UnderGround Reviews

We Have Moved!

2011-05-29T16:55:00.002+01:00

We have a shinier new site at:

www.undergroundreviews.co.uk

Underground

Aliases

2011-04-25T18:28:00.001+01:00

The Hope

Sunday, 24th April

Appropriately named the 'Tech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself Tour' this night really needed little introduction. Arriving at the venue saw a wide variety of Tech and Metal heads eager for the onslaught of 7 string wizardry.

Since the demise of SiKth in May 2008, Tech has grown from strength to strength and now the world watches eagerly to see what guitarist Pin has up has sleeve.

First band we saw of the night were local Once A Wolf. Since releasing their EP 'Advent' in February this year, the band have been gaining a stronger following with their performances in and out of Brighton.

The experience they have gained in the last few months has obviously done them well with their performance delivering more aggression and authority than I have seen before. Steve Powell's vocals have made a massive improvement, nailing the clean sections with style and the screams with the supposed anthropomorphic qualities their name suggests.

Highlights of the set included a tight rendition of 'Primeval Atom' and dusting things off with their EP's title track 'Advent'. With the way things are going for the band, it won't be long till Once A Wolf are on the prowl again in a town near you.

Cyclamen were very much a new band to me, but boasted a performance worthy of the entry fee alone. Frontman Hayato Imanishi greeted the set jumping straight into the audience in a manner that would also see him shouting straight into peoples faces and climbing The Hope's central pillar.

Featuring Monuments guitar player Olly Steele in the mix the band sounded tight and maintained a heavy presence throughout the whole set. Songs such as the un-acknowledged 'Djent! Djent! And 'Never Ending Dream' created momentum and energy on the floor. Cyclamen were absolutely great emotively creating an heir of unsatisfied desperation whilst raising the flag for modern 'd-jent'.

Break Ya Neck

Metal has come a long was since Steve Vai put his name to the first mass produced 7 string in the early 90's. It would appear that Chimp Spanner's sole commander Paul Ortiz is here to push that envelope further, forgetting industrial sized hair dryers to preen his ego but instead choosing substance over style. Their set for me stole the night and by the audience's reaction of gaping jaws and raised horns I wasn't alone.

As the set continued the band reach unchartered levels of intensity, and the dirty bastard even got his 8 string out, causing the earth to quake and hell to open.

And just like Paul the band he had assembled were equally matched in proficiency. The drummer was groovy, tight as fuck and one hell of a showmen, demonically gurning at the crowd and spinning his sticks as if it were all just a walk in the park.

To anyone who believed like I did, that 'djent' is just a load of trendy bull shit-that quite frankly Meshuggah have done already and better, listen to Chimp Spanner. Just be careful, your head might explode.

Headliners Aliases come to tech your tits off and oh boy were my tits teched. What is odd though is how little exposure this band have had outside of their sole release: 'We Never Should Have Met'.

But, I like a lot of members of the audience were gagging to see what kind of sick (or SiKth) shit well renowned bad mother fucker of the 6 string axe Graham 'Pin' Pinney was going to pull.

Expectations can be a cruel thing, but not when they are blown to smithereens. Within seconds of the set opening vocalist Jay Berast was upfront spewing a monstrous vocal performance down the mic and the band collectively stepping up the energy on stage than the other acts.

As expected Pin was an absolute behemoth on the guitar just like fellow axe-women, Leah who together displayed enough fret tapping to put Van Halen out of work.

The bands material is strong and although similarities between them and SiKth can be drawn it's obvious they're evolving on their own terms. Aliases are a band to watch, and fuck me they can play.

Underground

Underoath

2011-04-22T16:39:00.000+01:00

Concorde 2

Wednesday 20^th April

Support:

This Is Massacre

Devil Sold His Soul

Deaf Havana

Arriving at the gig before doors see's many eager fans already waiting under the evening sunshine of the idilic Brighton Sea Front. Alas, a superb line up awaits the punters and leaves us eager to see what the night has in store.

So far 2011 has proved a very prosperous year for This Is Massacre which has seen them releasing their debut EP 'We Cannot Be Saved' and stepping out of general band circuit to support some high profile acts in some of the best venues in Brighton.

This Is Massacre took the opportunity in their stride looking extremely comfortable on the big stage. Their sound was something to die for with tight kick drum blasts pummelling you chesty bass and a full on saturated Thrash tone to leave all the gear junkies creaming in their pants.

Since last seeing them in February the band have toyed with their line up replacing Tom Chilton on bass with Ross McLean, leaving him to share the more gutsy side of vocals with Dan.

It takes real experience and confidence for a band to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and act upon it. This dynamic shift really worked in the bands favour as it allowed them to depict a much more devastating stage show which was well noted by the audience. As the room began to fill more and more so did the level of intensity in the crowd with most pits opening and the people at the front of the onlookers held well and truly in the palm of the bands hand.

This Is Massacre are well and truly climbing up the ranks and once they hit the perfect balance of dynamic in their new line-up change, everything will be in place for them to be a heavy weight act both in and out of Brighton.

Once again Brighton takes a sonic trip into the soundscapes that texturises the Devil Sold His Soul experience. Their set was greeted with just as much anticipation as their set at Digital and just like before, their sound was nothing short of exceptional.The venue was filled with the enigmatic intensity of their music rendering the listener in a near trance like state.

Just like This Is Massacre before the larger capacity stage and impressive lighting rig showed a higher level of presence and authority than the previous gig.

Frontman Ed Gibbs is very much the driving force of this performance running about the stage to squeeze as much energy out of the willing audience as possible.

Always a band to leave you wanting more and with a growing fan base in the South it most likely won't be long till we see these guys down here again.

Deaf Havanna initially came across as a controversial band to have on the night's bill sounding almost poppy after the previous acts. Frontman, James Veck-Gilodi admitted that 'we're basically a shit rock band sandwiched in-between'.

Although their appearance showed a slight division in the crowd, a shit rock band they were not offering a refreshing break to distinguish sets. With the click in the bass drum being very quickly removed from the equaliser their set gathered exciting momentum winning me over with personality and hooky songs.

The audience clearly know all the singles singing them loud and proud and once James dropped the 'Brighton is my favourite place in the UK' it was clear they were on to a winner.

With a headline tour to sweep the UK in July to support the release of their new album Deaf Havana will be hitting a stereo near you soon.

Being the first time Underoath have ever played Brighton, Concorde is well and truly at capacity. The band hit the stage in a furious display of raw power and energy triggering some of the biggest pits of the night and the first few crowd surfers to roll over the fence.

Having been a turbulent few years for the band with various members leaving and re-shuffling of line-ups the band shattered expectations with outright professionalism. In a quick passing hour the band managed to remain at a peak delicately interchanging between material of old and new.

Little time was really spent talking to the audience other than the odd mention of their new album and instead just giving the audience more of what they want. The band finish their sweaty fuelled set to an encore of 'Writing on The Walls' which has the audience singing as loudly as Spencer through the PA.

Underground

The CB6 Back Catalogue

2011-04-18T21:11:00.001+01:00

The Beginning (2008) & Carried By Six (2010)

Genre: Metal

For Fans Of: Lamb Of God, Kreator, Machine Head

Stand Out Track: As The Hammer Falls Down, Show Your Skyn

Rating: 7/8

Formed in 2001, these two EP's act as a showcase for a band set to evolve their sound and performances to an every increasing fan base.

Sonically the 2 EP's share similar qualities that you would expect to find in a Metal recording, meaty guitar sounds, in your face drumming and a crazed vocalist that wouldn't sounds out of place at an after hours Wetherspoon pub brawl.

The production on the earlier EP; 'The Beginning' courtesy of 'Escape Route Productions' for me is the more favourable. The music is as aggressive as it is groovy and vocally it sits tighter than on the latter EP, Ryan has a strong enough without having to double track it.

The Band encompass much of what makes the modern Metal scene so great today. Borrowing from the pioneers of Thrash and their troubadours such as Lamb Of God and Machine Head, CB6 have listened, digested and incorporated it into their own thing.

