ALBUM REVIEW: MOTORHEAD - UNDER COVER

MOTORHEAD
UNDER COVER
Silver Lining Music
Hard Rock, Speed Metal, NWOBHM.
Listening Format: CD



One criticism that is often thrown Motorhead's way is that all their albums sound exactly the same... Well not this time! I mean it does still have that unmistakable Motorhead sound, production style, and Lemmy's iconic vocals, but it is very refreshing to hear them take on some different sounds and styles to the norm. This compilation collects covers that have mostly appeared elsewhere in their discogaphy, so die hard fans might not have any surprises in store. Most of the tracks have been recorded after the 2000s, but 'Sympathy For the Devil', and a cover of Bowie's 'Heroes' come from the final recording sessions in 2015 before Lemmy's sad passing.

Motorhead are honouring their heroes and influences here, covering artists such as Sex Pistols, Rainbow, Rolling Stones, Ted Nugent, Ramones and more. Compared to the classic 70s Motorhead sound, things are a lot more laid back on this album. That raging, noisy blur of speed that makes iconic tracks like 'Ace of Spades' or 'Motorhead' isn't quite heard on here. 'Cat Scratch Fever' and 'Rockaway Beach' are surprisingly tame for Motorhead. Even when they tackle some of the faster songs like 'God Save the Queen', they don't manage to match the ferocity of The Sex Pistols original. 'Heroes' is an intriguing rendition, almost going for this stadium rock sound, but there is something absolutely wonderful about hearing Lemmy taking on Bowie. On 'Starstruck', Lemmy must have realised that his vocal range isn't anywhere near capable of matching Ronnie James Dio's voice, so Biff Byford from their fellow peers Saxon takes on the high notes on this one. They really stumble through this track, but in a very entertaining way. Metallica have often praised Motorhead as a big influence and even released the 'Motorheadache' EP covering their songs, so it is ace that Motorhead came full circle, covering 'Whiplash' by Metallica, and this is one of the better cuts on the album too.

This Motorhead covers album is kind of like watching the film Birdemic. It's so bad that it's good! None of these covers manage to outdo the originals, but it is so fascinating to hear them Motorheadize some classic Rock songs! 'Under Cover' is kind of terrible, yet utterly enjoyable! 6/10.

ALBUM REVIEW: IDLES - BRUTALISM

IDLES
BRUTALISM
Balley Records
Punk, Post-Punk, Noise Rock.
Listening Format: CD & Vinyl.



Punk officially had its 40th birthday in 2016, and with political turmoil overshadowing the globe, awareness of Punk and Hardcore music seems to be at an all time high. It's a great time for already existing Punk bands to feel fired up again, as well as for new ones to catch a flame. Whilst not all new UK Punk bands trying to recapture that spirit have turned out great (Slaves?), some bands have really gone all out and genuinely brought their genuine agro A-game (Savages!)

Idles have pretty much come out of nowhere this year. The Bristol based band seemed to have taken their fate into their own hands, with that special DIY attitude. This debut full length 'Brutalism' bears a 001 catalogue number on what I can only assume is their own Balley Records. And yet the album has landed itself in record stores across the country, and is getting all the right press. Idles have done extremely well for themselves to smash their way into modern music's consciousness.

'Brutalism' from start to finish is an absolute riot. After an ominous sample and a Post Punk as fuck drum intro, 'Heel / Heal' bursts into life with frantic power chord guitars, and sheets of noisy agonising guitars that want to fight you. This is topped off by the snarling, manic screams of vocalist Joe Talbot. In terms of musicianship, whilst not reinventing the wheel, Idles come racing out ready for a punch up, with so much fiery passion and precision playing. The scatty washes of noisy tremolo guitar even channel Big Black. 'Well Done' is a huge standout that is just do direct and in your face. If it was made in 1977 it would have surely been a classic. Instantly they channel The Clash's 'White Riot' or Stiff Little Fingers' 'Suspect Device'. Joe Talbot's vocals are acidic as he spews out nonsense lines "Mary Berry love Reggae, so why don't you like Reggae? / Trevor Nelson loves football, so why don't you watch football?" A cheeky "woo woo" backing vocal gives it such a live and raw feel. 'Mother' is equally as exquisite, full of anger and storming riffs, with a chorus that simply sees Talbot yell "MOTHERFUCKER", as well as the brilliant quotable, "The best way to scare a Tory is to read and get rich". 'Divide & Conquer' is another huge track that manages to slow the tempo down to this pounding stomp as noisy guitars drill their way into your brain. The precision playing also shines on the album's shortest and fastest track 'Stendhal Syndrome', which is overwhelming in the amount of venom it spits at the listener. And the nearly unlisted track 'White Privilege' (just shown as a white line on the album packaging) is full of agro, boasting the hilarious opening line "How many optimists does it take to change a lightbulb / NONE, their butler changes the lightbulb". Such absurd lyrics could come off a little corny, if it wasn't for the dead pan, no bullshit delivery of these lines. The socio-political undertones are used at just the right moments. 

