Tag: Emma Wallace

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Live Reviews Music

Your Demise live at Reading Sub89


Your Demise
SUB89, Reading
14th August 2012

Your Demise at Reading’s Sub89 was a show made up of a mix of emotions; brilliant fun, nostalgic, painful and at times embarrassing. The embarrassment is really down to the crowd. At the start of Your Demise’s set they just aren’t into it. You wouldn’t think they have paid to see one of the UK’s most exciting bands that launch into their business all guns blazing, you’d think its some mediocre act that no one gives a damn about; the half empty room just doesn’t respond to the energy bouncing around on stage. Ed Mcrae does his very best to excite the crowd, and part way through the show, his efforts begin to pay off. His ability to entice some action on a miserable midweek show is definitely an asset and no matter what people may think of Mcrae on a musical or personal level, he is showing classic traits of a skilled showman.

Earlier this year, Your Demise dropped ‘The Golden Age‘ an album that divided opinions to say the least, with the main stream of criticism coming from older fans despising the poppier sounding tracks such as ‘These Lights‘. However, Your Demise clearly love ‘The Golden Age‘ and enjoy performing it. Its great to see a band sticking to their guns, Mcrae shouts, ‘Recently we dropped a record, ‘The Golden Age’, and there’s nothing you can fucking do about it!‘. The band needn’t worry though, as tonight, ‘These Lights‘ is triumphant. After his hard work hyping the crowd, Mcrae is in his element as the younger generation of Your Demise and hardcore fans lap up the high tempo track.

Considering the crowd were so dull at the start of the Your Demise’s set, the polar opposite response for ‘Burnt Tongues‘ is electrifying. Taken from one of the bands earlier albums ‘Ignorance Never Dies‘, the simplicity of the song unites the audience in movement. ‘Miles Away‘ keeps up the intensity as crowd surfers start to fly over the barrier. Set closer ‘The Kids We Used To Be‘ is euphoric. Looking around it’s hard to spot anyone not screaming lyrics, ‘So let’s bring back the best years. Nights spent hanging out. Not giving a fuck….‘. It’s a sincere reminder to cherish the good moments in life.

Yet its bizarre how quickly events can change, one minute everyone is having the time of the life, the next the sound cuts out and bassist Jimmy Sampson is crying for help. It appears in the chaotic, high energy end to the set, Ed Mcrae has hurt himself; badly. ‘He’s dislocated his knee!’ Another band member shouts and poor Ed is dragged off the side of the stage to receive medical assistance.

The lights go up and background music plays through the club’s PA. The crowd leave in dismay, contemplating what just happened. Its such a shame the show ended on a downer after all the effort the band put in to to raise the tempo. Your Demise won over a boring audience mainly due to Ed Mcrae putting in a stellar performance. However their commitment won’t go unnoticed, this crowd will be back for more at another Your Demise show as punters walk away from Sub89 still hungry for more.

Words & Photo: Emma Wallace

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Music Music News Preview

The Story So Far Album and Tour News


If you are into the heavyweight variety of pop-punk (think Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals), The Story So Far are definitely ones to check out. The Californian band were one of the highlights of this years Slam Dunk Festival and are noted as one of the most promising acts on the circuit right now.

The band have just announced they will release a new album, ‘Under Soil and Dirt’ on the 8th October 2012 via Pure Noise. It is reported ‘Under Soil and Dirt’ captures the highs and lows of coming of age, relationships and friendships presented in a heavy, yet catchy format. If single ‘Quicksand‘ is anything to go by, ‘Under Soil and Dirt‘ will certainty be worth picking up. The track listing for the album is as follows:

1. State and Minds
2. Roam
3. Quicksand
4. Swords and Pens
5. High Regard
6. Daughters
7. Mt. Diablo
8. Four Years
9. Rally Cap
10. Placeholder
11. Closure

The Story So Far are back on our shores this November playing the UK leg of Warped Tour as well some shows with New Found Glory and a trio of headline gigs. Catch the band at the following dates:

