Ph: Nils Svensson
Malmö ripper Oski Rozenberg Hallberg is joined by Jake Collins, Socks, the fast feet of John Magnusson, Willy Taylor and Daniel Rabia in this Phil Evans edit today.
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Kill City’s general Sam Pulley shows you round the Ramp World park in Cardiff via the Carve.
The Sheffield fam made a top effort to bring this Hallow’ed edit filmed at Devonshire Green your way this year. Fireworks, beers, make up and skating.
If you have ever seen this man skate in the flesh then you will know he takes no prisoners. Steven Reeves now rides for Dieta Skateboards, and rides seriously fast when pumped on Slayer.
What can we say about this party before the photos do the talking?! Fuck, it was fun. Did you come? Did you have a two day hangover?! We are still in pieces writing this drivel so I will make this short. Someone at the venue called it the Crossfire Halloween Moussaka on the night as the place didn’t get shut down for once. Security had it easy and nobody was electrocuted. There were no ambulances called to the scene that I’m aware of no police presence. It was just a straight up fun gig with a whole new bunch of faces alongside the old guard who have been there with us since day one. Glad that the House of Vans wasn’t trashed so thank you all for being respectable for once!
As ever, thanks to everyone who came down and partied hard. Thanks to Vans for having us and all of the people that worked behind the scenes to bring you this, plus all (esp’ Louise) who have to put up with my shit ahead of these events dropping. Thanks to Turbonegro (whose Money for Nothing cover was a highlight) and Cancer Bats for playing live sets. big up to James Sherry’s Crossfire Sound System that rocked the dancefloor, Dogger and DRS for making us dance, all of the artists that busted their balls to make amazing art for a short show and DJ Semtex who blew the place apart for the grand finale.
Enjoy these shots taken exclusively for us by Beth Crockatt. Feel free to share the images but please credit Beth and also tag us on insta and twitter with #crossfirehalloweenmassacre and @crossfirezine.
The rest is now history. Long live the Massacre, its legacy and the people that make it fun.
If you would like to see the Bowl Jam gallery then follow your nose. Turbojugends can find an interview with Happy-Tom here.
Follow us instagram, facebook, twitter and tumblr if you are social. #crossfirehalloweenmassacre
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Symirroretry
Get the teas on for this one as 45 minutes of thought provoking goodness on our passion for what we love the most with Greg Hunt, Chris Mulhern, Chris Fireoved, Arto Saari, Pontus Alv and more. Take in the individuality, limitation, and knowledge learned from a constant evolving culture.
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The Xcerts
The Xcerts
There Is Only You
Raygun Music
It’s been a long four years since their last release, now Aberdeen’s The Xcerts return with their third, and what looks to be their most defining and immediate record to date, There Is Only You. Revisiting both the streamlined power-pop from debut In The Cold Wind We Smile, and an exorcised version of their sophomore release Scatterbrain, a relentless touring schedule has shaped The Xcerts into a leaner, sharper three-piece, ready to (at last) step out from the shadows of their peers. Chorus after infectious chorus and melody after melody, There Is Only You has earned them the right to do just that.
Opening with the morose, string-leaden ‘2.12.12’, any expectations of a slow, delicate introduction to the album are laid to waste with ‘Live Like This’, a dense and crushing statement of intent. This song, much like the rest of There Is Only You, is heavy but never cold – guitarist Murray Macleod’s desire for the lustful and beautiful fuzz of the Smashing Pumpkins seems to have been fully realised.
As the self-proclaimed purveyors of ‘distorted-pop’, this mantle has never sounded more accurate than on the album’s lead singles, ‘Shaking In The Water’ and ‘Pop Song’. I remember hearing the former at a gig in Exeter two years ago, and that chorus line buried itself into my subconscious even then – if these aren’t already live anthems, they soon will be. In fact, just about every song has a lyrical hookworm in there somewhere, you’ll realise it when you’re mumbling a spare line a few days later.
Despite revelling in heartache and love-lost lyrically, a great buoyancy and optimism weaves through the entire album. The sorrow is disguised by the music itself – the feel-good grind of ‘Kids On Drugs’, the twinkle-rock beginnings of ‘I Don’t Care’, the upbeat bounce of ‘Kick It’ – it’s incredible what an egg-shaker and tambourine can do for a record’s mood. Only once are the happy/sad dynamics torn apart, during album-closer and title track ‘There Is Only You’. Starting out as a passionate and sorrowful lament, the album avoids a bitter endnote by reprising the hopefulness found earlier in the record. To take two contrasting parts and splice them together in this way is a profound and beautiful end to a fantastic collection of songs.
With over a decade already behind them, The Xcerts are veterans in their own right, but There Is Only You feels like a turning point – solid ground on which to build a long, impressive future. Any insecurity about their position on the rock music family tree should be a distant memory by now, for There Is Only You will surely be the album that introduces the world to The Xcerts.
