TACTICAL SEKT Interview @ Slimelight, 28th August by Viki Walden
Having performed on the opening night at InFest 2011, Tactical Sekt rushed down to London to play out to all those unlucky enough to catch them at the festival. Whilst preparing backstage at Slimelight before their 2am set the band kindly gave up some time to speak about military history, getting crowds dancing and having fun, joking about. 

You’ve just come back from playing InFest in Braford, what kind of live performances do you prefer- festivals or more intimate gigs, like tonight’s at Slimelight?
Rob: Both can be as good as the other, whether you have 15 people or are at a large festival it really depends on the crowd. The crowd make the gig.
Anthony: For me, the bigger the show, the better it is, it’s great to see a large crowd going nuts! Our philosophy is that everyone at the show is a part of the band.
Jay: I agree, there is a greater sense of ease playing bigger shows.

What have you guys been up to since the release of the last album, Syncope in 2006?
Anthony: Working. A Lot. We’ve all got full time jobs and families, but we’re just starting to work on the new album now.
Jay: We don’t like to release something every 2 weeks, every 4 years or so is nice for getting new material out.

On a curious note, what’s the inspiration behind the name Tactical Sekt?
Anthony: I wanted the name to have some connection to Aslan Faction, my previous band, but wanted it to be independent too. Factions are radical units and so I kept that in Sekt. I’ve always been really interested in military history so, that was a great influence.

There are so many genres and sub-genres continuously appearing on the EBM scene, mostly Tactical Sekt is described as ‘Aggro-Tech’ or ‘electro-industrial’, what would you describe your style as?
Anthony: EBM. We’re an EBM band, there are so many sub-genres that are popping up every day I lose track. You know, it’s important to keep the music now and embrace electronic music. Keeping the scene as a whole makes it a more powerful force.

You’ve been hailed as one of the major influences of the new Aggrotech Sound. What’s your response to that?
Anthony: I’ve been hearing that a lot recently , well I’m pleased I can be an influence, if what I do has inspired people to make music then I’ve done a good job and I’m honoured. People always have to take influences from somewhere, I have my influences.

What are your influences:
I’m inspired by a wide range of electronic music, some of the classic acts like Depeche Mode, Cold Hard Castle, Human League, Red Flag- anything with synthesizers. When I first saw acts like Skinny Puppy and X marks the Pedwalk they inspired me too. Suicide Commando has influenced me too, you know, he’s a good friend of mine and has helped me out a lot.

Do you feel there are any influences that have carried over from Aslan Faction? Or did you envision Tactical Sekt as a completely different project?
Anthony: Tactical Sekt is definitely more dance focused, Aslan Faction wasn’t dance music. I wanted to create music that got people moving, I love seeing people dance.

So, can you tell us what a typical gig/ tour day with the Tactical Sekt guys is like?
All (almost in unison): Jokes! And Fun!
Jay: It’s a constant mirage of jokes. We have an hour or so of having to be serious and we do that, but the rest of the time we’re just having fun.
Anthony: We’re friends above and beyond everything else.

So, what’s next for the band?
Anthony: After the gig? (Sounding glum for a moment) Back to Work. But, we’re working on the new album now. This is going to be our last gig for a while.
Jay: Yeah, we’ve done our live performances for 2011.
Anthony: In the new year and when we’ve finished the album, there’ll be more live gigs and tours.

Whilst it’s sad to know we won’t have another chance to catch Tactical Sekt on stage again this year, you’ll just have to wait with anticipation for the album release, I for one, am certainly looking forward to it!

 

                 

Malefice Interview By James Meakin
We caught up with Malefice vocalist Dale Butler backstage at the Islington Academy before they’re show on the 7th of October 2011 to speak about the new album, playing live and how to stay sane on the road

Who are you and what do you do in your band?
Dale:  I’m Dale; I am our vocalist come screamer come entertainer for Malefice.

The new album has been out for six months, how has it felt to tour?
Dale: It’s been really good man! It’s been really good; we have had a lot of fun on this tour.  Mainly from just pushing the new album, we have really enjoyed playing the new stuff. Everyone is really getting into it live now.  It’s great; this tour has come at a really good time.  It’s always hard to tour a new album when it’s just come out because no one knows the fucking songs!  Everyone’s learning the lyrics, we’ve had a video out, everyone’s bought the new album.  Everyone’s coming down to the shows fully prepared and singing along, feeding off us, exactly what a Malefice show has always been about!

You mentioned the video to ‘Awaken the Tides’ that looked a lot of fun to make...
Dale:  It was fucking horrible! We turned up at 4 o’clock in the evening and we finished at 8 o’clock the next morning! We were in all these World War 2 gas masks and radiation suits.  It was really tough but it was cool and it’s a beautiful video and we are really pleased with it.

There’s a nautical theme running through the album, obviously the title track ‘Awaken the Tides’ and ‘Dead in the Water’.  Where did this come from?
Dale:  I am just fascinated by the sea and water, it wasn’t really a nautical concept behind it I think whenever you use metaphors around water its always very striking, and ‘Awaken the Tides’ is about moving anything in our fucking way to get what we want.  And dead in the water is about the town where we come from being bullshit so it’s just a nice way of getting what you want to say across.

You guys are signed to Metal Blade records, how has this helped the Malefice cause?
Dale: Massively, we are signed to a label run by metal fans, and that means a fucking lot to any band.  They’re always down, always here and always around to help us and we wouldn’t have got that with any other label and we’ve got it with Metal Blade.

Even though ‘Awaken the Tides’ has just been released, any thoughts on a new album and where it might take you?
Dale: We have started writing little bits and bobs; we are going to expand on the sound we have been experimenting on with this one.  We have brought in loads of strings and synths and theatrical parts so we are going to see how far it goes and see where it takes us!

Chris Allan-Whyte joined last year, what has he brought to the table?
Dale:  A solid fucking decent drummer! It was good to actually record with someone we were happy to be in a band with, it was quite inspiring to be honest! We are now playing the stuff we always wanted to play and he is the reason!

Was it difficult replacing Craig Thomas after so many years?
Dale:  On a personal level, yes, mainly because of the way it ended but I don’t want to get in to that.  On a professional level, it just worked straight away.

I really enjoyed the track ‘Delirium’ how did that song come about?
Dale: Delirium is about going out and taking loads of drugs.  If you ever go out and take pills or MDMA you can spot the person who is on it in the room and it’s about people coming together on drugs and people experiencing euphoria.  Loads of people have bad stories about drugs I am not promoting the use of drugs at all but I feel they are very misunderstood and I think that is the feeling behind that song.

You mentioned about how the general themes of the songs come about, how does that fit in with the greater Malefice creative process?
Dale: I get given free reign from the guys really, so if I have a really dark, down and dirty sounding song they’ve sent me I won’t write about something uplifting. I’ll write something equally dirty, other than that I am given free reign.

How was working with Justin Hill on the new record?
Dale: We got absolutely everything we wanted.  He has been with us from the beginning, he tracked our first record and he will track our last.  He understands Malefice, he knows what we need.  Ben [Symonds] has been our main songwriter for years and he and Ben get on really well.  We start writing riffs and Justin is involved.  We would never use anyone else.

There must be a somewhat local link from the Reading and Watford area...
Dale:  Yeah, we’ve known Sikth for years and that’s how we got to know Justin.  He lives in Maidenhead now and we live in Reading, my girlfriend lives in Maidenhead I see him a couple of times a week and it’s really great to work with someone on that kind of level.

It’s been a great summer for you guys this year, how did you enjoy Download?
Dale:  Download was cool, festivals are a bit different for us now, and you can’t really enjoy them because you have to work!  But it was a great experience, we started out career there. It was the festival that kick started us so it’s always really nice to go back and remember where we came from!

I saw you guys at a completely different type of festival, 2000 Trees Festival, how did you enjoy that?
Dale:  That was bizarre! It was really cool but really weird and fun! It wasn’t what we were expecting but it was a great show, it was good!

Does the preparation for a show like tonight differ from the preparation for a show at a festival?
Dale: Not really!  I’ll be doing press until half an hour before we are due on then I’ll be given a mic and then it will all be over, it’s pretty much our jobs now so its fucking strange but it’s how we live our lives, we just get on with it.  I don’t know how we prepare for shows anymore.

You do tour quite a lot, how do you stay sane on the road?
Dale: I’ll try and get out of the van or the venue, maybe go and watch some football.  I try to get out and be a normal person without this triple A pass selotaped to me for two weeks, go out and just live!

You guys, Sylosis, Exit Ten.  What makes Reading such a breeding ground for great metal bands?
Dale:  There’s nowhere to play for a metal band so we have all been forced to push out to London or further north and we’ve been forced to go and find places to play.  That is the only reason, we had nowhere to play so we had to go out and find somewhere so you get better the more you play to different crowds so look at us all now!

You guys have come a long way over the years, how do you feel you have changed musically and personally over the years?
Dale:  We are much more accomplished songwriters now, like I said, you need to go out and hit the road and you need to learn.  You can’t be taught in a school or on a course how to do this, you need to go out and find out your own way how you are fucking it up or what the best thing to do is.  So we have been on the road and worked our fucking arses off for years and learned our trade.

You have played large festivals and toured with bands like Arch Enemy, what is next on the Malefice ‘To Do List’?
Dale: I think Asia, we have done pretty much everywhere else, I really want to get out to Japan and China and I really want to get out to Australia and if we can get onto Soundwave at all.  We just love experiencing different cultures and different ways of life really so as much of that as possible.  A show is a show at the end of the day; whether we are here or in India or in L.A a show is the same.  I would like to go to more weird and wonderful places and experience a bit more I’ll be all for that!
You can find all the details of the new Malefice album as well as up and coming shows at:

http://www.facebook.com/maleficeofficial
http://www.metalblade.com/english/artists/malefice/bio.php

 

                 

Godsized Interview @ The 100 Club  [23/09/11]
Interview by Rhiannon Marley
Photos by Linda Heron 

“It’s been a year since we’ve last been here”, muses Godsized bassist Gavin Kerrigan, sitting opposite me at a little round table, a few feet underground. Not that the quartet have any catching up to do. The boys are preparing for tonight’s anticipated ’do at Oxford Street’s infamous 100 Club, and they’re slipping into both role and venue like a comfy pair of vintage New Rocks. I think they’re taking a break from sound-checking for the minute; it’s a shame no-one seems to have told the pesky drum tech, though… 
Godsized are a tricky lot to pin down. After all, they’ve got over 250 gigs under their belts, and a horde of festival debuts to their name. Oh, in case you didn’t know, there’s also the 2-date European invasion with Life of Agony, and sole support to Black Label Society on their 2011 UK tour to mention – the latter of which I first saw them at, ripping up the Apollo in Hammersmith. Nearly forgot about those ones.  
Yet the omnipresent spectre of record labels still hangs over their bearded heads. Currently unsigned, they’re still awaiting the perfect partnership to cultivate their undeniable talent. And with such a back-catalogue behind them, including a sponsorship with Germany’s holiest firewater export, you can bet your ass it won’t be long. Let’s have a natter with Gavin and guitarist Neil Fish about life on the road, Zakk Wylde, and just why Jagermeister makes you absolutely crazy… 

Rhiannon Marley (RM): Let’s delve a little into your history. For those who aren’t aware, how did your infamous Download breakthrough come about? 
Neil Fish (NF): “Err…we had a manager at the time who managed to get us on it. I mean, it was one of those sorts of things where we’d been working really hard up until that point, just doing as many shows as we could. So we just played hundreds of shows: any night; any bar; any town in England we could get out to. And that was kind of the thing: we just wanted to hit every town. So we made a name for ourselves, and we already had a bit of a following all-round. And our manager approached the Download booker, Andy Copping, and he was like: ‘Yeah, I’ve heard of these guys’; we gave him a CD, and he dug it! But that was a pivotal moment for this band; that was really the moment when we could just, y’know, move on up a bit.” 

