Under the Volcano kicks off in style with the chaotic ‘Sublime Architect Of Death’ banging on like a spastic blur of the best of Mark E Smith and his Fall and a bit of Gun Club for good measure. Hey, even a hint of Idles here and there if you’re looking for genres and reference buddies.
Shit, ‘King Of Rock and Roll’ kicks off with a throbbing unravelling bassline decaying with overdrive before the abrasive guitars kick in. Vistic is on fire as he preaches his sermon in front of a wall of vicious guitars colliding with the rhythm section setting off shards of glass-like spears into your ear and burrowing through your head making for uncomfortable sounds but pleasing and addictive drops of raw garage Rock and Roll.
‘Psycho Death Cult’ is like early hypnotic Gallon Drunk mixing it with eldrich or even some extreme garage punk rock Depeche Mode. hunter, gatherer this is primal screaming alright all the way to the chanted chorus. A most excellent start to the record.
‘Its Nature’ is almost tame in comparison – a more gentle Rocker with a pop melody trying to break through as we head towards the chorus which pokes you in the temple demanding your attention and bloody well getting it. Excellent track almost Bowie-like in places. ‘Louts’ is a twisted electronic pop song with distant drums and super fuzzed-up guitar. ‘I Am The Shadow’ is like a long lost classic Pete Murphy – Bauhaus number, it builds to a twisted crescendo with a wah wah static solo – at times it feels claustrophobic and your gulping for air but the music pulls you about like a rag doll and I like it, I like it a lot!
‘Heart In Danger’ builds with a hypnotic drum beat over a raw repetitive guitar rip before a stabbing jarring lyric. This already impressive album just got more epic, more intense, more interesting and believe it or not more enjoyable and we’re only two thirds through.
‘Moronic Inferno’ invokes the likes of Bauhaus meets swell maps and a simple riff meets some twisted stabs and lush piano fills to make a simple yet complicated song but completely enjoyable. To wrap this up we are treated to an acoustic song ‘Sapiens (When We All Are Free)’, building on big Bowie-like chords is the perfect full stop to a really good album and one I’ll invest some time in for a multitude of moods and reasons. Take a bow John E Vistic you’ve done good Man – real good.
Despite being arguably Brazil’s biggest ever music export, when extreme metal legends Sepultura lost their original frontman and founder (alongside brother and drummer Iggor Cavalera) Max Cavalera in 1996 after their hugely influential ‘Roots’ album, many thought the band would not recover from his departure. However, in Cleveland, Ohio punk and hardcore scene veteran Derrick Green, Sepultura found a formidable, towering force that would lead the band with power and conviction through this new era of their career.
‘Sepulnation – The Studio Albums 1998 – 2009’, released through BMG on October 22nd, celebrates the bands seconds phase, and this five-album boxset (across eight slabs of vinyl or five CDs) contains the albums; Against, Nation, Roorback, Dante XXI and A-Lex, all of which are half speed cut, remastered and back on 180g vinyl for the first time in a decade and also as a collector’s CD box.
In addition, the ‘Roorback’ album features the rare ‘Revolusongs’ EP, which is available for the first time digitally and saw the band celebrate their influences with covers of bands as musically broad as Devo, Exodus, U2 and Massive Attack!
You can watch a new video of their version of Public Enemy’s ‘Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos’ from the ‘Revolusongs’ EP, available to stream and download on the pre-order link HERE:
Any fans who feared that this new line-up of Sepultura would see the band taming their intense and heavy approach were not left disappointed when ‘Against’ came out of the traps in 1998. With the powerhouse that is Iggor Cavalera still on drums (he remained for four of the five albums), Andreas Kisser’s grinding guitars and bassist Paula Jr’s heavy bottom end powered behind Derrick Green’s guttural roar and Sepultura sounded heavier and more forceful than ever. This period would see the band continue to push their sound forward and challenge new sounds and styles, but they never lost sight of what was the core of the band. The righteous, rebellious nature remained with the 1998 album ‘Nation’ calling for ‘one nation, Sepulnation,’ – a rallying cry that stayed with the band throughout their long and challenging career.
‘Sepulnation – The Studio Albums 1998-2009’ brings the focus back on a period of the band that may have been missed by early supporters and shows that the fire continued to burn bright throughout.
“It’s an honor and privilege to be a part of Sepultura’s history,” states frontman Derrick Green.
“I’m proud of all the work we have done together and it only makes sense to have this box set format released for the fans to have the complete history of Sepultura. Long live the Sepulnation!”
