Pariso Release New Song + Album Info

Pariso have released a song off their upcoming record Nothing Beyond Everything After. The new track is entitled The Huntsman and sees the band carry on in their uncompromising style of crushing guitars and scathing vocals.

Coming in at over 2 minutes The Huntsman is longer than the whole of the split with Kerouac that the band put out recently.

Nothing Beyond Everything After will contain 12 tracks coming in at approximately 30 minutes of music which would suggest that the band are to expand on their crushing sound and elongate some of the intensity. Tangled Talk have put up a collection of pre-order packages which include a t-shirt and 12″ bundle, all can be found on their website

I for one can’t wait to hear this record as everything Pariso have put out so far has been massively impressive. Now just to watch this space to see what happens next.

Check out The Huntsman here:

Purgatory Records Interview Teaser

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of going down to Newport, South Wales to interview Darke and Ajay of Purgatory Records. We sat around and chatted continuously for hours about all aspects of hardcore and I was fortunate enough to capture most of it on Video and when that ran out, on my dictaphone. Over the next few weeks I will be editing this footage to publish on here for your viewing pleasure. These guys care passionately about the current UK scene and work so hard to put out the awesome bands that are carrying the flag for Purgatory at the moment. If you aren’t aware of the label already, check them out.

In the meantime, I thought I’d put up a small snippet of the interview for your viewing pleasure. We came around to the topic of straight edge and which band was THE Edge band to be a fan of. See if you agree with the boys answer…

L.P Review: Frustration – Dying Breed

Its been a while coming but the new Frustration record is finally out on Purgatory Records.

Dying Breed is the new L.P from Dublin Hardcore group Frustration and it will definitely open a lot of ears and eyes to this band and in turn give a lot of attention to the Dublin scene.

From the off Dying Breed marks its territory as a record of unrelenting hardness. Opening song Heart Of Darkness features a didgeridoo and tribal drums that build the intensity up right from the off. The guitars grind out a riff designed to set pits off left right and centre and the tribal drums bring it all back down until second song Last Will And Testament comes crashing into your ears.

Frustration describe themselves on their Facebook as a ‘heavy hardcore’ band and this description is absolutely spot on. The heaviness on the album is coupled with changes in pace which vary from a fast thrash feel to a slow sludgey pace that really adds to the impact of the music. Some of the heaviest slowest parts of this record make you think a lot of bands like Crowbar when they break things down.

One of the standout songs on the record comes halfway through with Sixth Circle. guaranteed to make it into Songs Of The Year lists. Sixth Circle is one of the quicker paced songs on Dying Breed and it also packs one of the hardest moshes of the year as well. The last 45 seconds of this track were written purely for people to lose their minds to in the pit. Sections of the record like this will appeal massively to fans of Bitter End and Backtrack.

As I have already said, what is so good about this record is the variation that Frustration put into the music. While a lot of bands will plod along at the same pace for an entire record, which ultimately causes you to lose interest as each song merges into the next, the changes in pace and sound keeps Dying Breed completely enthralling for the whole listen. The melodic guitar outro to Brother Against Brother contrasts brilliantly to the slow, doomy aggression of Mountains Between Us that comes before. Frustration have made an intelligent decision to mix it up like this as it pays off massively.

Dying Breed comes to a wonderful climax on the final track Peace And Safety Of A New Dark Age, the absolute standout moment on the album. Weighing in at 7 minutes 22 seconds every second is made to count to the absolute maximum. For a song that could fit two or three into the same amount of time it is once again the brilliant musicianship that keeps it fresh throughout the duration. Featuring a guest vocal from Ajay of Brutality Will Prevail who blasts out his lines of  “I’m breaking these chains, that pull me. All I want to see, is clear skies above me” like a man actually held down by chains. The one final mosh part at the end goes as hard as the rest of the record. “Fuck your goodbyes, set yourself apart from the lies” Ajay hollers over a slow drum and bass beat. There aren’t many closing tracks as good as Peace And Safety… and it just makes sure that the outstanding quality of Dying Breed is maintained until the very last moment.

