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NEW MUSIC FIRSTFIGHTSTARTHINK POSITIVEFIGHTSTARTHINK POSITIVE

PLACEBO | TAKING BACK SUNDAY | THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND

www.rocksound.tv£3.80 JUNE. 2009 ISSUE 123USA $8.99 / CAN $10.95 / AUS $9.75

9 771465 018091

06

GREEN GREEN RETURN WITH THE ALBUM OF THE YEAR

+MASTODONBLACK SABBATHGOD FORBIDCKYCURSIVEYOU ME AT SIXBROKENCYDECOALESCEMY PASSIONTHE PAPER CHASEEVERY TIME I DIEINCUBUSANTI-FLAGSPINNERETTE

WINVIP TICKETS FOR

+

“I committed a lot of crime to support my drug habit.”

WIL FRANCIS AIDEN MAN COMES CLEAN

STEEL PANTHERTHE WORLD’S FILTHIEST BAND!

MADINA LAKEFOOTBALL FANATICS

ENTER SHIKARI THE DREADED RETURN!

THE BLACKOUTBOYOS DISS COBAIN

WIN!VIP TICKETS FOR

+

“We’re gonna

do this band

til we

die.”

“We’re gonna

do this band

til we

die.”

+MASTODONBLACK SABBATHGOD FORBIDCKYCURSIVEYOU ME AT SIXBROKENCYDECOALESCEMY PASSIONTHE PAPER CHASEEVERY TIME I DIEINCUBUSANTI-FLAGSPINNERETTE

“I committed a lot of crime to support my drug habit.”

WIL FRANCIS AIDEN MAN COMES CLEAN

STEEL PANTHERTHE WORLD’S FILTHIEST BAND!

MADINA LAKEFOOTBALL FANATICS

ENTER SHIKARI THE DREADED RETURN!

THE BLACKOUTBOYOS DISS COBAIN

54

FEATURES42 WIL FRANCIS (AIDEN)

WELCOME TO MY WORLD

44 CSDIV DESIGN DESIGN DEVILS

46 CKY BULLSHIT DETECTOR

48 GOD FORBID THE TWO OF US

50 DEVIN TOWNSEND Q&A

52 BLACK SABBATH REVOLUTIONARIES

72 THE PAPER CHASE74 DOWNLOAD PREVIEW

106 COALESCE115 LAST WORD YOU ME AT SIX

42

46

[4] rocksound.tv

And who would play them in the film of their life…

Rock Sound, Unit 22, Jack’s Place, 6 Corbet Place, Spitalfields, London, E1 6NNTel: + 44 (0)20 7877 8770 Fax: + 44 (0)20 7377 0455e-mail: info@rocksound.tvtwitter.com/rocksound

EDITOR: Darren Taylor (Edward Norton)darren.taylor@rocksound.tvtwitter.com/rocksoundtaylorDEPUTY EDITOR: Darren Sadler (Adrian Edmondson)darren.sadler@rocksound.tvREVIEWS EDITOR: Darren TaylorSUB EDITOR: Jen Walker (Juliette Lewis)jen.walker@rocksound.tvEDITORIAL ASSISTANT / STAFF WRITER: Faye Lewis (Edith Piaf)faye.lewis@rocksound.tvGAMES EDITOR: David Jenkins (Harrison Ford)FILMS EDITOR: Rachel Kellehar (Katie Holmes)DESIGN: Alistair Cook (Bill Murray)alistair.cook@rocksound.tv

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ABC Member of The Audit Bureau Of Circulation July-Dec 2008: Average net circulation 20,011ISSN: 1465-0185

COVER PHOTO: Nigel Crane

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EDITWoah! What a year it’s turning out to be – with the recession and Swine Flu to deal with already, all we need now is for Creed to reform and we’re totally doomed. Oh, wait… Shit! Yes, Scott Stapp and co are getting back together for a new album and tour. God help us all (as Stapp might say).Anyway, at Rock Sound, in between twittering, we’ve been busy tweaking your favourite music monthly. You’ll notice a few of those changes this month, see if you can spot them. There’s more in the pipeline in our aim to improve the magazine and make it your ultimate guide to the best new music. Not sure if you’ve heard already, but there’s this great little punk band from California and they’ve just unleashed their new album. We thought it was so damn good that we’ve given them the RS seal of approval and stuck them on the cover. We reckon they’ve got more talent than Susan Boyle and could well have a serious hit on their hands. But we’ll wait and see. Speaking of new punk bands, we’ve got some fantastic homegrown talent in the shape of The Ghost Of A Thousand and The Blackout – both of whom have fantastic new records out this month and should definitely be added to your playlists.Right, off to do more tweaking (and twittering).

Darren Taylor, Editor

6-7 RSVPGot something to say? Get that shit off your chest…

8-24 THE NOISEWho’s making a racket in the world of rock? Read on and find out! News from Enter Shikari and

Wolfmother as well as the latest studio reports from Every Time I Die and HORSE the band. Also this month: Your chance to win an XBOX 360 + Guitar Hero: Metallica,

plus Nass / Wakestock festival tickets!

25-36 EXPOSUREBringing you the the best new bands in music. Fact. This month: Steel Panther

(providing the sleaze), Sucioperro, Narrows, My Passion, Codes In The Clouds and more…

78-93 REVIEWSROCK SOUND reviews and rates over 100 new releases in music, films, DVDs, games and

books. Featuring Green Day, Anti-Flag, Placebo, Cursive and more, while Canada’s finest Cancer Bats tackle the singles.

96-110 LIVESThe hottest gigs from around the world reviewed, including Mastodon, AC/DC, Give It A

Name Incoming, Camden Crawl, Baroness and Deathstars. Plus, we bring you an all-access A-Z of the best upcoming gigs, while BrokeNCYDE give us the goss about life on the road…

Wil gets out his big chopper

© N

igel

Cra

ne

MAIN FEATURES38 TAKING BACK SUNDAY

Adam Lazzara and co tackle your questions…

54 GREEN DAYTHEY're BACK AND BIGGER

THAN EVER! BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG talks to rock sound about

their latest opus

60 MADINA LAKEWe put the band through their paces on the pitch…

62 THE BLACKOUTWelsh rockers diss

Kurt Cobain! Seriously!

66 SPINNERETTEBrody Dalle’s on the warpath…

68 THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND

Rising Brit punks fight back with awesome new album…

No.123 JUNE 2009

rocksound.tv [3]

BEST OF THE WEBWhat a month it has been online at www.rocksound.tv. A punter at a PAPA ROACH gig took a dump during their set, singer Jacoby Shaddix was elated at the news and failed to see the irony of the situation. TWIN ATLANTIC announced that their new mini-album will be released by Red Bull Records as they posted more studio diaries on Rock Sound TV. 30 SECONDS TO MARS ended the feud with EMI / Virgin by re-signing with their former enemies, also end-ing hopes that the band’s new album would be leaked online by Jared Leto himself. DEFTONES announced a Reading and Leeds warm-up show and FAITH NO MORE announced a pre-Download teaser at Brixton Academy on June 10. Rock Sound TV went to Give It A Name Incoming and came back with news that THE KING BLUES’ next record will be about aliens, no jokes! Bands were added to the DOWNLOAD, SONISPHERE and READING / LEEDS line-ups, while YOU ME AT SIX announced that they were tentatively recording songs for their second album at Outhouse Studios. We also announced that ALEXISONFIRE signed to Roadrunner Records, PARAMORE completed writing and record-ing their third album and THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM have started creating their next record.

DON’T MISS THESE AWESOME VIDEOS

NOW SHOWING ON ROCKOUND.TV

MADINA LAKE Having thoughly kicked their asses at football (see page 60), we then made Madina Lake perform a couple of exclusive tracks for us. Good lads.

TAKING BACK SUNDAY Adam Lazzara and Rock Sound MC, Andy Kelham, talk down to a small boy. Not really! But Kelham does get all the latest goss from TBS at GIAN.

THE BLACKOUT Look! It’s Kelham again. This time getting to grips with those Welsh boyos from The Blackout. Hear what dirt Smith and co have to dish by tuning in now... You don’t want to miss out, do you?

GO TO www.rocksound.tvfor all these and more…

For more news, reviews and exclusive interviews (hey, that rhymed) check out www.rocksound.tv on a daily, hourly or even minutely basis.