RM: Do you agree, Gavin? 
Gavin Kerrigan (GK): “Oh, definitely. ’Cause our slot was like, 11 o’clock in the morning; we weren’t expecting much, to be fair. AC/DC had played the previous night, so everyone was hungover – including us! [Laughs] I think we had to be onstage at half 9…?” 
NF: “9 o’ clock! We had to be up and ready at 9 a.m. for our sound-check! It was pretty brutal!” 

RM: I bet those hangovers were doing you no favours at all…! 
NF: “Urgh! ’Cause we watched DC, and we were just all having a good time, y’know…and then all of a sudden, it just kind of hit us! We were just like: ‘Oh shit! We’ve gotta play tomorrow! Biggest show of our lives!’” 
GK: “Yeah, we even played to a sold-out tent: I mean, 5000 people there!” 
NF: “Yeah, there were 5000 people.” 

RM: …And of course, there’s the infamous Black Label tour to speak of. Obviously, it must have been incredible to play with them, so I’m not gonna ask the generic “how was it?” question. But what parts of Black Label’s musicianship do you admire the most? Could be in relation to your own instruments and playing, too… 
NF: “Oh yeah. I mean, everyone in Black Label is an amazing player at their instrument, respectively; I mean, Zakk Wylde is a guitar master; Nick, the rhythm guitar guy, can play everything Zakk can play. They’re all amazing. JD, the bass player, was just a phenomenal player…” 
GK: “Oh, yeah.” 
NF: “They had two different drummers on the tour: Will Hunt, who plays with Evanescence, and he’s just an absolute crazy player, and then for the European leg of the tour…” 
GK: “John Kelly.” 
NF: “John Kelly: Type O Negative player. And he’s again, just absolutely crazy. So on a musicianship level, everything they do is golden. But I think we learned a lot from their stagecraft.” 

RM: What did you learn?  
NF: “Well, me and Gav in particular watched them every night. Every night apart from one: when we were in Poland, and just got swamped at the merch, and couldn’t. Which was…good! [Laughs] But you just learn how the big boys do it: on a big stage, how to sort of work smart, not hard; how to maximise your use of the stage, and everything. There are a lot of tricks of the trade we learned from those guys. And they were really cool, as well; they couldn’t have treated us any cooler.” 

RM: What an opportunity, though. I understand it was by chance, as well? At last year’s High Voltage Festival?  
NF:  “Mmm. They got our CD; Zakk gave it to his son; he dug it; that was the root of it, really.” 

RM: Not bad. I was reading a recent interview of yours in Metal Hammer, and I think it was you, Neil, who said no matter what sort of crowd you find yourselves in front of, you usually succeed in motivating them. What do you think it is about the music of Godsized that appeals to a wider audience than just the metal style? What do you think it appeals TO, in people?  
GK: “The riff and the groove, innit! That gets everyone going.” [Laughs] 
NF: “That’s the long and short of it. Yeah, I think if you’ve got a good riff and a groove, then people get into that, y’know. That foot-tapping kind of groove [taps foot under table]: people can’t help but dig that sort of stuff. I don’t know really; I just think it’s that we play hard rock music: that’s why I say we’re a rock band. There are loads and loads of different genres we could be pigeonholed into, and there are loads of different genres that inspire us. But I think it’s just rock music, and there are not a lot of bands around at the moment doing the sort of rock music we do. And I think there’s an audience for it, so you find that people just get into it, y’know.” 

RM: It’s about an attitude as much as anything, isn’t it? 
NF: “Oh yeah. Very, very much so. It’s also about completely bustin’ your ass onstage, as well – just giving it 100% all of the time. A lot of bands say they give it 100%, and don’t. But I really believe you’ve gotta come off stage exhausted…” 

[We all piss ourselves laughing as the drum tech (no idea if it’s the same one as before) starts chucking some beats in the middle of our chin-wag once again…we can’t hear a thing, and he shows no signs of slowing down, so we re-locate to a backstage room to carry on.] 

RM: I’d like to touch on the old chestnut of recording contracts – a bone of contention for many up-and-coming artists, particularly ones with your level of success so far. How important do you think it is to straddle the musical integrity of what you do, with meeting requirements for that big commercial break?
NF: “Yeah, it’s hard, because we’re not doing a…like my last answer, saying there aren’t a hell of a lot of bands doing this sort of music; the big record labels are scared to spend any money, ’cause no-one buys CDs anymore. So the money they do have, they want to only put into a show like this; which means following a trend; which means a hundred bands have to already be doing it for them to think it’s worthwhile…So you have to follow a trend at the moment to get anywhere, and I think it’s harder and harder for bands to get signed. I mean, we’re really lucky at the moment that we’ve got Jagermeister sponsoring us…” 

RM: What do you think, Gavin? 
GK: “Well, y’know…the industry’s not like it was back in the 70s, where labels could work on a band for three or four albums; it’s not like that anymore.” 
NF: “The first one’s gotta be…it’s gotta be here, and big, or…” 

RM: The only decent thing about it is that it helps to avoid the long-term financial litigations between labels and artists if something goes wrong… 
NF: “Well, the thing is, at the moment, the cool thing with us is that every penny we make, we keep, and we can keep funding the band, and that’s cool. And we’re starting to see more money come into the band, which is amazing, but it’s still not enough money at the moment for us to be doing this for a living, and to keep roofs over our heads, and pay the bills. So we’re in that situation now where we’re semi-professionals, where we have to go on tour for six weeks at a time, and we have to record albums, but we have to find the money for that, and find the money for going away, and quitting jobs, and getting new jobs when you come back…” 
GK: “We’re between jobs all the time!” 
NF: “Yeah. It’s a struggle. When you’ve got mortgages and bills, and all that. So it’s hard, but you’re a musician; you do it because you have to do it.” 

RM: Actually, my next question leads on from that – what advice would you give to other musicians in your position, about how much of your personal life is compromised by professional life on the road? How much does it restrict you? 
GK: “Definitely, yeah. For us, every weekend, we’re away. To try to have friends outside the band, y’know, it’s a no-go. Girlfriends and wives…they never see us!” 
RM: Unless they come on the road, huh?  
GK: “That’s it. Get in the van, get out there and gig. Gig your ass off.” 
NF: “It’s hard. Yeah, I think you have to be prepared to give it your all. And you can’t go half-arsed at it; you need to just completely dive into it, headfirst. I’ve said it before in interviews, when asked what advice we’d give to a new band: just get in the van, and just play as many shows as you can. Just learn your craft, because the only way to make money in this industry at the moment is through live, and I still think you can break a band live. A rock band or a metal band: you can break a band live still. You can get a really good following, and some good will come of it. And you haven’t got to jump on a bandwagon; you haven’t got to have a fashionable haircut, or a tight pair of jeans, that kind of thing. So I still think you can do it, but you have to work really hard at it. And we’re still doing that.” 

RM: Do you think you’re very much a ‘live band’, as well? 
NF: “Yeah, definitely. It’s what we do.” 
RM: Let’s talk everyone’s favourite subject: Jagermeister! Tell me, gents, why are Jagermeister and metal so compatible? 
NF: “It makes you go crazy! [Laughs] It does, though! I like drinking, and I drink a lot of stuff, but every time you drink Jagermeister…the Jagermeister shots come out; it’s always a more brutal night! It is, though! Everyone can relate to that! And whether that meshes with a metal crowd…who knows!” 

RM: Do you think your being on the Jagermeister sponsorship roster is a compatible pairing, also? Do you think that’s going to be a fruitful relationship?  
NF: “Yeah! I mean, they’ve been amazing to us so far.” 
GK: “So far, yeah.” 
NF: “They’ve done more for us and given more to us than a record label would or could at the moment, for an unsigned band of our level. So we can’t say enough good stuff about them; we’re in constant contact with all the guys at Jagermeister, and they’re just super-supportive. They’re everything we could ask for, really. Yeah, they’re looking after us! It’s good; it’s really good. It’s awesome.” 

RM: That’s tremendous stuff. I’ve got a last couple of questions for you – slightly less work-related! If you could each take five music-related personalities, past or present, live or dead, to dinner, who would they be?
GK: “Well, Phil Lynott would be mine. He’s my hero. [To Neil] You next, dude!” 
NF: “I think I’d probably do a guitar nerd-out dinner party! So, I’d have: Van Halen; Slash; Zakk Wylde; Jimi Hendrix; and someone crazy to mix it up with…” 
GK: “Surely Pepper would be in there, would he…?” 
NF: “Pepper Keenan. There we go. THAT is a party! [Laughs] [To Gavin] You’ve got four left!” 
GK: “I think John Bonham’s gotta be in there…just for the laugh!” 
NF: “Keith Moon! Keith Moon at a dinner party would be good!” 
RM: Lars Ulrich?  
NF: “Hahahahaha!” 
GK: “Keith Moon; Lars Ulrich; and Sebastian Bach! The one and only!” 
NF: “Ohhhhh! Now THAT IS a party! Circa 1989, when he was a 19-year-old crazy guy!” [Laughs] 
RM: …And lastly, boys – Desert-Island Disc: if you could each take three albums with you onto a desert island, what would they be? 
NF: “I’m pretty good at this, so I think I know…I’m gonna have ‘Boggy Depot’ – Jerry Cantrell – I love it, it never leaves my car stereo! I think it would be ‘Pride and Glory’ – Pride and Glory; and ‘Appetite for Destruction’ – Guns N’ Roses, ’cause that was the one album that really made me want to play guitar.” 
GK: “I’d probably pick ‘Badmotorfinger’ – Soundgarden; ‘Mad Season’ – Matchbox Twenty; and a Thin Lizzy album’s gotta be in there, so ‘Bad Reputation’.” 

There’s something about Godsized. And I don’t just mean their playing abilities or dishy looks (although, two words have to be said, ladies: Maximus Ruinous). No, I’m talking about an attitude which is tangible on the gents even during the short period of my meeting them. It’s an unabashed dedication to success; the resolution to get to the top of Everest, with or without the safety-net of the moguls, where lesser wills would falter. But the ears of the bigwigs are already being pricked. On my way to the Intrepid Fox for a piss-up as I await the doors to open for tonight’s show, I see the myriad of famous faces on the walls of the 100 Club: rock n’ roll in their actions; wildness in their visages. And I wonder how long it will be before a snap of the fearless Godsized is tearing a new one among them… 

 

                 

Combichrist Interview by Rhiannon Marley

Photography by Jo Blackened
https://www.facebook.com/Altercarnated.Photography

 

Combichrist frontman, Andy LaPlegua, is all too aware of the stereotype following Scandinavia’s metal boys and girls around like the smell of…how about a dead body? “I’m Norwegian, but I don’t necessarily have to have my corpse-paint on!” he laughs, when pressed about such clichés. “I mean, look at me! You’re taking pictures; it’s not exactly ‘dark’; sitting on my ‘dark throne’!” But despite his protestations of innocence, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies for Andy and his notorious quote-un-quote ‘Aggrotech’ baby.