Chris Bunt
You would imagine that Ben Raybourne was probabaly invited to about 20 Halloween events. He’s managed a couple of th best so far though including this radness with friends at Burnside Skatepark in Oregon. Even the cops put on a display worthy of arrest but big shouts out to whoever managed to paint the place. Incredible.
Ph: Chris Cope indy back smith by Joe Hammeke
This crew were only going to deliver evil. Thrasher’s Halloween Hellride at the Diamond Mine is always top draw. Dive into this elite carnage!
If you’ve had the pleasure of skating the House of Vans Bowl in London, you will know that it’s an unforgiving masterpiece that can destroy you and elate you within the same session. Only those with the fastest feet are able to master its curves designed by Line, who have managed to pack in a vast array of skateable wall space into such a small area. The thought of 45 invited riders descending on Waterloo’s Old Vic Tunnels on Saturday to detonate the first official jam session in here was finally a reality – and it did not disappoint. The majority of the invited guests had never skated this beast before, but they burnt it to the ground and left a legacy that will remembered for years.
Whether you made it down there or viewed it from the live feed, watching this lot battle it out in open jam sessions to pick up the 10,000€ on offer was simply amazing. There were too many highlights and obvious notable mentions: Mason Merlino’s front blunt and Alain Goikoetxea’s fakie 5-0 on the same vert wall, Giorgio Zattoni‘s ollies into monster frontside smiths in the deep end, Robin Bolian and Daan Van Der Linden’s overall energy and creative trickery – oh, and talking of trickery, it was an honour to see John Magnusson’s skills grace this tunnel. His skating is incredible to see in the flesh and witness the fastest feet in the business. With people flying in from the USA, Spain, France, Belgium, Sweden and other European countries, the Great British presence was there to welcome our visitors with open arms. OGs such as Andy Scott, Sean Goff and Lucian Hendricks were present and shredding alongside Benson, Kris Vile, Alex Hallford, Reese Johnson, Carl Wilson, Rob Smith, Ross McGouran, Manhead, Trevor Johnson and so many more. It may have been a freak 23′ outside, but the real heat was underground in this gaff derived from this lot. What a sesh!
Thanks to Vans for hosting this for us, to Danny Wainwright, Justin Sydenham, Wingy, Seth Curtis, Dan Cates and Jacob Sawyer for judging, and not to forget Mark Churchill and Joe Habgood for ripping everyone apart on the mic. Good banter lads! I’ve probably missed people, and tricks, so apologies in advance as i’m still dying from a force 8 hangover as I type this. The evidence from this debauchery is live below in official edit and enjoy these exclusive photos shot for us by Maksim Kalanep. Thanks to everyone involved.
Cates took a break from his Butt Weekend updates on insta to judge this one.
He spent his afternoon watching men’s backsides instead.
Chav Dan took the dough in 2012 and was back for more for the Lovenskate fam.
And he’s still smelling the glove.
Mason Merlino flew in from California and ripped this place apart. Animal blunt steez, Oregon style.
Ross McGouran had a great sesh but took home the best swellbow of the day as a present. It was like seeing a hamster sitting inside a duck egg.
Park ranger Rob Smith has grown with this bowl and knows it better than most.
Trademark moves from Death’s Northern pro went down all afternoon and into the finals.
Lyon’s Robin Bolian is relentless for a 15 year old and one to watch out for. Remember the name.
Thanks to all 7 artists who exhibited gore in the gallery, ‘Walk Among Us’. Incredible work went into this from all of them.
Nassim Guammaz took best Frankenstein shadow of the day. Truly awesome ATV.
Some of the best shit that went down was Off The Wall. The first to name this man in the facebook comments below wins the internet.
Trevor Johnson took many a scooby snack.
When Giorgio Zattoni grinds, you can hear it a street away.
Marc Churchill was bang on form with the psycho banter…
“Insert your own quote here. Best one wins the internet”
Dogger in thought as the session explodes…
Even Lee Blackwell graced us with his presence. It’s time to run that prison interview…
McGouran’s speed and thought process is one we all crave for.
Blink and you will miss him.
Always good to see Carl Wilson pottering about on a warm Saturday afternoon.
Nothing stale about this Creature. Wait until you see the party pics though, he had one hell of an outfit!
And you know he always brings the crack to the party.
Alain Goikoetxea brought his own man hammers to this hellride. Top tool box full of radness.
Strike that…
Classic Nicky Geurrero in the house!
Bullet and I had a little coping wager on the winner and went home with the Queen.
The judges called Daan Van Der Linden for 1st place, Mason Merlino in 2nd and Alain Goikoetxea took 3rd. Well deserved.
Beers were on this lot tonight.
This smile says it all. Thanks to everyone involved in making this happen.
Follow us on instagram, facebook, twitter and tumblr to be social and tag your own photos with #crossfirehalloweenmassacre. The footage from the official edit will be embedded into this article as soon as it drops.