Live Review: DESERTFEST LONDON, UK 2018 – Day 1 [Photo Gallery]

Zeke @ Koko. DesertFest London 2018

The UKs very own version of Roadburn took over London over the bank holiday weekend of 4th May – 6th May. The annual 3-day DesertFest London festival hosted over 70 bands including some of the biggest names in the stoner rock scene, at the most iconic venues in Londons Camden town – from the Roundhouse to Koko, The Underworld, The Black Heart and The Dev(onshire Arms). Camden was a hive for worshipers of the scene to congregate for the 7th edition of this fundamental tour, and with headliners that included Graveyard, Napalm Death, High On Fire, Hawkwind and Monster Magnet, this year has been it’s biggest and most diverse yet!

FRIDAY 4TH

Today saw the festival at it’s busiest for its opening day, with 26 artists across 5 stages, not to mention the thousands of tourists bustling about Camden town – famous for its vast array of boutique and quirky independent shops, amazing street food, and markets, weird and wonderful street performers and musicians, as well as being the absolute hot-spot for all kinds of sub-cultures to thrive. With the distinct smell of weed fresh in the air on a blisteringly hot day in the capital, I was ready for the beginning of what would be an epic weekend of (natural) highs from the outstanding line-up at DesertFest London 2018. (Full gallery follows article). Continue reading

Review: BLEEDING THROUGH – ‘Love Will Kill All’ [Official Videos]

Formed in 1999, Bleeding Through have run the gamut of countries, labels, genre stylings and immense, genre-defining releases, influencing several generations of artists since their inception. This crushing Californian metal act seamlessly combine hardcore, symphonic and death metal in a maelstrom of magnificent aggression, weaving melody and mayhem together into a chaotic quilt. Dedicated to their craft in a way that has cast countless acts to shame, Bleeding Through are a band that many fans of extreme music may cite as one of their first truly “heavy” bands—and all these years later, they hold up just as strong, if not more so. While the band has been on a self imposed hiatus since 2104, reuniting in 2016 for a benefit show for The Ghost Inside following the bands horrific accident. As such the heavy metal landscape has changed a lot over the handful of years since the band called it a day. Metalcore has fallen out of favor with the mainstream, and theres been a sort of changing of the guard with “newer” bands like Bring Me The Horizon and A Day to Remember dominating the scene and heading in a more poppier direction.

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Review: PARKWAY DRIVE – ‘Reverence’ [Full Album Stream]

After the huge succes of the 2015 album ‘IRE’ Parkway Drive is back to destroy whatever is left with the dark and harsh vocals of Winston supported by the insane riffage of Jeff, Luke and Jia and the Earth crushing drums of Ben. So you better get ready to witness the end of the world!

Before we get into the new and stellar album ‘Reverence’ we need to dive into the deep and try to grasp the absolute beauty of their past records. Now if you have been a Parkway Drive or even a metalcore fan for a while you already know that they have held the throne from the beginning of time with the 2007 release of ‘Killing With A Smile’. This and several other past albums such as ‘Horizons’, ‘Deep Blue’ and ‘Atlas’ have all been of huge help to the metalcore world. For both musicians and for people who enjoy the music as much as I do. They have for sure set a near perfect example of how the core of metal should be delivered in its best ways. But before you come knocking on my door Parkway Drive has been released music before, they released 2 EPs which you have probably never heard of. They have done a split ep with I Killed The Prom Queen back in 2003 and the not so famous but spectacular 2004 EP ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes’.

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KAMELOT, DELAIN, BATTLE BEAST In Silver Spring, MD [Review & Photo Gallery]

 

 

The North American Tour by American power metal band Kamelot came to the Washington DC/Baltimore area recently. This is a tour I really wanted to cover as I am a big symphonic metal fan, and I had not seen  opening act Delain as of yet. On top of that one of the supporting bands was Battle Beast, who I had covered last year when they were supporting Sabaton. The recent album released by Kamelot, ‘The Shadow Theory’, has been very well received by fans and critics alike. Check out our recent review of the album (read here). Let me dive in to the review now, you can check out the photographs at the bottom of the page.

Battle Beast was the first band of the night. If you recall, Battle Beast first captured worldwide attention as the winner of Wacken Metal Battle some years back. They have made big strides over the years since, with the last release ‘Bringer of Pain’ being quite a success. As soon as the lights went out, a drum solo by Pyry Vikki started then proceedings with the lead singer Noora Louhimo bursting in to “Straight to the Heart” followed by “Bringer of Pain”. The lack of a local opening act meant that Battle Beast had a relatively longer setlist including eight songs, and I am not complaining about it at all, bring on more Battle Beast! However, if I recall correctly it was the exact same set list they played last year, and in the same order as well. I would have really liked to see some changes. On the other hand, this was a superior performance compared to the last one, a clear sign of the progress the band has made. The band is a joy to photograph, their energy on stage is simply phenomenal. An energetic performance by Noora Louhimo, with powerful yet melodic vocals, was well backed by the other band members. A fantastic start to the night, and Battle Beast left the stage to a resounding applause from the crowd. We have heard that the band is working on the upcoming album which will be released next year. Well, we can’t wait for that!

Dutch symphonic metal band Delain delivered a set that lasted close to an hour. This would be my first time seeing Delain. The set started with a drum solo, and soon after Charlotte Wessels wasted no time in setting the mood with “Hands of Gold” and “Suckerpunch”. Meren Bechtold was amazing on the guitar. The crowd enthusiastically sang with Charlotte Wessels pretty much throughout the set, and her stage persona lends very well to the kind of music the band plays. Delain wrapped up their set “We Are The Others”, one of my favorite songs by the band. They are in the process of writing a new album, which will be released sometime next year. Charlotte Wessels mentioned that they have been trying to do a US tour every year for the last few years. We will be eagerly waiting for the album and the tour next year.

