Tag Archives: NME

Clown Says Slipknot Have Yet to Begin Writing Their Eighth Album As a Band

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According to a new interview with Slipknot mastermind and creative leader M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan, the band has yet to convene for the writing process for their next studio album, which will be their eighth in their thirty-year-plus career. Crahan recently told NME that the band is currently on a “long-break” following the album/tour cycle that supported 2022’s The End, So Far, and tours and festivals celebrating the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut. The band released a deluxe edition and merch from the 1999 album, and added new drummer Eloy Casagrande (ex-Sepultura) following the firing of Jay Weinberg and the departures of other long-running members. The band has repeatedly promised and missed releasing their “lost” album, Look Outside Your Window, and also sold their past rights recently. to HarbourView Equity for $120 million. Their next album will be their first after the conclusion of their record deal with Roadrunner Records. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Heriot – Devoured By The Mouth  Of Hell

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Heriot have been flying the flag for the UK’s underground Metal scene over the last few years. Really coming to prominence in the post-pandemic era, as they’ve toured relentlessly across the UK and Europe with bands such as Zeal & Ardor, Rolo Tomassi and Architects, while also gracing the stages of festivals such as Download, Bloodstock, Rock Am Ring and Hellfest.  Continue reading →


Shadow Age – Silaluk EP

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Oh, Jesus. Richmond, Virginia has proved a fertile ground for the heavier end of metal over the last two or three years, but the cheesy 80s synth and tinny-sounding drums that overshadow Silaluk (6131), the début three-track EP from quartet Shadow Age, sadly give me all the wrong kind of chills.

Changing their name from Colony some months ago, their ethos has remained post-Punk yet the feel loses some of that intensity. The rapid bass of the opening title track underpins coldly mellow strings, while lacklustre yet melodic vocals, a cross between Barney Sumner and Morrissey, enforce the pervading Mancunian air. Sadly, save for the lead shimmers and slightly more urgent delivery of ‘A Portrait of a Young Man Drowning’, the first two tracks have more of the Indie / Pop of New Order than the angular, piercing swagger of forefathers Joy Division.

It’s the booming drums and Post-rock leadwork of the moody, balladic closer ‘Innocence’ that finally give this outing a bit of steel. The building swathes of pensive atmospherics take the listener into Shoegaze territory, that Smiths vocal link ever more apparent and lightly dusted over the emotive instrumentals which are evocative of the heady days when both U2 and The Sisters of Mercy were both capable of appealing to the harder rockers among us. The sound that Shadow Age are peddling is indeed an attractive one in many respects, but overall it’s missing a row of teeth which would generate real interest outside the NME readership.

 

6.0/10

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PAUL QUINN