It is clear that from 'The Beginning' to 'CB6' the band have developed in their songwriting ability. Songs such as 'Show Your Skyn' shows signs of the band incorporating ideas from other genre's to create more interesting compositions allowing the music to have wider emotional impact.

These two sets of recordings show that these Southend boys have a no hold bars approach when it comes to their Metal, Check it out.

Underground

EP Of the Month (March)

2011-04-18T15:40:00.004+01:00

Apologies for the lateness of this post, but Underground Reviews are very proud to announce Lithurgy's Mother I as the EP of the month. Although this was released some time ago Lithurgy are now hosting the EP at THIS address for free download, reinstating once again their relevance to the local scene.

Lithurgy – Mother I

Genre: Progressive/Experimental Metal

For Fans of: Mastodon, Pink Floyd, Neurosis

Stand Out Track: Mother I

Rating: 9.5

The band have been seen nestling in a hot bed of activity since touring with TesseracT and making an appearance at Bloodstock last year. They are currently writing Mother I's follow up that will be slowly shaping over the next 6 months. Considering Lithurgys constant evolution and progressive outlook all is set in place for this to a Mammoth release for Brighton's Metal scene.

Opening track '…' see's almost a minute of electronic noise that acts as an unsettling introduction to the title track, 'Mother I. The first minute of this track prides in Lithurgy's ability to create tension through innovative use of time signatures and melody and see's the band guiding us through some mammoth riffs and huge instrumentation. It is very quickly recognised how serious this band are, using mature use of technicality to create impressive and gripping song form by the likes of Prog elites such as Mastodon and Dream Theater.

Tom Humphrey's vocals are clear and add an heir of gripping emotion throughout the track at particular in the chorus. This is what really makes this EP important. It has the emotional impact of thinking mans Metal without sounding like the bastard offspring of too many drunken jams.

Last track, 'On the road' shows a slight tonality difference, sounding like something from 'Blood Mountain'. This displays the bands wonderful ability to borrow from so many different genre's whilst still maintaining their own sound and feel.

Already established as an impressive live band, making this EP available for free download (well in swap for you're e-mail) will open this band to a wider audience of fans. Mother I is an impressive release and leaves you gagging for the next instalment of Lithurgy's sonic seed.

Underground

Barking Toad

2011-04-17T15:20:00.001+01:00

Barking Toad - ?

Genre: Hardcore, Avant-garde, Jazz

For Fans of: Captain Beefheart, Sabbath, Coltrane

Stand Out Track: Big Doom Cunt

Rating: 6

Everything about this EP reads like a bad acid trip, from the artwork through to the music. What this 3 piece from Folkestone do is blend conventional Hardcore riffs and grooves with avant-garde noise and Jazzy moments from the Sax.

Opening track 'Big Doom Cunt' is fairly typical of the darker side of their sound, alienating you with its savage anti harmony approach and could quite possibly be the soundtrack to insanity.

Lighter points in the album like that of track 3 starts to show a more melodic approach in a minimalist Miles Davis fashion. Thus proving that Kye can play the Sax just as well as murdering it though a little more care to vibrato needs to be taken in lighter moments.

For me however, I believe their sound worked much better live. The visual image of the band coupled with their mind-fucking sound seemed to have more impact on a stage, after a few listens it seems to induce a headache.

After track 4 the rest of the CD plays tracks from another Folkestone band; Sleeping Bear. It seems a little unecessary to share digital space with another band especially when each act has such radically different artistic view points.

Barking Toad are brave enough to try something different. Shocked faces aplenty, get down to the Cowley Club on the 29^th (April) and see for yourself.

Underground

Dirty Leaves & Michael A Grammar

2011-04-14T20:40:00.001+01:00

The Prince Albert

Brighton

April 12^th

First time that a member of the reviews team had been to the Prince Albert for a gig, but the upstairs room has a lot to offer as a small venue. The sound was excellent at kudos to the sound man who didn't push the levels to the limit as is so often the case. The atmosphere was relaxed and civilised mostly due to everyone being sat at tables, but the 2 bands on showed a great way to spend an evening.

Michael A Grammar

First band on saw the return of old Brightonian Rockers to the scene who have since relocated to Nottingham. They sounded tight and definitive with the vocals coming out clearly through the monitors.

Their sound predominantly featured delay heavy lead guitar with jangly rhythm beneath and wavered between psychedelia and the Alt. Rock of bands like The Smiths.

Frontman Joel Sayers might not have the greatest vocals but it really works in a similar way to Ian Curtis of Joy Division.

As their set carried on it became clear how wide their range of their influences was that has now been trailered into their own sound. At one point we were enjoying the wishy washy atmospherics that Radiohead do so well and then next song featuring either a full on semi-quaver funk down or a spaghetti western styled feature.

Like a pleasant day dream Michael A Grammar were very enjoyable and offerred a great introduction to headline band; Dirty Leaves.

Dirty Leaves

The last few months have seen Dirty Leaves forcibly having to take a break due to frontman Harry Smyth having broken his arm. But Dirty Leaves quickly begin making up for lost time by blasting through a setlist of their take on good old fashioned Rock N' Roll.

Like the previous act the sound system only added as a compliment, delivering a mix where it was easy to pick out each instrument and the vocals.

At a nice dynamic change the fourth track saw Harry gave up his duties on the guitar and instead focus more on the vocals and stage show, looking very confident as a frontman.

Throughout the set you could see how Dirty Leaves have developed glittering their compositions with elements of Classic Rock bands such as Zeppelin, contemporary Punk, and at times the riffery and ethos of Metal.

Dirty Leaves proved themselves as a quality live act upon their return with a blend of old and new material. Their set even receiving the highest level of approval with people screaming for more. With an album in the works, 2011 could very much be a promising year for the band.

Underground

*If you want to view our photo's or wish to have a member of our team come to review your gig contact us at: undergroundreviews@live.co.uk

Terra Slim – Sell Out

2011-04-11T17:29:00.000+01:00

Terra Slim – Sell Out

Genre: UK Hip-Hop, Grime, Dubstep

For Fans Of: Dizzee Rascal

Stand Out Track: Sell Out

Rating: 6

Trying to sell your CD on the beach to hoards of tanning Brighton beach goers that have never heard of you may not be the best form of marketing, however this is how Terra Slim and Underground Reviews collided and having originally set my sights quite low for this piece of work, I was presently surprised.

The main track of the EP is the title, 'Sell Out' with track 2 being a clean mix for radio edits and an instrumental track 3 presumably for DJ mixing. Terra, or using his alias 'T-Rah the negroid poet' engulfs the London grime sound with some authentic and charged raps about life in the suburbs. His raps flow naturally priding itself on its authenticity, rapping about money, drugs, girls and and self assertion acting obviously as a great form of therapy and cleansing for the rapper and anyone who's interested. And as is always the case, some of it ain't pretty but thus is the life.

Sonically there is one major flaw, throughout the CD there are certain points where the master levels all jump radically up for period and then back down only to repeats. Just watch out for this if you already happen to be pumping the tracks, you may get a nasty shock.

Terra's been working around the scene for the last 10 years which has seen him play many venues around Europe. He's got the rapping and the music down, he now just needs to focus on his production, image and marketing... Listening to your CD for faults before you decide to sell them is key here.

Underground

Sleeping Panda Presents:

2011-04-11T15:25:00.001+01:00

Sleeping Panda Presents

The Hobgoblin

Friday 8^th April 2011

Pesto

Brighton Alternative rockers Pesto were the opening band to greet us to the forthcoming event. Unfortunately their Pixies and Violent Femmes style of indie punk came across as slugishly boring through a coherent lack of ideas and development in their songs.

The band must collectively be rocketing towards their 30's which is sad when you consider how little they have musically accomplished. Their songs followed a simple formula with the bass player rarely moving away from straight crotchet rhythms as well as believing that giving a good vocal performance is just as easy as shouting into the mic.

