Chasing Cadence - The Black Heart, Camden 29/09/2016 - REVIEW

Chasing Cadence

The Black Heart, Camden

29/09/2016

Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding

London’s Camden has a big reputation for being the home of alternative creativity and, as such, it proved to be the perfect setting for Hertfordshire’s autonomously-creative Chasing Cadence to celebrate the release of their new EP, Destroy Something Beautiful.

Named for the band’s perception of the music industry as one that “shuts out the beauty of creativity, innovation and most of all, diversity” Destroy Something Beautiful, released on September 16^th, is another step in Chasing Cadence’s ambitious plan to lead the UK rock world.

As ambitious as that plan may be it is well within their reach and what’s remarkable is that so far they’ve done it with one foot firmly grounded by their roots. The result is an unpretentious, inventive, hook-heavy rock EP which plays gloriously live.  

Jack Harris, Vocals

The Black Heart, Camden

29/09/2016

Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding

The Black Heart, in Camden’s back streets was the packed venue for this celebratory show, which the Chasing Cadence boys put on, promoted and sold out themselves before taking full advantage of the opportunity to unleash mayhem.

Undeterred by various technical issues, the five-piece gave this set everything they had which happens to be razor sharp guitar riffs, a whole lot of sweaty energy and the ability to command a proud and admiring crowd.

Explosive single Everyone Relax was a certain highlight (and has an intense video to match that you can see here) but new track Watching The World, the second instalment in the video trilogy) is a chugging masterpiece that has literally been on repeat in the Louder Now car ever since September 29^th (honestly, it has).

One poignant characteristic of both the EP and their live show is just how relatable Chasing Cadence are. These are songs about perseverance and the determination to not waste life or time and they are coming from a down-to-earth, hard-working band that can see their goal and are running towards it at full throttle. It’s inspiring.

As if covering Sia’s Chandelier wasn’t distinct enough, vocalist Jack Harris chose to scale the venue during the track, continuing to lead his troops whilst clinging to the back wall by his finger nails.

Those same troops soon dutifully carried Harris around the venue in a victory crowd surf before, of

Rob Barlow, Guitar

The Black Heart, Camden

29/09/2016

Photo Credit: Lauren-Alice Golding

course, extending the same courtesy to guitarist Rob Barlow.

Every member of the audience was visibly proud of all that Chasing Cadence have achieved, a fact that seems to humble and stun all five of the band’s members. But between performing at Download festival, playing Wembley Arena and now releasing a personal, relatable, explosion of an EP there is certainly a lot to be proud of.

Boys, you best start getting use to that love! 

SWMRS, Dead! and Brawlers at Bristol's Thekla 07/09/2016 - REVIEW

Cole Becker - SWMRS

Thekla, Bristol

07/09/2016

With wallets getting emptier and pay packs getting smaller our industry is constantly coming up with new ways of making live music more accessible to more people and recently co-headline deals and multi-name line-ups have proved to be a pretty genius way of doing it.

As those line-ups go, it doesn’t get more exciting than Brawlers, Dead! and SWMRS, on a boat no less, and that’s exactly what happened at Bristol’s Thekla on September 7^th.

If the crowd thought that they were in for an easy ride with Brawlers, well that would make them wrong. Their set was a montage of everything a band could possibly get a crowd to do.

Harry Johns - Brawlers

Thekla, Bristol

07/09/2016

• ·         Wall of death under strict instructions NOT to mosh or “any of that shit”? Yep.
• ·         Crowd running rings around a horizontal Harry Johns? That too.
• ·         Trust-falling from the balcony? You bet.
• ·         Having everybody run from one side of the boat to the other in an attempt to literally rock it. Of course that happened.

The recklessness in the pit was well and truly matched on stage with an emblematic energy that lastedDay Job, from this year’s The Black EP, is a solid choice. Coincidentally that track really touches a nerve at Louder Now HQ right now.

all night long. If you’re looking for a place to start with these guys,

It’s safe to say that few have had a better year than Dead! Arguably the best young band on the planet, and without a doubt the most hyped, the London four-piece can’t seem to put a foot wrong. But guys, the hype is real, Dead! ARE unbelievably exciting.

