With summer fading fast its time to cwtch u to your stereo or however you currently listen to your music and check out the RPM Spotify Playlist to hear who are the movers and shakers at RPM Towers. From the albums, we’ve reviewed and are reviewing and the shows we’re attending to the interviews we have coming up. Here is a playlist to accompany your reading.
This month we feature the following bands who have new albums or are playing live shows.
Hollywood Brats, Andy McCoy, The Bar Stool Preachers, Cock Sparrer, Jim Jones and the Righteous Minds, Duff McKagan, Jesse Malin, Queen Zee, Subhumans, Black Star Riders, Strung Out, Dead Shed Jokers, Pardon Us, Paradise Alley, Dead Furies, The Chuck Norris Experiment, TSAR, New Model Army, Ginger Wildheart
the people who bring you Camden Rocks have been busy setting up a host of club nights in The English Capital at Camdens Monarch through September and beyond. Bringing the best of the bands who recently blew crowds away at the Camden Rocks Festival this past summer .
September 7th at The Monarch
The Dirty Strangers + Angerland + 10 Gauge + Black Lightning + White Raven Down
Distill – verb – to extract the essential meaning of or most important aspects of
On their eight studio “album” Gothenburg Hard Rock Motherfuckers, The Chuck Norris Experiment have managed to do just that. Distill everything they’ve done to date into ten blistering rock work-outs in the space of twelve minutes. With a statistic that would make you think you’ve stumbled across a long-lost Ramones release or a new Grindcore masterpiece, you really have got to hear Shortcuts to appreciate just what a Hard Rock masterstroke CNE have pulled.
As the sampled intro to “Back It Up” warns you to “fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” you can only sit back and let it all wash over you and wonder what the fuck has hit you as the last strains of “Begging For More” leave you doing just that.
Whether it’s the low slung swagger of “One Hand On The Hip”, the gnawing melody of the aforementioned “Begging For More” or the chest-beating singalong that is “Whatever You Say I Am” it’s like all the best bits of their debut album, Right Between The Eyes and Dead Central have had all the fat stripped off them (and lets be honest they were pretty fucking lean already) and been given a huge dose of steroids and a ton of adrenalin. And you’d think an album with the longest track of 1:27 might be lacking in melody and intricacy, yeah? Well, think again, because Chuck The Ripper’s leads are all over the likes of “All Your Bridges Are Burning” and “Little Demon II”. With the rest of the band on peak form and with production as crisp and punchy as you’d expect this is the best twelve minutes you’ll subject your ears to this year.
With a release as a 7 inch record (which as I write this has already sold out on pre-order), cassette and a CD in can (as well as the usual digital sources) you’ll hopefully have heeded the social media adverts and snapped up a physical copy already, but regardless, you need a copy of this in any form. It’s a little piece of hard rock genius.
FEATURING 6 UNRELEASED BONUS TRACKS, INCLUDING 2019 VERSION OF ‘WAIT FOR YOU’
REMASTERED AUDIO
REVISED & EXPANDED ARTWORK as the band head out on tour to support Black Star Riders.
Stone Broken officially re-issue ‘All In Time’, the debut album that started it all back in 2016.
Previously only available as a low-key digital release and limited CD merch item, ‘All In Time’ will now finally be available with revised artwork and lovingly remastered audio, along with expanded liner notes and premium physical packaging, including song lyrics and band reflections.
Additionally, fans will receive 6 never-before-released bonus tracks, including a stunning 2019 recording of fan anthem ‘Wait For You’, featuring strings by The Bristol Ensemble. SB chose to re-visit ‘Wait For You’ tospotlight its significance to their ever-growing fan-base, The Broken Army, who have effectively taken ownership of both the sentiment and the song, using it to celebrate key moments of happiness and as a source of hope in more reflective times.
All In Time2019 will be released by Spinefarm onCD / DL / LP, with the vinyl version carrying a download card so all of the bonus content can be included.
Stone Broken frontman, Rich Moss, says: –
“‘All In Time’ wasn’t just a stepping stone for us, it wasn’t just our debut record… it literally changed our lives! When we were writing the album, I don’t think any of us realised just how important it was going to be. We released it independently, and within the first couple of hours, the CD stocks had all sold out! We managed to tour right across the UK and Europe and gain some incredible fans and friends along the way! We feel now is the right moment to put ‘All In Time’ back into production and to let people have a piece of our history”
Having just completed a highly successful run of European shows with Black Stone Cherry, Stone Broken – completed by Chris Davis (lead guitars), Kieron Conroy (bass) & Robyn Haycock (drums) – will play a 14-date tour of the UK & Ireland this October as Special Guests to Black Star Riders. Wayward Sons are also on the bill.