Idles have ultimately floored me. 'Brutalism' is an album so direct, so honest, so raw. I can honestly see original Punk fans who were there from the start loving this album. I can see the Post Punk fans who dug PIL and Wire loving this album. I can see fans of Noise Rock like Shellac, The Fall, McLusky and Sonic Youth loving this album. Because it is rare these days to hear such a genuine Punk sound. Idles don't attempt to play Punk. They ARE Punk. They embody it through blood, bone and brawn. Everything about 'Brutalism', from the sound, the production, the songs, the riffs, the lyrics, the energy, the approach, the packaging, the label, the marketing... Idles have absolutely fucking nailed it. I think in terms for what is presented inside the box, this is gold. Here is hoping for some mad, outside of the box follow up! 8/10. 

ALBUM REVIEW: EMPLOYED TO SERVE - THE WARMTH OF A DYING SUN

EMPLOYED TO SERVE
THE WARMTH OF A DYING SUN
Mathcore, Post-Hardcore.
Holy Roar Records.
Listening Format: Vinyl










Employed to Serve return with their second full length LP, 'The Warmth of a Dying Sun'. The Woking quintet's 2015 debut album 'Greyer Than You Remember' was fantastic, showcasing a ragged and chaotic sound combining Post-Hardcore elements with full on Mathcore, showing influences from the likes of label mates Rolo Tomassi, as well as Dillinger Escape Plan and Botch. Since then the band have been touring and playing shows relentlessly, honing their craft and wowing audiences with their destructive, high energy live performances. This has lead to a fairly big anticipation for this sophomore record.

The most notable thing about this follow up record compared to their debut effort is that it isn't quite as wonky, or jarring, or as unpredictable. This is to say that it doesn't just hang on the Mathcore tropes of delivering highly visceral, fast music with odd song arrangements and riffs that jump around a lot. Some of those Mathcore elements are of course retained in their sound, but feel more controlled. 'The Warmth of a Dying Sun' is built on a greater sense of cohesion and linear songwriting than its predecessor. But before fans of the first record start to let out a big groan, let it be known that this does not at all mean that Employed to Serve are sacrificing anything or going soft on us!

From the moment opener 'Void Ambition' kicks in, it is evident than we are still very much in for a very visceral, aggressive and punishing listening experience. In fact this song is one of the more Mathcore oriented songs that weaves fast staccato tech guitar playing, with heavy as fuck dissonant breakdowns and vocalist Justine Jones awesome ear splitting screams. But as the record goes on we can hear influences of Deathcore, particularly in the way guitarist Sammy Urwin adds in his guttural backing vocals that compliment Justine's raw screams very well. Employed to Serve also unashamedly reference slight influences of Nu-Metal in some of the riffs here as well! Again, before you start to groan, hear me out! It is no secret that the band are huge fans of Slipknot (going as far as to sell their own brand of boiler suits on tour). Tracks like 'Good For Nothing' and 'Platform 89' (making an excellent pairing in the tracklist) will suddenly just burst out into these downtuned groovy riffs that would not feel out of place on an early Slipknot record. However because of the absolutely crisp and monstrous production on this album (a notable step up from the debut), these riffs sound absolutely massive and crushing! Stand out track and lead single 'I Spend My Days (Wishing Them Away)' is built around a riff that Deftones would have been proud to have composed at any point in their discography. The vocal production on this track in particular is as dynamic as Deftones too. Even the album sleeve featuring a sticker that reads "parental advisory, crushing content" feels like a nod to Nu-Metal nostalgia!

'The Warmth of a Dying Sun' is also a very dark album lyrically and emotionally. The title track is a huge standout, beginning with a recording of an ominous phonecall before unleashing an unholy barrage of jagged and unforgiving riffs and screams, proving that none of the intensity from the first record or their live performances has been lost here. The track even throws in some eerie clean vocals, making this one of the most ambitious songs the band have ever crafted. After nine relentless and brutal tracks, the album concludes with a lovely softer piece lead by Sammy's hushed vocals and clean guitars in the verses. Ending an album on a "ballad" (for lack of a better word) is perhaps a little bit cliche, but 'Apple Tree' feels as genuinely heartfelt and expressive as anything else on the record, reminding me of 'Artist In the Ambulance' era Thrice.

Employed to Serve have really come through and done exactly what they had to do to deliver a successful sophomore album. This concise 10 track album is not only a step up in terms of production, using a wider pallet of sounds and details, but by actually curbing some of the chaos in favour of implementing more linear moments, it has made the songwriting much more cohesive and memorable throughout. 'The Warmth of a Dying Sun' is intense, it's very heavy and it is brimming with passion and emotion. I'm hearing one of the most exciting Hardcore/Metal albums of 2017 so far. 8/10. 