I can’t speak highly enough of this record, already one of the albums for me and I’m sure that many other people will share that opinion. Get onto Purgatory Records (www.purgatoryrecords.bigcartel.com) and pick up a copy of the album. I guarantee you will not be in any way disappointed.

E.P Review: Broken Teeth – Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked

Broken Teeth are back with Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked, an E.P that is harder than before, darker than before and undeniably more pissed off than before.

Compared to previous material, everything about Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked seems to have been turned up a notch. The slow drum and guitar intro to title track Life Worry soon make way for a fast paced riff backed by the angry bark of vocalist Dale Graham who sounds more enraged than ever.

The pace continues into The Evil Eyes where the instrumental side of this E.P shine through hard, the guitars are razor sharp, throwing riffs out for the entirety, the drumming is hard especially the double kick that pounds away just before the whole song breaks down. The mosh part in this song is perhaps the best thing Broken Teeth have put out so far, if there aren’t obscene amounts of pitting going down when this is dropped live there is something seriously wrong.

Final track Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked is the best thing Broken Teeth have put out so far. No questions asked. The guest vocals from Tom Curry just add to the track and the playoff between his vocals and that of Dales work really well. Half way through the final track when everything crunches down there is no option but to mosh. The lyric “You stop, stand and stare at the gates of Hell” is spat out righteously before the band reign it all in, guitars trading riffs to set up one final assault.

All fans of UKHC should be checking this E.P out. Although it only weighs in at three tracks long, there is more than enough in it to keep you listening over and over again. Anyone aware of Broken Teeth will know how the band work and will be blown away by this, anyone new to the band, get involved and get to a gig.

Hopefully this is just a taste of what is to come from the band leading the charge within Manchester Hardcore.

You can catch Broken Teeth out on the Backtrack tour which hits the UK on the 20th of April in Cardiff.

Pick up the record at www.purgatoryrecords.bigcartel.com and support your scene.

Check out the track Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked on Soundcloud as well.

Purgatory Records On Top

If you don’t know of Purgatory Records by now then quite frankly you haven’t been paying any attention to the current UKHC scene. Hailing from South Wales and boasting bands such as Brutality Will Prevail, By My Hands, Broken Teeth, Frustration and More Than Life to name a few, Purgatory have been leading the game for a while now.

Yesterday the most recent crop of Purgatory releases dropped on the website – (www.purgatoryrecords.bigcartel.com) – they were the new Broken Teeth and Frustration E.Ps. Frustration have been holding the Dublin Hardcore Scene down for a while now and this new release is a massive step up in song writing and the track they’ve released so far is a 7 minute epic featuring guest vocals from Ajay of BWP.

The other track that dropped is the new song by Manchester Hardcore stalwarts, Broken Teeth. As usual they have put out a song that takes a 90s hardcore vibe and updates it to bring a modern mosh. If the rest of the E.P goes as hard as this it will be one to match The Seeker.

When I get my hands on these releases I will be getting reviews of both up on here so keep your eyes peeled.

LP Review: Every Time I Die – Ex-Lives

As promised before, I would post a review of the new Every Time I Die album; Ex-Lives. As it comes out tomorrow I thought it appropriate to put up my thoughts now to give you readers a little taste of what is in store.

Since the video for lead single ‘Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space’ came out, the hype around the new Every Time I Die album has been huge. Now ‘Ex Lives’ is with us, and every single ounce of that hype has been completely justified. Around 14 years into their career, ETID just seem to get better and better.

 

They’ve mastered filthy southern rock on the Big Dirty, catchy yet heavy hardcore with‘Gutter Phenomenon’, sheer pace and heaviness on ‘Hot Damn!’ and gigantic hulking riffs with ‘New Junk Aesthetic’. All of these albums are brilliant in their own right and wonderfully, ‘Ex Lives’ takes the best of all of them, puts them into a mixing pot and creates one hell of a strong listen. ETID certainly haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel, they’ve just soaked it in whiskey and added a hell of a lot of riffs…

You can read the rest of my review on Deadpress by following this link: http://www.deadpress.co.uk/11249/album-every-time-i-die-ex-lives/

Let me know if you agree with what I’ve written. Ideally I would have liked to listen to it about twenty more times before writing the review, but you know, deadlines must be met.

