CRAZYTOWN & BLACK MAP Perform In Somerset, United Kingdom! [Review & Photo Gallery]

Crazytown

The Cobblestones venue is located in Bridgwater in the heart of Somerset, UK. It is owned and ran by Graham Hodgson who has his finger on the pulse and is a music fan himself as I regularly bump into him at other venues. His place has some class acts going through, recently DOYLE from Misfits, Hed p.e. and Black Orchid Empire have all rocked the stage. Later in the year Our Hollow Our Home and Holding Absence and many others are due to play, so check it out. I’ve started this review like this to hopefully encourage fans to get out to shows and make people aware that even a few big venues in Bristol are under threat of closing due to corporate ideas and renovations. We need to stand up and show our support so just get out there and enjoy yourselves.

Black Map

My timing tonight could not have been more perfect getting there just before Black Map hit the stage, I’ve been aware of their name as they have recently taken Black Orchid Empire on tour in Europe. This California based band kicked straight in with “Let Me Out” and damn immediately I noticed the drummer Chris Robyn formerly of the band Far, he doesn’t mess around behind the kit. This guy has stamina and power for days and he maintained it through the whole set. Vocalist and bassist Ben Flanagan was on point, I can’t stress enough how perfect of a vocal delivery he unleashed. Mark Engles supplied the driving riffs with a guitar tone which pulled you in. If you are a fan of A Perfect Circle then these guys have a similar feel but are in no way a copycat. Thanks to drummer Chris he could tell I wanted to go and shoot some close ups and waved me up between songs so I nestled in a corner of the stage and shot. They played many other bombshells such as “Gold”, “Ruin” and finishing with one of their more popular singles “Run Rabit Run”. Black Map are one of my favorite bands to watch live after experiencing this full performance so lets get behind these fellas and help them make history.

Crazytown

Ahh the nostalgia that Crazytown brings. I got a promo copy of ‘The Gift of Game’ album back in 1999. This was when nu-metal was huge and it was well received by droves of fans, including me personally. All the people talked about was “Butterfly” but I have especially enjoyed songs like “Toxic” and “Only When I’m Drunk”.

As soon as these guys got on stage the energy was phenomenal. Bass player Hasma Angeleno was going off with loads of style, holding the bass upside down and bending backwards in limbo poses and yoga style moves. This rock hard non-stop touring band gave 100% and showed no signs of slowing down through the whole set. Shifty on vocals was on form tonight and you could tell he was enjoying every second, grinning from ear to ear whilst fans in the audience were showing their appreciation from the get go. Punching straight in with “Battlecry” from the album ‘Dark Horse’, then throwing in classics like “Toxic” and “Only when I’m drunk”. “Darkside” from debut album ‘The Gift of Game’. The guitarist was a breath of fresh air and musicians that move around like this guy did make a great night greater. Half way through the drummer and bass player did their own little collaboration whilst Shifty and the guitarist retreated to the back of the stage. This was not the cringe type of a solo thing, they played a solid drum and bass piece for a couple minutes to the highest caliber and the crowd appreciated the talented rhythm duo, which holds this great band together. Shifty and the guitarist joined back in to play 6 more tracks and yes, as if there was any question they closed their set with “Butterfly” and why wouldn’t they as this track is what really stamped their authority on the nu-metal scene back in the day.

Well anyone in the UK or visiting the UK have another chance to catch Crazy Town. They are playing the iconic Fat Lip Festival in the city of Bristol on July 28th 2018. Make sure you catch them live because in my opinion that is where Crazy Town come “alive” you don’t get the full energy on by hearing the music digitally or on disc, it’s best heard and seen live and in the flesh.

 

 

BLACK MAP Announce Surprise EP, ‘Trace The Path’ And New Music Video, “Let Me Out” [Video Stream]

San Francisco alternative hard rock group, Black Map, releases a surprise EP today titled, ‘Trace the Path’ on Entertainment One. Off of the EP, the band also drops a brand-new music video for the opening track, “Let Me Out,” directed by Anthony J Garay.  Vocalist and bassist, Ben Flannagan comments about the sentimental and historical location chosen for the video, “We shot this video in the backroom of a bar called Homestead in San Francisco which was first opened all the way back in 1902. Five years ago, Mark and I were having beers at this very bar and decided that we should start a band together, so this space was kind of the inception of Black Map. We thought that it would be fitting to return to that spot and film the video for ‘Let me Out.'” Continue reading

Ben Flanagan of BLACK MAP On The Location Of A Video Shoot “There Were Just Tubs Of Lube Everywhere.”

