Category: Music

Must See Shows: November 2012

Post author By Dave
Post date November 2, 2012

Our selection of ‘Must See Shows’ this month pretty much caters for everyone. Whether you are after big breakdowns, dark atmospherics or just straight forward rock anthems look no further than this list. Oh and November also features Warped Tour. Get in.

2:54
w/ Pins, Childhood, Deaf Club
02 – OXFORD The Jericho Tavern, 03 – BIRMINGHAM The Sunflower Lounge, 04 – BRIGHTON The Haunt, 06 GUILDFORD The Boileroom, 07 – LONDON XOYO, 08 – BRISTOL The Croft

If moody atmospherics spark interest in your head, look no further than 2:54. This indie duo are set to take off big time after comparisons to the likes of The XX and Alpines. This is definitely a case of catch them in an intimate setting whilst you still can.

CROSSFAITH
05 – GUILDFORD Boileroom, 08 – BOURNEMOUTH Soundcircus, 09 – BATH Komedia, 10 – LONDON Warped Tour

These venues really are to small to handle Crossfaith. If you saw them tear apart the UK earlier this year in support of Of Mice & Men you’ll know exactly what we are talking about. Mashing up a combination of The Prodigy and brutal breakdowns this Japanese band epitomize the meaning of ‘Must See Show’.

DEAF HAVANA
w/ Canterbury, There For Tomorrow
08 – COVENTRY Kasbah, 09 – LEEDS Met Uni, 10 – MANCHESTER Ritz, 11 – GLASGOW ABC, 12 – NEWCASTLE Academy, 14 – PORTSMOUTH Pyramids, 15 – NORWICH UEA, 16 – LONDON Shepherds Bush Empire

We picked Deaf Havana out as one of the highlights of Hevy Festival this summer due to their anthemic pop-rock tunes and seeing them in an enclosed environment will only top those brilliant festival performances. And after releasing a brilliant alternative version of ‘Fools & Worthless Liars’ last month, here’s hoping that they add in a few of their acoustic numbers to the set too.

PARKWAY DRIVE
w/ Emmure, The Word Alive, Structures
14 – BIRMINGHAM Ballroom, 15 – MANCHESTER Academy, 16 – LEEDS University, 17 – LONDON Roundhouse

Gracing the buzz chart and currently sitting in the ‘Album of the Week’ spot with ‘Atlas’, it’s no secret that we love Parkway Drive at Crossfire. If you have seen their latest DVD ‘Home Is For The Heartless’ you’ll know that if any ticket bearers are in for a treat with PWD’s live show.

POLAR
w/ TRC, Prowler
26 – NORWICH Waterfront Studio, 27 – READING Face Bar, 28 – BOURNEMOUTH Soundcircus, 28 – BRISTOL The Croft, 29 – PLYMOUTH The White Rabbit

Stating their influences as ‘Big beats. Strong booze. Loose morals. Good times.’ its clear to see that a Polar show is going to be wild. If you are heading to see them out of curiosity, don’t sit down or just stand, get involved otherwise front man Adam Woodford might just force you to himself…

THE ELIJAH
w/ Hello Mexico, Black Shapes
16 – LONDON The Underworld

For one night only post-rock newcomers The Elijah will be playing their epic debut album ‘I Loved I Hated I Destroyed I Created’ accompanied by the Niche London String Quartet. This show is will definitely be a spectacle to behold.

WARPED TOUR
10 – LONDON Alexandria Palace

Lostprophets, Bring Me The Horizon, New Found Glory, Less Than Jake , Man Overboard, The Story So Far , 3oh!3, The Acacia Strain, Awolnation, Architects, Breathe Carolina, Bury Tomorrow and many more all under one roof at London’s iconic Alexandria Palace. Need we say anymore?!

Live Reviews Music

Pure Love Live at The Boileroom, Guildford

Post author By Dave
Post date November 2, 2012

Pure Love 1 copyright Emma Wallace PURE LOVE
w/ Sharks, Scholars
The Boileroom, Guildford
26/10/12

The tiny Boileroom is packed tonight, not just with people but with a heavy sense of curiosity and excitement. First up are Scholars, although relatively unknown they manage to gain the interest of the whole room. Tracks such as ‘Blinda Data‘ really show this bands capability and with an impressive live show, make a note of Scholars as a potential buzz band for 2013.

Sharks have a strong fan base in the venue tonight, it appears every other person is wearing one of their shirts. So you’d think they would captivate the crowd, however they make little impact. ‘Arcane Effigies‘ creates a small sing along, but they don’t have half the presence and movement of Scholars. Unfortunately the old-school punk look and gimmicks don’t pay off, this is a case of image over substance.