NOVEMBER
Thurs 1st Margate, West Coast Bar
Fri 2nd Coventry, Kasbah
Sat 3rd Bournemouth, Sound Circus
Sun 4th Nottingham, Rock City (w/New Found Glory, Less Than Jake, and Man Overboard)
Mon 5th Manchester, Academy (w/New Found Glory, Less Than Jake, and Man Overboard)
Tues 6th Leeds, University (w/New Found Glory, Less Than Jake, and Man Overboard)
Weds 7th Glasgow, Barrowland (w/New Found Glory, Less Than Jake, and Man Overboard)
Thurs 8th Norwich, UEA (w/New Found Glory, Less Than Jake, and Man Overboard)
Fri 9th Cardiff, University Great Hall (w/New Found Glory, Less Than Jake, and Man Overboard)
Sat 10th London, Alexandra Palace (UK Warped Tour)

Words: Emma Wallace

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Features Interviews Music

Interview: Sharks

With influences ranging between The Clash, The Buzzcocks, Joy Division and Black Flag, the Leamington Spa quartet, Sharks, are right up our street. We caught up with the James Mattock (lead vocals and guitar) and Andrew Bayliss (guitar) backstage at Hevy Festival before their set to discuss their album ‘No Gods’, signing to Rise Records and their plans for the future…

So for those who don’t know much about Sharks, if you could describe your band in three words, what would you say?

James: God I don’t know….

Andrew: Well, I’m going to go all cheesy and say, ‘Rock. And. Roll’. Sounds so cheesy I know, but it does sum us up quite nicely.

You’ve been on tour with some awesome bands, who would you say are the most inspiring bands you’ve toured with?

James: Oh I don’t know, there are so many… but Social Distortion was cool. Gallows, The Gaslight Anthem…

Andrew: We’ve been so lucky with tours, we’ve had some really good ones. We’ve had a mixed bag, lots of different genres and plenty of big names.

You’re signed to Rise Records, they are currently famous for their metalcore bands, although they do have some sweet punk bands like The Bouncing Souls. What was it that swayed you to Rise Records?

Andrew: They were just very enthusiastic and passionate about wanting to put out our records. We were a little skeptical at first because as you say their roster does lean more towards metalcore, and at the time they hadn’t signed The Bouncing Souls and other bands like that. We were one of the first bands for them to sign that was different to what they had been doing but they were so passionate we went with it.

James: Yeah, we knew of their aspirations to branch out and we were proud to be the band they wanted to branch out with, so yeah, we just went for it! They are a very good label if you want to attempt to crack America. So far they’ve helped us a lot. The only negative thing about signing to Rise Records is that people might see our video on Rise Records Youtube etc and then be a bit confused, like,’Hang on, this doesn’t sound like Of Mice & Men, where the fuck is the breakdown?!’.

Andrew: We were just enthusiastic for people to hear the record, and Rise really wanted to get it out there. We’re pleased to have signed to them.

How has the overall reception been for your latest record ‘No Gods’?

James: Overall its been great! Even these more sort of hardcore kids are into it, I’ve heard they regard it as their ‘chill out’ music, which is a little odd as essentially we are still a punk band! But whatever, as long as people are getting into it, that’s cool!

Andrew: I’m still really proud of that record. We went in with something that is the polar opposite to what we put out, but I think that’s for the best. Brian McTernan, the producer, really helped to reign us in and get a more focused sound, because to start with, looking back it was more of just a jam!

James: I can’t put my finger on it, there’s material that has inspired us from all over. Some really old stuff too. We wrote it over a few years, whereas the current record we are writing over a smaller time scale, like two months! So its hard to say what our influences were when its such a long time span. We were just aiming for a solid debut, a timeless guitar record.

Andrew: We wanted the production raw, we wanted to walk on that line between a nicely produced record and something that is still quite alive. Kind of like The Gaslight Anthem, although they definitely have a different sound, its that kind of guitar record.

Are there plans in the pipeline for new material and tours?

James: Yeah, its going good. I guess we are about half way through a record. We’ll aim for about 20 songs, then cut back.

Andrew: We want to get it wrapped up as quick as possible to keep the positive attitude going and get people to hear new stuff. As much as we like ‘No Gods’ we aren’t going to sit on it for too long.

