The 1975 - November 28th, 2015 - The Academy, Manchester (Concert Review)

Feeling the desire to hop on a plane again, I decided on November 27^th to book a flight and headed off to the airport about 6 hours later at 4AM on Saturday, November 28^th, to get transferred over to Manchester where The 1975 were scheduled to play their sold out hometown show.

After a couple of hours in the city center, exploring the alleys and browsing through the Arndale, I went to check out the sight of the venue and wasn't exactly surprised when I saw a whole lot of people already lining up at the doors of it. Some had even been camping out there since the day before. While I used to do my fair share of waiting in a queue all day for gigs in the past, I will never understand how people manage to actually camp outside the venue, especially during cold winter months. That's dedication, I guess … with a certain amount of insanity. Considering that this certain band has already sold out the Apollo thrice for their future tour in March 2016, the insanity seemed a little more appropriate considering their popularity in their home country.

Doors opened at 7PM and the process went by rather fast to my own fascination. The queue at that point went down Oxford Road, all the way down to the University of Manchester and probably even further. It was mental.

After another half an hour outside, I finally managed to make my way into the Academy and after giving my belongings away at the cloak room, I placed myself rather in the back with enough room around me to dance and a proper view to the stage.

As support act, RatBoy [3] got chosen and while the choice seemed logical, it didn't throw me off the rails. Some songs had rather interesting instrumental parts and arrangements, but I didn't really get into it all that much. Unlike the crowd around me of which quite a percentage even knew the lyrics to the songs that got played.

45 minutes later, the band left the stage again, the crowd got blinded with bright lights instead and the changeover of the stage was happening in disguise.

The tension in the venue got close to unbearable and the screams got louder and louder by the minute. Finally, The 1975 [10] hit the stage with Love Me, their first song to have gotten released from their upcoming record I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It (What a title, guys). The second the track started, the whole crowd exploded with joy. What an unreal moment to experience. But also, the second it all began, the stage light installation (by Tobias Rylander) instantly consumed you and goosebumps rushed all over your body. The combination of this artistic use of lights and the feeling the music by these British fellows gives you is such a unique feeling, it's unexplainable.

There was nobody standing still. Everybody danced. Everybody sang along. Everybody enjoyed themselves to the fullest. It was purely beautiful.

Without hesitation, Heart Out started and the party kept rolling. One of the many highlights of the light show was during The City when the whole setup looked like White Noise on a TV screen and the band members were nothing but mere silhouettes moving in front of the screens, producing one of the most gorgeous images I ever got to see.

(Picture by Phoebe Dalton)

With HNSCC, the band took a short break and the room quieted down to take a breath and fuel up on energy again of what was to come.

The vibe though didn't die down as they hit the stage again with Menswear and then presented the crowd with two of their unreleased songs from ILIWYSFYASBYSAOI (… wow …) called Change of Heart and She's American.

For the next song, frontman Matty Healy asked everybody in the room to put away their phones and just listen and connect with everybody for the next five minutes, to live in the moment and experience it all together, which was an amazing act seeing as 98% of the crowd actually participated and the atmosphere got created perfectly for the heavy and nostalgic Me.

With another ballad called fallingforyou, the band further showed their softer side to the crowd and engaged everybody in their performance as it got more and more hauntingly beautiful.

After thanking the crowd for their consideration and participation in the no-phones-rule, the party opened up again with Somebody Else, another unreleased song, and probably my favorite. With another new song called The Sound, the whole room jumped at the order of Healy when the 'breakdown' of the song kicked in.

Another short interlude, An Encounter, later, the beloved Robbers got its show time and then got closed off with one of their many huge hits called Girls.

The band left the stage for a bit to then reappear with the most gorgeous lighting to guide them through Medicine. Not gonna lie, the pure beauty of it all, visuals and music combined in such a way, made me tear up a bit.

Obviously they couldn't leave the stage without their two biggest songs, Chocolate and Sex, and the room exploded once more. Or as Healy demanded: Go fuckin' mental!

Without any exaggeration whatsoever, the current show by The 1975 is the most gorgeous, all-consuming and enjoyable around these days. There is absolutely no doubt about that. I see about 300 gigs every year, and this one was the best one of 2015. The hometown factor definitely added to it all as Healy talked a lot about Manchester during the show, but even without it, it would have been the most beautiful thing.

Huge, huge shout-out to Tobias Rylander for the creation of this light installation because without it, the gig would still have been amazing, but not as hauntingly beautiful and overwhelming as it is now, incorporating The 1975's old aesthetic with three frames above the stage and the new with the screens in the background.

This is art.

Here's the full setlist:

Love Me

Heart Out

Settle Down

So Far (It's Alright)

The City

You

HNSCC (played from tape)

Menswear

Change of Heart

She's American

Me

fallingforyou

Somebody Else

The Sound

An Encounter (played from tape)

Robbers 

Girls

Medicine

Chocolate

Sex

The 1975 will be back in the UK in March and will tour Europe in April, as well as several festival appearances following that. Check all dates, including for North America in May, on their site: |x|

I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It will be released on February 26^th, 2016, pre-order it now!

Cheerio xx

The Neighbourhood - November 17th, 2015 - Gloria Theater, Cologne (Concert Review)

Long overdue but about three weeks ago, on November 17^th, I spontaneously hopped on a train to Cologne to see The Neighbourhood at the sold out Gloria Theater. Let me tell you one thing straight ahead, they made it worth it all.

When I got to the venue at around 5:30PM, there was already a huge line of girls queueing to get into the venue. Occasional screams echoed down the street whenever the door of the tour bus, parked right in front of the building, opened and someone hopped in or out of it. 

The point the doors opened at 7PM, the girls went utterly mad and started sprinting towards the entrance. It was quite a sight.

Once inside, there wasn't much time left till the support act would hit the stage since going into the venue took ages. If that was due to security staff being overwhelmed with their duty or the girls being too impatient and interfering with their work is hard to tell, it was probably a lot of both.

Tunji Ige [6], a rapper from Pennsylvania, had quite a hard time getting to the crowd who were only interacting with the artist for the most part whenever he mentioned the headliner band. Nonetheless, some of his tracks got the room to jump along and dance for a while, but only for a short amount of time. After about 30 minutes, he and his accompanying DJ leave the stage again to make way for the main act.