Pure Love 1 copyright Emma Wallace

There is a genuine sense of excitement as Frank Carter, Jim Carroll and band take to the stage. They don’t stay there long. Just after one track Frank parts the crowd and takes the show into the pit. He declares ‘Put your phones away, stop posting photos on instagram looking like your having fun, lets have some real fucking fun. Stop making digital memories, lets make some real ones,’ and instantly the Pure Love party starts.

Despite their full-length still to be released the majority of the crowd somehow seem to the know every track word for word. Song after song is a mass of dancing bodies with Frank screaming into faces of the audience and Jim performing on the shoulders of the rest. Frank crowd surfing over to the bar for a beer whilst the drum kit moves from the stage into the pit for ‘Riot’ seems perfectly natural in this chaotic bliss.

Carter’s initial speech of ‘Guildford you are about to have the best 45 minutes of your entire life,’ seemed a bit presumptuous to start with, annoyingly arrogant even. But hats off to him, he was right. This has to be one of the greatest shows to have ever hit this sweat box venue, and arguably one of the best shows of the year. With every single punter leaving the venue with a grin from ear to ear it’s clear Pure Love are more than just a little project, this band could really achieve something.

Words & Photos: Emma Wallace

Tags Boileroom, Emma Wallace, frank carter, gallows, guildford, Jim Caroll, live, photos, pure love, review, scholars, sharks

Music Music News

Free Download From Rat Attack

Post author By Dave
Post date November 2, 2012

South Devon’s Rat Attack are set to be one of 2013’s most exciting prospects and what a way to round off the year by releasing scorching rock’n’roll anthem ‘Bad Catholic’ for FREE download accompanied by their first ever promo video.

After having already toured Europe 4 times, played over 300 UK shows supporting the likes of Rancid, The Ghost of a Thousand, DZ Deathrays, The Computers and Cerebral Ballzy, expect big things from this Every Time I Die/The Bronx inspired punk rock outfit.

Tags DZ Deathrays, free download, Rat Attack, single, The Bronx, The Computers, The Ghost of a Thousand, video

Music Music News

RIP Vocalist Mitch Lucker

Post author By Dave
Post date November 1, 2012

Suicide Silence’s vocalist Mitch Lucker has died aged 28 after a motorcycle crash on Wednesday night in Huntington Beach. The Orange County coroner’s office said Lucker was hospitalized after a motorcycle accident shortly before 9PM Wednesday and was pronounced dead at 6:17AM Thursday 1st November.

Suicide Silence have posted the following status on the tragedy:

“There’s no easy way to say this. Mitch passed away earlier this morning from injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident. This is completely devastating to all of us and we offer our deepest condolences to his family. He will be forever in our hearts.

R.I.P. Mitchell Adam Lucker – We Love You Brother”

Our thoughts are with Mitch Luker’s family, band and friends.

RIP.

Tags DEAD, death, metal, Mitch Lucker, Motorcycle accident, RIP, Suicide Silence

Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music Reviews

Tweak Bird

Post author By Zac
Post date November 1, 2012

Tweak Bird
‘Undercover Crops’
Mini album / Volcom Entertainment
www.tweakbird.com

tweak bird undercover crops Back in 2010, the Crossfire office was buzzing on the debut Tweak Bird album. The crunching riffs of doom layered with catchy vocals played openly on this stereo here for months, but where the fuck have this band been since?

As we live in a society where the earth seems to spin at a million miles an hour faster than back in the 90’s due to this stupid thing that was invented called the interweb, we expect far too much from bands these days, but with Tweak Bird, they probably stuck up their middle fingers and said, “fuck it, we will drop our shit when we are ready”. And here it is, seven new tracks that will rip your ears a new beat with a plethora of new, filthy riffs and a cool arse vibe only associated with the Brother’s Bird.

Testing the psyche with a drug induced, robotic chant of ‘EVERYONE IS PARANOID’, Tweak Bird launch Undercover Crops with every stoner’s nightmare. A bong-full of repetitive words that you will never probably forget followed by what they are known best for, driving beats, crunching riffs and sing-a-long vocals that make up the track ‘People’, available for free download on this page.

Next track Phychorain will be engrained in your conscience for years once you hear it. They take this dream scape with aplomb, spreading imaginary rainbows across and underlay of haunting samples and baritone guitar riffs that would appease any Sabbath fan. The Weight only furthers the storm with an extension to Psychorain. These could easily be played back to back live and may have even been written in the same session. Who knows, but a breather is offered for the laid back vibes of Pigeons which sees the brothers come down a level, in a similar way to how Janes Addiction do so well. Once they’ve managed to completely pull back from dense riffs, Bunch O’ Brains brings the new material to a boil once again with slamming, repetitive slabs of stoner bliss and catchy vocal melodies. Seriously amazing stuff.

The mini-album ends on familiar riffs with Know It All and paves way for next year’s UK tour and full album that is said to be in the works. Overall, this 17 minute drug-fueled aural delight is yet another splendid offering from the two stoners that know best. Get Tweaking.