#354: DEATH GRIPS - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

As I entered the sold out Manchester Academy gig room the place was already chock-a-block full of music fans of all creeds. Hip Hoppers, Metalheads, Indie kids, Ravers, Punks and Rockers all united for the most hyped up gig of the year. The giant room was a sea of bodies, and so dark it was hard to recognise anybody. An eerie, droning siren hummed away, creating a sense of nausea and dis-ease amongst the crowd. Slowly the discordant drone gradually escalated in volume. After a few mistaken round of applauses as roadies and sound engineers appeared on stage, eventually the lights went out completely and the trio of Zach Hill (on drums), Flatlander (synthesizers and sampler) and vocalist MC Ride emerged from the ether...

...What followed for the next 90 minutes was a sheer bliss of noisy and violent music. Death Grips blur the lines between Hip Hop, Hardcore, Electronic and Noise, explaining why such a wide array of music fans were in union tonight. The trio blistered through all of their best tunes without a single pause for breath or to talk to the crowd. MC Ride stood tall like a deranged killer in the fog, ranting and screaming maniacally into the microphone. Zach Hill was a force of destruction, battering his kit like it had insulted his mother! The man was a sheer ball of fiery energy throughout and was fascinating to watch, delivering a diverse performance from the Industrial battering ram of 'No Love' to the Black Metal-esque blastbeats on 'Giving Bad People Good Ideas'. Flatlander was perhaps the most focused of the three, combining samples, laptop and synthesizers to create dense layers of noise and waves of wild electronics, piercing eardrums in the process.

The mosh pit was extremely violent and painful tonight, and I've seen plenty of Extreme Metal bands that haven't even managed to conjure up this much chaos! I began the gig slap bang in the middle, and I ended up being swept right to the front and then all over the place. The room became a tornado where bodies would fly and people's belongings soon became lost. I don't think I've ever felt so exhausted at a show and I was soon gasping for air and water! I woke up today with a battered and aching body, with cuts and bruises on my legs and arms, but I'd do it all over again!

Death Grips were absolutely relentless and shredded through just about all the songs a die hard fan could wish for! 'Get Got' and 'Bitch Please' were absolutely thumping, 'Giving Bad People Good Ideas' and 'Come Up & Get Me' were extremely raging, 'I've Seen Footage' offered a rare breather where fans could dance their asses off, 'Guillotine' was a bizarre sing-along anthem, and the finale of '(I've Got) The Fever' certainly left everyone wanting more.

Public Enemy may have warned us not to believe the hype, but I'm sure almost everyone will attest that Death Grips' live show was sheer enjoyment and an experience that was almost too good to be true! 9/10.

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October 16th 2016 @ Manchester Academy.

#350: GRAF ORLOCK + GHOSTLIMB & BIG MACHINE - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

Tonight's bargain show saw US Grindcore band Graf Orlock play at the hard to find Aatma bar in Manchester's Northern Quarter. Joining them were Manchester's own noise rockers Big Machine and US Hardcore act Ghostlimb. The show saw a good turnout with even a couple of distros selling hard to find vinyl releases!

BIG MACHINE

Manchester based Big Machine make some big sounds despite only being a duo. They stepped in at the last minute after Mums were forced to pull out after losing their pedals. Best of luck to Mums and I hope the pedals are found! Big Machine played a set of high energy Noise Rock with just a drummer and a guitarist, with both adding vocals to the mix. Their guitarist Sacha Zucconi churned out some gnarly screams, whilst drummer Nick Colman would offer a mix of screams and clean vocals. Their short songs were made of jagged twists and turns, leaning towards a Math Rock influence. Nick Colman really stole the show with the most impressive and versatile performance this evening from behind the kit. He was just awe inspiring to watch, with an acrobatic way of playing every part of his kit. The only real downside of their performance were that the guitars and vocals weren't quite mixed loud enough compared to the drums, taking away some of the aggression. Some of the clean parts of theirs songs fell a little flat. Big Machine's sound reminded me of Leeds based Clenstch (who I reviewed earlier in the year), as well as Shellac and The Hyena Kill. 8/10.

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GHOSTLIMB

Travelling all the way from California to play a bargain show were Ghostlimb, a Melodic Hardcore trio featuring the guitarist of headliners Graf Orlock. Ghostlimb channeled a lovely balance between more Extreme Screamo/Hardcore combined with a pinch of old school American Punk Rock. The trio were full of good riffs, though the gravelly screaming vocals could have benefited from a more varied tone. Ghostlimb weren't quite as crazy as the two bands they were sandwiched between, but were still enjoyable enough and could give their songs oomph when required! 7/10.