The biggest problem with this band is they just lack an agenda. They were confusing to watch. Why was the bass player wearing eye liner more suited towards a drag and rag night down some seedy bar of the sea front. It's harsh but it's true, there is to many rubbish bands in this town and Pesto well and truly fit that criteria.

Barking Toad

Missing the very opening of their set, walking back into the gig I swear I could hear the tired wrangling of a bed room shredder. But no. There it was in all it's glory. A 3 piece hardcore band finished off with a guy freaking out on the sax.

In contrast to the last act, Barking Toad completely took me by surprise. Their sound consisted of heavy doom like drum patterns with distorted bass playing chords to fill out the sound with enough Sax squeals and roars to shake a shitty stick at. Imagine it like a more subtle Dillinger with a 1 man avant-garde contemporary horn section. It's a band like this that really stands out on such a night which is a hard thing to do on this circuit.

But once the initial shock of such a radical and unexpected line up wore off, their music proved to be interesting and captive affair that kept my interests intact.

CB6

CB6 very quickly assert themselves as the headline band. Their stage show and music has a higher degree of professionalism and development than the acts before them. They make good use of space surrounding them at credit to their confidence, a band with an obvious amount of experience under their belts.

Their sound shows a wide variety of influence. They're delivery had that 'take no prisoners' Punk attitude, like a less sell-out version of Rise Against but with other elements of Hardcore, Thrash and even Death Metal.

Hailing from Southend the band are currently supporting their self titled EP (to be later reviewed) and are a band to be watched, being able to seemingly merge into this towns Metal scene.

Sleeping Panda put on a wide pallet of musical variety tonight that both shocked and rocked. The fairly new promotors on the scene are now beginning to take on their own stride and are shaping themselves out as something different amongst the scene. Underground Reviews are looking forward as to what we can expect over the Summer months.

Underground

*For Photo's get in contact with the Underground Reviews Team at: undergroundreviews@live.co.uk

Defective by Design - Colour In a Black And White World

2011-04-05T19:07:00.001+01:00

Defective by Design - Colour In a Black And White World

Genre: Alternative

For Fans Of: Oceansize, Incubus, Reuben, Placebo

Stand Out Track: I'm A Cynic

Rating: 7.5

With their launch party last month at the Pav Tav proving a success, DBD have added a great new product onto the scene. Now the Summer months are approaching fast, this EP will prove invaluable for any Brightonian that has their ear to the floor on the local music scene.

The vocals of Eoin O' Toole are the driving element of the EP and show a wide range of diversity. His vocals are quite bizarre in places sounding similar to Brian Molko of Placebo with that wobbly vibrato thing going on. The vocals have enough originality in them to have character and distinction without tacking it to the unbearably extreme lows, that some of the more painfully alternative scene-sters around town seem to enjoy... no names mentioned of course.

The band itself sound great together, building their energy and dynamics in turn to Eoin without over playing. The high point for me being the heavy section of 'I'm a cynic', bringing in some meat and potatoes on the riff and some extra vocal dirt. All in all the drama of the songs gives the music relevance rather than just being a collection of incoherent jams.

The recording sounds great with every instrument coming out the speakers clearly and definitively. However I wish the drums were slightly more in your face, to go with that modern New York trend that every wannabe Drum N' Bass Indie producer creams themselves for. The Bass as well could sound a bit more full bodied, though both these points are just for nick picking's sake.

The title track of the EP can be heard for free here but for any of you that still hold value in music it is now available on Itunes or from the band directly. But to really see the band in action, they're next whoring out their sexy bodies on the local scene at The Hope on the 22^nd of April.

Underground

To get your CD reviewed or to get a member of our team to review your gig contact us at: undergroundreviews@live.co.uk

DKH 'Cabin Fever'

2011-03-27T17:09:00.005+01:00

Apologies in the length between the last post, been an extremely busy month for UnderGround Reviews just as it's been very busy on the local scene. We've decided not to release album/EP reviews in one post but instead post them up as and when we get them. However there will still be the prestigious Underground Reviews EP of month award available so everything is still worth fighting for. Happy moshing.

Underground Reviews

DKH - Cabin Fever

Genre: Hardcore, Stoner/Doom

For Fans Of: Down, Deftones

Stand Out Track: Steve Stevens

Rating: 7.5

Having released 'Cabin Fever' last year, what DKH have done here is blend the stoner sound of bands like Kyuss and High On Fire with darker and sludgier overtones. The heavily distorted screamed vocals reminiscent of Chino from Deftones finish off their collative sound in away that makes them angrier and more pissed off than some of their other more lethargic local counter-parts.

The presentation is awesome, the zombiefied artwork by Dan Jones looks fantastic in a jewel case. It's rare to see a product that actually looks like it could go to market... if shop's actually sold CD's these days.

The album features lots of samples at the opening and ending of tracks the most effective being the Jack Nicholson's quote from 'Easy Rider' in the final song, 'Steve Stevens'. However, none of these samples are credited, so let's just hope they cleared them. However a good court case always does wonders for bands marketing and promotion... Hey it's hard to get recognised these days.

The recording is a bit rough in places but actually helps to the authenticity of the sound. The lo-fi mix cuts much of the top end off to leave a dirty swamp of brooding hatred.

The roots of the sound is riff based and grove orientated, with use of Machine Head like atmospherics of swirling phase and delayed whammy in certain tracks. The drum's even get a bit of rework in “Euthanasia” to get that Sepultura like tribal thing going down.

This album is worth checking out for any Hardcore or Stoner Rock fan. The whole package is etched with anger and the essence of spilt bong water. If you want to check it out yourself go see the guys at the Green Door Store on the 11^th of April.

Underground

Defective By Design EP Launch

2011-03-14T16:30:00.000+00:00

Some Riot Promotions

The Pavilion Tavern

Thursday10^th March

First time Underground Reviews has been to the upstairs of the Pav-Tav, and while the sound might be more suited towards club night, the stage and lighting offer a really great setting to watch a show.

IAM:YOURHERO

Winner's of the 2010 BMA 'Best Emerging Band Award' IAM:YOURHERO were first act on the stage. With quotes on their webpage from Jimmy Page and large amount of hits to boot it would appear that these guys have gained quite a following since their conception from the ashes of 'The Rylics'.

With an Alternative sound similar to Muse the 3 piece very quickly asserted themselves on and off the stage. Great vocals coupled with interesting instrumental sections and heavy drumming brought the songs to dramatic climax.

Their songs are well crafted bringing in tasty use of fretboard wizadry such as tapping and a hoast of effects. The vocals being no exception using a megaphone in the song 'Paranoid Distortion'. IAM:YOURHERO offered a great start to the night.

Vienna

Melodic keyboard based act Vienna took to the stage next. Their instrumentation was well bestowed sounding almost uplifting in places where high energy snare and hi-hat grooves were performed in counterpoint to the keys and guitar. This strange use of dynamics worked extremely well in their favour and made sure that my interest was captive throughout the whole of the set.

The band do however need a stronger image as the NY capped drummer looked very out of place performing to this genre.

This band were very enjoyable, bringing something of their own to the gig. The keyboards and Smiths like guitar utilised some interesting use of delay, creating and heir of psychedelic ambience to the set. The guys can next be seen on the 14^th March at the Hydrant.

Defective By Design

A little later than billed comes the band Defective by Design, the band everyone is here to see to show support for their new EP 'Colour In A Black & White World' (Reviewed later this month). It's been a while since their last Brighton gig but the band carry themselves like a confident and well experienced set of musicians.

Their Alternative Rock sounds lends much to bands such as Oceansize and Incubus and frontman Eion O'Toole kind of reminds me of Ian Watkins of Lostprophets (I mean that in a good way...).

Eion very much apologised for wearing a blue shirt on what he called 'such a sweaty night' and it did get darker as the set gathered pace, cranking up the heat on stage.