[8] rocksound.tv

WHAT THE FUCK

is that RACKET?THE NOISE

DON’T MIss DAILY UPDATES AND GOSSIP @

www.rocksound.tv

C ows, mere cats, kangaroos and the castration of camels have all been part of the record-ing process with the new Wildhearts album, proclaimed frontman Ginger.The legendary rockers have completed work

on their new album, ‘Chutzpah’, in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen.Ginger explained: “The animals were all living in the farm where the studio was located. The camel was called Mustafa and the poor chap got castrated while we were there. It was a bit emotional for us and so it made its way onto the album. I don’t think we’ve made an album where a camel has been castrated next door. We’ve made a lot of albums where a lot of things have happened but never that!”Recording in a remote area also had a profound affect on the quartet, reckoned the frontman.“The studio was a bit remote but I think it helped in the creative process,” he continued. “Something happens to your head when you’re in the middle of nowhere – I guess when you’ve got no stimulation coming from

anywhere you derive stimulation from your own imagi-nation. I think that’s what happened with us. We had a bit of an imagination overdose. We wanted to make something ambitious but I think we ended up making something more ambitious than we had imagined.”As well as the usual rock ‘n’ roll, ‘Chutzpah’ sees the band experiment with strings, choirs and pianos in the band’s attempt to create something “more baroque-sounding”. According to Ginger it’s weirder and darker than 07s self-titled affair. It comes as no surprise, then, that lyrically the subject matter has a lot to do with madness.Said Ginger: “Madness is the main thing, the tenuous link between sanity and madness and how it really has affected us all. Every member of the band has been through their own personal weirdness and instead of manifesting itself as anger which was the basis of the last album, this one is more accepting of what screwed up the world – let’s party!”Expect the album to drop in August.www.thewildhearts.com

CAMEL CASTRATING It all goes on at Denmark recording studios…

W e were really conscious of not going away for too long while we were doing this record, but once we got into the studio we had lots of ideas for different song structures. We were suddenly taken aback by the extent of the mission ahead of us. We had a wall chart with all these random riffs

and it was a complete mess for the fi rst two weeks. It did take longer than we hoped,” beamed the frontman of Hertfordshire’s hardcore rave crew. ‘Common Dreads’ hits the shops (and illegal download sites) on June 15 and despite the lengthy process (which included losing tracks when a laptop was stolen – as reported in RS last year), the band feel they have formed a stronger identity.“We’ve always been strong in what we’ve wanted to do but we’ve defi nitely found more of a direct voice on this album. I think that it’s a lot more layered. We had much more time in the studio just to experiment and there’s a vast amount of instrumentation. There’s brass, choirs and it’s a bigger sounding record. I guess lyrically it’s a lot more in your face, it doesn’t hold back, or hide behind metaphors or anything like that.”As reported on www.rocksound.tv, ‘Common Dreads’ as a title sums up the themes of the album.“An album title is quite a big thing to discuss and there were a lot of argu-ments over its name. We eventually started looking through the lyrics and we came across ‘Common Dreads’, which we felt summed up what it was all about – the common concerns that people are feeling all over the world. There’s so much going on that we’re all collectively worried about, and that’s a shared feeling that we tap into. For example, the track ‘Solidarity’ on the album is an introduction to what the album is about. ‘Solidarity’ is about bringing people

together and again it introduces the idea of ‘common dreads’. We try to pack as much as we can into that song – and at the end of it it’s got a full choir!”But getting a choir involved on the record wasn’t as simple as it sounds…“We couldn’t actually afford to get a decent choir into the studio, so basically the sound is me singing about 50 parts. We then got our manager to kidnap a few girls to do the extra-high parts. I tried to do the parts myself in falsetto but I can’t really do that any more.”With the album clocking up an impressive 15 tracks, Rou’s current favourite is its fi nale track ‘Fanfare For The Conscious Man’.

“It was the last track to get fi nished and it was a complete rush. It started off as something completely different. For us, it was the most interesting to record and also it’s a complete vent of absolute frustration built up over the last seven years directed at our country. It’s a nice outpour for us and it’s cool to have a song that started off as just brass and gang vocals end up really heavy.”

New single ‘Juggernauts’ is out June 01 followed by the album ‘Common Dreads’ on June 15, both released via Ambush Reality.www.entershikari.com

COLLECTIVE CONCERNSRou and co return with ‘Common Dreads’

“We couldn’t actually afford to get a decent choir

into the studio, so basically the sound

is me singing about 50 parts.” Rou Reynolds

Roughton ‘Rou’ Reynolds, Enter Shikari’s frontman, spoke to ROCK SOUND about new album ‘Common Dreads’ and explained why it has been so long in the making…

rocksound.tv [9]

don’t miss daily updates and gossip

www.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tv

W e were really conscious of not going away for too long while we were doing this record, but once we got into the studio we had lots of ideas for different song structures. We were suddenly taken aback by the extent of the mission ahead of us. We had a wall chart with all these random riffs

and it was a complete mess for the fi rst two weeks. It did take longer than we hoped,” beamed the frontman of Hertfordshire’s hardcore rave crew. ‘Common Dreads’ hits the shops (and illegal download sites) on June 15 and despite the lengthy process (which included losing tracks when a laptop was stolen – as reported in RS last year), the band feel they have formed a stronger identity.“We’ve always been strong in what we’ve wanted to do but we’ve defi nitely found more of a direct voice on this album. I think that it’s a lot more layered. We had much more time in the studio just to experiment and there’s a vast amount of instrumentation. There’s brass, choirs and it’s a bigger sounding record. I guess lyrically it’s a lot more in your face, it doesn’t hold back, or hide behind metaphors or anything like that.”As reported on www.rocksound.tv, ‘Common Dreads’ as a title sums up the themes of the album.“An album title is quite a big thing to discuss and there were a lot of argu-ments over its name. We eventually started looking through the lyrics and we came across ‘Common Dreads’, which we felt summed up what it was all about – the common concerns that people are feeling all over the world. There’s so much going on that we’re all collectively worried about, and that’s a shared feeling that we tap into. For example, the track ‘Solidarity’ on the album is an introduction to what the album is about. ‘Solidarity’ is about bringing people

together and again it introduces the idea of ‘common dreads’. We try to pack as much as we can into that song – and at the end of it it’s got a full choir!”But getting a choir involved on the record wasn’t as simple as it sounds…“We couldn’t actually afford to get a decent choir into the studio, so basically the sound is me singing about 50 parts. We then got our manager to kidnap a few girls to do the extra-high parts. I tried to do the parts myself in falsetto but I can’t really do that any more.”With the album clocking up an impressive 15 tracks, Rou’s current favourite is its fi nale track ‘Fanfare For The Conscious Man’.

“It was the last track to get fi nished and it was a complete rush. It started off as something completely different. For us, it was the most interesting to record and also it’s a complete vent of absolute frustration built up over the last seven years directed at our country. It’s a nice outpour for us and it’s cool to have a song that started off as just brass and gang vocals end up really heavy.”

New single ‘Juggernauts’ is out June 01 followed by the album ‘Common Dreads’ on June 15, both released via Ambush Reality.www.entershikari.com

COLLECTIVE CONCERNSRou and co return with ‘Common Dreads’

“We couldn’t actually afford to get a decent choir

into the studio, so basically the sound

is me singing about 50 parts.” Rou Reynolds

Roughton ‘Rou’ Reynolds, Enter Shikari’s frontman, spoke to ROCK SOUND about new album ‘Common Dreads’ and explained why it has been so long in the making…

rocksound.tv [9]

don’t miss daily updates and gossipdon’t miss daily updates and gossip

www.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvdon’t miss daily updates and gossip

www.rocksound.tvdon’t miss daily updates and gossip

www.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvwww.rocksound.tvdon’t miss daily updates and gossip

www.rocksound.tvdon’t miss daily updates and gossip

www.rocksound.tvdon’t miss daily updates and gossip

www.rocksound.tvdon’t miss daily updates and gossip

“Last autumn, halfway through a tour with Kill Hannah, we woke up to the smell of smoke. We were told to get off our tour bus and run, the next thing we knew, everything was exploding and the doors were flying off. We were lucky to get out alive!” regales heavily eye-linered Laurence Rene, front-man of goth-inspired new wavers My Passion.It’s the sort of gripping tale of adventure expected from a band who wouldn’t look amiss in the Carpathian Mountains reading Twilight, but My Passion create the same artful rock as Scarlet Soho rather than Fields Of The Nephilim.“Make-up and clothes are part of the performance and our identity as a band. When I was young I wanted characters to aspire to who stood out. There are enough people with the boy next-door look. Like our music it’s an alternative to what’s going on. I mean we’re certainly not the first men to

wear make up! So long as it isn’t style over substance I think we would be stupid not to make the most of looking good! Besides, we’re open to differ-ent music; we love guitar riffs but I also grew up with a mum into rave.”The band may be young, but they’re wary of the music industry, choosing to release their debut album ‘Corporate Flesh Party’ DIY-style via their own label, Style Suicide Records.“We set up Style Suicide because we were doing everything on our own and it was a base to release music from. ‘Corporate Flesh Party’ is about loving parts of the music industry and learning to avoid the vultures who want your soul! We might be the refreshing change that the UK music scene needs right now!” His mettle will be put to the test on May 18.