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GRAF ORLOCK

Our headliners Graf Orlock hail from Anaheim, California. Graf Orlock's trademark is to combine lightning fast, spazzed out Grindcore, punctuated by samples from cult films to introduce each track. The quartet successfully implemented the film samples in a live environment, through the use of a sampler. The way the band would kick in to mad bursts of grind all in unison at the perfect moment was a sheer joy to watch and got the crowd's energy raised. Since there were some sound issues across the whole night, the backing vocals from the guitarist were much louder than their frontman, but he still managed to command the stage, often spilling out into the mosh pit and crowdsurfing. Their frontman had a really raw, throat shredding scream. Graf Orlock's songs were frequently noisy and unpredictable, injecting a sharp sense of humour as they bantered with the crowd. Their performance was suitably brief but very intense, with lots of energy. Graf Orlock come across as the kind of act that Grindcore purists might scoff at, but their live show cannot be denied, as they are simply a lot of fun and know how to have a great time! 8/10.

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August 9th 2016 @ Aatma, Manchester.

#345: DESTRUCTION UNIT + SUPPORT: LIVE IN MANCHESTER

Islington Mill in Salford was host to an all-nighter event where 7 Extreme Metal, Rock and Hardcore bands played for the ridiculous bargain price of £5, featuring US Noise Rockers Destruction Unit as the headlining act.

BLOODY HEAD

Opening this evening of extreme sounds was Garage Punk quintet Bloody Head. They kicked right into noisy washed out guitar riffs with an essence of that Stooges raw power. Pounding drums and a bass that sounded like it was wading through a swamp were laced with their lead vocalist's indecipherable psyched out yelling. The whole band were pumped up and full of energy, with their lead vocalist walking around the crowd, screaming like he was in agony and at the most intense parts, even collapsing on to the floor, writhing around screaming with his shoes flung off his feet! Their set climaxed with a lengthier and doomier piece. Bloody Head kicked the evening off with very high quality, delivering a set full of tension, plenty of aggression and genuine passion. 8/10.

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AGGRESSIVE PERFECTOR

This Thrash Metal trio sound and look like they have never left 1984! Donning spikes and vintage Horror movie t-shirts, Aggressive Perfector set the Islington Mill stage on fire (not literally) with what they call Satan's Heavy Metal! Having seen them many times before, I think they had been given far too much reverb than what they are used to, sounding like they were performing in an echo chamber. Regardless, the band battled through it with their fast palm muted riffs and demented screams and wails. They almost had a bit of a Celtic Frost vibe going on tonight, but they got the strong crowd banging their heads and sweating. Closing song "Certain Death" is an absolute belter worthy of Slayer, whose own track "Aggressive Perfector" gave them their name. Satan was very much pleased with their performance tonight! 8/10.

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DENIM & LEATHER

Sporting a similar range of influences to opening band Bloody Head, Denim & Leather also sounded very raw, with a punky energy and haggard, bleeding guitars that rusted in agony! They were also lead by a very energetic vocalist who stumbled into the crowd. Between their primal Garage Hardcore songs they even threw in a couple of 1 second wonders, reminiscent of Napalm Death's immortal "You Suffer (But Why?)". Demin & Leather very much varied their tempos from song to song, finishing on a long Post Punk dirge. A difficult band to pin down, but I think Bloody Head may have just stolen their thunder tonight! 7/10.

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TV CRIME

Offering a slight breather in the running order was Nottingham based TV Crime, who were the most (and arguably only) melodic band of the evening. They certainly continued the theme of having a raw Garage Rock sound (or perhaps that is just the way bands sound at Islington Mill?) But TV Crime also sported a Slacker Indie Rock style, reminding me of bands such as Pavement, Dinosaur Jr and Parquet Courts at times, but I even heard a bit of a Buzzcocks influence too. Their sound was lead by chunky Power Pop riffs and sweeping melodic leads. Their lead vocalist had a soothing voice and their songs were fun and had a positive feel. There wasn't too much variation in their song formulas, but I think even the Extreme Metal fans seemed to really be getting down to their warm sounds. 7/10.

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EXXXEKUTIONER

Islington Mill's trapped reverb heavy sound worked wonders for Salford based Blackened Thrash Metallers Exxxekutioner. Islington Mill turned into Dracula's dungeon as the lights turned out with just a red glow creeping from the stage. A think fog of dry ice covered the whole room as the four Exxxekutioner's rose from the crypt. Lead vocalist Cliff's blood curdling blackened shrieks were terrifying and filled the room, as Ryan's lightning fast riffs pierced like daggers. The quartet blistered through a venomous and intense set, perfectly finding a meeting point between the fast aggression of Thrash and the cold misery of Black Metal. The front of the pit became a frenzy of moshing and headbanging. A cover of Celtic Frost's legendary "Into the Crypt of Rays" sealed the deal. This is the best I've heard Exxxekutioner yet and they delivered one of the best performances of the evening! 9/10.

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DESTRUCTION UNIT

Headlining band Destruction Unit have ventured all the way from Arizona, USA and they certainly have an apt band name! With 6 band members packed onto the tiny Islington Mill stage, Destruction Unit attacked the audience with 4 loud and noisy guitars all churning away in tandem! After deafening levels of noisy feedback, the drummer kicked into a fast and Hardcore influenced groove with pounding drums and choppy fills. The band's mixture of full on tremolo guitars and pedal worship created an impenetrably thick soup of chaos that actually hurt my ears even though I was wearing ear plugs!