Defective By Design have an heir of maturity over their work and pull off some big choruses. The band were very gratuitous for the audiences attendance is support of their cause. It's just a shame that they had their night on the same that Baghdad Country Club were playing their final gig at the Hobgoblin as part of Sleeping Panda Promotions. However, DBD pulled off a great night and their EP is now easily available from their online sources, check it out.

Underground

For more photo's get in contact with the Underground Reviews team: UnderGroundReviews@live.co.uk

February Reviews

2011-03-06T18:59:00.000+00:00

Been a great month for Brighton music with an extremely high level of quality in what has been sent my way. It would appear that the Tech-Metal revolution is taking over, occupying a majority of this month's entries but plenty of old school Rock and Grunge to enjoy if you are that way inclined.

Just a reminder that I am taking entries for the March list and already have some great entries! To get you or your bands music reviewed I will need it in Hard copy unless it is a pre-release and by the Friday the 1^st of April. Thank's Underground.

EP of the Month

Sweet Ether – Forced To begin

Genre: Grunge, Hard-Rock

For Fans of: Alice In Chains, Tool, Soundgarden

Stand out Track: Like Clockwork, Forced To Begin

Rating: 9

Intent on success, Sweet Ether take their sound to a new level. The new EP shows signs of the band maturing in their songwriting and a further development to their sound. The recording itself sounds massive allowing the lead vocals to take a dominant position upfront which guides you through their dark and melodic sound-scapes. The band have come a long way since the release of their last EP making something that is truly exciting. Frontman 'Riggs'' vocals drip with passion and emotion in every song and for those who have seen the band live, you can imagine him prowling round the studio like a crazed monkey. The instrumentation is utilised perfectly to create their signature sound, such as the Bass wah on 'Like Clockwork' or the full octane Les Paul solo of 'Forced To Begin'. With influence's taken from Grunge hero's that are very much still relevant today such as the mighty Alice In Chains or the lucid of Tool, Grunge music is still very much as relevant today as it was in the 90's. Forced To Begin show's a band confident in themselves and confident to take what is rightfully theirs as they make a bigger name for themselves touring round country. 27 Minutes of pure sadistic bliss.

Sweet Ether

Marseille – Unfinished Business

Genre: Rock, Classic Metal

For Fans of: Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Slade

Stand out Track: Wanna Get High, Unfinished Business

Rating: 6.5

1980 saw Marseille hit the big time touring 20K arena's with Nazareth and Blackfoot as well as a single in the Top 40. They had toured with the likes of UFO, Whitesnake and Judas Priest but an implosion in their management company saw them fighting a Thirty month legal battle that rendered them broke and finished. It is no wonder that 2011 sees the band with some 'Unfinished Business' to resolve.

The tracks on the album hark back to the origins in Metal blending Classic Rock with a more relentless and no compromising attitude. Each track is carefully constructed to stay in your memory for as long as possible, making this dangerously catchy. With ripping solo's from Art Attack's Neil Buchanon and some tasty harmonies with the help of Andy Charters complete with the soaring vocals of Nige Roberts, what more could you want?

There is nothing really new here, but with Pop Music in the putrid state that it's in today the world needs more Rockers. Indefinitely the Art Attack connection is never going to be shaken, but on the back of Neil's fans Marseille have the drive and a continuously expanding fan base to complete what they once started.

Once A Wolf – Advent

Genre: Prog/Tech Metal

For Fans of: SiKth, Between The Buried And Me

Stand out Track: Primeval Atom

Rating: 8

Once A Wolf blend melody, technicality and sheer brutality into a tight package. The mix is crisp and the vocals clear.

The technicality really is the over-bearing concept of this sound, and is handled in a mature way that doesn't get irritating as some bands do. Instead it is used as a tool that music dictates; to create tension and release. Some of the groves of this EP are true headbang worthy such as the Meshuggah like breakdown to Primeval Atom.

The vocals are delivered to a fantastic degree, ranging in style from screamed to melodically high registered. The Progressive nature of their music really takes you on a journey with unexpected twists and turns at the drop of semi-quaver triplet run. An EP of power and control Advent refuses to be dismissed and pulls off it's genre to the highest degree.

By Definition – Red Lines (single)

Genre: Southern

For Fans of: Down, Black Label Society

Rating: 7

For anyone who's heard 2009's 'Eyes on Wires' they will know this is a step forward for the band's Southern sound. Stex's vocals drive the track forward with power and conviction backed up the almighty rhythm section of Rob, Dan, Fil and J.

The recording is excellent being instantly bombarded by an imposing sense of doom that doesn't give way till the end. The song is catchy enough to get stuck in your brain but without losing any credibility. The song will be released as free download here from the 4^th of April with a free release show at the Green Door store.

Drown In Entropy – Wolves Under Whitened Skies

Genre: D-jent, Tech

For Fans of: Meshuggah, Periphery

Stand out Track: Wolves Under Whitened Skies

Rating: 7

Drown In Entropy offer an exciting 'venture into syncopation and groove' fulfilling all you need for you fine d-jentleman out there. The songs are rigid tight as you expect in this genre with a rhythm section that pummels you like an angry bull on an untrained matador.

The vocals however need some more time developing. Frontman Ian is obviously very capable but he has tried to take on to much meaning that some of the screams and growls come of a little light.

The title track for me sums up what the band is about with a catchy 'd-jenty' (sorry, the term is here to stay) riff and melodic chorus that builds to a dramatic finale in the penultimate closing of the album. I do feel however that having seen this band live, they are capable of much more than they have recorded on their EP. With some more gigs under their belt the band will hopefully develop into a more uncompromising and sonically exciting act.

With a new guitarist Chris Heales on board Drown In Entropy will be embarking on a tour across the UK in April with Guildford Metalers 'As Gods'. Happy head-banging.

Various Artists - Tech Metal Compilation Volume One

Genre: Tech-Metal

For Fans of: All things Tech

Rating: 8

The last couple of years of Metal has been very stagnant in terms of progress as new genres have been defining themselves. Once thing is for certain though, Tech-metal is very much here to stay and for anyone that has been hiding under a rock for a year this compilation acts as a fine introduction to a genre that shows so much variety.

Released by non-profit organisation 'British Tech-Metal' who have their ear to the ground on quality acts rising through this CD cannot be overlooked. With such a varied range of bands and sounds showing the diversity of this genre a stand out track is impossible to pick out, all I can say is; just listen to it.

Ancient Ascendant – The Bleak Slumber

Genre: Death Metal

For Fans of: Slayer, Decapitated

Stand out Track: The Scorn of Dead Men

Rating: 8

Reading's Ancient Ascendant allow the listener to revel in pure Death Metal nostalgia harking a sound of both old and contemporary styles. The vocals of Alex Butler sound similar to Jared MacEachern of Sanctity and fill you with a sense of dread and despair. Their songs are masterfully worked building to intense climax layered with tight ass kick drums and intricate riffery.

The technical proficiency of the members in this band are brutal. Melody features as part of the mix, with a solo on 'Once Numb' that sounds as though it was crafted from Mikael Åkerfeldt himself.

The recording is great with pedals cutting through without being too clicky, guitars panned well and a central vocal that assaults to insult.
This EP acts as the bands 'home recorded' teaser of their debut album, be afraid, be very afraid. Ancient Ascendant are busy travelling around the country but can next be seen on at Black Sunday V Brighton Metalfest on the 23^rd of April.

Underground

Remi Miles & Written in Waters

2011-03-06T16:23:00.000+00:00

Thursday 3rd of March
The Hydrant

Remi Miles

Remi Miles and his band put on their first show in Brighton debuting their 60's inspired Pop Rock. Their relatively short set allows the audience to keep interest in their music as the Hendrix and Smith's cliches keep rolling. It's not that their set wasn't enjoyable, it's just apparent that these vocal hooks and musical ideas have been done before and to death.