Every Time I Die album preview

With the new Every Time I Die album dropping in just over two weeks time on the 5th of March I thought it was appropriate to write something about one of my favourite bands.

Ex-Lives will be the sixth ETiD album and apart from Last Night In Town and I have loved every single album they have put out. What makes Ex-Lives so hotly anticipated in my opinion is the diversity in the two tracks that they have released so far.

First of all they dropped Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space which asides from having a brilliant name was ludicrously heavy and packed full of riffs highly reminiscent of older tracks such as Floater.

After hearing this song for the first time I was convinced that Ex-Lives would be the heaviest and most intense thing ETiD have put out to date, but this opinion was swiftly changed when Keith Buckley tweeted a link to their new video for the next single; Revival Mode.

First of all, massive credit must be given to Keith Buckley for his vocal performance here. When he recorded with The Damned Things he showed just how vast his vocal performances can be, but on this track he produces a vocal that is so smooth and full of confident swagger that you almost forget this is Every Time I Die. Lyrically this song is one of the highlights of Buckley’s career. He has always been a fantastic lyricist, helped no doubt by his past job of teaching English in an American High School. One of the standout lyrics in this track is “Theres only room on this rescue boat for butchers and beggars and men with hope” which is a wonderful line just dropped into the song.

The complete contrast between the two tracks makes me really question what Ex-Lives is going to sound like. A culmination of New Junk Aesthetic, Hot Damn and The Big Dirty would be the easiest guess at the overall sound scape, but with a band as talented as Every Time I Die the options are always open for a big surprise. The heaviness of the past will be present according to guitarist Andy Williams. When I spoke with him before the Stoke leg of the Rock Sound Riot tour he explained how the album had regressed to the pace that Hot Damn! carried. He said that this had a lot to do with changing drummer to Ryan ‘Legs’ Leger and that there were some riffs that wouldn’t sound out-of-place on older albums.

When the album is released I will be writing a review of it for the blog so keep your eyes peeled to see my verdict on it then.

In the mean time you can check out my interview with Andy Williams that I recorded at the Sugarmill. The audio quality isn’t the greatest, but he had a lot of really interesting things to say so it’s definitely worth a listen.

E.P Review: Failure To Follow – Wasting Away

One of the bands leading the charge within the Bristol City Hardcore scene is Failure To Follow.

Alongside BatsAboutBats this group are really showing how BCHC has emerged and progressed over the last year or two. Their most recent E.P Wasting Away is a six-track slice of what this scene is all about.

Mixing aggressive vocals with a metalcore (metallic hardcore, not the rubbish kind) instrumentation Wasting Away comes bursting out of the speakers and doesn’t let up from start to finish.

Opening instrumental BCHC is a ‘call to arms’ of sorts and starts the E.P off nicely, easing you into the listening before bursting forwards and straight into The Burn. The riff that kicks in at 2.20 is guaranteed to make you nod your head and if you hear it live, to get a two-step going. The pace of the E.P doesn’t let up and there certainly isn’t any dip in quality from first to last track.

I want to give a massive shout out to the boys in Failure To Follow for having one of the best produced E.Ps I have heard in a long while. Production can make or break a listening experience and it must be noted that everything on this release sounds brilliant. Guitars are raw but still maintain a crisp sound that ensures you hear every riff perfectly, Tom Williams does a brilliant job on vocals, his vocals are heavy and in your face, but the meaning of his lyrics come across as refreshingly you can actually understand them. Ollie Coghill also deserves huge plaudits for his drumming efforts on this, the drum sound is nothing short of tribal brutality and it really drives the songs forwards.

Failure To Follow have played with some impressively big bands already, they can boast Trash Talk, Off! and The Carrier as bands that they have shared the stage with in the past and they are due to support The Bled on the Bristol date of their farewell tour. All massively deserved for this band.