WATCH A NEW VIDEO FOR THEIR COVER OF PUBLIC ENEMY’S ‘BLACK STEEL IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS’ AND BOXSET PRE-ORDERS HERE:
Despite being arguably Brazil’s biggest ever music export, when extreme metal legends Sepultura lost their original frontman and founder (alongside brother and drummer Iggor Cavalera) Max Cavalera in 1996 after their hugely influential ‘Roots’ album, many thought the band would not recover from his departure. However, in Cleveland, Ohio punk and hardcore scene veteran Derrick Green, Sepultura found a formidable, towering force that would lead the band with power and conviction through this new era of their career.
‘Sepulnation – The Studio Albums 1998 – 2009’, released through BMG on October 22nd, celebrates the bands seconds phase, and this five-album boxset (across eight slabs of vinyl or five CDs) contains the albums; Against, Nation, Roorback, Dante XXI and A-Lex, all of which are half speed cut, remastered and back on 180g vinyl for the first time in a decade and also as a collector’s CD box.
In addition, the ‘Roorback’ album features the rare ‘Revolusongs’ EP, which is available for the first time digitally and saw the band celebrate their influences with covers of bands as musically broad as Devo, Exodus, U2 and Massive Attack!
Any fans who feared that this new line-up of Sepultura would see the band taming their intense and heavy approach were not left disappointed when ‘Against’ came out of the traps in 1998. With the powerhouse that is Iggor Cavalera still on drums (he remained for four of the five albums), Andreas Kisser’s grinding guitars and bassist Paula Jr’s heavy bottom end powered behind Derrick Green’s guttural roar and Sepultura sounded heavier and more forceful than ever. This period would see the band continue to push their sound forward and challenge new sounds and styles, but they never lost sight of what was the core of the band. The righteous, rebellious nature remained with the 1998 album ‘Nation’ calling for ‘one nation, Sepulnation,’ – a rallying cry that stayed with the band throughout their long and challenging career.
‘Sepulnation – The Studio Albums 1998-2009’ brings the focus back on a period of the band that may have been missed by early supporters and shows that the fire continued to burn bright throughout.
“It’s an honor and privilege to be a part of Sepultura’s history,” states frontman Derrick Green.
“I’m proud of all the work we have done together and it only makes sense to have this box set format released for the fans to have the complete history of Sepultura. Long live the Sepulnation!”
NEW SINGLE ‘I, MORON’ FEATURING IGGY POP RELEASED JULY 9TH VIA EGG RECORDS
NUMBER ONE SELLING NEW ALBUM ‘I AM MORON’ OUT NOW!
The Lovely Eggs do not give up. Ever. The proudly independent Northern psychedelic punk rock duo have now, since the beginning of the pandemic, rescheduled the tour originally intended to promote the release in April 2020 of their ‘I Am Moron’ album, a staggering seven times. And again, with the cancellation of ‘Freedom Day’ this week, The Lovely Eggs have once again had to reschedule the gigs they had set to start in early July and have successfully pushed the dates back by a couple of weeks to meet the new restrictions.
“It’s part of the DIY culture,” explains singer/guitarist Holly Ross. “You just don’t give up. So as soon as we found out that re-opening had been pushed back, we set about heaving all our tour dates back into late July/August. We didn’t want to wait till next year. And within 24 hours we’d re-booked our UK tour for the seventh time! We are all just ready for the party now. Everyone has been looking forward to these shows for over a year and we can’t wait to bring it to em!”
These shows will be a long-awaited celebration of the critical and chart-topping success of ‘I Am Moron’ and also follow on from the band’s forthcoming collaboration with Iggy Pop for the July 9th release of new single ‘I, Moron’ via their own label, Egg Records.
“Being in The Lovely Eggs we’re kind of used to surreal experiences but collaborating with Iggy Pop takes the biscuit,” exclaims Holly. “It’s actually unbelievable. For him just to say nothing but “moron” over and over again fitted in with the sentiment of the song perfectly. He just GOT it. We are all morons. In a world of moronic things. In a world of moronic ideas. You are moron. I am Moron. We are Moron.”
In a further homage to Iggy, the B-side features The Lovely Eggs own take on ‘Dum Dum Boys’ from Iggy’s defining 1977 album ‘The Idiot’.
“For the B side it made real sense to us to cover one of Iggy’s songs off “The Idiot”, says drummer David Blackwell. “There seemed to be a real synchronicity to it. I had this album on cassette, and it was one of the first albums that I got really into. Dum Dum Boys struck a chord with us, kind of missing the old days and the old gang we used to hang out with.”
