Tuska Music Festival Adds More Bands, Tickets On Sale Now

Posted on March 9, 2015 by News Team

Finland’s #1 metal festival of summertime, Tuska 2015, has announced a slew of new acts to join the bill. Among the additions are Stormwarrior, Architects, Alfa Hanne, Dr. Living Dead!, Mokoma, Alfa Hanne, At The Hollow, Tryer, The Cold War, Adamantra and many more to come. The show takes place June 26th to June 28th in Suvilahti, Helsinki.

Single day tickets and passes are on sale now from the festival website, with VIP packages to be announced soon. The full bill will be announced later this spring with the line-up for each day so far

Friday June 26^th
Sabaton, Lamb Of God, Architects, Exodus, Krokodil, Blues Pills, Ghost Brigade, Alfa Hanne, Enforcer, Foreseen, Death Toll 80k, Ape

Saturday, June 27^th
In Flames, Amorphis, Loudness, Ne Obliviscaris, Bloodbath, The Sword, Einherjer, Bombus, Atomic Rotta, Morbid Evils, Tryer, Red Moon Architect, Adamantra, Dark Side Of The Mime

Sunday June 28^th

Alice Cooper, Opeth, Stratovarius, Stormwarrior, The Sirens, Warmen, Dr. Living Dead !, At The Hollow, The Cold War

For more information:
http://www.tuska-festival.fi
http://www.fme.fi
http://www.facebook.com/TuskaOpenAir
https://twitter.com/tuskafestival
http://instagram.com/tuskafestival

Meshuggah, Agnostic Front, etc Confirmed For Fear Fest Evil 2 In San Jose, CA

Posted on January 10, 2015 by newsteam

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett (aka Kirk Von Hammett) will be throwing the second installment of his annual Fear FestEvil horror convention at the RockBar Theater in San Jose, CA on April 11-12, 2015, with Meshuggah, Agnostic Front, Orchid, Blues Pills (North American debut), High On Fire and Asada Messiah performing.

SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal host José Mangin and Nikki Blakk of Bay Area rock station 107.7 The Bone will preside over the musical mayhem at the RockBar, where another exhibit of some of the finest pieces in any modern collection of horror memorabilia will be on display.

“It has always been my intention that Fear FestEvil events carry both the weird and the loud,” states Kirk Hammett, “and what better way to achieve another extension of what we want to do than eat dinner in a haunted house while solving criminal acts before a weekend of super kick-ass music?!”

For details and ticket information on this unique event, visit FearFestEvil.com.

Stubb – Cry Of The Ocean

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Steve Tovey

With the profusion of proto-metal, stoner, psychedelic rock acts about the question is, do we really need another one? Zodiac, Blue Pills, Scorpion Child and a host of others are now joined by Stubb and their second full-length release Cry of the Ocean (Ripple). Everything fuzzed up, riffs repeated ad infinitum and laid back languid vocals it would seem that Stubb have all the ingredients to fit into the psych, blues locker and roll out success.

But there is a problem; at times it seems that all the ingredients are part of a formula. It is only by the time track four, ‘Sail Forever’ kicks in that the sense of individualism comes through, as Jack Dickinson’s vocals rise above his intricate guitar work. The ability to put together such involved work is on display on ‘Heartbreaker’, but Dickinson’s vocal performance this time is reminiscent of an off-key punk doing a ballad during the verses, however, when it kicks in it turns into a good track which displays the potential of the band. Stand-out track ‘Devil’s Brew’ has a sense of purpose to the blues tinged classic rock feel as Christopher West (drums) and Peter Holland (bass) drive the track along, though

Throughout this release there is no doubt of the potential in Stubb; but someone needs to sit them down, take that potential (and musical ability) and slap it into shape. At times they stray into early Pink Floyd, Iron Butterfly and Cream territory so much so that it might be best to take any albums they have of those acts away from them until they can work on their own sound, and Dickinson’s vocals range from bluesy to sounding like Roger Waters giving a lecture on life’s lessons.

Despite these criticisms, what Stubb have produced is a solid album within their chosen genre, with the final two tracks –‘Snake Eyes’ and ‘You’ll Never Know’ – showcasing what they can do when they focus. The space the seven-minutes plus of each track allows is enough to doff a cap at what Stubb might become. Overall, this not a bad release, but has too many flaws to make it an essential part of collections of fans of this type of rock.

5.0/10

Stubb on Facebook

JONATHAN TRAYNOR

The Official Ghost Cult Writers Albums of the Year Top 50: 50-41

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Steve Tovey

It’s hard to believe we’ve already reached the end of another year packed tighter than Joey de Maio’s loincloth with incredible genre-pushing, eardrum-violating, neckache-inducing metal.

So we can begin to tell the story of a year which saw us give more top marks than any other year so far (and more 2’s and 3’s out of 10, too!), a year that left us inundated with so many great releases, we sought the opinions of our esteemed and respected writing team and we offer forth their albums of the year.

The countdown to the Official Ghost Cult Magazine Album of the Year for 2014 has commenced. Please consume and enjoy the results of our 2014 Writers’ Poll. We hope it will introduce you to some of the incredible works of art you may have missed that we have had the immense pleasure of listening to and writing about this year.

In our first installment we bring you albums 50 through to 41.

50. HARK – Crystalline (Season of Mist)

Genre-bending aggression with doses of Doom, Prog, Psychedelia and Hardcore. Heavy as a very heavy thing.