Alex Mountford -Dead!

Thekla, Bristol

07/09/2016

After smashing their way through a fair few festivals this summer (a couple of which we caught)

Dead! were ready to bring their assured aesthetic back indoors. From the lamps and flower bunches on stage to the unabashed nature of their raucous tunes, I can get on board with every aspect of this band.

You’re So Cheap, released earlier this year, has quickly and justly become a firm crowd-pleaser but latest track Something More Original confirmed that Dead! are only getting better and at this rate it won’t be long until they run this scene. You can watch the new video for Something More Original right here. 

But the celebration of sheer young talent did not end there. SWMRS vocalist and guitarist, Cole Becker turned 21 just yesterday (Happy Birthday Cole!) but the bands list of achievements looks more like that of an act 21-years into their career.

SWMRS have also hit up their fair share of festivals this summer as well as recording a live session for Annie Mac’s Radio One Show, performing live for Zane Lowe’s Beat 1 show in LA and releasing their debut album Drive North in February on their very own label, Uncool Records.

SWMRS

Thekla, Bristol

07/09/2016

Their whole set screamed California punk, a distinctiveness that SWMRS have whole heartedly embraced bringing all of the verve and raw edge that comes with it through to their set. Debut single Miley is as punk-rock-anthem as they come and newly released track Figuring It Out has had crowds woah-oh-ing their hearts out on both sides of the Atlantic.

For a line-up of bands that are still in the early stages of their anticipative careers there was a remarkable amount of talent on the stage. The night felt like one that this crowd will be bringing up for years to come, when these bands are heading up main stages and touring arena’s we’ll always remember the night we saw them on a boat in Bristol.

All images taken by Lauren-Alice Photography - thank you Lauren! 

SWMRS, Dead! and Brawlers at Bristol's Thekla 07/09/2016 - REVIEW

Cole Becker - SWMRS

Thekla, Bristol

07/09/2016

With wallets getting emptier and pay packs getting smaller our industry is constantly coming up with new ways of making live music more accessible to more people and recently co-headline deals and multi-name line-ups have proved to be a pretty genius way of doing it.

As those line-ups go, it doesn’t get more exciting than Brawlers, Dead! and SWMRS, on a boat no less, and that’s exactly what happened at Bristol’s Thekla on September 7^th.

If the crowd thought that they were in for an easy ride with Brawlers, well that would make them wrong. Their set was a montage of everything a band could possibly get a crowd to do.

Harry Johns - Brawlers

Thekla, Bristol

07/09/2016

• ·         Wall of death under strict instructions NOT to mosh or “any of that shit”? Yep.
• ·         Crowd running rings around a horizontal Harry Johns? That too.
• ·         Trust-falling from the balcony? You bet.
• ·         Having everybody run from one side of the boat to the other in an attempt to literally rock it. Of course that happened.

The recklessness in the pit was well and truly matched on stage with an emblematic energy that lastedDay Job, from this year’s The Black EP, is a solid choice. Coincidentally that track really touches a nerve at Louder Now HQ right now.

all night long. If you’re looking for a place to start with these guys,

It’s safe to say that few have had a better year than Dead! Arguably the best young band on the planet, and without a doubt the most hyped, the London four-piece can’t seem to put a foot wrong. But guys, the hype is real, Dead! ARE unbelievably exciting.

Alex Mountford -Dead!

Thekla, Bristol

07/09/2016

After smashing their way through a fair few festivals this summer (a couple of which we caught)

Dead! were ready to bring their assured aesthetic back indoors. From the lamps and flower bunches on stage to the unabashed nature of their raucous tunes, I can get on board with every aspect of this band.

You’re So Cheap, released earlier this year, has quickly and justly become a firm crowd-pleaser but latest track Something More Original confirmed that Dead! are only getting better and at this rate it won’t be long until they run this scene. You can watch the new video for Something More Original right here. 