I’ve been a huge fan of Ricky Warwick for a long time and have enjoyed whatever music he has put out whether it’s the loud punk-metal of The Almighty or his storytelling solo albums and what we now come to know the great rock’n’roll of the Black Star Riders.
On the first trio of the Black Star riders albums, the songs have been largely co-written by Ricky and guitarists Damon Johnson and the legend that is guitar slinger Scott Gorham.
So it was a surprise when it was let known that Damon Johnson was moving on to pastures new and that the vacant guitar player slot was being filled by Christian Matrucci who is guitarist of Stone Sour and also to my delight I have discovered he has had various bands of his own over the years which I have found too have released top draw music but the question is would he gell with Black Star Riders.
Fear, not Christian has not only fitted in but the music is all the better for it.
Starting off this new album titled “Another State Of Grace” we have the track “Tonight The Moonlight Let Me Down” and immediately the ears are treated to a great guitar riff and Ricky’s trademark gruff vocal. Scott and Christian’s guitar mesh together beautifully to create a great rock’n’roll sound and we even have some saxophone added into the mix which fits in perfectly.
On track two we get the song “Another State Of Grace” which was the first song to be released as a single and this song has a big Celtic sound to it with a backing chant of “hey” being shouted which really makes the track stand out.
Up next we have “Ain’t The End Of The World” which is the second single to be released and this track has what I would call the classic Thin Lizzy sound with Scott Gorham’s trademark guitar all over it yet has a freshness that while takes you back to the glory days of Thin Lizzy it also shows how the Black star riders are very much their own band with their own identity.
“Underneath The Afterglow” starts off with a great classic rock guitar riff with a great vocal by Ricky and what strikes me is how Christian’s backing vocals go together so well with Ricky’s that you would think they have been in a band together for years.
“Soldier In The Ghetto” is up next and this track adds a funky intro before relaxing back into a great Black Star riders chorus and shows a band that’s not afraid to mix things up a bit but when they do they do it well.
“Why Do You Love Your Guns” slows the pace down a bit with a beautifully crafted acoustic guitar intro before a crunchy electric guitar riff is introduced to build the song up and a great passionate vocal by Ricky makes this track another winner.
Next up we have “Standing In The Line Of Fire” and this track picks the pace back up with some pounding drums and driving bass and a shredding guitar solo that makes this a great rock song.
“What Will It Take?” is another track which features acoustic guitar mixed with electric to add to a song with great harmonies. Also, we have some great female backing vocals which yet again add another dimension to the Black star riders sound.
“In The Shadow Of The War Machine” is a awesome rocker of a track with some real biting guitar and lyrics that describe the troubled times we are living in yet even though this is a serious song it still has the great harmonies and an uplifting chorus that I hope to hear live on the upcoming tour.
Finishing off the album is the track “Poisoned Heart” and this is how an album should be finished off and that is with style with Ricky’s soaring vocals backed with great backing vocals from Christian and great all-round work from the rest of the band making sure this album goes out with a bang.
Overall words are hard to describe how great this album is because every song on here is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser with no weak tracks or filler to be heard anywhere.
This is a great album that on repeated listens is an album that will keep on giving and in this reviewer’s opinion is Black Star Riders finest work to date.
In 1977 Blondie signed their contract with Chrysalis Records which went on to release ‘Plastic Letters’, ‘Parallel Lines’ in ’78, ‘Eat To The Beat’ in ’79, ‘AutoAmerica’ in 1980 then finally ‘The Hunter’ in ’82. An incredibly successful period for the band during an incredibly competitive time for music where the band single handidly embraced different genres like pop, punk and rap music and did it with style.
Gaining number one hits whilst on Chrysalis helped a whole raft of new wave and post punk bands get signed in their wake as major labels fell over themselves to sign the punk bands of the day.
Two years later an unknown Irish band released their first EP. ‘U2-3’ Like em or loath them U2 went on to become the biggest band in the world if you have one of those original pressings of which there were 1,000 made you should have it in a vault.
In ’83 Mick Jones was fired by The other three members of The Clash who claimed he’d drifted from what the band was all about from the start he went on to form B-A-D.
The Clash came to a rather sad ending in May 1983. The group had every reason to be on the top of the world by this point: their previous LP, Combat Rock, was an enormous hit and their singles “Rock the Casbah” and “Should I Stay or Should I Go” were all over radio and MTV. But drummer Topper Headon was kicked out of the group for drug abuse in 1982, and Mick Jones and Joe Strummer were barely speaking.