Frontman Remi has a good voice but not good enough to egotistically name the band after himself. Such confidence demands a vocal that doesn't waver in and out of tune and a performance that doesn't make me feel awkward. At one point he got off the stage in a near attempt to muster some extra enthusiasm from the audience but upon realising this was far to bold a move, got straight back on.

Pardoning the annoying cliches however some of the better rehearsed songs were received well. The melodic harmonies from the backing band sounded much stronger than the lead vocal would have you believe. The rhythm section was tight, albeit the arguably less than sober gurning sweat box that was the drummer had his cymbal stand six foot in the air screaming to be called 'a nob'.

Remi Miles need to do something much more original. For better or for worse the 60's and 70's happened with some great moments in music, it's just not necessary to repeat them. If you are going to name a band after yourself, make sure it is something special.

Remi Miles can be next seen at the Prince Albert on the 26^th March.

Written In Waters

Written in Waters were a breath of fresh air, boldly trying to create something new and different around Brighton. This is dramatically noticeable upon their image, wearing hockey masks to accentuate the facelessness of the band members and reinforce front-woman Beth Cannon's role in the band.

Their Avant-Garde/Post Rock sound likened to Sigur Ros and Anthony And The Johnsons was closely watched by everybody in the venue. The opening track saw Beth singing in Italian(?) and an operatic like style that would be continued throughout the set. Her use of vocals was more of an instrumental addition than a lyric spurting bot.

Their line up of Keyboards, Guitar, Bass and Drums was utilised in a very interesting way controlling dynamics masterfully and creating delay drenched sound scapes that tickles the imagination. Guitarist George McKenzie was even seen using a bow in one of the tracks bringing some extra experimentation that works in their favour.

Written In Waters are exciting, original and not afraid to try something new and it will be interesting to see where this takes them as they carve out a name for themselves on the local scene.

Underground

Devil Sold His Soul

2011-02-20T15:15:00.000+00:00

Digital

Wed 16^th Feb

Support From:

This Is Massacre

Feed The Rhino

It's not often that gigs are held in the Sea Front night club that is Digital and what a shame. Although it smells like a cross between a gym and a sun fried poo, the sound is astounding through what has been called one of “the best sound systems in Europe”. This coupled with the club lights offers something different than what you can find anywhere else in Brighton.

First band on of the night were This Is Massacre supporting release of their new EP 'We cannot be saved'. With a legion of excited fans showing their support a mosh pit opens up within seconds of them storming the stage.

Their sound is clear and distinct, with kick pedals sounding extra beefy through the above head height speakers.

The band come across in the medium ground between new age mainstream Thrash and Hardcore by the likes of Bullet For My Valentine and Bring Me The Horizon with their fresh post-emo look. However this falls with the bass player, who was so overcome with his alternativeness that the useless scarf he was wearing was actually deadening his strings on his bass, perhaps he should concentrate more on substance than style.

Their set however is very entertaining and the music is well balanced between Metal and Melody as to leave a lasting impression and makes me want to further check out their EP.

The last song they played was the title track to their new EP 'We Cannot Be saved' which saw them shooting a video. Although a few mistakes it is bound to look visually impressive with the mosh pits and screaming fans singing the lyrics back. This Is Massacre have come a long way in the year since I last saw them and it would appear that not much is going to slow this down.

Rochester's Feed The Rhino were up next, fresh from a tour with Gallows the band were shrouded in mystery for their first Brighton. The elusive t-shirt that read; Feed The Fucking Rhino, is also bound to confuse older generations who cannot understand why a shirt would so aggressively command you to feed a 2 ton African plained Mammal.

Their stage presence showed more confidence than the previous band ripping through track after track to the ultimate in audience participation: mosh/circle pits and a brutal wall of death. With a dual Telecaster assault their sound was predominantly Hardcore based, with small influences from Math and Class Rock. The energetic front man squeezed every ounce of energy out of the crowd, climbing on top of speakers and even joining the mosh pit himself.

Feed The Rhino are quickly picking up a name for themselves with fans and bands alike and can be next seen at Hammerfest III.

Headlining the gig were underground Post-Hardcore Rockers Devil Sold His Soul. Having not know what to expect, they walked out to an eerie ambient and classically inspired backing track waiting for the drop. The sound that came out of the speakers next was nothing short of insane. Making full use of the in house sound system and the six double 21' subs. Standing next to the speakers actually caused my eyes to shake and made it difficult to breathe.

What Devil Sold His Soul do is very original using the guitars and synth to create textured sound scapes that are almost trancing in effect. These all build up to dramatic climaxes with the release of tension through groove and screamed vocals.

Not being very aware of the bands music I listened to them on CD back at home, and was very disappointed, having not transferred that live sound into the recordings, making the epic-ness of the night at Digital seem like a very privileged event.

With so many venues closing last year in Brighton, it was very concerning for the live scene. But now with The Green Door Store opening this trend seems to have changed. Lets just hope that Digital can do the same.

Underground

Once A Wolf EP Launch

2011-02-07T16:18:00.000+00:00

The Hydrant
Brighton

6/2/2011

The buzz surrounding the EP launch last night was electric. Once A Wolf saw an extremely turgid Hydrant full of eager fans, an unfortunate rarity in Brighton but a credit to the quality of acts that were performing.

Sweet Ether joined the bill last minute as the honorary opening act as Diving Chaos were in the unlucky position of being stuck in Slough due to the all to well known inefficiency of British public transport, Doh!

Watching Sweet Ether for a second night in a row confirmed my prior thoughts. Their reworked set and stage show, is only going to accelerate their ascent leaving the weaker and less original bands of their genre lying in the dust.

It is notable that they were somewhat out of place with their Tool inspired Grunge in a bill of short haired, high slung Tech-Metal guitarists, but never the less they were well received and kicked the night off with a bang!

Popping your cherry in-front of a large room full of people is never an easy affair but From Afar's gig virginity was taken in style. Their Tech/Post-Hardcore style mixes it up a bit taking influence from bands such as Alexisonfire, The Fall of Troy and Mastodon.

Their line up is used effectively with guitars layering the sound scape and well employed dynamics which show the destruction and reformation of their songs.

There were a few small slip ups, such as one of the guitarists taking it straight to string break city but this was dealt with relatively well under the support of the audience.

Vocally frontman Lance did a great job handling the screamed and clean sections without any problem. From Afar showed great promise tonight and with the debut EP 'A Theory For You” currently being recorded another strong act is added the surging pool of talent in our town.

Shane Thomas power riffing

Once A Wolf are obviously the band everyone is here to see tonight and with spirits running high with the release of 'Advent” they detonate onto the stage.

Primal aggression oozes off the stage as fingers fly across the fretboards and a savage assault of riffs, screams and shredding dreams batter you into submission.

The band show virtuosity over their instruments and genre with songs that naturally flow as apposed to cramming to many conflicting ideas into one song in paradox of this genre.

The unity on stage is that of an extremely well experienced group of musicians who are tight as they are technical with complicated guitar parts that my brain could hardly compute, just remember to pick your jaw up from the floor later.

Vocally front man Steve Powell had no fear in reaching those high notes just as much as the ball rattling roars. The Progressive nature of their songs really takes you on a journey and their set completely flew by for me, and it is also great to see a Metal band that can handle clean tone, salvation!

Once A Wolf have got the building blocks in place for a tempestuous future with their music, just be warned however, they come bearing teeth.

After settling my adrenal glands with a cigarette Peterborough Techies Visions adorn the stage.

Having already received a good level of acclaim through touring with Emmure and Iwrestledabearonce as well as a track that's to be released on 'British Tech-Metal Volume 1' it was the perfect follow up to the showdown that was Once A Wolf's set.

There was decrease in audience population but Visions brutally took us from song to song. However something was missing for me. It wasn't that they aren't a good band, far from it!

It just seemed to wash over me as I didn't feel they could compete with the intensity and support that the last band received.

Some people say that nothing new is happening in Metal, and that those who live in the past are doomed to repeat it. Anyone who was at the launch party last night know's this is total bullshit. Metal is alive! And doing very well for itself.