Destruction Unit delivered a blistering set of raw and unrelenting noise that would have even made Sonic Youth push their hands to their ears! It started to feel like my head was being crushed in a vice at first, but there were parts were it also felt like my brain was being intensely massaged! Destruction Unit are almost like the antithesis of Sunn O))), achieving silly levels of loudness, but playing at breakneck speed. On the poster included inside the vinyl of their latest album "Negative Feedback Resistor" (released by Sacred Bones Records), it states "Destruction Unit have sacrificed their ears... Will you lend them yours?" This is the perfect tagline for the band, as their dedication to punishing loud noise cannot be faltered. One of the most intense and overwhelming live acts I shall ever experience! 9/10.

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GNOD

Gnoisemakers Gnod often record at Islington Mill and have something of a residency here. The multi-genre collective released one of my favourite records of 2016 so far, "Mirror", which saw them shift from a Psych/Krautrock inspired sound to full on apocalyptic Drone Rock, so I was very excited to see them obliterate the mill tonight. Coming on at 1am, to my surprise the 3-piece performed a purely Electronic set without a guitar in sight. Over the space of an hour, Gnod composed a unique single piece of music in a blackened room with black and white projector imagery and piercing strobe lights illuminating them on stage. Driven by a looping Industrial beat and Dark Ambient synthesisers, Gnod gradually built up a suffocating and Horror influenced atmosphere. Samples of laughter and creepy voices panned across the room. Gnod had a setup of drum machines, modular synth and lots of pedals as the trio stood around a large table with lots of wires covering it like moss. Occasionally one of the trio would scream into the mic and manipulate the sound into piercing feedback. As if Destruction Unit hadn't already shattered our minds into pieces, Gnod were here to vacuum up any remaining brain fragments. Their eerie droning was often hypnotic, but with so much repetition and glacial pacing, a little more variation would have made for a more interesting experience. 7/10.

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June 25th 2016 @ Islington Mill, Salford.

#342: PARQUET COURTS + HOUSEWIVES: LIVE IN MANCHESTER

HOUSEWIVES

Opening for Parquet Courts tonight at Manchester Gorilla was a mysterious London based quartet named Housewives (in actuality an all male band). The band members walked onto the Gorilla stage with as much darkness as possible. Their vocalist opened up the set with the droning sound of the didgeridoo, as a guitarist and a man on electronic pads began to envelop the sold out crowd in a blanket of noisy feedback. Haunting, eerie electronics began to shake and rumble the room, making Gorilla seem even darker than what it was. A sinister atmosphere fell over Manchester as the band's sound escalated in dissonance. The man playing the didgeridoo soon swapped it for a guitar. Minimal pounding drums erupted from out of nowhere with rumbling sub bass and strobe lightning kicking in too. The guitarist jammed a single repetitive atonal drone riff, as the Electronics seemed to weave in and out. All of these elements combined to create a dizzying and nauseating effect, but in a sadistically enjoyable way!

Housewives soon transitioned into (ever so slightly) more accessible territory with a scatty Post-Punk riff sounding like Joy Division if they were playing out of tune guitars. Their guitarist and vocalist added super tripped out, reverb heavy vocals with a demanding, almost aggressive force behind them. Indecipherable yells filled the room in a cavernous manner. The guitarist started scraping his guitar with a drumstick, as the drummer played a robotic pounding riff on a rather minimalist drum kit (I'm not sure if there were even any cymbals). It was hard to tell if there were multiple songs being played or one giant continuous behemoth, as there were no breaks in the performance and they didn't communicate verbally with the crowd. Not that any of this mattered as I found myself deeply immersed in the sounds and intense atmosphere they were creating. Housewives gradually began to slow down and release the intensity a little, transitioning into a droning and hypnotic sphere. I closed my eyes to take in the music even more and it was a truly ethereal experience. In a further display of their oddness, the guitarist and vocalist then whipped out a saxophone because, why the hell not!?

I think that Housewives might not have struck a chord with everyone in the crowd, considering they are completely different to the headlining band, but the crowd response was a very positive one and I think people's minds would have been blown tonight like mine was. Housewives took the sonic freeform of PIL, the pounding repetition of Can and the scatty Avant Garde experimentation of This Heat, channeled into something new and fresh. One of the most intense performances I have seen in recent times that even threatened to outshine headliners Parquet Courts! 9/10.

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PARQUET COURTS

Hot off their 5th album "Human Performance", Manchester was treated to their very own human performance as the quartet took the stage. Considering the new album cover has the words "HUM it PERFectly MANCunian" stylised on it, I got the impression that New Yorkers Parquet Courts were happy to play in Manchester. They kicked straight into "Dust" with real enthusiasm... Well as enthusiastic as Slacker Indie Rock bands get of course! Their long haired guitarist doubled up with one hand strumming the guitar and another played a one handed melody on a nearby keyboard. A lot of their songs are pretty short, which gave them the freedom to belt through lots of their songs, performing practically everything off their fantastic new album, with oldies mixed in too.