But the celebration of sheer young talent did not end there. SWMRS vocalist and guitarist, Cole Becker turned 21 just yesterday (Happy Birthday Cole!) but the bands list of achievements looks more like that of an act 21-years into their career.

SWMRS have also hit up their fair share of festivals this summer as well as recording a live session for Annie Mac’s Radio One Show, performing live for Zane Lowe’s Beat 1 show in LA and releasing their debut album Drive North in February on their very own label, Uncool Records.

SWMRS

Thekla, Bristol

07/09/2016

Their whole set screamed California punk, a distinctiveness that SWMRS have whole heartedly embraced bringing all of the verve and raw edge that comes with it through to their set. Debut single Miley is as punk-rock-anthem as they come and newly released track Figuring It Out has had crowds woah-oh-ing their hearts out on both sides of the Atlantic.

For a line-up of bands that are still in the early stages of their anticipative careers there was a remarkable amount of talent on the stage. The night felt like one that this crowd will be bringing up for years to come, when these bands are heading up main stages and touring arena’s we’ll always remember the night we saw them on a boat in Bristol.

All images taken by Lauren-Alice Photography - thank you Lauren! 

2000 Trees Set-Up Diary - Day One (the one where Hayley just can't believe she's here)

Everybody loves a weekend right? Except people who work in retail (ahem). They wouldn’t even notice it wasn’t a week day if it wasn’t for the sudden influx of humans in the shop. But despite my daytime employment situation, I too am a fan of the weekend. This weekend, however, is something else altogether.

Yesterday morning, I arrived at Upcote Farm, Withington for the first day of set-up at the glorious 2000 Trees Festival where I will be spending the next eight days and I could not be happier about it if I tried.

After less than 24 hours here I can safely say we’re on course for one of the most memorable experience of my life.

I got here at about 10am and immediately marvelled at the surroundings. Based in the Cotswold Hills, 2000 Trees has the advantage of an actually breath taking view from all angles without even having to put up a single defining feature.

In all the excitement of arriving on site I drove quite randomly looking for Andy, one of the festival’s dedicated organisers. I pulled over once I found the first human I came across, explained to him that I was looking for Andy and was delighted to find out that this was, in fact, Andy. I’m telling you this place is magical.

 

After a quick chat I drove up to The Barn, met a few more members of the family that is this crew

and jumped straight into applying some 2000 Trees vinyl decals to a set of monitor covers. Prepare yourselves for a barrage of pictures of these up on the stage during sets next weekend.

Once that job was jobbed we hopped into a vehicle and drove down to the tree. I, much like you, had no idea what that was other than a strong suspicion that it might be a tree. It transpires that it’s a beautifully large tree, encompassed by a picket fence, in front of which will be the main stage.

We hung out there for the rest of the morning, decorating the tree with fairy lights and re-painting the picket fence. This was pretty lovely in itself, painting is incredibly therapeutic for me and I’m really hoping for an emotional lights ceremony later in the week. If that’s not happening, I’ll strongly suggest it.

But from where we stood we watched the perimeter fence go up and the main stage itself begin construction. Ever since I found out I was coming here I have been excited to see that happen and it’s just as outstanding as I thought it was. To see something that will be so full of life in its bare-bones is really special.

Breaking for lunch we were thoroughly spoilt. It was a great opportunity to meet more of the team, who I will work really hard to introduce to you as I move through the week because I’ve known them for less than a day and already feel quite blessed.

I phoned my mum and wished her a Happy Birthday!

The trial-run that was Download Festival worked in my favour and I managed to get my tent up with ease this time, owed in no small part to the much softer ground. Believe it or not, there was a time at Download Festival 2016 when the ground was not only dry but hard.

After all of the excitement, and the settling of anxious nerves which were completely unnecessary, a nap was in order. The rain has been off and on all day so I snoozed to the pattering of the threatening drops on my tent. It’s easy to drift away when you feel truly content and oddly at home.

My ten-minute nap window came and went and I headed straight back to the barn to paint some

artwork that will (when it’s finished today) be put up at the bar. The rain washed the paint clean off of three of them, but we’ll go ahead and brush right past that.