FAYE LEWIS

MOVING MOUNTAINS

They might have a passion for fashion, but it’s not

all glitz and glamour for these DIY new wavers…

THE BEST NEW MUSIC

“Growing up listening to Poison The Well and Thursday has influenced us just as much as listening to Sigur Rós or Explosions In The Sky,” says Moving Mountains vocalist / guitarist Greg Dunn. “I think we tend to take a lot of post-rock elements, while combining a heavy rock umbrella.”With plenty of critical acclaim surrounding their debut album ‘Pneuma’, released on Deep Elm in Feb 08, this New York quartet return with the next installment of their musical conquest – the outstand-ing ‘Foreword’ EP, which the band are releasing themselves this time around. Sounding like Isis jamming with Hopesfall, MM are definitely heading in the right direction sonically if the last track from their EP, the euphoric ‘Lights And Shapes’ is anything to go by.“We definitely wanted something more aggressive and more dynamic. We wanted people to be floored by something so we continually pushed the layers, adding more parts to really construct a ‘wall of sound’. It’s tough to say what the future will sound like, but I’d like to continue pushing those limits.” The future looks very promising indeed. DTWWW.MOVMOU.COM

MY PASSIONRising From The Ashes

LINE-UP: Laurence Rene (vocals, guitar), Simon Rolands (bass), Jonathan Gaskin (drums, voCALS, electronics), John Be (guitar)

FROM: LondonSOUNDS LIKE: Contagious horror-pop wrapped up in nightmare,

despair and sinfully sonic electro shock.CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Corporate Flesh Party’ (album, Style

Suicide. Out now) WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/mypassion

DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘Crazy And Me’

THEY’RE ON THE CD!•THEY’RE ON

THE

CD!•

THEY’RE ON THE CD!•THEY’RE ON

THE

CD!•

[34] rocksound.tv

RAVENS CREED

Jonno. “We’re not about jumping on the latest bandwagon or trying to be cool or fi t in; we’re about good, honest songs that people can relate to, which I think makes us stand out.”‘House Of Commons’, produced by Peter Miles, who worked on The King Blues’ excellent major label debut ‘Save The World, Get The Girl’, certainly boasts a vintage to distinguish the four-piece from the crowd. Heck, with bands everywhere so desperate to latch onto the latest trends, perhaps this timeless bunch are just what we need. “We’re in a recession, our cities are rundown. Our youth have nowhere to go and no way of expressing themselves,” says Danny. “No matter where you are, everyone’s looking for a change!”Sometimes a little bit of regression can equate to a whole lot of progression. CURRENT RELEASE: ‘House Of Commons’ (album, Split. Out now)DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘Wake Up’WWW.MYSPACE.COM/WHITELIGHTPARADE

TIM NEWBOUND

SOUNDS LIKE: Brilliantly British rock ‘n’ roll.

“Every time we read articles on bands, or see new bands on TV, it’s like they’re trying too hard to be different or reinvent music, which is good, but it doesn’t always mean their songs are,” says White Light Parade* guitarist / vocalist Danny Yates. “What we wanted was a real, loud, British rock ‘n’ roll album, like the bands that we’re inspired by.”The Bradford quartet have certainly satisfied their ambitions; ‘House Of Commons’, their debut album, is a fine galvanization of classic UK rock, reminiscent of luminaries varying from The Clash to The Jam, The Specials and Oasis’ best moments. It’s in no way a trendy approach, but that’s hardly the point. “It doesn’t seem to be about the music anymore. It seems nowadays it’s about a buzz, a 12-month fad, about being cool and about shit songs!” laughs Danny, who plays in the band alongside his brother

Their moniker may lack basic grammar, but there’s nothing sloppy about the musicianship of IMADETHIS. With a sound that draws on the edgy pop-punk of Go:Audio and Army Of Fresh-men, it’s hardly surprising the band are rapidly establishing a healthy fan base. The Irish trio are set to release their debut EP, titled ‘Tiny Lit-tle Robots’, in July and have tour dates across Ireland in May and June. We reckon they might go far… just you wait and see.WWW.MYSPACE.COM/IMADETHIS

You know what they say, you can’t keep a good band down – unless you give them a good beating, of course. Formed from the ashes of the recently deceased Kill The Arcade, WOLF AM I (who nabbed their moniker from a mewithoutYou ditty) are the new incarnation; with the odd member change (not that any of the members were odd or anything). They’ve recently recorded their debut album, ‘Lead The Way’, which is set for release on August 03 via Alcopop!; lead single ‘Glasgow Seven’ drops on June 22. WWW.MYSPACE.COM/WOLFAMI

Previously featured in our Myspace section, High Wycombe punk rockers YOUNG GUNS are gearing up for the release of their debut EP, ‘Mirrors’, which should hit a store near you on June 22. Produced by former SikTh boys Dan Weller and Justin Hill (known collectively as WellerHill), it’s four tracks of rock ‘n’ roll excess all wrapped up in one neat little CD with artwork supplied by former Johnny Truant sticksman Paul Jackson. Nice! WWW.MYSPACE.COM/YOUNGGUNS

THE BEST NEW MUSIC

SOUNDS LIKE: A powerhouse of skull-crushing, old-school speed metal with the

ultimate metal underground pedigree.

WHITE LIGHT PARADE*

IMADETHIS

WOLF AM I

YOUNG GUNS

stuff that I’m into that I don’t get the chance to do in Orange Goblin as it’s just not suitable, so when Steve asked me to get involved, I jumped at the chance.“The band stems from Steve and Jay’s love for Venom and that classic early thrash sound,” continues Ben. “Steve has a lot of pedigree and he has always wanted to vent that extreme side of music and he’s doing that now.”Sounding English through and through (even down to the album’s title), Ravens Creed may have roots in history but they’re certainly forward thinking in their output, and in ‘Albion Thunder’ the metal genre just got itself a future classic. You’d be a fool to miss.CURRENT RELEASE: ‘Albion Thunder’ (album, Doomentia. Out now)DOWNLOAD THIS: ‘Peace Through Superior Fire’WWW.MYSPACE.COM/WWWMYSPACECOMRAVENSCREED

DARREN SADLER

It’s easy to get excited about a new band when you hear the history of its members and Ravens Creed are no exception. Formed in 06, Ravens Creed is the twisted creation of one-time Iron Monkey guitarist Steve Watson (who also played in one-time Roadrunner signings Cerebral Fix) and Tony Iommi’s session drummer Jay Graham. The band also feature Orange Goblin vocalist Ben Ward and former Sabbat bassist Frazer Craske. The pedigree is impressive from the get-go but after one listen to Ravens Creed’s full-length ‘Albion Thunder’ and you’ll realise that this is a group who don’t need to rely simply on previous / existing outings. For Ben, the band gives him an opportu-nity to explore a different side of his creativity.“It’s a chance to vent a different side of my musi-cal tastes,” he explains. “There’s a lot of extreme

THEY’RE ON THE CD!•THEY’RE ON

THE

CD!•

rocksound.tv [35]

WIL FRANCIS(AIDEN)INTERVIEW: Robyn Doreian / PHOTOS: Zen Inoya

MY LIFE, MY RULES, MY STORY…

Wil’s always been a bit of a leg man...

42 rock-sound.net[42] rocksound.tv[42] rocksound.tv

WIL FRANCIS(AIDEN)INTERVIEW: Robyn Doreian / PHOTOS: Zen Inoya

NAME A BOOK YOU CONSIDER A MASTERPIECE… “My favourite one is defi nitely the Phineas Poe collection by Will Christopher Baer. It’s a three book series: Kiss Me, Judas, Penny Dreadful and Hell’s Half Acre. The way that Baer paints a picture so vivid, horrifying and exciting is very in-tense. It makes your skin crawl, makes your heart cringe, brings out a sense of loss and then ties it back up with black ribbon so tight you can hardly breathe. It’s fucking incredible.”