Once again, the single will feature artwork (featuring a three headed Iggy/Eggy beast) by the brilliant Casey Raymond on one thousand yellow coloured vinyl 7” singles, recorded by The Lovely Eggs in Lancaster and mixed by Dave Fridmann at Tarbox Road Studios, NYC
Catch The Lovely Eggs live at the following dates in 2021/2022
July 2021
Fri 23 Gorilla, Manchester SOLD OUT
Sat 24, The Brudenell, Leeds NEW SHOW!!
Thur 29 02 Academy, Sheffield
Fri 30 The Garage, London SOLD OUT
Sat 31 SWX, Bristol [Venue upgrade. Original tickets still valid]
August 2021
Sun 1, The Bullingdon, Oxford Mon 2, The Joiners Southampton [Venue change. Original tickets still valid] SOLD OUT
Tues 3, Concorde 2, Brighton [Venue upgrade. Original tickets still valid] Wed 4, Metronome, Nottingham
Thur 5, District, Liverpool [Venue change. Original tickets still valid]
The Idolizers – ‘Riot Radio’ (Rum Bar Records) With a burst of energy this new choon released as part of the labels ‘New Believers in Rock n’ Roll’ Rum Bar campaign. The lead track from their album ‘Concretins’ which promises to be a must-have – full of bangers if this is anything to go by. Just what you want to kickstart the recovery and soak up those rays of summer sunshine. Bright energetic and with a strong hook ‘Riot Radio’ leans on Da Brudas for the energy and the riff but there’s more to it than just tipping the hat to the Ramones. It should be on the radio as you drive to the beach but you’ll have to do with buying it instead.
The Hip Priests – ‘No Stranger To Failure/ Sounds A Lot Like War’ (Ghost Highway Records) The purveyors of the beautiful noise are back and as things promise to revert to some sort of normality the universe is reset. A double A side single sees one side belt out ‘No Stranger’ it’s off like the ghost of Lemmy is amped up to eleven and the Gods of thunder give their instruments a right good seeing to. Of course, I love it and can’t wait to hear it live and shake the foundations of whatever venue will welcome them back. I love Von Cruz vocals on this one. Flip it over for ‘Sounds A Lot Like War’ and the ante has just been raised, what a belter.
Every single released sounds like a battle cry and a reason to give a fuck about Rock and Roll again. My faith in noisy punk rock n roll is reaffirmed and it’s another reason to get excited. Get hold of a copy as soon as it’s released or you might regret it. pressed on coloured vinyl it’s the bands 30th single! and the artwork is by none other than Hard-ons very own Ray Ahn. Facebook
The Manges feat. Giuda – ‘Tootsie Rolls’ (Ltd Col 7″) (Damaged Goods Records) Yeah it’s handclapping one finger piano riffing rock and roll. The Manges play Ramones-style punk rock and they are still doing to be fair but it’s not all they do so having played with Giuda and hung out with them this seems like a no-brainer. A glam stomping Hand clapping smiling rock n roll song. Massimo from the Manges had this to say – “One of our favorite songs for our new album is called ‘Tootsie Rolls’, and it kinda stands aside from the rest of the album, being a more pure rock tune. On this one, our producers could totally work on their favorite arrangements and structure, to the point that we ended up having two versions: one, the album song, and two, a remixed version featuring members of Giuda, called ‘Tootsie Rolls – Part II’. What a treat!” He’s not wrong!
Alvin Gibbs & The Disobedient Servants – ‘State Of Grace’ (T & M Recordings) A new single from Alvin and more evidence of his superb songwriting abilities as three brand-new songs on gold and blood-red splatter vinyl is released. In a picture sleeve exclusively designed once again by Gaye Black (The Adverts), a four-page colour lyric insert but is limited to 500 copies only. Joining Alvin once again is Subs drummer Jamie Oliver and Ruts DCs Leigh Heggarty. The title track leans on Gibbs previous employment with Iggy and I could also see this nestled as one of the best track if it were a Cheap & Nasty song. Cool verses and toe-tapping chorus its a top tune.