FREE DOWNLOAD:

Tags album review, Ashton Bird, Caleb bird, free download, people, review, the weight, tweak bird, undercover crops, video

Features

Impericon Never Say Die Tour

Post author By Dave
Post date November 1, 2012

The Impericon Never Say Die Tour (INSD) has been tearing its way across Europe since 2007. The mini-touring festival -comparable to Vans Warped Tour- showcases exciting upcoming and established acts in the world of Metalcore, Metal, Hardcore, Punk and Deathcore with previous bands on the bill including Emmure, Architects, Suicide Silence, Bleeding Through and Parkway Drive.

2012 sees the tour feature an all-American line up with headliners We Came As Romans joined by blessthefall, Stick To Your Guns, For The Fallen Dreams, Obey The Brave, At The Skylines, The Browning and At Dawn We Rage. The tour stops off at 20 dates across Europe including 3 in the UK.

On 18th October the 8 band bill tore apart Camden’s Electric Ballroom with headliners We Came As Romans showing how dynamic the genre of metalcore can be. However it was reported that Obey The Brave (who took our ‘Album of the Week’ spot with ‘Young Blood‘ back in early August) stole the show. As ever Stick To Your Guns impressed with their uplifting brand of hardcore whilst blessthefall and For The Fallen Dreams were widely appreciated due to impressive performances from their charismatic front men. We sent talented photographer Jake Owens to capture the annual jaunt through his lens, here are his results…

The Browning © Jake Owens — The Browning

Obey The Brave © Jake Owens — Obey The Brave

For The Fallen Dreams © Jake Owens — For The Fallen Dreams

Stick To Your Guns © Jake Owens — Stick To Your Guns

Stick To Your Guns 2 © Jake Owens — Stick To Your Guns

Blessthefall © Jake Owens — Blessthefall

Blessthefall2 © Jake Owens — Blessthefall

We Came As Romans © Jake Owens — We Came As Romans

We Came As Romans 4 © Jake Owens — We Came As Romans

We Came As Romans 3 © Jake Owens — We Came As Romans

We Came As Romans 2 © Jake Owens — We Came As Romans

Impericon Never Say Die Tour Crowd — Impericon Never Say Die Tour

Words: Emma Wallace
Photos: Jake Owens

Tags At The Skylines, Beau Bokan, Blessthefall, Dylan Ritcher, feature, For The Fallen Dreams, gallery, Impericon Never Say Die Tour, INSD, Jake Owens, london, Obey The Brave, stick to your guns, The Browning, We Came As Romans

Music News

Death Grips rip the piss out of their record label

Post author By Zac
Post date November 1, 2012

Death Grips continue to punk their record label Epic Records today by sharing the email sent to the band asking them not to give away their album for free on the internet. This is either a great press stunt for all, or they are legitimately not giving a toss. You decide, but in the meantime read this. The band just posted this saying: “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOW FUCK OFF”.

deathgrips

Tags album, columbia records, death grips, free download, letter

Features Music

Crossfire Halloween Massacre Boat Party Gallery 2012

Post author By Zac
Post date October 31, 2012

Photos thanks to www.joebrady.co.uk

This year’s fully sold out Crossfire Halloween Massacre boat party in London was a scorcher! Some serious efforts went into this one in terms of fancy dress with a selection of nautical treats arriving down the plank! Zombie Sailors, Pirates-a-plenty and even a bloke dressed as a BOAT were present. I’m amazed how he managed to get that huge wooden creation all the way to the Battersea Barge, which was not easy to find on the night.

The deadly rock duo that is made up from the DJ presence of Planet Rock’s Phoebe Winter and Total Rock ‘s Talita TwoShoes kicked the night off with a selection of classics before handing over the decks to Johnny Doom and Matt Stocks. The Kerrang! Radio duo had the dance floor rocking as fiends fell through the door, some of them already bitten by the cold weather, Thames rats and South London Vampire’s. The beats dropped like bombs from XFM Remix Show overlord, Eddy Temple Morris whose mash ups had the roof raised alongside the demonic DJ skills of Stereo:Type.

You came, we saw. Your outfits were sick. The boat was one huge mash-up! Joe Brady spent the night taking these amazing photo’s of you all. Enjoy them, share them and thanks for coming down if you were there.

Thanks to Paul Parker for his incredible artwork, Joe, Chloe, Nic, Holly and the Battersea Barge for their help on the night, and all of the DJ’s mentioned above for their amazing work on the decks.

Thanks to you all for making this party amazing!

Features Home Music

5 songs you will never hear at a funeral

Post author By Crossfire
Post date October 30, 2012

News reached us two weeks ago from a survey carried out by Co-operative Funeralcare that a quarter of funeral homes have a black-list of songs they won’t allow to be played at services because they feel they are inappropriate. The list brought up a few classics that you would expect to make the cut for the crack, such The Trammps’ ‘Disco Inferno’ (“burn baby burn”) and John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ (“Imagine there’s no Heaven”).

