Darkness falls on a freezing night in High Wycombe but it’s just about to start getting hotter in Wycombe Academy of Music and Arts as the scene gets set for some severely heavy metal. A loyal crowd are pumped for some ear piercing guitar riffs, dirty screaming and brutal mosh pits, and that’s exactly what they’re getting.
Opening up for the night is High Wycombe’s own, Honour In Ashes, who set the bar high for the night. Their first song gets a pretty impressive mosh pit started, that later bands struggle to achieve, and it’s obvious that this band already have a good following. High pitched guitar riffs and impressive vocals are pulled together by aggressive drum beats and that holds this crowd perfectly. The crowd are instructed to explode on the count of three, and it begs the question, do they really need instruction? They’re already going insane and the chanting just goes to show how much of an impact this band is already having. There is a very promising future for Honour In Ashes. With a bit of progression they can achieve amazing things.
One questionable cover of System of a Down’s Chop Suey later and Kieland Ridge present the crowd with a calmer set then the night is use to. The understated, much slower, aggression of this band conjures up nostalgic memories of a grunge period, supposedly lost decades ago, but this band may well bring it back.
For two bands this show marks the end of a mini tour across the UK. Decodes and The Art of Reason show more potential than most tonight and this tour may well be the start of something much bigger for both acts.
The Art of Reason’s increasingly perfect mix of rap and synth made for a fitting cover of Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff, which shaped up to be the best cover of the night. This band are definitely on to something and it’s quite obvious that soon their going to hit that mark.
Decodes’ track, Nurturers and Murderers is a first-class progressive track which is entrancing live. A line-up reshuffle might have been just the thing this band needed to get them in the right direction and their upcoming EP is sure to be a masterpiece.
The most impressive vocals of the night are clearly displayed by Cascades whose lead singer is left breathless on more than one occasion, and no one is blaming him. Their change in musical direction since their line-up and name change has proved to be nothing less than a musical master stroke. Expect great things from this band.
Headliners, Limit The Dead, play no games in showing exactly who they are and what they’re here to do. Warnings of strobe lighting get the crowd buzzing for the long awaited climax of the night, and they did not disappoint their audience who are captivated from the word go. This melodic, heavy metal is the best way to wake up a crowd after an exhaustive night of head banging and the strobe lighting just helps that along!
Limit The Dead
http://www.myspace.com/limitthedead
Cascades
http://www.myspace.com/cascadesuk
Decodes
http://www.myspace.com/decodesuk
The Art of Reason
http://www.myspace.com/theartofreason
Kieland Ridge
http://www.myspace.com/kielandridge
Honour In Ashes
http://www.myspace.com/honourinashes93
Clear Shot
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001670915455
Monday 28 February 2011
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Feargal Sharkey at De Montfort University
Feargal Sharkey will be gracing De Montfort University with his presence during their tenth annual Cultural Exchanges Festival with a talk based around the singer’s vibrant career.
The Undertones vocalist shot to fame in 1978 with their single “Teenage Kicks” and since then his career has gone through several makeovers. After appearing in other bands, such as The Assembly with Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode, and a successful solo career sprinkled with collaboration gems, Sharkey now heads up UK Music making a real impact to the state of live music in the UK.
“Cultural Exchanges is an exciting annual festival.” states Director of Cultural Exchanges, Tony Graves. “It started in 2000 and is organised by our third year students on the BA (Hons) Arts and Festival Management course. We proudly welcome Feargal Sharkey who has become a leading figure in the music industry.”
Sharkey’s career has been highlighted with various awards including the Scott Piering Award in 2004, The Bottle Award for outstanding contribution to the live music industry in 2006 and an Honorary Doctor of Arts from the University of Hertfordshire for an outstanding achievement in the field of music.
Chris Maughan, principal lecturer for arts and festivals management at DMU, will discuss the issues Feargal has primarily been concerned with over his career. The Licensing Act 2003, which affects the ability of music venues to provide regulated entertainment as well as alcohol, and Form 696, a risk assessment form compulsory to promoters and licensees, are expected to be top of the agenda.
UK Music have said that “topics for discussion will include careers in the music industry, policy issues and looking at how the British music industry needs to develop if it is to sustain its contribution to Britain’s cultural and economic life”
Sharkey will be at DMU’s Clephen Building, room 2.13, between 6-7pm . Tickets cost just £3 and are available from https://store.dmu.ac.uk
The Undertones vocalist shot to fame in 1978 with their single “Teenage Kicks” and since then his career has gone through several makeovers. After appearing in other bands, such as The Assembly with Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode, and a successful solo career sprinkled with collaboration gems, Sharkey now heads up UK Music making a real impact to the state of live music in the UK.
“Cultural Exchanges is an exciting annual festival.” states Director of Cultural Exchanges, Tony Graves. “It started in 2000 and is organised by our third year students on the BA (Hons) Arts and Festival Management course. We proudly welcome Feargal Sharkey who has become a leading figure in the music industry.”
Sharkey’s career has been highlighted with various awards including the Scott Piering Award in 2004, The Bottle Award for outstanding contribution to the live music industry in 2006 and an Honorary Doctor of Arts from the University of Hertfordshire for an outstanding achievement in the field of music.