Besides, the rain meant that the most glorious rainbow stretched over the site. You just don’t get this shit in London.

The whole crew were served a delicious Thai Green Curry and that brings me to now. I’m sitting in The Barn with a can of cider and a Kit Kat, managing to write this only because a new friend sat with me and typed notes whilst I told him what I had done with my day forming a skeleton for this diary that I would not have been able to get my head around otherwise.

Honestly, I can’t believe that I am here. I feel truly honoured, and so incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to help set up this festival, to contribute to this event that means so much to so many people, and to meet all of these incredible people.

I have never felt more at home, and more determined to make myself useful! I’ll just point out that this is day one. O-N-E. This week is going to kick all other week’s ass.

Download Festival 2016 - Sunday

It was really sad to be waking up on the last day of Download Festival 2016. I was only consoled by the still very distant prospect of my bathroom, my bedroom and my cat.

Somebody pointed out to me recently that it’s worth forking out for a hot shower on the last day of a festival so that you don’t start wishing the whole thing to be over because you know the luxury that awaits you. Unfortunately, this wasn’t pointed out to me until after Download so by this point I’m really starting to feel it.

On the plus side, those huge PVC ponchos are dynamite for covering up how little attention that you’ve paid to yourself for a week. Silver linings.

The Sunday came with early celebrations because it was the first and only day of the festival that we managed to actually see a band before 3PM. Hurrah!!

Amon Amarth

Download Festival, Donnington

12/06/2016

The celebration was even bigger because that band happened to be the one and only (and never has that catchphrase been more apt) Amon Amarth.

I’ve heard that Amon Amarth put on a sterling performance that’s not to be missed but when we walked down the hill towards the Lemmy Stage and caught site of the two giant dragons on it, I immediately got very excited.

Here’s an attempt to summarise this band (don’t have high hopes, this is the hardest of tasks):

Amon Amarth are a Death Metal band from Tumba, Sweden who were formed 24 years ago (coincidentally, the year I was born, just in case you were wondering).

Having taken their name from the sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle Earth the quartet tends to base their songs on Norse and Viking mythology.

Amon Amarth

Download Festival, Donnington

12/06/2016

Live, that all translates into the most incredible production you have ever seen. Those dragons weren’t just background scenery. Oh no. Those bad boys breathed smoke and doubled as platforms that the band members casually climbed up on to from time to time.

But that was just the beginning. By far the most dramatic thing I saw at Download Festival was frontman Olavi Mikkonen drag a giant hammer to centre stage before victoriously lifting it above his head and then smashing it to the floor, at which point a shit ton of fireworks went off and he looked like the hero we have all been waiting for.

Once that spectacle was over we skipped back over to the Maverick stage where we were lucky enough to catch The Dirty Youth. Not a band we had planned to see, I’m chalking it up to fate that we did because they were amazing.

Danni Monroe - The Dirty Youth

Download Festival, Donnington

12/06/2016

Formed in 2007 The Dirty Youth have chalked up an impressive four appearances at Download Festival, and the experience really showed. Pop punk with a metal spine and electronic embellishments they brought heaps of energy and the chance to really dance.

I have a lot of time for electronic rock music, and vocalist Dani Monroe brings everything out of the genre that could possible by brought. With dance moves on point at absolutely no detriment to her vocals, she was really inspiring. An absolute must see again.

All in all it was a deeply impressive morning and I was so pleased that my friends had suggested such amazing bands to check out. After all, that’s what festivals are all about. So we moved into the afternoon with the next suggestion. I had been assured that it was absolutely necessary for me to see Attila. So that’s what I did. We didn’t last long.

Chris Linck - Atilla

Download Festival, Donnington

12/06/2016

Ultimately Attila were incredibly good at what they do. With a reckless attitude they assaulted their set with all of the sass that I expected, sunglasses and all. It would have been impossible to not be impressed with the power behind every track we saw them play. It was a full force type of set.

Kalan Blehm - Atilla

Download Festival, Donnington

12/06/2016

But for me, the crowd were the best part and it is true that for most of the set all cameras were pointed their way as opposed to the stage. There was a might mosh pit, crowd-surfing and middle fingers in the air. Not quite the carnage of Neck Deep the day before, but somewhere close, and at only midday that’s a triumph.