DESCRIBE THE LOWEST POINT IN YOUR LIFE… “Towards the end of my drinking and drug-using career there were many. Walking the streets alone at night in downtown Seattle, broke, without a home, dope sick and absolutely hopeless was pretty bad. There was a stretch of time where I had fucked over every person I called a friend and had completely destroyed the relationship between my family and myself. The last six months were the lowest in my life. I committed a lot of crime to support my drug habit and I felt so alone that suicide was a viable option and tried to kill myself a couple of times but failed. I was a heartless shadow of my former youth. I was noth-ing, an absolute waste of breath, bones and skin.”

WHAT IS THE MOST VALUABLE THING YOU OWN? “My sobriety, my clear-cut sense of direction and where I see myself ending up in this life. There’s no fucking way I would have ever been able to live the life I do if I was fucked up. As a result of being sober, a multitude of amazing things have happened.”

WHAT’S THE BEST MUSEUM YOU’VE VISITED? “The Louvre in Paris. Growing up in suburban America we’re not drowned in teachings of Renaissance art and sculptures, but the one piece of famous art I remember as a child and have continued to see mentioned throughout my life is the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci. That was definitely the most interesting thing I saw there, simply for the fact that instead of it being a picture on the computer or TV it was the real painting in front of my eyes.”

IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ANY VISUAL ARTIST (PAST OR PRESENT) WHO WOULD IT BE? “Andy Warhol. If you review the life and career of this man, you’ll find some extraordinary and unusual things about his methods of making art and doing business. He’s the guy who stated that everyone would be world-famous for 15 minutes, which in today’s society is more relevant than ever before. I would ask him about The Factory, the art scene, Edie Sedgwick, Lou Reed and all the other amazing people that surrounded him.”

WHAT SONG ALWAYS PULLS YOU OUT OF A BAD HEADSPACE? “‘Enjoy The Silence’ by Depeche Mode.”

WHAT PART OF YOURSELF CAN YOU EXPRESS IN AIDEN THAT YOU OTHERWISE CAN’T? “I’m not the most rambunctious person you’ll ever meet. In my daily life I have a pretty solemn disposition. Something happens when I stand on stage. I transform into a monster bent on the destruction of self-hatred. All my worries disappear, my fear is detached, and for that 45 minutes to an hour I get to play the part of a madman.”

DESCRIBE THE NEW AIDEN ALBUM IN THREE WORDS… “Killing emo label.”

“In my daily life I have a pretty solemn disposition.”

uicide, drugs, religious parents and Kurt Cobain, Aiden’s Wil Francis opens up and reveals all…

WHERE AND WHEN WERE YOU BORN? “I was born on January 08, 1982, in Seattle, Washington.”

DESCRIBE YOUR UPBRINGING… “My dad was out of the picture long before I can remember things. For the fi rst few years of my life it was my mother, brother and I, living in a tiny apartment in south Seattle. My mom worked at the grocery store across the street from where we lived. When I was six or seven she met my stepfather Jeff, and we moved in with him. The most diffi cult part of that time was my parents’ religious fervor: church, read the bible, church. When I started rebelling it was always my stepfather who got the brunt of it. Enter drugs, fucking wasted youth, several trips to jail / rehab and you know the rest…”

WHAT’S YOUR EARLIEST CHILDHOOD MEMORY? “Our apartment complex had a decrepit swimming pool with green water and a disgusting film of algae caused by the manager not taking care of it, ever. I was thrown into that pool by a couple of kids who lived there who thought it’d be funny to throw me in by my hands and feet. I couldn’t swim and almost drowned. Luckily a neighbour saw what had happened and jumped in and saved me.”

WHO WAS YOUR ROLE MODEL GROWING UP? “I can’t remember having one until 91. Nirvana had released ‘Nevermind’ and I had started watching MTV. Everything I had ever aspired to – doctor, truck driver, actor, garbage man – fell by the wayside and was replaced with a compelling desire to play the guitar and grow my hair long. It has changed over the years, but my first real role model was Kurt Cobain.”

WHAT IS IT ABOUT PUNK ROCK THAT RESONATES WITH YOU? “Punk rock, to me, is not about following a trend or being part of the ‘cool club’. It’s a way of life whereby I choose to live by my own standards and expectations. The thing that resonates most with me is the fact that I can show up looking exactly how I want to look and say the things that I want to say.”

WHO HAVE YOU MET THAT TRULY LIVES PUNK IDEALS? “Fat Mike from NOFX. If ever there was a guy who could define the word ‘punk’ it would be him. Fat Mike and his band have been playing for over 25 years without the support of a major label, virtually no press, no singles that get played on radio, and everything is done DIY. They continually put out great record after great record. He is someone who I can only aspire to be like someday.”

rocksound.tv [43]

The album ‘Knives’ is out now on Victory. Catch Aiden on tour this summer;

see gig guide for dates.www.aiden.org

GREEN DAYWORRY

ROCK

With a new album

and a huge tour

just announced,

Green Day are

officially back.

ROCK SOUND caught up

with frontman

Billie Joe Armstrong

and chatted about

his age, Obama,

Butch Vig and

MCR…

INTERVIEW: Andrew Kelham / PHOTOS: Sebastian Artz & Marina Chavez

[54] rocksound.tv

Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool, collectively known as Green Day, have achieved a lot in their 22 years together. The band have sold 65 million records, toured the globe countless times and released eight albums of genre-defi ning punk rock. However, perhaps their biggest achieve-ment is new album ‘21st Century Breakdown’, an epic concept record that took years to imagine and articulate. As the band

unleash their greatest opus on the world, vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong gives Rock Sound an amazing insight into the album’s creation and the band’s posi-tion as the undisputed kings of punk…

DID YOU GO CRAZY WRITING THIS ALBUM? HAVE YOU COME BACK DOWN TO EARTH AFTER YOUR ‘21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN’ EPISODE? “I wouldn’t necessarily call it an episode but it was definitely close. It was just a stressfully long process and the hardest thing for Green Day is to be is patient, especially in my case. It’s all good now and it seems like everything is going alright so far. Slowly but surely you get a little distance from the album and it allows you to be a bit more objective about the record too.”

‘21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN’ SEEMS A LESS BOMBASTIC RECORD ON THE SURFACE, WAS THAT INTENTIONAL? “The last record came out blasting with the song ‘American Idiot’ and this album creeps in, but I think ‘21st Century Breakdown’ has some of the most dynamic stuff we have ever written. It gets really aggressive and really loud yet has some of the most sombre moments we have ever put on a record.”

WOULD YOU SAY YOU’RE HAPPY WITH THE ALBUM? WHAT WAS YOUR EXPECTATION OF THE RECORD? “I have heard the album about 10 million times so I need to get a little distance from it as I’m still inside the record too much from tweaking on it for so long, but I definitely believe this is the best record we have ever made.”

HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT FROM WHEN ‘AMERICAN IDIOT’ WAS RELEASED? “I’m not sure you know, I still have the same energy for the band, in fact I think I have more energy for the band than ever before. I think I’m now also prepared to second guess myself more than I ever did before too, I now have the guts and courage to go deeper into writing in different styles than I ever did before.”

WHAT SONG STARTED THE PROCESS OF ‘21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN’? “The first song that we wrote was the ‘Mass Hysteria’ part of ‘American Eulogy’ and it was created right around the time of Hurricane Katrina. It was a crazy time and a lot of the album, whether it is talking about Hurricane Katrina, religious fanatics or even swine flu, is about questioning your paranoia and declaring your own independence from that.”

DOES THE MEDIA’S HANDLING OF NEWS EVENTS STILL FASCINATE AND DISGUST YOU? “Oh, absolutely. I am amazed at how much attention has been given to President Obama’s dog. I voted for the guy and he seems pretty cool so far but I really don’t care about his dog. The media just tends to get caught up in strange things that we eventually become addicted to. I know I am just as guilty as anyone else when it comes to this and so I think a lot of the record was me trying to make sense of all the confusion. ‘21st Century Breakdown’ is about trying to find some deeper truths as you realise you have been full of bullshit for so long. It is about trying to see the light and I think you hear it most clearly at the end of the record.”