As the stage gets prepared, not much has to get changed and it all remains pretty much the same. There's no back drop. No extensive lights. No huge production. All things viewable are the instruments and a couple of mics. Minimalism and simplicity as we know it from The Neighbourhood guys.

The Neighbourhood [9] open with the thundering intro of Ferrari, a new track from their just recently released record Wiped Out! (you can check out my review of it here: |x| ), but don't got further into the song than that and instead smoothly go into What Do You Want From Me.

The show gets played with hardly any talk sequences in between, which is much to my personal liking as the whole performance seems a lot smoother due to that. All tracks flow smoothly into each other and trap you further in their haunting and mezmerizing performance, no matter if they go from a more playful Prey into a slow Baby Came Home, or back from Daddy Issues into a more upbeat Female Robbery.

There's a bigger rumble of dislike going through the crowd as the band gets to the experimental and instrumental part of Wiped Out!, I personally loved that certain part the most as the focus is solely on the music and the track is also one of my favorites off of that new record.

As it has to be, Sweater Weather found a place in the setlist, too, as the second to last song. The crowd goes mental to the band's biggest hit up-to-date. No matter what though, it is a solid track and it is after all what brought them to a bigger audience. It is also clear that the most part of the people that night were only waiting for this to be played.

Despite that, they decided to go out with another bang instead of letting Sweater Weather fade and close up their show with RIP 2 My Youth.

A special shout out at this point to the band's FOH guy and light engineer because the sound and visuals were nothing short of stunning, working perfectly well with the band's concept of minimalism.

Here is the complete setlist:

Ferrari Intro

W.D.Y.W.F.M.

Let It Go

Wires

Prey

Baby Came Home

Afraid

Daddy Issues

Female Robbery

The Beach

Wiped Out!

Warm

Sweater Weather

RIP 2 My Youth

Personally, from their debut I Love You, Staying Up was definitely missing, and as far as their newest record is concerned, I would've loved to hear Cry Baby and Single. But the show was beautiful nevertheless, worth the travel and surely worth experiencing again.

The Neighbourhood will be back in Germany in March 2016 for their Underwatour, check their website for all tour dates: |x|

Listen to their latest release Wiped Out! on Spotify and buy it at a record store near you!

Cheerio xx

The Neighbourhood - Wiped Out (Record Review)

Starting by taking 'A Moment Of Silence' a little too literal, they manage to put an odd twist on the whole record already by something so simple. Easing us further into their usual laidback atmosphere with the previously released track 'Prey' and the ride through their universe begins. With 'Cry Baby' the atmosphere gets a bit more haunting and soulful and then transcends into the surprisingly faster, yet 6 minute long, title track 'Wiped Out!'. If you still don't feel like lying on the beach at the West Coast by the end of that, you might just not be listening close enough. Slowing the process down with 'The Beach' again, which was also released previously, they set the next stone for this journey to get in an even darker, spacier mood with 'Daddy Issues'. It might just be me, but I'm also getting Portishead and Puscifer vibes, especially from that certain track. Another track lasting over six minutes is 'Baby Came Home 2 / Valentines', though the second half mainly consists of a big instrumental part leading into 'Greetings From Califournia' which takes you exactly where it's greeting from. Unlike 'Ferrari'. Which sounds more like it got sent from outerspace than any part of the US. 'Single', being a personal favorite, puts you back at the beach with both feet buried deep in the sand Ending with the previously released 'RIP 2 My Youth' they close with what could be considered a proper banger considering their general style.

It's perfect to listen to on a long journey. When you do nothing but lie in your bed, relaxing with your eyes closed. Staring out the window on a rainy day. Simply, to completely annihilate your surroundings and taking your mind on a trip.

It's mesmerizing.

It's a drug for your thoughts.

Overall: 9/10

Favorite track(s): Single, RIP 2 My Youth, Prey, Cry Baby

Cheerio xx

5 Seconds of Summer - Sounds Good Feels Good (Record Review)

Constantly being in the media these days with basically everything you could think of, it's hard to not notice that these four Australian guys just released their sophomore record.

5 Seconds of Summer have been in the talk of basically everybody, no matter good or bad. Getting stamped off as a boy-band early in the days due to them doing several tours with One Direction. Quite frankly, it didn't shine the best light on them for a certain amount of time, but their latest release will show you the opposite once you plug it in your headphones to give it a chance.

All of the songs sound absolutely massive and a major reason for that is probably how the whole thing got produced by big names such as John Feldmann (Goldfinger), who has previously been a huge influence on record to bands such as All Time Low and The Used.

Having the support of not only him and ATL, but also other artists such as Good Charlotte, State Champs, Fall Out Boy and many others who have voiced their approval of them has helped them to gain a certain level of appreciation among other artists. GC being also massively involved in the recording of Sounds Good Feels Good is something you can definitely hear in many parts of it all.

Generally speaking, there are a lot of different factors why those guys have evolved so much considering song writing, lyrics, stage performance and general movement in the business.

Those guys know how grand their following of young (female) fans is and instead of continuing to write about only 'girl meets boy' stories, as they did for the most part on their debut, they actually use the power they have over their crowd.

By approaching subjects such as parental divorce, mental health issues and loneliness, they show that it's okay to not be okay. Having grown up and being discovered in the new age, they know what this generation is currently going through, being part of it themselves. Gaining their first fame through YouTube and having such a widespread social media accessibility, they know what it is like to get ripped apart on the web by millions of other people from a very young age on.

We've all seen it happening before with bands like Papa Roach who addressed similar things on their debut Infest and who were unquestionably one of the bigger bands in their era. While for that generation it was mainly Nu-Metal to talk about these problems in their songs, right now, these guys are the leaders of it. And they embrace it by calling it 'The New Broken Scene', being aware of their possible influence on kids these days.

