Listen online, www.livewire1350.com, Saturdays, 22:30 // Reviews and news in rock, metal, everything between and beyond.
@yesthisisnoise //
yesthisisnoise@gmail.com //
Is it a monster, is it a MONSTAAAHHHHHHHHH? Wait, what? I have exciting news. YESTHISISNOISE is officially coming back. But not just by conventional internet blogging methods.
I'm on the radio. The lovely chaps and chapettes at the University of East Anglia's student radio station Livewire 1350 have decided to allow me back on the airwaves. So, be prepared for some aural stimulation, as I deliver noise to your hearing holes. Expect the news and reviews you know and love* from me already, arriving through the internet carried by my dulcet, sexy** bassvoice. SATURDAYS. 22:30-MIDNIGHT. WWW.LIVEWIRE1350.COM. BE THERE. OR BE A QUADRILATERAL WITH SIDES OF EQUAL LENGTH. *No? Ok. It's cool, I understand. I'm just going to go over in the corner, maybe sit down. Hug my knees. Cry a little. **Not guaranteed. However, if spontaneous orgasms to happen to occur because of my voice, I am sorry/you are welcome.
Quick update on the ongoing trial of Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins - in December 2012, he was charged with multiple sex offences, including 'conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a one-year old girl, and with possession of and/or distribution of indecent images of children and 'extreme animal pornography' (from Wikipedia). Appearing in court via video link on June 3rd, he denied all charges. The trial will now begin on November 25th, supposedly taking a month. More updates as I hear them.
Never ones to, you know, slow down, Enter Shikari have written, recorded and made a video for a new track. Named Radiate, it's classic Shikari - lyrically, calling out on the flaws of society in an anthemic way, amid a backdrop of crashing guitars and bouncing synthesisers, all the while ebbing and flowing between ranting and more sombre interludes. Give it a few listens, it'll grow on you.
Festival season is upon us! With more well-known events such as Slam Dunk already been and gone, and the big ones like Download and Reading/Leeds still to come, there's much to look forward to. But I have some opportunities for you, my readers, to get into a couple of fests happening over the summer, as reviewers/writers. Jack Daniel's, liquor of Epic Meal Time fame*, has a campaign to promote up and coming bands; J.D. Roots. JD has stages at some festivals in order to give these artists some limelight - to quote them, "JD Roots will be getting involved with the local music scenes that produce the legends of tomorrow and the moments of today." So you would be going to these festivals to cover bands appearing on the JD stages. 'But which festivals?' I hear you ask.
The first is Long Division, a 3-day event in Wakefield, just south of Leeds. Click on the link, in bold < to find out about the lineup and what's going on. The dates of this are the 7th-9th June, so next week. But if there is anyone who could get to Wakefield next Saturday, get in touch via Twitter, email, or comment below, and I will give you some more information about the doings!
The second is SWNFestival in Cardiff. This year taking place from the 17th-20th October, the JD Roots stage will be at Cardiff's rather famous Clwb Ifor Bach. Details about the festival are yet to land, in terms of who will be appearing etc, but the likes of Aluna George and Palma Violets have appeared in previous years, to give you an idea. Again, if you're interested, get in touch!
*to be fair I stopped watching EMT a while ago. Also I know you know what JD is.
To music fans in the East of England, Norwich's LCR, situated on the University of East Anglia campus, is well known as one of the principal live music venues in the region. A huge plethora of bands, such as Muse, Enter Shikari, Bowling For Soup, Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Motorhead, and a frequent stop-off for the Kerrang! Tour (there have been hundreds of amazing bands playing the LCR, this list is just off the top of my head) have all stopped off in Norwich, and these are all largely thanks to the work of the late Entertainments Manager at the university, Nick Rayns. He worked for 34 years, bringing in some truly incredible acts over that time, and in his honour: RIP Mr Rayns, and thank you for your work in bringing in some incredible acts over the years.
The late Nick Raynes - image courtesy
of the Norwich Tab
Tim Lambesis, vocalist for As I Lay Dying, has apparently posted bail reportedly to the sum of a cool $2 million, releasing him from custody following charges of arranging to have his wife killed. If you haven't been aware of the story, Lambesis is alleged to have asked someone, in fact an undercover police informant, how he would go about having his wife killed - the prosecution claims to have audio evidence that Lambesis gave $1000 to end the murder his partner, with whom he is separated from and currently in the middle of divorce proceedings.
The trial is set to begin on June 10th. If found guilty, he faces between 3 and 9 years in prison.
