Rage Against the Machine‘s Tim Commerford teamed up with Laurent Grangeon and Mathias Wakrat last year to create the pissed off, alt-punk-influenced Wakrat, and the guys are streaming their debut album online right now. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Earache Records
Audio: Wormrot Releases Five Songs From Voices
Wormrot will be unleashing Voices on October 14th via Earache Records, and the Singaporean grindcore band have, once again, written and recorded an absolutely brutal attack on your senses. Continue reading
On The Road… with Voivod, Vektor, and Eight Bells
One of the top tours of the early going in 2016 brings us the mighty Voivod. The veteran prog metal masters from Canada almost improbably improve year over year. Two years since the release of their album Target Earth (Century Media) the band is still on the road. Better yet, they are releasing a new six song EP, Post Society on February 26th which promises two new songs and a cover. This EP is a stepping stone to a new album, due likely late in the year or early next year. Rather than adapt and conform as many of their peers have over the last 30 plus years, Voivod just rolls on, being Voivod. This excellent bill also boast two other exciting bands from the recesses of the prog metal underground. Vektor is definitely overt in their Voivod worship, but never falls to copying. Just an influence, but its there. If you have ever seen them live, you know they kill it every time. We’ll be looking forward to their new album Terminal Redux (Earache) coming this may. Eight Bells is also on the bill, adding their psychedelic angle to the prog proceedings. We have recently covered the bands’ sojourn across the country and given much praise to their new album Landless (Battleground Recordings) as one of 2016’s best efforts already. The three bands together make for a formidable and fun time. Tonight’s show was opened by local grind junkies Wreak who are solid and fit right in with this bill. Fete Music Hall is one of the many cool venues to pop up from the Providence, RI music scene, not content to be a mere satellite moon to nearby Boston’s Sun. Photographed for Ghost Cult by Hillarie Jason, you can see the spirit and artistry of the bands on display, and the passion reflected back by the crowd. .
[slideshow_deploy id=’39532′]
[amazon asin=B0196MX7B6&template=iframe image1]
News: Rival Sons Supporting On Upcoming Black Sabbath World Tour
Rival Sons will be supporting the upcoming Black Sabbath world tour in 2016. They are supporting their 2- Disc Tour Edition of their 2014 album Great Western Valkyrie, out via Earache Records.
Jan 20: CenturyLink Center – Omaha, NE
Jan 21: Badlands – Sioux Falls, SD (Headline Show)
Jan 22: United Center – Chicago, IL
Jan 23: The Sett (University of Wisconsin) – Madison, WI (Headline Show)
Jan 25: Target Center – Minneapolis, MN
Jan 27: MTS Centre – Winnipeg MN
Jan 28: O’Brians Events Centre – Saskatoon, SK (Headline Show)
Jan 30: Rexall Centre – Edmonton, AB
Feb 01: Scotiabank Saddledome – Calgary, AB
Feb 03: Rogers Arena – Vancouver, BC
Feb 04: Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR (Headline Show)
Feb 05: Knitting Factory Concert House – Spokane, WA (Headline Show)
Feb 06: Tacoma Dome – Tacoma, WA
Feb 09: SAP Pavilion – San Jose, CA
Feb 11: The Forum – Los Angeles, CA
Feb 13: Mandalay Bay Events Center – Las Vegas, NV
Feb 15: Pepsi Center – Denver, CO
Feb 17: Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
Feb 18: Cannery Ballroom – Nashville, TN (Headline Show)
Feb 19: The Palace of Auburn Hills – Detroit, MI
Feb 21: FirstOntario Centre – Hamilton, ON
Feb 23: Bell Centre – Montreal, QC
Feb 24: Asylum – Portland, ME (Headline Show)
Feb 25: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Feb 27: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Apr 15: Perth Arena – Perth (AU)
Apr 17: Entertainment Centre – Adelaide (AU)
Apr 19: Rod Laver Arena – Melbourne (AU)
Apr 23: Allphones Arena – Sydney (AU)
Apr 25: Entertainment Centre – Brisbane (AU)
Apr 28: Vector Arena – Auckland (NZ)
Apr 30: Forsyth Barr Stadium – Dunedin (NZ)
Jun 01: Groupama Arena – Budapest (HU)
Jun 08: Waldebuhne – Berlin (DE)
Jun 13: Arena Di Verona – Verona (IT)
Jun 15: Hallenstadon – Zurich (SI)
Jun 19: Hellfest – Clisson (FR)
Jun 25: Copenhell – Copenhagen (DK)
Jun 28: Stadthalle – Vienna (AT)
Jul 30: 02 Arena – Prague (CZ)
Jul 02: Tauron Arena – Krakow (PL)