Putting the ballads aside, 5 Seconds of Summer also have a proper amount of arena anthems piled up on Sounds Good Feels Good. Especially in songs such as 'Permanent Vacation' (which sounds awfully similar to Sum-41, nobody can deny that), 'Hey Everybody', 'Safety Pin', 'Castaway' or 'San Francisco', you can hear the influences and examples they've taken from bands like Panic! At The Disco and All Time Low (and even a bit of Brand New). There's also a very intense Fall Out Boy vibe going on for the most part of the record with chants in almost every song, using all four of their voices in their favor for it, making sure to incorporate the crowds into their upcoming live performances.

Instrumentally, it's out of question that these guys have come a long way from what they used to create. There's even a guitar solo, or two, included.
To pick up on something previously stated, the songs manage to sound ridiculously massive by including a big variety of instruments which are only minimalistic-ally used though. This is foremost prominent in 'Invisible', 'San Francisco' and 'Outer Space'. Undeniably, they had a lot of helping hands, but the fact that they managed to write this kind of music despite that, at such a considerably young age is certainly an achievement to be proud of.

Personally, the thing that bugs me the most about it is the track listing. To have it start with a bunch of upbeat and motivational songs, to then fall into this depth of ballads, one after another, is quite the downer. While it still gets a little more exciting every now and then, it doesn't flow through all too well. This is no criticism of the songs itself, but the placement of them on the list. Once I gave it another listen on shuffle though, it felt a lot more natural. There might be a concept behind it all as to why they chose this exact track listing, but as for now, that is unknown and I rather make up my own.

But as it always is with music, everybody interprets it in a different way and has an own reason and meaning to find in it.

Is it pop punk now?

Not really.

It's 5 Seconds of Summer and that's really all it needs to be.

Well done.

Overall: 8/10

Favorite track(s): Jet Black Heart, Castaway

Cheerio xx

State Champs - Around The World And Back (Record Review)

Having anticipated its release ever since Secrets got released, I finally managed to give the new State Champs record a proper listen. Going in with certain expectations of the guys, I get a little lost at the fact that I hear nothing all too new in any of the tracks. But then again, it’s not like there always has to be something ‚new’ about a band whenever they come back with ‚new’ music.

Generally speaking, if you look at State Champs’ past releases, you get exactly what you can expect from these guys. But better. While ‚The Finer Things’ was an already well-rounded Pop Punk record from one of the US’ finest exports in said genre, ‚Around The World And Back’ is still an improvement to it. With a few special highlights, such as the anthem that is ‚Secrets’, the thundering (as far as you can go to describe something pop punk as thundering) chorus of ‚All You Are Is History’, the resolve to the calmer things with the title track and the perfectly chosen outro track ‚Tooth & Nail’ to finish it all up.

Personally, I can hear a lot of similarities to All Time Low strike in certain songs. Especially so in ‚Losing Myself’ and ‚All Or Nothing’. Which is not a bad thing at all though. It’s simply soaked with sources of inspiration and shows how they managed to transform and include those into their very own style.

While the lyrical content doesn’t impress me much, Derek’s voice makes up for it straight away, being one of my favorites across the genre.

Having been on tour with the likes of All Time Low and 5 Seconds of Summer in the past year, playing to huge crowds every night, these guys are gaining popularity like crazy these days. This record will only increase that matter with its ability to put you straight back to summer with its vibe, despite its autumn release and their upcoming winter tours.

Check out their next tour dates on their facebook page and make sure to roll over to one of their gigs if you got the opportunity to do so. As much as you might be impressed by them on record, get ready for their rise and their tremendous live performance.

Favorite track(s): Secrets, All You Are Is History, Around The World And Back

Overall: 7/10

Cheerio xx

Bring Me The Horizon - That's The Spirit (Record Review)

Basically, throughout the first listening of the new record, you'll be asking yourself the same questions: "Is this still BMTH?"

The answer is, yes. Well, obviously. But it's simply such a typical thing you can expect from a big part of the audience. Whenever bands release a new record that differs immensely from their previous music, people will roar up with things such as: "I want |insert band name| back! What is this?! This is not them anymore!"
Sorry to disappoint, but that is literally them. The same people making music together and releasing it to the world because they're proud of what they've created. Just think of it as a new evolution. Think of them as Pokémon. Go from Magikarp to Gyarados, it's not like you expected that dull little orange fish to turn into this huge monster, did yah? (this is not a direct reference ... obviously they weren't dull before) Or ... go for Eevee. Depending on what stone you give it, you'll get a completely new development.

Anyway, this certainly is a whole new chapter musically for these British guys and it's gonna raise a lot of controversy in their fanbase, that's for sure.

Considering their song releases previous to the record, you could already shape the whole thing in your head pretty well. It's exactly what you expected, probably, if you followed them up to this release. A lot of songs have the same vibe and it certainly got a good ounce more pop. Pretty sure that Happy Song is their heaviest track on the album.

Is it weird? Surely.
Is it bad? Not at all.

Of course, not everybody will be into their new style, but to dismiss it because they took a different turn would be a foolish thing to do.

Personally, I do like the path into the pop/electronica direction, but I would've liked it a little more driven and pumped. The strongest aspect of That's The Spirit, to me, are the lyrics. While it's instrumentally new and fresh for them, there's not much that stands out in particular. But, e.g., Throne is such a strong and powerful song, despite its relatively redundant music. Yeah, yeah, we all got it now, we knot it. It sounds like Linkin Park. It's still a rad song.

Catch the guys on tour later this year, together with PVRIS and Neck Deep (UK only), and Beartooth (Europe only). If you miss this phenomenal line up, then ... well ... you're missing out big time.

Check their site for more info and ticket links.

Overall: 7/10

Favorite track(s): Happy Song, Blasphemy

Cheerio xx

Five Finger Death Punch - Got Your Six (Record Review)

Starting off with some extra info: Got Your Six is Five Finger's fifth (or sixth, if you count the latest releases as two individuals) record within just 8 years! You would think that, considering the time period and the amount of material they've put out that it'd feel like a burn out rather soon. But Five Finger found their own sound and path rather soon in their career and they continously grow bigger with every record. 

