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Returning from their slumber after their record Omen of Disease, Broken Hope have announced their brand new album Mutilated and Assimilated and their first track to premiere will appeal to Kurt Russel no doubt, that’s right my friends Broken Hope went full Carpenter and unleashed “Mutilated And Assimilated” to echo The Thing.
For those thinking that Death Metal is consistent with the stereotype of the hulking Metalhead who says “Brutal” after every syllable, wears baggy camo pants and drinks until he passes out, this is for you. Welcome John Frum, with a combined resume the band consist of members from The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Faceless and John Zorn to name a few. Like Gorguts, progenitors of the theoretical movement making Death Metal some of the most complex music to mould your cranium around, John Frum don’t only exhibit their technical capability but bring a unique, psychedelic element of the spiritual into the equation, a stirring in the noos if you will.
Known for being one of the most sonically destructive forces in Metal, Napalm Death are among the fiercest of the elite. Originators of Grind, their melting pot of Punk sensibility, relentless Power Violence and political outrage have been components that even the finest acts will never truly echo to the magnitude of Napalm Death. Despite it being two years since their eighteenth studio release Apex Predator – Easy Meat, its only now that we are seeing the Birmingham bunch dominate on their own headline tour. With the work ethic of the most tenacious of work horses, pushing fifty, the band are admirable for their commitment to their fans, none more so than Shane Embury, a man who is not only doing one, not two but three performances every night on the bill! Hard to know when to go for a break with a bill as stacked is this the Electric Ballroom was in for more than just a treat.
You’ve probably heard of Dragonforce. They are that really fast band with that song that was near impossible to conquer on Guitar Hero. While that was arguably the point that shot the band on to the mainstream, the band in the current day are seemingly wanting to do more to leave their mark in metal as the band that wrote those great songs, not just the video game band. We spoke to guitarist Herman Li and vocalist Marc Hudson about how Dragonforce have evolved on their upcoming album, ‘Reaching Into Infinity‘.
It was never going to be an easy gig for A Fire Inside (“AFI”) as they performed tonight in London to a mostly sold-out Deftones show at Alexandra Palace in North London. The Californian alternative rockers were playing their first show in London since 2010’s Crash Love Tour in support of their January 2017 self-titled release (also known as the ‘Blood’ album).
Few eras will ever truly match the creative magnitude that was seen in the eighties. The golden days of creative enlightenment, coming off the back of the seventies and building a sound altogether entirely new and different itself. Not lending itself only to music however, all throughout the creative world there were milestones being made in the art of self expression. Though a fledgeling genre, through the nurture of the eighties, Sci-Fi for example was just one of the many other sectors that was in bloom. In a time before the idea of image often transcended the actual composition of a song itself, before the advent of MTV music used to be simple. Wanting to echo these traits the Swedish Super power, made up of members of Soilwork, Arch Enemy among others join us as we take a look into the eighties with an exclusive video.
Could this years Damnation be their most eclectic yet?
As infamous saying goes, “Expect the unexpected”. Sharing this sentiment throughout their time as a band, The Haunted, a Swedish export of the highest calibre, have always had a a hint of turning things on their head. Now in the cold light of day that is 2017 their situation is very much different to their mid 00’s status. The reality of being in a band in 2017 is often perhaps not quite as glamorous as one might think. However, it does teach you a helpful life lesson to understand the sheer amount of work the hallowed “Roadie” goes through night after night. On the final night of their tour with Swedish demigods Meshuggah, The Haunted’s Marco Aro was able to spare a little bit of time to answer some questions about the band and their brand new album.