Kamelot took the stage after a half hour long break after Delain’s set. They started their performance with “Phantom Divine”, the opening track from ‘The Shadow Theory’. The lighting, stage setup and the music generated quite a mood enhancing environment, a stark contrast to that of Battle Beat and Delain. Tommy Karevik took command of the stage and belted out the lyrics amidst his energetic antics on stage. Thomas Youngblood initially stayed near the sides of the stage, letting the other band members take control of the stage. Once the set progressed, he took center stage and blasted out some riffs. Lauren Hart, the vocalist of the death metal band Once Human, provided vocal support with some amazing screams and growls. Kamelot closed their set with “Liar Liar”, possibly their most popular song. The crowd was a happy bunch. I highly recommend this show. The stark differences between the styles of music played by the bands, yet bonded by the melody in the music, lends very well to this show being a resounding success. I have always been a huge fan of tours with bands that herald distinct styles, and this was one of the prime examples of that. Tons of dates are still left, so check out when they are heading your way.

Review: EGONAUT – ‘The Omega’ [Official Video & Album Stream]

Ride the bleak train coming out of Sweden, with Egonaut, a band of black-hearted minstrels.  They have been around since 2005, conjuring their audio Doom/Alt magic.  The group is made up of Mikael Bielinski  on bass, Dennis Zielinski on keyboards, Markus Johansson on drums, Fredrik Jordanius on guitars/vocals and Emil Kyrk on vocals.   They have an impressive body of art, including the albums ‘Electric’ (2011), ‘Mount Egonaut ‘(2013), ‘Deluminati (2015).   

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Review: NEKROGOBLIKON – ‘Welcome To Bonkers’ [Official Video & Track Stream]

The hype man is alive and well in the metal community, and his name is John f**king Goblikon. If you aren’t listening to Los Angeles Californias Melodic Death Metal jesters NEKROGOBLIKON yet you are seriously missing out on one of the best acts to grace the stages of the United States.  Nicky “Scorpion” Calonne  (Lead Vocals, Keyboard) Alex “Goldberg” Alereza (Guitar, Backing Vocals), Aaron “Raptor” Minich (Keyboard, Backing Vocals), Aaron “Zoot” VanZutphen. NEKROGOBLIKON has released 3 full albums “Goblin Island”, “Stench”, and “Heavy Meta” as well as one solid E.P. “Power” since they crawled out of some smelly hole in California back in 2006, and now they’re ready to drop another one on our heads titled ‘Welcome To Bonkers’ on Friday, April 13th 2018 courtesy of Seek And Strike Records. Continue reading

Review: SHIT THE COW – ‘Cavelord’ [Album Stream]

Sweden’s Shit The Cow released their first full length last December and it rips! Since 2011 they have released five EPs, ramping up to their debut album ‘Cavelord’. They describe their music as “scrapyard rock” that is “sound of an old rusty truck crashing into a tree” and I think that is true of their sound. They like to keep their songs short and tight, and that can also be said about the tracks on this new album. They have matured their sound, without cutting out any of the lean riffs. I would recommend this band and this album to someone who is looking for something like Queens of The Stone Age but with a rusty Red Fang edge to it. Robin fronts the band with guitar/vocals while Danno and Erka share the responsibility of guitar/bass. Robin gives their sound a tight rhythm to follow on drums. Continue reading

Review: FERRETT – ‘In Through the Out Door’ [Album Stream]

FerreTT is a glam metal/thrash band that hails from New York City. Their lineup consists of “The King of The Night Time World” on vocals, “TT Benoit” on rhythm and lead guitar, “Scotty Hart” on rhythm and lead guitar, “Nicky G.” on rhythm and lead guitar, “Lexi Slade” on bass, “Leigh FoXXX” on keyboards and piano, and lastly, “Alamo Jones” on drums. FerreTT has released 2 full length studio albums., which include ‘Year of The Forest’ released in 2013 and the latest album released in 2017, ‘In Through the Out Door’. Both have been released independently. They are currently not signed to a label, but with the energy and passion felt within their music I believe labels will be knocking on their door soon enough. Continue reading

Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown And The Cold Stares In Whitesburg, KY [Review & Photo Gallery]

 

Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown

 

Rock and Roll returned to Whitesburg, Kentucky and the Appalshop! Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown along with The Cold Stares reminded everyone in attendance what rock and roll was supposed to sound like and that it’s supposed to be played very very loudly!! You know that saying “If it’s too loud, you’re too old”? There was a wide range of ages represented in this audience, not one person left!

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Review: KAMELOT – ‘The Shadow Theory’ [Official Videos]

 

Strictly from their sound, it is almost hard to believe this symphonic power metal outfit comes from Tampa, Florida. Since 1991, founder and guitarist Thomas Youngblood has been the mastermind behind the entity that is Kamelot. A change of frontmen in 2011, however, reignited a flame for the band. Swedish singer, Tommy Karevik (Ayreon, Seventh Wonder) took the place of Roy Khan and has since elevated Kamelot to exponential heights. ‘The Shadow Theory’ is the twelfth album in their discography, released on Napalm Records and produced by Sascha Paeth who has been perfecting their sound since 1999’s The Fourth Legacy. Continue reading