So if you haven't already get yourself to; onceawolf.bigcartel.com buy yourself a copy of 'Advent' and revel in their musical release

Underground

Southern Discomfort 2

2011-02-06T17:02:00.000+00:00

Black Sunday Promotions

The Hobgoblin

5/2/2011

Death Ape Disco www.myspace.com/deathapedisco

5 piece Death Ape Disco were the first band i saw of the night having already watched Prowess last week at Belushi's Bar.

Death Ape delivered huge riffs with a searing Death Metal like vocal harking to a collusion of bands such as Down, and Alice in chains with heavier acts like Decapitated and Pantera.

They played to a well stocked room of people that banged their heads to their dropped tuned riffery. The band had a more Progressive outlook than the later acts but made for interesting structures that built in intensity.

Death Ape Disco acted as a great support act to the following bands and will demand attention across Brighton in the following months.

Sweet Ether www.myspace.com/sweetetherband

With a new EP about to arrive on the scene Sweet Ether have taken their music and stage show to an exciting new level.

Their new material has taken an experimental approach with the addition of effects and atmospherics to further their dark and brooding sound scapes.

Frontman 'Riggs' gave an amazing performance both physically and vocally. It dripped with such sincere honesty that the hair stood up on the back of my neck.

There shamefully was a drop in audience attendance but this washed over them as Riggs joked; “we must be the interval band”.

It is fantastic to see a band evolving into new territories and Sweet Ether were the band of the night for me. They offered everything that you want in the wakes of Grunge. Moody, melodic and intense.

Gutter fly www.myspace.com/gutterflyuk

It's been 3 months since I last saw Gutter Fly, and time has evidently not stood still. Their catchy as fuck single “Because of you” is out now on Itunes and they have just got through the first round of “Live & Unsigned”.

They had a large level of audience support which filled the venue with screaming fans who were well under the control of the frontman.Gutter Fly have stepped up their game, sounding tighter and appearing to have more on stage chemistry, aww.

A band like this are bound to do well as they appeal to such a wide audience. Their pop structured songs allow the not so heavily inclined to listen without melting, whilst still retaining some very dirty and heavy moments. Their lead guitar player is also a totally insane shredder so there's something here for everyone.

By Definition www.myspace.com/bydefinition

Having heard all but good things about By Definition, my expectations were high and were very well met. The band's first EP 'Eyes on Wires' is out now on Spotify (review later this month) and 2 new recordings of 'Seek' and 'Red lights' are soon to take place.

Like the bands before By Definition wore Southern influences on their sleeve as well as Stoner Metal. Their cool as shit frontman acts as a great host for the audience with funny chats between songs making their set feel almost social.

Their songs were well written and gripping throughout. One song mixed up their style verging on skanky Rap Metal. The singer later dedicated to all his “Dawgs in the audience”.

By Definition were a great headline act to a great night, bring on Southern Discomfort 3!

Underground

January EP Reviews

2011-01-31T14:54:00.001+00:00

EP of the Month

Karybdis – War for land

Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Thrash, Hardcore

For Fans of: At The Gates, Unearth,

Standout Track: Strain

Rating: 9.5/10

What karybdis have done here is nothing short of breathtaking. From the open air raid siren call of 'War for Land' to the final fade out of 'Strain' you are deeply captive under their mammoth grooves and harrowing vocal roars.

Having recorded the EP With Tariq Mattar (Megadeth, Iron Maiden) the sound they have achieved is truly epic, sounding like a cross between At The Gates' 'Slaughter of the Soul' and Unearth's 'III In the Eyes of Fire'. This is a text book example of a band that refuses to sell out to mediocrity and this EP will carry them far.

Gallium Jack – Post Autumn

Genre: Alternative Rock

For Fans of: Biffy Clyro, The Pixies, Placebo

Standout Track: Ragnus

Rating: 6.9/10

Gallium Jack say it loud and say it with feeling. This EP acts as a great demonstration of what a relatively new band are capable of on the local scene. Their songs show a great maturity to songwriting and an appreciation for vocal hooks that get lodged deep inside of your brain long after listen.

Chronographs – Outhouse Sessions

Genre: Hardcore, Progressive, Djent

For Fans of: Meshuggah, SiKth, Killswitch Engage

Standout Track: Tides

Rating: 8.5/10

At a time when Metal is shedding it's skin and definition between bands as getting all too hazy with the influx of Meshuggah wannabe's Chronographs show me that I was very wrong. This short but sweet EP proves Chronographs metal credentials with everything falling properly into place with a mix of razor sharp technicality and precision aggression that rips your throat out upon listening. With a UK and European tour currently being organised, watch out as these angry mother fuckers are out on the prowl.

Subservience – Blueprint To Chaos

Genre: Death Metal

For Fans of: Cannibal Corpse, Lamb of God, Carcass

Standout Track: Pathosis

Rating: 7/10

If you have seen Subservience live you will be very aware of how intense their live performance can get. Unfortunately they haven't managed to catch that sound in this recording with some slight distortion in the mix but the content is excellent. From beginning to end this EP is putrid with the essence of Death Metal giving Subservience a big stepping stone forward in tackling some of the South coasts angriest bands.

Prowess - ?

Genre: Alternative

For Fans of: Metallica, Paramore

Standout Track: Broken

Rating: 4/10

The recording here is very rough and my copy almost unplayable making it extremely hard for me to review this properly. But however awkward the guitar tones are or out of time the drum kit is there is some credibility to the music. The songs are well constructed and the female vocals soar to create catchy chorus's but there appears to be a slight paradox on styles. Prowess have tried to take on to much sonically and it has cluttered up their sound. The vocals need to stand out more than the guitar does, it's almost like overdubbing Kelly Clarkson onto a Metallica track.

Kickfist give us a taster of what's to come

Song: Radical Heroism

Genre: Metal, Southern Rock

For Fans of: Pantera, Black Label Society

Rating: 8/10

With some new recordings set to take place in April/May this year, Kickfist give Underground Reviews a taster of what we can expect. A slight change to the Kickfist formula has been applied showing these guys are intent on taking their sound into unchartered territories. The sound is reminiscent of Pantera's 'Cowboys from hell” with the Whiskey slugging debauchery of Black Label Society. “Radical Heroism” parodies what makes their old style great: “singing about greed again”, whilst showing what will continue to make this a band to see in 2011.

*Please note: To have your EP reviewed a hard copy must be given. Get in contact with The Underground Reviews Team at: Undergroundreviews@live.co.uk
Underground

Marseille

2011-01-29T16:20:00.000+00:00

Jack Hammer Promotions

Belushi's Brighton

Friday 28^th Jan

Entering the gig last night my excitement was just as much matched with curiosity as the brief memory of playground rumour still running through my mind. It was hard to match the jolly faced red sweater adorned presenter of popular television show, Art Attack with a hard rocking band with such songs as 'Wanna Get High' and 'In For the Kill'. However Marseille impressively showed a packed out crowd of nostalgia ridden fans that they are more bonafide rock stars than a tired old gimmick.

Prior to Marseille's performance was local 5 piece Rockers Prowess. The front women was very engaging delivering catchy vocal lines to already catchy songs featuring heavy riffs and anthemic chorus's. Their set was not perfect with some polishing that is needed in places, however with a few more gigs under their belt i'm sure Prowess will gain momentum allowing them to take on bigger local acts.

Prowess showing potential

Marseille

Neil Buchanon's shred attack

Marseille stormed the stage with more ferocity than bands half their age quickly creating a genuinely exciting buzz that caused girls to scream and horns to be raised. Huge power stances were pulled as riff after riff were flawlessly delivered causing adrenaline to surge through the body of the crowd.

As their set list quickly flew by the fourth wall separating band and fans was soon levelled. In fact it got quite crazy down there with people crowd surfing, head banging circles forming and an eventual stage invasion making for a night that will not be soon forgotten.