“WE HAD TO LISTEN BACK THROUGH EVERYTHING AND ASSESS WHETHER IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO GO ON THE RECORD, EVEN ‘KNOW YOUR ENEMY’ WAS QUESTIONED.”

WORRY ROCK

rocksound.tv [55]

1349 [5]‘REVELATIONS OF THE BLACK FLAME’

(CANDLELIGHT)

We’ve seen black metal jet off in all directions – wildly eso-teric, even-more-necro-than-thou, shoegaze, folk – since 1349’s last album, ‘Hellfire’, four

years ago. But in what appears to be an attempt to broaden their palette, create atmosphere or impress co-mixer Tom Gabriel Fischer, 1349 have largely fallen into first gear, subtracting much of the velocity of Frost’s drums and Archaon’s axe. The black metal is passable, but massive portions are little more than mechanised groans and sonic non-sequiturs disguised as menace and easily rep-licated by the ambient buzz of a bustling shopping center or an auto body shop... and not having to pay $12.99 for the privilege.

FOR FANS OF: Mayhem, Hellhammer, Darkthrone, Deathspell Omega

www.legion1349.comKEVIN STEWART-PANKO

ADAM FRANKLIN [7]‘SPENT BULLETS‘

(SECOND MOTION)

As the figure in charge of much of the steering where Swervedriver were concerned, Adam Franklin’s one of the godfathers of nu-gaze, so it’s

encouraging to hear him returning on such fuzz-ily focused form. The dissonant, miaowing melan-choly of ’Autumn Leaf’ is a thrill to behold, as is the cascading guitar tapestry of ’Bolts Of Melody’, while ’Big Sur’ and ’Champs’ introduce a spacefar-ing psychedelia into proceedings, and ’Teardrops Keep Fallin’ Out My Head’ displays the grace con-temporaries Teenage Fanclub and The Lemonheads grew into. Consequently, ’Spent Bullets’ is a wooz-ily warm embrace of an album, and anything but a misfire.

FOR FANS OF: Buffalo Tom, Kyte, early Doves.www.adamfranklin.comIAIN MOFFAT

AIDEN [7]‘KNIVES’

(VICTORY)

Since the departure of guitar-ist Jake Wambold last year, Aiden have been anything but idle. ‘Knives’ is the fourth release

from the post-hardcore Seattlers and marks a darker direction. Where Wil has in the past kept a check on his ‘anti-religious’ lyrical tendencies, ‘Knives’ sees him let loose with tracks like ‘Crusi-fi ction’ where his bile-soaked lyricism packs a similar punch to Marilyn Manson in his ‘Antichrist Superstar’-era. (“Fuck God. There’s no religion. Christ died for shit and was a fucking c**t!“ – being just some of his choice tirades). Despite the clichés, this is a very well-produced affair retain-ing the punkier elements of Aiden’s sound.

FOR FANS OF: Alesana, Escape The Fate, The Blackout

www.myspace.com/aidenFAYE LEWIS

AMORAL [7]‘SHOW YOUR COLORS’

(SPINEFARM)

There’s no stopping the genre-morphing antics of this Finnish mob. Now almost unrecognis-able from their early death metal, they’ve now landed out-

landish new vocalist Ari Koivunen. Although still seemingly undecided who they are, venturing from death, to metalcore and now what could be con-sidered mainstream metal, there’s no denying that the delivery is exemplary and the songs are generically strong, with more heroic solos than you could shake a studded bracelet at. However, although this might prove a boot up the jacksy for any mainstream metal fan looking for a quick kick, it’ll sure as heck dismay the devotees.

FOR FANS OF: Death metallers sniffing out the big bucks.

www.amoralweb.comJIM BURT

ANIMALS AS LEADERS [9]‘ANIMALS AS LEADERS’

(PROSTHETIC)

Without even a cursory intro-duction or giving us a chance to draw breath, Animals As Leaders whisk us off majes-tically on their instrumental

space ship. The Earth recedes, stars flit past and strange surrealistic landscapes drip outside the windows. This record is a space-prog head-trip. Imagine a bubble floating away, breaking up into smaller pieces and drifting off in the wind. Now imagine Dream Theater are that bubble, remove all thoughts of Liquid Tension Experiment, post-rock or Isis and put Steven Wilson at the helm of this masterpiece. Music is art and Animals As Leaders paint all over the inside of your skull.

FOR FANS OF: Dream Theater, Porcupine Tree, 65daysofstatic, Meshuggah

www.myspace.com/animalsasleadersKEN MCGRATH

ASSEMBLE HEAD IN SUNBURST SOUND [7]‘WHEN SWEET SLEEP RETURNED’

(TEE PEE)

Modern bands summoning the multi-coloured swirl of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury, aren’t a big deal to anyone outside those bemoaning the original

60s spirit. However, AHISS are one lot likely to bring your weird uncle’s rocking chair to a screeching halt. This quartet chill-out like no other, but also unleash buzz ‘n’ fuzz vocals sounding like a duet between Neil Young and that oddball bird from Amon Düül II while organs, vintage distortion and fiery blues solos back-drop Deep Purple and Quicksilver Messenger Service trading “peace pipes” with Clearlight and Mudhoney. The result is peace, love and cannons being rolled on the vinyl version’s gatefold jacket.

FOR FANS OF: Pink Floyd, Blue Cheer, Hawkwind, getting baked on the beach.

www.myspace.com/theassembleheadinsun-burstsoundKEVIN STEWART-PANKO

BELLINI [6]‘THE PRECIOUS PRIZE OF GRAVITY’

(TEMPORARY RESIDENCE)

Apparently Bellini’s third album was recorded under the shadow of various deaths, personal tragedies and other gristly happenstances. Which

is definitely a sad thing, but you’d be hard-pressed to tell anything was especially awry from ‘The Precious Prize Of Gravity’. That’s not to say it in any way amounts to a cheery album; it’s just that the quartet’s Steve Albini-helmed panic attack maths-blues sound is so inces-santly anguished and high strung that it’s hard to identify any light, shade or emotional vari-ation in there. Magik Markers do this type of thing more interestingly, but that’s not to deny this record’s garrotting-wire taut drama.

FOR FANS OF: Magik Markers, PJ Harveywww.snowingsun.comANDRZEJ LUKOWSKI

BIG BUSINESS [8]‘MIND THE DRIFT’

(HYDRA HEAD)

Back with their third album, this sees these big bastards hitting as heavy as ever, unleashing a slow-burning monster loaded with hooks

and wallops aplenty. Having burned through a clutch of guest guitarists, the duo have finally plumped for the talents of Toshi Kasai, whose spidering guitar lines highlight the bigger pic-ture rather than compete blow-for-blow with the existing heft. While not as immediate as its magnificent 07 forebear, ‘Mind The Drift’ none-theless lays its roots deep with a stellar com-bination of monolithic riffs, superb songwriting nous and Jared Warren’s mournful yet all-pow-erful bellow. Balls-out awesome, basically.

FOR FANS OF: Karp, Torche, Melvins, Harvey Milkwww.myspace.com/bigbigbusinessALEX DELLER

BLOOD RED THRONE [7]‘SOULS OF DAMNATION’

(EARACHE)

Norwegian metallers Blood Red Throne are pretty much veterans at this stage of their career, but that’s no bad thing. Confident, accom-

plished and aware of both who and what they are, fifth album ‘Souls Of Damnation’ may not be as bulldozingly heavy as some of what’s vying for your attention today (or for some of their past catalogue for that matter) but it doesn’t suffer for it. It shows character. There’s plenty of groove in this death thrash mix-up (‘Harme’) and many nods to the genius of Chuck Schuldiner (‘Throne Of Damnation’ which fea-tures some subtle bass sproings), while keep-ing a semblance of black-hearted rock through-out. Nice going!

FOR FANS OF: Entombed, Death, Satyriconwww.myspace.com/bloodredthrone666KEN MCGRATH

AKRON/FAMILY [8]‘SET ‘EM WILD, SET ‘EM FREE’

(DEAD OCEANS)

New York’s Akron/Family may be most famous for being Michael Gira’s The Angels Of Light backing band, but they’ve also proven them-

selves worthy individualists. The “experimen-tal-folk” rockers may have a loose collective appearance – as per their live performances – but despite their coffee shop quirkiness and occa-sionally sounding like they’re playing for a kin-dergarten class down at the local library, A/F are capable of startling energy and infectious anthems (‘Everyone Is Guilty’ and ‘River’), rau-cous noise (‘MBF’), as well as the brooding and slinky ‘Creatures’. Then there’s ‘The Alps And Their Orange Evergreen’, a song Bob Dylan would no doubt trade his arrogant aloof persona for.