Got Your Six instantly reassures you of the band you're listening to with the first sound. There is no doubt that Five Finger are back yet again. It's nothing but pure hard rock, a quality one at that.
The previously released Jekyll & Hyde had already given a little bit of insight as to how the rest of the record might turn out, but as you listen to the title track, you know exactly what you're in for.
Every Five Finger fan knows the band's groove and sound and these guys deliver with each riff and rhythm they create.
While it's generally the same drift as always thoughout the whole thing, there are definitely a few special highlights. Such as Wash It All Away, during which you can hear and feel singer Ivan Moody just throw a huge ''fuck you'' out for the media and people who drag him through the dirt in the press, amongst others. Or Hell To Pay, which has a definite huge crowd moving riff from the very beginning and gets you instantly stoked to experience this monster of an album live. A personal favorite is This Is My War. That song will sound absolutely phenomenal in arenas, so I'm really hoping it'll make it onto their future setlist for their upcoming European / UK Tour.

All around, it could use the loss of a song or two, but, none the less, Five Finger delivered a splendid record once more. It's heavy. It's got the usual groove. It will make you want to tear down walls. It will certainly make you move.

Check their website for all their upcoming tour dates and make sure to check those guys out live, because, trust me, as big as they sound on record ... live, they will blow you away. 

Overall: 9/10
Favorite track(s): Hell To Pay, This Is My War

Cheerio xx

Halsey - Badlands (Record Review)

I haven’t been too big of a fan of anything Halsey has done so far, so I was rather interested to check out Badlands considering the praise she gets online these days. To my own surprise, Castle is quite intruding to me and certainly already starts to drown everything I first thought of her.
While I really do enjoy her voice, I’m not too sure as to how much I dig the music behind it all. Her lyrics seem very thought through and creative with a wide vocabulary, yet the first three tracks sound very similar to each other, e.g.

She knows exactly what she wants to bring across and say with her songs, but I’m still not over the fact as to how ... not different it all sounds. Surely, she has her own sound and you can easily tell her apart from other artists, but the record in itself is not setting itself above anything. Colors is a piece that finally gets a bit over the rest of it and manages to at least keep me interested enough to not stop at this point but actually finish the record properly. Luckily enough, Coming Down keeps sparking interest and shows that Halsey doesn’t necessarily stick to the same vibes over and over again, despite what the first songs implied (maybe just unhappy placement). The further the record proceeds the happier I am that I kept on listening cause some proper gems show up out of the dark, such as Haunting with its endearing rhythm yet calming aura.

Towards the end though, the hopes that got built up, all drop down again as the last couple of songs don’t impress much once more.

While I get how Halsey speaks to a lot of people, girls in particular, of the younger generation, I don’t feel that Badlands is as much of a huge differential record as it gets praised for (at least from what I've seen on the web). Without trying to bash her, I'm just not sure if I simply have very high expectations and easily get bored, or if it isn’t for me in general. None the less, I do appreciate her persona and what she stands for, plus I do enjoy a few of her songs and will probably continue to check out anything she releases in the future. But this record won't be in my Top Album countdown of 2015.

Overall: 6/10

Favorite track(s): Castle, Colors, Haunting

Cheerio xx

Ghost - Meliora (Record Review)

If anybody had any doubt that Ghost might not deliver with this record, they instantly get proven wrong as soon as Spirit starts. It’s an absolute fabulous intro to the record and instantly sets the familiar mood that both past records have had already. From The Pinnacle To The Pit was a bit of an unsure candidate to me, but it grows on you the more you listen to it. Cirice on the other hand had me enchanted within the first couple of seconds as soon as it got released. Same case happened once more with He Is, the first few sounds already pull you into their spell and the love for Meliora keeps growing bigger the further through the record you get.
For some reason though, there is a real hype happening around Mummy Dust which I don’t really get. While it is musically / instrumentally pleasing, Papa’s parts seem to be lacking some special spark.  
Apart from that little downfall, the rest of the record just keeps increasing with quality again. If you jump into it thinking that Spirit is amazing, your expectations will only rise with each track. Though two (short) completely instrumental tracks don’t seem to properly fit in and look like more of a filler than anything else, they’re still puzzle pieces to the record as a whole.
The last two tracks, Absolution and Deus In Absentia, are definitely in my personal top songs and I cannot wait to experience these in a live seance at their show in December.

All in all, with Spirit and Deus In Absentia being perfectly chosen in- and outros, it is simply a very well composed record that you will not get bored of, even if you let it run through on a loop (which it does for me currently).

Check their site for upcoming dates near you and make sure to get your bums out to one of their gigs because seeing this group live is a whole different, and special, experience on its own.

Overall: 9/10

Favorite track(s): He Is, Cirice, Absolution, Deus In Absentia

Cheerio xx

Stray From The Path - Subliminal Criminals (Record Review)

The first song already throws you straight into the right line of good old Stray material again. With its siren-ish guitars every now and then, it really gets you going on one hand, though it sadly feels boring after about halfway through the song. Despite that though, Outbreak pushes you back into the rails to keep going and keep on focusing.
Every song is drenched with powerful lyrics, as we know it from those guys. The collaboration with Architects’ Sam Carter is a special little treat here, unlike the rather unfitting addition of Rou Reynolds (which is just my personal opinion though, seeing as I’m not a fan of his voice nor of anything he has done with Shikari). During Shots Fired I realize once more that I’m simply not the type of person to listen to a Stray record and not get bored of it after some time. D.I.E.P.I.G. finally mixes things up a little more and pushes the bar up a bit further again. What follows isn’t outstanding once more, but Snap is a definite favorite instantly and seemed like a perfect ending to the record to me. Which is why I was rather bewildered by the fact that These Things Have To Fall Apart started instead of silence, not having read the track list thoroughly enough before apparently.


Subliminal Criminals definitely has its very high and very low points, but, as mentioned, neither of the previous records had me focused and interested all the way through, so it’s no surprise that it went the same way once more with this one.

Nevertheless, fans of Stray should be stoked with this new release by these guys from Long Island, they certainly delivered to their regular audience.
Critical, heavy, strong and groove-drenched.

