Category: Music

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Music Music News

LL Cool J Puts ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’ Into Practice

One of hip hop’s biggest stars LL Cool J is reported to have broken the jaw and nose of an intruder attempting to break into his LA mansion.

LL Cool J, which stands for Ladies Love Cool James, told police he had gone to investigate a noise in his kitchen when he had been attacked by the intruder. Ironically, LL Cool J is most well known for his track ‘Mama Said Knock You Out‘ and he seemed to take the lyrics to heart, incapacitating the victim and detaining him until the police arrived.

The rapper (who’s real name is James Todd Smith!) was unhurt in the incident, with a spokesman commenting, ” As a Father, husband and citizen he is committed to keeping his family safe.”

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music

Obey The Brave

OBEY THE BRAVE
Young Blood
Epitaph Records

Ferocious drumming, intense vocals and deep riffs epitomise Obey The Brave‘s first release through Epitaph records, ‘Young Blood’. Ex-Despised Icon vocalist Alex Erian delivers sinister shouts and brutal screams, an example of his deathcore roots coming into their own and making ‘Young Blood‘ heavy. Very heavy indeed. Yet, although essentially a metalcore album, the two-step rhythms of modern hardcore raise ‘Young Blood‘ head and shoulders above the rest with guest vocals from Terror’s Scott Vogel on ‘Get Real‘ emphasising the ‘core’ element of this genre in all its glory.

With experimental interludes such as ‘Grim‘ flashes of more recent Emmure shine through, but the most relevant comparison has to be to The Ghost Inside’s ‘Get What You Give‘ which was released earlier in 2012. Originality is a slight down fall for Obey The Brave, there are plenty elements similar to Parkway Drive, Stick To Your Guns, Hundredth and many other metal/hardcore acts. But in all honesty Obey The Brave aren’t trying to be something special or something unique; during opener ‘Lifestyle‘ the lyrics “Not trying to reinvent the wheel – we keep it simple, we keep it real,” are performed with vehement passion, this band just want to make an impact with the intensity of their music and with ‘Young Blood’ thats a task well and truely achieved.

Words: Emma Wallace

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music Reviews

Bloc Party


BLOC PARTY
Four

You have no excuse not to know who Bloc Party unless you have been living in a South American rainforest, licking neon coloured toads for the past 10 years…

I can sum up their latest release in one sentence. It’s absolutely bloody amazing.

However as this is a review, I won’t leave it there, so let’s get the simple things out of the way first… ‘Four’ is a tour de force of indie guitar licks, riffs and hooks with all the Bloc Party trimmings.

Kele and co. have made us wait a while for their latest offering, but as soon as you press the play button, and you here the drum beat and distorted guitar that signal the start of ‘So He Begins To Lie’ you wont be able to sit still. This album works its way into your subconscious and induces some serious moments of tourettes-style head banging and foot stomping.

There isn’t a ‘bad’ track on this album. It swings between slow burning songs that build to a crescendo with squealing guitars through to some southern delta blues inspired throat-ripping guitar chords. The truth is, it is easy to love every single track on the album; so to pick a standout song is a bit of a task. Saying that, the songs that went down best here at Crossfire has to be the hauntingly epic ‘Real Talk’ and ‘V.A.L.I.S’, the hooktastic indie anthem that will have you singing along in not time at all.

If you’re into indie/rock then you should own this album. It’s one of the best albums to grace 2012 so far. A near perfect example of what Indie music should be.

WORDS: JJ NATTRASS

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Music Music News Preview

Title Fight Stream Documentary Online

Punk band Title Fight are streaming the first part of their tour documentary online (which was directed and edited by Alex Henery). The film features Title Fight performances on massive stages as support to Rise Against from the April/May 2012 “Endgame” Tour.

Title Fight are over in the UK next month for a one off co-headline show with La Dispute at The Garage in London before heading of on a full Euro tour.

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Music Music News

Circa Survive DIY Album Details


American band Circa Survive have announced the release of their fourth full-length album, ‘VIOLENT WAVES‘, due out on August 28th. The five-piece band recorded and self-produced the eleven-track album earlier this year at Studio 4 in their hometown of Philadelphia and will be self-releasing the album using direct-to-fan distribution, a step away from thier previous endevaours with Equal Vision and Atalntic Records.

In conjunction with Topspin Media, The Uprising Creative and Firebrand, the band has built a web delivery system that will allow them to deliver their new album directly to fans without any record label or distributor involvement. The band – who’s style is rooted in progressive-rock and punk- have a close relationship with their fans and believe this method as the best way of connecting with them and establishing the future of Circa Survive in the current economic climate.

Guitarist Colin Frangicetto comments:

“Collectively we’ve run the gamut from working with really small DIY labels to big indies all the way to a major label. The band has learned a ton from each of those experiences and at this point feel confident in our ability to successfully produce, release and promote a record on our own. There’s really nothing more satisfying to us then bringing our vision to the world in this way.”

Vocalist Anthony Green added:

“By choosing to download our music directly from us, you are choosing to give our band a future and directly supporting us and our families.”