With shit pop music being requested these days more than Hymns, we decided that we would run our own list of the Top 5 tracks we reckon would never get played as your casket hits the flames. Delve in for the most disgusting offerings we could conjure up.

#5. MEAT SHITS – GENITAL INFECTION

You’re never going to hear the Meat Shits at a funeral. In fact, you’re unlikely to hear them anywhere. Only the truly disturbed had any time for this utterly nauseating porno grind combo. Their singer Robert Deathrage is a horrible little fucker obsessed with violent porn, gore and anything that could offend. They released endless seven-inch singles, all of which are utterly unlistenable, featuring short blasts of badly recorded violent noise, cut with clips from porn and horror films. It’s safe to say that Robert has probably never had a girlfriend, and probably never will.

#4. ANAL CUNT – YOU WERE TOO UGLY TO RAPE, SO I JUST BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU.

Anal Cunt were the chief influence on the Meat Shits. The difference being that Anal Cunt served their offensive music and lyrics up with a large dollop of humour. That aside, singer Seth was also a horrible, ugly little fuckhead and when he died in 2011 we doubt too many people cried about it. We wonder if any of his music did get played at his funeral? We doubt it, it’s horrible. Some of the song titles are genius though.

#3. AUTOPSY – SHIT EATER.

Look at the album cover! There’s a man with a turd in his mouth! Would you really want this played at your funeral? Oh you do? YOU SICK FUCKS!

#2. GG. ALLIN – FUCKING THE DOG.

GG Allin needs to introduction. He was the ultimate in disorder and chaos and ‘upset’ was his middle name. Crossfire never gets tired of watching ole’ GG roll around in his own poo poo onstage, smashing his face in with a microphone and waving his little willy about. His funeral was very impressive though, like a huge biker-rally that snaked across the country. You can bet GG had his own music played at his funeral, but would you want it played at yours?

#1. JIMMY SAVILLE, JINGLE JANGLE JEWELLERY

The way things are going right now it looks like Jimmy Savile may end up having a second funeral; after they’ve dug him up, sent his corpse to court, tried him for his multiple crimes and then buried him again. The horrible little bastard. This song’s well catchy though!

Tags 5 bands to die to, anal cunt, autopsy, crossfire halloween, disgiusting music, fucking the dog, funeral songs, gg allin, halloween playlist, jimmy savile, MASSACRE, meat shits, shit eater

Album Of The Week Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music Reviews

Parkway Drive

Post author By Dave
Post date October 26, 2012

PARKWAY DRIVE
‘Atlas’
[Epitaph]

After creating an exceptional album with ‘Deep Blue’ expectations are high for Parkway Drive‘s November 2012 full length release ‘Atlas‘. Having such a large and passionate fan-base, Parkway Drive could put out a duff record and it still be widely adored, but there is no need for concern as the Australian quintet have yet again composed an astounding record.

Despite moving away from the completely conceptual approach of ‘Deep Blue’, Parkway Drive stick to the same format as other releases and open with an instrumental piece that slowly builds expectation when dark lyrics capture attention. Anticipation is intensely hanging in the air as ‘Old Ghosts / New Regrets’ roars into action with a driven speed that demands a mosh-pit to open.

Noting the success of the anthemic ‘Home Is For The Heartless’ from their last album, Parkway Drive have offered a few more dramatic and powerful moments which will surely cause unity at a live show. ‘The River’ and ‘Wild Eyes’ could easily fill a stadium whilst title-track ‘Atlas’ includes some exciting moments that reflect Bleeding Through’s orchestral approach.

If old-school, meaty Parkway Drive riffs are what you are crave there are still several tracks that cater for those hungry needs including ‘Sleigh of Hand’ which hosts licks similar to ‘Idols And Anchors’. And for those after a fast-paced assault on the ears, look no further than one of the closing tracks ‘Snake Oil And Holy Water’ which is sure to rip a new one into any venue.

As a whole ‘Atlas’ encompasses the true essence of what every fan loves about Parkway Drive. It could be seen as a more polished version of ‘Killing With A Smile’ whilst embracing the mature moments of ‘Deep Blue’.

Parkway Drive aren’t doing anything unconventional, they aren’t re-writing metalcore; they are continuing to define it. Each album the band produce develops over time as a milestone in the genre, in a few years time ‘Atlas’ will be reflected upon in the same inspiring light as all of their other works. Ultimately, Parkway Drive continue to set the standard in metalcore, a marker in musical excellence that very few others will reach.

Words: Emma Wallace

Tags album, Atlas, Deep Blue, Emma Wallace, epitaph, hardcore, Killing With A Smile, metalcore, Parkway Drive, review