James: We want it written by the end of the year, and I guess we’ll have to see where we are financially, we might have to record it ourselves. At the moment we are focusing on getting the best songs we can to get out there as quickly as possible.

Andrew: We aren’t on the road as much as we have been, so we are using all this down time to write. Although saying that, we are heading out to Australia soon which we are so looking forward to, and then Japan after that!

James: Hopefully we’ll have a UK/Euro tour soon, maybe November time.

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music Reviews

Don Broco

DON BROCO
Priorities
[Search & Destroy Records]


Everyone loves a bit of catchy pop-punk from time to time, and Don Broco have offered some of the tastiest tracks of that variety to come from 2012 so far. The album opens up with title track ‘Priorities’, a great punchy start with lyrics that everyone can relate too… You know that friend that always ditches you as soon as they have a new partner? Well ‘Priorities’ is a tongue-in –cheek, patronizing outlook on those kinds of people.

In fact, Rob Damiani’s lyrics are a very matter of fact interpretation of trivial trials and tribulations that go on in every day life. Despite being so straight forward, the words aren’t just brushed away; they are easy to connect with making Don Broco’s album more engaging as a whole. However, there are also flashes of maturity with ‘Back In The Day’ commenting on the London riots. With similar intonation to Lower Than Atlantis’s Mike Duce (but with less of the arrogance and greater charm) Rob’s vocals add depth to ‘Priorities’.

Tracks such as ‘In My World’ are upbeat and uplifting, the guitar work could be compared to early Kids In Glass Houses whereas songs like ‘Actors’ sway more towards the punk side of pop and reflect bands like Transit, Title Fight and The Story So Far.

Full credit should be given to Don Broco for producing a truly pleasing album. With forthcoming festival appearances (including Reading & Leeds) and a UK tour with The Dangerous Summer, expect Don Broco to hit the big time right away.

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE

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Music Music News Preview

Gnarwolves Announce a Trio of Shows


As well as having a sick band name, Gnarwolves dropped a cracking EP earlier this summer entitled ‘CRU‘. We really rate these guys and after an awesome performance at Hevy, we totally stress that you should head down to one of their recently announced shows as support to The Story So Far. The dates are as follows:

OCTOBER
01 MARGATE West Coast Bar
02 COVENTRY Kasbah
03 BOURNEMOUTH Sound Circus

Read our full review of ‘CRU’ here.

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Music Music News

Every Time I Die To Play Intimate Show


Every Time I Die killed every show they played on Warped Tour this year, and the awesome hardcore rock’n’rollers are back over on our shores for a ridiculously small gig. The band will play Fighting Cocks, Kingston with only 120 tickets going on sale! As if that wasn’t exciting enough London boys Last Witness are supporting.

The show will take place just ahead of their Reading & Leeds Lock Up stage shows, on Thursday 23rd August. And there’s an added bonus, the guys at Banquet records have kindly allowing every gig goer FREE entry to New Slang, at the Hippodrome, after the show with ETID wristbands. You’ll get there in time to see DZ Deathrays, and after the bands there, room 2 will be playing hardcore / punk tracks till the early hours.

Unmissable.

Grab your tickets ASAP from here.

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music Preview

While She Sleeps

WHILE SHE SLEEPS
This Is The Six
[Search & Destroy]

While She Sleeps have been a dominant force in the UK scene for a while now, so it’s hard to believe that ‘This Is The Six’ is actually their debut full length. Tracks released prior to the album dropping (including ‘Dead Behind The Eyes’ and title track ‘This Is The Six’) give a clear indication of Sleeps’s intent to make this an intensely heavy album. To add variation to the record, Sleeps follow a similar pattern to 2010’s ‘The North Stands For Nothing’, adding piano interludes where appropriate to break up the aggression. Listeners are then treated to powerful riffs that seem utterly brutal after a moment of reflection.

Lawrence Taylor’s snarling screams gives a dark overtone to the whole record, the angst in his lyrics are spat into your face, so much so that you start to worry for his larynx..! It could be said that his vocal range isn’t overly impressive but raw emotion, captivating guitar melodies from Mat Welsh and Sean Long, alongside optimistic gang chants make up for any criticisms.

