Punk rock supergroup Vanishing Life which counts members of Rise Against!, Quicksand, …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Gorilla Biscuits and Bad Religion, have their début album Surveillance dropping tomorrow from Dine Alone Records. Check out new single ‘Thinking Weightless’ below:Continue reading
Hailing from Sierra Vista, Arizona are Fuzz Evil, formed in 2014 by Wayne (guitar/vocals) and Joseph Rudell (bass/vocals) whose previous band was the wonderfully named Powdered Wig Machine, with Marlin Tuttle on drums rounding off the trio. This Fuzz Evil’s self titled début came out last month on Battleground Records and it is a loud blast of punk energy, with a wonderfully colourful and psychedelic front cover that the Blues Pills would be proud of.Continue reading
Fire From The Gods recently released Narrative on Rise Records, and it’s an album I feel everyone needs to hear. The power of the lyrics is only enhanced by the intensity of the music, and it makes for a great listen, no matter what type of music you enjoy. AJ Channer‘s words are truly heartfelt, and he brings the listener on an uplifting journey from the beginning to the end. I’ve been a fan of his work for years now, but this is his shining moment, and a stepping stone for what can only be an even brighter future.
I recently got to chat with AJ about writing, recording, and performing the tracks on this new record, and you can read our interview below. This is a man that has something to say, and after you read his words, I urge you to grab Narrative today!Continue reading
A Day To Remember is currently prepping to release their new album Bad Vibrations on September 2nd via the bands own ADTR Records. They streamed a new single today, ‘Naivety’ on BBC1 Radio which you can hear at this link or below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IhjlFWLJCA
‘Naivety’ is the 4th single ADTR has released in advance of Bad Vibrations with the previous three seeing video releases for ‘Paranoia’, the title track, and most recently ‘Bullfight’. The band is on tour all summer with Blink 182. Pre-orders for the new album are live and include grat tracks with every purchase at the bands’ web-store and on iTunes.
A Day To Remember on Instagram
From their promo pics, you’d think California trio The Shrine play a fairly straight take on stoner rock; there’s denim, there’s facial hair, and their new album has song titles like ‘Acid Drop’ and ‘Space Steppin’. But don’t be fooled, these guys are punks in disguise.
Produced by Dave Jerden (Alice In Chains, Jane’s Addiction), Rare Breed is the band’s third album and first on Century Media and is 40 minutes of punk-fuelled rock and roll, shout-along lyrics and plenty of solos, all played with bags of energy, and there’s nothing too strenuous or thought provoking.
Lead single ‘Death To Invaders’ is a simple fist pumper, ‘Acid Drop’ combines a bit of Red Fang and shouty Oi! Punk while ‘Savage Skull and Nomads’ is a full on punk assault. On occasion – such as the groovy title track, the solo-filled ‘The Vulture’ or instrumental ‘Pull the Triggr’ – the punk takes a backseat and the stoner elements are allowed to air and provide a bit of variety.
There’s plenty of unexpected moments too; ‘Dusted an Busted’ starts as a plodding ballad-lite singalong before breaking out in a classic NWOBHM solo fest for a fiery finish, while the psychedelic jamming of seven minute closer ‘Space Steppin’ sounds like an almost entirely different band, but is still good fun.
The Shrine know how to combine punk rawkishness with proper rock and roll sensibilities. Rare Breed is good fun and sounds like it was written specifically for a classic Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtrack. Hard to fault, but if punk or skater rock isn’t your thing, you might find the occasional breakouts into more experiment territory too infrequent to really enjoy.
6.0/10
DAN SWINHOE
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Between The Buried And Me and August Burns Red have booked a co-headline tour of the USA starting this March. Direct support will come from the re-formulated lineup of The Faceless and Good Tiger. Kicking off at The Starland Ballroom in Sayerville, NJ on March 3rd the tour will run for over 35 dates and end at Webster Hall in New York on April 17th.