‘Too Bad She’s In Love’ has got some real grit going on as we steam towards the chorus. Great chorus and one I want to play over and over a real earworm of a song. I love the way Heggertys guitar wraps itself around Gibbs vocal as it heads to the chorus. Closing off this most excellent single is ‘Brother, Sister’ a jarring jabber of a rhythm offering something different to the other two tunes proving once again that there is some fantastic music being created out there – Buy it! Bandcamp
The Culture Industry – ‘141′ (Riot Records) Punk as fuck! Coming over like if Nirvana were from Australia and drank too much beer instead of facing their sneakers. ‘DK Stance’ is another slice of fire that’s more spat out than gently poured into the speakers. Love that bass punch they have going on it really suits the sound. ‘Middle Aged Kids’ now there a phrase I could level at so many people and there’s nothing wrong with that and once this tune gets going the lyrics might be a bit cliched but the music is excellent and its a good tune. Fuck em all indeed. Swearing might not be big or clever but who cares? I’m sure The Culture Industry don’t give a flying fig but they can certainly knock out a decent slice of punk that’s a given. Facebook
SMASHED GLADYS – ‘Go To Hell’ (Golden Robot Records) Born from the embers of the vibrant Toronto punk scene, SMASHED GLADYS formed in 1984 and then headed to New York City. The band was headed by vocalist Sally Cato and was snapped up by Elektra Records, becoming part of the legendary glam/hair metal scene.
Cato sadly passed away in 2020 and in memory of her, Golden Robot Records bring you new material which they were recording as demos for their 3rd album. This the 2nd single, “Go To Hell” will see the light of day on the 31st of May, giving fans further insight into the unreleased material. Following on from the crunchy guitars of that second album this is more of the same and just a great hard rockin tune and Ms. Cato sure did have a great voice that really suited the music perfectly. Find Smashed Gladys – Facebook /Twitter Pre-order/pre-save “Go To Hell”HERE
Roxy Girls – ‘Roxy Girls Are In The Drink’ (Moshi Moshi Records) Like a throwback to a time when singles from alternative bands and post-punk bands could dent the charts the complicated-sounding rhythms of ‘Like A Bouy’ come across as something between an abrasive Smiths and XTC. A chaotic mix that punctures the air behind a melodic vocal with harmonies galore and then it’s done rather abruptly. This Sunderland band know what they want and how to deliver it. ‘Roxy Girls Are In The Drink’ is out 27th August – Pre-order HERE
Charlie Harper & The Sub Machine – ‘Panic’ (Time & Matter Records) Double A-sided, yellow vinyl release, adorned with a picture sleeve designed by Charlie himself, the single also boasts a double-sided colour lyric insert, each copy is individually hand-numbered and the release is limited to 300 copies only so you’ll have to be quick on this one. ‘Panic’ begins with a piano intro but don’t let that fool you as the snare hits it takes off. Features Marlon Payne on Guitar & Piano, Victoria Smith on Bass & Marley Perez on Drums. The tracks ebb and flow is excellent as the heaviness of the verses pounds it does drop with a marching rhythm and Harpers Reverb laden vocal its engaging and intense and rather bloody good. ‘Post War Punks’ is perhaps more Subs like with its solid riff and Harper’s delivery is on point even if it did make me hungry whilst listening to its sandwich order list. Hurry whilst it’s still available – Here
Randy Savages / Razor Kids – ‘Split EP’ (Different Class Records) Randy Savages serve up a stellar pair of tunes opening with ‘Seagulls’ in all its big, loud, triumphant riffing with a tidy hook on the chorus and a melody that makes this something of a power-pop banger to be fair but hold on, their second offering is the sprightly ‘Delinquents & Dropouts’ as it puts on its collective shit kickers and gives this tune a good old rinsing. Excellent tune from a band I want to hear more from.
Flip it over and Razor Kids do their best to duff up those Savages as they pound out their pogo tastic Ramones like ‘Abusive’. These Portuguese punks make a pretty noise as they chew out the rhythm they soften the riff with some sugary sweet backing vocals that work really well. Their second offering of ‘Perfect HArmony’ much like Randy Savage’s pair is the strongest of their two offerings with its understated lofi number its one-note guitar solo is pure Thunders and I love that. It wraps up a very impressive EP from two quality bands I need to hear more of. Get it! Buy Here
Johny Skull Knuckles – ‘Shang-A-Lang’ (self Release) Free music anyone? Hell yeah! get yourself some of this. Skullknuckles doffs his hat to the sad passing of Les McKeown. Johny has always wanted to do a cover version of this track and now seemed like such a fitting time. Johny said “It has actually turned out a lot more poppy than I had envisaged so at some point I may record a “punkier” version but this will more than do for now. I hope you think I have done the song justice”. Absolutely he’s done it justice. Get it Here
The Riot Vans – ‘Scary Faces’ (Disobedient Records) Post-punk noisemakers the Riot Van release their first single after the ink dries on their deal with Disobedient Records and its a cold angular stabbing slice of post-punk with its jerking and grinding verses but that makes way for the blast on the chorus that’s like a loud blast of heat. I’d imagine this would be a great tune to blast out in a packed club with sprung flooring.