49. THE HAUNTED – Exit Wounds (Century Media)

“The album is filled with urgency and manages to be relentlessly heavy without compromising on those insanely catchy riffs. The Haunted have come back stronger than ever… easily the band’s best effort a decade” DAN SWINHOE 9/10 Full review here

48. THE WOUNDED KINGS – Consolamentum (Candlelight)

“Favouring lengthy yet subtly evolving guitar workouts that never lapse into repetitive dirge territory,The Wounded Kings go about working their dark, smoky magic with grim elegance… Simply put, The Wounded Kings are the quintessential English doom band “ JAMES CONWAY 8.5/10 Full review here

47. SCHAMMASCH – Contradiction (Prosthetic)

“The quality of this album is obvious right from the beginning. Schammasch have created a record both challenging and endlessly refreshing, a truly remarkable sonic journey from beginning to end.” CAITLIN SMITH 9/10 Full review here

46. AUTOPSY – Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves (Peaceville)

“Tourniquets… continues in gnarly, raw and near sludgy death metal vein, but maintains their run of high quality and in fact tops anything that has come from their return.” CHRIS TIPPELL 8/10 Full review here

45. KROKODIL – Nachash (Spinefarm)

“With a heavy dose of Mastodon in its veins, Krokodil are a groove juggernaut that pummels all in its path with its three guitarists of fury” DAN O’BRIEN 9/10 Full review here

44. INTER ARMA – The Cavern (Relapse)

“The sheer gravity and fulminating power of much of the music here is oppressive yet it carries the weight easily, this blend of raw animal force, aching melody and immeasurable creativity marks out this fantastic band” PAUL QUINN 10/10 Full review here

43. DEVIL YOU KNOW – The Beauty of Destruction (Nuclear Blast)

“(with) all the promise of a powerhouse, and it delivers on all fronts. The songs are well-crafted, nicely developed and excellently executed.” LYNN JORDAN 9.5/10 APRIL ALBUM OF THE MONTH Full review here

42.BLUES PILLS – Blues Pills (Nuclear Blast)

“…a record that understands and curates its heritage and lineage but is fresh, contemporary and massively memorable. This is the record that you’ll be recommending to your friends for months to come” MAT DAVIES 9/10 Full review here

41. ARTIFICIAL BRAIN – Labyrinth Constellation (Profound Lore)

“Technical death metal with sci-fi themes, brilliant, utterly amazing, breath-taking and challenging from the first to the last second.” TIAGO MOREIRA 9.5/10 Full review here

Compiled by Steve Tovey

Blues Pills – Blues Pills

Posted on July 22, 2014 by News Team

Once in a while a record comes along that knocks you sideways. Once in a while a record comes along that isn’t just about flailing around like dying fish, furiously howling at the injustice of having to tidy your bedroom once in a while. Once in a while a record comes along that reaffirms your faith in the power of exemplary musicianship allied to great songs.

Readers, here is one of those records.

Blues Pills’ self-titled debut album arrives with such self-confidence and chutzpah that you could be forgiven that they had been ploughing this particular furrow of blues rock for decades and were at the peak of their career rather than at the start. Following two EPs released on Kadavar Records (in 2012 and 2013, respectively), a move to Nuclear Blast has seen the band deliver this first full length offering. And what an offering! Blues Pills is not so much the sound of a band stepping up to the plate, it is the sound of a band knocking it out of the proverbial park.

Blues Pills is a brilliant and, at times, sensational record. Right from the off with the throat- grabbing, blues-soaked power of ‘High Class Woman’ through the mellow, folk inspired ‘River’ to the heritage cap-doffin cover of ‘Gypsy’ and the rich, haunting coda of ‘Little Sun’, this is a record with depth and breadth, soul and humanity. Clearly a band in love with Cream and Jimi Hendrix, there is also more than a spoonful of lovin’ here for early Fleetwood Mac both in compositional style and lyrical prowess.

Lead vocalist Elin Larsson has done a terrific job here, simultaneously sounding haunted, passionate and heartfelt. However, all of the band turn in stellar performances, the thumping, soul packed bass-lines of Zack Anderson , the mellifluous drumming of Cory Berry or the patchouli oil soaked guitar licking of Dorian Sorriaux all add up to a heady brew that intoxicates as much as it invigorates.

What truly impresses though is that Blues Pills is more than the sum of its considerable parts. The band have succeeded in creating a record that you can easily and willingly immerse yourself in, a record that understands and curates its heritage and lineage but is fresh, contemporary and massively memorable.

This is the record that you’ll be recommending to your friends for months to come.

9.0/10.0

Blues Pills on Facebook

MAT DAVIES

Blues Pills – Devil Man

Posted on October 3, 2013 by News Team

Started in 2011 and playing Roadburn last April 2013, Blues Pills are now signed with Nuclear Blast and quickly becoming quite the rising star. With the incredibly powerful, husky vocals by Elin Larsson, the blonde Swedish front Fury of the international quartet, incredible soulful guitar lines by the French youngster Dorian Sorriaux (only just 18) and a rocking, swinging base laid down in bass and drums by the two American initiators of the band Zack Anderson and Cory Berry, it’s a trip back to the birth of music festivals in the late 60’s early 70’s. Devil Man (Nuclear Blast) conjures a sense of a jam between Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Cream.Continue reading →

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