FOR FANS OF: They Might Be Giants, Trans Am, Do Make Say Think, Great Lake Swimmers

www.akronfamily.comKEVIN STEWART-PANKO

ALESTORM [8]‘BLACK SAILS AT MIDNIGHT’

(NAPALM)

The Jolly Roger of hero metal is proudly unfurled once again as salty sea dogs Alestorm off-load their second offering. Not so much a storm in a tea cup

as an explosion in a brewery, this beery brew com-bines riffery that nods towards fellow quest-rock-ers Destroy Destroy Destroy with an added Celtic edge (check out ‘Leviathan’) – think ‘Kings Of The Wild Frontier’-era Adam And The Ants jamming 3 Inches Of Blood tracks with William Wallace on vocals and you’ll be close. There are songs of pil-laging, plundering and piracy – and even an ode to your dad’s fave après shave slap in ‘That Famous Ol’ Spiced’. Yarrrr!

FOR FANS OF: 3 Inches Of Blood, Skeletonwitch, Destroy Destroy Destroy

www.myspace.com/alestorm RONNIE KERSWELL

ALTAR OF PLAGUES [8]‘WHITE TOMB’

(PROFOUND LORE)

While the majority of boundary-pushing black metal is coming from the States at the moment, Irish trio Altar Of Plagues are paving a new way for isolated

European bands. They’re part of a new breed of musicians who are as dedicated to creating atmos-phere as they are respectful of conventional gui-tar / bass / drum setups. ‘White Tomb’ conjures a world of titanic collapse, where passages of dark somnambulist ambience clash with shards of bleak Khanate-esque doom in apocalyptic fall-out. Final track ‘Through The Collapse (ii. Gentian Truth)’ dominates, hitting the peaks found in Manatees’ progression, Isis’ celestial dirge and the blissful noise of early Mogwai.

FOR FANS OF: Wolves In The Throne Room, Old Man Gloom, Krallice

www.myspace.com/altarofplaguesDAN MORGAN

“I would have to say it was probably just one song, when I first heard ‘Epic’ by Faith No More when I was nine years old. I wasn’t allowed to watch MTV, and wasn’t allowed

to listen to rock music, and this suddenly entered my life. I’d never heard a sound so extreme! I mean, I know Morbid Angel were around at the time, but when I was nine I didn’t know that, so I heard this sound and I was instantly gravitated towards it. That was life-changing, for sure. It opened me up to the whole metal thing.”

LIFE-CHANGING ALBUMEYAL LEVI (DÅÅTH)

BLOODHORSE [7]‘HORIZONER’

(TRANSLATION LOSS)

Including members of Shelter, The Red Chord and American Nightmare, Bloodhorse have crafted nine tracks of sludgy, groove-filled rock that owes a

great deal to old and new. The vocals cross Brent Hinds with Ozzy; the guitars too are reminiscent of Mastodon (‘The Old Man’) although the major-ity is focussed on driving grooves rather than technical intricacies. The band tease with long escalating intros (‘A Good Son’) but still take the time to belt out classic rock-infused hardcore as good as anything before (‘Paranoiac’). Given the calibre of its members, it’s no surprise such range is a pleasure to absorb.

FOR FANS OF: The Swamp Donkey, The Sword, Mastodon

www.wearebloodhorse.comDAN MORGAN

IN THEIR WORDSCHRIS #2 (BASS)HOW DID THE RECENT ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA AFFECT YOUR THINKING IN REGARDS TO LYRICAL CONTENT ON THE NEW RECORD? “Well, I think it shaped some of the focus of the record. Obviously there’s a global economic melt down, a seemingly endless war in Iraq, a rotten American healthcare system, but on election day it seemed there was a matching step backwards for every step forwards – the repealing of several Affirmative Action programs, gay rights were trampled on. The election of Barack Obama as an influence was mostly as a wake up call, there is still a tremendous amount of work to do. Ding dong the cliché is dead, let’s keep working towards progress.”

WHAT IS THE GRAVEST CRISIS FACING THE US PEOPLE AT THE MOMENT? “The fact that our government is not held accountable in any fashion. The fact that a corporate coup has taken place and hijacked democracy.”

WOULD YOU SAY YOU WANTED TO HARK BACK TO YOUR EARLIER SOUND WITH THIS ALBUM? “Yes and no. I would say that Anti-Flag will always sound like Anti-Flag. The four of us never try to achieve a certain sound or style with any record or song. Our goal has always been to write songs that people can identify with emotion-ally and ideologically, songs where the message is racial, sexual, economical equality, and music that sonically translates that goal.”

HOW DID YOUR CHOICE OF PRODUCER RE-FLECT ON THE SOUND OF THE ALBUM? “Well, we produced and recorded the record ourselves. We’ve worked with producers many times but at this point we feel like no one can ever understand our band as much as we do. If anything, recording in our hometown of Pittsburgh was more influen-tial. We are able to focus more here, buckle down and not be distracted by any outside entities.”

HOW WAS YOUR STINT ON A MAJOR LABEL? WOULD YOU SAY IT WAS AN INTERESTING EX-PERIENCE? “I will say it was an awesome experi-ment. Spending Sony’s money on our agenda was fun and all, but we are glad that corporate layoffs and bottom lines are behind us. Having people who are working on your record getting fired all the time is still a strange and foreign thing for us. We enjoy having a real connection with the people who work on our music and ideas with us.”

HOW COME YOU SIGNED UP WITH SIDEONE-DUMMY? “We’ve known them as friends for years and have always talked about releasing a record with them. There were a number of places we could have released this record. SOD were absolutely committed to Anti-Flag, the response to the record has been great. We are excited about sharing it with the world and SOD are working diligently to aid us in this process.”

BLOOD RED THRONE

[80] rocksound.tv

BELLINI [6]‘THE PRECIOUS PRIZE OF GRAVITY’

(TEMPORARY RESIDENCE)

Apparently Bellini’s third album was recorded under the shadow of various deaths, personal tragedies and other gristly happenstances. Which

is definitely a sad thing, but you’d be hard-pressed to tell anything was especially awry from ‘The Precious Prize Of Gravity’. That’s not to say it in any way amounts to a cheery album; it’s just that the quartet’s Steve Albini-helmed panic attack maths-blues sound is so inces-santly anguished and high strung that it’s hard to identify any light, shade or emotional vari-ation in there. Magik Markers do this type of thing more interestingly, but that’s not to deny this record’s garrotting-wire taut drama.

FOR FANS OF: Magik Markers, PJ Harveywww.snowingsun.comANDRZEJ LUKOWSKI

BIG BUSINESS [8]‘MIND THE DRIFT’

(HYDRA HEAD)

Back with their third album, this sees these big bastards hitting as heavy as ever, unleashing a slow-burning monster loaded with hooks

and wallops aplenty. Having burned through a clutch of guest guitarists, the duo have finally plumped for the talents of Toshi Kasai, whose spidering guitar lines highlight the bigger pic-ture rather than compete blow-for-blow with the existing heft. While not as immediate as its magnificent 07 forebear, ‘Mind The Drift’ none-theless lays its roots deep with a stellar com-bination of monolithic riffs, superb songwriting nous and Jared Warren’s mournful yet all-pow-erful bellow. Balls-out awesome, basically.

FOR FANS OF: Karp, Torche, Melvins, Harvey Milkwww.myspace.com/bigbigbusinessALEX DELLER

BLOOD RED THRONE [7]‘SOULS OF DAMNATION’

(EARACHE)

Norwegian metallers Blood Red Throne are pretty much veterans at this stage of their career, but that’s no bad thing. Confident, accom-

plished and aware of both who and what they are, fifth album ‘Souls Of Damnation’ may not be as bulldozingly heavy as some of what’s vying for your attention today (or for some of their past catalogue for that matter) but it doesn’t suffer for it. It shows character. There’s plenty of groove in this death thrash mix-up (‘Harme’) and many nods to the genius of Chuck Schuldiner (‘Throne Of Damnation’ which fea-tures some subtle bass sproings), while keep-ing a semblance of black-hearted rock through-out. Nice going!