While She Sleeps have already impressed with their energetic live shows but now with the potential inclusion of tracks such as ‘Seven Hills’, Sleep’s artillery is instantly strengthened tenfold. The band embark on their biggest headline tour to date this autumn with the impressive Bleed From Within, Crossfaith and Polar as support, its going to be one heavy hitting show.

Perfectly combing the raw intensity and bounce of hardcore, with sinister and deafening metal, While She Sleeps are an exquisite example of metalcore. Drawing on strengths from ‘The North Stands For Nothing’, While She Sleeps pack this album full of brilliant tracks forming an album that demands a listen and stands up to the hype.

Catch While She Sleeps at the following shows:

Sep 26 Birmingham The Library @ Institute
Sep 27 Manchester Club Academy
Sep 28 Sheffield Corporation
Sep 29 Glasgow Garage
Sep 30 Newcastle Academy 2
Oct 2 Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Oct 3 Bristol Fleece
Oct 4 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Oct 5 London Electric Ballroom

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE

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Music Music News

The Safety Fire Post New Video


Crossfire favorites The Safety Fire have injected some fresh adrenalin into our veins with their high speed video for latest single DMB (FDP) that dropped this evening. The video, directed and edited by Jamie Carter, showcases the bands energetic live performances from their recent tour with metal titans Gojira and their critically acclaimed performance at this years Download festival.

TSF guitarist Derya Nagle explains a bit more about how the video was made and why they picked this track in particular:

‘DMB (FDP) is one of our favourite songs to play live and was an obvious choice for this video. We love touring, and wanted to give a wider audience a glimpse into what our live show is all about. We filmed over several UK dates, including our performance at Download and our recent run with Gojira. We were lucky enough to have our good friend Jamie Carter produce the video, whose eclectic credits include Rise To Remain, Conor Maynard, Funeral For A Friend and Professor Green to name a few. Other filming duties were handled by our friends and crew including our brü Adam Nolly Getgood, who recently joined Periphery. More importantly this video will help spread the message of #FDP. Jokes.’

Not ones to sit still for too long, The Safety Fire will be heading back out on the road this autumn as support for the legendary Between The Buried And Me and US djent/tech-metal heroes, Periphery. The dates are as follows:

OCTOBER
1st, Reading – Sub 89
2nd, Wolverhampton – Slade Rooms
3rd, Glasgow – The Garage
4th, Newcastle – O2 Academy 2
5th, Manchester – O2 Club Academy
6th, Leeds – Cockpit
7th, Bristol – O2 Academy
8th, Southampton – The Brook
NOVEMBER
2nd, London – Shepherds Bush Empire

Stay tuned for an interview with the guys from this year’s Hevy Festival!

The Safety Fire’s debut album ‘Grind The Ocean‘ is out now.

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE

Categories
Features Music

Must See Shows: August 2012


Not only does August host some of this year’s best festival line ups, there are plenty of gigs going on too. Here is the lowdown from Crossfire HQ on what dates to put in your diary and who to see over the coming month:

Deez Nuts

7 SECONDS

Hardcore legends 7 SECONDS are in the UK for the Winter Gardens festival in Blackpool and a show in Leeds this Saturday at the Brudenell Social Club with Agnostic Front, but Monday’s show at the Underworld in Camden with Madball should be killer.

DEEZ NUTS
Combining Hip-Hop with hardcore, Deez Nuts are a one crazy band to see live. They are also the sort of band you will either love or hate but in their own words, they ‘Don’t give a Mother-Fuck!’.
2nd Club Revolution & District 7 –Peterborough, 3rd Hevy Festival – Kent, 5th The Venue (formerly Krash) – Newcastle, 6th The George Inn – Andover, 7th Hobos – Bridgend

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
Now joined by ex-Rise To Remain drummer Pat Lundy, Funeral For A Friend are playing a couple dates over August to subtly remind everyone that they are one of the UK’s best live acts.
2nd Sub89 – Reading, 3rd The Pavillion – Weymouth

GRIZZLY BEAR
Grizzly Bear are one of the most experimental indie bands out there at the moment. Fusing a whole load of different instruments (including banjo, keyboards, omnichord and glockenspiel) with electronics this Brooklyn based band are sure to put on a mesmerizing performance.
28th The Junction – Cambridge, 29th The Albert Hall – Nottingham