Overall: 6,5/10
Favorite track(s): D.I.E.P.I.G., Snap


Cheerio xx

Pop Evil - UP (Record Review)

The new record by Michigan rockers Pop Evil starts with a rather promising (previously released) track called Footsteps that certainly raises your hopes for the vibe of the rest of it. ‚Core’ continues to give it all a certain groove and feeling, setting the stone for a rather rhythm driven album. This seems incredibly fitting for the group, considering other tracks such as Boss’ Daughter and Deal With The Devil, which are some of my personal favorites of them. Sadly though, as promising as Core sounds at first, it also gets as redundant as quickly. In Disarray doesn’t really lift the mood either. This was the second song the quintett released prior to the record drop and it hadn’t impressed me back then either.
As the album processes the whole setting of it becomes more clear. In comparison to Onyx the riffs certainly got heavier and groovier, but Leigh’s voice doesn’t seem to be able to cover these fields just as well. Though songs like Take It All, Ghost Of Muskegon (which has a bit of a NIN feeling to me, at least in the beginning) and Ways To Get High will probably deliver better live, it is all missing power on record.

When I hoped for a bang to end the album with, there are three ballads instead. Not that I’m complaining, these fit together better again than the heavier bits, but it turns the whole thing way too slow despite its jumpy and energetic start.

I still love those guys, none the less, but I maybe expected just a little more from this one in consideration of their previous record Onyx. Still interested to see how they deliver these new songs live.

They’re preparing to tour the US soon with UP, as well as supporting Theory Of A Deadman, so make sure to check their site for a date near you.

Overall: 5/10

Favorite track(s): Footsteps, Ways To Get High

Cheerio xx

Bullet For My Valentine - Venom (Record Review)

So, to say this before anything else, I've never been too big on BFMV. But when 'No Way Out' got released and I heard it on a radio show for the first time (The Pulse on Team Rock Radio, if anybody's interested, which you should all check out anyway cause it's amazing. Get the Team Rock Radio app for free for your phone and tune it at 10PM, UK time, for two hours of brilliant music. No, I'm not getting sponsored to do this, it's genuinely an ace show), I was intrigued to listen to more.

Anyway, so, seeing as I was really into that track, it felt right to check out the whole record. Wouldn't be the first time that I'd get into a band later into their discography, e.g. BMTH who I really enjoy by now.

Here we go:

V - Fitting intro to set the mood

No Way Out - Previously released track that got me interested in the first place

Army of Noise - Nice chorus, rather redundant in general though

Worthless - Such a similar start to No Way Out, all in all a lot of similarities with that song

You Want A Battle? (Here's A War) - It all just sounds incredibly the same, same vibe as Worthless again

Broken - You know a new song is starting when Matt just screams for no reason

Venom - Did the song even change …? 

The Harder The Heart (The Harder It Breaks) - A little differential finally, rather refreshing

Skin - I'm not even gonna bother with this anymore

Hell or High Water

Pariah

Playing God

Run For Your Life

In Loving Memory

Raising Hell

I'm not too sure on their latest records, though 'Temper Temper' was a proper dive into the loo, but this one is definitely just a pile of 'same old, same old'. The songs hardly differ from each other, the riffs seem the same, the tempo is always really similar to what has come before. This record is not a roller coaster ride of new music and stunning twists and turns, but a lame slide downwards. It might be cause I've never been a fan of them, but the previously released song had given me hope. Sadly, they didn't quite deliver. 

Overall: 2/10

Favorite track: No Way Out

Cheerio xx

Rockavaria - Day 3

Hatebreed – Kreator – Testament – Faith No More – Metallica

Got out to the festival area extra early to catch the set of the guys in Hatebreed [6]. Having seen them multiple times before, the set didn't swoop me off my feet. They're always fun to watch though, even if you don't know all of their songs or are generally not massively into their music, Jamey Jasta [vocalist] will animate you to jump along as he spins around the stage like a ballerina. As always, they closed with an all-time favorite of … well, of basically everybody: 'Destroy Everything'.

I'm gonna be honest right here and say that I only watched Kreator and Testament due to not wanting to give up my place in the second row for Faith No More later on. The first section of the crowd always got closed during the last two sets of the day due to reaching the limit of people to be allowed in it … I simply didn't want to risk it. The fangirl in me needed to see the brilliance, that are FNM, up close.

Kreator [1] are really not my kind of thing and there was not a second that I enjoyed. Thrash metal has never been a passion of mine and it seemingly never will. Some parts of the performance were also rather unnecessary, e.g. Mille carrying a smoke gun, which was probably as big as a nerf gun for kids, that didn't really do much at all, especially while the sun was still high up in the sky. The sound was obnoxiously loud, too, which didn't improve their performance in the slightest.

Same thing with Testament [2], though I have to give them props for the drummer's [Gene Hogland] skills and to their vocalist's [Chuck Billy] for sounding immense during their gig. Other than that, they had a few catchy parts here and there, but it didn't get better from that on. Also, Chuck's rather cocky attitude on stage didn't fit in with the rest of the band at all, which was kind of off-putting.

To say that the audience was rather taken aback when they saw people setting up the stage for Faith No More [10] would be an understatement. As the crew carried flowers and all kinds of white instruments onto the stage, everybody simply stared in shock. Personally, I was beyond excited to see this madness up close … the rest of the crowd, well, not so much. They didn't only look weirded out, they also experessed their huge dislike about what was to come. To be honest, I have never experienced as much of an ignorant crowd as I did at that point. Probably everybody in the first section was mainly there for Metallica, absolutely no doubt about that. Also, everybody in the first section didn't show a single spark of interest into anything that wasn't thrash metal, or at least close to it. Some of them even started to boo and yell at FNM to get off the stage during their set, which was beyond rude. FNM didn't care too much though, they knew how far they fell out of the frame that day. Or at any other festival they were a part of. They embraced it with joy.

The performance they put on was mezmerizing and absolutely incredibly. My personal highlight of the whole weekend, by far. Mike Patton [vocalist] proved once more as to how much of an unbelievable voice range he has and went absolutely bonkers with any kind of device he had nearby. No matter if he was yelling into a megaphone, his mic or some voice changing device, he nailed it all. I will say this much now to round up this fangirl-ramble: Mike Patton proved that he is indeed a god and FNM are as madly brilliant as ever.