I didn't quite expect it, but the sold out Gorilla crowd tonight seemed to mistake Parquet Courts for Slayer, as I was swept into a really brutal and painful moshpit that seemed to last for most of their performance. Even during the slower, more languidly paced songs, people seemed to want to mosh which kind of took the piss, but okay! I spent most of the show getting fucked up right at the front being pushed, pulled and squeezed into the stage, occasionally spilling onto it! For the most part Parquet Courts brought a true Punk Rock energy to the show, sounding louder, noisier and faster than on the records during their more aggro driven songs. In particular finale "Sunbathing Animal" was a wash of noisy, angular guitars with constant ranting vocals spewing over the top. I never realised just from listening to the albums, but both guitarists and their bassist not only come together to perform vocals, but will take in turns to take the leads on each song. 

A huge highlight for me was one of the more chilled out songs from the new album, "One Man, No City", driven by twanging Post Punk guitars with call and response vocals. Each splendid verse bled into Velvet Underground meets Sonic Youth style tangents of meandering guitar solos that jangled in and out of discordance. The title track of the new album was as close to a flag waving anthem as this band gets, with majestic, soaring vocals that erupt into a loud, shouty chorus! The robotic Funk of "I Was Just Here" took their show into a quirky direction that matched the group's good humour inbetween songs.

There is something refreshing about the way Parquet Courts play with half the band giving it a lively Punk welly, and the other two in more of a laid back stance. But I guess it perfectly encapsulates two worlds of Punk Rock and Slacker Indie meeting, shaking hands and then enjoying a drink at the bar together. The whole show was a real knockout, with me and most of the crowd leaving drenched in sweat and spilled beer. 9/10.

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June 18th 2016 @ Gorilla, Manchester.

#341: ACxDC: POWERVIOLENCE! GRIND! HARDCORE! ALLDAYER - LIVE IN MANCHESTER

In the same week that AC/DC performed with Axl Rose at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, US Hardcore legends ACxDC played Rebellion Manchester with a whopping 9 bands in support from all over the UK. With the price of only £7 for 10 bands, I feel like I underpaid to see so many fine quality bands. In contrast it would probably have cost 10 times this amount to see the real AC/DC!

Many people in the Extreme Metal scene and perhaps beyond will certainly have heard of the Temples Festival incident. Temples Festival was due to be running at the exact same time in Bristol, but was abruptly cancelled less than a week before it even began! Not only did this leave gig goers potentially with transport tickets and booked hotels that they were unable to get refunded at such short notice, but a lot of bands travelling from all over the world were left without a major platform to showcase their music. I'm not going to go too much into how it all happened, but thankfully promoters all across Britain worked their socks off night and day to make sure the majority of the touring bands had new gigs to play. Musicians in the underground music scene do not earn a comfortable living, and so the loss of playing at a packed out Festival could have been catastrophic. It was such a sight to see the Metal community pull together, with promoters and bands working tirelessly together to make sure all these bands had a stage to play on. And I hear that most of the travelling bands indeed got sorted in the end, even if it was a complete last minute job.

Winds of Genocide and Geist were both added to this bill at the zero hour. The show was originally billed to take place at the nearby Retro Bar, but ended up taking place at Rebellion after two different promoters pulled together to make the best of a bad situation. But anyway that's enough backstory, here's how the bands got on...

PIVORAPIST

Don't be too alarmed by their band name, as apparently it just means the band like to drink loads of Pivo Beer... Okay some alarm may be required! Pivorapist opened a fast and furious all-dayer in style. Self described as a Porno/Goregrind band, this automatically makes them a love it or hate it kind of act. Their music is obviously very tongue in cheek and those who have a very sick sense of humour will probably already own their entire discography!

Rebellion saw a strong crowd pouring in from the very start as Pivorapist shred through a set of one dimensional Death-Grind with a mixture of pig grunting vocals and growls that sounded like the lead vocalist was trying to regurgitate his breakfast! Their songs were all kind of a blur with very little variety, but the performance itself had a lot of passion and some mild intensity. In particular their drummer (who also plays guitar in Gorehead) looked exhausted by the end after a constant display of blastbeats nearly wore him down. Gorehead's lead vocalist and guitarist joined them on stage for a song about "Japanese women shitting on each other" for one of the standouts of their set. Despite any real memorable riffs or moments, Pivorapist still gave it a lot of welly, had people laughing and were just plain sick, twisted, demented and silly fun! 7/10.