Dez Dare – ‘Dum Dum Dum’ (CH!MP RECORDS) Taken from the album ‘Hairline Ego Trip’ out this coming June Dez does Lofi Punk rock with added scuzz and a dash of alternative indieness Native of Victoria Australia Dez has done his years service playing in Warped and has released this frantic buzz saw riff-a-rama under lockdown to add chaos and noise to every avaialble corner. check out the video below.
It conveys his strong distaste for nationalism. “I want to push against entrenched views, closed borders and minds of large groups of the human race. There are a lot of fights happening at present around the world from climate to right-wing hysteria to unfettered capitalism and we need to work together as an animal of the same kind rather than separated by space, colour and tradition.”
Suzi Moon – ‘Call The Shots’ (Pirates Press Records) Who?, if I were to tell you she’s the ball of energy behind Civet & Turbulent Hearts then it might make sense. Pirates Press aren’t dummies and releasing this EP they know their stuff and anyone who’s seen her live knows what a performer she is. Kicking off with ‘Special Place In Hell’ its a real firestarter of an introduction but as good a song as this is this EP gets better and better.
For a debut solo record, this is setting the bar high with a slice of energy and thunderous tempo its got the lot. Great sound, playing and memorable chorus. I love it but ‘I’m Not A Man’ is like she’s channeling the spirit of Texas Terri Bomb and the attitude of Wendy O Williams whilst having the cool of Joan Jett. Honestly, it’s that good possibly the best track I’ve heard for a while at the singles club I love it. It sounds so easy and like Moon is having the best of time with her Rock and Roll and then to cap it off with the attitude soaked rocker of ‘Nuthin’ To Me’ this is excellent stuff and if this is an indication of what’s to come then bring on an album of this stuff we need to hear it!
The Chelsea Curve – ‘All in Time’ (Red On Red Records) a new single every month from this sensational band, culminating in a full-length album this coming fall! The Chelsea Curve bring their love of the sound and style of the 70’s mod scene and smash it up with the guitar leanings of their respective pasts. Linda Pardee (Orbit), Tim Gillis (Frigate), and Ron Belanger (The Winter Project) came together when Linda said no to being in Ron’s new band and instead asked him to be in her new band along with Tim. Accurately described as the sparks that fly when The Jam meets Husker Du, the trio blasts out bracing retro mod pop with hooks aplenty.
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes feat Joe Talbot – ‘My Town’ (Self Release) New single from Carter is barbed wire wrapped in a velvet glove plenty of aggression yet melody and a decent hook on the chorus. With the humming synth throughout it’s an intense number that burrows into your ear and will have you craving it over and over – trust me. Also, a great move getting Talbot on guest vocals as he suits the attitude of the lyrics perfectly – A banging song! Facebook download it here
The Cocktail Slippers – ‘She Devil (Shout IT Out Loud)’ (Wicked Cool Records) Norwegian rockers, The Cocktail Slippers, are releasing a brand new single digitally and on limited edition 7″ vinyl. Both tracks are originals and are a taste of what’s to come. The lead track is a commercial slice of subtle Glam Rock – real glam rock with platform boot firmly planted in the 70s they do elsewhere but here this is their most commercial stab so far. with killer harmonies – a real earworm of a tune and one we highly recommend. The flip sounds like the Go Gos jamming on some Blondie and has a pop smooth sound. Not as good as the other side but hey it’s a grower, not a shower. Pick it up Here
Clowns – ‘Does it Matter?’ (Fat Wreck Chords) “ ‘Does It Matter?’ is about breaking the law, says Clowns vocalist Stevie Williams. the hook-heavy raucous number that demonstrates the prowess of their current lineup. Now completed by drummer and founding member Jake Laderman, vocalist Stevie Williams, bassist/vocalist Hanny J and guitarists Rod Goon and Cam Rust. On first blast, it’s not as raucous as previous offerings and might take some getting used to but it’s Clowns and they get a free pass because of previous recordings and live shows. I’m hoping it’s a bit of an earworm and the more I hear it the better it gets. Just bring the album out already and get touring we need bands like Clowns full of menace and with a whole load of piss and vinegar in their performances be it on record or live.
JIZZY PEARL’S LOVE/HATE – ‘Soul Mama’ (Golden Robot Records) Lifted from his album that we won’t get until 2022. Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate are up and rocking. His vocals have always been capable of melting steel and he’s lost none of that power. ‘Soul Mama’ is a retro trip back to when the metal Gods such as Zepplin roamed the earth with a laid-back beat its groove-laden with a raw and purposeful guitar lick all making way for Pearls commanding vocal.