5 studio albums and 9 EPs, including 2011’s new track, ‘Throat Full of Glass’, have kept their audio side bubbling nicely. Remixes, independent cinema exposure and a growing videography tick the standard CV boxes for acts with the words ‘underground’ and ‘cult’ in their critical inventory. But Combichrist are no shrinking violets. A storm has risen with feminists due to controversial lyrics and visuals; LaPlegua has worn images of the Confederate flag, and done photo-shoots utilising symbols of slavery, war and America’s civil tension. It’s driven critics, bloggers, and the opinionated layman observer wild, and to division. But does Andy LaPlegua really behold the views Combichrist flirt with…or is he just courting sensationalism? I’m about to discuss music, mayhem and mankind with the gent himself, for Metal-Rules.com…

Rhiannon Marley (RM): You’ve recently been supporting renowned industrial metallers Rammstein across both Europe and North America. Do you feel you have a musical affinity with the gents? Are there any choice elements you’re influenced by from the work of commercial industrial acts, such as, and including, Rammstein?

Andy LaPlegua (ALP): “I really don’t think we have much in common at all…except as people; on a personal level, we get along extremely well. As people, we’re very much the same. But background-wise, I think we’re definitely from the way more ‘alternative’ scene than they come from. I think initially what they were doing – from beginning on; I think they had a way higher goal than we have. From day 1, I just wanted to do music; I never planned it out as this big, grand, ‘production’ thing. With all respect to them, I think it’s amazing, y’know; it’s not that I don’t like it, it’s amazing. It’s just that I’ve always done music for the music itself, and for the energy of it – never to do arenas or anything. The thought of us doing arenas is still, even after 100 shows with them, kind of ridiculous to me; I can’t believe we did arena shows – it’s just crazy! But um…I don’t know, we are all from, I guess, the harder music background; we are all more from the ‘darker’ metal stuff: the hardcore; the punk rock; that sort of stuff. It’s just different.”

RM: It’s well-known that your track ‘Shut Up and Bleed’ was featured on 2009 horror flick ‘The Collector’, and also that your YouTube slammer ‘Get Your Body Beat’ was released on the date of 6/06/06. Do you feel there is a certain ‘image’ of cult or macabre affiliation to uphold within the genre of your music? If so, is this something you embrace or ignore?

ALP: “No, I don’t think so; I think the music speaks for itself, and the character we’ve built around…like, I’ve got different projects, and different music styles, and different things, and I think I create kind of a ‘character’ for each and every one of them. And for keeping that together as a ‘character’ in that project, or in that band, it’s a part of the concept, and a part of the art. But me as a person: I’m very relaxed with everything that I do; um, I can ‘distance’ myself from stuff that I do as a character, but personally, there’s definitely a person of ‘me’ in that character, or the person of part of me, in that music. If not, I wouldn’t be doing it. But um…I don’t need to have a ‘rock-star’ image for doing this thing; doing a character around something is fun, and it can create something, but if you try to ‘live’ that character, I think you’re missing out on so many other things in life.”

I go to ask Andy my third question, dropping in the observation that he’s previously worked a lot with Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit fame, when he continues…

ALP: “[Wes Borland’s] a good example, actually. He’s nothing like Limp Bizkit…because if he were, we probably wouldn’t be working with him! No disrespect to Limp Bizkit or anything, but that’s not our thing. But he, as a person, and as a musician, is absolutely…a genius, and an amazing person. But Limp Bizkit is nothing that I would ever consider touching, y’know. Like, they’re doing their thing; they’re doing it great. But he’s definitely a good example of being just an artist, and doing different characters, and different things. Sorry, I completely ruined your question!” (Laughs)

RM: Not a problem at all; it’s always great when artists have a lot to say, and it adds to the interview experience. The reason I mentioned Wes Borland was to ask about ideal creative unions: if you could collaborate with any musician, live or dead, past or present, within the work of Combichrist, who would it be?

ALP: “I would really like to make an album with Johnny Cash and David Bowie. That would be an interesting album. I wouldn’t have to sing on it; I would just want to produce it and write it. I think that would be amazing. It’s because it’s two artists that are a tremendous inspiration to me; not necessarily musically, but just as musicians and artists, in terms of how they are open to everything around them. Going back to the same thing again: not getting stuck on one thing, and if there’s something that interests them, they would approach it, and not be afraid that it would be something different.”

RM: Keep your thoughts buzzing on your own musical preferences, Andy – there’s a question I want to ask you later on which I hope will probe a little deeper on that. Before I do, I’d like to ask whether you feel the European audiences are more or less receptive to the ‘Aggrotech’ style of Combichrist, than your native Norwegian or perhaps the American fans?

ALP: “Oh, I hate that Aggrotech term…it’s really hard to compare Europe to the US, because you have cities…it’s easier to compare cities. Berlin is very similar to New York. But it can be so different: New York and L.A. are so different. The same as Hamburg and Berlin, which are just three hours away, but it’s completely different crowds, and different type of mentalities. It’s almost impossible to compare, y’know. I don’t even know how to…I think American audiences are more open to something different. Germany, specifically: they have their ‘scene’, which is their industrial Gothic scene, and it’s been there for so long: it’s so ‘bred’, y’know. They don’t listen to anything else: that’s their thing, that’s all they care about. But in the US, that scene is smaller, but the majority of our crowd there are ‘techno-kids’; ‘metal-kids’; ‘hardcore-kids’: all the things that we are influenced by, that’s the kind of crowd we have, like, all the different people. You come to Germany; it can be hard to do what we do sometimes, because we don’t have those ‘restrictions’ that most of the German scene-bands have. Anything goes for us: now we use a guitarist, y’know. It’s not ‘metal’, but we’re adding that influence to it. We have the ‘live’ genres: the percussionist, for instance. There are a lot of influences in there that are not German, electronic-based stuff. Sometimes it’s hard to push things like that in Germany, but we’ve done it for so long now, we just gradually got more and more to where we are at now; we kind of ‘snuck’ it in there. People kind of appreciate it now, but I think it’s definitely hard for a new band to do something like this, because they’re much more narrow-minded for their scene.”

RM: Although there are common denominators between your previous works and most recent album, 2010’s ‘Making Monsters’, what do you feel is most evidently developed in your skills, when comparing your primitive and more sophisticated works?

ALP: “I think every release kind of stands by itself. There’s one red line in everything that I’ve ever done with Combichrist, and that’s: ‘I’ve done exactly what I want to do, at the time I’m doing it’. And except from that, I do what I want to do, and not what people expect me to do. So that’s the red line through everything; except from that, I just go with what I want to do. The next album might even sound more like the first album – who knows? If that’s what I want to do when I’m doing an album, that’s what I’m going to do. If I want to do something completely different, that’s what I’m going to do. Everything evolves all the time, and you grow as a person; you grow as an artist; but deep at heart, I’m still the same person as I was when I…even more so now; I’m probably embracing more of what I did as a kid now than I did a few years ago. A few years ago, it was a little bit more important to me to make sure that things were right; now, I’m kind of pulling out more of the things that I enjoyed when I was younger, because I allowed myself to do so. There are a lot of bands who after a while, they go: ‘Oh, I can’t believe we did this back then’, or ‘I can’t believe that’, but there was a reason why we did it: it was because we thought it was fun, and because we embraced that, and I allowed myself to revisit that. The opposite, too; there were things back then that I didn’t allow myself to do, because it wasn’t ‘cool’ to do so. But now, I reflect on it; whatever I like, I’m just gonna like it. It doesn’t have to be a certain thing. I just like music, y’know, whatever it is; I’m not a big fan of hip-hop, but if I were to put it on the radio…if a song is good, I’m not gonna turn it off just because it’s a hip-hop song. If it’s good, it’s good. It doesn’t happen very often (Laughs), but it can happen. I mean, I’m not gonna shut it down for what it is; it’s rather for, y’know, the ‘packaging’. If it’s good, it’s good.”

RM: To touch back on your point concerning doing just what you want to do, and not what anyone expects you to do, are there any unlikely musical inspirations within the music of Combichrist to which you don’t mind admitting for Metal-Rules readers? Perhaps an artist or act that we wouldn’t expect you to creatively draw from?

ALP: “In my music? I’m almost obsessed by, what do we call it? The ‘Last Great Generation’. I’m obsessed about anything pre-1960. Lifestyle-wise, and just the mentality: hard work; how you treat people; just ‘goodness’. What inspires me the most in life is…I don’t believe in religion, but I’m amazed that people do believe in things, because it just doesn’t compute in my head that people can believe in things like that. I’m inspired by doing ‘right’ and doing ‘good’ with people. That’s basically my main principle on things, because what people think are ‘good’ and ‘evil’; it’s really not necessarily what is written in terms of religion; what’s written in terms of ‘behaving’, y’know. I’m a firm believer in only ‘humanitarian’ evil and good: nothing else has evil and good. So it’s just a human concept, it’s nothing else. I could sit and talk about this for hours; and that’s one of the things I put into the characters, too, doing this: putting that concept into the characters. Most of my lyrics, for example. So much of it helped to demonstrate…some feminist groups, for example: they think ‘Oh, it’s sexist or whatever’ [about the lyrics of Combichrist], y’know...no. That song you are talking about: it’s just a damn song; it’s just a character. You’re not gonna go out and yell at Wes Craven because some inbred person raped that girl on a hill. It was just a movie. And it’s not Wes Craven, it was one of his characters – and that’s how I feel about my music, too. It’s important to reflect good and bad in music too, because you shouldn’t forget about these things: they exist, and we live with it. We have to deal with it on a daily basis, so why not put it in music?”

RM: …And now for my last question before we wrap up, Andy: hypothetical Desert-Island Disc. If you could pick three albums to take with you to a desert island, what would they be?

ALP: “I would pick: ‘Apocalypse Dudes’ by Turbonegro; any Helicopters album; and Best of Billie Holiday.”

To cash in on bad taste might seem unsavoury. It exploits taboos in the corners of all our minds – understanding, of course, that such taboos are there to begin with. But LaPlegua reasons this through the drama of Combichrist: it’s not chauvinism; it’s characterisation. An easy scapegoat? Maybe. Insensitive and mercenary? Possibly. Or perhaps Andy LaPlegua, a clever and well-read man, is just playing on the way our minds work – for better, for worse. And maybe we ought to look closer to home to explain why controversy is so marketable. The idea that no publicity is bad publicity circulates cross-temporal, cross-stylistic and cross-creative shores: musically speaking, à la Cradle of Filth; N.W.A.; Lady Gaga. But I’m looking forward to seeing how Combichrist deliver onstage tonight – and to see if, in the words of Gone with the Wind’s Rhett Butler, “with enough courage, [they really] can do without a reputation”…

 

 

                 

Anterior interview - Backstage at the Islington Academy 7/10/11

Interview by James Meakin

Photography by Jolie Swannack

https://www.facebook.com/JolieSwannackPhotography

We had a chance to discuss musical inspiration, pure love of metal and tour shenanigans with Anterior before their Islington Academy show with label mates Malefice and headliners Sylosis!