If you are a fan of fast, heavy, punk/hardcore then you should definitely check out Wasting Away. The band have released it as a free or payable download on their bandcamp and I heartily recommend picking up a copy and if you feel like it, dropping the boys a few quid for it. http://failuretofollow.bandcamp.com/album/wasting-away GET INVOLVED.

Check out the boys video for No Vision:

Why 2012 is going to be an awesome year for music.

Lets be honest, 2011 was a pretty good year for music, especially if like me you are a fan of the heavier end of the spectrum.

There was new stuff by Trapped Under Ice, Basement, Brutality Will Prevail and a whole host of other bands. 2011 will take a lot of beating, but from what I’ve been seeing about 2012, it might just happen.

From a personal point of view the band that I am most excited about for 2012 is Every Time I Die. Their 2009 album New Junk Aesthetic still gets played on regular occasions such is the strength and longevity of the songs on it. It’s been a long time since they released anything so when new single Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space was dropped, heads were blown clean off. Combining the heavy riffs from NJA with the pace and fury of earlier albums like Hot Damn, UBFOS promises to be the start of the best material the band have ever written. As a huge fan I can’t describe just how excited I am by this, check it out.

Secondly, the new Hang The Bastard song. Woah. For a band who pride themselves on writing hard as nails songs with enough riffs to shake a Sabbath tainted stick at, they have really gone for it. Interplanetary Portals is 4 minutes 37 seconds of metal infused UK Hardcore done to an absolute tee. If the rest of the impending E.P lives upto the standard of this track, 2012 will belong solely to Hang The Bastard in the UK heavy music scene. Watch this video, throw the horns, break out a claw and bang your fucking heads.

The announcement that Refused have reformed for a run of shows made me a little bit more excited than was healthy if I am being honest. As of yet there are no UK shows announced, with Belgium being the closest they will be playing to me as it stands right now… However I am fairly certain that they will be announced on at least one of the major UK festivals, be it Sonisphere or (I hope) headlining the Lock Up Tent at Reading and Leeds. Wherever they play in the UK I will be breaking my back to try and get there. At first I was rather sceptical about their reformation and I definitely jumped on the “shitting on their own legacy” bandwagon. But as I stood back to have a look at it objectively I realised that this is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to see some of the finest punk rock songs that have ever been written. If you’re reading this and a bit unsure about Refused, stop reading, get a copy of The Shape Of Punk To Come and treat your ears to some of the finest music to have ever been written. Wherever they play, I shall go.

A band that I am really excited to hear new stuff from in 2012 is The River Card. I’m at University in Stoke-On-Trent and I’m proud to say that The River Card are one of the bands that represents this city musically in the UKHC scene. Besides being a really good group of guys who play honest music for the sole reason of loving hardcore, they are really fucking good at what they do. They have music up on their bandcamp page http://therivercard.bandcamp.com/ and I highly recommend checking these guys out.

 

Hevy Fest 2012 is already shaping up to be a good one. WIth bands such as Trapped Under Ice, Converge and Last Witness already announced I will be heading to Kent for that one. Last years Hevy fest had certain significance for me as I was able to interview a lot of bands who I have a lot of love for. These interviews are on Deadpress who I write for, but you can check them out in previous posts on here as well.

So these are just some of my predictions for 2012. What do you think is going to go off this year musically? Comment me and throw any demos, suggestions or criticisms my way.

Anarchy and freedom.x

 

Albums of the year 2011

As 2011 is nearly at an end I felt that it was the right time for a bit of nostalgic reflection on the last 12 months of music. 2011 has been a great year for all things music, trying to capture my highlights would take far too much time and would make for very indulgent writing so I will spare you all of that… for now.

As I did last year I am going to try and make a list of my personal top 10 albums of the year. In all honesty restricting myself to 10 is difficult as there are so many EPs and LPs I want to write about, but I’m going to try and keep it to 10… here we go! I was originally going to write this in a 10-1 format but after hours trying to make up my mind I abandoned that tired format and just went for 10 releases that I think killed it this year. Enjoy.