I guess it was edging ever closer so a decision had to be made sooner rather than later but every cloud has a silver lining and get your diary out and pencil at the ready.
REBELLION FESTIVAL 2021 CANCELLED
NO INSURANCE, NO GUIDELINES, NO GUARANTEES, NO RE-ENTRY = NO FESTIVAL!
FESTIVAL CONFIRMED TO RETURN 2022 AUGUST 4TH – 7TH AT THE WINTER GARDENS, BLACKPOOL
This time last year the organisers of Rebellion, the world’s largest punk festival, were forced to make the heartbreaking decision to cancel the four-day event due to the global pandemic. A year on and the dedicated Rebellion team are absolutely devastated to confirm that yet again, the hugely-anticipated event, due to take place this coming August 6th – 9th with legendary artists such as Circle Jerks, Bad Religion, The Undertones, Tom Robinson and Stiff Little Fingers, at The Winter Gardens in Blackpool, is no longer able to go ahead.
Despite the intention, desire and willingness of Rebellion, the venue, the bands and the local businesses for this year to go ahead, it has become increasingly clear that due to circumstances beyond the festival’s control, it can’t. With no clear guidelines from the government in terms of insurance, guarantees, policies on re-entry, testing and potential vaccine passports, the festival simply can’t go ahead.
Rebellion has been open and transparent throughout this pandemic and were hopeful (but cautious) about this year but required a few essential things to be confirmed for the event to go head. The feeling is that music festivals are being ‘timed out’. No one is saying they CAN’T go ahead, but nothing is in place yet that means they CAN either. That is why the last few weeks have seen many independent festivals take the tough decision to cancel.
All of this, combined with the ongoing global travel restrictions means that Rebellion would not be able to put on the event that they desire, and their audience expects. The Rebellion family is global. Around a third of the people that attend are from overseas and with no touring bands (many agents and bands from overseas have pulled their European tours and rescheduled them for 2022), it would simply not be the festival that Rebellion wanted to stage.
But there is some good news. Rebellion 2021 has been moved to 2022. Both 2020 and 2021 tickets will roll over to 2022. For those of you wanting a refund, visit the website where full details are published. All day tickets will be refunded automatically.
REBELLION 2022 is 4th – 7th August. So put that in your diary! Some surprise headliners have already been confirmed, plus many reconfirmed that were due to play this year. And don’t get rid of your hotel or B&B bookings for this year just yet as there is still hope that some kind of scaled back event this year is possible. Watch this space.
Tickets for 2022 will go on sale on Monday August 9th.
The RETURN OF REBELLION 2022 is going to be massive! The exciting news is the council have agreed for the festival to have the area of the promenade right in front of Blackpool Tower (Tower Headland, on the ‘comedy carpet’). This is an amazing space for an outdoor stage. A straight walk down from the Winter Gardens. Rebellion can double the capacity with this area and have some fantastic plans to make both sites amazing.
2021 is shaping up to be a decent year and helping kick it off is Riskee & The Ridicule with their cover of ‘Young & Beautiful’ and new original ‘Backwords’ check em out. Facebook
Buyers will also receive the non-album instant-grat track ‘Tunnel Of Love’
“We knew the new album had to be special. We’ve been away for a while. The first album was a straight shot, the second on the rocks, with this new one we had to kick down the brewery doors!” Pete Spiby
Back in June of 2017, Sheffield rock beasts Black Spiders waved goodbye to an army of loyal fans with some sonically charged shows at London’s House Of Vans and Sheffield’s Corporation before retreating into the shadows to lick their wounds and shed their skins.
And then, in November of 2020, with the world in the grips of the Coronavirus pandemic and after a long year of very little fun and even less rocking, from out of the silhouettes they returned with ‘Fly In The Soup’, the first new Black Spiders music in six years. And it felt good. Just under four-minutes of prime riff-crammed rock action, a stadium filler waiting to happen, and exactly the feel-good shot in the arm the world needed, while we await that other vaccine.
The seeds of the Black Spider return were actually planted last summer, when singer and guitarist Pete Spiby began taking to guitarist Ozzy Lister to start writing new material and before they knew it, they had amassed the best part of 40 songs in a very short period of time which they honed and whittled down to album contenders, ready to hit the studio. And then the pandemic hit.