Metallica [8] didn't disappoint either. While it remains a mystery to me as to why they would have about 150 people behind them up on stage, it was probably an amazing experience for the fans who got to do that. They played some rarities they had buried for a long time and stunned the audience whenever one of those treasures came to life. Especially for hardcore fans, it must've been one hell of an experience to see such a change in their setlist. It was refreshing to see them have fun with their set, but, for some reason, they didn't seem to be in their best form that night. Metallica are always worth watching, so there's really no downside to it.

To end this all up, a few things about the festival itself:

• The Hellyeah announcement was unprofessional and uncalled for
• Not having port-a-potties at all on the whole festival area was a big burden to a lot of people. The only way to reach the toilets was to walk up about 100 stairs (from the mainstage) to the regularly installed restrooms
• Due to not having port-a-potties, most guys simply let loose in the middle of the audience, being too lazy to take those said stairs and made the whole place stink up with the sweet smell of urine
• Closing venues and stages when the capacity isn't even half filled is unnecessary and upsetting to people who paid lots of money to see exactly those bands
• Not offering the possibility to camp at the area probably made the festival a lot more unattractive to the main festival audience and made the event lose quite a percentage of the wanted crowd
• Bad sound quality made a lot of gigs impossible to enjoy
• Having too much security at said closed venues and having too less at the backstage area is not a too great representation of your priorities. Makes having backstage/working/AAA passes absolutely useless and could've endangered the artists if more people had known about the lack of security check at those important areas
• Booking all hardcore bands to a club stage where it is not allowed to stand up is an absolutely waste of bands with amazing energy
• Having a mass of festival merch but not offering any merch of any band who wasn't on the main stage doesn't throw the best light onto the festival either. The smaller bands are the ones who need those merch sales the most!
• Organizing a festival in as much of a 'reserved and snobby' area as Munich already predicted the bad ticket sales

I'd give the festival an all around 6, but only due to having a bunch of rad bands in the line up.

Cheerio x

Rockavaria - Day 2

Accept – Five Finger Death Punch – Judas Priest – KISS

Didn't manage to catch too many bands that day, but at least I saw what I wanted to see.

While I wasn't too thrilled on seeing Accept [4], they weren't as bad as I had expected. Their music never really was too great to me, but you gotta give'em the fact that they did sound quite massive live. Despite that though, the performance seemed rather monotone and redundant. Their fans in the audience seemed to be immensely into it, so as far as that goes, they apparently delivered to their expectations.

Next up were Hellyeah, who did not get to play their set though. After what seemed like an eternity and already half an hour into their scheduled time, one of the local production managers got on stage to tell the crowd that the gig was indeed canceled.

This would've been enough, leaving the explanation and reasoning of that to the band to announce through their social media, whatsoever, but the local team apparently didn't think so. Another one of the bosses of the day (I'm supposing so as to him making that announcement) got out on stage, shortly before another changeover took place, to state that:

„We are just as disappointed as you, trust me. We're not happy as to how this went down but we simply wanted to make sure you understand that it was not in our hands. We want to clarifiy that we had nothing to do with this and it was entirely the band's fault!“ [not quoted but basically what he said memorized as best as I could]

While this is not only false, but also incredibly unprofessional. Blaming somebody else, who didn't even get the chance to explain themselves, plus, who didn't even understand what they were announcing at that point is simply, and straight up, rude. Another big minus to the local promoter for that faux-pas.

When Five Finger Death Punch [9] were about to start, a lot of negativity rose amongst the crowd. Fans of the likes of Accept and Judas Priest weren't all too happy to have 5FDP play in between those two bands and having to 'live through' that. Luckily, those folks did the better thing for everybody and left, instead of being c***s about it.

Despite all that, the bigger part of the audience was absolutely into it once the guys stepped on stage with their usual opener 'Under And Over It'. 

I might be a little influenced when it comes to them considering that this performance was my 14^th time seeing them, but you simply can't deny the fact that they really know how to get a crowd going. Five Finger always deliver and always manage to impress more people who might not have heard of them before.

One minus to all of this though is that they really need to change up that setlist. For as long as I can remember, it has been the exact same for over a year now. Let's hope that was only the case due to them being on the last run of supporting their releases of 'The Wrong Side Of Heaven […]' and it will all get a little more mixed up once 'Got Your Six' gets released into the world on August 28^th.

Judas Priest [8] had to follow up to that banger of a show but they did that with ease. Not being too much into Priest myself, I was still absolutely stoked to see the 'Metal God' live. Rob Halford might seem as if he lost some of his power, but his voice is still as strong as ever. He reached all kinds of notes in every direction, all while changing into a different robe after every song. An especially loud round of cheering started when he drove out on a motorbike in a full on leather outfit, a whip between his teeth. Also, guitarist Richie Faulkner was an amazing addition to the whole scene. I really hope they regularly clean their outfits though … their full-on leather style certainly looks rad, but I can imagine that it already smelled quite a bit if they wore the same thing at every show.

Altogether, absolutely amazing performance. The Priest still got it.

Just as excited, the crowd anticipated KISS [3] now more than ever. The changeover took ages, but deservedly so seeing as the stage set up was ridiculously mental for this legendary band.

Only having heard about their mindblowing sets and performances in Las Vegas, I admit that I had quite high expectations for this bunch. Sadly, they did not deliver.

It's certainly out of discussion to say that KISS have one hell of a stage show ready for their audience. Fireworks, pyro, huge LED screens, the make-up and costumes, stages to lift themselves over the crowd … it's all there. Take that away though and you're left with four guys who used to be one of the biggest bands in the world. Whenever you were actually able to hear their vocals clearly, you really didn't want to. Ace Frehley [guitarist] sounded like he was going through a second puberty in his life, his voice constantly breaking and out of tune. Nothing better to say about the rest of the bunch.

Quite a disappointment.   

Rockavaria - Day 1

Bonaparte – The Hives – Babymetal – Kvelertak – Muse

Luckily, thanks to my work place shutting its doors early cause we all went to the festival, I was able to leave just in time to catch Bonaparte [7]. Despite having seen that band twice already, they never disappoint to entertain. Though, organizationally speaking, they were rather misplaced on stage at such an early hour. Personally think that they simply are more of a past-midnight band. A festival closer, if you want to. Due to the early schedule, the arena was hardly filled so the party-factor wasn't too high either which drained the atmosphere a little. Too bad, really, cause the band and their ridiculously messed up performance was as great as always.