Lambesis in court - image courtesy of Metal Hammer
There's been talk floating around for a while of the next single/video from Muse's The 2nd Law being Panic Station, and lo and behold stills/gifs from that video began to surface recently. Then the video itself dropped today. What. The. Fuck? See for yourself... I can't embed the video so here it is
It's been a while...but praise be to the lords of metal for bringing Black Sabbath back to us. God Is Dead? is the first track to come from the legends' 13th album, called, well, 13. It's pretty sexy. Creepy doom-laden riffage, the unmistakeable evil tones of Ozzy, more riffs, damn fine soloing...they're back. But what are your thoughts, dear lovely readers? Leave a comment below.
Sorry for the downtime folks, been busy/ill/travelling, the reviews I promised are coming, along with Kvelertak's new album which I received today. So, big, mysterious news, as emo legends (and I don't use emo in a negative light here, quite the opposite) My Chemical Romance have decided that the band will henceforth no longer exist. This comes as a shock, and seemingly out of nowhere. With no reasons given by the band, we can only speculate as to why they've gone this way. Whatever the reasons, a fond farewell to a very important band in recent years.
Official statement taken from www.mychemicalromance.com;
"Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing. We've gotten to go places we never knew we would. We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure. My Chemical Romance"
Ok, so now a few albums have landed I'm no longer in the limbo that was waiting for them to land! Therefore, coming very soon are the following reviews:
Sempiternal by Bring Me The Horizon
Welcome Oblivion by How To Destroy Angels
The Next Day by David Bowie
Cold Chillin' EP by Your Demise
Later this month there are also albums by the likes of Kvelertak and The Strokes, so keep an eye out for those too.
The second instalment of 'Albums that made theNOISE' is also currently half-written, so expect that one soon! Lastly, if you're looking for some new tunes to get your head around, check out the first of my (hopefully) weekly playlists, with 10 of the songs, new or old, that I've been enjoying in the last week. Later y'all!
Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe, who stood trial in the Czech Republic on a manslaughter charge, has today been found not guilty. This is such good news. He faced up to 10 years in prison, having already spent a short time in Czech jail, following the death of a fan at a LoG show 3 years back. The accusation was that Blythe had pushed the fan off the stage, following a stage invasion by the crowd, but he was judged to have not acted out of aggression and has been cleared of all charges, and will pay no compensation to the family. Ahead of his final day in court today, before the verdict was delivered, he released the following statement;
"It’s a beautiful morning in Prague, & time for me to go to what is (hopefully) my final day in court here- supposedly judgement will be passed today & I will move on with my life in one direction or the other. Which direction that is, I do not know. I could walk free, or conversely go to prison for up to ten years. Such is my life right now, & I must stay in this moment until its resolution. Whatever happens to me, do not feel sorry for me, for I am at peace & refuse to feel sorry for myself. Life happens. Deal with it. Some people cannot understand why I have returned, saying I should not come back here. KNOW THIS, & mark my words well- it would be absolutely intolerable for me to hide from this situation. I am an innocent man, but a family suffers the loss of a son, a fan of my band. That is what this whole thing is truly about, not prison, not money, not politics, not ME- it is about a young man who lost his life at just 19 years of age. He will never come back, & it breaks my heart. I would not be able to sleep at night knowing that I did not behave honorably & try to give his family some answers. That would be disgraceful, and I do not wish to dishonor myself or my family by acting in such a cowardly manner. I was raised to face my problems head on. For me, this is BEING A MAN. I categorically refuse to live in a constant state of guilt & fear. I would rather die. My morality & convictions are not dependent upon unforeseeable circumstance, nor malleable when difficulty arises. So I walk this morning to court with my head held high, no matter what others opinions of me may be. I have to face myself in the mirror, & tomorrow morning, where ever I may wake up, I will be able to do that without regret. This is THE ONLY path to true freedom for me- peace within myself. This is the manner in which I choose to try my best to live my life, & I hope you all do the same- do your best to do what is right, no matter how difficult it may be. I promise you, this will bring you peace. I thank you all for your support, I wish you all a good day, & to quote one of my favorite movies: STRENGTH AND HONOR"
It's fantastic news that he has walked free, and his composure throughout the trial has been nothing short of exemplary, honourable and dignified. Following the acquittal, he released a second short statement with this accompanying photo;
“I have been found not guilty & acquitted of all charges against me. I am a free man. This photo was taken by my friend @aceyslade- it says it all. Please remember the family of Daniel Nosek in your thoughts & prayers in this difficult time. I only wish for them peace. Thank you for your support- Randy”
So, every now and then I try and implement a weekly something-or-other, and my latest attempt starting this week is going to be my weekly playlist - namely, the songs that I have been listening to this week, in an attempt to share my music taste with you all. I'll link to the songs on Youtube in the song titles, and I hope you discover something new that you love/rediscover something you'd forgotten about! Songs will be new or old, it entirely depends what I've been listening to. So here goes, Episode #1 of the Playlist.