Between The Buried And Me and August Burns Red co-headline tour dates
w/ The Faceless & Good Tiger
Mar 4: Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ
Mar 5: The National – Richmond, VA
Mar 7: Revolution – Ft Lauderdale, FL
Mar 8: Jannus Landing – Tampa, FL
Mar 9: Iron City – Birmingham, AL
Mar 10: Soul Kitchen – Mobile, AL
Mar 11: Minglewood Theater – Memphis, TN
Mar 12: Pageant – St Louis, MO
Mar 14: Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
Mar 15: Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
Mar 16: Brooklyn Bowl – Las Vegas, NV
Mar 17: Rialto – Tucson, AZ
Mar 18: House Of Blues – San Diego, CA
Mar 19: Self Help Festival | NOS Event Center – San Bernardino, CA
Mar 21: Regency – San Francisco, CA
Mar 22: Ace of Spades – Sacramento, CA
Mar 23: Roseland – Portland, OR
Mar 24: Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA
Mar 25: Knitting Factory – Spokane, WA
Mar 26: Vogue – Vancouver, BC
Mar 28: Union Hall – Edmonton, AB
Mar 29: MacEwan Hall – Calgary, AB
Mar 30: O’Brians Event Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Apr 01: Garrick – Winnipeg, MB
Apr 02: Skyway Theatre – Minneapolis, MN
Apr 03: Wooly’s – Des Moines, IA
Apr 05: Emo’s – Austin, TX
Apr 06: Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
Apr 07: Limelight Eventplex – Peoria, IL
Apr 08: The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
Apr 09: Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA
Apr 10: Guelph Concert Theatre – Guelph, ON
Apr 12: Imperial – Quebec City, QC
Apr 13: State Theatre – Portland, ME
Apr 14: Lupos – Providence, RI
Apr 15: Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA
Apr 16: Upstate Concert Hall – Albany, NY
Apr 17: Webster Hall – New York, NY
Between The Buried And Me additional tour dates
May 06: Carolina Rebellion – Concord, NC
May 22: Rock on the Range – Columbus, OH
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If the surfeit of Christmas tinsel, chocolate and nostalgia is enough to drive you to immerse yourself in a VAT of Jaegermeister, or if you have already had enough of Christmas “specials” of television programmes that weren’t actually that special to begin with then, during this holiday season you could while away some hours with some of the really rather excellent music DVDs that are available from your local emporium of choice.
Here at Ghost Cult Towers we have literally toiled hard from our sofas to check out the ones that are worth parting you from your hard earned cash. Top of our proverbial pile is, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, The Rolling Stones. Those lovely folk at Eagle Rock Entertainment have been slowly but surely releasing some terrific footage of Jagger and co at various points in their historic pomp. Live from The Tokyo Dome 1990 and Live at Roundhay Park 1982 are two cases in point. Filmed in 4:3 ratio (and considerably pre internet) the first is a spruced up version of a TV special that celebrated the band’s arrival in Japan and the culmination of their Steel Wheels Tour. ….Roundhay Park, filmed eight years earlier when the band were battling to retain relevance in a world dominated by post disco and New Romantics, is equally compelling. What could have been exercises in simple nostalgia actually turn out, thanks to the wonders of remastering, upscaling and a new audio track (thanks to sound wizard Bob Clearmountain) to be performances of considerable panache and verve, mainly thanks to Jagger and Richards being on particularly good form and yet more evidence, should it be needed, as to why this band are regularly regarded as the best live experience on the planet. These are the sort of DVDs that PR companies will say are “a must for any fan”. In this case, they might actually be right for once.