Next up were The Hives [7] and while the area had gotten a bit more crowded meanwhile, the people somehow didn't feel like partying all too much still. Rather fitting for all crowds in Munich, to be honest. If you're not big enough to constantly get played on the radio, you just might not be good enough for those folks.

The Hives didn't let themselves get irritated by that though and put on an ace gig. Adding to their good mood, it was Per's [vocalist] birthday who didn't let himself get brought down by the lack of response. Though the people did get awoken from their comatose state by some of The Hives' bigger hits such as 'Tick Tick Boom', during the encore.

Up next, on the stage inside the Olympiahalle, Babymetal [5] were about to start with their rather odd show. Due to the awful sound inside the hall, it was rather hard to depict any musical specialities apart from the odd mixture of little girls singing along innocently to heavy metal riffs. Most of the crowd wasn't sure what to do with what they were confronted with and ended up simply staring at the three girls on stage. The rest, me included, celebrated the hyped band with cheers and fittingly odd dance moves. Sadly, thanks to the terrible sound quality, as mentioned, you weren't really able to enjoy their performance to the fullest cause of having to leave the hall again after a few songs to not leave the first day of the festival already with an ear infection.

Back outside, it was already time for Muse [9] to hit the mainstage. The reviews and videos of that band bringing absolute madness to their crowd did not exaggerate. Not only did they have a rad light show, paired with brilliant sound management, the band itself also delivered exactly what they promise. Even though the fact that they headlined a festival called 'Rockavaria' got a lot of critic due to them not fitting said name, they definitely shut down those who doubted them with their performance. Matt Bellamy's voice did not differ from the record at all, if anything, it sounded more impressive live. Definitely a personal highlight to finally have experienced their show first hand. Their set had a great mixture of old songs, hits and newly released, and even unreleased, songs off of their latest record 'Drones'.

To end the day, I had actually planned to watch Limp Bizkit tear the Olympiahalle a new one, sadly though, the organizators had decided to close that venue down, saying it was already full inside. There is picture proof though that the GA arena and the seats were far from being 'too filled'. There had been several organizational mistakes throughout the day, but this one certainly was the most disappointing one. To close out people from watching a band who paid to see them, together with many others, when there clearly was enough space for everybody. Especially considering that 70% of the crowd were busy watching Muse end their set on the mainstage, it was a letdown to have to turn on experiencing that show.

As a little aid, I ended up at the Kvelertak [8] gig on the club stage. The crowd there gave off about the same energy as the one standing at the mainstage watching Muse. Having seen that band multiple times already, I knew what to expect (especially with no new releases ever since the last live set) and got nothing less than that. While I still got absolutely no idea what these guys are screaming and singing about, it's always a fun time with that Norwegian bunch of metal heads and their catchy music.

Twenty Øne Pil⌀ts - Blurryface

This gem got released onto the world yesterday, so here are my thoughts about it after letting it sink in for 24 hours.

Blurryface is the second full-length record to get released by TØP through Fueled By Ramen, after having released two EPs before on their own.

The duo from Columbus, Ohio, is nowhere near easy to sort into a genre at all. Billboard used a quite perfectly fitting phrase here, with which I whole heartedly agree: "The great thing about being a pop duo that treats genres like a toddler treats Legos is that even your mistakes are fascinating."

So after setting your expectations with this, here's what I think of the individual tracks.

HEAVYDIRTYSOUL introduces you to the record with a Prodigy-esque (is that even a word?) lead up to that first track, making you believe you got your hands on a drum'n'bass/electro inspired pop record. But, behold, as soon as Stressed Out kicks in, you'll be completely thrown off of that track again and get taken into a world of a more hip-hop inspired corner. With the lyrics being as nostalgicly drained as it gets, you get dragged into a more calm, yet haunting atmosphere as you, most likely, relate to a big part of it all.

Only having gotten comfortable with the new scene setting, you get lead to an almost reggae-like side with the beginning of Ride. If you don't get the feeling of just lying down immediately and pretend you're on some lonely island ... well, we clearly don't think alike.

Fairly Local doesn't give you much time before it pulls you out of the summer feeling and puts you into a fridge instead to cool down. This back and forth between songs continues throughout the whole record. At this point, it's more than obvious that Billboard basically nailed it with their description of this album and the band in general.

To have such a variety of influences on this record, stretching from Depeche Mode, The Killers to Brand New, and many more, is the final prove of their high level of creativity. Especially to create all this as a duo is another factor to increase the respect towards those guys.

I feel like my words don't really do the creativity pattern enough justice, so I'd highly suggest you go out and visit your local record store to get a copy yourself.

Overall: 8/10

Favorite tracks: HEAVYDIRTYSOUL, Fairly Local, The Judge, Goner, Message Man

As mentioned before, the record dropped yesterday, on May 19th, and is also available on iTunes and through their webstore.
They will also head out to tour across Europe and the UK in November, so check their site for a date near you! Their live show is clearly something worth watching as it gives all of their songs such a diverse intensity as to what they sound like on record. They recently played a how at the Electric Ballroom in London and, from what I read, the atmosphere was one of the most exciting and anticipation filled ones in quite some time. Don't miss out on it!

www.twentyonepilots.com

While She Sleeps + Cancer Bats + Hundredth + Oathbreaker - Backstage, Munich (GER) - 14th April 2015 (Concert Review)

The room looks kinda scattered and empty when Oathbreaker hit the stage. Probably also cause they start earlier than scheduled and half the crowd isn’t even at the venue just then. 

Oathbreaker’s dooming and haunting sound doesn’t speak to everybody, though most of the crowd at least encourages them during the set, applauds, taps along and cheers for them, despite their difficulties with their tune. Say what you want about them, but their outro is huge. The atmosphere they have created before with the vocalist’s demonic screams, the dark rhythm and riffs and thundering drums, get to a highlight then and end with a massive bang. 

Literally. 

Trust me when I say that this is something you probably need to experience for yourself to be able to properly understand what’s actually going on. 