They took a six-month break after the ‘Combat Rock’ tour ended in November 1982. A $500,000 offer from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to headline New Wave Day of the US Festival proved impossible to turn down. Some warm-up shows for the huge festival were booked, the group went on a four-date tour of Texas and Arizona. Tory Crimes (who rejoined the band in 1982 after Headon got the boot) was once again out of the group by this point, so they took out an ad in Melody Maker and recruited 23-year-old Pete Howard.
The band eventually went on stage at US festival two hours late and played a sloppy, 80-minute set in front of a banner that read “The Clash Not for Sale.” Joe Strummer taunted the audience from the stage and afterward, the band got into a brawl with security. The group still walked away with a half-million dollars; four months later, they announced that Mick Jones was leaving the group. The chaotic US Festival was his final appearance with the band and the final two songs were “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and “Clampdown”.
Joe Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon did release ‘Cut the Crap’ in 1985 and toured as the Clash that year, but that’s like a Rolling Stones tour without Keith Richards. It doesn’t count. The real Clash bowed out at the US Festival other opinions are available.
Finally on this day In 1955 Bruce Foxton, bassist for The Jam was born. Happy Birthday Bruce.
It is with our deepest apologies that we must announce that due to a family emergency, King’s X will be cancelling their upcoming European Tour, including their appearance at the Veruno Prog Rock Festival in Italy.
We are truly heartbroken that we will not be able to see all of our European fans, as we have been clamouring for these dates since we announced them. We would like the fans and all those concerned to know the band is ok, please respect the band’s privacy and please give them some time. We are doing everything in our power to reschedule the tour for 2020. (More news to come).
Tickets will remain valid for the new dates or refunds can be obtained from the point of sale. ]
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” – JL
Sometimes, Just sometimes Hardcore is like heaven sent ear candy and the moment the chaos and brutality hit the ether it just resonates with you. Well, Die A Legend just did that to me. I wasn’t in the mood for some loud, uncompromising hardcore pounding my peace and quiet but it did and I just sat back and marveled at its beauty.
The last time that happened to me was when I stumbled across Fireburn and they kicked the shit out of my ears as well. Funnily enough Bloodclot! did the same. Now I don’t profess to be a hardcore connoisseur but I am very partial to some Pizzatramp and I also read that these guys toured with The Good The Bad And The Zugly so my attention was immediately grabbed because I love those guys.
Die A Legend is known among hardcore connoisseurs as Norway’s best-kept secret. The band started making noise back in 2011, rivaling bands within the infamous scene that was ‘Tromsø Hardcore’ – and released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album in 2012.
In September, the Tromsø-based trio is back with their first release in six years, A hardcore and contemporary commentary on the state of things right here right now. From the opening strains of ‘Liars’ this bass throbbing heaving mass of hardcore riffs is straight down the line hardcore from the slow heaving intro before the vocal yelp in and the pace is raised towards the chorus where the gang vocals join in before falling back to the heaving riff-a-rama.
‘Bloodthurst’ is off like a sprinter being chased over hurdles by a pack of rabid dogs. The band is taking no prisoners at all and just dropping their heads and going for it! Harcore of the finest quality you should check this out if you know what’s good for you. Pizzatramp, Clowns and Die A Legend should tour it would be lethal. Hardcore mana from heaven – get some!
Pisces baby born 1997, Lauren Tate is a singer-songwriter, producer, director and artist from South Yorkshire, England. Growing up the eldest of three, Tate was a secondary school dropout, writing and self producing music from her bedroom from the age of 15. Delving into many musical genres, singing both hard-rock/grunge-punk in her current band Hands Off Gretel, Tate most recently stripped back to a softer, raw Americana sad-pop sound with her first solo album in 5 years, ‘Songs for Sad Girls’.
‘Songs for Sad Girls’ will be released on 20th September on her own label Trash Queen Records (UK), Tate recorded and self-produced 11 of the 14 tracks in her home studio.
“I planned to get my album produced by someone when I could afford it, but there was a certain magic and honesty captured in my recordings that I knew would really move people. My lyrics are honest and brutal with songs about domestic abuse, body image, feminism and fear of dying. I wanted it to sound like a girl writing in her diary, unapologetic and imperfect like real girls are.”
‘What About the Kids’ is the 2nd single from the debut album and is released today, alongside a new music video directed by Lauren. ”The song is from a child’s point of view speaking to her father addressing gun violence in America. I wanted the song to highlight issues around gun control and the importance of children’s future in a world where nobody is listening to them. I wrote this song to sing for those that won’t ever get the chance to do so.”
Lauren not only self-produced and recorded all instruments on her debut album she designed all the album artwork and merchandise too. Described by BBC Introducing presenter Christian Carlisle as a ‘One Woman Record label’.
Recent Comments