Hearts Aliveby Mastodon (from the 2004 album Leviathan)
But because I'm nice to you (too nice, probably. I don't know on what basis though), I made a Youtube playlist of all the above which you can find here. Enjoy!
The only other band I would ever think to do this would be Muse. But, after a ludicrous amount of time spent teasing new material, 30 Seconds To Mars revealed they were releasing a new single, entitled Up In The Air. But for them to do something on a small, average scale? SO overrated. They're sending said song to the fucking International Space Station. In 18 days from now (2/3/13), Up In The Air will receive its debut play from space. I just...Jared, what?
So, it's all happening very quickly in Bowie-Land. Only just over a month ago did we hear tell of this new album, and it's now out within a few weeks. Until that time, you can listen to it for free via iTunes!
Head to http://itunes.com/davidbowie to listen to his first new album in a decade!
Due to "overwhelming and phenomenal demand" and probably in response to the leak the other day, you can legally listen to Bring Me The Horizon's upcoming new album Sempiternal in full below for the next week only! As well as this, they have also brought the album's release date forward a month to April 1st. Review will be on its way shortly! It's incredible btdubs.
So, last week I warned you all that, for lack of anything better to do, I was going to write a series of pieces on the albums that I credit with having made me who I am today, which is to say, a bloke with a dishevelled scruffy beard who sits alone listening to rock/metal and writes about it. And finally, I've got round to #1. It's not a full-blown review, mind, but an excerpt from my life story that you're free to laugh at mixed with review elements. Enjoy...
EPISODE #1; MUSE, ABSOLUTION
If you know me personally, then I classify it statistically
impossible for me to have not mentioned my undying love for Muse around you at
some point. Maybe not directly to you, maybe you heard a conversation I was
having and I mentioned it. But I love Muse. People who know me well/those who
have seen parts of me naked on the internet will know that Absolution in
particular is a special album to me.
Yep. I took this photo right after it was done, hence why it's a bit manky round the edges, but there will always be a reminder of how much Muse changed my life, and how Absolution turned me towards a different style of music altogether, inked on my right shoulder. So this importance this album has in my life made it a good place to start.
Let’s rewind a few years. Around the late spring/early
summer of maybe 2005/6, I bought Absolution on eBay for about a fiver. For the
last few years up to this point, I had been very much in a musical purgatory,
if you will. This was back in the day when social constructs such as ‘greebo’
were rife in high school life (do they still exist?), and instead of declaring
myself part of one tribe or another, I tried to fit in to all the social groups
around me. I convinced myself that I liked both rap and rock, although metal
was a no-no. Hell, I didn’t want people to think I was a goth or an emo. “I
will NEVER like Slipknot” I said once. How times change.
But really, I had never had a music taste – I just liked some stuff, mostly chart stuff. And now,
internet, I would like to share with you my eternal shame. Some people have
really awesome albums as their first records. One of my favourite musicians,
Brann Dailor (drummer of Mastodon), counts really cool shit like Iron Maiden and AC/DC among his
first albums. Me? Vapid pop pretty-boys A1. Oh yeah. Bless you the 90s.
Those guys. Remember them? Technically speaking, they
weren’t even my first album. My first was Now (That’s What I Call Music) 48,
but as a compilation I don’t count it. To this day I could not tell you another
A1 song without Wikipedia. But really, I did not have a cool musical start. The
Black Eyed Peas’ Elephunk album was
next (actually not a bad album, before they went shit, but still not great),
then others I forget/am ashamed to admit. Among those was a fucking Tim
Westwood compilation. I thought I was cool. HAH.
So this time went by with me having no strong musical taste,
trying to convince myself that I liked lots of different styles I’d barely even
heard of – case and point, I heard Slam by
Pendulum on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show as ‘Hottest Record In The World Today’ and
suddenly I loved drum ‘n’ bass. Ahem. But among the band names I’d heard on
that show, before I realised I didn’t like Zane, was Muse. Or Mews, as I
thought it was spelt. I know, I’m a tool. And I remembered they had a recent
album, called…um…Absolution? A quick
Google search confirmed, then a quick trip to eBay and a fiver bagged me a
copy. And largely, from the point it arrived onward, my life changed. Sounds
overdramatic, and it wasn’t instantaneous by any means, but it was a milestone.