Hundredth draw in a more ‘punk-hardcore’ kind of crowd and some movement actually starts to happen pit-wise. Though, it mostly ends in ‘two-stepping’, of which I’m personally not a fan of … not at all. But to each their own.

The band has a few minor problems as they hit the stage with a proper setting of their gear, but manages to figure that out by the start of the third song.

Just like Oathbreaker, Hundredth only have a handful of songs and aren’t on for a long time. They use the time on stage well though and put their all into their set. Still, there isn’t much to set them apart from other bands in the melodic-hardcore genre. Nevertheless, an enjoyable performance and definitely to the liking of their fans. So if you dig this kinda music in general a lot, you should certainly check them out!

A longer break then takes place as the stage gest set for the ‘Motherfucking’ Cancer Bats. While their new record didn’t really impress me during the last few listens I gave it, I was more than interested to see how they were going to transition it for their live performance.

The first few songs don’t really catch on. Not with me, nor the rest of the crowd, as it is rather quiet and people mostly cram themselves into the back of the venue. Luckily though, after Liam(vocalist) calls them out, everybody moves closer to the stage and with the first notes of ‘Sorceress’ the first proper pit of the evening is set loose. Though crowd participation is still somewhere around the 40% level, the venue gets hotter by the second as the Bats rage through the rest of their set, packed with mostly their older material, such as ‘Bricks & Mortar’, ‘Road Sick’, ‘Hail Destroyer’, just to name a few. Even some of the newer songs definitely get a better image now after being played live than listened to on the record. Ace show from the Bats, as always.

As While She Sleeps break out with ‘New World Torture’, the room explodes with energy and euphoria as the Sheffield boys instantly give 110%. The pits get bigger, the chanting gets louder and the tension before every breakdown is almost unbearable. Special props to WSS’ sound guy this evening cause the whole things sounds ridiculously massive. Been a long time ever since there has been such an amazing vibe in this venue, let me tell you that. During‘Seven Hills’, Loz (vocalist) encourages everybody to crowdsurf and get the whole room even more wild than it already is. Couple of fans join the band on stage for a singalong part before they all leap back into the crowd. 

WSS’ performance reminds me, power-wise and speaking of madness, of bands such as Dillinger Escape Plan. While not even half as much equipment gets destroyed during the gig and nobody gets seriously injured, especially Loz shows signs of the same kind of wildness by climbing on everything high (such as jumping into the crowd from the venue’s gallery), diving into the crowd and throwing himself around the stage like a madman.

The chants for more only stop as the house lights finally get turned on and the band has long left the stage.

With only two full length records out and having formed in 2006,WSS are on their best way up to the top. Impressing not only with some of the most creative material of this genre in a long time, but also by showing that it’s not all about looking cool and jumping in unison during such gigs, but about interaction with the crowd and releasing all your emotions into the songs, no matter how many times a week you go on stage and do the same thing.

10/10 would recommend.

Seriously though, this is so worth your money. If you don’t have your tickets yet for any of the upcoming gigs of this tour, you need to go as fast as possible and hook yourself up with a pair to experience this. 

Cheerio xx

Killer Be Killed - Self-titled (Record Review)

#1 of 2014

What do you get if you take a little bit of Mastodon, add some Soulfly, mix it with a dose of Dillinger Escape Plan and top it off with a major league drummer (Dave Elitch)?

This. Exactly, this.

The way I just described it up there, is basically exactly how it sounds. With the influences from each members' main band and the artistic help of each other during the writing and recording process, this masterpiece got created.

Having the diversity of three incredibly different voices in each song is definitely something else. Troy adds his side of harmonic and, almost, supernatural vibe. Max strengthens the thrash sound and gives it a heavier taste. Greg creates madness and, in most choruses, outstanding melodies with his ridiculous vocal range.

Wings of Feather and Wax is clearly a creation of everybody together, while Face Down/I.E.D. has Soulfly written all over it. Melting of my Marrow clearly points more into the stoner atmosphere that surrounds Troy and Mastodon. Dust Into Darkness sounds definitely like something Greg had the upper hand in it. The rest, Snakes of Jehovah, Curb Crusher, Twelve Labours, Fire To Your Flag, all have such a variety of different genres smashed into single songs that, despite the rather simple written instrumental parts, it all sounds refreshing and new, putting a new spin on the whole thing.

I could probably write an essay about this record but I'd rather suggest you give it a listen yourself because I doubt that I'm capable of actually expressing everything that sums this record up, in words. 

Favorite song(s): Wings of Feather and Wax, Dust Into Darkness, Curb Crusher, Twelve Labours

Overall: 10/10

KBK just toured through Australia while playing Soundwave and have expressed interest in touring again maybe later this year. So keep your eyes open for possible dates showing up around that time, you really don't want to miss one of the rare opportunities of seeing that supergroup live. Even though I dislike the term supergroup, there's nothing else fitting here.

www.killerbekilled.com/

Cheerio xx

Crosses - Self-titled (Record Review)

#2 of my Top 5 from 2014

I don't think I have to mention the genius that is Chino Moreno, but I'm gonna do that anyway. The man has so many different projects going on, it's hard to keep count. None the less, each of them manage to impress in their own way. So does Crosses.

As soon as I had heard Bitches Brew for the first time on an UK radio station, I reached out to find the whole record and was blown away by what I found. Having released several songs before, now combined into one record, the atmosphere this whole thing creates is just ridiculous to me.

Many people don't give music the credit of actually being able to turn around a whole situation/mood of a person within just a few minutes. If a song succeeds to make you feel something, you know you got your hands on something special. That's how it is with Crosses. There has yet to be a record released that puts me, personally, faster into a relaxed, calm and comfortable mood such as this one. Especially The Epilogue and Prurient are two of the most powerful songs on the record. Simple and slow, yet powerful. Maybe not the kind of strength to make you want to flip a table and rearrange your house by raging through it. But more of the mental kind of strength. 

If you're looking for a perfect occasion to give this record a first shot, I'd suggest to put it on while on a long drive at night. It's certainly my favorite setting.

Favorite song(s): The Epilogue, Prurient, Blk Stallion

Overall: 10/10

They're not currently touring but rumor has it that Deftones our ready to release a new record this autumn. So make sure to be on the lookout for that!

Cheerio xx