Who are you and what do you do in the band?

James:  I’m James Cook and I play Drums

Steven: I’m Steven Nixon and I play Guitar

Could you just give us a brief history of Anterior?

Steven: Well there has been a lot of line up changes.  The three original members grew up in same town, went to the same school and started playing metal music and got together.  Basically what happened Luke used to play guitar and sing but he developed carpel tunnel in his wrist and had to give up on playing guitar and concentrate just on singing and that’s where I joined the band to play guitar.  They had a nightmare with drummers over about two years I think there were about five drummers and James joined the band...

James:  In about 2009 I was asked to join the band

Steven:  We have had a solid line up for about two years now, it’s a weight off, and we feel like a solid line up now.

Tonight is the last night of the tour with your label mates Malefice and headliners Sylosis, how has the tour been going so far?

Steven:  Awesome, there has been a few hiccups on the tour but that’s just touring but the turnout at all the shows have been really good and we get on well with all the bands on the tour... We are all good friends with all the bands.

James:  We are actually quite disappointed that it is over, it doesn’t feel like it’s been eight days or whatever it has been.  It doesn’t feel long enough, everyone is kind of kicking into their stride of playing well on tour and having a laugh with each other...

Do you just want to keep going?

James:  Yeah but I think there will be a slight bit of carnage going on tonight!

What do you think makes metal special and why do you feel the need to create metal?

Steven:  Good Question!

James:  I work at a drum shop and a lot of people say ‘oh you play metal that’s angry music’ but I don’t see metal as angry music, I see it as passionate music.  You have something that you want to say...

Steven:  The reasons I think a lot of people play metal... 80-90% of people who are into metal are also musicians, when you start playing an instrument, I don’t know.  For me, I started playing Green Day songs and as I started to get better and better at the guitar I started to play properly I found all that stuff was too easy and I started learning songs that were harder.  Van Halen, Steve Vai, Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen.  I think as you progress as a musician your taste in music naturally progresses as well.  For me it did anyway

James:  If you can play the kind of technical metal that we play, then that’s a good thing!  When I started playing, as Steve said, I was playing Nirvana Covers and Chili Peppers covers.  Looking at the start of my playing when I was ten to where I am now I would have never seen myself playing in a metal band like this but I absolutely love the music and I love playing it, especially the stuff of the new record.  When we actually get a chance to play some of the new materiel it’s a really satisfying situation.

You guys were described in Metal Hammer as ‘Catchy Melo-Death with a thrash backbone’,  there’s a lot of words there but how would you best describe your sound?

Steven:  That’s a hard one!

James:  That’s actually a running joke within us.  At one point the genre on our MySpace was Welsh punk folk metal.  Loads of people say we’re metal were metal core, thrash, death metal.  It’s like, we don’t pigeonhole ourselves.  We play what we want to play.

Steven:  There are too many influences to say ‘we are hardcore’.  There are loads, as James said.  Metal core, death metal, Melodic Death.  There’s all these new kinds of music

James:  Swiss Metal, Euro Metal, Danish Metal!  All of that type of area!  It’s all in there!

Steven:  Japanese pop funk!

I think there are too many words that tend to ruin a certain aspect of metal...

Steven:  It normalises it... Boring, Stupid

James:  Just play it.

I read some reviews on your MySpace page to get an idea of what seeing you guys is like, I have never seen you live before so this will be my first Anterior show.  What makes an Anterior gig different to any other metal band gig?

Steven:  I just think we have a lot of energy.  We put a lot of time into what we are doing and make sure the sound is solid.  We would not feel right going on tour and fucking up on being sloppy.  So I think one of the things we pride ourselves on is being super tight.

James:  Were not that kind of band who would have a guy just sit there and play guitar.  It’s not our thing.  We are the metal band of enjoying ourselves on stage because that’s who we are off stage.  It may sound really stupid but we are not sensible people!

Steven:  We are mad totally!  We have a lot of energy in our stage show and it does reflect when we play.

James:  It helps the crowd too.  If you have a lot of energy on stage it helps the crowd get into it as well.  Same thing as if the crowd has a lot of energy so do we, it feeds off each other.

Steven:  If you are going to stand on stage not moving and just playing, what’s the difference?  You might as well just listen to a CD.  People are coming out and paying fifteen quid to see a show.  So you’ve got to remember that.

I have been listening to ‘The Silent Divide’ how important are the guitar solos to the identity of the band?

Steven:  Obviously I think it’s a big part of what we do.  I don’t want to say we are a guitar driven band because all the musicians in the band are equally important and equally as efficient but it seems to be a big part of the music.

James:  Yeah definitely, if you were to take it out it wouldn’t be Anterior anymore.

It’s been just over a month since ‘Echoes of the Fallen’ has been released.  How have the new songs been going down live?

James:  Storming.  This tour is not the first time we have played the songs off the new album, but this is the best reaction ever because people know the words.  More people going for it, now when we introduce a song people lose their shit!  And that is the response you are looking for at the end of the day.

And that must make you ‘lose your shit’ as well?

James:  Exactly!

Scott Atkins produced the record; he has produced Cradle of Filth, Gama Bomb and Sylosis.  He said in his blog the guitars were recorded left and right and it was a bit more work but for better results.  Do you think Scott Atkins pushed you guys to produce a better record?

Steven:  I think he did because we had the record written but obviously Scott has been in bands.  He was in Stamping Ground, he has toured the circuit and worked with people and knows what he is talking about.  When we started recording he would say ‘are you sure about that?’ and make us look at it again.  He made us revamp some of the riffs and overall we got a better album.  He didn’t change a lot but just a few things.

James:  He really pushed me when I was doing the drums. I was doing my drums back in September and I was doing 10 to 11 hours in the studio really pushing myself as well.  I would sit there and play the drums and he would listen and say ‘Bit wooden mate?’  You think ‘that’s a bit rude!’ but he said it on purpose to pick me up and give me that little bit more venom and get my personality into it as well.  He would suggest different ideas with fills and then recording them and instead of having just one fill you’ve recorded he has five so when he is sitting there doing the tracking he can cut them in there.  Can’t wait to work with him on the next album!

I found there was a definite live vibe with the album.  Something about the sound was very immediate.  Do you think that’s something that is very important to your band?

Steven:  You do get bands that play the record over and over again and edit it so it is super tight and it sounds really clinical and dry.  Everything is completely perfect and computerised.  That was something we definitely did not want to do.  We tried to keep the vibe; we tried not to edit the guitars too much.

James:  One thing we hate with any band is if you record something on your album; don’t record something that is out of your BPM range.  Don’t play something that is too fast for you because you have to play it live.  If you can’t play it live there is no point in recording it.

You talked about playing Green Day and Nirvana covers, what is your earliest musical memory and how does it resonate with you today?

Steven:  for metal I think it was Deep Purple.  It was bands like that and it was my Dad who let me hear them.

James:  My Dad dragged me to loads of Rhythm and Blues gigs from the age of five and that’s where I got into music.  It’s quite strange now because when I look back on it, when I was younger I wanted to be the guitarist.  I wanted to be the cool guy at the front getting all the attention and now I’m at the back of the crowd!  Now I am the drummer no one can see me and that’s what’s frustrating! Now I am older and wiser I realise I now actually have the coolest job in the band because I am the drummer!

So this is the last date of the tour, what crazy stories can you share with us?

 

Steven:  Yesterday I was sleeping on my mates couch in Burnley and I wake up to shouting and three of them are in full KISS make up.  Then we were getting to service stations and they were just walking around like nothing was wrong, going up to the counter like ‘What?’  Some people’s reactions were really funny.

James:  I don’t know why it happened.  Someone found his girlfriends nail varnish and started painting their nails still drunk from the night before and remembered we had some face paint upstairs.  They put me as Peter Criss!

‘Not even Peter Chris wants to be Peter Criss’

James:  Exactly! ‘I’m a cat’. then someone said they would be Paul Stanley and I thought, thank fuck I’m not the only one who is going to look like a dickhead!  It’s one of those things, it might not seem it but we work very hard on tour.  Very hard to be away from your loved ones and be away from home on tour and to do these drives that we do is such hard work because you are in such close contact with each other when you have a chance to have a laugh just take it.  I think that’s the reputation we have on this tour.

 

You said in an interview that the new album sounds very mature.  Do you think that after the Carpel Tunnel, all the drummers, being without management means you have done a lot of growing up over the last 4 years?

Steven:  I think it’s more of a musical maturity.  When you write songs obviously the first song you write is going to be shit but the more write you refine it and the more songs you write the more it becomes something you want it to be and what we meant by maturity.

James:  I think it becomes more organic because you know what you want to come out.  Instead of thinking about what you are going to be playing you know what you want to play.  Even in the two years I have been in Anterior my playing has matured a lot.  My whole way of thinking about playing has matured a hell of a lot.  I appreciate it so much, I love touring because it’s like a rehearsal, we play every single night and we get tighter and tighter.  Last night we played in Nottingham and we have songs up near 190BPM and they didn’t feel fast! You sit there and play them and its fine, it not a struggle at all.  Can’t get enough of that!

You also stated in that interview that you consider yourself to be an up to date 80s metal band.  Where does that come from do you guys get a lot of influence from the 80s?

Steven: I would say personally, as far as the guitars go. When people who are not really up on metal ask what we sound like I would say to sum it up we sound like a really heavy iron maiden.  We do a lot of the same stuff, the guitar harmonies and the guitar solos.  It’s a good idea of what we do.  So an up to date 80s band maybe?  As a good description.

Do you consider yourself to be a Welsh metal band?

Steven: No

James: No

Steven:  I would say we are based in Wales but two of our members live in London.  I live pretty much near Glasgow and two members live in South Wales and we congregate in South Wales.

James:  that’s our HQ!

Bands like you guys and bands like Revoker are coming out of Wales.  What makes Wales such a great place for bands to come from?

James:  Nothing else to do!

Steven:  Sheep and fields and metal.

James:  I don’t know what it is, it’s always been good even with the Bullet for my Valentine days.  But what’s really cool is we are actually really good friends with Revoker and we know Dan from Skindred as well so it’s almost like a brotherhood from Wales.

Steven:  What I love about South Wales is if you go to a gig all the bands get on with you and all the bands support each other and I think that’s really important.  In other cities it’s really competitive.  It is a fantastic community.

For more information about Anterior:

http://www.metalblade.com/english/artists/anterior/bio.php

http://www.facebook.com/ANTERIOR1?ref=ts

 

                 

Onslaught Interview - Jeff Williams & Andy Rosser-Davies by James Meakin

We caught up with Onslaught back stage before their storming headline of the Relentless Garage.  They spoke to me about the spirit of the band and most definitely the ‘Ethos’ and ‘Zeitgeist’.... and their love of KISS!