HEAD AUTOMATICA
The pop/rock n roll side project of Glassjaw’s Daryl Palumbo should be on everyone’s guilty pleasures list. The band haven’t been over to our shores in goodness knows how long and with some pure pop genius they will definitely get the crowds dancing.
5th Cellar – Southampton, 6th Relentless Garage – London, 7th Sound Control – Manchester, 8th Garage – Glasgow, 10th Rescue Rooms – Nottingham

HEVY
In case you haven’t noticed, we’re a bit excited about Hevy, the line up is unbelievable. Be sure to party hard with Andrew W.K. on the Saturday night and check out what other bands we recommend catching here.
3rd – 5th Port Lympe – Kent

Polar Bear Club

POLAR BEAR CLUB
As well as an appearance at Reading & Leeds, the brilliantly named Polar Bear Club squeeze in a London date in at the end of the month. For fans of Small Brown Bike, Third Eye Blind, Silent Majority, Hot Water Music and Lifetime. The tour continues into September with support coming from the exquisite Into It. Over It.
24th Leeds Festival, 26th Reading Festival, 31st Borderline – London

RADFEST
Presented by SEXBEAT and Nudie Jeans Co this years festival has expanded to a secret warehouse complex in Hackney after selling out in previous years. The prospect of Ceremony, a Poster Roast exhibition and a Kristina Records pop up store all in close proximity sounds mouth watering to us.
19th Hackney Down Studios – Hackney

READING & LEEDS
The Cure, Gallows, The Gaslight Anthem, Enter Shikari, A Wilhelm Scream, Alt-J, Cancer Bats, Mastodon, At The Drive-In, Every Time I Die, Pure Love, Anti-Flag, Trash Talk… Don’t need to say much else really. Oh other than there will be a whole load of awesome newcomers to watch on the BBC Introducing Stage.
24th – 26th Reading & Leeds

YOUR DEMISE
Having put out a record that divided fans earlier this year, Your Demise are back on the road to promote said album ‘The Golden Age’ on the ‘Golden Monster Tour’. The YD boys always put on a good show and with these being some of their most intimate dates of late its sure as hell going to get sweaty. Support comes from the ever promising Last Witness (Holy Roar Records).
13th Sub89 – Reading, 14th The Mill Arts Centre – Rayleigh, 15th Waterfront – Norwich, 16th Club Revolution, Peterborough

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE

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Album Reviews Buzz Chart Music Preview Reviews

Feed The Rhino

FEED THE RHINO
The Burning Sons
In At The Deep End Records
www.feedtherhino.co.uk


When a band describes themselves as ‘Loud as fuck,’ and is known for insane live shows it’s a pretty clear indication that some serious slaying is about to take place on record. And as Feed The Rhino’s ‘Burning Sons’ roars into action with ‘Flood The System‘, the faint hearted should hide away from the stampede that’s inevitably about to take place.

Instantly the sincere heaviness of the record hits you with the force of a freight train, Lee Tobin’s ferocious vocals lead the way for a crushing assault whilst Chris Kybert’s intense work behind the kit pounds your ears drums. But it’s the grooving guitar work and bass lines that separates ‘Burning Sons’ from the ever growing pile of metal and hardcore cross over bands. Riffs that are tinged Southern Hardcore flair places homegrown Feed The Rhino alongside honorable names such as Every Time I Die and Cancer Bats.

Before the intensity of the album gets a bit much, Feed The Rhino mix things up with a moody, down-tempo number, ‘Razor‘. The track could easily fall into place on a Mastodon or Baroness record. This is where Feed The Rhino really shine. When experimenting with a more dynamic format, such as on ‘Tides’, listeners are treated to a truly thorough performance.

Slightly more variety and perfected production would have seen ‘Burning Sons’ go down as a masterpiece, unfortunately this time around Feed The Rhino have just fallen short of a classic. However the band have still delivered a valiant effort that will surely take their live show to the next level with such powerful new guns being added to their already heavy arsenal.

WORDS: EMMA WALLACE