The courtroom heard 36 year old Watkins plead guilty to “a series of child sex offences that included attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but not guilty to rape”, on trial at Cardiff Crown Court.

Absolutely shocking news.

Here’s a show not to miss unless you have a really good excuse as True widow will be heading into these parts from Texas to bring their stoned, fuzzed out sounds to the UK for a one off London headline show at Birthdays in Dalton on December 12th

Read our take on their absolutely amazing LP Circumambulation reviewed here, that will hit you like an anesthetic thunderbolt on first listen. Tickets are available here. Be there.

Following this weekend’s tragic stage dive by Watsky at the Warped UK show at Alexandra Palace, we delved into some other high dives from musicians and found that Boy Hits Car’s CRegg Rondel took a spectacular 68ft leap of faith at the K-Rockathon 10 in New York back in 2005. Think about just how high this is for a second. Nobody was injured in the melee and nobody had to apologise.

Scroll down for more epic dives caught on camera from Livewire’s selection.

Polvo have released their first promo video in years for the track ‘Light, Raking‘ lifted from their incredible new album Siberia. This album is a contender for album of 2013 and sees Polvo back in the hot seat again for writing killer twisted tunes in their own unique way. Have a taste from this new yarn unravelling video and search for this album on Merge Records today. You will not be disappointed.

George Watsky from US band Watsky & Wax has made his apologies after breaking a girl’s arm in a wreckless stunt that backfired this weekend at the Warped UK show at Alexandra Palace.

Skip to 7 minutes on this clip:

Watsky made this statement last night on his FB page:

“This is news to some, but many of you may have heard about the incident today at Warped Tour London. I jumped off an extremely tall lighting tress during my last song, and was taken to the hospital for examination. I was released, and I’m fine, besides some nicks, bruises, and the shame of endangering the crowd. The fall broke a girl’s arm and hurt another guy. My tour manager Nils and I stayed at the hospital for 6 hours til the visiting period ended, and all I know about the man’s condition at this point is that he has no breaks and the injury seems to be muscular/ bruising. I’ll be going back in the morning to try to apologize, but I wouldn’t blame the guy if he spits in my face. The jump was not awesome, it was not badass, and it was not ballsy. It turned what should have been a great day for the people who got hurt into a nightmare. It was stupid and wildly irresponsible, plain and simple.

I have no excuse for my actions, and the only way I can explain my mindset is that it was a huge overreach in the heat of the moment. No, I was not drunk or on drugs. I used to be a kid who was afraid to do anything physically dangerous– I was scared of the ball in little league, didn’t want to jump into lakes and would never have had the nerve to crowdsurf. But in the last year of touring, I’ve done increasingly risky things, maybe pushing myself by some dumb sense I am conquering my early timidity. I pride myself on trying to put on a good show and always giving 100% energy, but jumping off some high shit doesn’t make someone a good musician or performer. I feel fucking terrible. I made a boneheaded decision that got people hurt, and it’s extremely lucky it wasn’t worse. Putting your own body on the line is one thing, but putting other people in harm’s way is inexcusable. Today I let down my supporters, I let down the Warped Tour and I let down my band and the people who work their asses off behind the scenes to make these shows happen. My #1 priority right now is to somehow make this right for the folks who were hurt.

I will not be canceling the remaining 6 tour dates. I will do the shows, as usual I will meet everyone afterwards, and I will NOT be jumping off anything. I am deeply sorry and I promise to learn from this mistake.”

Two members of Israeli band Yellow Dogs were killed in NYC this week when Ali Akbar Mahammadi Rafie is said to have shot three musicians and then himself in a rifle attack in the band’s Brooklyn home. It is reported that there was a dispute between band members which led to the slaying of Soroush Farazmand, his brother Arash and Ali Eskandarian ( not a Yellow Dogs member). Rafie is also said to have taken his own life at the scene of the incident.

Garage punks the Black Lips commented on the bizarre shooting today saying:

“We are very upset to hear that our friends in the the band Yellow Dogs were shot and killed in Brooklyn last night. We were first introduced to this band by the great film director Baham Ghobodi in his film ‘No one knows about Persian cats’ which showcased the alternative music scene in Tehran. When he heard that the band were in the States under refugee status we reached out to them to play a show with us at Webster hall, they did and they were great. They were also nice enough to play our SXSW showcase. This band risked there lives to escape Iran. They personally expressed to us how excited they were to be in the U.S where they could freely express them selves as artists. It is particularly sad that they were killed in America, a place where they were supposed to have a new beginning. Yellow Dogs were really cool guys and we are gonna miss them. RIP”