Please start by telling our readers who are you and what do you do?:
ANDY: Hi I am Andy Rosser-Davies from Onslaught
JEFF: And I am Jeff Williams from Onslaught and I play bass and prefer KISS

I was reading a little bit about your band and I understand that in the very early days, the 80’s, there was a definite punk rock influence and I was wondering what that brings to the table?
ANDY: Punk rock brings an attitude I guess would be the best way to describe it wouldn’t you think?
JEFF: Yes
ANDY: It’s an Ethos, can I say Ethos? I just did say it, can I unsay Ethos? It brings that approach, the way anything goes, the aggression...
JEFF: Zeitgeist!
ANDY: Yes, the zeitgeist of the band, an ethic

I was listening to ‘Seeds of Hate’ how did you write the song and what is the Onslaught Creative Process?
ANDY:  There are lots of different processes I guess.  I think each song is a different approach and I think...
JEFF:  It’s a Zeitgeist!
ANDY:  Ha ha ha, yes it’s an Ethos as well as a Zeitgeist! Each song is approached in a different way, each member of the band has a lot of issues and things they want to say.  I think there is no set way to do things and whatever works I guess really!  With seeds of hate it is obviously a political and religious subtext which there is in the band.  I think we sing about a lot of stuff that goes on in the world and a lot of important issues.

The title track from the album ‘Killing Peace’ contains the lyric ‘spitting blood in the face of God’.  Religion is a large part of your lyrical subject matter.  Where does that come from?
ANDY:  I think it’s a personal attitude within the band.  With religion and certain attitudes towards religion there is an aspect of the unhealthy and that it is not a good thing to do and I think the lyrics are purposely provocative in order to...
JEFF:  Make people think a little bit more...
ANDY:  Yeah...
JEFF:  Religion is just a way of controlling people and gets people to think a certain way.  I think you need to be free with yourself and to do that you need to abandon religion.

What purpose does the music you create serve within a wider metal sphere?  Where do you see yourself positioned?
ANDY:  I think thrash, going back to your first question it’s akin to punk it its attitudes...or Ethos... Sorry to use that word again but it is the whole approach it’s the anti establishment, aggressive anti establishment anti orthodox... it’s a very wordy interview isn’t it!
JEFF:  Yeah you’re just showing off!
ANDY:  Yeah I’m just showing off.  It is what I think, it makes people think, and we like playing thrash music and writing music that yeah... Makes people think.
JEFF:  I think thrash music and more extreme forms of metal...
(At this point the large fan in the Onslaught dressing room begins to blow both members extremely long hair around...)
ANDY: You look like you are in a Whitesnake video!
JEFF: I always think I am in a Whitesnake video!
ANDY:  Sorry I distracted you and what you were saying was very important...
JEFF:  What I was saying is that as this country develops into more of a nanny state which is definitely what is happening younger kids are getting into more extreme forms of music in general because it’s a release of the control, again, of what is being forced on them.  So there is a new generation of Thrash Metal fans, there is a new generation of extreme metal fans.  At one point thrash metal was as extreme as it got but it’s almost like its ‘mid-table’.
ANDY:  Still premier league!
JEFF:  Yeah but still mid-table as far as extremity is concerned.  People will still be into it as the nanny state continues to oppress people.

Therefore is the reason you decided to get back together in 2004 due to the state of the world?
JEFF:  I think it was just one of those days...
ANDY:  It was a Thursday afternoon and there wasn’t much on the telly so...  Living in a nanny state, nothing on the TV what better way of getting away from it?
JEFF:  How about another Zeitgeist?! Ha ha ha...

How would you best describe your live show to someone who hasn’t seen you before?
ANDY: Loud. Loud.  Loud.
JEFF:  Tends to be quite Loud... Energetic
ANDY:  Aggressive
JEFF:  We try to get the audience as involved as we can.
ANDY:  There was one show we did in Holland last year and Jeff instigated a stage invasion, and I guess that summed up the whole ethos of the band
JEFF:  Kind of like a Zeitgeist?! Ha ha ha
ANDY:  We were doing the last song and there was about 25-30 people on there
JEFF:  Let us know what you think afterwards when we are in the bar!
ANDY:  But only if you thought it was good!
JEFF:  Or just lie to us...

You are signed to AFM records, how has that helped you?
ANDY:  I think AFM have helped immensely, they share the drive the band has and they share the vision... Or Zeitgeist!  We could just repeat Zeitgeist all the time!  They really have gotten behind the band.  They want the new albums right away and fully support the band with a great band.

Do you think that puts pressure on you to put out an album before its ready?
ANDY: No, the control is always within the band still and I think nothing will be released until it is ready, until we hit that Zeitgeist!  But! It is good to have their support and that they want the best for the band, they have been fantastic.

Having been a band in one way or another since the mid 1980’s what would you say is the craziest thing you have seen on the road, at one of your gigs or just touring in general?
ANDY:  At a Dutch show again, because the Dutch are crazy, a guy in a wheel chair crowd surfing while he was in the pit while he was going crazy in the pit!
JEFF:  The great thing about that was looking up and all I could see was this guy being held up in a wheelchair in the middle of this crazy crowd.  Put my head down, then looked up again and there was just an empty wheelchair!

Other than music what influences you?
ANDY:  Jeff likes KISS!
JEFF:  I much prefer KISS, the band kiss unless you are offering?
ANDY:  I love star wars... which is sad.

That’s not sad at all.  I love star wars.
ANDY:  Classic rock, ACDC, Led Zeppelin
JEFF:  Music, art, Classical films, B-Movies,
ANDY: Wait we are a thrash band... So death, destruction
JEFF: Evil, Star Wars, people worshiping Satan...

 

                 

The Answer Interview – 13/09/2011 By Rhiannon Marley
Photography by Adam Skelton

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are The Answer!” At least, that was frontman Cormac Neeson’s opening line at the Mean Fiddler, on November 1st 2006. Such was my first encounter with the quartet of County Down rockers, with their bluesy hooks and equally-fetching looks.
Well actually, I’m telling a lie. My inaugural introduction to The Answer was after I read a quarter-page excerpt on their story in Kerrang!, of all places. It’s notoriously a playground for either the big-money-makers or the GhD-fringed teenage heart-breakers; that’s probably why the passage on Northern Ireland’s most interesting recent musical export was only about 12 lines long. Still, “for fans of Free, Thin Lizzy and Led Zeppelin” was enough to grab my attention; out I went, and sought my copy of 2006’s ‘Rise’. Hold tight. 
And ‘Rise’ lived up to the verb of its namesake. After 2009’s release, ‘Everyday Demons’, and a kaleidoscope of star-studded rungs on their CV, they’re cooking a storm for 2011 baby, ‘Revival’ – released on October 3rd. And apparently, it’s their best yet. As I walk into the Universal UK building to meet three of the boys, I can’t help noticing how relaxed they all look, as they bask in the dishabille sweetness of growing rock n’ roll success. Let’s talk classic blues, Clutch and creating pizzas with The Answer… 

RM: You’ve discussed the history of the group in previous interviews, including Cormac being in the States at a time when the band was merely a foetus of a brainchild; James finishing his degree in psychology before things took off, etc. Are you all fatalistic about the coming-together of the group, or do you think it was very much a chain reaction of cause and effect, and being in the right place at the right time? 
Paul Mahon (PM): “Definitely fate, wasn’t it? Even for guys who were such…y’know…dedicated musicians, we never really made a real band until this one, which was quite strange, I think, growing up. So I was always waiting for something, and it came along before long with these guys. Definitely fate, I’d say.” 
Cormac Neeson (CN): “I mean, those guys got in contact with me, as you’ve probably read about, in America, and I didn’t really return their calls when I got home! It was more a case of…I’d enrolled in an ethnomusicology course in Belfast, and on the first day, this guy came in late, and there was only one spare seat, and the guy sat down beside me, and the first thing, well, not the first thing, but one of the first things he said to me was: ‘I was just reading a list of names on the door…you don’t know a Cormac Neeson in this class, do you?’, and I said: ‘You’re being cheeky here, eh?!’ [Laughs] And Paul explained that he was who he was, and that he’d been looking for me to come and try out for the band. And that’s when we got our first rehearsal organised, and it all happened there, y’know. So, if that’s not fate…” 

RM: Being the epicentre of many of the influences of The Answer, predominantly the blues, do you feel American audiences respond differently to your music than UK ones? Not just in your native Ireland, but also Britain, Europe, etc… 
Micky Waters (MW): “Yeah, it’s different, like it’s different to go from England to France, or France to Germany. Every state’s very, very different. Like the whole West Coast: some people are too-cool-for-school; the East Coast maybe let their hair down a bit more; Mid-West, they just go mental for rock n’ roll! I think it’s different all the way across. But there’s definitely more appreciation for classic and blues rock n’ roll, I think, in the States than there is here.” 
CN: “I think, y’know…you play a show, say, if you go to the AC/DC audiences, there’s a weird difference between an American AC/DC audience and a European AC/DC audience. I mean, in America, it seemed to be more of a family-orientated event: everybody will have their car parked, and parties, and their barbecues…and then come in, and it’ll be all seated, so people will have a lot of space to stand, whereas in Europe, it’s just like every man for himself; every man and woman for themselves. They’d start crowd-surfing from about half an hour before we step up, y’know, The Answer step up, which is always good for us! But when you go to America, you do get a real sense, maybe not so much at the DC shows, but just from walking around places, like Memphis and New Orleans, Nashville and Vista, you get a real sense that you’re walking the well-trodden ground. You’re driving along the banks of the Mississippi, and you’re thinking how the blues just made its way up this river, and then that’s how it all began. It’s a special place down in that Deep South.”

RM: So no more pizza-selling in New Jersey for you then, Cormac? 
CN: [Laughs] “No, that was one of the conditions of the boys!” 

RM: It’s great that you’ve mentioned your AC/DC connections, because I wanted to ask you all about your CV in a supporting role. You’ve notably supported many classic rock icons: besides DC, there’s Aerosmith, The Who, Deep Purple and Whitesnake. When you started out, did you aspire to a similar ‘classic’ sound, or a more unconventional approach to rock n’ roll?  
PM: “I don’t think we thought about it that much, or that deeply; we just kind of got together, and wanted to make music that was a reaction against what was going on at the time, which was kind of the dregs of Brit-pop; nu-metal was kind of at its peak…” 
RM: That old chestnut… 
PM: [Laughs] “Yeah, it was maybe the early days of garage rock: The Strokes, and all that kind of stuff. So we thought…a band like The Black Crowes were kind of, I think happy to represent the 70s and that kind of stuff for a long time. And they were even starting to peter out a little bit. And there was no-one else holding that end of things up. So we thought: ‘Obviously, there’s a vacuum that we could fill.’ I guess as we went on, and everyone goes: ‘Oh, you’re retro this, you’re retro that’, there was a bit of a chip on the shoulder to do something new, something a bit more modern, but I don’t think it was that contrived. We just did what we did.” 