Sonically Marseille's music featured everything that makes a high octane Rock performance awesome; The dual harmonies of Thin Lizzy, the soaring vocals of Maiden, the party lyrics of Kiss plus their own piece of exuberance to boot.

Attitude and passion for their music flooded off stage, and it really takes a band like this to remind you why you got into Hard Rock/Metal in the first place.

Triple guitar assault

Marseille asked Brighton to 'raise hell' and that is exactly what they got. This is band that cannot be ignored on the live circuit and as their catchy songs still run through my mind a sense of wonder leaves me asking will 2011 be Marseille's year.

Marseille hanging out with their fans

Underground

Damaged & Karybdis

2011-01-17T15:16:00.000+00:00

Black Sunday Promotions

"Metal Madness 2011"

Brighton Hobgoblin

Saturday 15th Jan

Damaged www.myspace.com/damageduk

New addition, Jonny Sennett

Tonight see's Damaged play their first gig in 8 months with the addition of a new guitar player. They open their set with an instrumental giving the front women a chance to rock out on the guitar before taking vocal duties for the rest of the set.

I was instantly drawn into this band as passion dripped from every

member lifting their songs off the stage and getting the audience moving. Their set was constructed with perfect precision dropping and lifting the dynamics at critical moments taking you on a journey from beginning to end.

Musically I found it hard to categorise this band, they appear to take influence from Metal and Hard Rock though no one band as an obvious influence, a credit to their originality.

Damaged are definitely a band to check out on the scene, a really great live band, great musicians and some excellent songs that I am looking forward to hearing again

My Photography skills might be rubbish, but Damaged certainly are not.

Karybdis www.myspace.com/karybdisband

Karybdis were just the breed of Metal band that I had been horning for all week. After a slow start getting the sound levels adjusted properly these guys burst into a set with the impact and precision of an Atomic bomb.

A groove so heavy Bass player Jay Gladwin shits himself mid song

Gil Renault spots a familiar face

Like Damaged before it is very hard to place these guys neatly in a sub-genre. Their progressive outlook takes you through the history books showing both the past and the future of our genren reminding you what it's about; going ape shit to some heavy fucking music.

Front man Gil has the perfect vocal performance to front such a band reminding me of the ripping and distorted style of Unearths Trevor Phipps of. The musicians behind the voice show impressive eclecticism and technicality taking you from the deep Gothenburg riffs off At the Gates, Jazzy interludes of Opeth to the mind-fucking attitude of Meshuggah and SiKth.

This Anglo-French-Indian quintet are out promoting their 2010 E.P. “War For Land” that will later be reviewed. Upon first listen this is something to get genuinely excited about and no wonder for reading their Myspace page shows an impressive drop of Metal credentials.

Karybdis are out for total annihilation and I cannot wait to see this band take what's rightfully theirs at a time when Metal is stagnating under the influx of copy-cat bands and careless performances.

As always Black Sunday events are something to look forward to and February 5^th will be no different with an impressive line-up of: By Definition, Gutterfly and Sweet Ether to name a few.

Underground

Gallium Jack & Pip Boy 3000 At Sleeping Panda Promotions

2011-01-14T17:59:00.000+00:00

Brighton Hobgoblin

Thursday 13^th Jan

Tonight see's the 3^rd Sleeping Panda promotions event upstairs at the Hobgoblin, with two bands opening the event that I had yet to hear around Brighton. Headlining the event were Grunge encrusted Sweet Ether with support from melodic Alt rockers, Sice.

Gallium Jack www.myspace.com/galliumjack

Gallium are a 3 piece born and bred in Brighton and are out promoting their new E.P. “Post Autumn” that will be reviewed later this month.

Musically they fit into the “Alternative Rock” genre next to the likes of Biffy Clyro, but also borrowing elements from Grunge bands such as The Pixies with soft verses and distorted chorus, that makes for an enjoyable listening experience.

Their set begins with an heir awkwardness as would be expected performing to a room of less than 10 people, but they quickly take control through the raw quality of their music. Their front man has a great voice delivering a very believable and emotional performance that most front men forget. But musically they are very interesting. Tasteful use of effects and technicality create atmospherics and tension without overshadowing the band.

They played a short but sweet set leaving behind some catchy vocal hooks in my head that can only been accomplished by a mature appreciation for songwriting. They currently have no upcoming gigs, but watch their Myspace for in a town where talentless wank indie shit is so rife, it is refreshing to hear something with feeling.

Pip Boy 3000 www.myspace.com/pipboy3000music

Pip boy open their set to a backing track, which I normally find a bit overkill to small room of 25 people but actually makes for a strong opener that gets everyone interested. They then burst into a Kyuss like stoneyer than stone grove that get's my head rocking. However it is very hard for any band to sound like Kyuss without, well, sounding like Kyuss!

The initial excitement wears off very quickly, though as the set begins to sound bland and somehow lacking in energy. The drummer is very polite perhaps being the root of this energy drought and it leaves a blurring in definition between stoner rock and lethargic rock.

With track names such as “Big bear vs the ketamine monster” little is left to the imagination and I just feel that a band of this calibre should grab me by the balls instead of being balls.

For me Pip boy have some good ideas, a great vocalist and some disgusting tempo changes that always get me excited but I don't feel that they are really serious about this.

Their set initially promised so much but as the set went on it was more and more evident that something is missing and it left me having to put on “Sky Valley” the moment I got home.

Underground

Sleeping Panda Presents:

2010-12-12T14:02:00.000+00:00

Brighton Hobgoblin

Thursday 9th December

Tonight is the second event for Sleeping Panda Promotions at the Hobgoblin featuring a heavier selection of music of punk, death metal and sludge. First act on were:

Rose Keller www.myspace.com/rosekellermusic

It's early days on the circuit for Rose Keller and tonight they show signs of a promising future. Their music takes influence from modern Death Metal bands such as Job For a cowboy, Despised Icon and Suicide Silence, so in other words brutality. Their songs are well written with some head-bang worthy grooves complete with over the top harmonics but their performance is what lets them down. They don't look like members of the same band wearing completely contradicting items of clothing and lacking a collective performance. However I am looking forward to what these guys do in the next few months as once these problems are ironed they may well become serious competitors for Brighton's Death Metal crown.

Target Girl

I did not review these guys tonight in count of how many times I have seen them over the last few weeks, I however helped Calum (Sleeping Panda promotor and Target Girl frontman) on the door.

Sak-Less Jack www.myspace.com/saklessjack

Sak-Less Jack are always a great live band to catch on the local circuit and tonight is no different. The festive season is not lost on them with the frontman and guitar player wearing Santa outfits, also acting as a sweat sponge. They play to a smaller crowd but perform as if it were full. In addition to their set they play a new song that features a slight stylistic change with skank guitar that also sounds dubby in places. To complete their set and with this festive mood in mind the band play a full on Sak-less styled cover of the Christmas classic, “All I want for Christmas” - is my two front teeth.

Uncle Debauchery www.myspace.com/uncledebauchery

This is the first time i've reviewed these guys and for a band that claim to be out of practice, they sure deliver a tight set worthy of their headliner position. Their sludge doom metal style can be likened to Down, Mastodon and Kyuss but is not like anything that can be heard in Brighton. Their songs are really interesting showing great use of dynamics and disgracefully dirty tempo changes that are painfully slow in places (in a good way).

Personality leaks from every member of the band who compliment each other very well making a huge presence in the venue. The frontman also gives off a great vibe as he prowls around the place like a circus clown gone wrong. It would also appear that Uncle Debauchery are irresistible to a particularly drunken fan who also makes a memorable performance of her own.