FOR FANS OF: Entombed, Death, Satyriconwww.myspace.com/bloodredthrone666KEN MCGRATH

EARTH CRISIS [8]‘TO THE DEATH’ (CENTURY MEDIA)

When Earth Crisis reunited in 07 they must have known that if they wrote any new material it would be judged harshly by diehard fans and critics alike. The band who made history in the early 90s hardcore scene by marrying the sounds of Pantera and Sepultura with the Cro-Mags and Final Confl ict weren‘t going to get away with half-arsing a few new songs so they could tour. If a new album was to be released it had to be good, Earth Crisis knew that and acted accordingly. New album ‘To The Death’ is a blistering hybrid of 95s album ‘Destroy The Machines’, 96s album ‘Gomorrah‘s Season Ends’ and the 98 Roadrunner offering ‘Breed The Killers’. The album, their fi rst in eight years, is the crispest

of crossover metallic hardcore, lacking in none of the latter’s intensity but delivered with all of the former’s precision and dynamic clarity as the band give people 11 good reasons to pay attention to them again. You may not care for the vegan straightedge life of activism that Earth Crisis shamelessly promote, but you can’t deny the sound of a band returning to form.

FOR FANS OF: Strife, Birthright, Cro-Magswww.myspace.com/earthcrisisANDREW KELHAM

BLOODHORSE [7]‘HORIZONER’

(TRANSLATION LOSS)

Including members of Shelter, The Red Chord and American Nightmare, Bloodhorse have crafted nine tracks of sludgy, groove-filled rock that owes a

great deal to old and new. The vocals cross Brent Hinds with Ozzy; the guitars too are reminiscent of Mastodon (‘The Old Man’) although the major-ity is focussed on driving grooves rather than technical intricacies. The band tease with long escalating intros (‘A Good Son’) but still take the time to belt out classic rock-infused hardcore as good as anything before (‘Paranoiac’). Given the calibre of its members, it’s no surprise such range is a pleasure to absorb.

FOR FANS OF: The Swamp Donkey, The Sword, Mastodon

www.wearebloodhorse.comDAN MORGAN

BLUE OCTOBER [7]‘APPROACHING NORMAL’

(UNIVERSAL)

As soon as the opening track kicks in with a snarling tirade, it’s clear that Texans Blue October aren’t another medi-ocre American guitar band.

Frontman Justin Furstenfeld can be scarier than Disturbed’s David Draiman on a really angry day, and it’s largely his no-holds-barred vocals and lyrics that make Blue October stand out. That said, it’s not just about shouting the loudest. The quintet’s quieter moments achieve that rare feat of being poetic rather than soppy (‘My Never’), while their uplifting pop songs disguise brave subject matter (‘Kangaroo Cry’). Five albums in, it’s time this opinionated and passionate band enjoyed UK success.

FOR FANS OF: Modest Mouse, R.E.M., Disturbed www.blueoctoberfan.comVICTORIA DURHAM

CKY [7]‘CARVER CITY’

(ROADRUNNER)

CKY continue to play rock like they just crawled out of a scrap with World Under Blood and Gnarkill, triumphantly emerging JD bottle in hand.

Comfortably positioned between Viking Skull and Fireball Ministry, their fourth album ‘Carver City’ inaugurates a different kind of sound to 05s ‘An Answer Can Be Found’, preferring a more insolent delivery overall. ‘Woe Is Me’ and ‘Imaginary Threats’ fizzle with menace, more so than on former releases like ’96 Quite Bitter Beings’. It’s a familiar realm but revisited, this time, without all the bullshit of inner band bust-ups, and the result is better focused, clearer-sounding rock.

FOR FANS OF: Oil, HIM, Daniel Lioneyewww.ckyalliance.comFAYE LEWIS

CLUES [8]‘CLUES’

(CONSTELLATION)

Fans of a certain brand of unhinged Canadian indie have been waiting a heckuva long time for this record, which marks the belated return of

Alden Penner, co-frontman of The Unicorns, the Montreal lo-fi pop band who’d probably have taken the world over if they hadn’t loathed each other’s faces so very much. ‘Clues’ confirms his Lennon status to former band mate (and Islands frontman) Nick Diamonds’ shiner McCartney. It’s a grimy, troubled spectre of a record that chases the frightened figure of pop down dark, brass-haunted alleys, labyrinths of guitar murk and Lynchian cabaret halls, lays off sticking the knife in just yet.

FOR FANS OF: The Unicorns, Animal Collectivewww.cstrecords.com/bands/cluesANDRZEJ LUKOWSKI

IN THEIR WORDSCHRIS #2 (BASS)HOW DID THE RECENT ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA AFFECT YOUR THINKING IN REGARDS TO LYRICAL CONTENT ON THE NEW RECORD? “Well, I think it shaped some of the focus of the record. Obviously there’s a global economic melt down, a seemingly endless war in Iraq, a rotten American healthcare system, but on election day it seemed there was a matching step backwards for every step forwards – the repealing of several Affirmative Action programs, gay rights were trampled on. The election of Barack Obama as an influence was mostly as a wake up call, there is still a tremendous amount of work to do. Ding dong the cliché is dead, let’s keep working towards progress.”

WHAT IS THE GRAVEST CRISIS FACING THE US PEOPLE AT THE MOMENT? “The fact that our government is not held accountable in any fashion. The fact that a corporate coup has taken place and hijacked democracy.”

WOULD YOU SAY YOU WANTED TO HARK BACK TO YOUR EARLIER SOUND WITH THIS ALBUM? “Yes and no. I would say that Anti-Flag will always sound like Anti-Flag. The four of us never try to achieve a certain sound or style with any record or song. Our goal has always been to write songs that people can identify with emotion-ally and ideologically, songs where the message is racial, sexual, economical equality, and music that sonically translates that goal.”

HOW DID YOUR CHOICE OF PRODUCER RE-FLECT ON THE SOUND OF THE ALBUM? “Well, we produced and recorded the record ourselves. We’ve worked with producers many times but at this point we feel like no one can ever understand our band as much as we do. If anything, recording in our hometown of Pittsburgh was more influen-tial. We are able to focus more here, buckle down and not be distracted by any outside entities.”

HOW WAS YOUR STINT ON A MAJOR LABEL? WOULD YOU SAY IT WAS AN INTERESTING EX-PERIENCE? “I will say it was an awesome experi-ment. Spending Sony’s money on our agenda was fun and all, but we are glad that corporate layoffs and bottom lines are behind us. Having people who are working on your record getting fired all the time is still a strange and foreign thing for us. We enjoy having a real connection with the people who work on our music and ideas with us.”

HOW COME YOU SIGNED UP WITH SIDEONE-DUMMY? “We’ve known them as friends for years and have always talked about releasing a record with them. There were a number of places we could have released this record. SOD were absolutely committed to Anti-Flag, the response to the record has been great. We are excited about sharing it with the world and SOD are working diligently to aid us in this process.”

ANTI-FLAG [6]‘THE PEOPLE OR THE GUN’ (SIDEONEDUMMY)

In light of the recent US election triumph for Barack Obama, many American bands previously rallying against all and political sundry (ie George W. Bush) have recently affi rmed their desire to take appropriate corrective action regarding future lyrical content, not wanting their messages to appear redun-dant amidst a marked improvement in US foreign and domestic policy. One such band, clearly, are Anti-Flag. Having spent the Bush-era rallying against the evils of nuclear weapon testing and cultural imperialism, their fi rst of-fering of the Obama-era focuses (lyrically) on problems that may well be present regardless of régime: the economy, jobs and the every day problems regarding relationships and communities. Roping in a fi ne supporting cast for back-up vocals on ‘The Gre(a)t Depression’ in Tim McIlrath of Rise Against and Wade MacNeil of Alexisonfi re, it’s clear the band have, and will continue to have, a strong footing within the international punk community. Displaying a more raw, return-to-roots sound than their previous two efforts, ‘The People Or The Gun’ may go some way to convincing older fans that the band still have that true punk fi re raging in their bellies. For quality of songwriting and production, however, RS would go with ‘For Blood And Empire’ any day.