About The Young Idea is a quite brilliant documentary about UK mods The Jam and, in particular, frontman Paul Weller. This is very much a warts and all documentary, ultimately sympathetic to the threesome, placing them appropriately in the canon of great British bands of the late 20th century. What resonates in this film is how diverse the band were in terms of influence and inspiration before what now seems like an inevitable breakup in 1982. Packed with brand new interviews with the band’s principal protagonists, About The Young Idea reveals itself as part insightful documentary, part labour of love, all fabulous music. If you remain sceptical after watching the film, then have a look at the accompanying live concert footage from 1980 where the band’s energy, anger at injustice and clarion calls to the youth to change the world around them can be seen in full effect. Indispensable.
Shifting decades and gear somewhat, Black Stone Cherry are the hard rock underdogs made good and this energetic live concert film, Thank You shows just why. Their early career saw them somewhat unloved in their home country (USA) but they were soundly adopted by the UK and Europe and have subsequently built a fairly decent career, including notable performances at Download festival and their own sell-out arena tour, which this film documents. Black Stone Cherry are one of those bands that tend to divide audiences but, for the uninitiated, this is a standard concert film where, if nothing else the band are ridiculously hardworking, highly energised and pretty much adored by their fanbase. As souvenirs of their well received 2014 tour go, this is the one to own – it’s miles better than their over-priced t-shirts anyway…
And so we come to The Ritchie Blackmore Story, which is a well-produced, insightful and fascinating talking heads style documentary about one of hard rock and heavy metal’s most revered and talked about characters. This is a DVD worth owning, not just for the vintage footage but thanks to brand new and exclusive interviews with the main man himself. You get a rounded picture of what drives and inspires one of rock’s most feted players. Pretty much everyone and anyone turns up to pay their respects- there’s Queen’s Brian May, Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson and Gene Simmons all saying very nice things and Joe Satriani and Toto’s Steve Lukather revelling in being true fan boys but it’s Ritchie himself, entirely appropriately, who is the star of this. It’s the kind of DVD that you’ll watch time and again and the kind of DVD that will make you want to rediscover or (in my case) discover the man’s music.
Job done, then. Merry Christmas.
MAT DAVIES
Celtic influenced punk rock pioneers Dropkick Murphys have booked dates for their 20th Anniversary Tour for 2016. The run of dates culminating their annual week of shows in their hometown Boston area. For those shows the openers will be punk legends Slapshot, Fenian Sons, and a surprise guest to be named later. Tickets are on sale now from The Dropkicks website, www DropkickMurphys com
Dropkick Murphys 20th Anniversary Tour Dates for 2016
Feb 18: House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH
Feb 19: Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL
Feb 20: Myth Live – St Paul, MN
Feb 21: Orpheum Theater – Madison, WI
Feb 23: The Pageant- St Louis, MO
Feb 24: New Daisy Theatre – Memphis, TN
Feb 26: House Of Blues- Dallas, TX
Feb 27: Stubb’s – Austin, TX
Feb 28: Civic Theatre – New Orleans, LA
Feb 29: House Of Blues – Houston, TX
Mar 02: Marathon Music Works – Nashville, TN
Mar 03: The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC
Mar 04: The Ritz – Raleigh, NC
Mar 05: The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
Mar 06: Bogart’s – Cincinnati, OH
Mar 08: Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA
Mar 09: Webster Hall – New York, NY
Mar 10: Webster Hall – New York, NY
Mar 11: Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT
Mar 12: RFK Stadium (Shamrock Fest) – Washington, DC
Mar 13: Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA
Mar 17: Venue TBA * – Boston, MA
Mar 18: Venue TBA * – Boston, MA
Mar 19: Agganis Arena with House Of Blues Afterparty ** – Boston, MA
Mar 20: Venue TBA * – Boston, MA
* Openers to be announced
** Slapshot, surprise guest and Fenian Sons open
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Having stolen the best band name a gothic metal vampire act had never thought to use yet, Cape Of Bats have spent the last six years belching out a slew of independent releases and splits; fully espousing a DIY ethic and ethos before arriving at Violent Occultism (Broken Limbs), their debut full-length, a thirty-six minute speedball chaser of blackened punk.