Black Map

 

Black Map has been making the rounds this year on the festival circuit. This years Carolina Rebellion was actually one of the bands first festival appearances of the year. We were there to see their dominating performance and the fans there loved them just as much as we did. Again we were able to see them at Chicago Open Air in July and once again they were one of the most dominating bands of the day. The alt metal trio unleashed their first songs in 2014. First, their 4-song EP titled ‘Driver’ was released in February and all 4 songs were included later on that year on their first full length album ‘…And We Explode’. They put off a heavy 90’s rock vibe with huge, blasting riffs and raw emotion all packed into one punch. Last year the band made a large breakthrough with the premiere of a new song “Run Rabbit Run”. This song took the airwaves by storm and told us to get ready for 2017 because Black Map is quickly on their way to the top. ‘In Droves’ dropped across the US on March 10th via eOne Music. The album was produced by Aaron Hellam at Hellman Sound. Consisting of members from the bands Far, The Trophy Fire, and dredg, the band does a solid job combining all of the project’s sounds into one. Continue reading

Louder Than Life Spotlight: BLACK MAP

*Every Tuesday and Thursday from now until Louder Than Life gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*

Today’s Artist is Black Map

Black Map has been making the rounds this year on the festival circuit. This years Carolina Rebellion was actually one of the bands first festival appearances of the year. We were there to see their dominating performance and the fans there loved them just as much as we did. Again we were able to see them at Chicago Open Air in July and once again they were one of the most dominating bands of the day. The alt metal trio unleashed their first songs in 2014. First, their 4-song EP titled ‘Driver’ was released in February and all 4 songs were included later on that year on their first full length album ‘…And We Explode’. They put off a heavy 90’s rock vibe with huge, blasting riffs and raw emotion all packed into one punch. Last year the band made a large breakthrough with the premiere of a new song “Run Rabbit Run”. This song took the airwaves by storm and told us to get ready for 2017 because Black Map is quickly on their way to the top. ‘In Droves’ dropped across the US on March 10th via eOne Music. The album was produced by Aaron Hellam at Hellman Sound. Consisting of members from the bands Far, The Trophy Fire, and dredg, the band does a solid job combining all of the project’s sounds into one.

Continue reading

Chicago Open Air 2017 Day Two: Korn, Godsmack, Avatar, Clutch, Body Count, & More [Photo Gallery]

After an electric first day, it was time to get back up early Saturday morning to head in for day two of Chicago Open Air. Several great performances from bands like Rob Zombie, Megadeth, Anthrax, Crobot, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Code Orange, and more had all of us very interested to see if the second day could top it. With Korn, Godsmack, Avatar, Body Count, Clutch, and several others, we knew it would be very close. It only took a few performances and we already knew that Saturday would be on an even higher level. Continue reading

Chicago Open Air Spotlight/Album Review: BLACK MAP – ‘In Droves’

*Every Thursday from now until Chicago Open Air gets here we will be releasing an article about a band playing the festival to get you familiar with them.*

Our first artist is Black Map!

Black Map will be taking the Chicago Open Air stage on July 15th this year at Toyota Park and we couldn’t be more excited. This will be the first Danny Wimmer Presents festival that Black Map will be a part of . We are kicking off the artist spotlight in a special way as we also include an album review of their new release: ‘In Droves’. The alt metal trio unleashed their first songs in 2014. First, their 4-song EP titled ‘Driver’ was released in February and all 4 songs were included later on that year on their first full length album ‘…And We Explode’.  They put off a heavy 90s rock vibe with huge, blasting riffs and raw emotion all packed into one punch. Last year the band made a large breakthrough with the premiere of a new song “Run Rabbit Run”.  This song took the airwaves by storm and told us to get ready for 2017 because Black Map is quickly on their way to the top. ‘In Droves’ will drop across the US on March 10th via eOne Music. The album was produced by Aaron Hellam at Hellman Sound. You can pre-order ‘In Droves’ here on the band’s website. Continue reading