Next on our list was Halestorm (another Lauren Golding suggestion) but unfortunately logistics made it impossible, bringing my missed band total up to four for the weekend. We’ll have to revisit that as soon as possible.

Instead we went to collapse our tent, which, quite honestly, I had been panicking about since we got our Download tickets. After a lot of swearing, a moment of near-tears and shouts of uncontrollable abuse, that sucker was in it’s bag and we were headed back to the arena from the car park to see Don Broco.

Simon Delaney - Don Broco

Download Festival, Donnington

12/06/2016

Most of my previous swearing had come from the idea of missing this band, and that’s because it wouldn’t have been the first time. I’ve only seen Don Broco once before (a thousand years ago) and have been dying to catch them again, but every time the opportunity arose I just couldn’t make it work. This was my chance.

Don Broco are the suavest men in British rock right now and their Download set was full of surprises. Do not let that well-dressed charisma fool you. These guys are rock through-and-through and can pull off a wall of death as good as any metal act on that bill.

The sun shined bright on the Encore stage for one of the few times that weekend, paving the way for banging dance moves and singing along as if it was summer or something. Don Broco are the ultimate festival band, it really doesn’t matter what festival it is.

Rob Damiani - Don Broco

Download Festival, Donnington

12/06/2016

The only thing that disappointed me that there were only two songs in the set list from the 2012 album Priorities. Having said that Fancy Dress and Priorities are incredible tracks and in a nine track set-list, which even included a snippet of Rage Against The Machine, I just can’t complain in good conscience.

The reality of the situation began to set in. We had just two bands left before Download Festival 2016 was officially over. Luckily, those two bands were the most perfect to close this legendary weekend. The first was Nightwish.

There’s no easy way to put this but, I got Nightwish completely wrong. One glance and I thought I had those guys completely figured out but I could not have been more wrong.

Nightwish pride themselves on being storytellers first and foremost. The fact that they happen to achieve that through the use of multiple instruments and in the most spectacular of ways is second to the fact.

Another band with a history of line-up changes the absurdly talented Floor Jansen now runs the show and she does an incredible job of it. Her vocals switch from being the things that lullabies are made of to the most hair-raising metal-queen yelling you have ever heard. Her hair whipping skills are also wildly impressive.

Floor Jansen - Nightwish

Download Festival, Donnington

12/06/2016

But by far my favourite thing about Nightwish was watching Troy Donockley on the big screen. Every time the camera panned towards him, Donockley was grasping a completely new instrument and I honestly don’t even understand where he was getting them all from.

As humorous as I found it then, ultimately it’s crazy impressive. Many of the musicians at Download Festival this weekend could only dream of being able to play half of the instruments that he can: Uileann pipes, tin whistle, guitar, keyboards, bass, pump organ, bouzouki, cittern, bodhran, mandola, harmonium… The list of the tools he uses to tell these stories is amazing.

And that brings us to the main event. After Mr Dickinson landed his Boeing 747, Ed Force One, in East Midlands Airport on Sunday afternoon the Kings of this festival were ready to headline the whole affair. Iron Maiden were ready.

Iron Maiden

Download Festival, Donnington

12/06/2016

It is only right that the award for most extravagant stage production goes directly to Iron Maiden. Ed took various connotations, my absolute favourite was a giant Ed head and shoulders that emerged from the back and made these musical legends look teeny tiny (pictured).

To carry on the theme that Nightwish kickstarted, Maiden did what they do best and told a narrative of stories. We learnt all about the Mayan Civilisation as well as the fundamental issues of the world. We also learnt how to dance like a monkey. All of the important lessons were delivered.

Bruce Dickinson is a performer in everything that title encompasses. Several costume changes, extravagant displays of almost dance (NB he is a British man) and a fight with a stilt-walker culminating in a heart being literally ripped out of a chest – that is how you nail a festival headline slot.      