RM: What about you guys [Micky and Cormac], what do you think?   
CN: “Well, if you’re gonna be in a rock n’ roll band, I think it’s necessary to tap into the energy and the spirit of that kind of thread of raw human emotion that, y’know, dates right back to the blues, the Delta blues, and that’s been there ever since – right up through the Led Zeppelins of this world; right up through the Guns N’ Roses of this world; through the Grunge movement; Paul mentioned The Black Crowes; and y’know, there’s too many bands around these days that turn their backs on that honesty; that raw soul, is the simplest way to describe it. And I think we, from the start, we understood and respected that kind of power that exists in rock n’ roll music, and we tried very hard to do that justice. But also, it’s important that we’re not just regurgitating, and that the music that we play has a relevance. And we wholeheartedly believe that the music that we play is very relevant. It’s not just turning over old riffs and old ways of doing things; we have a very unique style, and a very unique way of doing things, and that just makes The Answer unique.” 

RM: It’s interesting to hear your thoughts on the nature of blues music itself; I want to ask you guys a question specifically related to that a little bit later on. Relating to blues artists, though, I was excited to read about your duet with Paul Rodgers, at the Planet Rock Radio Christmas party in 2007. Considering also your cover of Free’s ‘Fire and Water’ on ‘Revival’, a song from the 1970 album of the same name, does the work of Free or Bad Company influence The Answer at all? Possibly Rodgers’ singing style on you, Cormac, or Paul Kossoff’s guitar playing on you, Paul?  
PM: “Yeah…it’s funny; we always get tagged with the ‘Free’ thing, the ‘Zeppelin’ thing. I never really thought, listening to our stuff, that it sounds like Free. I mean, obviously, Cormac has an influence from Paul Rodgers, and Paul Kossoff is a massive influence on me; even Micky takes a little bit from Andy [Fraser]. But I never thought our songs, when you analyse them, sound like Free. But when you get into the influences, yeah. I mean, ‘All Right Now’ is the first solo I ever learned note-for-note. So my, kind of, blueprint for playing the guitar comes from that: from his vibratos; when he bends; when he phrases. So yeah, that’s a massive influence. But Free are very ‘sparse’; there’s a lot of space. I think we fill that space up a little bit more.” 
RM: I think you’re heavier than Free, as well.  
PM: “Yeah, definitely.”

RM: What do you think, Cormac? 
CN: “Yeah, I mean, that duet, it was a dream come true for me. He’s still to this day my favourite singer, and probably the biggest single influence on my singing-style. And even in the kind of way he holds himself on stage; I know he’s a lot more ‘controlled’ than I am [Laughs], but whenever you watch that old footage of him perform, that music’s just flowing through him, and he’s feeling every note. And along with Rory Gallagher – that kind of live passion that Rory lets go, lets out of him whenever he used to play live, back in those days –, those two guys just really have had a massive influence, just on my general approach and attitude to getting up there, and enjoying what I do.” 

RM: And speaking of that kind of passion and emotion, this might seem an obvious question to ask, since you’re all musicians, but you’d be surprised at the amount of people who don’t really ‘get it’: when you hear certain music (certain notes with other certain notes; particular melody lines with vocal lines; or something that ‘hits you’), do you really ‘feel’ it internally? 
CN: “Yes! I think you’d have to be dead on the inside not to get it! [Laughs] Not to get a twang from time to time!” 

RM: Actually, there are a lot of bands bringing some of the old-school blues and rock n’ roll style back to the table. Clutch, for instance – incredible at Download. Are you guys fans of Clutch? 
MW: “Oh yeah. Didn’t see them this year – saw them at High Voltage last year.” 
PM: “Were they doing the main stage at Download this year?” 

RM: No, they did the second stage. They should have done the main stage, though – the turn-out was immense, and I didn’t realise just how good they are live. But alongside them, the likes of Black Stone Cherry, who I understand you were supporting one time, are touring with Alter Bridge in November; Orange Goblin are confirmed for BOA 2012; Black Country Communion’s debut movie is being released to cinemas in November; Airbourne supported Iron Maiden for the first portion of their UK tour, etc. There’s been a good deal of resurgence of the older, groovier style in recent times. 
MW: “There’s a very healthy rock n’ roll scene out there. I think kids want to go to rock shows now, as much as want to go to ‘Indie’ shows, which is a real turn of events over the last five years.” 

RM: It’s a fantastic turn of events. But do you think that with that resurgence, there’s been any pressure to commercialise it, or carve the edges off it at all? 
MW: “Hmm…not really. I mean, they’re still doing the ‘old-school’ thing in bands like Clutch, or any of the bands that you mentioned, so, I don’t think changing it’s their aim.” 
CN: “It’s almost like it’s just still a massive, but unbelievably strong underground scene. I mean, from my perspective, this album is all about just doing what we do, and getting the right producer, the five of us combined, to just make the album we’ve always wanted to make, y’know. I mean, that’s not influenced by anything other than our own personal preferences, and love for what we do.” 

RM: Let’s touch on that anticipated album in question, ‘Revival’. How do you feel you have developed, not only as artists and musicians, but also as people, in the progression from 2006’s ‘Rise’, to 09’s ‘Everyday Demons’, and finally to 11’s ‘Revival’? 
MW: “Our experience from so much touring and travel has definitely affected our angle, maybe style of song-writing, as well. There’s more content, and I think everybody’s far better at performing and playing than we were in the first two records. And I think also we put more effort and time into writing this record as well: almost a year. We came off the AC/DC tour; we were on a high; we’d just had the best year and a half of our lives. And basically, a week later, we got straight into the rehearsal rooms, and started writing, and we just kept writing constantly; we didn’t know when to put a full-stop on it. It wasn’t until the guy who produced the record, Chris ‘Frenchie’ Smith, came over, and said: ‘All right, we’re about to stop now.’ And even then, we didn’t really stop; we kept going, right up to the studio.” 

RM: There’s a lot of material involved in ‘Revival’; you were all very much workaholics with it?  
MW: “Yeah, absolutely. Every minute we were awake, kind of thing.” 

RM: All that passion you were talking about, yeah? 
MW: “Of course. And it really comes across on the record, I think. There’s not one dull moment; it’s definitely a bit of a grower. Every time you listen to it, even now, you hear something new.” 

RM: Those kinds of records are always the best. I mentioned to you guys earlier that I wanted to ask a question about the blues, as a style of music: why do you think the blues manages to survive so many musical ‘recessions’, so to speak, and continues to touch people as strongly as it always did?  
MW: “I guess because it comes from the heart, y’know. It’s soulful; it means something to everybody. It’s never ‘in fashion’, and it’s never ‘out of fashion’; it’s just sort of always there. I guess it doesn’t really shoot itself in the foot like some pop acts and nu-metal things do; it’s just pretty much down-the-middle, I guess.” 
CN: “’Cause it was the first form of popular music, it really appealed to your human side, y’know. It appealed to the soul, and that thread’s just never gone away, thankfully.” 

RM: I think it helps that in blues music, the instruments really ‘speak’ as much as the singer; being played in such a way to mimic the voice, it’s obviously a very humanistic and personal kind of art.  
The Answer: “Absolutely.” 

RM: I’ve got a last couple of questions for you before you go and get absolutely slaughtered… 
The Answer: [Laughs] “Us? Never!” 

RM: I wanted to direct this one at Paul: I’ve read that you’re quite into 80s metal – I think you said that one somewhere, Cormac… 
CN: [Laughs] “He’s a slag, isn’t he?!” 
MW: “He’s a bit of an 80s encyclopaedia!” 

RM: I’ve also read that your dad was a jazz musician, too? 
PM: “Yeah, he dabbled!” 

RM: Do you have quite an eclectic mix of influences, besides Paul Kossoff, whom you mentioned earlier?  
PM: “Erm…yeah, I guess. Well, the 80s metal’s where it all began, and I grew up listening to that stuff. And it never really left me. My favourite…I’m gonna say guys like Mick Mars, and Jake E. Lee’s probably in my top three guitar players of all time. And a lot of people go: ‘Who, or why?’  
CN: “Who?” [Laughs] 
PM: “If you listen to the first Badlands record, you’ll hear exactly who and why. I remember someone playing that record to me, and saying: ‘This is what Jimmy Page was trying to do’, [Laughs], which was quite a bold statement! That was maybe pushing it a little bit, but I kind of understood what he meant by that. Yeah, so all of those, and I love Steve Vai, even to this day – as much for his philosophy on life as his guitar playing, which obviously, I love too.”

RM: He’s an interesting guy, isn’t he? 
PM: “He is, yeah. I mean, I could go on all day, talking about it…I’m gonna give Jake E. Lee and Mick Mars, ’cause everyone overlooks them, a bit of a name-check, and of course, Steve Vai, for his overarching philosophy on life, as well.” 
MW: “Satriani, he’s another one. Such an underrated guy! Chickenfoot rock!” 

RM: What’s your favourite Satriani album? 
MW: “‘Surfing With The Alien’…” 
PM: “That’s a good one, ‘Surfing With The Alien’.” 

RM: Were you a fan of the self-titled one? 
MW: “Paul would have played it to me…” 
PM [To Micky]: “That’s got the track ‘Home’ on it, hasn’t it?” 
CN [Pretending to fall asleep]: “Aaaarggghhh!” 
Everyone: [Laughs]  

RM: I’ve got one last question for you boys – hopefully this will wake you up, Cormac! Desert-Island Disc: If each of you could take three albums with you onto a desert island, what would they be? Get in line, gents… 
CN: “I’d say probably ‘The Beano Album’ – The Bluesbreakers; ‘Siamese Dream’ – Smashing Pumpkins; and I’m gonna have to tip the hat to Paul Rodgers and say ‘Fire and Water’. I liked his Muddy Waters tribute album, too. That was very, very good.” 
MW: “I’d say ‘Rise’, ‘Everyday Demons’ and ‘Revival’!” [Laughs] 

RM: [Laughs] I can give you a Kleenex to wipe yourself, if you’d like one, Micky!!! 
MW: [Laughs] “They’re good records! I’ll take ‘Who’s Next’ – The Who; ‘Exile on Main St.’ – The Rolling Stones; and ‘Appetite for Destruction’ – Guns N’ Roses.” 
PM: “It’s tough, but…I’ll go with ‘White Album’ – Beatles; ‘Are You Experienced?’ – Jimi Hendrix; and ‘Passion and Warfare’ – Steve Vai. Get an instrumental record in there to listen to!” 
The Answer could take The Best of the Cheeky Girls to a desert island; they’d still be cooler than John Travolta’s mum. They may be slightly beardier than I remember, but they’re just as passionate, just as interesting – and if ‘Revival’ is anything to go by, just as talented. Catch them on the trail of their UK-Ireland October blaze-up: from Whelans, Dublin on the 1st, to The Garage, London on the 28th…but with a drink in their hands and destiny on their side, the only thing The Answer need to worry about is fending off all those ladies…and finding a decent pizza place, in Cormac’s case…

 

Fran Jaume – Artist Feature by Jo Blackened

Fran Jaume aka Sico D. Eliah is an Artist based in Puerto Rico.