“It’s certainly been a strange process, in unfamiliar territory,” explains Pete. “We started to look at how we could do it given the restrictions and not only that, but we had to replace our original drummer too. More obstacles throw in our way to smash through. We found a way. For us and probably most other bands, we would usually take a riff or song idea to a rehearsal and thrash it out ‘till we either had something or it ended up in the song graveyard! This time around we couldn’t do that, so myself, Ozzy and on occasion Adam Irwin (bass player) started to send ideas back and forth until we had something to work with in GarageBand. We got to a point where we had enough song ideas with basic structure to go into a studio proper, at a convenient time, to put something down. It was at this point when we had to look for a new drummer.”
With former drummer ‘Tiger’ Si Atkinson unavailable to play, with a week or two of grooming, the band took a chance on Planet Rock DJ Wyatt Wendel to occupy the drum stool. Without having played with him, and in some cases, never having met him, they demoed some of the songs through the wonders of modern technology and once they got into the studio (Axis Studios in Doncaster) with producer and engineer Matt Elliss, who had recorded both previous Black Spiders albums, the music came together thick and fast.
“I’ve never joined or worked with a band in this way EVER,” laughs Wyatt. “2020 certainly made it surreal. One minute I’m making some online drum videos for a radio station and then Pete pops up and asks if I’m busy. In the second minute I’m asked if I’d like to record some tracks. The third minute I agree. Soon after I’m in a studio recording tracks I’ve only heard demos of, having NEVER met the band or rehearsed, and it was all done on a wing and a prayer. In a weird twist of fate none of this would have happened without the pandemic of 2020! Funny how things can work out….”
“A Pete/Ozzy writing session at the beginning of the year had produced some promising results, but it felt like barriers were popping up everywhere,” explains bassist Adam Irwin. “We started talking about how we could use technology such as GarageBand to help, and slowly but surely the song writing gathered pace. We could sketch out ideas on the iPad, send them out to everyone else who could then add their own parts, suggest changes etc. Confidence grew, as did our newfound editing and recording skills. It was time to hook up with our old producer Matt Elliss and try these new songs out in the studio.
“Heading into the studio to record songs we’d written but never played together, with a drummer that we’d never met, is one of the stranger experiences I’ve had while being in a band. Thankfully, Wyatt has turned out to be an excellent addition, who despite his faults (loud, southern) has fit right into the band dynamic. I feel like I’m already starting to get a feel for his playing style despite the fact we’ve still not actually played together, and I can’t wait until the moment when we can start playing live again. Covid has made life really tough for so many of us in our industry. And yet, this new way of song writing has been liberating, this is the most consistent and prolific we’ve ever been, and I am immensely proud of this album.”
And they have every right to be. Against all of the odds, Black Spiders have crafted an album that features thirteen tracks of high-energy, feel-good rock n’roll contrasted by demonic doom that despite the disjointed, isolated way it was recorded (even second guitarist Mark Thomas, in lockdown in Spain, recorded his parts remotely), sounds like a band, firing on all cylinders, sweating it out in a dark and dank practice space with lyrics that perfectly document these insane times we are living through.
“We had to dig down deep to pull out some gems and what would we want from Black Spiders,” questions Pete. “Probably not just your regular boys adventure stories, so I looked at themes for the songs, in the bands that I held dear and what was relevant to my and our lives, as a lot had gone on personally for us all, over the time we have been away. Sabbath had all the answers I needed…war, vengeance, mental health, death, conservation & climate change, where are we from? Relationships, friendships, our flaws. Where are we going? Alien life and Mother Earth – some of which made the record.”
Kicking off with the aforementioned ‘Fly In The Soup’ single, this third self-titled long-player wastes no time in grabbing you by the scruff of the neck and dragging you through an album where good times, hooks and riffs are not in short supply, but the doom-drenched likes of ‘Wizard Shall Not Kill Wizard’ and the psychedelic groove of album closer ‘Crooked Black Wings’ give us an album of many moods and dynamics and a reason to be cheerful in 2021.
And why does the album have no title?
“It wasn’t hard picking a title for the album, as we decided that the focus should be on the band, not the album title, so we decided not to have one. It was the easiest thing of the whole process. Let the music do the talking….
Here’s a quick singles club rundown to celebrate America waking the fuck up and Biden getting the job done. First up is the brand new video offering from those crazy mysterious kids The Network.
Black Spiders – ‘Fly In The Ointment’ (Self Release) Black Spiders are back kids and they’re coming with a bit of a bang and a riff-laden banger entitled ‘Fly In The Ointment’. It’s the first new music from the northern Rockers in Six years and it’s a pretty impressive call to arms to be fair. Welcome back we’ve missed you!