Obviously I knew what the word absolution meant, with the connotations of the absolving of sins at the end of the world, so I was
thinking “shiiiiit, this is gonna be so dark and heavy and cool”, and so imagine my
surprise when I was right. A summary of my first listen goes something like
this, as I remember it;
Intro/Apocalypse Please: Is this playing? Oh wait, I hear
something. Thump, Thump, Thump Thump Thump.
Ooh, intriguing AAAAAHHHHH JEEEESUS that’s loud piano. What IS this?
Time Is Running Out: Cool bass.
Sing For Absolution: This is nice. In a sad way.
Stockholm Syndrome: *headbangs*
Falling Away With You: *gets goosebumps on arms*
Interlude/Hysteria: OH SHIT this is building to something
epic. *bass comes in* :O
Rest of the album: :O with varying degrees of spinal chills,
particularly during Blackout/Butterlies & Hurricanes/Ruled By Secrecy
Basically, from the first time I heard Interlude/Hysteria, I
was hooked. There is so much I love about the album. The heaviness of some
songs, the tender, epic beauty of others, and the way they transition perfectly
into one another. My favourite example of a transition in the album is between Falling Away With You into Interlude, because the underlying sound
of Interlude is there from the second
verse. It just runs perfectly underneath the song, providing this dark spine to
the song, so that when the rest of the song fades away at the end we’re just
left with the fuzzy tremolo before the bassline that everybody knows them by
kicks in. It’s perfect.
And so that was the point at which my life began to change
really, between Interlude and the
ending track Ruled By Secrecy. Whereas
before I’d been in the no-mans-land I talked about earlier, I started to
develop the taste in music I have now which has had such a huge impact on my
life. I fell in love with Absolution, so I immediately set about obtaining
their back catalogue, so very soon I had it – at this point, Absolution was the
most recent album, so just Showbiz,
Origin of Summetry and Hullabaloo
– and I was hooked. It was the start of a beautiful relationship.
Absolution is an
incredible album; the depth of the apocalyptic concept, the mastery with which
every song is constructed, from the soaring classical elements to the straight
up rock; it is Muse’s best album, and my joint favourite of all time with Origin of Symmetry (yes, my 2 favourite
albums are both Muse). So it is the first album that really began to make me
into what I am now. I could not recommend it more.
A full 2 months ahead of it's slated release, Bring Me The Horizon's new album Sempiternal has been leaked. So, I urge you to let it sit on the internet, undownloaded and alone, and wait for the actual release at the end of April. Support music and the artists that produce it! That said, I've heard the album's opening track Can You Feel My Heart, as it was floating around Tumblr before I realised it had leaked. I'm honestly astonished by it. It's so, so far from what I ever imagined BMTH were capable of, and I cannot stop listening to it. I've genuinely had it on repeat for the last half an hour.
Astonishing is the best word I can think of. Sempiternal is going to be a game-changer. I just know it. Is it too early to call it potential album of the year when it's not out for 2 months?
Who'd-a thought it. Death metal, from Suffolk. And Essex. It does happen. Voragan put out their excellent debut EP last year, titled Chaos Dreams (obligatory self-promotion of review), and below you can find their debut video, for the EP's title track. It's a very well put-together video, courtesy of Liam Davey, and within you can find moody black and white shots of headbanging, riffage and death growls. Top bombing. P.S. Once you've watched the video, head over to http://voragan.bigcartel.com/ and buy a copy of the aforementioned EP for the bargain price of £3.50. Deal.
In a very short statement today, Gallows confirmed that one of the band's guitarists, Steph Carter, has left the band. The statement reads;
"Steph has left Gallows and we wish him the best of luck with his future projects. We will be moving on as a four piece like the early days. First stop Australia."
This follows the departure of frontman (and Steph's brother) Frank Carter, who left to pursue his new project Pure Love. Gallows will be therefore heading to Australia's Soundwave Festival sans Steph = no word on whether they'll have a touring member to fill in for the time being, although the statement suggests not.
The second track from upcoming April release Sempiternal has landed, and my my it's bleak. It's got a punk-like quality to it, being angry and loud and tackling the topic of societal decline. Except with lots of use of the word 'fuck'. Oh, and the C-bomb gets dropped in there at one point. Just a heads up. It's great. It showcases the anthemic side we've seen plenty of glimpses of, but it has a lot of power behind it. I really think the album is going to be a remarkable metal record. Initial Reaction: 8/10 Excite-O-Meter for Sempiternal (made simpler because effort): 8/10, bouncing up and down in my seat just a little. Listen here on Soundcloud.