Chris Maughan, principal lecturer for arts and festivals management at DMU, will discuss the issues Feargal has primarily been concerned with over his career. The Licensing Act 2003, which affects the ability of music venues to provide regulated entertainment as well as alcohol, and Form 696, a risk assessment form compulsory to promoters and licensees, are expected to be top of the agenda.
UK Music have said that “topics for discussion will include careers in the music industry, policy issues and looking at how the British music industry needs to develop if it is to sustain its contribution to Britain’s cultural and economic life”
Sharkey will be at DMU’s Clephen Building, room 2.13, between 6-7pm . Tickets cost just £3 and are available from https://store.dmu.ac.uk
Monday 21 February 2011
Sing Your Heart Out Loud - Hang Tight Records - Compilation Review
‘Sing Your Heart Out Loud’, Hang Tight Records (February 21st 2011), is a big step towards proving that British pop-punk is horrifically underrated. Bands from across the country have come together to create a compilation album stamped with the trademark epic beat downs and explosive gang shouts that rival those of stateside pop-punk bands.
Hang Tight Records formed in December of last year to release Me vs Hero's full length ‘Days That Shape Our Lives’ on vinyl. Since then the label has found more and more bands that represent the thriving scene of pop-punk in Britain.
“I really started working with the bands on the compilation from December,” Says Joe Hurst of Hang Tight Records, “but it took about a month to collate and to get the band total up to twenty. There is so much talent in the UK that gets over looked by promoters and other labels. I want to show people that us boys and girls in the UK can do as good as the guys in the states can!”
The album is dowsed in influence from the likes of Four Year Strong, Deaf Havana and Hit The Lights, with the same lively energy shining through on every track. It’s not surprising considering that most of these bands have supported the big guns of pop-punk in recent months.
Leicester’s own, We’re Not Worthy, sit midway in the compilation with ‘Make Mine a Double’, a song which has such a catchy chorus that it is near impossible to not get hooked, jump around and scream along (three things the crowd will definitely be doing at Lock 42 when the band support The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus on March 17th).
Dublin’s Storyboard (who have signed to Hang Tight records since the compilations release) and Young Wolves, stand up for the Irish in their contributions which blow others out of the water. Both have managed to keep the upbeat happiness that makes pop-punk what it is whilst including a depth, meaning and emotion to their lyrics which helps them to stand out. Together on this album they prove that Ireland’s pop-punk scene is growing into a beat down fuelled monster. Watch that space.
Next Stop Atlanta’s Georgia Peters is a breath of fresh air in a vastly male dominated genre. ‘I’ll Catch Fire’ is one of the most attention grabbing tracks of the album with a guitar riff that you really will not get out of your head and a gang shout to be proud of. It’s bands like this, Paramore, Mimi Soya and We Are The In Crowd that are campaigning for the ladies, and they’re doing a remarkable job of it.
British pop-punk is a force to be reckoned with, and it’s only getting bigger by the second. Hurst hopes that “the kids listening to the compilation will find their new favourite band, maybe they will buy a shirt, EP or go to a show,” and your life will be brighter for it! Pop-punk is not dead!
‘Sing Your Heart Out Loud’ is available to download for just £1 from http://hangtightrecords.bandcamp.com NOW!
Hang Tight Records formed in December of last year to release Me vs Hero's full length ‘Days That Shape Our Lives’ on vinyl. Since then the label has found more and more bands that represent the thriving scene of pop-punk in Britain.
“I really started working with the bands on the compilation from December,” Says Joe Hurst of Hang Tight Records, “but it took about a month to collate and to get the band total up to twenty. There is so much talent in the UK that gets over looked by promoters and other labels. I want to show people that us boys and girls in the UK can do as good as the guys in the states can!”
The album is dowsed in influence from the likes of Four Year Strong, Deaf Havana and Hit The Lights, with the same lively energy shining through on every track. It’s not surprising considering that most of these bands have supported the big guns of pop-punk in recent months.
Leicester’s own, We’re Not Worthy, sit midway in the compilation with ‘Make Mine a Double’, a song which has such a catchy chorus that it is near impossible to not get hooked, jump around and scream along (three things the crowd will definitely be doing at Lock 42 when the band support The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus on March 17th).
Dublin’s Storyboard (who have signed to Hang Tight records since the compilations release) and Young Wolves, stand up for the Irish in their contributions which blow others out of the water. Both have managed to keep the upbeat happiness that makes pop-punk what it is whilst including a depth, meaning and emotion to their lyrics which helps them to stand out. Together on this album they prove that Ireland’s pop-punk scene is growing into a beat down fuelled monster. Watch that space.
Next Stop Atlanta’s Georgia Peters is a breath of fresh air in a vastly male dominated genre. ‘I’ll Catch Fire’ is one of the most attention grabbing tracks of the album with a guitar riff that you really will not get out of your head and a gang shout to be proud of. It’s bands like this, Paramore, Mimi Soya and We Are The In Crowd that are campaigning for the ladies, and they’re doing a remarkable job of it.
British pop-punk is a force to be reckoned with, and it’s only getting bigger by the second. Hurst hopes that “the kids listening to the compilation will find their new favourite band, maybe they will buy a shirt, EP or go to a show,” and your life will be brighter for it! Pop-punk is not dead!
‘Sing Your Heart Out Loud’ is available to download for just £1 from http://hangtightrecords.bandcamp.com NOW!
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