Jul 05: Riga Arena – Riga (LV)
Jul 09: Monsters of Rock – Stockholm (SE)
Jul 12: Olympisky Arena – Moscow (RU)
Aug 17: Nikon at Jones Beach Theater – Wantagh, NY
Aug 19: Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
Aug 21: Jiffy Lube Live – Bristow, VA
Aug 23: PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ
Aug 25: Xfinity Center – Boston, MA
Aug 27: Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT
Aug 29: Molson Canadian Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON
Aug 31: DTE Energy Music Theater – Detroit, MI
Sep 01: Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH (Headline Show)
Sep 02: Klipsch Music Center – Indianapolis, IN
Sep 04: Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL
Sep 07: Gexa Energy Pavilion – Dallas, TX
Sep 09: Isleta Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM
Sep 11: USANA Amphitheater – Salt Lake City, UT
Sep 13: Sunlight Supply Amphitheater – Ridgefield, WA
Sep 15: Oracle Arena – Oakland, CA
Sep 17: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV
Sep 19: Hollywood Bowl – Hollywood, CA
Sep 21: AK-Chin Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ
Biters – Electric Blood
It’s taken them 20 years to rediscover their midas touch, but of late Earache Records have been on a roll. A rock n’ roll, if you will. Whether Dig installed a Hot Tub Time Machine or not is open to scandalous rumour, but the label has been plucking 70’s rock success after retro-fuelled triumph, seeing the likes of The Temperance Movement, Rival Sons and Blackberry Smoke bring home the bourbon. Atlanta, Georgia’s Biters look set to be the latest in the line of acts on their roster recreating the magic of yesteryear, adding a street-smart proto-punk bite to their rock, rather than the smokey Southern vibe of their new label mates.
Kicking off with ‘Restless Hearts’, rocking a brilliant earworm of a bubblegum chorus, whose conception seems rooted in a world where punk and rock first met, as if Social Distortion had rocked out a couple The Sweet covers, Electric Blood manages to be effortlessly cool in its’ skin-tight Ts and tassle leather jackets. All through, the effortlessness with which the choruses lodge in the brain is to be admired, as Biters bring the pop of 80’s hair metal, mixed into a cocktail of the rough, sleaze and cool of The Rolling Stones and the panache (and tambourine) of 70’s Glam Rock.
Swagger, nonchalance and above all quality simple rock songs dominate the skyline of their début. ‘1975’ and ‘Heart Fulla Rock n’ Roll’ overload with lyrical cliché but this is no parody as they swing authentic, with the latter breaking out into a Gary Moore descending guitar harmony and old-school bass-led breakdown. Vocalist Tuk is part-cheerleader, part-rabble rouser and full-time tunesmith, his simple tones knowing their limitations, but infusing these straight-forward good time songs with the melodies and hooks they need.
Don’t go into Electric Blood expecting anything other than oh-so-cool pop rock, and a love of yesteryear. In the heaviness stakes, Biters are more Gaslight Anthem than Green Day, and at times both are brought to mind. With traces of Americana lacing tracks like ‘Dreams Don’t Die’ and nods to AC/DC (‘Electric Blood’) and Thin Lizzy (‘Space Age Wasteland’), this is an album that demands the top (or at least the windows) down, the open road, the speed-dial nudging naughty and voices raised in joyous communion.
These songs have teeth. Biters just bit hard, and these songs aren’t letting go.
7.5/10
STEVE TOVEY
Oceano Releasing New Album In March, Streaming “Dead Planet”
Exit The Labyrinth – Tomas Lindberg of At The Gates
Having graciously postponed his pre-gig meal to conduct this interview Tomas Lindberg is remarkably warm throughout. Guitarist Anders Björler mentioned to GC downstairs that it was important to retain the essence of At The Gates. A statement the singer echoes. “The five of us have an identity together which has remained untouched. We love a lot of different music but we want to create within the framework of what At The Gates is so we are able to stay true but also move forward.”
At the top of the interview Tomas touched upon the benefit of playing in other bands in helping the members think about team work. Considering all the other outfits he and his colleagues are involved with (Disfear, Paradise Lost and The Haunted to name just a few) can we expect much in terms of touring?