Tyler, The Creator – Goblin

Despite all of the hype surrounding this album I think that it delivered and lived up to all expectations. Yes, there are some weak tracks on Goblin, Bitch Suck Dick is just unneccessary and probably could have been dropped, but when Tyler gets into the darkness of this album it is a complex and intriguing listen. Yonkers, Sandwitches and Tron Cat are a tour de force of dark rap music, with some disturbing and powerful rapping being demonstrated. The highlight of the album I think is the twisted story of obsession and lust that is She. Tyler shows he is a cut above the rest of the OFWGKTA collective on this track and when you get into the lyrics it makes for a clever listen.

Standout Tracks: Sandwitches, Yonkers, She.

Trapped Under Ice – Big Kiss Goodnight

Notoriety has surrounded TUI since the infamous ‘Justice broke a fans jaw’ incident and it appears that the band have decided to draw on this to fuel Big Kiss Goodnight.

This is an album packed full of venom and ferocity that hits so hard from start to finish. Born To Die may well be the best opening track of any album this year and the album continues in the same vein for another 12 tracks. In terms of production it is one of the most powerful albums in 2011, in some places the guitars are extremely reminiscent of the tone Metallica used on the legendary Black Album. All in all one of, if not the best hardcore releases of the year.

Standout tracks: Pleased To Meet You, Outcast, True Love

Basement – I Wish I Could Stay Here

In all honesty it is only in the last two months that this album has really grabbed my attention, but since then I’ve listened to it nearly every day. This album start to finish is packed with strong, passionate music. I’m a massive fan of Andrew Fishers voice, it’s not the most perfect but it gets across the raw emotion of the songs perfectly. This album is jam-packed with massive hooks and the chorus to Crickets Throw Their Voice has to be the catchiest thing all year, my house mates and I were singing it for weeks after I got hooked on the album. Massive things should be on the horizon for this band next year, UK music showing mad strength!

Standout tracks: Crickets Throw Their Voice, Earl Grey

Brutality Will Prevail – Sleep Paralysis

Three tracks of raw, unbridled darkness. Despite only clocking in at 17 minutes long, Brutality Will Prevail took the benchmark for UKHC that they had set with Root Of All Evil and raised it a few more notches. The guitar work throughout the three tracks is sublime, riff after riff wash over you like a dark wave, be it the tumbling clean picking at the start of Cursed or the aural bomb that goes off in the middle of Heavy Eyes this is a masterclass in guitar playing. Anyone who has witness BWP play live this year will bear testament to this band being at the top of the game right now. No-one can compete with this band when it comes to making dark, moody and heavy as hell hardcore. If 2012 doesn’t completely belong to them it will be a shock.

Standout tracks: Cursed, Heavy Eyes

Trash Talk – Awake

Despite only being 5 tracks and only coming to 8 minutes you get everything you need from this brilliant EP. Trash Talk have shown definite progression with Awake, granted the songs still pack a punch equivalent to a broken bottle, but the anger is more refined and presented more efficiently. Purists will bemoan the lack of short blasts like Worthless Nights and Destroy, but when the middle riff in Blind Evolution kicks in it is clear to hear this is Trash Talk firing on all cylinders. Hopefully they will take this new found extended song writing into a full length, and god help us all if they can put the same amount of energy in 10 or so tracks.

Standout Tracks – Blind Evolution, Awake.

Touche Amore – Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me

Touche Amore have been the name on everyone’s lips this year and have risen majestically from the hardcore underground. For anyone who was aware of them on last years incredible “… To The Beat Of A Dead Horse” this wasn’t a surprise. PTSBBAM is a musical step forward, the guitars are much brighter and vibrant without losing any of the raw feeling they had before, the drums are mightily impressive, blast beats anyone? But the stand out on this album is the lyrical and vocal ability of frontman Jeremy Bolm. As well as being one of the nicest people I had the fortune to interview this year he displays an incredible mind for writing enigmatic and relatable lyrics. Obviously influenced by the bands incessant touring there is a lot of mention of travel and solitude. “Late nights and all night drives are the reasons why I’m alive” has to be one of the best lyrics this year, it completely demonstrates what this band are all about. They also get mention for putting on one of the sets of the year at Hevy Fest this year. Superb band.