Tears of a Clown was emotionally dedicated to another legend, Robin Williams, keeping that special moment feeling at peak momentum. Hearing the 100,000 people seeing Fear of the Dark sent tingles down the spine.

The set was 2 hours long but only 15 songs were played. Another sign of a time long past but not tonight they reaffirmed what these thousands of Iron Maiden t-shirt wearing people already knew. It’s nowhere near forgotten. 

After a remarkable weekend it was well and truly time to take myself off home for a well deserved nap and a much needed shower but it wasn’t without a very poignant feeling of sadness.

Download Festival will always have a place in my heart as the festival to end all festivals. It is a legendary place, the spiritual home of rock music and means so much to so many people that to have the opportunity to experience it again in all of it’s glory is incredible special to me.

As all good festival experiences should be, this was made up of seeing bands that I adore, bands that have been strongly recommended to me and bands that I have never heard of before but happily fell upon. If you can tick all three of those boxes at the end of a festival weekend then, my friend, you did a fantastic job.

Six long years had been and gone since the last time I was at Download (see picture evidence for proof of how long a period of time this actually is). So much has changed in that time, more than I could have ever imagined and I find that remarkable.

I will not leave it that long to be back at Donnington. Just try and stop me.

Download Festival 2016 - Friday

We arrived at Donnington in a blaze of sunshine, popped up our tent, made ourselves at home, kicked up a barbeque, cracked open the cider and sipped at it with sunglasses and sunscreen (but not enough) in our camp chairs ready for our second UK summer music festival of the year.

But after one whole day in the sun we decided we’d had enough of all that, pulled on our wellies (well one of us did anyway) and headed down to the main arena for our first official day at Download Festival 2016.

Unfortunately we did all of that just a little too late to catch Alien Ant Farm (completely gutted) which meant that the first band we caught were the almighty Babymetal.

I said it at Reading last year, and I will say it again. Babymetal are amazing and genuinely unlike anything you will ever see. It brings joy to a huge crowd to see those dance routines in front of shredding metal guitars. From the second Suzuka Nakamoto, or “Su-metal” as she is known, squealed “Hi Guys!” she had Download Festival eating out of the palm of her hand.

Crowd pleaser, and my favourite Babymetal track, Gimme Chocolate as well as brand new track Karate were particular highpoints but their whole set had the huge crowd forgetting that they were standing in the year’s worst weather and throwing up their horns in their thousands.

The original plan for post-Babymetal was to hang out for the rest of the day at the Zippo Encore stage (for reasons that will become apparent soon). However, when I say the year’s worst weather, I’m under-exaggerating. At the risk of sharing too much information on the internet, once the rain started it took approximately thirty seconds for every inch of my person to be completely and utterly saturated and, sadly, I was not quite as prepared as I had believed.

Turns out the very beautiful rain mac I bought especially for the occasion was in no way, shape or form water proof. My wellies were also very pretty but basically just little empty paddling pools waiting to be filled. But at least I had wellies on. RIP my colleague’s Van’s. You served well old friends, but you were no match for this occasion.

Clearly we had to head back to camp and attempt to pull ourselves together, but once we’d done that we jumped right back in and managed to catch The Amity Affliction who opened with a song called I Bring the Weather with Me, so apparently we’ve got them to blame.

The Australian metal-core act brought five tracks to a stage where they looked right at home. A more stern performance than our first of the festival, they performed to a crowd of loyal fans who screamed back both the roars of Joel Birch and the clean vocals of Ahren Stringer. The Amity Affliction proved that when looking for your new favourite music, get you a band that can do both.

Ever the suave performers, The Amity Affliction took this set in their stride with Birch pointing to a low-flying plane over head, muttering “that’s cool” and then unleashing pure mayhem less than two seconds later. Masters of a genre that is perfect for both the festival world and headline shows, I cannot wait to see these guys play their biggest UK tour to date in December.

Daryl Palumbo - Glassjaw

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

According to the plan, we stuck with the Zippo Encore stage where Glassjaw’s experimental and progressive rock was next. Known for their intense performances, the New York quartet wasted no time in launching into the classic Tip Your Bartender.