“Logistically it is tricky but we have great agents. Vallenfyre have another drummer who can step in for them and I am no longer in Lock Up, there is no bad blood! Only good stuff. We all have our other jobs too. We all have Google calendar and book well in advance. Even if Martin has an Agrimonia gig in a squat somewhere in Germany we will work around that! We are still all very normal people and we don’t want to lose that grounded feeling. We don’t have to do this (At The Gates) to pay the rent. I think that has always helped and meant we have never had to water down our music.”
A teacher at Gothenburg University, Lindberg’s lyrical output is theoretically grounded and highly conceptual. Certainly far more highbrow than the standard death metal lyrics. “I enjoy delving into concepts and became more reflective when I started teaching. I have become more reflective as a person which I think also benefits how I work within the band.”
These comments will come as a pleasant surprise too many fans who (often wrongly) assume that musicians will earn oodles of cash from package tours and possess bank balances which are only matched by the size of the musicians’ egos. Lindberg charmingly recalls a recording Lock Up material with producer Russ Russell. “When I was recording with that band we used the beer metronome! I was singing ahead of the beat and a couple of beers helped me relax and record the vocals. That works well for punk and grind stuff but for At The Gates it requires a lot of focus! These days before gigs I have one glass of wine and just the alcohol free beer. I sing from the belly and the chest so I have to pace myself now over an eighteen song set!”
The much imitated and ballyhooed Slaughter Of The Soul (Earache) is an album dear to fans of the Gothenburg scene and American Metalcore scene alike, while proud of what his group have achieved Lindberg is keen to move on and progress with his music. “People talk about Slaughter… in those terms but it was a bit of a one dimensional, only aggressive record with similar songs stylistically. ‘Terminal Spirit Disease’ was moving in a different direction until things happened in our lives and we made a more pissed off record. This album is almost picking up from where ‘Terminal…’ was going. A darker more melancholic place.”
WORDS BY ROSS BAKER
Sleep – Earthless/Heavy Blanket Live at the House of Blues, Boston, MA
I recently had the opportunity to catch Sleep for the first time while on their current tour when they stopped to play the House of Blues in Boston. I had been able to touch base with guitarist Matt Pike a few weeks earlier when High on Fire came through Cambridge as part of Converse’s Rubber TracksLive tour. According to Pike, the show had sold out, another four hundred or so tickets were released, and it sold out for a second time. Excellent.
The venue was just as packed as expected, however, I did not expect the number of hipsters that I saw. From where I was, it seemed like they may have outnumbered everyone else there. I also saw a sparkly fedora. It was strange, but interesting. The merch line was ridiculous and even longer than most of the ones that I got stuck in at the GWAR-B-QUE the week before. I was lucky enough to make it in and out in under ten minutes but there were quite a few that were standing in line for the majority of the show while merchandise sold out faster than I’ve ever seen before.
Openers Earthless and Heavy Blanket (J. Mascius) took the stage together to play a good chunk of their EP In a Dutch Haze (Outer Battery Records) in one long instrumental piece. I have minimal knowledge of either entity outside of this single experience so I can only comment on them as whole. They were great and you really don’t need to use words when you can let the music speak for you instead.
Onto the main event! With a set clocking in at two hours, this was basically “An Evening with Sleep”. I’m used to seeing Pike play the role of front man with High on Fire, but I was great to finally see Al Cisneros in person. I’m pretty sure I annoyed the people around me enough with my Pike related fangirling anyway though. I just about lost it when they played ‘Aquarian’. Pretty much anything off of Holy Mountain (Earache Records) makes me babble incoherently and that album made up roughly half of their set, including the crowd favorite, ‘Dragonaut’. Other honorable mentions go to ‘From Beyond’, ‘Sonic Titan’, and ‘Dopesmoker’. We were also fortunate enough to witness the live debut of the band’s latest single ‘The Clarity’ which had been featured as part of the Adult Swim Singles program for 2014. The only thing I would have asked would have been the addition of ‘The Druid’ to the set list. Listen, I’m pretty sure we all would have stuck around for a three or four hour long performance. Maybe we’ll have better luck next time. Until then, heed their call and follow the smoke to the riff filled land.
ALEIDA LA LLAVE
White Wizzard – The Devil’s Cut
Los Angeles-based White Wizzard is a classic/heavy metal band raised by bassist John Leon as an antidote against the anger and angst of screamo metal. A lofty goal and with two full length albums under their belt there must be a certain demand for them. The Devil’s Cut is this outfit’s third effort, so let’s see what it has to offer.Continue reading