On first impression, Violent Occultism is like being forced to endure a series of particularly noxious bottom burps in a small enclosed space, caught, every two minutes, in the ever-regurgitating waves of the putridity. At first it’s hilarious and more than a little impressive, but it doesn’t take many occasions before the joke, unlike the air, begins to wear a little thin and things turn a little stale.
But just when you feel you need a change of scenery and to get some cleaner air in your lungs, Cape of Bats drop another air biscuit of horrid proportions, but this time including some surprising flavours such as the Kveltertak-getting-done-over-with-studded-maces-in-the-car-park ‘Ultimate Evil’, or ‘Follow Me (To Death)’ with its early second wave of Black Metal riffs and atmosphere; the former followed up with the 37 second punk-blast of ‘Blue Hands’ as if to get things back on track, and the latter by the manic start of ‘Buckets of Blood’.
Cape of Bats deal in sloppy, aggressive raw music with black metal, crust and loose thrash permeating their riffs. Add in Francis Kano’s deranged yelps and throat-rips, Cassidy McGinlay’s drumming switching from D-beats to gakked out surf rock grooves, Matthew Geary’s B-movie carnivalesque keys sporadically appearing and some speed metal frantic soloing and Cape of Bats prove an uncompromising and coarse outfit who are particularly effective when they flirt with the more black metal side of their arsenal, and songs like ‘Damned To Sands’ and ‘Grand Evocation Of War’.
Cape of Bats take raw to other side of the lathe, sinking their filed teeth into still breathing vermin carcasses and expectorating abrasive, unrefined, spiky stabs of punky black metal. A fucking mess of chaos and feral as all hell, nonetheless, there’s something worthwhile in their uncultured savagery.
6.5/10
STEVE TOVEY
That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even a band may die… but not this band, and not today. For this is the era where bands do not go gentle into that good night (or if they do, they come back pretty quickly the next morning, handsome smiles flashing an unsaid apology as if to say “nothing happened here”). So here Backyard Babies stand before us, six-strings in hand, with a new selection of their trademark Hanoi Rocks meets The Wildhearts meets Alice Cooper glam punk tunes on their new album, Four By Four (Gain Music).
It was eighteen years ago that Backyard Babies burst onto the scene, heading a Scandinavian raucous of bands that included The Hellacopters and Hardcore Superstar with bold, bright punked up rock music that stuck two fingers and a stacked knee high boot into the groin of grunge, bringing sleaze and pizzazz back to a table that was wringing wet with the limp celery, hummus and self-loathing of a 90’s music scene that celebrated introspection and mumbling. 1997’s Total 13 (Scooch Pooch) saw the Babies ‘Bombed’ (out of their minds) with boots stuck with glue (yep…) and set to take over the world.
And yet it didn’t quite happen. Moderate success came their way, though in 2004 it seemed like they’d cracked it with the stomping Stockholm Syndrome (RCA) led by Guitar Hero playable track the mighty ‘Minus Celcius’, a career high grandstand tune if ever there was one. The world may be an oyster, but oysters don’t always contain pearls, and two subsequent uneventful albums passed by until in 2009 the Babies released a compilation album that was said to mark the passing of the band.
The band have been keen to stress Four By Four is not a comeback album, more a picking things up from where they left them, and all the expected sounds and styles are in place. Nicke Borg’s distinctive voice leads the way, with Dregen ripping jacked up glam rock from his guitar, but try as they might it’s all a bit flat, and all a bit pub rock. Some good tunes go by – lead off single ‘Th1rteen or Nothing’ is a stomper – but the core of the album is filled with wistful (wasteful) numbers, as the duller tempo of tunes like ‘Mirrors (Shall Be Broken)’ choke the remnants of life. It’s not bad, but in the end, you’re left with the feeling that whatever it was that used to make these guys spark no longer sizzles but sputters.
5.5/10
STEVE TOVEY