Forming in 1993, Glassjaw have spent well over 20 years leading the post-hardcore and underground scenes, shaping them both into what they are. But today they just did what they do best and, above all, enjoyed it. Relying heavily on the 2002 album Worship and Tribute, Glassjaw proved that they shared a core value with their hosts – a dedication and love of their genre.

It’s really important to me that you understand that the weather I mentioned a while ago had not improved during all of this. No. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as it originally was but it was still pouring. I just want to make sure you get that.

Luckily, I had a pretty huge coat. Luckier still, it was Twin Atlantic time.

Ross McNae - Twin Atlantic

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

You remember when I said at Slam Dunk that, although a line-up might be inundated with incredible bands, there’s always one that makes your attendance at a festival non-negotiable? Well, ladies and gentleman, I present to you the reason I went to Download Festival 2016.

I might have mentioned a few times that I really rather like Twin Atlantic. It seems like we’ve been waiting a million years for news of their new album, but in reality we only said goodbye to them 10 months ago when they announced they would be taking a break after their now legendary set at Reading last year.

But now the time has arrived. Twin Atlantic have announced that in September they will release their fourth studio album, GLA, and quickly unveiled two tracks from it before playing what can only be described as an incredible hometown show at King Tut’s in Glasgow before announcing a whole host of intimate shows on a UK club tour. Yeah. It’s been an exciting time.

To say I was dying to hear the new tracks, No Sleep and Gold Elephant : Cherry Alligator, would be ridiculous, because frankly it was all I could talk about and I am overjoyed to say that they both play to all of Twin Atlantic’s strengths. Live, vocalist Sam McTrusty surrenders his guitar for the new offerings and both the change in focus and new lease of life mean that he has never sounded better. Imagine that.

As soon as Twin were announced for Download Festival I hoped that they would take the opportunityThe Ghost of Eddie and when that opening riff reverberated from the stage just second in their eleven track set, the crowd went mental.

Sam McTrusty - Twin Atlantic

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

to play their heaviest track to date,

Given the environmental circumstances it seemed unlikely that the crowd would be getting on the floor ready to fly into the air when I Am An Animal kicked in for its finale. Who cares for likeliness nowadays? Every person in that crowd adhered to the request and knelt down in the mud that we would fester in for another two days because that’s what sets like this do to people.

I could go on about this band for days but luckily we got three more Twin Atlantic shows to cover over the next three weeks as well as something really special coming up for Louder Now too so I got the time to revisit this but let it be known that there was nothing more special then to hear that Heart and Soul chorus ring loud once again.

Jack Barakat - All Time Low

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

And from those that fit right in to the most unlikely of Download headliners, next was All Time Low.

When guitarist Jack Barakat announced during their arena tour last year that they were playing Download Festival I thought he was, characteristically, taking the piss. To be honest I still didn’t really believe it until I saw them up there with my own eyes.

Nevertheless, All Time Low are born headliners and, as it turns out, are adaptable to all situations. That being said, they did not compromise their trademark hilarity and good-time nature for one second. Having seen these guys a ridiculous amount of times now I have always loved Barakat for his tendency to go missing from the stage but I never appreciated just how bat-crap crazy he really is. This guy loves those fans more than any musician I have ever seen perform and he opts to spend most of the set just hanging out with them, and I’m talking fall blown conversations, getting his pecks out, cheek-kissing, hanging out.

As ever, they played a career spanning set, even pulling out Jasey Rae from their EP to a rapturous

Alex Gaskarth - All Time Low

Download Festival, Donnington

10/06/2016

reaction from the audience who lapped up every second of it.

No strangers to covering songs, we’ve seen All Time Low do it all but an impromptu cover of American Idiot was a pleasant surprise in amongst a sea of absolute bangers.

And if all of that weren’t enough they even brought some cosy fires to the stage with them which I’m sure those close enough to feel them were eternally grateful for at this late stage in the very wet day.

After All Time Low wrapped it up with the ever sterling Dear Maria, Count Me In we hobbled over to the main stage to see the last of Rammstein’s incredibly visual industrial-metal set.

