Athlete have announced they are to play 3 shows in London.
The band spent most of last year recording their new album, which is due for release this September.
They will no doubt be previewing some new material at the shows, which will all by at Koko in Camden, on the 10th, 11th and 12th of July.
Shellshock
Chinese Finger Trap
London Fly Bar
22.05.07
Outside the Fly Bar this evening is a cluster of disappointed kids, who have been refused entry due to not having adequate ID. It’s an unfair situation; not just for the kids themselves, but also for the bands playing here, who would no doubt have been glad for the extra support.
High time for a shake-up of the licensing laws, methinks. Still, the Chinese Finger Trap guys don’t seem too bothered about the small turn-out as they rip through their Blood Brothers-esque twisted hardcore with an impressive disregard for the size of the tiny stage, and each other’s safety.
The room fills up considerably in time for Shellshock‘s set, and with good reason too. Drum n’ bass and metal influences may not be the most likely of bedfellows, but this London quartet mix them inventively and fluidly, in a manner arguably not heard since Pitchshifter unleashed their ‘www.pitchshifter.com‘ album on us nearly a decade ago. The result sounds not unlike Asian Dub Foundation playing death metal, with razor-sharp riffs, scattershot beats and punishing vocals flying in every direction. Thrilling stuff.
From Grace may be disappointed for their underage fans, but their onstage enthusiasm certainly hasn’t suffered as a result. Barely a few seconds into the opening shred-fest that is ‘Rise Again‘, vocalist Alex Augustyn has already launched himself into the midst of the small but frenetic moshpit, where he remains for most of the set. Songs like ‘Streets Of Rage‘ and ‘Blood Of My Blood‘ take on a new urgency and brutal edge tonight; not least due to a devoted crowd that clearly know every single word, and are not afraid to prove it.
It may be early days for these Bromley boys, but when witnessing such a loyal following as theirs, it’s hard to shake the feeling that this could be the start of something special. Overall, tonight is a potent reminder of just how much the UK’s underground metal and hardcore scenes have to offer.
Robust will be dropping his new album in July this year it has been announced.
The record, El Foto Grande, will be coming out on Galapagos 4 and serves as the follow up to his 2004 debut Potholes In Out Molecules. El Foto Grande will feature production from Mike Gao and Nick Sena and the tracklist for the record is:
01. Word Of Mouth
02. El Foto Grande
03. Retrobust
04. Think About It
05. Show Love
06. Love To Hate
07. Do It For The Love
08. Time And Work
09. Love It All
10. LL Robus T
11. Cold Chilling
12. Strictly Underground
13. I Got Your Back
14. What Up Fam
15. Can’t Put The Fire Out
16. Ho Sognato
Lethal Bizzle has said he one day hopes to work with The Prodigy.
The grime star who has been reaching out into other genres to work with the likes of The Rakes, Arctic Monkeys, Babyshambles and the rowdy punks of Gallows, has some more team ups in mind.
He has said he likes the “reggae swing” of The Bees, he’s a fan of Madness [who recently worked with Sway and Baby Blue] and said he would love to work with The Prodigy as he’s a big fan of the band. Meanwhile, Bizzle is soon to go off on tour with Jack Penate.
Glen E. Friedman, a long term photographer of Fugazi, has announced his plan to release a book on the band.
The hardback will compile his best photographs of the band throughout the years. It will be called Keep Your Eyes Open and is set for release on September 3rd, a date which marks the 20th anniversary of Fugazi’s first ever show.
Music site Last FM has been bought by American company CBD for $280million.
The site, which logs what you listen to and finds similar artists for you, has 15 million users and was set up by a computer science student in the UK. The site will be maintained day-to-day by the same people and shouldn’t change too dramatically according to a BBC report.
Right, who’s got an idea that can make me that much money?
Jimmy Eat World have completed the recording work on their new album.
Jim Adkins of the band stated that the album would be doing into the mixing stage after making some “11th hour changes” to the album.
He also likened his excitement for putting the album out to being “the only one who knows a cool secret” before finishing with a request for people to post suggestions for a cover song to be used as a B-Side on their message board.
Liverpool thrashers SSS will be recording a session for BBC Radio 1.
The band will be doing the session for the Lock-Up show, hosted by Mike Davies on May 31st and are scheduled to play SSS, Warhorse, The Beast and new track The Toxic Bee. People should expect songs about rollercoasters and fun, maybe even a track or two about their hero Cliff Burton!
Look out for the show here
London Astoria
12.05.07
Kudos are definitely due to Rise Against for bringing over one of the best punk rock tours to hit these shores in a long time. The venue may be only half full by the time the Cancer Bats hit the stage, but vocalist Liam Cormier clearly doesn’t care as he bounces around the stage like a punk rock cheerleader.
The quartet’s potent brand of stoner punk sounds impressive enough on record, but in the live setting, it’s nothing short of brutal; the thunderous rumble of ‘Hundred Grand Canyon‘ deservedly whipping up a small but chaotic pit in the centre of the dancefloor.
Trust the Bronx to go one step further, with singer Matt Caughthran actually clambering into the midst of the sweaty masses for a couple of songs. 
There’s an almost tangible sense of danger to this lot; not least in the way that songs like ‘White Guilt‘ constantly threaten to collapse into sheer sonic warfare, and not even Matt’s terrible dancing can take away from the intensity of an all-too-brief set that remains utterly thrilling throughout. God bless The Bronx; may they forever remain a marketing department’s worst nightmare.
Only the bravest (or most foolish) of souls would dare follow these guys onstage, and tonight Rise Against aren’t quite up to the task. They give it their all, mind; bursting through the likes of ‘Chamber The Cartridge‘ and ‘Black Masks And Gasoline‘ with no little conviction, and vocalist Tim McIlrath is clearly delighted to be playing his band’s biggest UK headline show to date.
The sound is spot on, and new guitarist Zach Blair is evidently more than comfortable in the RA fold, but ultimately it’s their misfortune to be merely good on a night when their support bands ooze pure punk rock excellence.
Alex Gosman
Photos by Niki Kova’cs
Clinic will be releasing their B-Sides and rarities album Funf on June 18th.
This record celebrates the band’s first 10 years and has impacted on many other bands, not least Arcade Fire, who recently covered the Clinic track Distortions in Portland. You can check out their cover by looking below. And if you want to remind yourself of the original, click here.