FOR FANS OF: Rise Against, Propagandhi, Against Me!, Big D And The Kids Tablewww.anti-flag.com OLI ROBERTSON

THEY’RE ON THE CD!•THEY’RE ON

THE

CD!•

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Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom often seems

more mausoleum than energised as a venue, its

sweeping space a repository for notoriously inex-

pressive local crowds as animated as a bowl of

fruit. However, the half-capacity cast assembled

for early set openers, So-Cal’s Intronaut, hint that better is

to be expected from this eve’s onlookers. As a monochromatic,

predominantly male flock files into the place, Intronaut’s vitriol

spews forth, the gap between stage and audience ever-shrinking

in spite of the fact that they’re surprisingly shoegazey and don’t

do much to excite, their sound more sluggish than sludgy.

Next up, Kylesa add some pep to the festivities; double-

barrelled tribal drums slicing through the white noise and

incessant hum left behind by Intronaut’s volcanic bass. Laura

Pleasants does a stellar job on vocals / guitar, flipping the

bird to any doubtful dudes in the room who think that girls

can’t shred. Their psychedelic set, infused with prog-rock ele-

ments, lays an awesome foundation for the galaxy-straddling

majesty of Mastodon’s ‘Crack The Skye’ opus to come, and by

the time Mastodon hit the stage it’s a veritable love-in.

As the fi rst potent strains of ‘Oblivion’ prick at eardrums, the

energy in the room swells to monumental levels, a packed house

undulating as one. Swaying with the sepulchral tones, echoes of

Staley / Cantrell harmonies fi lter in, complemented by brilliantly

multi-dimensional soaring guitar riffs and frenetic drum fi lls

that beat a rhythmic tattoo into tonight’s collective conscious-

ness. Each track from the ethereal ‘Crack The Skye’ seems to fl y

by, accompanied by a video backdrop that adds colour to the

minimalist light show and charts a graphic course through “the

space-time paradigm” and beyond. The insanely charismatic Brent Hinds keeps the audience rapt,

as he throws himself about through each number, guitar and

man as one, and it’s hard to look away, hypnotised by a musi-

cian who clearly lives and breathes what he does with dramatic

intensity. It’s also clear that each player in this brilliant band

has his all to give and they do for some two hours – welcomed

by a salivating crowd, singing along with tunes that bob and

weave, defying traditional structures, the robust fan participa-

tion demonstrating the level of devotion Mastodon evokes.

‘The Last Baron’ closes the ‘Crack The Skye’ segment of the

eve, as the relentlessly energetic and engaging foursome

head off into more visceral territory, marching through

tracks from previous releases; ‘Blood Mountain’, ‘Leviathan’

and ‘ Remission’ – sating the appetites of those in the crowd

viewing this as the dessert portion of the set, after feasting

on a performance as succulent as a juicy piece of steak.

‘Crack The Skye’ is an exquisite epic of an album that trans-

lates mind-bogglingly well live. Tonight is a perfect perform-

ance of a perfect album that plombs depths while soaring to

breathtaking heights, wrapping you up in its tsunami to break

against Druid-infested shores. This eve’s show takes you

through the evolution of a band that has built upon its Neo-

lithic roots to masterfully emerge as a formidable force on

the world stage as well as the underground one. An awesome

amusement park ride through time, space and sound, com-

plete with hypnotic visual accompaniments, an unspeakably

wicked soundtrack and some tattooed wizard of a spirit guide

at the helm, tonight is truly an out-of-body experience.

CHANTAL HENNESSEY

MASTODON (11)SUPPORT: INTRONAUT (6), KYLESA (8)COMMODORE BALLROOM, VANCOUVER

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LOWER THAN ATLANTIS [5]FACE BAR, READING

Headlining a gig can sometimes be a curse. As Hertfordshire quartet Lower Than Atlantis begin their set on this Sunday evening, they provide the climax to a six-band bill. A lot of people have gone home; half of the

remaining punters are too pissed to care. Frontman Mike Duce begins proceedings in charming fashion: “Oi soundman, turn the fucking moni-

tors up, yeah? We can’t hear nuffin’, sounds like a bunch of people fuckin’ shouting at me.” He has good reason to complain about the acoustics; the

band deliver a messy, short set. The most interesting aspect of the gig is Mike and guitarist Ben’s fixation on spitting on each other. Lower Than

Atlantis are clearly dedicated to entertaining audiences, as demonstrated by Duce as he drops his guitar and lurches into a depleted crowd, drag-

ging the mic stand with him, during final song ‘The Juggernaut’. They’re adept, gobby showmen. Shame this was a pretty shitty show.

TIM NEWBOUND

DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL [5]ACADEMY, SHEFFIELDAs Sheffi eld’s own Rolo Tomassi play to a packed out venue down the street, Devil Sold His Soul have the odds stacked against them. Embarking on a tour which has more T-shirts than bands, DSHS are making a small impact tonight, but that doesn’t make the show any less soul destroying than the youngsters up the road. With boyish looks to match, the band jump onstage to a wash of pounding rhythms and heavy beats. The room physically shakes as the audience are left staring gobsmacked at the stage. As the roar of the vocals rushes through the room, the group’s powerful force takes hold while the band members thrash about the stage. Ultimately, though, the formula lies thin very quickly as we’re left contemplating another predictable melody. As the band move into another progressive unexciting tune we leave with a heavy heart, a big sigh and a sense that Devil Sold His Soul were second place on gig-goers agendas tonight.RUTH OFFORD

PROPAGANDHI [7]ISLINGTON ACADEMY, LONDON

Following an explosive Sheffield show (during which the venue was quite literally set on fire), Propagandhi’s entrance tonight is perplexing, with Clive Jones from vintage rockers Black Widow introducing them with a round of his 1970 classic ‘Come To The Sabbat’. The band’s set features songs from pretty much every full-length, but the crowd’s cheers for ‘A

Speculative Fiction’ and ‘Back To The Motor League’ are just as deafening as those for their latest songs. The sombre, minor-key feel of new release ‘Supporting Caste’ works brilliantly live, and there’s no compromise in the band’s ethics, either, with shout-outs to veganism coming in new number ‘Human(e) Meat’, as well as their statement political talk between songs.

Self-described as “a bunch of almost 40-year-olds dressed as 14-year-olds”, the ‘Gandhi are a surprisingly light-hearted bunch, and their full cover of ‘Come To The Sabbat’ for the encore leaves everyone smiling.

AMY BANGS

UNEARTHLY TRANCE [7]UNDERWORLD, LONDONA Sunday evening is far from the best time for doom. After three sets of soporifi c snail-paced sounds, Rock Sound notices with increasingly heavy lids how each headbang gets lazier, heads descending further to the ground and thoughts of duvets and mugs of warm cocoa fi lling the mind. Thankfully, it’s around this time Unearthly Trance sneak onstage and blast out ‘God Is A Beast’, the fi nest and vilest opening notes to new album ‘Elec-trocution’. Even when the track’s closing riff reaches glacial speeds and threatens to coax the audience into a slumber, there’s always another white hot scream or sludgy speed-up to add to the variation of tempo that’s miss-ing in a lot of similar bands. Unearthly Trance don’t quite live up to their moniker, though. Sadly it’s the newer tracks’ speed and style changes that stop proceedings becoming trance-inducing, the jerks in song structure too stark to leave its audience in a comatose hypnosis. DAN MORGAN

VOX ROCKYour views on the night’s action...

The Barnard Bros, VictoriaNate (left) “What a show! I feel complete and 200 per cent more metal-headed!” Matt (right) “Mastodon are a phenomenal band giving it their all. Fucking awesome!”

Angus ‘The Mighty’, East Vancouver“They rocked harder than a Mammoth stampede!”

Pat & Cory, VancouverPat (left)“Their live show gets better and better, totally mind-blowing! ‘Crack The Skye’ is their ‘…And Justice For All’!” Cory (right) “The new album sounded

great live. Mastodon are hands down the best metal band of the last decade. Fuckin’ right on!”

ROCK SOUND GUSHES WITH MASTODON DRUMMER BRANN DAILOR…HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? ARE YOU COMING BACK? PLEASE COME BACK! “We’re here NOW! Of course, we have to come back, the place was packed and they seemed really into us! We had a great show.”

KYLESA

BACKSTAGE

ROCK SOUND GUSHES WITH MASTODON DRUMMER BRANN DAILOR…HOW WAS IT FOR YOU? ARE YOU COMING BACK? PLEASE COME BACK! “We’re here NOW! Of course, we have to come back, the place was packed and they seemed really into us! We had a great show.”

ROCK SOUND GUSHES WITH

BACKSTAGEBACKSTAGEBACKSTAGEBACKSTAGE

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