Underground

Black Sunday Promotions Presents: "Headbangers & Thrash 2"

2010-12-05T22:32:00.000+00:00

Brighton Hobgoblin

Saturday 4^th December

Tonight's event at the Hobgoblin sees a well fine crowd of loud and proud thrash hungry fans complete in their leather, spikes and denim. With the recent snow passing way to relentless wind and rain there is only ever one place to be and that is under the great hosting of Black Sunday Promotions. Due to circumstances out of my control I have failed to review Kickfist (www.myspace.com/kickfist) again! I am sorry guy's it wasn't meant to be. Maybe one day our paths will cross in a glorious conjuration of Metal and harmony, but for now it's time for:

Hawka Hurricane www.myspace.com/hawkahurricane

This is the second time I have reviewed these guy's and the second time I am left unimpressed. Their new singer has definitely done more to integrate himself with the band and give of a better vocal performance than before. But their sound comes off the stage as a sloppy barrage of noise with tempo's fluctuating and guitars feeding back. They do however incite movement from the crowd with some heads a banging. But for these guys to really improve they need to adopt a more ruthless approach to mediocrity.

Mutually Assured Destruction www.myspace.com/madestruction

M.A.D. hit the stage delivering a tight set that really catches my attention. Their guitars are sweaty with condensation as is the audience with some serious windmilling going on at the front and a pit that the singer later joins. M.A.D. draw from a wide range of influences from the old school Thrash of Megadeth and Exodus, guitar and drum breaks of Dream Theatre and the party atmosphere of Municipal Waste. With track names such as 'Thrash Grandad' and 'Blu-tac Attack' there is everything in here for all Metal heads to like.

Apparitions Of The End www.myspace.com/apparitionsoftheend

These guy's offer their take on Thrash bringing in some more Hardcore Punk influences on vocals. There was a complete paradox on stage with the frontman giving off great amounts of energy and the bass player, acting as a black hole that sucks it all back in. These guy's had some brutal grooves, some great tunes and an awesome drummer but it bothered me to watch them with a member that looked so genuinely unenthusiastic, how are we supposed to like it if you don't?

Divine Chaos www.myspace.com/divinechaosband

In the absence of a Bass player, Divine play to a backing track with the drummer wearing headphones meaning they had to be tight, and damn it they were. They play to a slightly smaller crowd than the previous bands but still give off an aggressive performance. They take from an eclectic range of influences, bringing speed, attitude, intense shredding and a huge drum kit that gets seriously worked on to the table. Their most interesting track of the night featured an Opeth like break down section into clean guitars. This dynamic change really makes for an interesting listening experience and would be better carried out through their set. These guys will have an album arriving on the scene sometime in January or February and I will be looking forward to what they sound like with a live bass player.

Underground

Revolt

2010-11-29T18:52:00.000+00:00

Revolt

Concorde 2

Friday 26^th November

Tonight see's the launch of a new club night at the Concorde 2; Revolt. This will be a quarterly event and after the strength of tonight, I cannot wait for the next one.

There was something to keep everyone here entertained, such as fire breathing, Dj sets, zombie fancy dress, stalls from local shops as well as Surfaces and Lithurgy playing, what more can you want?

Walking into the main hall, I was immediately greeted by the site of a clown wanking off a chicken head on the main stage; it was then I realised that I must pay the bar a visit.

Beer in hand and Aerosmith blaring through the speakers, it was time for fire eating act Miss Baby Bones walk onto the stage. She then whipped off her shirt (to a cheer from the male members of the audience), lighting her fire sticks. Miss Baby Bones knew her audience well as she sexually brushed her instruments across her arms before extinguishing them in her mouth to a pillar of smoke. This acted as a great warm up to:

Surfaces www.myspace.com/surfacesbanduk

These guys threw down an impressive performance with their Progressive, Tech Metal sound that assaulted the ears. Sounding like the bastard love child of Periphery, Architects and Sikth, they tore the Concorde apart, with their show only complimented by the perfect mix of the instruments. Their ball rattling bass mixed with their visually stunning synchronised head banging made sure that no member of the audience was left unimpressed.

Frontman Callum Kirk has only been in the band 4 months but already looks integrated and comfortable as he lets out some disgusting hardcore vocals. Surfaces have a punishing set list that refuses to leave my neck motionless particularly in their breakdowns which were tighter than my pants in the Playboy mansion. Surfaces will soon be embarking on a tour that will see them visit Belgium, Germany and other parts of the UK so make sure you catch them at their next Brighton show on the 19^th of December at The Hydrant.

Between the two bands sets a best dressed Zombie competition was held on stage to a soundtrack featuring Lamb of God, Decapitated, At The Gates and Meshuggah proving to me there was no other club night more suited towards people like me. I quickly went to the bar just in time for Lithurgy.

Lithurgy www.myspace.com/lithurgy

I've been waiting a while to see Lithurgy and good thing it was tonight as this was the last gig till next summer whilst they write and record their new album. Fresh from a tour with Tesseract, Lithurgy are tight as nails with technical efficiency and energy flying off the stage.

From my built up preconceptions Lithurgy seriously did not disappoint, and I mean seriously. The band play with a new line up change of guitarist Tom Bates joining the band and Gazz relieving himself of his 6 string duties for the synth. This does only more to accentuate this band's already stunning sound.

In sight with their experimental and Progressive edge, Lithurgy are not scared to mix up the normal instrumentation of a metal band by also adding a saxophone, drum trigger pads as well an on stage floor tom to take their sound to a new level. This is great to see as it shows a band pushing the boundaries of heavy music rather than cashing in on current trends and stagnating the genre as so many bands do.

The bands E.P. Mother I is truly awesome and with their tireless work ethic i'm sure the album will be something for every metalhead to look forward to.

This whole night was run very smoothly, with the DJ's having the ear for what this kind of crowd would want to hear. Clowns walking round and other antics such as the Zombie competition this was the perfect way to spend a Friday night.

Catching up with one of the promotors after the event, it is clear they share a lot of mutual passion for the local scene. Wanting to make it a much tighter community for the bands and the fans.

With the closing of many local venues, and there being no large scale club nights to cater for the, well more heavily inclined. It is great to see someone take the risk and offer somewhere for us metal heads to hangout, listen to some tunes, knock back some brews and watch local bands play on a bigger stage, rather than just listening to Metallica ar some main stream venue that claim to have an 'Alternative night”

The promotors have a lot of ambitions for Revolt, using all profits to improve the next event. If it is anything like tonight, February 25^th will not be a date to be missed.

* Sasha Nicole Photography www.flickr.com/photos/sashanicolephotography
** Tom Frank 'The Tank' Photography

Underground

Sussex Jazz Orchestra

2010-11-24T18:27:00.000+00:00

Sussex Jazz Orchestra

The Latest Music Bar

Tuesday 23rd November

www.scoredchanges.com

Tonight's event was held in the downstairs theatre of the Latest Music Bar, formally known as the Joogleberry. Under candlelight the venue offers a pleasant atmosphere perfect for tonights performance of the Sussex Jazz Orchestra. The venue has a great sound coping with a large jazz band very well with a clear sound also coming out of the PA from solo mics.

The bands line up is more stripped down with many of the senior members being away for various reasons, giving younger musicians more of a chance to display their soloing talents. Baritone player Patrick Billingham acts as a warm host throughout the event talking you through each track as well as passing the solo opportunities around the band. Patrick makes you feel very welcome and with all the other changes plus some new faces in the band see's the songs played with a different feel than I have previously seen.

The band played two 50 minutes sets, playing mostly the late founder of the bands Ian Hamer's songs as well as a few arrangements from Tubby Hayes, Paul Busby and Oliver Nelson.

There were many highlights tonight. Intro track Hamerphilia is always a great staple in the set list and set the night off with a bang.

Last track of the first set was Hamer's rousing 'Choose who's Blues'. This track featured many inspiring solos from the band members, particularly from Electric Bass player Jerry Dearden who played possibly one of the most exciting slap solo's I have ever heard.

The Sussex Jazz Orchestra always deliver a great way to spend a night, though the audience numbers are low I really doubt it bothers these guys. They just enjoy playing the music as can be seen by the expressions on their faces. It's great to see so much humility and unity with the band members applauding others solo's rather than entering a competition of ego's.

Underground