A variety of bundle options are available including deluxe vinyl packaging hand-painted by the band members, or for just $5 fans can purchase the digital version of Violent Waves.

Orders can be made directly through the band here.

Expect an album review and UK/Euro show announcements to follow here at Crossfire.

Words: Emma Wallace

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Music Music News

New Material From I Killed The Prom Queen


Monster Energy has teamed up with Aussie metalcore giants I Killed The Prom Queen for the exclusive premiere of their brand new live video for the song “Memento Vivere“.

New material from IKTPQ has been a long time coming, but it seems its been worth the wait, “Memento Vivere” is heavy. Check it out below.

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Music Music News

Ceremony To Play FREE Show This Thursday

So this morning there was a lot of fuss and bother over this Thursday’s intimate Green Day show selling out in seconds. Well who gives a damn when in all honesty the place to be this Thursday is actually London’s Old Blue Last where Californian hardcore band Ceremony will take to the stage.

Whats more, in true punk style Ceremony’s intimate gig is FREE entry, so rather than selling a kidney in order to purchase a Green Day ticket on ebay (reportedly priced at £295.00!) you can spend your pennies on beer and have an awesome time at this tiny show.

All the details you need are listed on the poster below.

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Music Music News

Baroness Recovery Update


It appears the brave Baroness guys are on their way to a full recovery after receiving injuries when their tour coach overturned whilst travelling between shows in the UK. Guitarist/vocalist Peter Adams is already back in the USA and the rest of the band are now well enough to post an update via Facebook:

‘Thank you to all of you who have been sending the tidal wave of positivity our way. We are uplifted by its sheer magnitude, and power. Every single one of you is making our days and nights easier and our recovery quicker. Thank you all so much, we are truly lucky to have such incredible people on our side. A sincere and heartfelt thank you from each of us to each of you.

– Baroness’

Its great to see the band staying positive and on the way to full health. We wish them our best and can’t wait to see the sludge-rock heroes back on the road again.

Find out more about the coach crash here.

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Music Music News

As I Lay Dying Album and Tour News


After dominating the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival Tour in the US alongside Slipknot, Slayer and many others, metalcore heroes As I Lay Dying have announced details of thier sixth studio album…

‘Awakened‘ will drop on September 25th with a UK/Euro tour to commence in the following month.’ Awakened‘ was recorded in the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, CO with renowned rock producer Bill Stevenson (Descendents) and mixer Colin Richardson (Bullet For My Valentine). The track listing for the follow up to 2011’s ‘Decas EP‘ and 2010’s ‘The Powerless Rise‘ is as follows:

1. Cauterize
2. A Greater Foundation
3 .Resilience
4. Wasted Words
5. Whispering Silence
6. Overcome
7. No Lungs to Breathe
8. Defender
9. Washed Away
10. My Only Home
11. Tear Out My Eyes

Pre-orders can be made now via Metal Blade Records.

Below are the tour dates for As I Lay Dying (with Trivium, Caliban, Upon A Burning Body). Tickets are on sale now from all usual outlets.

OCTOBER
15th Manchester, Ritz
16th Glasgow, ABC
17th Birmingham, Institute
19th Bristol, Academy
20th Norwich, UEA
21st London, Shephards Bush Empire

Words: Emma Wallace

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Music Music News

The Bouncing Souls Auction Rarities After Being Robbed


On the 4th August, New Brunswick Punk rockers, The Bouncing Souls announced via their social networking sites the devestating news that they had been robbed whilst touring the USA.

‘Once again we have been ripped off. K8 is Great, our tour managers, bag was stolen tonight from the backstage. Laptops, passports, paperwork, and lots of money was in there. If you care at all about the music scene or people trying to come to your town to play shows for you, please return it to us. This is all we got. Thank you.’

In order to raise funds lost and replace gear stolen, The Bouncing Souls are auctioning rare items from their archives via ebay. The items include artwork, tapes and vinyls. The following statement from the band explains more:

‘As many of you know, a couple weeks ago we were robbed and lost many thousands of dollars, computers, and a lot of important documents and files. In an effort to get back on our feet, we have dug deep into the archives, and have decided to auction off some really cool stuff on eBay. From the bottom of our collective heart, we appreciate all the kind words of support from our fans, friends, and family…but now we need to pay the bills! Please check out our auctions and keep in mind that only auctions from seller account “bouncingsoulsnj” are verified as being sold by us. Thanks so much for all your support and good luck bidding!’

As commendable as this is, its a sad situation that such a legendary band have had to resort to selling treasured artefacts to survive due to the selfish actions of others. It seems far too often these kind of events are occurring to much loved bands from all genres – Animals As Leaders, Modest Mouse, Ulcerate, Thrice and Iron Maiden to name a few. Lets hope that karma comes into action and gives the thieves responsible a well deserved slap across the backside (at least).

Support the band and music scene by participating in the auction here or buy purchasing merchandise and attending their shows.

Words: Emma Wallace