If anybody wants to tell me that Download is a singular festival I refer you to my last sentence.

As first day’s go our Friday at Download Festival 2016 was pretty incredible but, with two more days to go, it was about time we took a towel to all of our clothes, scraped our hair on to the top of our heads and collapsed onto an inflatable bed somewhere.

Download Festival 2016 – Saturday will be uploaded tomorrow.

The Mirror Trap bring their addictive melodies to London

Gary Moore - Vocals

The Garage, London

29/05/2016

Most bands can only dream of the opportunities that have landed at the feet of Dundee’s The Mirror Trap since they formed just two years ago. After meeting at Music College the five-piece quickly got to work on their debut album Stay Young and it wasn’t long before they were spotted by a music legend and whisked off to the other side of the world. As you do.

That legend was no other than Placebo’s Brian Molko who, after catching them in their home town, offered The Mirror Trap a support slot on their Trans-Siberian train tour to Russia.

Ben Doherty - Bass

The Garage, London

29/05/2016

It’s the stuff that dreams are made of but, when you see how talented The Mirror Trap are it stops being surprising that for them it was real life. That’s what we learnt when we caught the band at Islington’s Garage in May at the end of their latest UK tour.

A mix of modern indie-rock and its 90s counterpart, The Mirror Trap have an exciting rock ‘n’ roll sound but dressed up to the nines, inciting disco dancing both in the crowd and on the stage.

Vocals from Gary Moore gave an intensely catchy vibe to the performance, delivering the ultimate in brain-worm lyrics with American Dreams and Toys, both from that debut album. When not charming with his vocal prowess he’s doing it with his whippy stage banter.

Paul Markie - Guitar

The Garage, London

29/05/2016

But new track Piranhas took pride and place in the set list, from the new album Simulations. Recorded at the infamous Karma Studios in Thailand, this track stays true to the powerful style that The Mirror Trap have carved for themselves but with an even more forceful vibe to it. It’s performed with all of the steaminess that it deserves and that melody stays with you for long after the set is finished.

To see The Mirror Trap on a small stage like this one feels like a blessing. It doesn’t take too much imagination to envisage them on a much bigger platform with much more production. When that inevitably happens, count us in.

Monster Treasure land in UK ahead of debut album release

Briana Granados- Guitars/Vocals

The Lexington, London

23/05/2016

For the first time ever, Monster Treasure have touched down in the UK. Landing earlier this month the Californian trio have already played a string of notable British venues to prepare us all for Friday’s release of their hypnotically bittersweet self-titled debut album.

Monster Treasure have made no qualms about the record’s meaning, stating that it’s inspired by heartbreak, mortality and financial struggle. With that being the case you could expect a pretty melancholy result, and in many ways you wouldn’t be wrong.

But there’s another dimension to Monster Treasure, bordering on ‘sweet’, which also shined bright from the stage of London’s The Lexington on Monday night.

RJ Mar - Drums

The Lexington, London

23/05/2016

Monster Treasure’s layered vocal work, shared between Briana Granados (guitar) and Rachel Orimo (Bass), is engrossing to see live. Their harmonies give an almost psychedelic feel to the live performance, perhaps nowhere better then in Weird, the last track of the new release.

Catching up with the band ahead of their set drummer RJ said: “People that haven’t seen us physically think that we’re just an all-girl band…really there is a male drummer.”

That would be a male drummer that is infinitely present. A huge part of the perfect ying-yang that is Monster Treasure comes from the contrast between those psych vocals and the ferocious and fast paced nature of that rhythm section.

Rachel Orimo- Bass/Vocals

The Lexington, London

23/05/2016

The latest single from the album, Wake Up, is just one example of how that dimension works and also has a perfectly eclectic video to match.     

Using a healthy dose of distortion to nudge it all on its side, Monster Treasure perform live with just the right amount of personal reserve. The crowd could not take their eyes off the stage.

Utterly mesmerising soundtrack feels.    

 You can listen to Monster Treasure's The Salt for free, courtesy of Leisure & District, right HERE.