His type of art consists of Oil paintings, mixed aqueous mediums, ‘Junk art’, plaster sculptures, Charcoals sketches and Digi-mix art aswell as Pro-photography.

Frans’ main passion is oil painting, with him starting in the world of fine arts by the year of 1997 (self-learner).

Hey Fran, thanks so much for your time.
I have to start by saying your work is very intriguing and different, and extremely amazing!

With such a range in diversity, can I ask where you draw your inspiration from? 
I was inspired by the work of Renoir, as I had an opportunity of seeing his work and in that moment where I was passionate about art. 
Seeing as his last paintings, the brushes were tied to his wrist that was suffering from arthritis, so do wonders in making his last phase of his career as impressionist painter.

At what age did you become interested in Art?
This is an interesting question, I remember since I had only 3 years old I became passionate with crayons and paper, doing my own designs, but for me was a natural way to have fun. When all the senses woke up were in 1997.

What are your favourite subjects to draw?
Dreams, visions, persons in my own way, passion is the engine that moves the creative soul, where the logic is a fantasy and the dreams are a reality ..... no boundaries.

Have you attended any courses regarding your Art?
I took several art courses at the School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico (EAP). I learned more about the history of art and color theory.

How would you describe your creative style?
My style can vary depending on how I feel, as each piece is a piece of my being. 
Surrealism, Expressionism, and abstract are the line in which I express myself, but like everyone always experimenting and seeking new visions. The passion, dreams, feelings and perceiving the world inside and out, are the engines that drive my creativity.

Visual art impacts each individual in different ways because as viewers identify with the work according to their perception of it.

Art is essential base to carry a social message, not only in the visual arts, art in general. 
The message of what you as a person feels and renders it in a way so to present a vision and contribute to society, our people, in a creative and bring that message further, openly and without fear.

The cultural aspect is also seen in my work, for example, "Soñando raices en Tierra Explotada" ("Dreaming Roots in Exploited Land") is a piece in oil, giving surreal to see or feel the past and present.

Just my art reflects what I feel and dream.

Has your work ever been published/displayed anywhere?
I have had exhibitions in the Island and beyond (individual and collective) so leaving a piece of my art in every step I take as a human being and bringing the message in every stroke and photography and other mediums.


You are also an extremely talented photographer. How did you get into this field?
Thank you. In 1998 I started as an amateur photographer for a magazine called Noctambulo, covering all kinds of events, especially concerts.
What is your favourite type of photography and place to shoot?
Any kind of photography, like objects, persons, cities, beaches, animals, junk, abandoned places using both, 35mm, 120mm and DSLR photography, also I like to mix all together and create an unique piece of art.

What are your goals in the future & what would you like to achieve?
Recognition, and one of my goals is that people can identify with each piece and get into their soul as human beings.

What advice would you give someone who was looking into taking up Art?
Do it with your soul, no matter what you want to do, don’t let anybody to stop your dreams, in art are no boundaries. Be a dreamer, a rebel… !

Where can people see/purchase your work?

Via my Favebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/Sicodeliah: Or people can contact me directly on my Email -  nec149@hotmail.com

Thank you so much for your time & especially for the drawing you did of me [attached]!
My pleasure, thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about my passions in arts.

 

 

Steph Wayne

Interview & Photos by Jo Blackened

Altercarnated Photography
https://www.facebook.com/Altercarnated.Photography

Steph Wayne is a 22 year old, graduate and aspiring model based in London UK.
As a lover of Art & Visual Culture, she is enjoying the London Alternative scene.
Steph’s style is a mix of Glamour and Alternative, with a touch of Horror and Glamour!

After modelling for More magazine, the Observer and the ‘Double Dice’ Jewellery range, she has now turned to acting to be part of the upcoming horror anthology ‘Three’s a Shroud’, where I was able to meet her on set.

Steph, thank you so much for giving us time in your busy schedule!

At what age did you become interested in modelling & how did it start?
I first got interested in modelling when I was about 16, Jordan [Katie Price] really inspired me I thought she was so striking and so different to any other model I’d seen before.

How do you come up with ideas for your shoots?
I get inspired all the time by films. I’d love to do more sexy takes on horror films, like Freddy Krueger or perhaps Clockwork Orange..

Which has been your favourite shoot to date?
Probably one where I was smeared in fake blood – sticky but fun!

What kind of modelling are you interested in and why?
I like glamour modelling but with a more alternative edge as I think it makes it far more interesting and gives you much more space to be creative. Retro pinup looks are great on modern tattooed girls.

Have you ever had to travel far for a modelling job?
Only various locations in the UK, I quite fancy going somewhere hot and exotic though!

How do you find the modelling industry & how do you find the attitude of other models towards you?
Is there much competition or rivalry?
I think it is fiercely competitive, especially nowadays with social networking sites making everybody able to post their own modelling photos etc. However, other models I have worked with have always been really nice.

What personality traits do you think make someone a good model?
I think you have to be very confident and determined but also able to take constructive criticism and knockbacks.

As a model you obvious have to stay in great shape, do you have any special diets or training routine?
Well I’m a vegetarian which means I eat fairly healthily I suppose and I try to get to the gym when I can.

What are your goals for the future and what would you like to accomplish as a Model?
I’d love to be in a few tattoo magazines and my ultimate goals are Playboy and Bizarre.

You have recently got into acting, is this something you’d like to continue with in the future?
I’d definitely be up for doing more acting, especially horror films which are my favourites and also don’t require you to be able to act like Kate Winslet!

What do you like to do in your spare time?
As I mentioned I’m a big horror fan so love watching my horror films. I also like going out to the clubs and pubs around Camden.

Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to start modelling?
Be yourself, be confident and find your niche!

Do you have a website or contact info where you can be booked?
Yes, I am currently a Suicide Girl; http://suicidegirls.com/members/stephwayne/
You can contact me for bookings at: http://www.stephwayne.com/

Thank you so much for your time Steph!
Thank you!

 

 

SOPHEST Nottingham final running order.
Sunday 12th February 2012. The Old Salutation Inn, Nottingham.

10.30 – 11.45/12.00 Xerath – Factory Management/ Candlelight Records
9.30 – 10.15 ROMEO MUST DIE – 45M
8.45 – 9.15 Bloodloss  –  30M
8.00 – 8.30 ACHREN – 30M

30 Minute Break for food & Raffle Draw

7.00 – 7.30 WOODS OF YPRES – Earache Records 30M
Heavy Metal
6.15 – 6.45 DERISION – 30M
Heavy Metal

5.30 – 6.00 Mordecai – 30M
Rock/metal

4.45 – 5.15 KNOCK OUT KAINE – 30M
Hard Rock
4.00 – 4.30 GIRLFIXER – 30M
Punk Rock

Plus Jay Griz Binstead DJing throughout.

 

 

 

 

DERISION  are Tony Smith (Vocals), Eddie White (Guitars), John Mellor (Drums) and Seddy (Bass). They are an intense and energetic metal band from the north west of England.
Their debut 4 track EP (DERISION EP) released in 2009, received extremely positive feedback from all quarters, thus providing the catalyst for the conception of their first full release.
"Ancient" their debut album, released in November 2011, Mixed at Parlour Studios with legendary producer Russ Russell (Napalm Death, Dimmu Borgir)  is a massive natural progression from the EP. 9 tracks of metal from a band in full flow, with catchy hooks and aggressive riffs to get heads moving along with tempos to get the blood flowing.
The video for the song "The Ancients" taken from the album, airs on SCUZZ tv, gives you a prime example of what this band is capable of! It has also be aired on Kerrang radio along with many other stations world wide.
2012 will see DERISION hit venues across the UK, be sure NOT to miss em'

 

Film Review by Alexandra. Ferguson

The Nightmare Before Christmas
Certificate – PG
Year – 1993
Country – USA
Director – Henry Selick
Cast – Danny Elfman, Catherine O’Hara, Chris Sarandon

There are so many magical things about Christmas time. Even if you despise the unnatural smiling and canned merriment, Christmas is a special time of year for those who like to imagine that there is more to the world than electric cables, chemical reactions and expiration dates. Those of us who have ever shared a vision with Guru of Gloom, Tim Burton understand that Christmas is a time when people are open to suggestion, and one such suggestion exists in Burton/Selick masterpiece, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

What if Santa Clause really does exist? Not only this, but what if he exists in a far away land called Christmas Town? And what if a resident of neighbouring Halloween Town stumbled upon this unique concept of Christmas, and decided to take over from ol’ Sandy Claws and reinvent Christmas as only The Pumpkin King can…?
Tim Burton’s astonishing story is one of a kind, but still encloses the classic Christmas tale of love and acceptance.
Watching Jack Skellington (Sarandon) attempt to unravel the ‘meaning’ behind Christmas is fascinating. For those who have grown up surrounded by festive paraphernalia, whether you are a church-goer of not, the concept of Christmas is drummed into your skull.

The act of watching someone who lives in a world where Halloween is the ultimate celebration, trying to understand staples such as the Christmas tree, presents or even the motive behind snow, is alien. It also highlights exactly how much of s formula both Christmas and Halloween are, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We have developed our customs and expectations which mean if Christmas commenced without a tree or lights, the formula would be ruin. Again, what makes The Nightmare Before Christmas so enthralling is watching a town of people put together their own hideously misguided version of each unit in the Christmas equation.

Without Selick’s involvement, however, The Nightmare Before Christmas would be nothing like the film it has become. Selick’s masterful creations are always a joy to behold. From the Clown with The Tear Away Face (Danny Elfman), to each of the elves in Christmas town, every character is a stroke of genius from the team of collaborators, and is brought to life in the most grotesque style.

The characters of Jack and Sally (O’Hara) in particular have quickly become cult icons. Jack Skellington is the most famous man in Halloween Town, but he is also the loneliest. Though he is never without his dog, Zero, he knows that deep inside there is something missing and mistakenly attempts to fill this vortex with his visions of his own Christmas. Sally, a rag doll who is kept prisoner by her mad scientist creator, is just as lonely – though her loneliness stems from her secret feelings towards Jack. The love story that blossoms between the rag doll and the skeleton is as touching as any other, and rather than exposing an extravagant romance like so many Christmas films,
The Nightmare Before Christmas brings together two lost souls who have always been destined to spend their lives with one another.
The film has to its advantage that is has been created by somewhat of a dream team in animation. The initial ideas were plucked from the imagination of Burton, which were then crafted into existence by Selick, to finally be set to the songs and music of cinema maestro Danny Elfman. The winning combination of these three artists means The Nightmare Before Christmas was always going to be something special, and is approaching twenty years as a defining animation feature film.
Christmas is a time for tradition, and there are hundreds of movies to choose from to get you in a festive mood. This would be my recommendation because even if you would rather melt your own eyeballs than take part in the organised happiness of Christmas day, you can still find so much to enjoy, and also be shown Christmas from a perspective you are never likely to experience yourself.

Incidium
www.incidium.co.uk
www.myspace.com/incidiumuk

By Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs

Sometimes you have to wonder just how much exposure it takes to get some real recognition? Certainly it’s a question that Manchester neck-crackers Incidium could be forgiven for having cross their minds every now and then.