Max Motherfucker – ‘Natural Thing’ (Self Release) After 10 years of playing loud and snotty punk Max always wanted to do some heavy Rock n Roll music. He mooted the idea for many years and that day has arrived!
The lyrics to the songs are more personal and less negative than at his day job with Christmas. Max said he just needed a great guitar player with some overwhelming riffs! so he called Johnny Cobra who he’d known for over a decade and he jumped on board. On the drums is Cladymirko, the drummer of Christmas from 2018 till 2020. The bass duties are courtesy of Michel Wern. He also produced the record. I love Christmas and the attitude they exude but this is something altogether different for Max and a really impressive solo record. Fresh sounding and big riffs you’d be daft not to get involved. If you thought the A-side was a fluke wait till you get a load of the flip. ‘Are We Alive’ is better than anything Turbonegro has recorded in donkey’s years Buy it! Record of the week with Civic. Pick it up here but be quick it’s very limited!
Subliminal Landmines – ‘Wheres My Coke?’ (Independent) The first video from their LP ‘Gibberish’ for these lafayette punks. they lean heavily on mid period Green Day so much so that they cover ‘Brain Stew’ on the album.
Civic – ‘Radiant Eye’ (Flightless Records) I fuckin’ love everything I’ve heard from Civic (which might not be a lot but what I have heard I’ve loved). Outta Melbourne these cats just kick up a shit storm every time.
A no-nonsense rocker ‘Radiant Eye’ kicks up a heap of garage rock dust with the spirit of the Stooges running through their veins it’s a no-brainer for any lover of guitar Rock and Roll. Flip it over and there’s a pretty smart take on ‘Making Time’ by the Creations that up there with Stiv Bator and The Lords cover, so they’re in great company. They’ve got the Rock and the Roll and just Get it. My advice, buy the damn thing – Here
Come At The King – ‘In My Place’ (self Release) A decent tune from Come At The King taken from their soon to be released EP. They mix up a bit of indie with some loud guitar music and ‘In My Place’ is a very decent representation of their overall sound. There’s some heavy rock in there for sure but they clearly have an ear for some Oasis stylings as well and can turn in a decent melody to boot.
With a new EP on the horizon, this is just a taster for what’s to come.
THE KIDS – ‘Go Back To Canberra’ (Riot Records) Street punks The Kids playing grown-up big boys punk rock like Argy Bargy jamming on ‘No Sleep Til Brooklyn’ by The Beastie Boys. As a good cardio workout, GBTC is in yer grill up for the rumble. All four are 17 years old and already are knocking out tunes to go toe to toe with the big boy’s Sydney Australia you have a real contender.
Radio Rejects – ‘Monsters’ (Riot Records) More street punk from Riot Records Band Radio Rejects. ‘Monster’ is food and drink to street punks with big riffs and gang vocals. This NSW band says The song focuses on the long term effects bullying can cause, and as in a lot of cases, the people you consider to be “Monsters” were made over the years of being treated like garbage. So it reflects the subject matter in the song. Facebook
Mysterious art/punk rockers The Imbeciles have a new 6-track EP ‘Dissolution Sessions’ out today and to mark this occasion they’ve released a video for ‘Yes I Am’ from the EP taken from their recent gig in Brooklyn, New York this month where they played a gig in frontman Butch Dante’s garage to about 30 live music starved fans. The perfect setting for the bands raw, primal sound!
Following their eponymously named debut album in 2019, art punks The Imbeciles return today with a new self-released six-track EP titled ‘Dissolution Sessions’, that features a new band line up – and a different sound. “We’ve slimmed down from a meandering, vegan, six-member prog rock combo, to a tight-knit, guitar-led, steak-eating 5-piece,” says lead Imbecile, Butch Dante. “The guitar sound is fuzzy punk beast-master AF, and we like it.”
The band had originally gone into the studio earlier this year to record a radio session for BBC R6. That ended up being cancelled because of the pandemic crisis. “We were there anyway so we started riffing on some new songs and everything came together real fast,” says Butch.
In early 2021 the band are set to begin recording a new album with hugely respected producer and Killing Joke founder, Youth.
“Having Youth involved as producer and co-writer is the most dope thing that has ever happened to the band,” says lead singer and bass player Kip Larson. “Everyone is in a super positive, hyper creative place right now and we can’t wait to see what we come up with.”
Under the Volcano kicks off in style with the chaotic ‘Sublime Architect Of Death’ banging on like a spastic blur of the best of Mark E Smith and his Fall and a bit of Gun Club for good measure. Hey, even a hint of Idles here and there if you’re looking for genres and reference buddies.
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