Spiritbox have seemingly been effortlessly surfing the a crest of a wave since their debut album Eternal Blue blew up back in 2021, and have enjoyed a whirlwind couple of years since hitting millions of streams and views on Spotify and YouTube, while playing some huge festival shows and hitting the road with the likes of Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Ghost and Bring Me The Horizon. Continue reading
Igorrr and Amen-Ra on the same bill would already be a joyful tour to catch, but the show tonight at 013 is like a mini pre-pandemic Roadburn day, with Hangman’s Chair and Der Weg einer Freiheit joining this monster of a bill. While the start of the show is quite early, and the closed-off balcony and stairs imply not a huge amount of tickets sold, the ambiance is cheerful and the crowd is warming up as we wait for Hangman’s Chair to start as we get in from the icy rain outside.
One of the best things about reviewing music, in my opinion, is having a music-savvy senior editor that encourages me to review music that is not in my wheelhouse. I have realized that if I was left to my own devices, I would likely stay in my little Heavy Metal utopia, reviewing only what I picked. I received the promo email from my editor about doing a review of Japanese act HYDE. Full disclosure, the only musical act I was familiar with from Japan was Babymetal. So, when I got the promo of HYDE’s new album, Anti, (UMG), I felt a tiny twinge of trepidation. After all, what do I know about Japanese music? Absolutely nada. How was I going to do a fair an accurate review of this music was my query. As soon as the first track off of Anti, started playing, all my fears of doing an inadequate review dissipated. The music that came pouring into my earbuds was the kind of music that bridges all humanity. HYDE’s music possesses a universal sound that almost any person can enjoy or relate to. On a personal note, I broke out in goosebumps from about 5 seconds into listening to the album, an involuntary reaction my body reserves for only the best soul touching music. Continue reading