Standout Tracks – Pathfinder, Tilde, Amends.

Defeater – Empty Days, Sleepless Nights

Another album that took me a while to get into, but once I got into it and delved into the lyrics I was completely sold. Defeater are hands down one of the most passionate bands out there at the moment. Having seen them blow everyone away at Hevy Fest I had the pleasure of seeing them in the intimate Sugarmill in Stoke-On-Trent and they were equally as brilliant.

While people will listen to the acoustic songs and assume a City And Colour style streak runs through this band, it is on the hardcore songs that they come into their own. The story telling of Empty Days is gripping from Warm Blood Rush to the sudden stop half way through White Oak Doors. The passion behind the lyrics on songs like Dear Father “can you feel the soil, covering your coffin…” are touching and haunting in equal measure. In a year where heavy, tough guy hardcore has made a big impact, it is testimony to Defeater that intelligent and at times fragile music like this is still being done so well.

Standout Tracks – Dear Father, Cemetery Walls, Brothers.

BatsAboutBats – Unholy Jazz

As well as being in my Top Ten this year, BatsAboutBats would also be in my list of “bands to look out for in 2012” should I care to make one. Hailing from Bristol, Bats have put out one of the best EPs this year. Thats no mean feat considering I’m putting them alongside the likes of Trash Talk. This EP showcases everything that is good about the growing scene in the South West, a lot of angst and anger but also incredible musicianship from the very first to the very last note. There is a musical depth to every song that a lot of bands just display, be it the frantic Tropical Priest or the doom influenced Death, every song displays rich music textures with guitars, bass and drums doing their all to compete with the anguished howl of frontman Paul Collier. Having already played alongside bands such as OFF! and having been mentioned in Kerrang, 2012 looks like it could be a huge year for this band.

Standout Tracks – Death, Impaler/Mellancollier

Pariso/Kerouac – 5” Split

This E.P wins the award for most ingenious bit of packaging as well as for being incredibly good listening. The pop out CD and 5” record are things of absolute beauty, worth the money alone. Once you get past the aesthetic niceties it’s all about 8 minutes of absolutely unrelenting fury. The Kerouac side is slightly less heavy, and more discordant than the suffocating crush of the Pariso side, but both are balls to the wall heavy in their own right. Songs such as Blastbeast and Brutacus leave absolutely no room for breathing such is the power behind the riffing and drumming that Pariso produce. “You stand for all that I hate, fucking die you piece of shit” should probably win some sort of award for being one of the most Negi lines in 2011 as well, and being a massive Pariso fan, I wouldn’t have this EP any other way. Crush the fuck up or get the fuck out.

Standout Tracks – Brutacus, Stillness And Cold, The Recluse

Mastodon – The Hunter

Following on from the incredible Crack The Skye, Mastodon must have felt the pressure to create an album as equally brilliant, and while I don’t think The Hunter is that album, it is still a mightily impressive effort.

Opening up with some of the best riffs this year in Black Tongue and Curl Of The Burl, Mastodon couple the more melodic instrumentation that they discovered on Crack The Skye with the harder more aggressive playing style that was seen on albums like Leviathan. One of the biggest influences on The Hunter is the love for Thin Lizzy that both Brent Hinds and Billl Kelliher have and this is so apparent in their guitar playing with dual lead parts thrown around everywhere for good measure. Brann Dailor puts in a superb shift on drums as well as providing more vocals, singing solely for the first time as well. The Hunter definitely isn’t an album that can just be dropped in and out of, it needs dedication to sit down and appreciate, but once you do, it is completely worth it.

Standout Tracks – Curl Of The Burl, Black Tongue, All The Heavy Lifting

So there it is, my top 10 albums and EPs of the year in no particular order! Undoubtedly I will think of ones that I’ve missed off or would have instead in the coming weeks! Feel free to leave me comments telling me what you think, suggesting albums or letting me know what you would have chosen instead! If any of those take your fancy, I have hyperlinked videos to certain songs, so get involved and check them out.

2011 has been an incredible year for music so fingers crossed 2012 will be even better!

- Peace and love, anarchy and freedom. X