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BRAINSHIT

To me, Brainshit is what happens when I have to get up a 7am to go to work on a Monday morning and I'm so tired I can't figure out which direction the alarm clock is beeping from! But for this Manchester duo, Brainshit is a super aggressive Powerviolence inspired band with just a drummer and a guitarist. I've heard a lot about this duo tearing a new sinkhole into Manchester, so I was very glad to see them at last! Brainshit's music is very playful but also very tense. They can be play a sweet, slow as fuck Sludge riff one moment, and then out of nowhere break into lightning fast Grindcore riffs, even if it's just for 10 seconds. Brainshit don't do formulaic music and were consistently unpredictable on stage. They have some very short songs, which gave their set a frantic stop/start energy that would throw the moshers off. I could only stand in true awe as I watched a relentlessly blistering set of supremely noisy and brash riffs. Drummer Jon especially looked like he had a full workout on the kit, also adding vocals. This duo are very tight and both share a fantastic vision of their music. If only Slap-A-Ham Records still existed! By the end of their set, Jon had beaten the shit out of his cymbals so hard they ended up shattering! The All-Dayer just went next level! 9/10.

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GOREHEAD

Manchester locals Gorehead play old school brutal Death Metal the right way! Their performance was chock full of technically proficient riffs and a dense, heavy sound with plenty of aggression. I've seen Gorehead a few times now and they seem to get better and better each time. Whilst their take on Death Metal isn't exactly full of originality (this also applies to 95% of modern Death Metal bands), they do nostalgia exceptionally well. You'll hear influences of Death and Obituary, with elements of early Sepultura and Entombed thrown in too. The last time I saw Gorehead, their guitarist and vocalist Luch was bound to sitting down on stage after suffering an injury. Tonight he made a great recovery and I have to say that Gorehead have comeback extremely well because this was the best I've heard them yet! 9/10.

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WOLFBASTARD

Wolfbastard are a Manchester based Blackened Crust Punk band who have been gathering a lot of momentum in the local scene. They share band members with one of Manchester's favourite Black Metal bands Burial. Wolfbastard's songs are a little more immediate than their blackened brothers, and pack a real punch. They have a knack of taking Punky Motorhead-esque riffs and dragging them through a muddy forest and then smashing them on the concrete, so that they come out agonised and filthy. Wolfbastard ripped through a high energy set of Satanic hate fuelled carnage, and in particular their vocalist Joe expressed so much passion and enthusiasm for his craft. Because I'm a huge Black Metal fan, their more Blackened leaning songs stood out to me more. One song had a vintage Darkthrone vibe, with a cold and eerie riff creeping through. They tried out an especially brutal new song which went down well, but who could deny the no nonsense horrors of their vile anthem "Sick In the Bath"!? 8/10.

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DEAD MOON LIZARD KINGS

Rebellion Manchester is usually no stranger to Doom, Sludge and Stoner bands, but today it had shifted over to the Star & Garter down the road where Bongripper were headlining a show. A day of fast bands was a more than welcome change, but they did manage to squeeze one slower band into the mix. Dead Moon Lizard Kings hail from Middlesbrough, and whilst they definitely expressed a Psychedelic/Stoner Rock sound, I could also hear faint Hardcore influences in their sound too. Particularly their energetic and animated frontman Metal Dan who had a shrill bark to his vocals that made me think of bands like Helmet and Drive Like Jehu.

Unfortunately for Dead Moon Lizard Kings, it felt like the odds were stacked against them tonight. Whilst this gig started with a very strong crowd, at this point of the day some Metalheads did start leaving to get to the Bongripper show where local favourites Boss Keloid were kickstarting their evening. Maybe it was because they were sandwiched between lots of fast bands, but the band seemed to be sapped of energy, with riffs that plodded along. I noticed that there were sadly more people outside in the smoking area than there were watching the band, leading to a deflated energy in the room. Even more disappointing for Dead Moon Lizard Kings was that their frontman Metal Dan was clearly very unwell, and just 2 songs in he ended up puking up on stage. Though I have to give him props because he soldiered on painfully through the whole set and he was by far the most animated man on the stage. In particular the bassist and guitarist looked very static and fed up whilst playing, with very limp backing vocals adding no extra impact. They did finish on what I thought was by far their best track, a self titled anthem, but this track seemed to just go on and on and on... I ended up getting bored of it by the end!

This was my first time hearing Dead Moon Lizard Kings and maybe the whole touring and Temples fiasco had got to them, because their set lacked enthusiasm. At least I can say the vocalist gave it his all, when they could have easily just pulled out of the show. Perhaps they would have went down better at the Bongripper show to a more like-minded crowd? Who knows, but I think even the band knew themselves that this wasn't their day. 5/10.

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BOYCOTT THE BAPTIST

Boycott the Baptist are a Powerviolence/Grindcore duo consisting of a guitarist and drummer, with both members delivering aggressive dual attack vocals... If you think this sounds exactly how I described Brainshit earlier in the show, well it is! The two bands are remarkably similar, but I am just happy to hear some Powerviolence on the go, as it seems to be a largely ignored sound in the UK (though to be fair even at its peak, PV was a shortlived and deeply underground sound). If Brainshit and Boycott the Baptist were to have a race though, I think Boycott would win as they managed to squeeze even more songs into their set, with a couple lasting maybe a second or two long, recalling Napalm Death's infinite classic "You Suffer (But Why)". 