After all the band are no strangers to receiving a pat on the back for their work – having won the Whittles Battle of the Bands 2009, and more recently reached the grand final of this year’s ‘Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses’ competition amongst others, their blades must be more than a little red.

The catalyst for all these thumbs-ups from people who ought to be in the know, is a sound that has taken a melodic death metal as a start and stretched it into thrash and groove territory. Released in 2010, the band’s three-track EP still serves as a powerful demonstration of just what Incidium are like in action, as well as whipping up one hell of a hunger for a full length release.

‘The Prophecy’ begins with a gentle The Haunted-esque incline, before stepping up the pace, not just once, but multiple times throughout. Together with the Randy Blythe growl of vocalist Gabe Mitri, this makes for brutal listening, tempered only by the technical capabilities of the band. Other influences are at work in the aptly monikered ‘Intoxicated Serenity’, beginning with the sort of riff that could have been dug out of the inner workings of Machine Head. Heavy and brooding in one instant, and then fast paced and frantic, ‘Intoxicated Serenity’ breaks with all the intensity of a thunderstorm.

Saving the best for last like someone who stashes away extra cake, ‘Divide & Conquer’ starts off clean, and very quickly gets down and dirty. Here, Incidium decide to really turn up the heat on their talent with harmonious guitar passages, galloping drums, and wind-mill riffs. The band appear adept at song construction, capable of sewing together different sequences with just the strings of a guitar, and rolls of the drum.

These aren’t short songs at an average length of around six minutes, but like the well-timed volume jumps of TV shows, Incidium seem to know just when your attention is about to flag and counteracts this with a musical wake up call. Although not the kind you’d probably find in up-market hotels – that is until Incidium occupying them. And if they can help it, that won’t be far away.

 

Nitroville - Can't Stop What's Comin'
 
Release date: July 2011
Label: Self-released
Website: www.nitroville.com

Line up:

Vocals – Tola Lamont
Guitars – Kurt-Michael Boeck
Bass – Fussi Andersen
Drums – Dan Warren

Track Listing:

1. Cheating The Hangman
2. Let It Roll
3. Mississippi Wide Boy
4. Dust Devil
5. Cuts To The Bone
6. Twist In The Chain
7. Tell It Like It Is
8. Killing Kind
9. Bad Blood
10. Got What It Takes
11. Coming on Strong

 

Rating: 2.8/5

Their name may sound like a gathering ground for hot rod enthusiasts, with the bluesy-groove of an across America road trip movie sound track, however it seems Nitroville aren’t the all-American machine they appear to be.
 
In fact for them the smoky streets of London is about as deep south as it gets, but with a band made up of as many international flavours as Nitroville, clearly a few thousand miles makes little difference.
 
Driving home just how potent a marriage hard rock and blues is, Nitroville serves southern-tinged grooves straight up, with a twinkle in their eye. The undeniably powerful voice of frontwoman Tola Lamont provide the kind of rock-n-ready vocals you’ve been waiting for amid the girly-screamers and operatic warblers, backed by the kind of musical craftsmanship that doesn’t need a lot of dial twirling to make it sound good.

Musically there's nothing mind-mangling here, and hey - bands like AC/DC have made a career out of simple yet iconic riffs - but equally they set themselves apart in other ways, something Nitroville is yet to do. That said the full-pelt groove of lead track 'Cheating The Hangman' and slide guitars of slow-burn 'Cuts To The Bone' are particular highlights.
 
The band have definitely squeezed their best tracks into the first half of the album, perhaps consciously thinking that if you've come this far with them that you're less likely to turn away now. There is a hint of work-in-progress about Can’t Stop What’s Comin’, but given that it was released just 12 months after the band’s formation, they can be forgiven for still finding their niche.

It’s a solid starting point, and those who grew up on bands like Free and Lynyrd Skynyrd will certainly share the bands sentiments, but Nitroville may need a little more tweaking under the bonnet if they’re to match their peers.
 
Review By Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs
 

Collision Process – Self-titled EP

By Kirsty Birkett-Stubbs

Released:  12th December 2010
Label: Independent
Website: www.collision-process.com

Line up:
Adam Cooper – lead vocals
Matt Glover – guitars
Dave Payne - drums
Jon Walters – guitars/vocals
Dan Willett – bass/vocals

Rating: 3.5/5

They may hail from the West Midlands, but there’s nothing middle-of-the-road about local five-piece Collision Process. In fact, in just a short space of time they appear to have created one-heck of a gravitational pull over crowds, competition officials, and press alike.

What they offer is a crash-course in the simplicity of progressive metal done right. Starting with the cheerily named ‘Sleep Now Forever’ the band’s  self-titled EP serves up four tracks which ricochet between melodies, structures, and technicality with an unexpected brutal stamina.

The interplay between lead vocalist Adam Cooper and instrument-wielders Jon Walters and Dan Willett sees the vocals alternate from clean and oh-so-clear to throaty cord-strainers, and then a gooey dual-layered combination of both. Yet, thankfully none of it seems contrived or out of place in a heavier environment.

Closer ‘Divide’ has an intro which hearkens back to earlier Metallica before rapidly morphing into something more finger-twiddly. There’s a more pronounced groove on display here, and as in other tracks ‘Breaking Point’ and ‘Revelations’ there’s plenty to get you riled up come a live show.

From end-to-end, Collision Process is an impressive package, and an even more impressive band, given their fledgling status. In the wrong hands progressive metal can seem as accessible as scaling a 50-foot wall with iceblocks at the ends of your limbs, but Collision Process manage to offer depth without giving the listener the opportunity to drown themselves.

If their first full-length album continues on this path, Collision Process could be on a collision-course with bigger and better things. Best shield yourself on impact – you may be hit by low-flying riffage.

Track listing:

1. Sleep Now Forever
2. Revelations
3. Breaking Point
4. Divide

 

 

Club Antichrist: Night of the Vampires – Review by Rhiannon Marley
[02.09.11]

“Is that a bloke or a bird?!” yells the tracksuit-ed figure to his mate, down on the pavement; luckily, he’s not referring to me! Actually, outside Vauxhall’s Colosseum and Club Antichrist, derisions from a couple of chavs doused in Elizabeth Duke at Argos and 24-carat muppetry are a bit rich, when coloured dreads and thigh-high platforms are all that meet the eye for a fair portion of Nine Elms Lane.  

This is my first time at “Europe’s largest alternative crossover party”, having said that, I’m pretty used to Goth and fetish clubs; a religious (mind the irony) fan since I first experienced the problem of lacing boots AFTER corset, I know the drill.

Tonight, it’s Night of the Vampires; leading the show is Father Sebastiaan, “fangsmith, author and impresario of the Vampire-Girls.com website”, and infamous kingpin of vampyre subculture.
He’s presenting The Red Mass Ritual ceremony, crafting ‘Sabretooth’ custom fangs, and crowning the Vampire Girl of the UK this eve – not to mention promoting the launch of his page-devourer, ‘Vampyre Virtues: The Red Veils’, due for release at Antichrist’s upcoming Bloodsuckers Ball. Let the bloodbath begin…

There are hot folk from Satan’s Strip Show to shed threads, with flesh galore made haemotalagnia-friendly a little later on by alluring Lydia Darling; Dungeon Demo Needleplay; and if your rocks are off on more exotic pastimes, there’s fire-sorcery courtesy of Sophia Landi, and tribal-fusion bellydance with a sharp twist of sword-swinging from Leah Debrincat, too. As if that wasn’t enough, ears are receiving a lashing to match the stage spectacles from industrial-maestros Concrete Lung. Mmm-hmm.

 

Yes, there’s also the “Couples’ Darkroom” (if you don’t know what that is, use your imagination)... And staunch Pedestal or Torture Garden regulars will be forgiven for thinking a bit of spanking looks more ‘taboo’ in Antichrist because it’s not ubiquitous; partitioned-off in the “Devil’s Playroom”, it feels like witnessing latex reconstructions of the Crusades at a British Museum exhibition. But stiletto on the other foot, fetish isn’t imposed here on those who wish to enjoy the remaining “zones” – including the regular Antichrist rooms: ‘Hellfire’, scratching all your Goth and post-punk musical itches; ‘PureFuckingIndustrial’ (three guesses for that one…); and ‘Chillout’, with maids and munch in tow. Plenty of debauchery for all.

It’s one big, collar-and-lead dressing-up box. And the glamorous clientele agree: pretentiousness isn’t too high a price for the artistry of dark perversion. But that’s not to undermine the politics of role-play, or the skill of the performers: it's a sensational show.

As a 7-foot drag-queen next to me, a dead ringer for Jackie Stallone, slides a tenner into his purse with haughtiness and a manicure, I remember those chavs earlier. The five minutes’ boring ‘normality’ they ordered is still in the luggage hold of Pork Airlines, as they wait for pigs to fly and saunter through deviance with ignorance in tow. Club Antichrist? Stating every sin you’ll ever commit since 2004.  

 

Neo-Noir @ The London Stone
[09.09.11]

Review By Lindella Perrini

it’s Friday night and the streets of the City are deserted- it’s a ghost town. One ascends the creaky wooden staircase of the London Stone, where you are greeted by a stone goblin welcoming you into London’s last eerie pub. The medieval décor and dark basement environ are the perfect setting for Neo Noir, one of London’s newest Goth-Alternative nights. 
Neo Noir’s ethos is to provide a night of nostalgia, playing Old Skool Industrial, Goth Rock, Darkwave, Classic EBM mixed in with Classic Future-Pop dance floor hits and always a funny tune to end the night. Here the likes of VNV Nation, Clan of Xymox, Container 90, Cubanate, Android Lust, Sisters of Mercy, Paralyzed Age, Nitzer Ebb and Anna Clarke all amalgamate together to represent the sounds of the past and near-present and provide a night of pure dancing.

Whilst there is a cover charge of £3 before 11pm (£4 after, except for London Gothic MeetUp Members for whom it is £3 all night), it is more than worth it.
On entry a choice of rainbow coloured vodka jellies are given to customers and sugar goodies (cookies, cakes and sweets) are free at the bar. The crowd are friendly and welcoming of newcomers and the atmosphere is always buzzing, it is clearly a night where one can enter alone and leave with a whole new group of friends. The DJs are always willing to take requests, in advance or on the night, Neo Noir feels less like a club and more like a community of similar thinking alternative people who all just want to have fun.

DJ Wozza started the 16th September with a nice mix of Classic tunes including The Cure, Cruxshadows, Pride and Fall, Rammstein and VNV Nation getting the energy going on the dance floor. The rest of the night was hosted by DJ Jester and Miss_Bleep, Jester spinning well known Goth, Darkwave and Future-pop supported by an interesting mix of rarities, whilst Bleep added a pounding Old Skool feel with more Industrial, Classic EBM, including KMFDM’s cover of material girl and Ultraviolence’s Hardcore Motherfucker (both tracks I haven’t heard in a London club since...I can’t remember!). As the night closes the music gets “bleepier” keeping the dance floor alive till the very last second. 

Neo Noir is one of the friendliest alternative clubs I have been to and I often try to make the trek into London just for this night, every track seems to be a classic tune that you just can’t help bounce along to, if only we could party here all weekend!