Boycott the Baptist had an insanely loud and chunky guitar sound, making the lack of a bassist a moot point! After a bit of a lull from the previous band, Boycott managed to get all the smokers ploughing into the room and the place went mental! Boycott are very good at what they do, with an insane chemistry between these two nuns. "Ray Winstone Can Sit On My Face" was a 30 second blur of noisy grind, whilst a song about skating pulled off an old school Hardcore sound. 1 second wonders "What!?" and "The Happy Birthday Song", left the crowd in stitches. "Fuck Off Trump" appropriately sent the crowd into a violent moshing frenzy, whilst "Yoko Oh No" raged against conceptual art! But the standout for me was "Eels Up Inside You" which was not only hilarious to sing along to, but actually recalled the proper PV legends such as Crossed Out and Spazz! Boycott the Baptist played so ferociously that sound crew and audience members were frequently having to help pick up fallen mic stands and fix broken drum parts! The end result was a brutal, beautiful and hilarious blur of lightning fast aggression that seemed to be over way to soon. True Hardcore in all it's glory! 9/10.

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GEIST

Hailing from the North East of England, Geist ripped through a set of belting Hardcore with more of an emphasis on melody than some of their peers today. Geist delivered a high energy set chock full of hard hitting bass, Sludgy toned Hardcore riffs and insane blasting drums. Their lead vocalist came into the pit to scream his head off. In particular a really fast brand new song captivated the crowd, whilst an older song off their EP combined Isis-esque Sludge riffs that gradually escalated back into Hardcore. Geist's sound very much reminded me of Converge, and since they are one of my all time favourite bands, that is a high compliment. Yet I would also like to hear something that is truly theirs! 8/10.

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WINDS OF GENOCIDE

From the moment I first heard the vocals of Kat Shevil I was completely knocked back! Kat's death growls are some of the most powerful, forceful, aggressive and straight up brutal I have ever heard! Of course the whole band produced a similar force of power too, playing fast Punky Death Metal with some Blackened elements cropping up too. Winds of Genocide are heavily influenced by the D-Beat sound (think Discharge, Amebix, Disfear etc.) but I think the band showed a lot more versatility in their sound tonight. In particular the bassist was playing fast, complex scales and alongside the crunchy, bowel churning guitar chaos, their sound was a constant force of lightning fast motion. Geist's vocalist Ian proved himself to be multi-talented as he stepped onto drums for this band. Winds of Genocide is an appropriate name because their music hits you like a hurricane. Vocalist Kat poured so much passion and was possessed on stage like an older Regan from The Exorcist. Highlights from their set included the super fast "Nuclear Winter", and the old school vibes of "In the Shadow of the Sign of Death". I'm amazed the Rebellion stage was still standing after this onslaught! 8/10.

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BOAK

As more Metalheads started to pour in from the Bongripper show that had just finished, they were treated to one of the best band's of the day. After the slumberous riffs of Bongripper, Aberdeen's Boak must have been a jarring turn, as they were one of the fastest band's on the bill tonight. With a strong Grindcore/PV leaning, Boak tore through a relentless set full of very short, very fast and completely mental songs. The trio were just a blur of sheer noise and violent playing that never let up. The triple threat were completely in tune with each other, and the only times the velocity of their playing slowed down was to throw in some very brief Sludgy riffs, before erupting back into full on blasts and demented screams. This was a concise set of blistering Hardcore done the right way, making Boak the perfect way to lead into headliners ACxDC. 9/10.

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ACxDC

I'm going to put it straight to you... From the moment ACxDC hit the stage and started playing I was so lost in their performance that I forgot to even write down any notes. I believe one of the Rebellion bar staff did have to mop up the copious amounts of drool from my open jaw that flooded the floor! US Powerviolence revivalists ACxDC have a solid reputation built before them, and it's no wonder when they can turn up and play such blistering sets like they did tonight. There was barely any breaks between the songs or moments to catch your breathe as ACxDC pounded their way through what must have been about 50 lightning fast songs barely crossing the 30 second mark. Their musicianship was second to none, and full of so much genuine passion. So many insanely satisfying riffs, pounding drums that threatened to break the kit, and raw vocals that cut like a knife and tore down the walls. Their sound was particularly dense and suffocating, and yet there was something truly beautiful about their performance. After their set had finished crowdgoers demanded an encore. The guys also stuck around for most of the day, selling their own merch and taking time to chat to fans. Simply one of the greatest Hardcore acts around today and a very worthy way to end such a fantastic and exhausting day! Hardcore perfection from true legends! 10/10.

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June 5th 2016 @ Rebellion Manchester.